title: Heterodox economics

text: There is no single "heterodox economic theory"; there are many different "heterodox theories" in existence. What they all share, however, is a rejection of the neoclassical orthodoxy as representing the appropriate tool for understanding the workings of economic and social life. The reasons for this rejection may vary. Some of the elements commonly found in heterodox critiques are listed below.


title: Heterodox economics

text: One of the most broadly accepted principles of neoclassical economics is the assumption of the "rationality of economic agents". Indeed, for a number of economists, the notion of rational maximizing behavior is taken to be synonymous with economic behavior (Hirshleifer 1984). When some economists' studies do not embrace the rationality assumption, they are seen as placing the analyses outside the boundaries of the Neoclassical economics discipline (Landsberg 1989, 596). Neoclassical economics begins with the "a priori" assumptions that agents are rational and that they seek to maximize their individual utility (or profits) subject to environmental constraints. These assumptions provide the backbone for rational choice theory.


title: Heterodox economics

text: Many heterodox schools are critical of the homo economicus model of human behavior used in standard neoclassical model. A typical version of the critique is that of Satya Gabriel:


title: Heterodox economics

text: Neoclassical economic theory is grounded in a particular conception of human psychology, agency or decision-making. It is assumed that all human beings make economic decisions so as to maximize pleasure or utility. Some heterodox theories reject this basic assumption of neoclassical theory, arguing for alternative understandings of how economic decisions are made and/or how human psychology works. It is possible to accept the notion that humans are pleasure seeking machines, yet reject the idea that economic decisions are governed by such pleasure seeking. Human beings may, for example, be unable to make choices consistent with pleasure maximization due to social constraints and/or coercion. Humans may also be unable to correctly assess the choice points that are most likely to lead to maximum pleasure, even if they are unconstrained (except in budgetary terms) in making such choices. And it is also possible that the notion of pleasure seeking is itself a meaningless assumption because it is either impossible to test or too general to refute. Economic theories that reject the basic assumption of economic decisions as the outcome of pleasure maximization are heterodox.


title: Heterodox economics

text: Shiozawa emphasizes that economic agents act in a complex world and therefore impossible for them to attain maximal utility point. They instead behave as if there are a repertories of many ready made rules, one of which they chose according to relevant situation.


title: Heterodox economics

text: In microeconomic theory, cost-minimization by consumers and by firms implies the existence of supply and demand correspondences for which market clearing equilibrium prices exist, if there are large numbers of consumers and producers. Under convexity assumptions or under some marginal-cost pricing rules, each equilibrium will be Pareto efficient: In large economies, non-convexity also leads to quasi-equilibria that are nearly efficient.


title: Heterodox economics

text: However, the concept of market equilibrium has been criticized by Austrians, post-Keynesians and others, who object to applications of microeconomic theory to real-world markets, when such markets are not usefully approximated by microeconomic models. Heterodox economists assert that micro-economic models rarely capture reality.


title: Heterodox economics

text: Mainstream microeconomics may be defined in terms of optimization and equilibrium, following the approaches of Paul Samuelson and Hal Varian. On the other hand, heterodox economics may be labeled as falling into the nexus of institutions, history, and social structure.


title: Heterodox economics

text: Over the past two decades, the intellectual agendas of heterodox economists have taken a decidedly pluralist turn. Leading heterodox thinkers have moved beyond the established paradigms of Austrian, Feminist, Institutional-Evolutionary, Marxian, Post Keynesian, Radical, Social, and Sraffian economics—opening up new lines of analysis, criticism, and dialogue among dissenting schools of thought. This cross-fertilization of ideas is creating a new generation of scholarship in which novel combinations of heterodox ideas are being brought to bear on important contemporary and historical problems, such as socially grounded reconstructions of the individual in economic theory; the goals and tools of economic measurement and professional ethics; the complexities of policymaking in today's global political economy; and innovative connections among formerly separate theoretical traditions (Marxian, Austrian, feminist, ecological, Sraffian, institutionalist, and post-Keynesian) (for a review of post-Keynesian economics, see Lavoie (1992); Rochon (1999)).


title: Heterodox economics

text: David Colander, an advocate of complexity economics, argues that the ideas of heterodox economists are now being discussed in the mainstream without mention of the heterodox economists, because the tools to analyze institutions, uncertainty, and other factors have now been developed by the mainstream. He suggests that heterodox economists should embrace rigorous mathematics and attempt to work from within the mainstream, rather than treating it as an enemy.


title: Heterodox economics

text: Some schools of heterodox economic thought have also taken a transdisciplinary approach. Thermoeconomics is based on the claim that human economic processes are governed by the second law of thermodynamics. The posited relationship between economic theory, energy and entropy, has been extended further by systems scientists to explain the role of energy in biological evolution in terms of such economic criteria as productivity, efficiency, and especially the costs and benefits of the various mechanisms for capturing and utilizing available energy to build biomass and do work.


title: Heterodox economics

text: Various student movements have emerged in response to the exclusion of heterodox economics in the curricula of most economics degrees. The International Student Initiative for Pluralist Economics was set up as an umbrella network for various smaller university groups such as Rethinking Economics to promote pluralism in economics, including more heterodox approaches.


title: Lydia Lunch

text: Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959) is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no wave scene as the singer and guitarist of Teenage Jesus and the Jerks.


title: Lydia Lunch

text: Her work typically features provocative and confrontational noise music delivery, and has maintained an anti-commercial ethic, operating independently of major labels and distributors. The "Boston Phoenix" named Lunch one of the ten most influential performers of the 1990s. Her collaboration with Sonic Youth called "Death Valley '69" was named one of "The 50 Most Evil Songs Ever" by "Kerrang!"


title: Lydia Lunch

text: Lunch was born on June 2, 1959, in Rochester, New York and is of German and Italian descent. She moved to New York City at the age of 16 and eventually moved into a communal household of artists and musicians. After befriending Alan Vega and Martin Rev at Max's Kansas City, she founded the short-lived but influential no-wave band Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, with James Chance. Both Teenage Jesus and the Jerks and the Contortions, Chance's subsequent band, played on the no wave compilation "No New York", produced by Brian Eno. Lunch later appeared on two songs on "James White and the Blacks" album, "Off-White". She was in two other short lived bands before launching her solo career in 1980, Beirut Slump and 8 Eyed Spy. In the mid-1980s, she formed the recording and publishing company "Widowspeak Productions" (also known as just "Widowspeak"), on which she continues to release her own material, from music to spoken word. Two albums published by Lunch's label were released in 2013: "Collision Course & Trust The Witch", by Big Sexy Noise (released on Cherry Red), and "Retrovirus" (released on Interbang Records); both albums are by Lunch's musical projects.


title: Lydia Lunch

text: She released her studio album "Smoke in the Shadows" in November 2004, through Atavistic Records and Breakin Beats, after a six-year break from music. Nels Cline, the lead guitarist of alternative rock band Wilco, was featured on the album. "Smoke in the Shadows" was met with positive reviews by Allmusic, PopMatters, and Tiny Mix Tapes.


title: Lydia Lunch

text: In 2009 Lunch formed the band Big Sexy Noise. The group features Lunch on vocals, James Johnston (guitars), Terry Edwards (organ, saxophone), and Ian White (drums). Johnston, White and Edwards are members of the British band Gallon Drunk. A six-track eponymous EP was released on June 1, 2009, through Sartorial Records, and included a cover of Lou Reed's song "Kill Your Sons," as well as "The Gospel Singer", a song co-written with Gordon. The debut, self-titled album, "Big Sexy Noise", was released in 2010, followed by "Trust The Witch" in 2011. For both albums, Lunch and her band completed tours throughout Europe.


