title: History of Kerala

text: In the second half of the 12th century, two branches of the Ay Dynasty: Thrippappur and Chirava, merged into the Venad family and established the tradition of designating the ruler of Venad as Chirava Moopan and the heir-apparent as "Thrippappur Moopan". While Chrirava Moopan had his residence at Kollam, the Thrippappur Moopan resided at his palace in Thrippappur, north of Thiruvananthapuram, and was vested with the authority over the temples of Venad kingdom, especially the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple.


title: History of Kerala

text: The most powerful kingdom of Kerala during the era of European influences, Travancore, was developed through the expansion of Venad by Mahahrajah Marthanda Varma, a member of the Thrippappur branch of the Ay Dynasty who ascended to the throne in the early 18th century.


title: History of Kerala

text: The ancient kingdom of Ezhimala had jurisdiction over the North Malabar which consisted of two "Nadu"s (regions)- The coastal "Poozhinadu" and the hilly eastern "Karkanadu". According to the works of Sangam literature, "Poozhinadu" consisted much of the coastal belt between Mangalore and Kozhikode. "Karkanadu" consisted of Wayanad-Gudalur hilly region with parts of Kodagu (Coorg). It is said that Nannan, the most renowned ruler of Ezhimala dynasty, took refuge at Wayanad hills in the 5th century CE when he was lost to Cheras, just before his execution in a battle, according to the Sangam works. Ezhimala kingdom was succeeded by Mushika dynasty in the early medieval period, most possibly due to the migration of Tuluva Brahmins from Tulu Nadu. The "Mushika-vamsha Mahakavya", written by Athula in the 11th century, throws light on the recorded past of the Mushika Royal Family up until that point. The Indian anthropologist Ayinapalli Aiyappan states that a powerful and warlike clan of the Bunt community of Tulu Nadu was called "Kola Bari" and the Kolathiri Raja of Kolathunadu was a descendant of this clan.


title: History of Kerala

text: The kingdom of Kolathunadu, who were the descendants of Mushika dynasty, at the peak of its power reportedly extended from Netravati River (Mangalore) in the north to Korapuzha (Kozhikode) in the south with Arabian Sea on the


title: History of Kerala

text: west and Kodagu hills on the eastern boundary, also including the isolated islands of Lakshadweep in Arabian Sea. An Old Malayalam inscription (Ramanthali inscriptions), dated to 1075 CE, mentioning king Kunda Alupa, the ruler of Alupa dynasty of Mangalore, can be found at Ezhimala near Kannur. The Arabic inscription on a copper slab within the Madayi Mosque in Kannur records its foundation year as 1124 CE. In his book on travels ("Il Milione"), Marco Polo recounts his visit to the area in the mid 1290s. Other visitors included Faxian, the Buddhist pilgrim and Ibn Batuta, writer and historian of Tangiers. The Kolathunadu in the late medieval period emerged into independent 10 principalities i.e., Kadathanadu (Vadakara), Randathara or Poyanad (Dharmadom), Kottayam (Thalassery), Nileshwaram, Iruvazhinadu (Panoor), Kurumbranad etc., under separate royal chieftains due to the outcome of internal dissensions. The Nileshwaram dynasty on the northernmost part of Kolathiri dominion, were relatives to both Kolathunadu as well as the Zamorin of Calicut, in the early medieval period. The kingdom of Kumbla in the northernmost region of the modern state of Kerala, who had jurisdiction over the Taluks of Manjeshwar and Kasaragod, and parts of Mangalore in Southern Tulu Nadu, were also vassals to the kingdom of Kolathunadu until the Carnatic conquests of the 15th century CE.


title: History of Kerala

text: According to Kerala Muslim tradition, the North Malabar region was also home to several oldest mosques in the Indian subcontinent. According to the Legend of Cheraman Perumals, the first Indian mosque was built in 624 CE at Kodungallur with the mandate of the last the ruler (the Cheraman Perumal) of Chera dynasty, who left from Dharmadom near Kannur to Mecca and converted to Islam during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (c. 570–632). According to "Qissat Shakarwati Farmad", the "Masjids" at Kodungallur, Kollam, Madayi, Barkur, Mangalore, Kasaragod, Kannur, Dharmadam, Panthalayani, and Chaliyam, were built during the era of Malik Dinar, and they are among the oldest "Masjid"s in the Indian subcontinent. It is believed that Malik Dinar died at Thalangara in Kasaragod town. The Koyilandy Jumu'ah Mosque in the erstwhile Kolathunadu contains an Old Malayalam inscription written in a mixture of "Vatteluttu" and Grantha scripts which dates back to the 10th century CE. It is a rare surviving document recording patronage by a Hindu king (Bhaskara Ravi) to the Muslims of Kerala.


title: History of Kerala

text: The Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics was a school of mathematics and astronomy founded by Madhava of Sangamagrama in Tirur in the 14th century. Among its members were Parameshvara, Neelakanta Somayaji, Jyeshtadeva, Achyuta Pisharati, Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri and Achyuta Panikkar. Some of the contributions of the school included the discovery of the infinite series and the foundations of calculus. The school flourished between the 14th and 16th centuries.


title: History of Kerala

text: The maritime spice trade monopoly in the Indian Ocean stayed with the Arabs during the High and Late Middle Ages. However, the dominance of Middle East traders was challenged in the European Age of Discovery. After Vasco Da Gama's arrival in Kappad Kozhikode in 1498, the Portuguese began to dominate eastern shipping, and the spice-trade in particular. Following the discovery of sea route from Europe to Malabar in 1498, the Portuguese began to expand their influence between Ormus and the Malabar Coast and south to Ceylon.


title: History of Kerala

text: Vasco da Gama was sent by the King of Portugal Dom Manuel I and landed at Kozhikode in 1497–1499. The Samoothiri Maharaja of Kozhikode permitted the Portuguese to trade with his subjects. Their trade in Kozhikode prospered with the establishment of a factory and fort in his territory. However, Portuguese attacks on Arab properties in his jurisdiction provoked the Samoothiri and finally led to conflict. The ruler of the Kingdom of Tanur, who was a vassal to the Zamorin of Calicut, sided with the Portuguese, against his overlord at Kozhikode. As a result, the Kingdom of Tanur ("Vettathunadu") became one of the earliest Portuguese Colonies in India. The ruler of Tanur also sided with Cochin. Many of the members of the royal family of Cochin in 16th and 17th centuries were selected from Vettom. However, the Tanur forces under the king fought for the Zamorin of Calicut in the Battle of Cochin (1504). However, the allegiance of the Mappila merchants in Tanur region still stayed under the Zamorin of Calicut.


title: History of Kerala

text: The Portuguese took advantage of the rivalry between the Samoothiri and Rajah of Kochithey allied with Kochi and when Francisco de Almeida was appointed Viceroy of Portuguese India in 1505, he established his headquarters at Kochi. During his reign, the Portuguese managed to dominate relations with Kochi and established a number of fortresses along the Malabar Coast. Nonetheless, the Portuguese suffered severe setbacks due to attacks by Samoothiri Maharaja's forces, especially naval attacks under the leadership of admirals of Kozhikode known as Kunjali Marakkars, which compelled them to seek a treaty. The Kunjali Marakkars are credited with organizing the first naval defense of the Indian coast. "Tuhfat Ul Mujahideen" written by Zainuddin Makhdoom II (born around 1532) of Ponnani in 16th-century CE is the first-ever known book fully based on the history of Kerala, written by a Keralite. It is written in Arabic and contains pieces of information about the resistance put up by the navy of Kunjali Marakkar alongside the Zamorin of Calicut from 1498 to 1583 against Portuguese attempts to colonize Malabar coast. Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, who is considered as the father of modern Malayalam literature, was born at Tirur ("Vettathunadu") during Portuguese period. The medieval Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics that flourished between the 14th and 16th centuries, was also primarily based in "Vettathunadu" (Tirur region)


title: History of Kerala

text: The St. Angelo Fort at Kannur was built by the Portuguese in 1505, which was later captured by Dutch and Arakkal kingdom. The Portuguese Cemetery, Kollam (after the invasion of Dutch, it became "Dutch Cemetery") of Tangasseri in Kollam city was constructed in around 1519 as part of the Portuguese invasion in the city. Buckingham Canal (a small canal between Tangasseri Lighthouse and the cemetery) is situated very close to the Portuguese Cemetery. A group of pirates known as the Pirates of Tangasseri formerly lived at the Cemetery. The remnants of St. Thomas Fort and Portuguese Cemetery still exist at Tangasseri. The Muslim line of Ali Rajas of Arakkal kingdom, near Kannur, who were the vassals of the Kolathiri, ruled over the Lakshadweep islands. The Bekal Fort near Kasaragod, which is also largest fort in the state, was built in 1650 by Shivappa Nayaka of Keladi.


title: History of Kerala

text: The French East India Company constructed a fort on the site of Mahé in 1724, in accordance with an accord concluded between André Mollandin and Raja Vazhunnavar of Badagara three years earlier. In 1741, Mahé de La Bourdonnais retook the town after a period of occupation by the Marathas.


title: History of Kerala

text: In 1761 the British captured Mahé, India, and the settlement was handed over to the Rajah of Kadathanadu. The British restored Mahé, India to the French as a part of the 1763 Treaty of Paris. In 1779, the Anglo-French war broke out, resulting in the French loss of Mahé, India. In 1783, the British agreed to restore to the French their settlements in India, and Mahé, India was handed over to the French in 1785.


title: History of Kerala

text: In 1602, the Zamorin sent messages to Aceh promising the Dutch a fort at Kozhikode if they would come and trade there. Two factors, Hans de Wolff and Lafer, were sent on an Asian ship from Aceh, but the two were captured by the chief of Tanur, and handed over to the Portuguese. A Dutch fleet under Admiral Steven van der Hagen arrived at Kozhikode in November 1604. It marked the beginning of the Dutch presence in Kerala and they concluded a treaty with Kozhikode on 11 November 1604, which was also the first treaty that the Dutch East India Company made with an Indian ruler. By this time the kingdom and the port of Kozhikode was much reduced in importance. The treaty provided for a mutual alliance between the two to expel the Portuguese from Malabar. In return the Dutch East India Company was given facilities for trade at Kozhikode and Ponnani, including spacious storehouses.


