title: Dil To Pagal Hai

text: Dil To Pagal Hai (; ), is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film directed by Yash Chopra. The film follows the love lives of the members of a musical troupe, in which two dancers played by Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor get entangled in a love triangle with their choreographer played by Shah Rukh Khan, with Akshay Kumar as the childhood friend of Dixit's character. The film marked Khan's second film with Chopra after "Darr" (1993), and the third film to feature Khan opposite Dixit, after "Anjaam" (1994) and "Koyla" (1997), and Kapoor for the first time. This is also the only film to star Khan and Kumar, and Dixit and Kapoor. The soundtrack was composed by Uttam Singh, while the lyrics were penned by Anand Bakshi.


title: Dil To Pagal Hai

text: Made on a budget of , which includes print and advertising costs, "Dil To Pagal Hai" grossed over worldwide, becoming the second highest-grossing film of the year. The film received widespread critical acclaim, with praise for its direction, story, screenplay, soundtrack, cinematography and performances of Khan, Dixit, Kapoor and Kumar.


title: Dil To Pagal Hai

text: "Dil To Pagal Hai" is the recipient of several awards. At the 45th National Film Awards, the film won 3 awards, including Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Additionally, it received 11 nominations at the 43rd Filmfare Awards, including Best Director (Yash) and Best Supporting Actor (Kumar), and won 8 awards, including Best Film, Best Actor (Khan), Best Actress (Dixit), and Best Supporting Actress (Kapoor).


title: Dil To Pagal Hai

text: The film was screened retrospective, during the 2014 International Film Festival of India in the "Celebrating Dance in Indian cinema" section.


title: Dil To Pagal Hai

text: Rahul and Nisha are members of a massive dance troupe that performs dance-based musical plays. They are the best of friends, although Nisha is secretly in love with Rahul. Rahul announces his desire to direct a musical named "Maya". The members of the troupe, including Nisha, have their doubts about the title character, "Maya", who Rahul describes as a girl who believes in true love and waiting for her prince charming who will surely turn up and take her away. Meanwhile, Pooja is introduced, an amazing dancer, classically trained as well, and passionate about dancing. Having been orphaned at a young age, she has been raised by close friends of her parents.


title: Dil To Pagal Hai

text: Pooja and Rahul have a string of near-misses as they run into each other time and again. Each of these instances is marked by a tune playing in the background, that registers with Pooja. Doted upon by her foster family, Pooja is soon taken to Germany by her guardian's son Ajay, her childhood best friend who has been in London for months. Just as Ajay leaves to fly to London, he proposes to Pooja. In a dilemma, she ends up accepting it. During rehearsals for the play, Nisha injures her leg and the doctor says she cannot dance for a few months. Rahul needs a new woman to play the lead role in the play. He comes across Pooja dancing one day and believes she is perfect for the role. He begs her to come to their rehearsals and she agrees. Rahul and Pooja become close friends.


title: Dil To Pagal Hai

text: Nisha soon returns from the hospital and is upset that she has been replaced. Upon learning that Rahul loves Pooja, she becomes very jealous of her. Knowing that Rahul does not reciprocate her love, she decides to leave for London. Throughout rehearsals, Rahul and Pooja find themselves falling for one another. When Rahul drops Pooja home one day, he starts whistling his tune, making Pooja realize that she has fallen for the man with the tune she so often heard. The next day, the two go to meet Pooja's old dance tutor, who Pooja addresses as Tai, who figures that the two are blatantly in love. At the wedding of two members of the dance troupe, Rahul and Pooja share an intimate moment but are unsure how to fully express their love.


title: Dil To Pagal Hai

text: A few days before the premiere, Ajay arrives at the rehearsal hall to surprise Pooja while telling everyone that he is her fiancé. Rahul is heartbroken but tries not to show it. Nisha, who has returned, notices Rahul's devastation and explains how she too was devastated when he did not love her in return. Rahul edits the end of the play to reflect his heartbreak, in contrast to his usual style of always giving a happy ending. On the night of the premiere, as Rahul and Pooja's characters are about to break up on stage, Ajay plays a recorded tape Pooja was going to send him before his proposal where she described how she felt about Rahul. Ajay is indirectly telling Pooja that she and Rahul are meant to be together. Pooja now realizes she truly loves Rahul and the two confess their love on stage as the audience applauds them, giving the play a happy ending once again. Also, backstage, Ajay ends up asking Nisha whether she is already married or not (implying him getting interested in her).


title: Dil To Pagal Hai

text: "Dil To Pagal Hai" was the second of Chopra's 4 consecutive films to star Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role. It was the third film to feature Shah Rukh Khan opposite Madhuri Dixit, after "Anjaam" (1994) and "Koyla" (1997). The film was originally titled "Maine To Mohabbat Kar Li" and "Tevar" before Yash Chopra finally settled on "Dil To Pagal Hai" as the title.


title: Dil To Pagal Hai

text: Sridevi was initially offered to play the part of Pooja, but she refused it. The role then went to Dixit. After casting Dixit in the lead role of Pooja, Chopra found it hard to cast the role of Nisha, which was eventually essayed by Kapoor. The role had been earlier offered to Manisha Koirala, who refused the role. Chopra then offered it to Juhi Chawla, as Chopra wanted the 2 leading actresses of that time to appear together on screen. But Chawla did not want to play second-fiddle to Dixit, especially after playing the leading-lady in Chopra's "Darr" (1993). Kajol and Raveena Tandon were next offered the role; however, Kajol deemed the role insubstantial, while Raveena Tandon was considering quitting her career at the time. The role was also offered to Urmila Matondkar who accepted, but left the film after a day of shooting. No leading-lady of that time was willing to take the risk of playing the second lead to Dixit. Chopra finally approached Kapoor with the film and she agreed to take up the challenge and was finally signed for the role. She felt that despite the short screen-time, a lot could be achieved with her role.


title: Dil To Pagal Hai

text: In addition to writing the story, Chopra co-produced the film along with M. Vakil under the banner Yash Raj Films. The script was written by Chopra, his son Aditya and wife Pamela. The film's costumes were handled together by Manish Malhotra, Karan Johar and Salman. Manmohan Singh was the cinematographer. The choreography was handled by Farah Khan and Shiamak Davar. This was one of Shahid Kapoor's first appearances on film. He was a background dancer in the song "Le Gayi".


title: Dil To Pagal Hai

text: Chopra rejected 54 dresses created by Manish Malhotra for Dixit's character, choosing a "salwar kameez" over others. Filming began in June 1996. It was the first Bollywood film to be shot in Baden-Baden and Europa Park, both German tourist attractions. It was made on a budget of 90 million.


title: Dil To Pagal Hai

text: The soundtrack of "Dil To Pagal Hai" includes 10 songs. The songs for the film were composed by Uttam Singh. Lyrics were written by Anand Bakshi. The music was a major hit among the audience, with the album becoming the best-selling Bollywood soundtrack of the year, with 12.5million soundtrack album sales. Chopra earned an advance of for the music rights. In 2008, Chopra launched an unreleased song from the "Dil To Pagal Hai" soundtrack, titled "Chanda Ki Chandni (Kitni Hai Bekarar Yeh)" sung by Lata Mangeshkar & Kumar Sanu.


title: Dil To Pagal Hai

text: Approximately 300 prints of the film were released worldwide, with 250–260 across India, including approximately 60 in the Mumbai circuit. 60 prints were released overseas.


title: Dil To Pagal Hai

text: "Screen" reported that "Dil To Pagal Hai" opened to a "record business with 100 percent collections in the first week all over India." The report added that prints were sold as 2 crore per territory. 100 per cent collections were report also in the second week, and 97 per cent in the third.


title: Dil To Pagal Hai

text: It grossed in India and $3.3 million (12.04 crore) in other countries, for a worldwide total of , against its budget, which also included print and advertising costs. It had a worldwide opening weekend of , and grossed in its first week. It opened on Friday, 31 October 1997, across 245 screens, and earned nett on its opening day. It became the third highest opener of the year behind "Border" ( nett) and "Koyla" ( nett). It grossed nett in its opening weekend, and had a first week of nett. The film earned a total of nett. It is the 2nd-highest-grossing film of 1997 in India after "Border" which grossed nett.


title: Dil To Pagal Hai

text: It earned $3.3 million (12.04 crore) outside India. Overseas, It is the highest-grossing film of 1997. "Dil To Pagal Hai" is the highest-grossing Indian film of 1997 worldwide.


title: Dil To Pagal Hai

text: Omar Ahmed of "Empire" gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, noting, "It's great eye-candy, painting a portrait of a newly prosperous India in rainbow colours. Good performances too make this a cut above the Bollywood average."


title: Dil To Pagal Hai

text: "Yahoo! Movies", "Rediff.com", "IBNLive" and "The Times of India" have listed "Dil To Pagal Hai" as one of the top 10 Yash Chopra films.


title: Welcome (2007 film)

text: Welcome is an Indian 2007 Hindi-language comedy film directed and co-written by Anees Bazmee with production by Firoz Nadiadwala. The music was composed by Anand Raj Anand and Himesh Reshammiya, with songs and score by Sajid–Wajid. It stars Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor, Feroz Khan, Mallika Sherawat and Paresh Rawal in prominent roles. Sunil Shetty makes a special appearance, while Malaika Arora was cast in an item number. The film marked the last screen appearance of Khan who died in 2009. The core storyline is loosely based on the 1999 comedy "Mickey Blue Eyes".


title: Welcome (2007 film)

text: Budgeted at which includes making and marketing costs, "Welcome" was distributed by UTV Motion Pictures. It was theatrically released worldwide on 21 December 2007, coinciding with the Christmas festival. The film received mostly mixed to positive reviews from critics and faced clash from Aamir Khan's "Taare Zameen Par". Nevertheless, "Welcome" was a major commercial success and went on to become the second highest grossing film of the year with global revenues of .


title: Welcome (2007 film)

text: The film is the first installment of the "Welcome" series and spawned a sequel, "Welcome Back" in 2015 that also became a commercial success. According to "The Hindu", the film's climax scene is a rip-off from the 1990 Tamil film "Michael Madana Kama Rajan".