title: Lydia Lunch

text: In 2010, The Jeffrey Lee Pierce Sessions Project launched "We Are Only Riders", the first of a series of four albums featuring Pierce's previously-unreleased works-in-progress. The album features interpretations of Pierce's work by friends, collaborators, and admirers, including Lunch. Lunch also contributed to the second album from the project, "The Journey is Long", which was released in April 2012.


title: Lydia Lunch

text: Although the Pierce Sessions Project's third and final album, "The Task Has Overwhelmed Us", was due for release in late 2012, the schedule was changed after the release of the second installment. Glitterhouse Records, the label producing the collection, instead released a third album titled "Axles & Sockets" in May 2014, on which Lunch performs "The Journey Is Long" with Pierce's recordings. The label explained that the third album has become the "penultimate" full-length release of the Project, but did not name the final album, or its release date.


title: Lydia Lunch

text: Lunch released the album "Retrovirus" (also the name of the band Lunch has played with since then) in 2013 on Interbang Records and ugEXPLODE (the vast majority of the album tracks are published by Widowspeak). Together with band members Weasel Walter, Algis Kizys, and Bob Bert, Lunch performed a show following the album's release at the Bowery Electric venue in New York City, in May 2013. In March 2022 the Center for Popular Music (CPM) at Middle Tennessee State University named her the recipient of the CPM Fellows Award. The only previous recipients of this honor were Barry Gibb and Lamont Dozier.


title: Lydia Lunch

text: She appeared in two films by directors Scott B and Beth B. In "Black Box" she played a dominatrix, and in "Vortex" she played a private detective named Angel Powers. During this time, she also appeared in a number of films by Vivienne Dick, including "She Had Her Gun All Ready" (1978) and "Beauty Becomes The Beast" (1979), co-starring with Pat Place. In 2011, Lunch appeared in "Mutantes: punk, porn, feminism", a film directed by Virginie Despentes, also featuring Annie Sprinkle and Catherine Breillat.


title: Lydia Lunch

text: She also wrote, directed, and acted in underground films, sometimes collaborating with underground filmmaker Nick Zedd and photographer Richard Kern.


title: Lydia Lunch

text: Lunch has recorded and performed as a spoken word artist, collaborating with artists such as Exene Cervenka, Henry Rollins, Don Bajema and Hubert Selby Jr. as well as hosting spoken-word performance night "The Unhappy Hour" at the Parlour Club.


title: Lydia Lunch

text: In 1997, Lunch released "Paradoxia", a loose autobiography, in which she documented her early life, sexual history, substance abuse and mental health problems. "Time Out New York" gave it a favorable review, while Bookslut ambiguously concluded "It's to the reader to determine whether Lunch's study goes deeper than that, or if instead, it's a kind of literary and philosophical repetition compulsion, a reprisal of greatest hits from male nihilists, sexual adventurers and chroniclers of deviance." "PopMatters" called it a "brutal but boring and predictable circus, about which Lunch shows no emotions. Only fatigue seems to have given her pause."


title: Lydia Lunch

text: Additionally, Lunch has authored both traditional books and comix (with graphic novel artist Ted McKeever).


title: Lydia Lunch

text: In 2013, Lunch ran self-empowerment workshops in locations such as Ojai, California, US and Rennes, France. In regard to the Rennes workshop, her inaugural self-empowerment event, Lunch recalled: "Every day people would come in that would have to get a hug. I felt like mother India." In April of that year, Lunch said that she is the producer of the Emilio Cubeiro album "Death of an Asshole". In 2014 Lunch shot a series of photographs with Austin, Texas-based artist, Darla Teagarden.


title: Lydia Lunch

text: In 2019 Lunch started the podcast "The Lydian Spin". Lunch hosts each weekly episode with bassist Tim Dahl.


title: Lydia Lunch

text: In 2004, she left the United States to live in Barcelona. She returned to the United States in 2017 and lives in Brooklyn.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: The Maybach 57 (chassis no. W240) and 62 (chassis no. V240) were the first automobile models of the Maybach brand since the brand's revival by DaimlerChrysler AG (now Mercedes-Benz Group AG). They are derived from the Mercedes-Benz Maybach concept car presented at the 1997 Tokyo Motor Show. The concept car was based on the Mercedes-Benz W140 S-class sedan platform, as were the production models. The Luxury Brand Status Index 2008 placed the Maybach in first place, ahead of Rolls-Royce and Bentley. The models ceased production in December 2012 due to continued financial losses for the marque, and sales at one-fifth the level of the profitable Rolls-Royce models.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: Wilhelm Maybach was an engineer who worked with Gottlieb Daimler to design combustion engines. The first Daimler-Maybach automobile was built in 1889. Over the years, the Maybach name developed into a brand name for automobiles that were typically very large, powerful, and luxurious. For example, the Maybach Zeppelin DS 8 Cabriolet built in 1929 had side sections that could be lowered completely to allow it to be used as a parade car. In 1998, DaimlerChrysler AG's competitor, BMW AG, purchased the ultra-luxury brand Rolls-Royce. The Maybach brand name was reintroduced in 2000 to be a direct challenger to BMW's top vehicle, the Rolls-Royce Phantom.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: Both Maybach models are variants of the same ultra-luxurious automobile. The model numbers reflect the respective lengths of the automobiles in decimetres. The 57 is more likely to be owner-driven, while the longer 62 is designed with a chauffeur in mind.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: Standard features of all models include, but are not limited to: a navigation system with voice recognition; power rear sunshade; rear-seat DVD entertainment system; interior air filter; front and rear seat massage; 21-speaker Bose premium sound system; power tilt/telescopic heated leather-wrapped-wood steering wheel with radio and climate controls; power trunk open/close; voice-activated AM/FM radio with 6-disc CD changer; keyless start; heated front and rear seats; cooled front seats; adaptive cruise control; premium leather upholstery; 18-way power front seats; 14-way power rear seats; heated cupholders; rear beverage refrigerator; rear pop-out folding table trays; rearview camera; pneumatic soft close doors; iPod adapter; wireless cell phone link; outside-temperature indicator; universal garage door opener.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: Every Maybach has 2 climate control systems: one for the front compartment and one for the rear. Each can be programmed and operated independently, producing four-zone climate control.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: An upgraded version of the Mercedes air suspension system called AirMatic Dual Control is standard, featuring air springs complemented by an additional spring-rate adjustment system with adaptive damping.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: Options for the Maybach 62 and 62S include: 18-way power rear seats (replacing 14-way); power side sunshades; cooled rear seats; wireless headphones; electrochromic power panoramic sunroof (replacing power sunroof); steering wheel mounted navigation controls.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: The company offered various options for customers to personalize their vehicles, and provided various equipment combinations.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: The engine in the base Model 57 and 62 is the Mercedes-Benz M285, a 5.5-litre twin-turbo V12 developed specifically for the new Maybach cars. Output is at 5250 rpm with of torque at 2300-3000 rpm. A slightly de-tuned version, denoted M275, was used in the 2003-2006 W220 S600 and CL600 replacing the M137, naturally-aspirated V12, which appears in the 1998-2002 W220 S600 and CL600.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: The Maybach 57 accelerates from in about 5.1 seconds; the Maybach 62 and 57 S, about 4.8 seconds; the Maybach 62 S, 4.5 seconds, and the Landaulet, 4.5 seconds. In terms of power output, the 57 and 62 have ; the 57 S and 62 S, ; and the Zeppelin has .