title: History of Kerala

text: The weakened Portuguese were ousted by the Dutch East India Company, who took advantage of continuing conflicts between Kozhikode and Kochi to gain control of the trade. In 1664, the municipality of Fort Kochi was established by Dutch Malabar, making it the first municipality in the Indian subcontinent, which got dissolved when the Dutch authority got weaker in the 18th century. The Dutch Malabar (1661–1795) in turn were weakened by their constant battles with Marthanda Varma of the Travancore Royal Family, and were defeated at the Battle of Colachel in 1741, resulting in the complete eclipse of Dutch power in Malabar. The Treaty of Mavelikkara was signed by the Dutch and Travancore in 1753, according to which the Dutch were compelled to detach from all political involvements in the region. In the meantime, Marthanda Varma annexed many smaller northern kingdoms through military conquests, resulting in the rise of Travancore to a position of pre-eminence in Kerala. Travancore became the most dominant state in Kerala by defeating the powerful Zamorin of Kozhikode in the Battle of Purakkad in 1763. In 1757, to check the invasion of the Zamorin, the Palakkad Raja sought the help of Hyder Ali of Mysore. In 1766, Haider Ali of Mysore defeated the Samoothiri of Kozhikode and absorbed Kozhikode to his state.


title: History of Kerala

text: The arrival of British on Malabar Coast can be traced back to the year 1615, when a group under the leadership of Captain William Keeling arrived at Kozhikode, using three ships. It was in these ships that Sir Thomas Roe went to visit Jahangir, the fourth Mughal emperor, as British envoy. The island of Dharmadom near Kannur, along with Thalassery, was ceded to the East India Company as early as 1734, which were claimed by all of the "Kolattu Rajas", "Kottayam Rajas", and " Arakkal Bibi" in the late medieval period, where the British initiated a factory and English settlement following the cession.


title: History of Kerala

text: The smaller princely states in northern and north-central parts of Kerala (Malabar region) including Kolathunadu, Kottayam, Kadathanadu, Kozhikode, Tanur, Valluvanad, and Palakkad were unified under the rulers of Mysore and were made a part of the larger Kingdom of Mysore in the latter half of the 18th century CE. Hyder Ali and his successor, Tipu Sultan, came into conflict with the British, leading to the four Anglo-Mysore wars fought across southern India. Tipu Sultan ceded Malabar District to the British in 1792 as a result of the Third Anglo-Mysore War and the subsequent Treaty of Seringapatam, and South Kanara, which included present-day Kasargod District, in 1799. The British concluded treaties of subsidiary alliance with the rulers of Cochin (1791) and Travancore (1795), and these became princely states of British India, maintaining local autonomy in return for a fixed annual tribute to the British. Malabar and South Kanara districts were part of British India's Madras Presidency.


title: History of Kerala

text: Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja (Kerul Varma Pyche Rajah, Cotiote Rajah) (1753–1805) was the Prince Regent and the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Kottayam in Malabar, India between 1774 and 1805. He led the Pychy Rebellion (Wynaad Insurrection, Coiote War) against the English East India Company. He is popularly known as "Kerala Simham" (Lion of Kerala). The municipalities of Kozhikode, Palakkad, Fort Kochi, Kannur, and Thalassery, were founded on 1 November 1866 of the British Indian Empire, making them the first modern municipalities in the state of Kerala.


title: History of Kerala

text: Organised expressions of discontent with British rule were not uncommon in Kerala. Initially the British had to suffer local resistance against their rule under the leadership of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, who had popular support in Thalassery-Wayanad region. Other uprisings of note include the rebellion by Velu Thampi Dalawa and the Punnapra-Vayalar revolt of 1946. The Malabar Special Police was formed by the colonial government in 1884 headquartered at Malappuram. There were major revolts in Kerala during the independence movement in the 20th century; most notable among them is the 1921 Malabar Rebellion and the social struggles in Travancore. In the Malabar Rebellion, Mappila Muslims of Malabar rebelled against the British Raj. The Battle of Pookkottur adorns an important role in the rebellion. Some social struggles against caste inequalities also erupted in the early decades of the 20th century, leading to the 1936 Temple Entry Proclamation that opened Hindu temples in Travancore to all castes.


title: History of Kerala

text: Kerala also witnessed several social reforms movements directed at the eradication of social evils such as untouchability among the Hindus, pioneered by reformists like Sri Narayana Guru, Ayyankali and Chattambiswami among others. The non-violent and largely peaceful Vaikom Satyagraha of 1924 was instrumental in securing entry to the public roads adjacent to the Vaikom temple for people belonging to untouchable castes.


title: History of Kerala

text: The Kingdom of Travancore was a kingdom in Central and Southern Kerala that existed from ancient times until 1949. Until the reign of Marthanda Varma, the kingdom was known as Venad. In the 11th century, Venad became a vassal of the Chola Empire. In the 16th century, Venad became a vassal of the Vijayanagara Empire. In the late 18th century, Travancore made an alliance with the British Empire and later became a British Protectorate.


title: History of Kerala

text: The last ruling king of Travancore was Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, who reigned from 1931 to 1949. "His reign marked revolutionary progress in the fields of education, defence, economy and society as a whole." He made the famous Temple Entry Proclamation on 12 November 1936, which opened all the Kshetrams (Hindu temples in Kerala) in Travancore to all Hindus, a privilege reserved to only upper-caste Hindus till then. This act won him praise from across India, most notably from Mahatma Gandhi. The first public transport system (Thiruvananthapuram–Mavelikkara) and telecommunication system (Thiruvananthapuram Palace–Mavelikkara Palace) were launched during the reign of Sree Chithira Thirunal. He also started the industrialisation of the state, enhancing the role of the public sector. He introduced heavy industry in the State and established giant public sector undertakings. As many as twenty industries were established, mostly for utilizing the local raw materials such as rubber, ceramics, and minerals. A majority of the premier industries running in Kerala even today, were established by Sree Chithira Thirunal. He patronized musicians, artists, dancers, and Vedic scholars. Sree Chithira Thirunal appointed, for the first time, an "Art Advisor" to the Government, Dr. G. H. Cousins. He also established a new form of University Training Corps, viz. "Labour Corps", preceding the N.C.C., in the educational institutions. The expenses of the university were to be met fully by the Government. Sree Chithira Thirunal also built a beautiful palace named "Kowdiar Palace", finished in 1934, which was previously an old "Naluektu", given by Sree Moolam Thirunal to his mother Sethu Parvathi Bayi in 1915.


title: History of Kerala

text: However, his Prime Minister, C. P. Ramaswami Iyer, was unpopular among the communists of Travancore. The tension between the Communists and Sir C.P. Ramaswami Iyer led to minor riots in various places of the country. In one such riot in Punnapra-Vayalar in 1946, the Communist rioters established their own government in the area. This was put down by the Travancore Army and Navy.


title: History of Kerala

text: The Prime Minister issued a statement in June 1947 that Travancore would remain as an independent country instead of joining the Indian Union; subsequently, an attempt was made on the life of Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer, following which he resigned and left for Madras, to be succeeded by Sri P.G.N. Unnithan. According to witnesses such as K.Aiyappan Pillai, constitutional adviser to the Maharaja and historians like A. Sreedhara Menon, the rioters and mob-attacks had no bearing on the decision of the Maharaja.


title: History of Kerala

text: After several rounds of discussions and negotiations between Sree Chithira Thirunal and V.P. Menon, the King agreed that the Kingdom should accede to the Indian Union in 1949. On 1 July 1949 the Kingdom of Travancore was merged with the Kingdom of Cochin and the short-lived state of Travancore-Kochi was formed.


title: History of Kerala

text: The two kingdoms of Travancore and Cochin joined the Union of India after independence in 1947. On 1July 1949, the two states were merged to form Travancore-Cochin. On 1January 1950, Travancore-Cochin was recognised as a state. The Madras Presidency was reorganised to form Madras State in 1947.


title: History of Kerala

text: On 1November 1956, the state of Kerala was formed by the States Reorganisation Act merging the Malabar District (excluding the islands of Lakshadweep), Travancore-Cochin (excluding four southern taluks, which were merged with Tamil Nadu), and the taluk of Kasargod, South Kanara with Thiruvananthapuram as the capital. In 1957, elections for the new Kerala Legislative Assembly were held, and a reformist, Communist-led government came to power, under E. M. S. Namboodiripad. It was one of the earliest communist governments to be democratically elected to power, second only to San Marino. It initiated pioneering land reforms, aiming to lowering of rural poverty in Kerala. However, these reforms were largely non-effective to mark a greater change in the society as these changes were not effected to a large extend. Lakhs of farms were owned by large establishments, companies and estate owners. They were not affected by this move and this was considered as a treachery as these companies and estates were formed while Travancore was a vassal state of Britain. Two things were the real reason for the reduction of poverty in Kerala one was the policy for wide scale education and second was the overseas migration for labour to Middle East and other countries.


title: History of Kerala

text: The Government of Kerala refused to nationalise the large estates but did provide reforms to protect manual labourers and farm workers, and invited capitalists to set up industry. Much more controversial was an effort to impose state control on private schools, such as those run by the Christians and the NSS, which enrolled 40% of the students. The Christians, NSS, Namputhiris, and the Congress Party protested, with demonstrations numbering in the tens and hundreds of thousands of people. The government controlled the police, which made 150,000 arrests (often the same people arrested time and again), and used 248 lathi charges to beat back the demonstrators, killing twenty. The opposition called on Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to seize control of the state government. Nehru was reluctant but when his daughter Indira Gandhi, the national head of the Congress Party, joined in, he finally did so. New elections in 1959 cost the Communists most of their seats and Congress resumed control.


title: History of Kerala

text: Later in 1967–82 Kerala elected a series of leftist coalition governments; the most stable was that led by Achutha Menon from 1969 to 1977.