title: Welcome (2007 film)

text: Dr. Dayal Ghungroo lives with his son-like nephew Rajiv Saini, an auctioneer who is his late sister Chitra's son. Don Uday Shetty wants his half-sister Sanjana married, but fails due to his criminal background. Rajiv is smitten by her. Uday and his best friend, Majnu Pandey, want their marriage. But after knowing they are mobsters, Dayal flees to South Africa with his family. Majnu and Sanjana arrive there. She and Rajiv meet again and fall in love.


title: Welcome (2007 film)

text: Uday and Majnu force Dayal to take the alliance, and invite powerful underworld Don RDX. Dayal sends his sister-in-law Ishika for breaking alliance, who succeeds by lying to be Rajiv's childhood betrothed. Dayal reveals that Rajiv's criminal father harassed and tortured Chitra, who told Dayal to make Rajiv away from crime. He says he'll agree only if Uday and Majnu give up their common crime life.


title: Welcome (2007 film)

text: Rajiv and Sanjana do this by reawakening Uday's love for acting and encouraging Majnu's passion for painting. With these things keeping them busy, Uday and Majnu have no time for crime any more.


title: Welcome (2007 film)

text: Rajiv's actions anger Lucky, who attempts to shoot Rajiv. Sanjana gets hold of the gun and fires a shot that hits Lucky, causing him to go unconscious. RDX is informed of Lucky's death and comes to attend the cremation. However Lucky, who is still alive, escapes, trying to show his father that he's actually alive, but fails. RDX sets the pile of wood on fire, believing he is cremating his son's body. However Lucky, who had been hiding under the wood, jumps out upon realizing the wood is on fire, and the truth is revealed to RDX. Rajiv, Dayal, his wife Payal, Ishika, Uday, Majnu, Sanjana, Uday and Majnu's men and Uday's Lawyer are captured by RDX and brought to a cabin set next to a cliff. The frightened group is forced to play "Passing the Parcel" (Hot Potato) with a globe but the one who ends up with the globe must jump off the cliff. When Rajiv refuses to pass the globe to Sanjana, Lucky angrily yanks it out of his hands, just as the music stops. Now that his son has the globe, RDX figures the only way he can maintain his image is by killing everyone. Before he can, several government brokers sneak up and cut the footings of the cabin, causing the house to start falling over the cliff, with everyone trapped inside. However, the cabin is suspended by only one column.


title: Welcome (2007 film)

text: Hilarious chaos ensues as the group tries to balance the cabin together and keep it from falling off the cliff. Amidst this, Majnu tries to remove Lucky's head from a vessel using an axe, by breaking the vessel, during which an angry RDX tries to shoot Majnu, but misses it, causing the bullet to hit a beehive. As the bees sting everyone, Rajiv finds a rope and the group uses it to get back onto stable ground. But to everyone's shock, the floor breaks and Lucky is found hanging on the edge of the cabin. While everyone else is protesting and Rajiv is trying to rescue him, Sanjana reveals the truth to everyone that she was the one who shot Lucky, but Rajiv blamed himself so that Sanjana wouldn't get in trouble. After Rajiv rescues Lucky, the cabin he is standing on falls off into the cliff, leading everyone into believing that Rajiv died. However, Rajiv survives the event and is reunited with Sanjana and his family. Lucky and RDX are grateful to Rajiv for saving their lives and RDX gives up his life of crime, allowing Rajiv and Sanjana to finally get married. Uday and Majnu too request RDX to get them married to Ishika. However, they realize that Ishika fooled them along with Rajiv, as a part of his plan to marry Sanjana. This angers Uday and Majnu, who start to chase Rajiv.


title: Welcome (2007 film)

text: The soundtrack was composed by Anand Raj Anand, Himesh Reshammiya and Sajid–Wajid. The lyrics were penned by Anand Raj Anand, Sameer, Shabbir Ahmed, Ibrahim Ashq and Anjaan Sagiri. According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 15,00,000 units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the year's fifth highest-selling.


title: Welcome (2007 film)

text: At the box office, "Welcome" opened to a massive response locally, by grossing on its opening week. Despite facing competition from the popular Aamir Khan-starrer, "Taare Zameen Par" which was also a huge success, "Welcome" grossed domestically. It became the second highest-grossing film of 2007, just behind "Om Shanti Om". The worldwide gross was around .


title: Welcome (2007 film)

text: Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, and stated ""Welcome" is one of those entertainers that deliver what it promises: Funny sequences, super performances and loads and loads of laughter. Without doubt, it will be welcomed with open arms by the "aam junta"!". "The Times of India" gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, and stated "Go for end-of-the-year gags and season-of-goodwill giggles." "Hindustan Times" stated, "Akshay Kumar has a flair for comedy but even that is beginning to bore which is quiet evident in "Welcome"." Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, and stated "it's the extraordinary camaraderie between the actors, completely consumed by the foolhardiness that surrounds them, that tickles the bone. And hard." Filmi Beat gave the movie 2 out of 5 stars, and stated "Welcome is a fun ride all the way. The tremendous hype for the film has resulted in a tremendous start at the ticket window and the 5-day weekend as also the lack of biggies in the subsequent weeks will help Welcome reach the 'Smash Hit" status in days to come."


title: Welcome (2007 film)

text: Tajpal Rathore of the BBC gave the film 3 out 5 stars, and stated "Comedies should always be taken lightly in Bollywood and "Welcome" is as zany as they come. And while it emerges as an addition to Kumar's repertoire of films that have little style and even less substance, it is the formidable ensemble cast that ultimately succeed in welcoming you to the theatre hall." Rajeev Masand gave the film 1 out of 5 stars, and stated "Welcome the tortuous comedy."


title: Welcome (2007 film)

text: A sequel to the film, titled "Welcome Back", has been released. It features John Abraham, Shruti Haasan, Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar and Paresh Rawal. Earlier reported to release on 19 December 2014, the project finally released on 4 September 2015.


title: Net promoter score

text: Net promoter score (NPS) is a widely used market research metric that is based on a single survey question asking respondents to rate the likelihood that they would recommend a company, product, or a service to a friend or colleague. The NPS is a proprietary instrument developed by Fred Reichheld, who owns the registered NPS trademark in conjunction with Bain & Company and Satmetrix. Its popularity and broad use have been attributed to its simplicity and transparent methodology.


title: Net promoter score

text: The NPS assumes a subdivision of respondents into "promoters" who provide ratings of 9 or 10, "passives" who provide ratings of 7 or 8, and "detractors" who provide ratings of 6 or lower. The net promoter score results from a calculation that involves subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters collected by the survey item. The result of the calculation is typically expressed as an integer rather than a percentage. The core "How likely would you be to recommend..." question is almost always accompanied by an open-ended "Why?" and sometimes by so-called "driver" questions.


title: Net promoter score

text: The NPS is typically interpreted and used as an indicator of customer loyalty. In some cases, it has been argued to correlate with revenue growth relative to competitors within an industry, although it has also been demonstrated that NPS scores vary substantially between industries. NPS has been widely adopted by Fortune 500 companies and other organizations. Proponents of the Net Promoter approach claim the score can be used to motivate an organization to become more focused on improving products and services. As of 2020, versions of the NPS are now used by two-thirds of Fortune 1000 companies.


title: Net promoter score

text: The origins of NPS as a proprietary instrument date to 2001, at which point Reichheld and Satmetrix built on their earlier, ongoing market research efforts to distill and promote a single survey item that was easy to administer to large numbers of respondents, as well as easy for stakeholders to use and interpret. Early efforts to promote the use of the NPS to corporate clients notably include a 2002 Harvard Business Review article by Reichheld entitled "The One Number You Need To Grow."


title: Net promoter score

text: The primary objective of the net promoter score methodology is to infer customer loyalty (as evidenced by repurchase and referral) to a product, service, brand, or company on the basis of respondents' responses to a single survey item. For some industries, in particular annuity-based business-to-business software and services, it has been shown that Detractors tend to remain with a company, while Passives are more likely to leave. The use of the NPS score in addition to revenue retention rates and customer retention rates may offer valuable customer insights and may offer a better predictibility of customer loyalty rates.


title: Net promoter score

text: As it represents responses to a single survey item, the validity and reliability of any corporation's NPS score ultimately depend on collecting a large number of ratings from individual human users. However, market research surveys are typically distributed by email, and response rates to such surveys have been declining steadily in recent years. In the face of criticism of the net promoter score, the proponents of the net promoter approach claim that the "recommend" question is of similar predictive power to other metrics, but that it presents a number of practical benefits to other more complex metrics. Proponents also argue that analyses based on third-party data are inferior to those conducted by companies on their own customer sets, and that the practical benefits of the approach (including a short survey, a simple concept to communicate, and corporations' ability to follow up with customers) outweigh possible statistical inferiority to other metrics.


title: Net promoter score

text: While the net promoter score has gained popularity among business executives and is considered a widely used instrument for measuring customer loyalty in practice, it has also generated controversy in academic and market research circles. Scholarly critique has questioned whether the NPS is at all a reliable predictor of company growth. Other researchers have noted that there is no empirical evidence that the "likelihood to recommend" question is a better predictor of business growth than other customer-loyalty questions (e.g., overall satisfaction, likelihood to purchase again, etc.), and that the "likelihood to recommend" question does not measure anything different from other conventional loyalty-related questions.


title: 2S3 Akatsiya

text: The SO-152 (Russian: СО-152) is a Soviet 152.4 mm self-propelled gun developed in 1968, as a response to the American 155 mm M109 howitzer. Development began in 1967, according to the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union from July 4, 1967. In 1968, the SO-152 was completed and in 1971 entered service. Its GRAU designation is 2S3 (2С3). The fighting vehicle also received the added designation "Akatsiya" (Акация), which is Russian for Acacia.


title: 2S3 Akatsiya

text: The "Akatsiya" is armed with a 152.4 mm howitzer based on the Soviet 152.4 mm D-20 howitzer and is sometimes confused with the M109 self-propelled artillery. The artillery system was developed at the design bureau No. 9 of Sverdlovsk. The factory designation of the howitzer is D-22 and the GRAU designation, 2A33. The chassis was developed by Uraltransmash.


title: 2S3 Akatsiya

text: The driver's and engine-transmission compartments are located in the front part of a hull, the fighting compartment with rotatory turret in middle and rear parts of the hull. The armor is welded rolled steel. The SPG is equipped with an R-123 radio set, an R-124 intercom, an automatic CBRN defense system with filtration unit and fire-fighting equipment. The V-59 12-cylinder four-stroke water-cooled diesel engine connects to a mechanical two-gear transmission. The gear box is combined into one block with a planetary steering gear. The 2S3 has self-entrenching equipment which allows it to prepare a trench within 20–40 min.