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: On 26 June 2000 a Maybach 62 enclosed in a glass case on the "Queen Elizabeth 2" departed from Southampton, England, en route to New York City, with the media and company officials staying in the luxury suites on board. The ship arrived in New York on 2 July, welcomed by geysering fireboats and a motor boat. A helicopter lifted the car off the liner and onto a dock. It was then driven to the Regent Hotel, Wall Street.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: Daimler revealed the Maybach 57 S at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show, with the S standing for "special". It uses a 6.0-L version of the V12 engine manufactured by Mercedes-AMG. Power output is and torque , providing a sub-five second sprint to . It also rides lower on 20-inch wheels. The North American unveiling was at the Los Angeles Auto Show in January 2006.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: Maybach revealed the "Zeppelin" nameplate at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show as an additional luxury package that could be ordered on both the Maybach 57 and 62. The name "Zeppelin" was also used for the pre-war models Maybach DS7 and Maybach DS8. The package consists of special California beige leather with Stromboli-black stitching, piano black lacquer finishes, and silver "Zeppelin" champagne glasses. Next to the interior changes, the exterior has exclusive 20-in chrome wheels and dark-red taillights. The engine is the "standard" 6.0-L V12 Twin-Turbo with (which is more than the S versions). The word 'ZEPPELIN' is also incorporated into the triangular 'M' hood ornament.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: The Maybach 62 includes many luxury features such as fully reclining rear seats, Maybach four-zone climate control, tinted windows, infrared-reflecting laminated glass all round, AirMATIC dual-control air suspension, display instruments in rear roof liner (showing speed, time, and outside temperature), folding rear tables (left and right), 21-speaker BOSE Surround Everywhere sound system, and a refrigerator compartment.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: The Maybach 62 also includes an array of additional features such as Cockpit Management and Navigation System (COMAND), which includes DVD navigation, CD changer in rear seats, DVD players and TV tuners front and rear, two rear LCD TV screens including remote control and two sets of headphones, and automatic closing doors.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: Even though the Maybach 62 has all these features included, optional extras were available. Some of these are a panoramic glass sunroof at a cost of $11,670, and an external communication system, and a loudspeaker and microphone system which allows the occupant in the rear of the Maybach to converse with people outside the car. This option came at a cost of $1,780. Additionally, a retractable electrotransparent partition screen between the driver and the rear occupants costs $23,780 and, most expensive, a high-protection GUARD B4 Package costs an additional $151,810.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: The Maybach 62 S appeared in November 2000 at the Auto China 2000 exhibit in Beijing. It features the same engine as the 57S, a twin-turbo V12 made by Mercedes-Benz AMG. However, the suspension remains untouched.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: On February 26, 2019, North Korean's chairman Kim Jong-un came to visit Vietnam along with his cars such as a Maybach 62 S as well as a Mercedes S600 Pullman Guard.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: The Maybach 62 Landaulet, based on the Maybach 62S, revives the classic landaulet car body style, which was popular in the 1920s and 30s. Powered by the 62S's biturbo V12, the Landaulet's front seats are fully enclosed and separated from the rear passenger compartment by a power divider window; the opacity of this partition can be electronically controlled.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: A sliding soft roof allows back-seat passengers to take in the sun from the comfort of their seats. The chauffeur's area is finished in black leather, while the rear is white with piano black- and gold-flecked black granite inserts.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: Maybach publicly unveiled the Landaulet at the Middle East International Auto Show around the end of November 2007 as a concept car. Limited production was confirmed in January 2008. In total, 8 units were made, one of which was owned by rapper Birdman. DJ Khaled owns one as well and it has appeared in a few of his music videos. Also, Lee Kun-hee, former chairman of Samsung owns one as of 2011.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: In 2010 German coachbuilder Xenatec unveiled the Maybach 57S Cruisero, a 2-door conversion of the Maybach 57S. The Cruisero has the same length, wheelbase and AMG V12 engine as the 57S it is based on. It is reported that the car was approved by Daimler and engineered to the same standard as other Maybachs. Only 8 cars were reportedly produced before Xenatec filed for bankruptcy. Cruisero car number 4 (as seen on the door sill) was listed for sale in early 2021 in the Netherlands with 2,200 kilometers for 795,000 euros (export price outside of the Netherlands).


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: Initially, Daimler-Chrysler predicted annual sales of 2,000 global units with 50% coming from the United States; however, such lofty sales expectations never materialized. In 2007 Mercedes bought back 29 US dealers, reducing the total from 71 to 42.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: With poor sales expectations and heavy impact of 2008 financial crises, Daimler AG undertook a review of the whole Maybach division. This included talks with Aston Martin to engineer and style the next generation of Maybach models along with the next generation of Lagonda models.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: However, on 25 November 2011, Daimler announced that sales of all Maybach models and the brand would cease in 2013. Before the announcement, only 3000 Maybach vehicles had been sold, with estimated loss of €330,000 for each car sold.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: The line was replaced by Mercedes-Benz S-Class Pullman models. An executive told a Frankfurt newspaper that: "(Daimler) came to the conclusion that the sales chances for the Mercedes brand were better than that of Maybach."


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: One suggestion for Maybach's struggles was that parent Daimler had failed to differentiate it from its Mercedes-Benz brand. While all three ultra-luxury brands share platforms and engines with other luxury brands from their parent auto company, Maybachs are built alongside the Mercedes-Benz S-Class flagship sedan, whereas Rolls-Royce and Bentley are assembled in England (separate from the rest of BMW and Volkswagen Group's production plants), and thus are regarded as being more "exclusive". Furthermore, the Maybach's pedigree was virtually unknown outside Germany, unlike its British rivals which have long enjoyed renown worldwide; indeed the 2006 Rolls-Royce Phantom's interior evokes memories of a 1930s car, while the Maybach 57S's inside makes no reference to its brand's history.


title: Maybach 57 and 62

text: In October 2013, "Top Gear" magazine placed the Maybach 57 and 62 on its list of "The 13 worst cars of the last 20 years", commenting that "Mercedes-Benz decided to reactivate a brand that nobody under the age of 90 outside Stuttgart remembered, slathering an ersatz reject Hyundai luxury body over an ageing S-Class platform and hoping that various oligarchs, rap stars and Paris Hilton wouldn't notice that it was actually an elaborate con. They didn't. But we did. The 57S version finally gave the hapless guy up front something to do other than stirring up revolutionary resentment towards his boss, but by the time the Landaulet appeared, the game was up, and Mercedes iced the brand in favour of six different versions of the new S-Class. Smart move. Rolls-Royce, meanwhile, is on course for a record year in 2013."


title: Bábism

text: Bábism (a.k.a. the Bábí Faith; ) is a religion founded in 1844 by the Báb (b. ʻAli Muhammad), an Iranian merchant turned prophet who taught that there is one incomprehensible God who manifests his will in an unending series of Manifestations of God. It has persisted into the modern era in the form of the Baháʼí Faith, to which the majority of Bábís eventually converted. His ministry was turbulent and short lived, ending with his public execution in Tabriz. Throughout his ministry his titles and claims underwent much evolution as the Báb progressively outlined his teachings.


title: Bábism

text: The Bábi Faith flourished in Iran until 1852, then lingered on in exile in the Ottoman Empire, especially Cyprus, as well as underground in Iran. An anomaly amongst Islamic messianic movements, the Bábí movement signaled a break with Shia Islam, beginning a new religious system with its own unique laws, teachings, and practices. While Bábism was violently opposed by both clerical and government establishments, it led to the founding of the Baháʼí Faith, whose followers consider the religion founded by the Báb as a predecessor to their own. Baháʼí sources maintain that the remains of the Bab were clandestinely rescued by a handful of Bábis and then hidden. Over time the remains were secretly transported according to the instructions of Baháʼu'lláh and then ʻAbdu'l-Bahá through Isfahan, Kermanshah, Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut, and then by sea to Acre on the plain below Mount Carmel in 1899. On 21 March 1909, the remains were interred in a special tomb, the Shrine of the Báb, erected for this purpose by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, on Mount Carmel in present-day Haifa, Israel.