title: History of Kerala

text: From 1967 to 1970, Kunnikkal Narayanan led a Naxalite movement in Kerala. The theoretical difference in the communist party, i.e. CPM is the part of the uprising of Naxalbari movement in Bengal which leads to the formation of CPI(ML) in India. Due to ideological differences the CPI-ML split into several groups. Some groups choose to participate peacefully in electoralism, while some choose to aim for violent revolution. The violence alienated public opinion.


title: History of Kerala

text: The political alliance have strongly stabilised in such a manner that, with rare exceptions, most of the coalition partners stick their loyalty to the alliance. As a result, to this, ever since 1979, the power has been clearly alternating between these two fronts without any change. Politics in Kerala is characterised by continually shifting alliances, party mergers and splits, factionalism within the coalitions and within political parties, and numerous splinter groups.


title: History of Kerala

text: Modern politics in Kerala is dominated by two political fronts: the Communist-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Indian National Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) since the late 1970s. These two parties have alternating in power since 1982. Most of the major political parties in Kerala, except for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), belong to one or the other of these two alliances, often shifting allegiances a number of time. As of the 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election, the LDF has a majority in the state assembly seats (99/140).


title: Von

text: The term von () is used in German language surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means "of" or "from".


title: Von

text: Nobility directories like the "Almanach de Gotha" often abbreviate the noble term "von" to "v." In medieval or early modern names, the "von" particle was at times added to commoners' names; thus, "Hans von Duisburg" meant "Hans from [the city of] Duisburg". This meaning is preserved in Swiss toponymic surnames and in the Dutch or Afrikaans "van", which is a cognate of "von" but does not indicate nobility.


title: Von

text: The abolition of the monarchies in Germany and Austria in 1919 meant that neither state has a privileged nobility, and both have exclusively republican governments.


title: Von

text: In Germany, this means that legally "von" simply became an ordinary part of the surnames of the people who used it. There are no longer any legal privileges or constraints associated with this naming convention. According to German alphabetical sorting, people with "von" in their surnames – of noble or non-noble descent alike – are listed in telephone books and other files under the rest of their names (e.g., the economist Ludwig von Mises would have been found under "M" in the phone book rather than "V").


title: Von

text: In Austria, in contrast, not only were the privileges of the nobility abolished, their titles and prepositions were abolished as well in 1919. Thus, for example, "Friedrich von Hayek" became simply Friedrich Hayek. (See also Austrian nobility on this issue.)


title: Von

text: In contrast to the peerage of the United Kingdom, the aristocracies of the German-speaking countries were held to include untitled nobility, although the names of nearly all the families falling into this category did include "von", "zu", "von und zu", "von der", "von dem", "zum", "vom und zum" or "zur".


title: Von

text: The preposition originated among German speakers during the Middle Ages and was commonly used to signify a person's origins, appending the name of the place they originated from (see toponymic surname), or the name of their parents, as the concept of a surname did not start to come into common usage until later on.


title: Von

text: Nevertheless, it was mostly aristocrats and other land owners who acquired a surname consisting of "von", "zu" or "zur" and a toponym. When families were raised to nobility later on, the prefix was added in front of their existing name whatever its source, e.g. "von Goethe". In some cases, even an existing non-noble "von" became noble, or vice versa, therefore the same surname sometimes would be shared by noble and non-noble individuals.


title: Von

text: Especially in the Northwest (Bremen, Hamburg, Holstein, Lower Saxony, Schleswig, Westphalia) and in German-speaking Switzerland, "von" is a frequent element in non-noble surnames. About 200 to 300 known non-noble surnames contain the element "von". On the other hand, especially in Lower Saxony, several prominent noble surnames do not contain the particle "von", e.g. ', ' or "Vincke".


title: Von

text: In order to distinguish the noble "von" from the non-noble one, the Prussian military abbreviated it to "v." in noble names, often without a space following it, whereas the non-noble "von" was always spelled in full. In the 19th century in Austria and Bavaria, non-noble surnames containing "von" were widely altered by compounding it with the main surname element, such as "von Werden → Vonwerden".


title: Von

text: "Untitled" and "non-noble" are not synonyms in the German-speaking world. However, most German nobles used "von" and most users of "von" were noble. Nonetheless, desiring to add cachet to their perceived lineages in the era since titles of nobility were abolished, some individuals of no titled descent chose to add the particle to their name, such as movie directors Josef von Sternberg, Erich von Stroheim, and Lars von Trier.


title: Von

text: Some very old noble families, usually members of the "Uradel", bear surnames without the rather young nobiliary particle "von" but are nevertheless still noble.


title: Von

text: Also, a very few German families were elevated to the nobility without use of the preposition "von". This was the case of the Riedesel "Freiherren zu Eisenbach" who received baronial dignity in 1680.


title: Von

text: In order to distinguish themselves from bearers of regionally frequent non-noble surnames containing "von", nobles in Northern Germany continue the royal Prussian military practice of abbreviating the noble "von" to "v." but spelling the non-noble "von" in full.


title: Von

text: Generally, the growth of the Tsardom of Russia into the Russian Empire was accompanied by the inflow of German surnames. Two main channels of such migration were the absorption of territories where Germans constituted a part of local nobility, such as Finland, Poland, and the Baltic region, and the state-supported immigration of Germans into Russia, such as the "Volga Germans".


title: Von

text: As a rule, the members of the local nobility who found themselves in Russia as a result of geopolitical shifts preserved their privileges in the Empire. Their surnames were listed in the State Register of Noble Families as soon as the required documents were provided. The particle "von" was preserved as well; once hyphens came into common use in the 18th and 19th centuries, it was used to connect the "von" with the following part of the surname (e.g. , von-Wiesen). However, since the twentieth century the particle has been written separately, as in the German origin. In the Baltic region, the German language continued to be used alongside Russian, so the language environment was friendly enough there to keep these surnames from localisation.


title: Von

text: Meanwhile, some of those whose ancestors individually entered the Russian service from abroad, and who settled themselves in Moscow or the core Russian provinces, sooner or later found it easier to adjust their surnames to the local speaking mode. However, unlike immigrants to English-speaking countries during the 18th to 20th centuries, who usually lost their nobility particles and often simplified and anglicised the remaining parts of their surnames, immigrants to the Tsarist and Imperial Russia did not lose their noble particles, although some of their core surnames may have experienced some minor changes.


title: Von

text: At the end of the 16th century, after the Livonian War, Ivan IV of Russia invited Baron Berndt von Wiesen () from the Livonian Brothers of the Sword into Russian service and granted him some landed property. In the 17th century his descendants wrote their surnames as (which preserved the German spelling rather than the ). Circa 1660 one of them added"-ov" (, ), yet in the 18th century this suffix was lost, and the middle consonant changed again "s"→"z" (, which preserves the German pronunciation rather than spelling: ). Finally, in the 18th century Ivan Fonvizin decided to merge the particle "von" with the core, thus giving a start to a new Russian family of German origin. His son, Denis Fonvizin (, ) became a playwright whose plays are staged today.


title: Von

text: In the Nordic countries, "von" is common but not universal in the surnames of noble families of German origin and has occasionally been used as a part of names of ennobled families of native or foreign (but non-German) extraction, as with the family of the philosopher Georg Henrik von Wright, which is of Scottish origin, or as with the family of the painter Carl Frederik von Breda, who was of Dutch ancestry.