title: 2S3 Akatsiya

text: The crew consists of 4–6 men: a driver, a gunner, a loader, a commander, and two ammunition bearers, which are positioned to the rear of the vehicle feeding rounds through two hatches in the hull rear when in masked firing position.


title: 2S3 Akatsiya

text: The 152.4 mm L/27 howitzer D-22 (2A33) can elevate from −4° to +60° with a turret traverse of a full 360°. Rate of fire is 2.6 – 3.5 rounds/min depending on firing conditions. The howitzer is equipped with a double-baffle muzzle brake, a semi-automatic vertical wedge breechblock and an ejector. The 2S3 has a periscopic sight for laying the howitzer, and telescopic sight for engaging targets with direct fire. The howitzer has separate type of loading with ammunition (35 rounds, later raised to up to 46) arranged in two mechanized stowages (in the turret and in the hull rear). The "Akatsiya" can fire OF-540 and OF-25 high-explosive fragmenting (HE-Frag) 43.56 kg projectiles (also all types of rounds developed for 152.4 mm towed howitzer-guns ML-20 and D-20, and for towed howitzer D-1) at a maximum range of 18.5 km depending on used charge or rocket-assisted projectiles (RAP) to a maximum of 24 km. Other projectiles available to the "Akatsiya" include BP-540 high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT-FS) with sight distance of 3 km and 250 mm armor penetration, Br-540B and Br-540 armour-piercing ammunition (AP-T) with 115–120 mm armor penetration at a 1000 m, OF-38 "Krasnopol" laser-guided rocket-assisted projectiles, S1 illuminating, ZH3 smoke, nuclear (explosive yield of 2 kilotons). Secondary armament consists of a remotely controlled 7.62 mm PK machine gun tank (PKT) on commander's cupola for close range anti-aircraft and self defence.


title: 2S3 Akatsiya

text: The "Akatsiya" chassis Objekt 303 is based on that of the Object 123 tracked chassis of the 2K11 "Krug" surface-to-air missile system; it includes six (rather than seven as in the 2K11 "Krug") twin rubber-tired road wheels, four rubber-tired return rollers (two single and two twin), front drive sprocket with detachable sprocket rings (lantern-wheel gear) and idler wheel per side. The track is 14.375 m long, 482 mm wide and has 115 links. The "Akatsiya" can cross 0.7 m high vertical obstacles, 3.0 m wide trenches, 1.05 m fording depth and climb 30° gradients.<ref name="http://armoured.vif2.ru/2s3.htm"></ref> It can be transported by the cargo aircraft An-22, which can carry two self-propelled howitzers of this type.


title: 2S3 Akatsiya

text: Two Object 303 prototypes were built in the end of 1968. Factory tests finished in October 1969, and discovered strong gas contamination of the fighting compartment during intensive gunnery, especially during the use of small charges. As a result, army inspectors did not accept four SO-152s built in summer 1969 for ground tests. The problem of gas contamination was solved, allowing the SO-152 to enter service of the Soviet Army in 1971. The first three serial 2S3s were built by Uraltransmash in the end of 1970, and in 1971 nine were produced. The works received an order for 70 2S3 in 1973. The mass production finished in 1993.


title: 2S3 Akatsiya

text: The 2S3 was intended for inventory of artillery regiments of Soviet tank and motor rifle divisions. At first only one gun battalion of each artillery regiment was equipped with the "Akatsiya" (18 self-propelled howitzers).


title: 2S3 Akatsiya

text: By the end of 1980s however self-propelled artillery regiments of Soviet first echelon tank and motor rifle divisions (e.g. those belonging to the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany) each had 36 or 54 self-propelled howitzers of this type (2 or 3 gun battalions). So for example the following artillery regiments all had 54 "Akatsiya" on their strength:


title: 2S3 Akatsiya

text: And the 286th Guards Red Banner Prague howitzer artillery brigade stationed in Potsdam was equipped with no less than 72 "Akatsiya".


title: 2S3 Akatsiya

text: In 2007 the Russian Army had 1,002 2S3 in active service and more than 1,000 in storage and the Russian Navy (marines) had 400 2S3 in active service and more than 600 in storage. As of now the "Akatsiya" are used by the following units of the Russian Army or are stationed in following bases (incomplete list):


title: 2S3 Akatsiya

text: As of now the "Akatsiya" are used by the following units of the Russian Navy or are stationed in following bases (incomplete list):


title: 2S3 Akatsiya

text: All the equipment of 817th self-propelled artillery regiment of 62nd Russian military base of the North Caucasus Military District was withdrawn from Akhalkalaki, Georgia in 2006 according to the Russian-Georgian Sochi agreement, the regiment had 30 "Akatsiya" and it had planned to relocate some of its self-propelled artillery to 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri, Armenia.


title: 2S3 Akatsiya

text: At the moment the 2S3 is considered outdated due to an insufficient range compared to modern self-propelled artillery. A modernized variant was developed in 2000s and 2 gun battalions of the Russian Army (including one of the 2nd Taman motor rifle division) have been reequipped with the 2S3M2 in 2006.


title: 2S3 Akatsiya

text: The 2S3 became a well-known self-propelled artillery after combat operations in Afghanistan where it proved to be an effective and reliable artillery system. 2S3s were used quite successfully during two Chechen wars and military conflicts on the territory of former USSR.


title: Diego Godín

text: Diego Roberto Godín Leal (born 16 February 1986) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Argentine Primera División club Vélez Sarsfield and captains the Uruguay national team.


title: Diego Godín

text: Regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation, he started his professional career with Cerro and three years later was transferred to Primera División side Nacional. He since spent most of his professional career in Spain, representing Villarreal and Atlético Madrid and winning eight titles with the latter club, including the La Liga title in the 2013–14 season. He also played in Italy with Inter Milan and Cagliari, and in Brazil with Atlético Mineiro.


title: Diego Godín

text: A Uruguay international since 2005, Godín is the country's all-time most-capped player. He represented the national side at four World Cups and six Copa América tournaments, winning the 2011 edition of the latter competition.


title: Diego Godín

text: Godín was born in Rosario to Julio Godín and Iris Leal. Aged 4, during a family gathering, he nearly drowned after trying to catch fish in a river, but eventually swam to shore without the help of anybody.


title: Diego Godín

text: Godín started his professional career with Cerro at the age of 17. After his good performances, he was transferred to Primera División powerhouse Nacional, where he quickly became captain due to his maturity and professionalism.


title: Diego Godín

text: In August 2007, Godín signed a five-year deal with La Liga side Villarreal, scoring in just his second game, a 3–2 away loss against Osasuna on 7 October, and participating in 24 matches in their best league placement ever (second). He consolidated his starting position in the subsequent seasons, mostly partnering Argentine Gonzalo Rodríguez in the heart of the back four.


title: Diego Godín

text: On 4 August 2010, after experiencing his best season at Villarreal – 36 games, three goals – Godín joined Atlético Madrid on a five-year contract, after the two clubs agreed an initial fee believed to be around €8 million or £6.6 million. He made his official debut for the "Colchoneros" on the 27th, playing the entire 2–0 win against Inter Milan in the UEFA Super Cup.


title: Diego Godín

text: Godín signed a new contract with Atlético on 1 November 2013, keeping him at the club until 2018. He scored four league goals during the campaign, including one on the last matchday on 17 May 2014 against Barcelona which equalised the game at 1–1 to earn his team its first league title in 18 years. A week later, again through a header, he repeated the feat in the final of the UEFA Champions League to put his team ahead, but Real Madrid eventually won 4–1.


title: Diego Godín

text: In 2015, Godín rejected a transfer to Manchester City, managed by his former Villarreal boss Manuel Pellegrini. On 28 October 2017 he became the foreign player with most appearances for the club, surpassing fellow stopper Luis Perea after his 315th against Villarreal; he was nominated for the 2016 and 2018 Ballon d'Or awards.


title: Diego Godín

text: On 20 February 2019, Godín scored the second goal in 2–0 home victory over Juventus in the Champions League round of 16. On 7 May, the 33-year-old announced he would be departing the Metropolitano Stadium after a nine-year tenure and, on 1 June, he symbolically handed over the captain armband to Koke in the 1–1 draw against Sevilla.


title: Diego Godín

text: On 1 July 2019, Inter Milan announced they had signed Godín for free on a three-year deal. It was reported that he had already agreed to a pre-contract the previous January. He made his debut in Serie A on 1 September, coming on for Antonio Candreva for the final 11 minutes of a 2–1 win at Cagliari.


title: Diego Godín

text: In a season in which Inter finished one point behind champions Juventus, Godín scored his first "Nerazzurri" goal on 13 July 2020 in a 3–1 home victory over Torino. On 21 August he equalised against Sevilla in the 2020 UEFA Europa League Final in Cologne, a 3–2 loss for his side; only five other men had scored in the finals of European football's two top tournaments.


title: Diego Godín

text: On 24 September 2020, Godín joined Cagliari on a three-year contract. He played his first match for them on 4 October, in a 5–2 away defeat to Atalanta where he also scored.


title: Diego Godín

text: On 12 January 2022, the 36-year-old Godín agreed to a one-year deal with Atlético Mineiro. He scored on his debut on 6 February, a 3–0 win over Patrocinense in the Campeonato Mineiro. On 20 February, he started in the 2022 Supercopa do Brasil which Atlético won after beating Flamengo in a penalty shootout.


title: Diego Godín

text: In April 2022, Godín said that one of the reasons for which he had returned to South American football was to play the Copa Libertadores, his return marking the first time he appeared in the tournament after a 15-year hiatus. On 20 June, after failing to break into the starting team and aiming to play at the upcoming World Cup for Uruguay, he announced his departure in mutual terms.


title: Diego Godín

text: In 2005, at the age of 19, Godín made his debut for Uruguay in a friendly defeat against Mexico in Guadalajara. His first international goal came in another exhibition game, with Serbia and Montenegro in May 2006. He represented the nation at the 2007 Copa América, playing in the opening 0–3 defeat to Peru before losing his place to Andrés Scotti in Uruguay's run to fourth place.