title: Bábism

text: Those Bábís who did not convert to the Baháʼí Faith retained a community in Iran, also known as Azalis. They are estimated to be several thousand.


title: Bábism

text: Bábism, a term originating from Orientalists rather than the followers of the religion, comes from the Arabic noun "bab" (Arabic: ), meaning gate. Additionally, Bayání comes from the triliteral root B-Y-N which forms a class of words relating to concepts of clarity, differentiation, and separation, including "Bayán" which can refer to explanation, commentary, or exposition as well as the branch of Arabic rhetoric dealing with metaphors and interpretation.


title: Bábism

text: Twelver Shia Muslims regard the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, as the last of the imams. They contend that Muhammad al-Mahdi went into the Occultation in 874 CE, at which time communication between the Imam and the Muslim community could only be performed through mediators called "bābs" ('gates') or "nā'ibs" ('representatives'). In 940, the fourth "nā'ib" claimed that Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi had gone into an indefinite "Major Occultation", and that he would cease to communicate with the people. According to Twelver belief, the Hidden Imam is alive in the world, but in concealment from his enemies, and that he would only emerge shortly before the Last Judgment. At that time, acting as al-Qa'im ("He who will arise"), a messianic figure also known as the Mahdi ("He who is rightly guided"), the Hidden Imam would start a holy war against evil, would defeat the unbelievers, and would start a reign of justice.


title: Bábism

text: In 1830s Qajar Persia, Sayyid Kazim Rashti was the leader of the Shaykhis, a sect of Twelvers. The Shaykhis were a group expecting the imminent appearance of al-Qāʾim. At the time of Kazim's death in 1843, he had counselled his followers to leave their homes to seek the Lord of the Age whose advent would soon break on the world.


title: Bábism

text: On 22 May, 1844 Mullá Husayn of Boshruyeh in Khorasan, a prominent disciple of Sayyid Kāẓim, entered Shiraz following the instruction by his master to search for al-Qā'im. Soon after he arrived in Shiraz, Mullá Husayn came into contact with the Báb. On the night of 22 May 1844, Mulla Husayn was invited by the Báb to his home; on that night Mullá Husayn told him that he was searching for the possible successor to Sayyid Kāẓim, al-Qā'im, and the Báb told Mullá Husayn privately that he was Sayyid Kāẓim's successor and the bearer of divine knowledge. Through the night of the 22nd to dawn of the 23rd, Mulla Husayn became the first to accept the Báb's claims as the gateway to Truth and the initiator of a new prophetic cycle; the Báb had replied in a satisfactory way to all of Mullá Husayn's questions and had written in his presence, with extreme rapidity, a long commentary on the surah of Yusuf, which has come to be known as the Qayyūmu l-Asmā' and is often considered the Báb's first revealed work, though he had before then composed a commentary on Surat al-Fatihah and Surat al-Baqara. This night and the following day are observed in the Baháʼí Faith as a holy day since then.


title: Bábism

text: After Mulla Husayn accepted the Báb's claim, the Báb ordered him to wait until 17 others had independently recognized the station of the Báb before they could begin teaching others about the new revelation.


title: Bábism

text: Within five months, seventeen other disciples of Sayyid Kāẓim had independently recognized the Báb as a Manifestation of God. Among them was one woman, Zarrin Tāj Baraghāni, a poet, who later received the name of Táhirih (the Pure). These 18 disciples were later to be known as the Letters of the Living and were given the task of spreading the new faith across Iran and Iraq. The Báb emphasized the spiritual station of these 18 individuals, who along with himself, made the first "Unity" of his religion.


title: Bábism

text: After his declaration, he soon assumed the title of the Báb. Within a few years the movement spread all over Iran, causing controversy. His claim was at first understood by some of the public at the time to be merely a reference to the Gate of the Hidden Imám of Muhammad, but this understanding he publicly disclaimed. He later proclaimed himself, in the presence of the heir to the Throne of Persia and other notables, to be al-Qā'im. In the Báb's writings, the Báb appears to identify himself as the gate (báb) to Muhammad al-Mahdi and later he begins to explicitly proclaim his station as equivalent to that of the Hidden Imam and a new messenger from God. Saiedi states the exalted identity the Báb was claiming was unmistakable, but due to the reception of the people, his writings appear to convey the impression that he is only the gate to the Hidden Twelfth Imam. To his circle of early believers, the Báb was equivocal about his exact status, gradually confiding in them that he was not merely a gate to the Hidden Imam, but the Manifestation of the Hidden Imam and al-Qā'im himself. During his early meetings with Mullá Husayn, the Báb described himself as the Master and the Promised One; he did not consider himself just Sayyid Kāẓim Rashti's successor, but claimed a prophetic status, with a sense of deputyship delegated to him not just from the Hidden Imam, but from Divine authority; His early texts, such as the Commentary on the Sura of Yusuf, used Qurʼanic language that implied divine authority and identified himself effectively with the Imam. When Mullā ʿAlī Basṭāmī, the second Letter of the Living, was put on trial in Baghdad for preaching about the Báb, the clerics studied the Commentary on the Sura of Yusuf, recognized in it a claim to divine revelation, and quoted from it extensively to prove that the author had made a messianic claim.


title: Bábism

text: The Báb's message was disseminated by the Letters of the Living through Iran and southern Iraq. One of these initial activities was communicated to the West starting 8 January 1845 as an exchange of diplomatic reports concerning the fate of Mullá ʿAli-e Bastāmi, the second Letter. These were exchanges between Sir Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baronet who wrote first to Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe. Followups continued until in 1846 he was sentenced by the Ottomans to serve in the naval shipyards at hard labor—the Ottoman ruler refusing to banish him as it would be "difficult to control his activities and prevent him spreading his false ideas." Separately each of the Letters and other early believers were sent on various missions to begin public presentations of the new religion. Indeed various activities the Báb initiated were devolved to various Letters of the Living like preaching activities and answering questions from the community. In particular, as these first public activities multiplied, opposition by the Islamic clergy arose and prompted the Governor of Shiraz to order the Báb's arrest. The Báb, upon hearing of the arrest order, left Bushehr for Shiraz in June 1845 and presented himself to the authorities. This series of events become the first public account of the new religion in the West when they were published 1 November 1845 in "The Times" of London. The story was also carried from 15 November by the "Literary Gazette" which was subsequently echoed widely. Meanwhile the Báb was placed under house arrest at the home of his uncle, and was restricted in his personal activities, until a cholera epidemic broke out in the city in September 1846.


title: Bábism

text: The Báb was released and departed for Isfahan. There, many came to see him at the house of the imám jum'ih, head of the local clergy, who became sympathetic. After an informal gathering where the Báb debated the local clergy and displayed his speed in producing instantaneous verses, his popularity soared. After the death of the Governor of Isfahan, Manouchehr Khan Gorji, an Iranian Georgian, who had become his supporter, pressure from the clergy of the province led to the Shah, Mohammad Shah Qajar, ordering the Báb to Tehran in January, 1847. After spending several months in a camp outside Tehran, and before the Báb could meet the Shah, the Prime Minister sent the Báb to Tabriz in the northwestern corner of the country, and later Maku and Chehriq, where he was confined. During his confinement, he was said to have impressed his jailers with his patience and dignity. Communication between the Báb and his followers was not completely severed but was quite difficult, and more responsibilities were devolved to the "Letters" as he was not able to elucidate his teachings to the public. With Bábí teachings now mostly spread by his followers, they faced increasing persecution themselves.