title: Von

text: The German dictionary "Duden" recommends capitalizing the prefix "von" at the beginning of the sentence, but not in its abbreviated form, in order to avoid confusion with an abbreviated first name. However the Swiss "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" style guide recommends omitting the "von" completely at the beginning of the sentence.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: The Constitution of Medina (, "Dustūr al-Madīna"), also known as the Charter of Medina (, "Ṣaḥīfat al-Madīnah"; or: , "Mīthāq al-Madina" "Covenant of Medina"), is the modern name given to a document believed to have been written in 622-624 CE. However, no copy of the document has ever been found, and there is no mention of the existence of any such document until the early 800s CE.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: The traditional Islamic narrative about this document is as follows: It was drawn up on behalf of the Islamic prophet Muhammad shortly after he arrived at Medina (then known as "Yathrib") in 622 CE (or 1 AH), following the Hijra from Mecca.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: The preamble declares the document to be "a book ["kitab"] of the prophet Muhammad to operate between the believers ["mu'minin"] and Muslims from the Quraysh tribe and from Yathrib and those who may be under them and wage war in their company" declaring them to constitute "one community ["ummah wāḥidah"] separate from all other people". It established the collective responsibility of nine constituent tribes for their members' actions, specifically emphasising blood money and ransom payment. The first constituent group mentioned are the Qurayshi migrants, followed by eight other tribes. Eight Jewish groups are recognized as part of the Yathrib community, and their religious separation from Muslims is established. The Jewish Banu Shutayba tribe is inserted as one of the Jewish groups, rather than with the nine tribes mentioned earlier in the document. The constitution also established Muhammad as the mediating authority between groups and forbids the waging of war without his authorization.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: The constitution was created to end the bitter intertribal fighting between the rival clans of Banu Aws and Banu Khazraj in Medina and to maintain peace and co-operation among all Medinan groups. Establishing the role of Muhammad as the mediating authority between the two groups and the others in Medina was central to the ending of Medinan internal violence and was an essential feature of the constitution. The document ensured freedom of religious beliefs and practices for all citizens who "follow the believers". It assured that representatives of all parties, Muslim or non-Muslim, should be present when consultation occurs or in cases of negotiation with foreign states. It declared "a woman can only be hosted by a host with the consent of her family" and imposed a tax system for supporting the community in times of conflict. It declared the role of Medina as a "ḥaram" (, "sanctuary"), where no blood of the peoples included in the pact can be spilled.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: The division of the constitution into numbered articles would not have been in the original text but was added much later by scholars. Therefore, the numbering of clauses differs across different versions. But there is general agreement on the authenticity of the of the charter, which is found in Ibn Hisham's sira.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: According to traditional Islamic belief, in Muhammad's last years in Mecca, a delegation from Medina from its twelve important clans invited him as a neutral outsider to serve as the chief arbitrator for the entire community. There had been fighting in Medina involving mainly its pagan and Jewish inhabitants for around 100 years before 620. The recurring slaughters and disagreements over the resulting claims, especially after the Battle of Bu'ath in which all the clans had been involved, made it obvious to them that the tribal conceptions of blood feud and an eye for an eye were no longer workable unless there was one man with the authority to adjudicate in disputed cases. The delegation from Medina pledged themselves and their fellow citizens to accept Muhammad into their community and to protect him physically as if he was one of them.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: After emigration to Medina, Muhammad drafted the constitution, "establishing a kind of alliance or federation" of the eight Medinan tribes and Muslim emigrants from Mecca and specifying the rights and duties of all citizens and the relationship of the different communities in Medina, including that of the Muslim community to other communities: the Jews and the other "Peoples of the Book". According to chroniclers such as Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi, the composition of the population of Medina at that time consisted of two supergroup local Arab tribes, the Aus and the Khazraj, with eight clans and 33 other smaller groups under them. Meanwhile, the Jewish tribes at least consisted of around 20 groups, with the most well-known tribes Qaynuqa, Nadhir, and Qurayza among them.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: No copy of the Constitution of Medina has ever been found. We only know of its existence from excerpts included in early Muslim sources, the earliest of which is "Al-Sīrah Al-Nabawiyyah" of Ibn Hisham (early 800s CE), which claims to republish material found in the lost "Sīrat Rasūl Allāh" of Ibn Ishaq (mid 700s CE). Later Muslim writings, such as those by Sayyid al-Nas and Abu ‘Ubayd's "Kitab al-Amwal" also claim to preserve material from the Constitution of Medina.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: The document's historicity has been questioned, such as by the revisionist scholars, though many Muslim and Western scholars of Islam believe such a document did exist during the time of Muhammad—but that it did not survive and we cannot be certain of its contents.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: One 20th-century scholar, Montgomery Watt, suggested that the Constitution of Medina must have been written in the early Medinan period (i.e., in 622 CE or shortly thereafter), because if the document been drafted any later, then it would have both had a positive attitude towards the Quraysh and given Muhammad a prominent place. Others, such as Hubert Grimme, suggested that it must have been drafted after the 624 CE Battle of Badr. Still others, such as Leone Caetani, suggested that the document was written before that battle.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: Another mid-20th century scholar, RB Serjeant, proposed that 3:101–104 of the Qur'an may refer to the Constitution of Medina. He hypothesized that the document underwent recension: In its first recension, the text sanctioned the establishment of a confederation; in its second, it admonished the Aws and Khazraj to abide by their treaty; in its third, in conjunction with the proceeding verses, it is an encouragement of Muhammad's adherents to face the Meccan forces they eventually fought at Uhud.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: The following is a translation into English of what was alleged (by Ibn Hisham in the early 800s CE) to have been the text of the Constitution of Medina by Muslim scholar Muhamad Hamidullah based on the following sources: the Seerah of Ibn Hisham which quotes the Seerah of Ibn Ishaq, Abu Ubaid's Kitab-al-Amwal, and Ibn Kathir's "al-Bidayah-wan-Nihaya". A comparative translation of the two versions by Ibn Ishaq in Ibn Hisham's recension and Abu Ubaid has been published by Michael Lecker, who highlights the differences between the two texts.A Translation of the Constitution of the City-State of Madina in the Time of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)


title: Constitution of Medina

text: [I have tried to make the translation very clear so as not to require any marginal notes for its understanding. The clauses have been numbered, to facilitate easy reference. Since this numbering has been agreed upon and is the same in Germany, Holland, Italy, and other places, so whenever I have had to differ I have indicated my difference by subdividing the clause into (a), (b), etc., so as not to interfere with the international numbering.]


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (1) This is a prescript of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم), the Prophet and Messenger of God (to operate) between the faithful and the followers of Islam from among the Quraish and the people of Madina and those who may be under them, may join them and take part in wars in their company.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (2) They shall constitute a separate political unit (Ummat) as distinguished from all the people (of the world).


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (3) The emigrants from the Quraish shall be (responsible) for own their ward; and shall pay their blood money in mutual collaboration and shall secure the release of their own prisoners by paying their ransom from themselves so that the mutual dealings between the believers be in accordance with the principles of goodness and justice.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (4) And Banu ‘Awf shall be responsible for their own ward and shall pay their blood money in mutual collaboration, and every group shall secure the release of its own prisoners by paying their ransom from themselves so that the dealings between the believers be in accordance with the principles of goodness and justice.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (5) And Banu Al-Harith-ibn-Khazraj shall be responsible for their own ward and shall pay their blood-money in mutual collaboration and every group shall secure the release of its own prisoners by paying their ransom from themselves, so that the dealings between the believers be in accordance with the principles of goodness and justice.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (6) And Banu Sa‘ida shall be responsible for their own ward, and shall pay their blood-money in mutual collaboration and every group shall secure the release of its own prisoners by paying their ransom from themselves, so that the dealings between the believers be in accordance with the principles of goodness and justice.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (7) And Banu Jusham shall be responsible for their own ward and shall pay their blood-money in mutual collaboration and every group shall secure the release of its own prisoners by paying their ransom so that the dealings between the believers be in accordance with the principles of goodness and justice.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (8) And Banu an-Najjar shall be responsible for their own ward and shall pay their blood-money in mutual collaboration and every group shall secure the release of its own prisoners by paying their ransom so that the dealings between the believers be in accordance with the principles of goodness and justice.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (9) And Banu ‘Amr-ibn-‘Awf shall be responsible for their own ward and shall pay their blood-money in mutual collaboration and every group shall secure the release of its own prisoners by paying their ransom, so that the dealings between the believers be in accordance with the principles of goodness and justice.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (10) And Banu-al-Nabit shall be responsible for their own ward and shall pay their blood-money in mutual collaboration and every group shall secure the release of its own prisoners by paying their ransom so that the dealings between the believers be in accordance with the principles of goodness and justice.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (11) And Banu-al-Aws shall be responsible for their own ward and shall pay their blood-money in mutual collaboration and every group shall secure the release of its own prisoners by paying their ransom, so that the dealings between the believers be in accordance with the principles of goodness and justice.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (12) (a) And the believers shall not leave any one, hard-pressed with debts, without affording him some relief, in order that the dealings between the believers be in accordance with the principles of goodness and justice. (b) Also no believer shall enter into a contract of clientage with one who is already in such a contract with another believer.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (13) And the hands of pious believers shall be raised against every such person as rises in rebellion or attempts to acquire anything by force or is guilty of any sin or excess or attempts to spread mischief among the believers ; their hands shall be raised all together against such a person, even if he be a son to any one of them.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (14) A Believer will not kill a Believer [in retaliation] for a non-Believer and will not aid a non-Believer against a Believer.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (15) The protection ("dhimmah") of Allah is one, the least of them [i.e., the Believers] is entitled to grant protection ("yujīr") that is binding for all of them. The Believers are each other’s allies ("mawālī") to the exclusion of other people.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (16) And that those who will obey us among the Jews, will have help and equality. Neither shall they be oppressed nor will any help be given against them.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (17) And the peace of the believers shall be one. If there be any war in the way of God, no believer shall be under any peace (with the enemy) apart from other believers, unless it (this peace) be the same and equally binding on all.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (20) (a) And undoubtedly pious believers are the best and in the rightest course. (b) And that no associator (non-Muslim subject) shall give any protection to the life and property of a Quraishite, nor shall he come in the way of any believer in this matter.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (21) And if any one intentionally murders a believer, and it is proved, he shall be killed in retaliation, unless the heir of the murdered person be satisfied with blood-money. And all believers shall actually stand for this ordinance and nothing else shall be proper for them to do.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (22) And it shall not be lawful for any one, who has agreed to carry out the provisions laid down in this code and has affixed his faith in God and the Day of Judgment, to give help or protection to any murderer, and if he gives any help or protection to such a person, God‟s curse and wrath shall be on him on the Day of Resurrection, and no money or compensation shall be accepted from such a person.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (24) And the Jews shall share with the believers the expenses of war so long as they fight in conjunction,


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (25) And the Jews of Banu ‘Awf shall be considered as one community (Ummat) along with the believers—for the Jews their religion, and for the Muslims theirs, be one client or patron. But whoever does wrong or commits treachery brings evil only on himself and his household.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (31) And the Jews of Banu Tha‘laba shall have the same rights as the Jews of Banu ‘Awf. But whoever does wrong or commits treachery brings evil only on himself and his household.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (32) And Jafna, who are a branch of the Tha’laba tribe, shall have the same rights as the mother tribes.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (33) And Banu-ash-Shutaiba shall have the same rights as the Jews of Banu ‘Awf; and they shall be faithful to, and not violators of, treaty.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (34) And the mawlas (clients) of Tha'laba shall have the same rights as those of the original members of it.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (36) (a) And that none of them shall go out to fight as a soldier of the Muslim army, without the per-mission of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). (b) And no obstruction shall be placed in the way of any one‟s retaliation for beating or injuries; and whoever sheds blood brings it upon himself and his household, except he who has been wronged, and Allah demands the most righteous fulfillment of this [treaty].


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (b) And if any one fights against the people of this code, their (i.e., of the Jews and Muslims) mutual help shall come into operation, and there shall be friendly counsel and sincere behaviour between them; and faithfulness and no breach of covenant.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (38) And the Jews shall be bearing their own expenses so long as they shall be fighting in conjunction with the believers.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (40) The clients (mawla) shall have the same treatment as the original persons (i.e., persons accepting clientage). He shall neither be harmed nor shall he himself break the covenant.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (41) And no refuge shall be given to any one without the permission of the people of the place (i.e., the refugee shall have no right of giving refuge to others).