title: Diego Godín

text: Godín was selected for the squad at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He started in the opening match against France (0–0) in Cape Town, and played in a further four matches for the eventual semi-finalists.


title: Diego Godín

text: In 2011, Godín featured in Uruguay's successful 2011 Copa América campaign, making one appearance as a late substitute in a 3–0 defeat of Paraguay in the final after being bedridden for several days with a virus. He also participated in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, partnering Diego Lugano in defence in four of the team's five matches as they reached the semi-finals.


title: Diego Godín

text: Godín was selected by coach Óscar Tabárez for the 2014 World Cup and captained the team in three of their four games due to Lugano's absence through injury. On 24 June, he headed the only goal against Italy in the final group fixture, sending the country through to the knockout stage.


title: Diego Godín

text: In May 2015, Godín was named as captain for Uruguay's defence of the Copa América during the 2015 continental tournament in Chile. He was also picked for the Copa América Centenario squad, heading home from a Carlos Sánchez long cross in the opener against Mexico where both teams ended with ten players (1–3 loss). He won his 100th cap in the following match, a 0–1 defeat to Venezuela at the Lincoln Financial Field.


title: Diego Godín

text: Godín was also selected for the 2018 World Cup. The following 25 March, at the 2019 China Cup, he made his 126th appearance against Thailand, surpassing Maxi Pereira as the most capped player in the national team's history.


title: Diego Godín

text: In June 2019, Godín skippered the team to the quarter-finals of the Copa América in Brazil. He repeated the feat two years later, in the same country. He played the full 90 minutes of his 150th cap on 10 October 2021, a 3–0 loss away to Argentina in 2022 World Cup qualification.


title: Diego Godín

text: Despite his lack of pace or significant athleticism, Godín was regarded by pundits as one of the best and most consistent defenders in the world, and as one of the leading centre-backs of his generation. During the 2018 World Cup, Jack Watson of "The Independent" described him as "the best central defender in the world."


title: Diego Godín

text: An intelligent centre-back, Godín was mainly known for his leadership, positioning and calm composure, which allowed him to organise his back-line, read the game and anticipate plays. Aggressive, competitive and physical, he was also known for his aerial ability and his capacity to time his jumps effectively, which enabled him to defend high balls, score goals with his head on set pieces, and beat out larger players to the ball in the air.


title: Diego Godín

text: Godín also stood out for his capacity to time his challenges, make blocks, interceptions and win the ball. Moreover, he was strong in one–on-one situations as his defensive positioning often allowed opposition players little time or space on the ball. In addition to his defensive skills, he was also known for his technique, ball–playing ability and capacity to carry the ball out from the defence, which allowed him start plays from the back and create chances for teammates.


title: Diego Godín

text: Godín married Sofia, daughter of José Herrera, a Uruguayan international who played in Serie A for Cagliari alongside compatriot Enzo Francescoli. He is close friends with Antoine Griezmann, who played with him at Atlético Madrid. During the 2018 World Cup quarter-finals match, the latter did not celebrate his goal out of respect for the former and also club teammate José María Giménez; Godín is also godfather to Griezmann's daughter.


title: Carcinogen

text: A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that promotes carcinogenesis (the formation of cancer). This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes. Several radioactive substances are considered carcinogens, but their carcinogenic activity is attributed to the radiation, for example gamma rays and alpha particles, which they emit. Common examples of non-radioactive carcinogens are inhaled asbestos, certain dioxins, and tobacco smoke. Although the public generally associates carcinogenicity with synthetic chemicals, it is equally likely to arise from both natural and synthetic substances. Carcinogens are not necessarily immediately toxic; thus, their effect can be insidious.


title: Carcinogen

text: Carcinogens, as mentioned, are agents in the environment capable of contributing to cancer growth. Carcinogens can be categorized into two different types: activation-dependent and activation-independent, and each nature impacts their level and type of influence when it comes to promoting cancer growth.  These can range from certain viruses, such as HPV, to an over-consumption of alcohol, or even excessive amounts of red and processed meats, therefore impacting a person's health in ways they may not immediately associate with cancer. Activation-independent carcinogens, such as ultraviolet rays or nitrosamines in tobacco products, possess characteristics enabling them to interact directly with DNA and other cellular components to cause harm.  These include not requiring metabolic action or molecular changes to act, which complements their ability to be electrically excited, permitting them to interact with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in negatively charged cellular environments.  This type of interaction leads to the alteration of DNA nucleotide bases, causing disarrangement of that genetic material.  This disarrangement is also responsible for the formation of DNA adducts, segments of DNA which bind to carcinogens, which furthers harm. Eventually, failure in DNA repair mechanisms will lead to a buildup of DNA damage and potentially the development of cancer.


title: Carcinogen

text: Cancer is any disease in which normal cells are damaged and do not undergo programmed cell death as fast as they divide via mitosis. Carcinogens may increase the risk of cancer by altering cellular metabolism or damaging DNA directly in cells, which interferes with biological processes, and induces the uncontrolled, malignant division, ultimately leading to the formation of tumors. Usually, severe DNA damage leads to programmed cell death, but if the programmed cell death pathway is damaged, then the cell cannot prevent itself from becoming a cancer cell.


title: Carcinogen

text: There are many natural carcinogens. Aflatoxin B, which is produced by the fungus "Aspergillus flavus" growing on stored grains, nuts and peanut butter, is an example of a potent, naturally occurring microbial carcinogen. Certain viruses such as hepatitis B and human papilloma virus have been found to cause cancer in humans. The first one shown to cause cancer in animals is Rous sarcoma virus, discovered in 1910 by Peyton Rous. Other infectious organisms which cause cancer in humans include some bacteria (e.g. "Helicobacter pylori" ) and helminths (e.g. "Opisthorchis viverrini" and "Clonorchis sinensis").


title: Carcinogen

text: Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds, benzene, kepone, EDB, and asbestos have all been classified as carcinogenic. As far back as the 1930s, industrial smoke and tobacco smoke were identified as sources of dozens of carcinogens, including benzo["a"]pyrene, tobacco-specific nitrosamines such as nitrosonornicotine, and reactive aldehydes such as formaldehyde, which is also a hazard in embalming and making plastics. Vinyl chloride, from which PVC is manufactured, is a carcinogen and thus a hazard in PVC production.


title: Carcinogen

text: Co-carcinogens are chemicals that do not necessarily cause cancer on their own but promote the activity of other carcinogens in causing cancer.


title: Carcinogen

text: After the carcinogen enters the body, the body makes an attempt to eliminate it through a process called biotransformation. The purpose of these reactions is to make the carcinogen more water-soluble so that it can be removed from the body. However, in some cases, these reactions can also convert a less toxic carcinogen into a more toxic carcinogen.


title: Carcinogen

text: DNA is nucleophilic; therefore, soluble carbon electrophiles are carcinogenic, because DNA attacks them. For example, some alkenes are toxicated by human enzymes to produce an electrophilic epoxide. DNA attacks the epoxide, and is bound permanently to it. This is the mechanism behind the carcinogenicity of benzo["a"]pyrene in tobacco smoke, other aromatics, aflatoxin and mustard gas.


title: Carcinogen

text: CERCLA identifies all radionuclides as carcinogens, although the nature of the emitted radiation (alpha, beta, gamma, or neutron and the radioactive strength), its consequent capacity to cause ionization in tissues, and the magnitude of radiation exposure, determine the potential hazard. Carcinogenicity of radiation depends on the type of radiation, type of exposure, and penetration. For example, alpha radiation has low penetration and is not a hazard outside the body, but emitters are carcinogenic when inhaled or ingested. For example, Thorotrast, a (incidentally radioactive) suspension previously used as a contrast medium in x-ray diagnostics, is a potent human carcinogen known because of its retention within various organs and persistent emission of alpha particles. Low-level ionizing radiation may induce irreparable DNA damage (leading to replicational and transcriptional errors needed for neoplasia or may trigger viral interactions) leading to pre-mature aging and cancer.


title: Carcinogen

text: Not all types of electromagnetic radiation are carcinogenic. Low-energy waves on the electromagnetic spectrum including radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation and visible light are thought not to be, because they have insufficient energy to break chemical bonds. Evidence for carcinogenic effects of non-ionizing radiation is generally inconclusive, though there are some documented cases of radar technicians with prolonged high exposure experiencing significantly higher cancer incidence.


title: Carcinogen

text: Higher-energy radiation, including ultraviolet radiation (present in sunlight), x-rays, and gamma radiation, generally "is" carcinogenic, if received in sufficient doses. For most people, ultraviolet radiations from sunlight is the most common cause of skin cancer. In Australia, where people with pale skin are often exposed to strong sunlight, melanoma is the most common cancer diagnosed in people aged 15–44 years.


title: Carcinogen

text: Substances or foods irradiated with electrons or electromagnetic radiation (such as microwave, X-ray or gamma) are not carcinogenic. In contrast, non-electromagnetic neutron radiation produced inside nuclear reactors can produce secondary radiation through nuclear transmutation.


title: Carcinogen

text: Chemicals used in processed and cured meat such as some brands of bacon, sausages and ham may produce carcinogens. For example, nitrites used as food preservatives in cured meat such as bacon have also been noted as being carcinogenic with demographic links, but not causation, to colon cancer. Cooking food at high temperatures, for example grilling or barbecuing meats, may also lead to the formation of minute quantities of many potent carcinogens that are comparable to those found in cigarette smoke (i.e., benzo["a"]pyrene). Charring of food looks like coking and tobacco pyrolysis, and produces carcinogens. There are several carcinogenic pyrolysis products, such as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, which are converted by human enzymes into epoxides, which attach permanently to DNA. Pre-cooking meats in a microwave oven for 2–3 minutes before grilling shortens the time on the hot pan, and removes heterocyclic amine (HCA) precursors, which can help minimize the formation of these carcinogens.


title: Carcinogen

text: Baking, grilling or broiling food, especially starchy foods, until a toasted crust is formed generates significant concentrations of acrylamide. This discovery in 2002 led to international health concerns. Subsequent research has however found that it is not likely that the acrylamides in burnt or well-cooked food cause cancer in humans; Cancer Research UK categorizes the idea that burnt food causes cancer as a "myth".


title: Carcinogen

text: There is a strong association of smoking with lung cancer; the risk of developing lung cancer increases significantly in smokers. A large number of known carcinogens are found in cigarette smoke. Potent carcinogens found in cigarette smoke include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH, such as benzo(a)pyrene), benzene, and nitrosamine.