title: Bábism

text: The role played by Táhirih in Karbalāʾ was particularly significant. She began an effort of innovation in religion based on her station as a Letter of the Living and the incarnation of Fatimah. In his early teachings, the Báb emphasized observing Sharia and extraordinary acts of piety. However, his claim of being the Bāb, i.e. the authority direct from God, was in conflict with this more conservative position of supporting Sharia. Táhirih innovated an advance in the understanding of the priority of the Báb's station above that of Islamic Sharia by wedding the concept of the Bāb's overriding religious authority with ideas originating in Shaykhism pointing to an age after outward conformity. She seems to have made this connection circa 1262/1846 even before the Bāb himself. The matter was taken up by the community at large at the Conference of Badasht.


title: Bábism

text: This conference was one of the most important events of the Bábí movement when in 1848 its split from Islam and Islamic law was made clear. Three key individuals who attended the conference were Baháʼu'lláh, Quddús, and Táhirih. Táhirih, during the conference, was able to persuade many of the others about the Bábí split with Islam based on the station of the Báb and an age after outward conformity. She appeared at least once during the conference in public without a veil, heresy within the Islamic world of that day, signalling the split. During this same month the Báb was brought to trial in Tabriz and made his claim to be the Mahdi public to the Crown Prince and the Shiʻa clergy.


title: Bábism

text: Several sources agree that by 1848 or 1850 there were 100,000 converts to Babism. In the fall of 1850 newspaper coverage fell behind quickly unfolding events. Though the Báb was named for the first time he had in fact already been executed.


title: Bábism

text: By 1848 the increased fervour of the Bábís and the clerical opposition had led to a number of confrontations between the Bábís and their government and clerical establishment. After the death of Mohammad Shah Qajar, the shah of Iran, a series of armed struggles and uprisings broke out in the country, including at Tabarsi. These confrontations all resulted in Bábí massacres; Baháʼí authors give an estimate of 20,000 Bábís killed from 1844 to present, with most of the deaths occurring during the first 20 years. Former Professor of Islamic Studies Denis MacEoin studied documented deaths, both for individuals and for round figures, from Bábí, Baháʼí, European, and Iranian sources, and confirmed at most two to three thousand. He stated that he could not find evidence for any higher figures. Supporters of the Bábís paint their struggle as basically defensive in nature; Shiʻi writers on the other hand point to this period as proof of the subversive nature of Bábísm. MacEoin has pointed out that the Bábís did arm themselves, upon the Báb's instructions, and originally intended an uprising, but that their eventual clashes with state forces were defensive, and not considered an offensive jihad. In mid-1850 a new prime-minister, Amir Kabir, was convinced that the Bábí movement was a threat and ordered the execution of the Báb which was followed by the killings of many Bábís.


title: Bábism

text: Of the conflicts between the Bábís and the establishment, the first and best known took place in Māzandarān at the remote shrine of Shaykh Tabarsi, about 22 kilometres southeast of Bārfarush (modern Babol). From October 1848 until May 1849, around 300 Bábís (later rising to 600), led by Quddús and Mullá Husayn, defended themselves against the attacks of local villagers and members of the Shah's army under the command of Prince Mahdi Qoli Mirza. They were, after being weakened through attrition and starvation, subdued through false promises of safety, and put to death or sold into slavery.


title: Bábism

text: The revolt at the fortress of ʿAli Mardan Khan in Zanjan in northwest Iran was by far the most violent of all the conflicts. It was headed by Mullā Muhammad ʻAli Zanjani, called Hujjat, and also lasted seven or eight months (May 1850 – January 1851). The Bábí community in the city had swelled to around 3000 after the conversion of one of the town's religious leaders to the Bábí movement. The conflict was preceded by years of growing tension between the leading Islamic clergy and the new rising Bábí leadership. The city governor ordered that the city be divided into two sectors, with hostilities starting soon thereafter. The Bábís faced resistance against a large number of regular troops, and led to the death of several thousand Bábís. After Hujjat was killed, and the Bábí numbers being greatly reduced, the Bábís surrendered in January 1851 and were massacred by the army.


title: Bábism

text: Meanwhile, a serious but less protracted struggle was waged against the government at Neyriz in Fars by Yahya Vahid Darabi of Nayriz. Vahid had converted around 1500 people in the community and had thus caused tensions with the authorities which led to an armed struggle in a nearby fort. The Bábís resisted attacks by the town's governor as well as further reinforcements. After being given a truce offer on 17 June 1850, Vahid told his followers to give up their positions, which led to Vahid and the Bábís being killed; the Bábí section of the town was also plundered, and the property of the remaining Bábís seized. Later, in March 1853 the governor of the city was killed by the Bábís. These further events led to a second armed conflict near the city where the Bábís once again resisted troop attacks until November 1853, when a massacre of Bábís happened, with their women being enslaved.


title: Bábism

text: The revolts in Zanjan and Nayriz were in progress when in 1850 the Báb, with one of his disciples, was brought from his prison at Chehriq citadel, which was called "jabal alshadid" meaning "mount extreme" by Báb, to Tabriz and publicly shot in front of the citadel. The body, after being exposed for some days, was recovered by the Bábís and conveyed to a shrine near Tehran, whence it was ultimately removed to Haifa, where it is now enshrined.


title: Bábism

text: Most western scholars who reviewed the Faith of the Báb after 1860 saw it as a way of letting in Western and Christian ideals into "a closed and rigid Moslem system" and giving the Báb himself sometimes less or more credit for being authentic in the process. However some went further. In 1866 British diplomat Robert Grant Watson (b. 8 February 1834, d. 28 October 1892) published a history of the first 58 years of the 19th century of Persia and would serve in several diplomatic capacities Watson summarizes the impact of the Báb in Persia:


title: Bábism

text: Latter commentators also noted these kinds of views: Ernest Renan, Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch, son of Charles Bulfinch, and others.


title: Bábism

text: For the next two years comparatively little was heard of the Bábís. The Bábís became polarized with one group speaking of violent retribution against Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, while the other, under the leadership of Bahaʼu'lláh, looked to rebuild relationships with the government and advance the Babí cause by persuasion and the example of virtuous living.


title: Bábism

text: The militant group of Babis was between thirty and seventy persons, only a small number of the total Babi population of perhaps 100,000. Their meetings appear to have come under the control of a "Husayn Jan", an emotive and magnetic figure who obtained a high degree of personal devotion to himself from the group. Meanwhile, Tahirih and Baha'u'llah, visible leaders of the community previously, were removed from the scene – Tahirih by arrest and in the case of Baha'u'llah an invitation to go on pilgrimage to Karbila. On 15 August 1852, three from this small splinter group, acting on their own initiative, attempted to assassinate Naser al-Din Shah Qajar as he was returning from the chase to his palace at Niavarān. Notwithstanding the assassins' claim that they were working alone, the entire Bábí community was blamed, and a slaughter of several thousand Bábís followed, starting on 31 August 1852 with some thirty Bábís, including Táhirih. Dr Jakob Eduard Polak, then the Shah's physician, was an eye-witness to her execution. Baháʼu'lláh surrendered himself and he along with a few others were imprisoned in the Siāhchāl "Black Pit", an underground dungeon in Tehran. Meanwhile, echoes of the newspaper coverage of the violence continued into 1853.