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (42) And that if any murder or quarrel takes place among the people of this code, from which any trouble may be feared, it shall be referred to God and God‟s Messenger, Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم); and God will be with him who will be most particular about what is written in this code and act on it most faithfully.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (44) And they (i.e., Jews and Muslims) shall have each other‟s help in the event of any one invading Yathrib.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (45) (a) And if they (i.e., the Jews) are invited to any peace, they also shall offer peace and shall be a party to it; and if they invite the believers to some such affairs, it shall be their (Muslims) duty as well to reciprocate the dealings, excepting that any one makes a religious war. (b) On every group shall rest the responsibility of (repulsing) the enemy from the place which faces its part of the city.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (46) And the Jews of the tribe of al-Aws, clients as well as original members, shall have the same rights as the people of this code: and shall behave sincerely and faithfully towards the latter, not perpetrating any breach of covenant. As one shall sow so shall he reap. And God is with him who will most sincerely and faithfully carry out the provisions of this code.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: (47) And this prescript shall not be of any avail to any oppressor or breaker of covenant. And one shall have security whether one goes out to a campaign or remains in Madina, or else it will be an oppression and breach of covenant. And God is the Protector of him who performs the obligations with faithfulness and care, as also His Messenger Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم).


title: Constitution of Medina

text: Muhammad's Quraysh (or Quraish) tribe appear in the document as both a principal constituent of the community and the enemy. The Quraysh referred to are sometimes the followers of Muhammad as "migrants" or "believers", but other times, the word refers to those members of the tribe who expelled Muhammad and his followers from Mecca, the Qurayshi capital.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: Bernard Lewis claims that the charter was not a treaty in the modern sense but a unilateral proclamation by Muhammad. One of the constitution's more interesting aspects was the inclusion of the Jewish tribes in the ummah because although the Jewish tribes were "one community with the believers", they also "have their religion and the Muslims have theirs".


title: Constitution of Medina

text: L. Ali Khan says that it was a social contract derived from a treaty and not from any fictional state of nature or from behind the Rawlsian veil of ignorance. It was built upon the concept of one community of diverse tribes living under the sovereignty of one God.


title: Constitution of Medina

text: It also instituted peaceful methods of dispute resolution among diverse groups living as one people but without assimilating into one religion, language or culture. Welch in "Encyclopedia of Islam" states: "The constitution reveals Muhammad's great diplomatic skills, for it allows the ideal that he cherished of an ummah (community) based clearly on a religious outlook to sink temporarily into the background and is shaped essentially by practical considerations."


title: Constitution of Medina

text: Tom Holland writes, "The Constitution of Medina is accepted by even the most suspicious of scholars as deriving from the time of Muhammad. Here in these precious documents, it is possible to glimpse the authentic beginnings of a movement that would succeed, in barely two decades, in prostrating both the Roman and the Persian Empires".


title: Constitution of Medina

text: Another important feature of the Constitution of Medina is the redefinition of ties between Muslims. It sets faith relationships above blood-ties and emphasizes individual responsibility. Tribal identities are still important to refer to different groups, but the "main binding tie" for the newly created ummah is religion. That contrasts with the norms of pre-Islamic Arabia, which was a thoroughly tribal society, but Serjeant postulates the existence of earlier theocratic communities. According to Denny, "Watt has likened the Ummah as it is described in the document to a tribe, but with the important difference that it was to be based on religion and not on kinship". That is an important event in the development of the small group of Muslims in Medina to the larger Muslim community and empire.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra (Greer Grant Nelson) is a fictional superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Introduced as the superpowered and gadget-wielding crime fighter the Cat in "The Claws of the Cat" #1 (November 1972). The character was created by writer-editor Roy Thomas and artist Wally Wood (Marie Severin was then brought in to help layout the art), with her early adventures written by Linda Fite. She mutated into the super powered tiger-woman Tigra in "Giant-Size Creatures" #1 (July 1974), by writer Tony Isabella and artist Don Perlin.


title: Tigra

text: The Cat was introduced in one of a trio of Marvel Comics aimed at a female audience, alongside "Night Nurse" and "Shanna the She-Devil". Marvel writer-editor Roy Thomas recalled in 2007:


title: Tigra

text: The series lasted four issues, each with a different art team. Severin was teamed with acclaimed 1950s EC Comics artist Wally Wood as inker for the premiere, followed by Severin and inker Jim Mooney in issue #2; newcomer Paty Greer co-penciling with 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books legend Bill Everett, who also inked, in issue #3; and Jim Starlin and Alan Weiss co-penciling the finale, with Frank McLaughlin inking. A fifth issue of the series was drawn by Ramona Fradon, but the title was cancelled due to lack of sales on previous issues. Severin attributes the character's sensual appearance to Wood: "I remember saying, 'My God, I drew this woman and Wally inked her like she's wrapped in Saran Wrap.' His storytelling always had lovely inking, nice blacks and everything, but I didn't have her that revealing. The boys loved his work, though."


title: Tigra

text: The Cat appeared alongside Spider-Man in "Marvel Team-Up" #8 (April 1973) during her series' brief run. After a year's absence, she was revamped as the superpowered, part-animal Tigra in a two-part story in "Giant-Size Creatures" #1 (July 1974; "Giant-Size" refers to the comic's page-count, not giant creatures) and "Werewolf by Night" #20 (Aug. 1974). Writer Tony Isabella recounted "My memory may be a bit shaky here, but I recall the Giant-Size books were approved and put on the schedule without a lot of lead time...I think I got the assignment one day, pitched the idea on the next, and one day later was sitting down with Roy [Thomas] and Gil Kane to work out what Tigra would look like." He also names Don Perlin and John Romita, Sr. as having a hand in Tigra's appearance, and credits Thomas with coming up with the name. Tigra made her solo-feature debut with a 15-page story in the black-and-white horror-comics magazine "Monsters Unleashed" #10 (Feb. 1975), followed by a brief run in the umbrella series "Marvel Chillers" #3-7 (Feb.-Oct. 1976), and one more solo story in "Marvel Premiere" #42 (June 1978). Like "The Claws of the Cat", "Marvel Chillers" was also cancelled due to struggling sales.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra went on to guest star throughout the Marvel line, often appearing in issues of the superhero-team comic "The Avengers" and later in the cast of the spin-off comic "West Coast Avengers". She starred in the four-issue miniseries "Tigra" (May-Aug. 2002) by writer Christina Z. and artist Mike Deodato, and has since guest starred in "She-Hulk", "Civil War", various Avengers comics, and elsewhere.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra appeared as a supporting character in "Avengers Academy" from issue #1 (Aug. 2010) to its final issue, #39 (Jan. 2013).


title: Tigra

text: Greer Grant was a native of Chicago, Illinois. She was a sophomore at the University of Chicago when she met her future husband, policeman Bill Nelson. She left college to marry him. The marriage was a strong one, flawed only by Bill's overprotective nature. Bill was killed in an off-duty shooting, and Greer had to find a job of her own. After weeks of searching, she ran into her old physics professor, Dr. Joanne Tumulo, and signed on as her research assistant.


title: Tigra

text: Dr. Tumulo was working on human enhancement methods effective for women. For several reasons, including distrust for the haphephobic Malcolm Donalbain (Tumulo's financial backer), distaste for Shirlee Bryant (his chosen subject), and Greer's own enthusiasm, Tumolo decided to let her friend undergo the treatment as well.


title: Tigra

text: Greer emerged from the regimen with greatly enhanced physical and mental capabilities, including the peculiar tendency to feel others' pain. Shirlee emerged with similar physical capacity but considerably less mental empowerment, a result they blamed on her lack of adherence to the preparatory regimen.


title: Tigra

text: Tumolo then investigated further, and discovered that Donalbain had created a mind-control device and a set of cat-themed gadgets, with which he intended to make Shirlee his mindless superhuman enforcer. However, she fell to her death while testing the grapple-claw.


title: Tigra

text: Stealing away, Dr. Tumulo presented the story to Greer, along with a spare Cat costume and gadget-set as evidence. However, her intention to call the police was thwarted by a bombing at her lab, which claimed her life.


title: Tigra

text: Greer then donned the suit, and set out to put an end to his scheme. With her powers, she adapted quickly to the strange garb and attacked Donalbain's headquarters, before convincing him to commit suicide rather than let himself be touched. A fire set off by the earlier fight then destroyed Donalbain's headquarters, including his copy of the enhancement machine.


title: Tigra

text: Years later, another of Donalbain's Cat costumes surfaced when Patsy Walker discovered it while accompanying the Avengers. Donning it, she began calling herself the Hellcat.


title: Tigra

text: "The Tigra" is the historical defender/champion of the Cat People, a humanoid race created by sorcery during the Dark Ages. Concerned about the Cat People's uncontrollable population growth and savagery, a community of sorcerers eventually banished the entire original Cat People population to a demonic netherworldly realm.


title: Tigra

text: The two very first Cat People, who were themselves very capable scientists and sorcerers, were able to evade banishment through their magic. They continued to live among humanity in secret and worked to refine the Cat People's biology to make a peaceful integration into the human population possible. They were constantly persecuted and required a protector. Discovering that the original spell for transforming cats into Cat People like themselves had been rendered inoperative, they created a process combining science, sorcery, and focused mental power that could transform a human female into a "Tigra", a humanoid tiger-like being with abilities that far surpassed those of either race.


title: Tigra

text: This unnamed first Tigra defended the Cat People with great effectiveness, and allowed a new community to establish themselves on Earth, separate from the group that had been banished. This new population continued to live amongst humanity in secrecy through the present day, relying on enchantments that cast the illusion of a human appearance.


title: Tigra

text: Nothing is known about the other Tigras who may have existed, or even if there have been more than two. At the time when Greer was transformed into Tigra, "the Tigra" was only remembered by the Cat People as a distant, but powerful, legend. It has been strongly implied that only one Tigra can exist at any given time.


title: Tigra

text: Dr. Tumulo was revealed to be one of these modern Cat People. When members of HYDRA tracked Tumolo down to obtain "the Final Secret" (the Black Death plague, which was another creation of the first two Cat People), Greer once again donned the Cat costume and drove them off. However, she was mortally injured by a blast from one of their alpha radiation pistols.


title: Tigra

text: Greer regained consciousness in a Baja California cave, surrounded by a gathering of Cat People summoned by Tumolo. Rapidly dying from the radiation's effects, Greer was offered one last hope of survival: a combination of ancient science, sorcery, and mental power that would transform her into Tigra, the Cat People's legendary half-human, half-cat warrior. She readily consented, began wearing only her black bikini from this time on, and arose from the ceremony as a superhumanly-powered human-animal hybrid. Striped fur covered her entire body, her hands and feet bore razor-sharp claws, her teeth became long and pointed, and her eyes were now cat's eyes. In addition to superhuman strength and senses, she also gained many of the drives and instincts of a cat. Soon after, she encountered the Werewolf.