title: Carcinogen

text: Carcinogens can be classified as genotoxic or nongenotoxic. Genotoxins cause irreversible genetic damage or mutations by binding to DNA. Genotoxins include chemical agents like N-nitroso-N-methylurea (NMU) or non-chemical agents such as ultraviolet light and ionizing radiation. Certain viruses can also act as carcinogens by interacting with DNA.


title: Carcinogen

text: Nongenotoxins do not directly affect DNA but act in other ways to promote growth. These include hormones and some organic compounds.


title: Carcinogen

text: The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is an intergovernmental agency established in 1965, which forms part of the World Health Organization of the United Nations. It is based in Lyon, France. Since 1971 it has published a series of "Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans" that have been highly influential in the classification of possible carcinogens.


title: Carcinogen

text: The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) is a United Nations initiative to attempt to harmonize the different systems of assessing chemical risk which currently exist (as of March 2009) around the world. It classifies carcinogens into two categories, of which the first may be divided again into subcategories if so desired by the competent regulatory authority:


title: Carcinogen

text: The National Toxicology Program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is mandated to produce a biennial "Report on Carcinogens". As of June 2011, the latest edition was the 12th report (2011). It classifies carcinogens into two groups:


title: Carcinogen

text: The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) is a private organization best known for its publication of threshold limit values (TLVs) for occupational exposure and monographs on workplace chemical hazards. It assesses carcinogenicity as part of a wider assessment of the occupational hazards of chemicals.


title: Carcinogen

text: The European Union classification of carcinogens is contained in the Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008. It consists of three categories:


title: Carcinogen

text: The former European Union classification of carcinogens was contained in the Dangerous Substances Directive and the Dangerous Preparations Directive. It also consisted of three categories:


title: Carcinogen

text: This assessment scheme is being phased out in favor of the GHS scheme (see above), to which it is very close in category definitions.


title: Carcinogen

text: Under a previous name, the NOHSC, in 1999 Safe Work Australia published the Approved Criteria for Classifying Hazardous Substances [NOHSC:1008(1999)].


title: Carcinogen

text: Section 4.76 of this document outlines the criteria for classifying carcinogens as approved by the Australian government. This classification consists of three categories:


title: Carcinogen

text: In this section, the carcinogens implicated as the main causative agents of the four most common cancers worldwide are briefly described. These four cancers are lung, breast, colon, and stomach cancers. Together they account for about 41% of worldwide cancer incidence and 42% of cancer deaths (for more detailed information on the carcinogens implicated in these and other cancers, see references).


title: Carcinogen

text: Lung cancer (pulmonary carcinoma) is the most common cancer in the world, both in terms of cases (1.6 million cases; 12.7% of total cancer cases) and deaths (1.4 million deaths; 18.2% of total cancer deaths). Lung cancer is largely caused by tobacco smoke. Risk estimates for lung cancer in the United States indicate that tobacco smoke is responsible for 90% of lung cancers. Other factors are implicated in lung cancer, and these factors can interact synergistically with smoking so that total attributable risk adds up to more than 100%. These factors include occupational exposure to carcinogens (about 9-15%), radon (10%) and outdoor air pollution (1-2%). Tobacco smoke is a complex mixture of more than 5,300 identified chemicals. The most important carcinogens in tobacco smoke have been determined by a "Margin of Exposure" approach. Using this approach, the most important tumorigenic compounds in tobacco smoke were, in order of importance, acrolein, formaldehyde, acrylonitrile, 1,3-butadiene, cadmium, acetaldehyde, ethylene oxide, and isoprene. Most of these compounds cause DNA damage by forming DNA adducts or by inducing other alterations in DNA. DNA damages are subject to error-prone DNA repair or can cause replication errors. Such errors in repair or replication can result in mutations in tumor suppressor genes or oncogenes leading to cancer.


title: Carcinogen

text: Breast cancer is the second most common cancer [(1.4 million cases, 10.9%), but ranks 5th as cause of death (458,000, 6.1%)]. Increased risk of breast cancer is associated with persistently elevated blood levels of estrogen. Estrogen appears to contribute to breast carcinogenesis by three processes; (1) the metabolism of estrogen to genotoxic, mutagenic carcinogens, (2) the stimulation of tissue growth, and (3) the repression of phase II detoxification enzymes that metabolize ROS leading to increased oxidative DNA damage. The major estrogen in humans, estradiol, can be metabolized to quinone derivatives that form adducts with DNA. These derivatives can cause dupurination, the removal of bases from the phosphodiester backbone of DNA, followed by inaccurate repair or replication of the apurinic site leading to mutation and eventually cancer. This genotoxic mechanism may interact in synergy with estrogen receptor-mediated, persistent cell proliferation to ultimately cause breast cancer. Genetic background, dietary practices and environmental factors also likely contribute to the incidence of DNA damage and breast cancer risk.


title: Carcinogen

text: Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer [1.2 million cases (9.4%), 608,000 deaths (8.0%)]. Tobacco smoke may be responsible for up to 20% of colorectal cancers in the United States. In addition, substantial evidence implicates bile acids as an important factor in colon cancer. Twelve studies (summarized in Bernstein et al.) indicate that the bile acids deoxycholic acid (DCA) or lithocholic acid (LCA) induce production of DNA-damaging reactive oxygen species or reactive nitrogen species in human or animal colon cells. Furthermore, 14 studies showed that DCA and LCA induce DNA damage in colon cells. Also 27 studies reported that bile acids cause programmed cell death (apoptosis). Increased apoptosis can result in selective survival of cells that are resistant to induction of apoptosis. Colon cells with reduced ability to undergo apoptosis in response to DNA damage would tend to accumulate mutations, and such cells may give rise to colon cancer. Epidemiologic studies have found that fecal bile acid concentrations are increased in populations with a high incidence of colon cancer. Dietary increases in total fat or saturated fat result in elevated DCA and LCA in feces and elevated exposure of the colon epithelium to these bile acids. When the bile acid DCA was added to the standard diet of wild-type mice invasive colon cancer was induced in 56% of the mice after 8 to 10 months. Overall, the available evidence indicates that DCA and LCA are centrally important DNA-damaging carcinogens in colon cancer.


title: Carcinogen

text: Stomach cancer is the fourth most common cancer [990,000 cases (7.8%), 738,000 deaths (9.7%)]. "Helicobacter pylori" infection is the main causative factor in stomach cancer. Chronic gastritis (inflammation) caused by "H. pylori" is often long-standing if not treated. Infection of gastric epithelial cells with "H. pylori" results in increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS cause oxidative DNA damage including the major base alteration 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). 8-OHdG resulting from ROS is increased in chronic gastritis. The altered DNA base can cause errors during DNA replication that have mutagenic and carcinogenic potential. Thus "H. pylori"-induced ROS appear to be the major carcinogens in stomach cancer because they cause oxidative DNA damage leading to carcinogenic mutations. Diet is thought to be a contributing factor in stomach cancer - in Japan where very salty pickled foods are popular, the incidence of stomach cancer is high. Preserved meat such as bacon, sausages, and ham increases the risk while a diet high in fresh fruit and vegetables may reduce the risk. The risk also increases with age.


title: Denis Zakaria

text: Denis Lemi Zakaria Lako Lado (born 20 November 1996) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea, on loan from Juventus, and the Switzerland national team.


title: Denis Zakaria

text: Born in Geneva, Switzerland, to a South Sudanese father and Congolese mother, Zakaria first began playing for local club Servette.


title: Denis Zakaria

text: Zakaria joined Young Boys in June 2015 for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-year contract. He made his Swiss Super League debut on 18 July 2015 against FC Zürich in 1–1 away draw replacing Alexander Gerndt after 79 minutes.


title: Denis Zakaria

text: In June 2017, Zakaria signed a five-year contract with Borussia Mönchengladbach. He was transferred as a replacement for Mahmoud Dahoud who left the club for Borussia Dortmund. The transfer fee paid to Young Boys for Zakaria was reported as €10 million.


title: Denis Zakaria

text: On 31 January 2022, with six months remaining on his contract, Zakaria moved to Serie A club Juventus on a four-and-a-half-year contract, in a deal worth €4.5 million. On 6 February, Zakaria scored on his debut in the 61st minute, helping his side beat Hellas Verona 2–0.


title: Denis Zakaria

text: On 1 September 2022, Zakaria was loaned to Premier League club Chelsea till the end of the 2022–23 season with an option of a permanent transfer at the end of the season.


title: Denis Zakaria

text: On 2 November 2022, Zakaria made his Chelsea debut in the club's final UEFA Champions League group stage match, scoring the winning goal of a 2–1 victory against Dinamo Zagreb.


title: Denis Zakaria

text: Zakaria played for various Swiss youth national teams. He could have represented either Switzerland, South Sudan or Congo at a senior level due to being born in Switzerland and having a South Sudanese father and a Congolese mother.


title: Denis Zakaria

text: Zakaria made his debut for the senior Switzerland national team in a friendly 2–1 loss to Belgium on 28 May 2016. He was part of the squad for the 2016 European Championships. Zakaria was included in the 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.


title: Denis Zakaria

text: In May 2019, Zakaria played in the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals, where his team finished fourth. He was named in the 26-man Swiss squad for the UEFA Euro 2020. On 2 July 2021, he scored an own goal in Switzerland's quarter-final match against Spain, which they went on to lose on penalties.


title: Denis Zakaria

text: Due to his characteristics and playing style has led Zakaria to be compared with former France international Patrick Vieira as well as Paul Pogba. Zakaria has been described as a midfield powerhouse due to his pace, strength, athleticism and aggressive playing style. He is also known for being a composed passer and for making surging forward runs from midfield. Primarily a defensive midfielder, he is also capable of playing as a central midfielder, in a holding role, or a box-to-box role, and has even played as a central defender.


title: Londinium

text: Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. It was originally a settlement established on the current site of the City of London around AD 47–50. It sat at a key crossing point over the River Thames which turned the city into a road nexus and major port, serving as a major commercial centre in Roman Britain until its abandonment during the 5th century.