title: Bábism

text: In most of his prominent writings, the Báb alluded to a Promised One, most commonly referred to as "He whom God shall make manifest", and that he himself was "but a ring upon the hand of Him Whom God shall make manifest." Within 20 years of the Báb's death, over 25 people claimed to be the Promised One, most significantly Baháʼu'lláh.


title: Bábism

text: Shortly before the Báb's execution, a follower of the Báb, Abd al-Karim, brought to the Báb's attention the necessity to appoint a successor; thus the Báb wrote a certain number of tablets which he gave to Abd al-Karim to deliver to Subh-i Azal and Baháʼu'lláh. These tablets were later interpreted by both Azalis and Baháʼís as proof of the Báb's delegation of leadership. Some sources state that the Báb did this at the suggestion of Baháʼu'lláh. In one of the tablets, which is commonly referred to as the Will and Testament of the Báb, Subh-i Azal is viewed to have been appointed as leader of the Bábis after the death of the movement's founder; the tablet, in verse 27, orders Subh-i Azal "...to obey Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest." At the time of the apparent appointment Subh-i Azal was still a teenager, had never demonstrated leadership in the Bábí movement, and was still living in the house of his older brother, Baháʼu'lláh. All of this lends credence to the Baháʼí claim that the Báb appointed Subh-i Azal the head of the Bábí Faith so as to divert attention away from Baháʼu'lláh, while allowing Bábís to visit Baháʼu'lláh and consult with him freely, and allowing Baháʼu'lláh to write Bábís easily and freely.


title: Bábism

text: Subh-i Azal's leadership was controversial. He generally absented himself from the Bábí community spending his time in Baghdad in hiding and disguise; and even went so far as to publicly disavow allegiance to the Báb on several occasions. Subh-i Azal gradually alienated himself from a large proportion of the Bábís who started to give their alliance to other claimants. During the time that both Baháʼu'lláh and Subh-i-Azal were in Baghdad, since Subh-i Azal remained in hiding, Baháʼu'lláh performed much of the daily administration of the Bábí affairs.


title: Bábism

text: Baháʼu'lláh claimed that in 1853, while a prisoner in Tehran, he was visited by a "Maid of Heaven", which symbolically marked the beginning of his mission as a Messenger of God. Ten years later in Baghdad, he made his first public declaration to be He whom God shall make manifest to a small number of followers, and in 1866 he made the claim public. Baháʼu'lláh's claims threatened Subh-i Azal's position as leader of the religion since it would mean little to be leader of the Bábís if "Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest" were to appear and start a new religion. Subh-i-Azal responded by making his own claims, but his attempt to preserve the traditional Bábísm was largely unpopular, and his followers became the minority.


title: Bábism

text: Eventually Baháʼu'lláh was recognized by the vast majority of Bábís as "He whom God shall make manifest" and his followers began calling themselves Baháʼís. By 1908, there were probably from half a million to a million Baháʼís, and at most only a hundred followers of Subh-i Azal. According to Ali Raza Naqavi, Bábism and the Baháʼí Faith are "almost inseparable" and have "almost identical beliefs and doctrines." He writes that in the way Muslims view Judaism as having been abrogated by Christianity and Christianity as having been abrogated by Islam, Baháʼís view Bábism as having been abrogated and replaced by the Baháʼí Faith.


title: Bábism

text: Subh-i Azal died in Famagusta, Cyprus in 1912, and his followers are known as Azalis or Azali Bábis. MacEoin notes that after the deaths of those Azali Babis who were active in the Persian Constitutional Revolution, the Azali form of Babism entered a stagnation from which it has not recovered as there is no acknowledged leader or central organization. Some few have coined the term Bayání faith though it died out in Cyprus. (Persian: , "Bayání").


title: Bábism

text: The Báb's teachings can be grouped into three broad stages which each have a dominant thematic focus. His earliest teachings are primarily defined by his interpretation of the Quran and other Islamic traditions. While this interpretive mode continues throughout all three stages of his teachings, a shift takes place where his emphasis moves to the philosophical elucidation and finally to legislative pronouncements. In the second philosophical stage, the Báb gives an explanation of the metaphysics of being and creation, and in the third legislative stage his mystical and historical principles are explicitly united.


title: Bábism

text: An analysis of the Báb's writings throughout the three stages shows that all of his teachings were animated by a common principle that had multiple dimensions and forms.


title: Bábism

text: In Twelver Shiʻa Islamic belief there were twelve Imams, the last of which, known as Imam Mahdi, communicated with his followers only through certain representatives. According to the Twelver's belief, after the last of these representatives died, the Imam Mahdi went into a state of Occultation; while still alive, he was no longer accessible to his believers. Shiʻa Muslims believe that when the world becomes oppressed, the Imam Mahdi (also termed the Qa'im) will come out of occultation and restore true religion on Earth before the cataclysmic end of the world and judgement day.


title: Bábism

text: In Bábí belief the Báb is the return of the Imam Mahdi, but the doctrine of the Occultation is implicitly denied; instead the Báb stated that his manifestation was a symbolic return of the Imam, and not the physical reappearance of the Imam Mahdi who had died a thousand years earlier. In Bábí belief the statements made from previous revelations regarding the Imam Mahdi were set forth in symbols. The Báb also stated that he was not only the fulfillment of the Shiʻi expectations for the Qá'im, but that he also was the beginning of a new prophetic dispensation.


title: Bábism

text: The Báb taught that his revelation was beginning an apocalyptic process that was bringing the Islamic dispensation to its cyclical end, and starting a new dispensation. He taught that the terms "resurrection", "Judgement Day", "paradise" and "hell" used in Shiʻa prophecies for the end-times are symbolic. He stated that "Resurrection" means that the appearance of a new revelation, and that "raising of the dead" means the spiritual awakening of those who have stepped away from true religion. He further stated that "Judgement Day" refers to when a new Manifestation of God comes, and the acceptance or rejection of those on the Earth. Thus the Báb taught that with his revelation the end times ended and the age of resurrection had started and that the end-times were symbolic as the end of the past prophetic cycle. The Báb wrote: "Verily, the world and the hereafter are two spiritual states. If you turn towards God, exalted be He, then you are in paradise and if you are occupied with your self then you are in hell and in the world. Therefore understand these allusions".


title: Bábism

text: In the Persian Bayán, the Báb wrote that religious dispensations come in cycles, as the seasons, to renew "pure religion" for humanity. This notion of continuity anticipated future prophetic revelations after the Báb.


title: Bábism

text: While the Báb claimed a station of revelation, he also claimed no finality for his revelation. One of the core Bábí teachings is the great Promised One, whom the Báb termed He whom God shall make manifest, promised in the sacred writings of previous religions would soon establish the Kingdom of God on the Earth. In the books written by the Báb he constantly entreats his believers to follow He whom God shall make manifest when he arrives and not behave like the Muslims who have not accepted his own revelation.


title: Bábism

text: The Báb abrogated Islamic law and in the "Persian Bayán" promulgated a system of Bábí law, thus establishing a separate religion distinct from Islam. Some of the new laws included changing the direction of the Qibla to the Báb's house in Shiraz, Iran and changing the calendar to a solar calendar of nineteen months and nineteen days (which became the basis of the Baháʼí calendar) and prescribing the last month as a month of fasting. The Bab also prohibits confession and seeking forgiveness from anyone but God and His Manifestation.