title: Tigra

text: Though initially unable to change back to her human self, Tigra received from the Cat People a mystical cat-headed amulet that allowed her to first create the illusion of her human form and later to change at will. She seldom made use of it, preferring her feline superpowered form and mostly abandoning her life as Greer Grant Nelson.


title: Tigra

text: Greer resumed her superhero career, with most of the world unaware that the woman who briefly fought crime as the Cat was now the feline Tigra. She fought alongside most of Marvel's heavy-hitters in wide-ranging adventures. She first battled Kraven the Hunter, and then teamed with Spider-Man against Kraven. She also became a friend and associate of the Fantastic Four.


title: Tigra

text: When the Avengers found themselves shorthanded, Moondragon used her mental powers to compel a dozen unaffiliated heroes (apparently selected at random) to travel to Avengers Mansion and audition for the vacant position. Though he disapproved of Moondragon's methods, Captain America offered Tigra a spot on the team.


title: Tigra

text: Although Tigra's first tenure with the Avengers was brief, she served well. She also aided the X-Men against Deathbird. Her time with the Avengers was highlighted by her saving the world from destruction by the Molecule Man single-handed, who intended to consume the planet's energy, like Galactus. Alone among the Avengers, she was able to get close enough to him to talk him out of his plan. She convinced him to seek help from a therapist and the Molecule Man has ceased to be a threat to this day.


title: Tigra

text: The Avengers fought the Ghost Rider, who blasted the team with his terror-inducing hellfire. The nature of Tigra's powers caused her to be affected by the exposure on a far deeper level than her teammates. She was left with great self-doubts about her qualifications as a member of Earth's premier superhero team, particularly alongside such heavy-hitters as Thor and Iron Man. Ultimately she resigned her membership, leaving the team on good terms.


title: Tigra

text: She resumed her modeling career, moving to San Francisco when employers on the East Coast proved unreceptive to the idea of a cat person model. There she befriended private investigator Jessica Drew, and aided her on several cases, but had no better luck with modeling work there than on the East Coast and accepted an offer from the Vision to become a founding member of the Avengers' new West Coast-based team. Alongside the new West Coast Avengers, she fought Graviton, and became a close friend of Wonder Man. She also began a flirtation with Henry Pym.


title: Tigra

text: While with the West Coast Avengers, she seemed to have shed the remainders of her hellfire-induced self-doubt. However, the cat-like aspects of her personality (such as a penchant for savagery and a need for affection) had begun to dominate her human intellect, causing her increasing distress. She sought help from her Avengers teammates in overcoming the "cat" side of her personality, which had caused her to become the lover of both Wonder Man and Henry Pym. She also encountered and fought the Werewolf. She was transported with the West Coast Avengers by Balkatar to the realm of the Cat People. Ultimately, she came into contact with the banished colony of Cat People, whose king agreed to resolve her crisis in exchange for carrying out her historical function by murdering the Cat People's longtime foe, Master Pandemonium. Though she initially accepted their terms, when the critical moment came at an arena in the Cat People's realm, Tigra refused to violate the Avengers' code against killing, and failed to kill Master Pandemonium. The Cat People stripped her of her "Tigra soul" (the peculiar articulation of her Tigra powers in this demonic realm). She was reduced to her normal, pre-transformation human state.


title: Tigra

text: The Hellcat, who had accompanied Greer and the West Coast Avengers, lent Greer the super-suit that she used to wear as the Cat, and a battle ensued. As the tide began to turn against the Cat People, their leader released the "Tigra soul" as a means of confusing Greer. The tactic backfired: the cat-suit had been designed by a Cat Person (Tumolo) specifically to amplify Greer's human capabilities, so instead of Greer being dominated by the "Tigra soul" as before, the suit caused her human and feline personalities to successfully integrate together.


title: Tigra

text: This time, Greer's transformation into the legendary cat-warrior was much more complete than before. Her strength and abilities were far greater than they were originally. Her appearance became more feline, and she grew a tail like the rest of the Cat People. She also lost the ability to shift back to a human form, though as before she showed no sense of loss for her human identity.


title: Tigra

text: Her transformation was so complete and the Tigra legend was so strong among the Cat People that they immediately ceased hostilities. Tigra continues to hold a position of significant reverence among the Cat People.


title: Tigra

text: The transformation also resolved the conflicts between the human and feline aspects of her personality. Tigra could now exploit the full range and ferocity of her abilities without fear of going so far that she would lose control of her actions, and she could also indulge her natural feline inclinations (such as hunting and chasing prey for enjoyment) without feeling guilty or self-conscious. This integration was confirmed in concrete ways immediately upon the team's return to Earth. Tigra performed a sport dive off the highest span of the Golden Gate Bridge, exhibiting no signs of any injury or fear of the water. She also terminated her ongoing relationship with Hank Pym, explaining that although she no longer felt a cat-like need to seek affection at every opportunity, she had no conventional human desire to be tied down to one mate, either.


title: Tigra

text: She was captured by Graviton at one point, but freed the Avengers from him. Around this time, the Arthurian Lady of the Lake summoned the West Coast Avengers to England to aid the superhero team Excalibur. With the others, Tigra ventured into the realm of limbo to help stop Doctor Doom's mad plans to gain power at the cost of killing everyone in Britain.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra briefly left the West Coast Avengers in a dispute over the Avengers' policy against killing. Tigra stated that she believed by her very nature that killing prey was sometimes necessary. She joined Mockingbird and the Moon Knight in forming an independent group.


title: Tigra

text: After returning to the team, Tigra inexplicably underwent another "inversion" and transformed into a more animal-like feline form, losing her human intellect completely and becoming a danger to her fellow Avengers. This was possibly due to the reality-warping machinations of Immortus, who at the time sought to distract the team so as to have unimpeded access to the Scarlet Witch. Tigra was forcibly shrunken down to sub-house cat size by Hank Pym and kept in a cage in his lab while the team tended to other urgent matters. She escaped and traveled into suburbia, where she lived as a wild animal. She was ultimately rescued and restored to her former appearance and stability by noted witch Agatha Harkness, who was an associate of the West Coast Avengers at the time.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra resumed her membership in the West Coast Avengers. On an intelligence-gathering mission in Japan, she and Iron Man battled a team of Asian supervillains known as the Pacific Overlords. During the fight, Iron Man was incapacitated and Tigra suffered a deep, critical stab wound to the abdomen before dispatching her attackers and making her escape. She flew away in the Avengers' Quinjet, intending to report back to headquarters on the Overlords' plans, but severe loss of blood caused her to lose consciousness and crash land in Arnhem Land, an Aboriginal territory in northern Australia. Rescued by Aborigines, she decided to stay put while she recovered from her wounds, naming Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter) as her replacement. She briefly made Arnhem Land her home, enjoying the company of the Aborigines and the pleasures of living wild.


title: Tigra

text: After the West Coast Avengers disbanded, Tigra resumed her wide-ranging adventures. Though no longer an active Avenger, she continued to participate in Avengers operations when needed as a member of the team's extended family.


title: Tigra

text: With the aid of a new transformation device to disguise her true identity from her fellow officers, Tigra spent some time on the New York City police force. She focused much of her time on a personal case and in combating a force of vigilante police officers.


title: Tigra

text: Later, mystical forces which attacked all Avengers brought her to the Avengers Mansion. There, she and all the other Avengers were entrapped by Morgan le Fay, to live out in an alternate universe where le Fay ruled, fighting alongside the others as one of the "queen"'s guards under the name "Grimalkin". After the defeat of Morgan, Tigra went off into space with Starfox to enjoy the pleasures found there. She appeared off and on, having a series of adventures as part of the ad hoc space-faring Avengers Infinity team in which she helps in preventing an extra-universal race from destroying all life in our universe.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra returned to Earth with the Avengers Infinity team during the "Maximum Security" storyline, during which she helped to save the Earth from becoming a penal colony for alien criminals. She played a particularly crucial role in events when the Infinity team were captured after discovering the Kree's role in recent events, with the Kree intending to lobotomize the team and make it appear as though they had destroyed another planet; due to the attention the Kree had paid to keeping the more powerful team members contained, they were unprepared for Tigra, the weakest member, to escape her bonds by returning to her smaller human form, allowing her to escape her shackles and free her teammates in time to reveal the truth.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra fought along Iron Man's side during the Civil War. She supported the Superhuman Registration Act, although she expressed sincere concern about the fate of Captain America and the other heroes who opposed the Act and turned fugitive. Nonetheless, in "Civil War Files", Tigra was listed not merely as having registered to comply with the law, but also as having become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. to actively aid in its enforcement.


title: Tigra

text: Pretending to switch allegiances, she infiltrated Captain America's Secret Avengers team as a mole. She passed information to Iron Man undetected until the very end of the conflict, when she was discovered and "outed" by Hulkling, Captain America's own spy among the pro-registration forces. Captain America kept quiet, exploiting her presence to feed disinformation to Iron Man about his team's plan to rescue imprisoned heroes later that day.


title: Tigra

text: Greer has been identified as one of the 142 registered superheroes who are part of the Fifty State Initiative. She served as a founding instructor at Camp Hammond, the training compound for the Initiative, and resumed her romantic relationship with fellow superhero Yellowjacket, unaware that he had been kidnapped and replaced by a Skrull duplicate.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra was captured by Chilean soldiers controlled by the Puppet Master, who sculpted a figure in her likeness and thus put her under his mental control. He used her and the other superhuman women he had enslaved (including Stature, Dusk, Araña, and Silverclaw) as elite guards at his South American base of operations. Tigra and the rest of the heroes were restored to their normal free will when Ms. Marvel and her S.H.I.E.L.D. strike team liberated the compound and killed the Puppet Master.