title: Londinium

text: Following the foundation of the town in the mid-1st century, early Londinium occupied the relatively small area of , roughly half the area of the modern City of London and equivalent to the size of present-day Hyde Park. In the year 60 or 61, the rebellion of the Iceni under Boudica compelled the Roman forces to abandon the settlement, which was then razed. Following the defeat of Boudica by the Roman governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus a military installation was established and the city was rebuilt. It had probably largely recovered within about a decade. During the later decades of the 1st century, Londinium expanded rapidly, becoming Britannia's largest city, and it was provided with large public buildings such as a forum and amphitheatre. By the turn of the century, Londinium had grown to perhaps 30,000 or 60,000 people, almost certainly replacing Camulodunum (Colchester) as the provincial capital, and by the mid-2nd century Londinium was at its height. Its forum-basilica was one of the largest structures north of the Alps when the Emperor Hadrian visited Londinium in 122. Excavations have discovered evidence of a major fire that destroyed much of the city shortly thereafter, but the city was again rebuilt. By the second half of the 2nd century, Londinium appears to have shrunk in both size and population.


title: Londinium

text: Although Londinium remained important for the rest of the Roman period, no further expansion resulted. Londinium supported a smaller but stable settlement population as archaeologists have found that much of the city after this date was covered in dark earth—the by-product of urban household waste, manure, ceramic tile, and non-farm debris of settlement occupation, which accumulated relatively undisturbed for centuries. Some time between 190 and 225, the Romans built a defensive wall around the landward side of the city. The London Wall survived for another 1,600 years and broadly defined the perimeter of the old City of London.


title: Londinium

text: The etymology of the name "Londinium" is unknown. Following Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudohistorical "History of the Kings of Britain", it was long published as derived from an eponymous founder named Lud, son of Heli. There is no evidence such a figure ever existed. Instead, the Latin name was probably based on a native Brittonic place name reconstructed as *"Londinion". Morphologically, this points to a structure of two suffixes: "-in-jo-". However, the Roman "Londinium" was not the immediate source of English "London" (), as "i"-mutation would have caused the name to have been "Lyndon". This suggests an alternative Brittonic form "Londonion"; alternatively, the local pronunciation in British Latin may have changed the pronunciation of "Londinium" to "Lundeiniu" or "Lundein", which would also have avoided "i"-mutation in Old English. The list of the 28 cities of Britain included in the 9th-century "History of the Britons" precisely notes London in Old Welsh as "Cair Lundem" or "Lundein".


title: Londinium

text: The site guarded the Romans' bridgehead on the north bank of the Thames and a major road nexus shortly after the invasion. It was centred on Cornhill and the River Walbrook, but extended west to Ludgate Hill and east to Tower Hill. Just prior to the Roman conquest, the area had been contested by the Catuvellauni based to the west and the Trinovantes based to the east; it bordered the realm of the Cantiaci on the south bank of the Thames.


title: Londinium

text: The Roman city ultimately covered at least the area of the City of London, whose boundaries are largely defined by its former wall. Londinium's waterfront on the Thames ran from around Ludgate Hill in the west to the present site of the Tower in the east, around . The northern wall reached Bishopsgate and Cripplegate near the Museum of London, a course now marked by the street "London Wall". Cemeteries and suburbs existed outside the city proper. A round temple has been located west of the city, although its dedication remains unclear.


title: Londinium

text: Substantial suburbs existed at St Martin-in-the-Fields in Westminster and around the southern end of the Thames bridge in Southwark, where excavations in 1988 and 2021 have revealed an elaborate building with fine mosaics and frescoed walls dating from 72 AD. Inscriptions suggest a temple of Isis was located there.


title: Londinium

text: Londinium grew up as a "vicus", and soon became an important port for trade between Britain and the Roman provinces on the continent. Tacitus wrote that, at the time of the uprising of Boudica, "Londinium... though undistinguished by the name of 'colony', was much frequented by a number of merchants and trading vessels."


title: Londinium

text: Depending on the time of its creation, the modesty of Londonium's first forum may have reflected its early elevation to city () status or may have reflected an administrative concession to a low-ranking but major Romano-British settlement. It had almost certainly been granted colony () status prior to the complete replanning of the city's street plan attending the erection of the great second forum around the year 120.


title: Londinium

text: By this time, Britain's provincial administration had also almost certainly been moved to Londinium from Camulodunum (now Colchester in Essex). The precise date of this change is unknown, and no surviving source explicitly states that Londinium was "the capital of Britain" but there are several strong indications of this status: 2nd-century roofing tiles have been found marked by the "Procurator" or "Publican of the Province of Britain at Londinium", the remains of a governor's palace and tombstones belonging to the governor's staff have been discovered, and the city was well defended and armed, with a new military camp erected at the beginning of the 2nd century in a fort on the north-western edge of the city, despite being far from any frontier. Despite some corruption to the text, the list of bishops for the 314 Council of Arles indicates that either Restitutus or Adelphius came from Londinium. The city seems to have been the seat of the diocesan vicar and one of the provincial governors following the Diocletian Reforms around the year 300; it had been renamed Augusta – a common epithet of provincial capitals – by 368.


title: Londinium

text: Unlike many cities of Roman Britain, Londinium was not placed on the site of a native settlement or "oppidum". Prior to the arrival of the Roman legions, the area was almost certainly lightly rolling open countryside traversed by numerous streams now underground. Ptolemy lists it as one of the cities of the Cantiaci, but Durovernum (Roman Canterbury) was their tribal capital (). It is possible that the town was preceded by a short-lived Roman military camp but the evidence is limited and this topic remains a matter of debate.


title: Londinium

text: Archaeologist Lacey Wallace notes that "Because no LPRIA settlements or significant domestic refuse have been found in London, despite extensive archaeological excavation, arguments for a purely Roman foundation of London are now common and uncontroversial." The city's Latin name seems to have derived from an originally Brittonic one and significant pre-Roman finds in the Thames, especially the Battersea Shield (Chelsea Bridge, perhaps 4th-century BC) and the Wandsworth Shield (perhaps 1st-century BC), both assumed to be votive offerings deposited a couple of miles upstream of Londinium, suggest the general area was busy and significant. It has been suggested that the area was where a number of territories met. There was probably a ford in that part of the river; other Roman and Celtic finds suggest this was perhaps where the opposed crossing Julius Caesar describes in 54 BC took place.


title: Londinium

text: Londinium grew up around the point on the River Thames narrow enough for the construction of a Roman bridge but still deep enough to handle the era's seagoing ships. Its placement on the Tideway permitted easier access for ships sailing upstream. The remains of a massive pier base for such a bridge were found in 1981 close by the modern London Bridge.


title: Londinium

text: Some Claudian-era camp ditches have been discovered, but archaeological excavations undertaken since the 1970s by the Department of Urban Archaeology at the Museum of London (now MOLAS) have suggested the early settlement was largely the product of private enterprise. A timber drain by the side of the main Roman road excavated at No 1 Poultry has been dated by dendrochronology to AD 47.


title: Londinium

text: Following its foundation in the mid-1st century, early Roman London occupied a relatively small area, about or roughly the area of present-day Hyde Park. Archaeologists have uncovered numerous goods imported from across the Roman Empire in this period, suggesting that early Roman London was a highly cosmopolitan community of merchants from across the Empire and that local markets existed for such objects.


title: Londinium

text: Of the fifteen British routes recorded in the 2nd- or 3rd-century Antonine Itinerary, seven ran to or from Londinium. Most of these have been shown to have been initially constructed near the time of the city's foundation around AD 47. The roads are now known by Welsh or Old English names, as their original Roman names have been entirely lost due to the lack of written and inscribed sources. (It was customary elsewhere to name roads after the emperor during whose principate they were completed, but the number and vicinity of routes completed during the time of Claudius would seem to have made this impractical in Britain's case.)


title: Londinium

text: The road from the Kentish ports of Rutupiae (Richborough), Dubris (Dover), and Lemanis (Lympne) via Durovernum (Canterbury) seems to have first crossed the Thames at a natural ford near Westminster before being diverted north to the new bridge at London. The Romans enabled the road to cross the marshy terrain without subsidence by laying down substrates of one to three layers of oak logs. This route, now known as Watling Street, then passed through the town from the bridgehead in a straight line to reconnect with its northern extension towards Viroconium (Wroxeter) and the legionary base at Deva Victrix (Chester). The Great Road ran northeast across Old Ford to Camulodunum (Colchester) and thence northeast along Pye Road to Venta Icenorum (Caistor St Edmund). Ermine Street ran north from the city to Lindum (Lincoln) and Eboracum (York). The Devil's Highway connected Londinium to Calleva (Silchester) and its roads to points west over the bridges near modern Staines. A minor road led southwest to the city's main cemetery and the old routes to the ford at Westminster. Stane Street to Noviomagus (Chichester) did not reach Londinium proper but ran from the bridgehead in the southern suburb at Southwark. These roads varied from wide.


title: Londinium

text: After its reconstruction in the AD 60s, the streets largely adhered to a grid. The main streets were wide, while side streets were usually about wide.


title: Londinium

text: In the year 60 or 61, a little more than ten years after Londinium was founded, the king of the Iceni died. He had possibly been installed by the Romans after the Iceni's failed revolt against P. Ostorius Scapula's disarmament of the allied tribes in AD 47 or may have assisted the Romans against his tribesmen during that revolt. His will had divided his wealth and lands between Rome and his two daughters, but Roman law forbade female inheritance and it had become common practice to treat allied kingdoms as life estates that were annexed upon the ruler's death, as had occurred in Bithynia and Galatia. Roman financiers including Seneca called in all the king's outstanding loans at once and the provincial procurator confiscated the property of both the king and his nobles. Tacitus records that, when the king's wife Boudica objected, the Romans flogged her, raped her two daughters, and enslaved their nobles and kinsmen. Boudica then led a failed revolt against Roman rule.


title: Londinium

text: Two hundred ill-equipped men were sent to defend the provincial capital and Roman colony at Camulodunum, probably from the garrison at Londinium. The Iceni and their allies overwhelmed them and razed the city. The 9th Legion under Q. Petillius Cerialis, coming south from the Fosse Way, was ambushed and annihilated. The procurator, meanwhile, escaped with his treasure to Gaul, probably via Londinium. G. Suetonius Paulinus had been leading the 14th and 20th Legions in the Roman conquest of Anglesey; hearing of the rising, he immediately returned along Watling Street with the legions' cavalry. An early historical record of London appears in Tacitus's account of his actions upon arriving and finding the state of the 9th Legion:


title: Londinium

text: At first, [Paulinus] hesitated as to whether to stand and fight there. Eventually, his numerical inferiority—and the price only too clearly paid by the divisional commander's rashness—decided him to sacrifice the single city of Londinium to save the province as a whole. Unmoved by lamentations and appeals, Suetonius gave the signal for departure. The inhabitants were allowed to accompany him. But those who stayed because they were women, or old, or attached to the place, were slaughtered by the enemy.