title: Bábism

text: In many respects, the Báb raised the status of women in his teachings. The Báb taught that, since God transcends the boundaries of male and female, God wishes that "neither men exalt themselves over women, nor women exalt themselves over men". He instructs his followers to not mistreat women "even for the blink of an eye" and sets the penalty for causing grief to women as double that of causing grief to men.(Persian Bayān 7:18) He also encourages the education of women and doesn't display a gender distinction in Bábi laws on education. Armin Eschraghi notes the context of 19th century Iran and that, "Modern western readers might not appreciate the revolutionary potential" of the Báb's teaching that "Those who have been brought up in this community, men and women, are allowed to look [at each other], speak and sit together" The Primal Will of God is also personified as the female figure of the maid of heaven. The Báb also foreshadowed later developments in media, by emphasising the need for a rapid system of news communication, which would be available for all to access, no matter their wealth or social standing. He writes, regarding the news, that "until such a system is made universal, its benefit will not reach those servants of the kingdom unless there come a time when it will be accessible to all the people. Although today the kings have their own special couriers, this is fruitless, for the poor are deprived of such a service." Commenting on the extremes of wealth and poverty in society, the Báb also teaches that the true station of the rich should be as "the depositories of God" and enjoins generosity and charity. He says, "Should ye find one stricken with poverty, enrich him to the extent of your ability...should ye find one who is in distress, bring him tranquility by any means in your power"


title: Bábism

text: Jack McLean, summarising Nader Saiedi's analysis, writes that "the Báb’s writings even foresee current global issues of crisis, such as the protection of the environment and the commodification of natural resources" The Báb specifically calls for the absolute purity of water (Bayán 6:2). It may be easily deduced from this injunction that the environment must not be polluted since all substances return to the inland water table and the oceans. The Arabic Bayán (9:11) also forbids the commodification of the four elements, earth, air, fire and water


title: Bábism

text: The Báb also created a large number of other rituals, rites and laws. Some of these include the carrying of arms only in times of necessity, abstaining from smoking tobacco, the obligatory sitting on chairs, the advocating of the cleanliness displayed by Christians, the non-cruel treatment of animals, the prohibition of beating children severely, the recommendation of the printing of books, even scripture and the prohibition on the study of logic or dead languages. Other laws include elaborate regulations regarding pilgrimage, fasting, the manufacture of rings, the use of perfume, and the washing and disposal of the dead.


title: Bábism

text: The Báb affirms that the verses revealed by a Manifestation of God are the greatest proof of His mission and the writings of the Báb comprise over two thousand tablets, epistles, prayers, and philosophical treatises. These writings form part of Baháʼí scripture, particularly his prayers, which are often recited individually as well as in devotional gatherings.


title: Bábism

text: The Báb's major writings include the Qayyúmu'l-Asmáʼ (a commentary on the Sura of Joseph), and the Persian Bayán, which the Bábís saw as superseding the Qurʼan. The latter has been translated into French; only portions exist in English.


title: Bábism

text: The works of the Báb have also excited scholarly interest and analysis. Elham Afnan describes the writings of the Báb as having "restructured the thoughts of their readers, so that they could break free from the chains of obsolete beliefs and inherited customs". Jack McLean notes the novel symbolism of the Báb's works, observing that "The universe of the Báb’s sacred writings is pervasively symbolic. Numbers, colors, minerals, liquids, the human body, social relationships, gestures, deeds, language (letters and words), and nature itself are all mirrors or signs that reflect the profounder reality of the names and attributes (asmá va sifát) of God". Todd Lawson similarly identifies in the commentaries of the Báb an assertion of "the potential and ultimate meaningfulness of all created things, from the highest to the lowest.” The Báb's works are characterised by linguistic innovation, including many neologisms whenever He found existing theological terms inadequate. Several scholars have identified the continual repetition of particular words or phrases of religious importance to be a distinct feature throughout the Bab's writings. John Walbridge views the "unquestionably hypnotic" use of repetition in the Bab's Kitab-i-Panj Sha'n, where "the same evocative words are repeated ceaselessly" with gradual variations over time, as anticipating a minimalist aesthetic as well as possibly prefiguring the modernist style of Finnegans Wake. The Báb himself categorised his writings into five modes: divine verses, prayers, commentaries, rational discourse — written in Arabic — and the Persian mode, which encompasses the previous four. Baháʼí scholars have argued that there are commonalities between the Báb’s writings and those of Western philosophers such as Hegel, Kant and James Joyce.


title: Bábism

text: Unfortunately, most of the writings of the Báb have been lost. The Báb himself stated they exceeded five hundred thousand verses in length; the Qurʼan, in contrast, is 6300 verses in length. If one assumes 25 verses per page, that would equal 20,000 pages of text. Nabíl-i-Zarandí, in "The Dawn-Breakers", mentions nine complete commentaries on the Qurʼan, revealed during the Báb's imprisonment at Máh-Kú, which have been lost without a trace. Establishing the true text of the works that are still extant, as already noted, is not always easy, and some texts will require considerable work. Others, however, are in good shape; several of the Báb's major works are available in the handwriting of his trusted secretaries.


title: Bábism

text: Most works were revealed in response to specific questions by Bábís. This is not unusual; the genre of the letter has been a venerable medium for composing authoritative texts as far back as Paul of Tarsus. Three-quarters of the chapters of the New Testament are letters, were composed to imitate letters, or contain letters within them. Sometimes the Báb revealed works very rapidly by chanting them in the presence of a secretary and witnesses.


title: Bábism

text: The Archives Department at the Baháʼí World Centre currently holds about 190 Tablets of the Báb. Excerpts from several principal works have been published in an English language compilation of the Báb's writings: "Selections from the Writings of the Báb", other publications include "". Denis MacEoin, in his "Sources for Early Bābī Doctrine and History", gives a description of many works; much of the following summary is derived from that source. In addition to major works, the Báb revealed numerous letters to his wife and followers, many prayers for various purposes, numerous commentaries on verses or chapters of the Qurʼan, and many khutbihs or sermons (most of which were never delivered). Many of these have been lost; others have survived in compilations.


title: Bábism

text: Also significant to Bábism are the writings of Quddús, which "display a close similarity to that of the Báb in both form and content" according to Moojan Momen and Todd Lawson, as well as the poetry and prose of Tahirih.


title: Bábism

text: Denis MacEoin, a scholar who was formerly a Baháʼí, describes Bábí law as a "mishmash of rules and regulations that at times are little more than mere whimsy, revolving around some of the Bab's own obsessions about cleanliness, polite behaviour, and elegance. It is a shari'a, but not in any practical sense. Certainly, it does not seem to be going anywhere...Here and there we find indications that the Bab had been impressed by Europeans and that he wanted his followers to emulate them." He further states: "One comes away from the Bayan with a strong sense that very little of this is to be taken seriously. It is a form of a game, never actually intended to be put into practice, much in the same way that whole sections of the Bab's later books don't, in fact, mean anything very much, but are elaborate exercises in interesting things you can do with Arabic roots. Or the way so many of the Bab's early writings, described as tafsirs on this or that sura of the Qurʼan, are really not commentaries at all." He further criticizes the Bábi laws, stating: "The average Babi could hardly hope to afford the three diamonds, four yellow rubies, six emeralds, and six red rubies that he was expected to give to the Babi Messiah, let alone find time to observe all the rules and regulations laid down in the book. For all that, the Babi shari'a made an impact."


title: Bábism

text: Baháʼí scholar Nader Saiedi states that the severe laws of the Bayán were never meant to be put in practice, because their implementation depended on the appearance of He whom God shall make manifest, while at the same time all of the laws would be abrogated unless the Promised One would reaffirm them. Saiedi concludes that these can then only have a strategic and symbolic meaning, and were meant to break through traditions and to focus the Báb's followers on obedience to He whom God shall make manifest.