title: Tigra

text: Later she was shot and severely beaten by the Hood in her home in retaliation for having beaten Jigsaw, a member of his fledgling super-criminal organization. While Tigra was incapacitated, the Hood threatened the life of her mother, and Jigsaw stole the mystic talisman she occasionally uses to transform to her human identity.


title: Tigra

text: The Hood and his entire crew later appeared at her apartment, demanding to know the location of the New Avengers' secret headquarters. Tigra intentionally gave him information that led them into an ambush. She joined in the battle and personally beat down the Hood, saving the life of Iron Fist in the process. By the time of the Hood's second appearance in her apartment, she had completely recovered from her injuries and had either reacquired her talisman or replaced it with a close facsimile.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra continued to serve in the Initiative as a senior staff member of the central organization, and was the leader of the Arkansas Initiative team "the Battalion,", until the Initiative was taken over by Norman Osborn and she learned of the Hood's role as his right-hand man. She has also appeared as a member of She-Hulk's "Lady Liberators" team.


title: Tigra

text: After the Skrull invasion, Tigra reveals to the Hellcat and Trauma that she believes herself to be pregnant by Yellowjacket, though she is unsure if the baby is the real Hank's or the Skrull impostor's. She tells Trauma that she has decided to terminate the pregnancy regardless of the father's identity. She later decides to leave the camp for Arkansas, planning to train Razorback, who had been replaced by a Skrull and recently returned, and was eager to take the impostor's place in the Battalion. When she was nearly injured by Ragnarok's hammer, she seemed to show concern for the baby.


title: Tigra

text: When Norman Osborn told her that he was going to take her baby for genetic testing and that moreover he had made the Hood the chief operating officer of the Initiative, Tigra went on the run with Gauntlet despite having been offered her choice of prestige assignments as a registered hero. She co-founded the Avengers Resistance, choosing its name as a means of restoring honor to the legendary team's traditions. Now wanted as an outlaw, she began exacting personal vengeance on members of the Hood's gang, starting by savagely attacking and beating one of the Brothers Grimm inside his home. She serves as the team's de facto leader.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra is later approached by Ultra Girl, asking why she and the Avengers Resistance are going after the villains in the Initiative. In response, she shows her a video of the Hood savagely beating her. Now, she wants to get back at them, by showing them that they are vulnerable...by making them scared and broken. Tigra later ambushes Mandrill.


title: Tigra

text: She claimed her final retribution against the Hood not on the battlefield, but after he was rendered powerless and taken into custody. After telling him that she was perfectly comfortable with the idea of taking his life, the sight of his baby in the hallway outside convinced her that dooming him to either a life in prison or on the run would be a far worse punishment, as he would never get to hold his child ever again; and to kill him would jeopardize her future with her own baby. Tigra gave birth to what is apparently a normal Cat Person kitten during the transition between Tony Stark's administration of the Initiative and Norman Osborn's; the gestation period was a mere two months, due to her feline physiology. She hid the infant from Osborn, entrusting its care to the Cat People until the end of hostilities. She named the child William, after her late husband.


title: Tigra

text: At the conclusion of the Siege, Tigra stated a new motivation not only to restore the good name of the Avengers, but also to ensure that her child will grow up in a safer world.


title: Tigra

text: Following the arrest and incarceration of Norman Osborn, the dismantling of his criminal superhero teams, and the repeal of the Superhuman Registration Act, the President names Steve Rogers (the original Captain America) as America's new head of national security. Rogers seeks to assemble a collection of heroes to inspire the nation and the world as a new organization of Avengers. Tigra is among the 25 heroes he personally invites to join him in creating a new Heroic Age.


title: Tigra

text: Alongside Hank Pym, Quicksilver, Jocasta, Speedball and Justice, Tigra serves as part of the founding faculty of Avengers Academy, training a new generation of heroes in the traditions of the world's elite superhero team.


title: Tigra

text: During this time, Tigra learns that the Skrull posing as Pym was indeed William's father, but as he had disguised himself as Pym at the genetic level, it means that William is half-human, rather than half-Skrull, with Pym technically being the genetic father. After learning this, Tigra asks Pym to take care of William in the event of anything happening to her.


title: Tigra

text: When a former associate of The Hood plans to release the video of Tigra's beating commercially, Tigra arranges to have the footage air in its entirety during a live interview, so that her own experience may serve as an example to other trauma survivors and inspire them to seek help. During this same interview, she announces her formation of a series of "Always an Avenger" centers to provide veterans, children, spouses and any other trauma victims with needed counseling and resources.


title: Tigra

text: Members of the existing Avengers Academy class react to the initial news of the video by tracking the unpowered Hood down, attacking him, and releasing video of the attack on the Internet, rather than taking the escaped Hood into custody and returning him to jail. Tigra becomes furious at their counter-heroic actions and by their refusal to appreciate the seriousness of their transgression; she summarily expels all those involved. Later, after talking with the rest of the faculty staff, they decide to put all those involved on probation instead.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra was one of 10 female heroes recruited by Misty Knight to aid her and the Valkyrie in repelling a group of Asgardian Doom Maidens. At the end of this adventure, the Valkyrie comes to realize that Tigra and three of the other heroines are among those deemed by the All-Mother to be worthy to become shield-maidens like herself, symbols of honor and valor and courage, to one day be led by the Valkyrie into battle and death.


title: Tigra

text: During the "Secret Empire" storyline, Tigra appears as a member of the Underground which is a resistance movement against HYDRA ever since they took over the United States.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra appeared in the Fresh Start revival of the West Coast Avengers, in which she had been changed into a giant 200-Foot tall woman with her mind set in a feral state. After the new West Coast Avengers roster defeated her, they worked on stopping other feral giant women mutated into such by M.O.D.O.K. in his failed quest for love. Once returned to her original self, she thanked the WCA, went to hunt M.O.D.O.K. and wished the new WCA the best of luck. During the 17th birthday party for Nadia van Dyne-Pym, the long lost daughter of Hank Pym, Tigra introduced William to Nadia as her half-brother. With the introduction serving as her birthday gift, Tigra had tears of joy that Nadia happily accepted her new brother and would be a big part in William's life.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra's powers are the result of a combination of science, magic, and mental energy utilized by Dr. Joanne Marie Tumulo and the other Cat People. Her physical appearance is distinctly cat-like. A thick, sleek coat of orange fur with black stripes covers her entire body. She has pointed ears, sharper-than-normal teeth with pronounced upper and lower canines, eyes with enlarged irises and vertically slitted pupils, and retractable claws on her feet and hands instead of nails. Her claws and teeth are sufficiently strong to puncture sheet steel, such as that found in a car body. Tigra also has a long semi-prehensile tail, and can willfully contact (but not grasp and lift) objects with it. Tigra's feline physiology grants her various superhuman attributes including superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, and resistance to physical injury. If she is injured, her physiology enables her to heal much faster and more extensively than an ordinary human.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra's senses of sight, smell, and hearing extend far into the superhuman range and are also superior to those of ordinary cats. Tigra can see farther, and with much greater clarity, than an ordinary human. She has this same level of clarity at night, and her vision also extends slightly into the infrared spectrum, allowing her to see in complete darkness.


title: Tigra

text: Her hearing is similarly enhanced, allowing her to hear a wider range of frequencies than a normal human as well as clearly hear sounds that would be far too faint for a human to detect. Exposure to intense, high-frequency sound is far more painful for Tigra than a normal human.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra's sense of smell is developed to the point that she can recognize a person by scent alone, and track an individual across great distances and through complex environments. She can also sense changes in a person's mood through changes in their scent.


title: Tigra

text: Thick pads on her feet, combined with her natural grace, allow her to move in almost complete silence.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra's thick coat of fur prevents her from losing body heat quickly. She has stated that she wears bikinis partly because a full set of clothes over her fur would cause her to overheat in warm environments and possibly pass out. In addition, she is completely comfortable with her feline appearance and is not annoyed by the inevitable attention.


title: Tigra

text: The unusual feline-human hybrid configuration of her brain makes her somewhat resistant to telepathic assaults. Though Tigra is not immune to such tactics, attackers have been forced to focus their powers carefully in order to use them effectively against her.


title: Tigra

text: Like all cats, the interconnective tissues of Tigra's skeleton are unusually resilient. On at least one occasion this allowed her to shift her bones to slip out of mechanical restraints that would have effectively held a normal human, though doing so was quite painful. This resiliency also contributes to many of her other super-powered abilities, such as her body's resistance to injury.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra possesses a mystical talisman that allows her to change her appearance from feline to human at will. She rarely uses it and only appears in her human form whenever circumstances require it. She regards her feline body as her natural form.


title: Tigra

text: She formerly possessed what was referred to as a "cat-soul" in addition to her "human soul". Though vaguely defined, her "two souls" were consistently depicted merely as a means to describe her conflicting human and feline instincts, and not as separate personalities or personas, and her "cat soul" was not the soul of any specific Cat Person from the past. Regardless of the definition of her "two souls", they were fully merged during Greer's second, more complete transformation into the legendary figure.


title: Tigra

text: Greer received a form of empathic ability when she became the Cat. She retains this ability as Tigra. With careful concentration, she can sense the emotions of others within her immediate proximity. She appears to prefer to achieve this same effect through her enhanced feline senses.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra is an experienced and formidable hand-to-hand combatant, with a unique fighting style that exploits her feline speed, agility, senses, and instincts. She is a superhumanly adept athlete and gymnast. Like all Avengers of her generation, she has sparred and trained extensively with Steve Rogers, the original Captain America.


title: Tigra

text: She is also a capable leader and pilot, qualified to operate Avengers aircraft as well as interstellar spacecraft.