title: Londinium

text: Excavation has revealed extensive evidence of destruction by fire in the form of a layer of red ash beneath the city at this date. Suetonius then returned to the legions' slower infantry, who met and defeated the British army, slaughtering as many as 70,000 men and camp followers. There is a long-standing folklore belief that this battle took place at King's Cross, simply because as a mediaeval village it was known as Battle Bridge. Suetonius's flight back to his men, the razing of Verulamium (St Albans), and the battle shortly thereafter at "a place with narrow jaws, backed by a forest", speaks against the tradition and no supporting archaeological evidence has been yet discovered.


title: Londinium

text: After the sack of the city by Boudica and her defeat, a large military fort covering 15,000 m was built at Plantation Place on Cornhill, with 3m-high banks and enclosed by 3m deep double ditches. It was built as an emergency solution to protect London's important trade and to help reconstruct the city. It dominated the town and lay over the main road into London controlling traffic from London Bridge and on the river. Several major building projects at this time such as roads, a new quay and a water lifting machine indicate the army had a key role in reconstruction. The fort was in use for less than 10 years.


title: Londinium

text: The city was eventually rebuilt as a planned Roman town, its streets generally adhering to a grid skewed by major roads passing from the bridgehead and by changes in alignment produced by crossings over the local streams. It recovered after about a decade.


title: Londinium

text: The first forum was constructed in the 70s or 80s and has been excavated, showing it had an open courtyard with a basilica and several shops around it, altogether measuring about . The basilica would have functioned as the city's administrative heart, hearing law cases and seating the town's local senate. It formed the north side of the forum, whose south entrance was located along the north side of the intersection of the present Gracechurch, Lombard, and Fenchurch Streets. Forums elsewhere typically had a civic temple constructed within the enclosed market area; British sites usually did not, instead placing a smaller shrine for Roman services somewhere within the basilica. The first forum in Londinium seems to have had a full temple, but placed outside just west of the forum.


title: Londinium

text: During the later decades of the 1st century, Londinium expanded rapidly and quickly became Roman Britain's largest city, although most of its houses continued to be made of wood. By the turn of the century, Londinium was perhaps as large as 60,000 people, and had replaced Camulodunum (Colchester) as the provincial capital. A large building discovered near Cannon Street Station has had its foundation dated to this era and is assumed to have been the governor's palace. It boasted a garden, pools, and several large halls, some of which were decorated with mosaic floors. It stood on the east bank of the now-covered Walbrook, near where it joins the Thames. The London Stone may originally have been part of the palace's main entrance. Another site dating to this era is the bathhouse () at Huggin Hill, which remained in use prior to its demolition around the year 200. Brothels were legal but taxed.


title: Londinium

text: The bulk of the Roman port was quickly rebuilt after Boudicca's rebellion when the waterfront was extended with gravel to permit a sturdy wharf to be built perpendicular to the shore. The port was built in four sections, starting upstream of the London Bridge and working down towards the Walbrook at the centre of Londinium. Expansion of the flourishing port continued into the 3rd century. Scraps of armour, leather straps, and military stamps on building timbers suggest that the site was constructed by the city's legionaries. Major imports included fine pottery, jewellery and wine. Only two large warehouses are known, implying that Londinium functioned as a bustling trade centre rather than a supply depot and distribution centre like Ostia near Rome.


title: Londinium

text: Emperor Hadrian visited Londinium in 122. The impressive public buildings from around this period may have been initially constructed in preparation for his visit or during the rebuilding that followed the "Hadrianic Fire". The so-called 'Hadrianic Fire' is not mentioned in any historical sources but has been inferred by evidence of large-scale burning identified by archaeologists on a number of excavation sites around the City of London. The best dating evidence for this event(s) comes from burnt stocks of unsold Terra Sigilatta pottery, which can be dated to "circa" AD 120–125. These were found in destroyed warehouse or shop buildings at Regis House and Bucklersbury. Hadrianic fire horizons tend to be dated to around the AD 120-130s but it is difficult to prove that they are precisely contemporary and there remains some uncertainty as to whether they indicate a single large fire or a series of smaller conflagrations. Fire destroyed substantial areas of the city in the area north of the Thames but does not seem to have damaged many major public buildings. There is very little evidence to suggest similar burning in the adjacent Southwark settlement. The Hadrianic fire (or fires) has normally been assumed to be accidental but it has also been suggested that it could relate to an episode of political turbulence.


title: Londinium

text: During the early 2nd century, Londinium was at its height, having recovered from the fire and again had between 45,000 and 60,000 inhabitants around the year 140, with many more stone houses and public buildings erected. Some areas were tightly packed with townhouses (). The town had piped water and a "fairly-sophisticated" drainage system. The governor's palace was rebuilt and an expanded forum was built around the earlier one over a period of 30 years from around 90 to 120 into an almost perfect square measuring . Its three-storey basilica was probably visible across the city and was the largest in the empire north of the Alps; the marketplace itself rivalled those in Rome and was the largest in the north before Augusta Treverorum (Trier, Germany) became an imperial capital. The city's temple of Jupiter was renovated, public and private bathhouses were erected, and a fort () was erected around the year 120 that maintained the city garrison northwest of town. The fort was square (with rounded corners) measuring more than and covering more than . Each side had a central gatehouse and stone towers were erected at the corners and at points along each wall. Londinium's amphitheatre, constructed in AD 70, is situated at Guildhall.


title: Londinium

text: When the Romans left in the 4th century, the amphitheatre lay derelict for hundreds of years. In the 11th century, the area was reoccupied, and by the 12th century the first Guildhall was built next to it.


title: Londinium

text: A temple complex with two Romano-British temples was excavated at Empire Square, Long Lane, Southwark in 2002/2003. A large house there may have been a guesthouse.


title: Londinium

text: A marble slab with a dedication to the god Mars was discovered in the temple complex. The inscription mentions "Londiniensi" ('the Londoners'), the earliest known reference naming the people of London (photograph of the inscription above left).


title: Londinium

text: By the second half of the 2nd century, Londinium had many large, well-equipped stone buildings, some of which were richly adorned with wall paintings and floor mosaics, and had subfloor hypocausts. The Roman house at Billingsgate was built next to the waterfront and had its own bath. In addition to such structures reducing the city's building density, however, Londinium also seems to have shrunk in both size and population in the second half of the 2nd century. The cause is uncertain but plague is considered likely, as the Antonine Plague is recorded decimating other areas of Western Europe between 165 and 190. The end of imperial expansion in Britain after Hadrian's decision to build his wall may have also damaged the city's economy.


title: Londinium

text: Although Londinium remained important for the rest of the Roman period, no further expansion occurred. Londinium remained well populated, as archaeologists have found that much of the city after this date was covered in dark earth which accumulated relatively undisturbed over centuries.


title: Londinium

text: Some time between 190 and 225, the Romans built the London Wall, a defensive ragstone wall around the landward side of the city. Along with Hadrian's Wall and the road network, the London Wall was one of the largest construction projects carried out in Roman Britain. The wall was originally about long, high, and thick. Its dry moat () was about deep and wide. In the 19th century, Smith estimated its length from the Tower west to Ludgate at about one mile () and its breadth from the northern wall to the bank of the Thames at around half that.


title: Londinium

text: In addition to small pedestrian postern gates like the one by Tower Hill, it had four main gates: Bishopsgate and Aldgate in the northeast at the roads to Eboracum (York) and to Camulodunum (Colchester) and Newgate and Ludgate in the west along at the road that divided for travel to Viroconium (Wroxeter) and to Calleva (Silchester) and at another road that ran along the Thames to the city's main cemetery and the old ford at Westminster. The wall partially utilised the army's existing fort, strengthening its outer wall with a second course of stone to match the rest of the course. The fort had two gates of its own – Cripplegate to the north and another to the west – but these were not along major roads. Aldersgate was eventually added, perhaps to replace the west gate of the fort. (The names of all these gates are medieval, as they continued to be occasionally refurbished and replaced until their demolition in the 17th and 18th centuries to permit widening the roads.) The wall initially left the riverbank undefended: this was corrected in the 3rd century.


title: Londinium

text: Although the exact reason for the wall's construction is unknown, some historians have connected it with the Pictish invasion of the 180s. Others link it with Clodius Albinus, the British governor who attempted to usurp Septimius Severus in the 190s. The wall survived another 1,600 years and still roughly defines the City of London's perimeter.


title: Londinium

text: Septimius Severus defeated Albinus in 197 and shortly afterwards divided the province of Britain into Upper and Lower halves, with the former controlled by a new governor in Eboracum (York). Despite the smaller administrative area, the economic stimulus provided by the Wall and by Septimius Severus's campaigns in Caledonia somewhat revived London's fortunes in the early 3rd century. The northwest fort was abandoned and dismantled but archaeological evidence points to renewed construction activity from this period. The London Mithraeum rediscovered in 1954 dates from around 240, when it was erected on the east bank at the head of navigation on the now-covered River Walbrook about from the Thames. From about 255 onwards, raiding by Saxon pirates led to the construction of a riverside wall as well. It ran roughly along the course of present-day Thames Street, which then roughly formed the shoreline. Large collapsed sections of this wall were excavated at Blackfriars and the Tower in the 1970s.


title: Londinium

text: In 286, the emperor Maximian issued a death sentence against Carausius, admiral of the Roman navy's Britannic fleet ("Classis Britannica"), on charges of having abetted Frankish and Saxon piracy and of having embezzled recovered treasure. Carausius responded by consolidating his allies and territory and revolting. After fending off Maximian's first assault in 288, he declared a new Britannic Empire and issued coins to that effect. Constantius Chlorus's sack of his Gallic base at Gesoriacum (Boulogne), however, led his treasurer Allectus to assassinate and replace him. In 296, Chlorus mounted an invasion of Britain that prompted Allectus's Frankish mercenaries to sack Londinium. They were only stopped by the arrival of a flotilla of Roman warships on the Thames, which slaughtered the survivors. The event was commemorated by the golden Arras Medallion, Chlorus on one side and, on the other, a woman kneeling at the city wall welcoming a mounted Roman soldier. Another memorial to the return of Londinium to Roman control was the construction of a new set of forum baths around the year 300. The structures were modest enough that they were previously identified as parts of the forum and market but are now recognised as elaborate and luxurious baths including a with two southern pools and an eastern swimming pool.