title: Tigra

text: While working undercover in human guise, Tigra attended the New York Police Academy to investigate the decade-old murder of her husband Bill Nelson. After bringing the murderers to justice, she completed her training under her Greer Grant Nelson identity. While she does not serve as an active-duty police officer, she retains legal authority under both her civilian and superpowered identities and unofficial ties to the police community.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra possesses mystical abilities that have largely gone unexplored. In addition to using her mystic talisman to change her appearance from feline to human and back, she has been shown magically summoning the Balkatar, the Cat People's designated emissary to the Earthly plane. When Dr. Strange abdicated his position as Sorcerer Supreme, the Eye of Agamotto created a vision showing the many mystic beings who were potentially worthy and/or capable of assuming the title. An image of Tigra was included in this vision.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra's physiology is more feline than human. When she became pregnant via the Skrull pretending to be Hank Pym, she carried the baby to term in two months, producing a single Cat Person son named William after her late husband. William does not have any traces of Skrull DNA as the Skrull pretending to be Hank Pym imitated him down to a cellular level; thus, genetically, William is Hank Pym's son. William matures more quickly than a human baby would.


title: Tigra

text: Greer Nelson appears as the Cat in several issues of this comic, which was designed for young readers as a joint project with the PBS series "The Electric Company". The Cat always appears in her costumed identity and is apparently based in New York City. She helps Spider-Man in several adventures, capturing villains like the Owl and Thanos. The second adventure is notorious among comic book fans for its portrayal of Thanos. He and the Cat are both looking for the Cosmic Cube. When Thanos gets hold of the powerful artifact, he attempts to flee in a helicopter with his name written on the side. Spider-Man and the Cat bring down the helicopter and recover the Cube. The story ends with the NYPD taking Thanos away in handcuffs.


title: Tigra

text: Tigra also exists in the alternative "all-ages" version of the Marvel Universe. Though identical in appearance to the main-universe Tigra, she wears a more modest suit which covers more of her torso than her familiar bikini. She is working as an independent private investigator when a masked man, purporting to be a famous author researching a book about the Avengers, hires Tigra to secretly trail and collect information about its members. After two weeks of following individual Avengers and attempting to avoid detection, she observes the team fighting a losing battle against the Griffin. She leaps in to join the fray. The Griffin is subdued with her help and the team reveals to Tigra that her mysterious client was actually Spider-Man; the assignment was merely a ruse designed to evaluate her potential as an Avenger. She is offered a spot on the team and eagerly accepts.


title: Tigra

text: In the House of M reality in which Magneto rules the world and mutants are the dominant species, Tigra exploits her feline appearance to "pass" as a mutant. She operates unnoticed in mainstream mutant society on behalf of pro-human groups, first as a member of the Sapien Liberation Army and then as a founding member of Luke Cage's underground "Avengers" team, as well as becoming his lover. During an FBI ambush set up by Misty Knight, Tigra spots the Taskmaster taking aim at Cage from a distant rooftop and leaps into the line of fire. She takes the bullet, saving Cage's life, and dies at the scene.


title: Tigra

text: She also appears in the "Marvel Mangaverse" alternate reality as Dr. Strange's assistant/familiar, bound by a magical curse that keeps her in werecat form until she completes 1,000 good deeds. She survives the first and second volumes of the Marvel Mangaverse series, but is murdered within the first few pages of the third and final volume; "New Mangaverse: The Rings of Fate".


title: Tigra

text: In the "Marvel Zombies" continuity, Tigra as a zombie is seen in "Ultimate Fantastic Four" #23. She is part of a huge group of superpowered zombies who have learned of the existence of a trio of humans. The humans are successfully rescued by this universe's Magneto and the Ultimate Fantastic Four. Later, Zombie Tigra and Zombie Shamrock encounter a trio of travelers from mainstream Marvel continuity: Deadpool and two A.I.M. scientists. Zombie Tigra is partially obliterated by the scientists' firearms.


title: Tigra

text: The Ultimate Marvel universe version of Tigra appeared as a member of the West Coast Ultimates. She was originally a young police officer named Marie Grant who, after being convicted of using excessive force, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Nick Fury secured Marie's release on the condition that she joined his new team of Ultimates, which led to S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists granting her superhuman abilities.


title: Tigra

text: In Warp World, a copy of the Marvel Universe when it was folded in half during the "Infinity Wars" storyline, Tigra was fused with the Wendigo, creating the Wentigra. Greer Baptise was a detective who was mortally wounded by a gunshot and was retrieved by a cult known as the Cat People. In order for her to survive, they offered her to eat human meat, which cursed her into becoming the Wentigra. She was then unwillingly cured by Weapon Hex (a fusion of X-23 and the Scarlet Witch).


title: Tigra

text: "" depiction of Tigra appears in "", voiced by Liz Cackowski. She is a washed-up actress whose main source of income are convention appearances.


title: Diego Murillo Bejarano

text: Diego Fernando Murillo Bejarano (born 23 February 1961), also known as Don Berna or Adolfo Paz, is a former leader of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia paramilitary group, as well as the leader of The Office of Envigado cartel.


title: Diego Murillo Bejarano

text: His squad was involved with the kidnapping of a drug lord who in revenge killed every squad member except Murillo, who managed to escape to the city of Itagüí. In this city he became acquainted with the Galeano family, partners of Pablo Escobar and members of the Medellín Cartel. The Galeanos controlled then what was called the Oficina de Envigado. Murillo became one of the top aides of the family, and it was as such that he received the gun injury that would give him a permanent limp. The Galeanos, however, fell out of favor with Escobar, who ordered them killed in 1992. Murillo managed to survive and then joined Los Pepes, an organization headed by the Castaño brothers, Carlos and Fidel to counter Escobar. He also managed to gain control over the illegal businesses controlled by the Galeanos in Itagüí, including the Oficina de Envigado.


title: Diego Murillo Bejarano

text: Soon, Murillo had become the leader of the many criminal and hitmen gangs in Medellín, particularly the fearsome "La Terraza," which was involved in theft, blackmail, extortion, assassination, kidnapping, and drug traffic. Around the year 2000, however, members of La Terraza rebelled against Murillo and started a war against him. By then, Murillo had become well acquainted with the Castaño brothers and had also become the commander of two paramilitary blocs, the Cacique Nutibara Bloc and the Granada Heroes Bloc. He also gained control over much of the drug traffic in the area.


title: Diego Murillo Bejarano

text: He became third in the chain of command of the AUC and a key player during the peace process in Santa Fe de Ralito, Córdoba between his organization and the government of Colombia, and he demobilized in November, 2003. However, in 2005 he was accused by a court of being responsible for the death of a deputy. He then escaped from Santa Fe de Ralito and surrendered to authorities four days later.


title: Diego Murillo Bejarano

text: In the early morning of May 13, 2008, Murillo Bejarano and 13 other paramilitary leaders were taken from their jail cells in a surprise action by the Colombian government. According to Colombian Interior Minister Carlos Holguín, they refused to comply with the country's Peace and Justice law and were therefore extradited to the United States. Many critics argued that this action would actually be favorable to the criminal as he would only be charged for drug trafficking in the United States, as opposed to being charged for his many murders and other illegal activities in Colombia. The next day, Don Berna pleaded not guilty to money laundering and drug trafficking charges filed by United States (federal) prosecutors of the Southern District of New York State. The judge ruled the trial would begin September 16, 2008.


title: Diego Murillo Bejarano

text: The National Movement of State Crimes, a coalition of several organizations of victims who suffered from state or paramilitary violence, has asked for the "return the paramilitary chiefs to the Colombian authorities so they may be processed by the ordinary justice system and not under the framework of the Law of Justice and Peace, since this framework benefits the victimizers and not the victims, since they have not told all of the truth, have not made comprehensive reparations to the victims, and have not dismantled their criminal structures".


title: Diego Murillo Bejarano

text: The Office in Colombia of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stated: "according to Colombian law, the reasons claimed by the President of the Republic to proceed with the previously-suspended extraditions are also grounds for their removal from the application of the 'Law of Justice and Peace' and for the loss of the benefits established therein".


title: Diego Murillo Bejarano

text: The Inter-American Commission stated that this "affects the Colombian State's obligation to guarantee victims’ rights to truth, justice, and reparations for the crimes committed by the paramilitary groups. The extradition impedes the investigation and prosecution of such grave crimes through the avenues established by the Justice and Peace Law in Colombia and through the Colombian justice system's regular criminal procedures. It also closes the door to the possibility that victims can participate directly in the search for truth about crimes committed during the conflict, and limits access to reparations for damages that were caused. This action also interferes with efforts to determine links between agents of the State and these paramilitary leaders."


title: Camarines Sur

text: Camarines Sur (; ), officially the Province of Camarines Sur, is a province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region on Luzon. Its capital is Pili and the province borders Camarines Norte and Quezon to the northwest, and Albay to the south. To the east lies the island province of Catanduanes across the Maqueda Channel.


title: Camarines Sur

text: Camarines Sur is the largest among the six provinces in the Bicol Region both by population and land area. Its territory includes two cities: Naga, the lone chartered city, as the province's religious, cultural, financial, commercial, industrial and business center; and Iriga, a component city, as the center of the Rinconada area and Riŋkonāda Language. Within the province lies Lake Buhi, where the smallest commercially harvested fish, the Sinarapan ("Mistichthys luzonensis"), can be found. The province is also home to the critically endangered Isarog Agta language, one of the three critically endangered languages in the Philippines according to UNESCO.


title: Camarines Sur

text: The earliest settlers in Camarines Sur are the Isarog Agta people who live within the circumference of Mount Isarog and the Iraya Agta who live within the circumference of Mount Iraya. They have been in the province for thousands of years and have been one of the first settlers in the entire Philippines.


title: Camarines Sur

text: In July 1569, Luis Enríquez de Guzmán, a member of the expedition led by Maestro de Campo Mateo de Saz and Captain Martín de Goiti, led a group which crossed from Burias and Ticao islands and landed on a coastal settlement called "Ibalon" in what is now the province of Sorsogon. From this point another expedition was sent to explore the interior and founded the town of "Camalig".


title: Camarines Sur

text: In 1573, Spanish "conquistador" Juan de Salcedo penetrated the Bicol Peninsula from the north as made it as far south as Libon, establishing the settlement of Santiago de Libon. José María de Peñaranda, the first governor of Albay and a military engineer, was made "corregidor" of the province on 14 May 1834. He constructed public buildings and built roads and bridges. The entire Bicol Peninsula was organized as one province with two divisions, Camarines in the northwest and Ibalon in the southeast. In 1636, the two were separated.