title: Londinium

text: Following the revolt, the Diocletian Reforms saw the British administration restructured. Londinium is universally supposed to have been the capital of one of them, but it remains unclear where the new provinces were, whether there were initially three or four in total, and whether Valentia represented a fifth province or a renaming of an older one. In the 12th century, Gerald of Wales listed "Londonia" as the capital of Flavia, having had Britannia Prima (Wales) and Secunda (Kent) severed from the territory of Upper Britain. Modern scholars more often list Londinium as the capital of Maxima Caesariensis on the assumption that the presence of the diocesan vicar in London would have required its provincial governor to outrank the others.


title: Londinium

text: The governor's palace and old large forum seem to have fallen out of use around 300, but in general the first half of the 4th century appears to have been a prosperous time for Britain, for the villa estates surrounding London appear to have flourished during this period. The London Mithraeum was rededicated, probably to Bacchus. A list of the 16 "archbishops" of London was recorded by Jocelyne of Furness in the 12th century, claiming the city's Christian community was founded in the 2nd century under the legendary King Lucius and his missionary saints Fagan, Deruvian, Elvanus, and Medwin. None of that is considered credible by modern historians but, although the surviving text is problematic, either Bishop Restitutus or Adelphius at the 314 Council of Arles seems to have come from Londinium. The location of Londinium's original cathedral is uncertain. The present structure of St Peter upon Cornhill was designed by Christopher Wren following the Great Fire in 1666 but it stands upon the highest point in the area of old Londinium and medieval legends tied it to the city's earliest Christian community. However, the east end of St Peter's and its high altar, is also positioned above the area where some basilicas of the period had a pagan shrine room (also known as an aedes). Wheeler proposed that a Christian church might have been established on its site and that this accounted for the later medieval legends.


title: Londinium

text: The possible existence of the shrine room is supported by nineteenth century excavations under Gracechurch Street, immediately adjacent to the church's eastern end. These unearthed an adjoining room covered in yellow panels with a black border, 'with a tessellated floor, suggesting it may have had a higher status than normal, possibly acting as an antechamber for the aedes or shrine-room'. The alignment of the church is close to the lines of the basilica, being off by just two degrees and it is feasible for the understructure to have utilized the dry solid 2nd century basilica wall fabric for support.


title: Londinium

text: If St Peter's was built in the roman era, it would make the church contemporaneous to the potential Romano-British church at Silchester, similarly built adjacent to the Roman Basilica and most likely pre-Constantine in age. London certainly had a Christian community in AD 314 when its Bishop, Restitutus attended the Council of Arles. This community must have had some meeting place, and apart from St Peter's no other location has yet been proposed, either in antiquity or in the modern era.


title: Londinium

text: There is, however, some conflicting evidence to the theory that St Peter’s was deliberately cited above a pagan shrine room. Current research suggests it very rare for early English Christian churches to be founded in pagan temples, and that when temples were turned into churches, this occured later, in the late sixth century and onwards. This was also true elsewhere in the Roman Empire; for example in Rome. By this time the former associations of the sites had probably died down. There is more evidence that early English Christian churches met in private homes, and that some Roman villas also converted rooms to dedicated places of Christian worship.


title: Londinium

text: In 1995 a large and ornate 4th-century building on Tower Hill was discovered: built sometime between 350 and 400, it seems to have mimicked St Ambrose's cathedral in the imperial capital at Milan on a still-larger scale. It was about long by about wide. Excavations by David Sankey of MOLAS established it was constructed out of stone taken from other buildings, including a veneer of black marble. It was probably dedicated to St Paul.


title: Londinium

text: From 340 onwards, northern Britain was repeatedly attacked by Picts and Gaels. In 360, a large-scale attack forced the emperor Julian the Apostate to send troops to deal with the problem. Large efforts were made to improve Londinium's defences around the same time. At least 22 semi-circular towers were added to the city walls to provide platforms for ballistae and the present state of the river wall suggested hurried repair work around this time. In 367, the Great Conspiracy saw a coordinated invasion of Picts, Gaels, and Saxons joined with a mutiny of troops along the Wall. Count Theodosius dealt with the problem over the next few years, using Londinium—then known as "Augusta"—as his base. It may have been at this point that one of the existing provinces was renamed Valentia, although the account of Theodosius's actions describes it as a province recovered from the enemy.


title: Londinium

text: In 382, Magnus Maximus organised all of the British-based troops and attempted to establish himself as emperor over the west. The event was obviously important to the Britons, as "Macsen Wledig" would remain a major figure in Welsh folklore and several medieval Welsh dynasties claimed descent from him. He was probably responsible for London's new church in the 370s or 380s. He was initially successful but was defeated by Theodosius I at the 388 Battle of the Save. A new stretch of the river wall near Tower Hill seems to have been built further from the shore at some point over the next decade.


title: Londinium

text: With few troops left in Britain, many Romano-British towns—including Londinium—declined drastically over the next few decades. Many of London's public buildings had fallen into disrepair by this point, and excavations of the port show signs of rapid disuse. Between 407 and 409, large numbers of barbarians overran Gaul and Hispania, seriously weakening communication between Rome and Britain. Trade broke down. Officials went unpaid and Romano-British troops elected their own leaders. Constantine III declared himself emperor over the West and crossed the Channel, an act considered the Roman withdrawal from Britain since the emperor Honorius subsequently directed the Britons to look to their own defence rather than send another garrison force. Surviving accounts are scanty and mixed with Welsh and Saxon legends concerning Vortigern, Hengest, Horsa, and Ambrosius Aurelianus. Even archaeological evidence of Londinium during this period is minimal.


title: Londinium

text: Despite remaining on the list of Roman provinces, Romano-Britain seems to have dropped their remaining loyalties to Rome. Raiding by the Irish, Picts, and Saxons continued but Gildas records a time of luxury and plenty which is sometimes attributed to reduced taxation. Archaeologists have found evidence that a small number of wealthy families continued to maintain a Roman lifestyle until the middle of the 5th century, inhabiting villas in the southeastern corner of the city and importing luxuries. Medieval accounts state that the invasions that established Anglo-Saxon England (the "Adventus Saxonum") did not begin in earnest until some time in the 440s and 450s. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded that the Britons fled to Londinium in terror after their defeat at the Battle of Crecganford (probably Crayford), but nothing further is said. By the end of the 5th century, the city was largely an uninhabited ruin, its large church on Tower Hill burnt to the ground.


title: Londinium

text: Over the next century, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians arrived and established tribal areas and kingdoms. The area of the Roman city was administered as part of the Kingdom of the East Saxons – Essex, although the Saxon settlement of Lundenwic was not within the Roman walls but to the west in Aldwych. It was not until the Viking invasions of England that King Alfred the Great moved the settlement back within the safety of the Roman walls, which gave it the name Lundenburh. The foundations of the river wall, however, were undermined over time and had completely collapsed by the 11th century. Memory of the earlier settlement survived: it is generally identified as the counted among the 28 cities of Britain included in the "History of the Britons" traditionally attributed to Nennius.


title: Londinium

text: The population of Londinium is estimated to have peaked around 100 AD when it was still the capital of Britannia; at this point estimates for the population vary between about 30,000, or about 60,000 people. But there seems to have been a large decline after about 150 AD, possibly as the regional economic centres developed, and Londinium as the main port for imported goods became less significant. The Antonine Plague which swept the Empire from 165 to 180 may have had a big effect. Pottery workshops outside the city in Brockley Hill and Highgate appear to have ended production around 160, and the population may have fallen by as much as two thirds.


title: Londinium

text: Londinium was an ethnically diverse city with inhabitants from across the Roman Empire, including those with backgrounds from Britannia, continental Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. A 2017 genetic test of human remains in Roman cemeteries states that the "presence of people born in London with North African ancestry is not an unusual or atypical result for Londinium." A 2016 study of the isotope analysis of 20 bodies from various periods suggested that at least 12 had grown up locally, with four being immigrants, and the last four unclear.


title: Londinium

text: Many ruins remain buried beneath London, although understanding them can be difficult. Owing to London's own geology, which consists of a Taplow Terrace deep bed of brickearth, sand, and gravel over clay, Roman gravel roads can only be identified as such if they were repeatedly relayered or if the spans of gravel can be traced across several sites. The minimal remains from wooden structures are easy to miss and stone buildings may leave foundations, but – as with the great forum – they were often dismantled for stone during the Middle Ages and early modern period.


title: Londinium

text: The first extensive archaeological review of the Roman city of London was done in the 17th century after the Great Fire of 1666. Christopher Wren's renovation of St Paul's on Ludgate Hill found no evidence supporting Camden's contention that it had been built over a Roman temple to the goddess Diana. The extensive rebuilding of London in the 19th century and following the German bombing campaign during World War II also allowed for large parts of old London to be recorded and preserved while modern updates were made. The construction of the London Coal Exchange led to the discovery of the Roman house at Billingsgate in 1848. In the 1860s, excavations by General Rivers uncovered a large number of human skulls and almost no other bones in the bed of the Walbrook. The discovery recalls a passage in Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudohistorical "History of the Kings of Britain" where Asclepiodotus besieged the last remnants of the usurper Allectus's army at "Londonia". Having battered the town's walls with siegeworks constructed by allied Britons, Asclepiodotus accepted the commander's surrender only to have the Venedotians rush upon them, ritually decapitating them and throwing the heads into the river "Gallemborne". Asclepiodotus's siege was an actual event that occurred in AD 296, but further skull finds beneath the 3rd-century wall place at least some of the slaughter before its construction, leading most modern scholars to attribute them to Boudica's forces. In 1947, the city's northwest fortress of the city garrison was discovered. In 1954, excavations of what was thought to have been an early church instead revealed the London Mithraeum, which was relocated to permit building over its original site. The building erected at the time has since been demolished, and the temple has been returned to its former location under the new Bloomberg building.