title: Deep-fried Mars bar

text: A deep-fried Mars bar (also known as a battered Mars Bar) is a Mars-brand chocolate bar covered in batter then deep fried in oil. The dish originated at a chip shop in Scotland as a novelty item. Since various mass media began reporting on the practice in the mid-1990s – often as a critical commentary on how unhealthy the Scottish diet was, especially the urban Scottish diet – the popularity of the dish has spread.


title: Deep-fried Mars bar

text: The dish is prepared using standard commercial Mars bars. The chocolate bar is typically chilled before battering, to prevent it from excessively melting as it is fried. It is coated in flour batter of the type commonly used for deep-frying fish, sausages, and other similar foods, then immersed in boiling fat or oil, until the batter is cooked.


title: Deep-fried Mars bar

text: The origins of the deep-fried Mars bar are disputed. John Davie claimed to have invented it in 1992 in The Haven Chip Bar (now The Carron) in Stonehaven, near Aberdeen on Scotland's northeast coast. It received rapidly escalating media attention after "Aberdeen Evening Express" writer Alastair Dalton reported on 23 August 1995, "HOT chocolate has become this summer’s sizzler in Stonehaven chip shop. Mars Bars, deep-fried in batter, are being snapped up by sweet-toothed teenagers. The craze started when the school holidays began and has quickly taken hold says Ingram Mowatt (41), owner of The Haven, Allardice Terrace. " The article included a quote from Mars spokesperson who said this was the most unusual way they had come across of enjoying a Mars bar. The following day the story was picked up and run in the "Daily Record" in an article titled "Mars supper, please". Scottish broadsheets "The Herald" and "The Scotsman" ran the story the following day and the UK broadsheets the day after, each adding their own cultural slant. On the fifth day, Keith Chegwin performed taste tests on "The Big Breakfast" TV programme and the story was covered by the BBC World Service.


title: Deep-fried Mars bar

text: Other chip shops have disputed the Carron's claim. Tom Cummings, former owner of Duncan Street Chip Shop in Banff, stated he had sold fried Mars bars in the 1980s, and that he had copied the recipe from the since defunct Dodie’s Chip Shop in Buckie.


title: Deep-fried Mars bar

text: After the food was mentioned in 2004 by Jay Leno on NBC's "Tonight Show" in the United States, "The Lancet" commissioned the University of Dundee to validate the association between Scotland and the deep-fried Mars bar. It undertook a telephone questionnaire survey of 627 fish and chip shops in Scotland, 62% of which responded, and found:


title: Deep-fried Mars bar

text: In 2012, the originating Carron Fish Bar estimated sales of 100150 deep-fried Mars bars per week, but that 70% were sold to visitors who have heard of its reputation.


title: Deep-fried Mars bar

text: In 2000, Scottish chef Ross Kendall included the bars on the menu of "Le Chipper" restaurant in Paris.


title: Deep-fried Mars bar

text: The deep-fried Mars bar has also given rise to the frying of other confections, for example, Reiver's Fish Bar in Duns annually advertises an Easter special of deep-fried Creme Egg. Deep-fried Snickers have also been reported, particularly in the United States where the Mars bar is not common and differs from the bar sold in the UK; it is popular at state fairs and similar events. In her 1999 book and television series "Nigella Bites", Nigella Lawson includes a recipe for a deep-fried Bounty bar. Deep-fried Moro bars are also sold in New Zealand, where the brand is popular.


title: Deep-fried Mars bar

text: Since the "Daily Record" described it as "Scotland's craziest takeaway", the deep-fried Mars bar has become a symbol for ill health, obesity and high-fat diets. The original article was quickly followed up by other UK publications, with the food portrayed to speak eloquently about Scotland's and the wider UK's poor diet, and resultant levels of obesity.


title: Deep-fried Mars bar

text: In 2012, the Haven sought an application for protected geographical indication under the EU's Protected Food Name Scheme. But Mars wrote to the fish bar asking it to make plain that deep-frying of the bars was "not authorised or endorsed" by Mars, and an agreed disclaimer statement was put up in both the shop and in its menu.


title: Deep-fried Mars bar

text: In a 2012 interview, Glasgow restaurateur John Quigley felt that Scotland had been trying to "shake off" its unhealthy image for 20 years, since the media coverage of the deep-fried Mars bar.


title: Poetic devices

text: Poetic devices are a form of literary device used in poetry. Poems are created out of poetic devices composite of: structural, grammatical, rhythmic, metrical, verbal, and visual elements. They are essential tools that a poet uses to create rhythm, enhance a poem's meaning, or intensify a mood or feeling.


title: Poetic devices

text: Poetic Diction is a style of writing in poetry which encompasses vocabulary, phrasing, and grammatical usage. Along with syntax, poetic diction functions in setting the tone, mood, and atmosphere of a poem to convey the poet's intention.


title: Poetic devices

text: Poetic devices that have a sonic quality achieve specific effects when heard. Words with a sound-like quality can strike readers as soothing or dissonant while evoking certain thoughts and feelings associated with them.


title: Poetic devices

text: Poetic rhythm is the flow of words within each meter and stanza to produce a rhythmic effect while emphasising specific parts of the poem.


title: Poetic devices

text: The use of figurative language as a poetic device function to convey the poet's intended meaning in various ways.


title: Poetic devices

text: Poetic form is the physical structure of the poem: the length of lines, rhythm, as well as system of rhymes and repetition. The poet's ideas and emotions are reinforced through this structural embodiment.


title: Poetic devices

text: Also known as “un-rhymed iambic pentameter", blank verse is an unrhymed verse written in iambic pentameter. In poetry, it has a consistent meter with 10 syllables per line (pentameter). Unstressed syllables are followed by stressed syllables, five of which are stressed but do not rhyme.


title: Poetic devices

text: A poetic form free from limitations of regular metric rhythm and fixed rhyme schemes. The lack of regularity and conventional rhyme schemes allows the poet to shape the poem freely. Such irregularity and lack of refrain also evoke a sense of artistic expression.


title: Poetic devices

text: Punctuation is an object of interpretation in poetry; it is semantic. In poetry, they act as non-verbal tools of poetic expression. A form of artistic choice, the poet's choice of punctuation is central to our understanding of poetic meaning because of its ability to influence prosody. The unorthodox use of punctuation increases the expressive complexity of poems, or may be used to align poetic metres. Unconventional use of punctuation is also employed to stress the meaning of words differently, or for dramatic effect. End-stopping is when a punctuation—of any kind—at the end of a line is accompanied by a strong pause. The occasional end-stopped line may evoke a sense of finale or formality while many end-stops in a row may be used to evoke a jerky cadence. On the contrary, a lack of punctuation allows the reader to interpret the sequence of words in various ways. A lack of punctuation may allow the poem to be interpreted as a "stream of consciousness" such as Maya Angelou’s I know why the caged bird sings.


title: Sock

text: A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late 16th century, machine-knit socks were first produced. Until the 1800s, both man-made and machine-knit socks were manufactured, but the latter technique become more common in the 19th century.


title: Sock

text: One of the roles of socks is absorbing perspiration. As the foot is among the heaviest producers of sweat in the body, it can produce over of perspiration per day; socks help to absorb this sweat and draw it to areas where air can evaporate the perspiration. In cold environments, socks made from cotton or wool help warm up cold feet which in turn, helps decrease the risk of getting frostbite. Thin socks are most commonly worn in the summer months to keep feet cool. Light colored socks are typically worn with sports shoes and dark colored socks with dress shoes (often black or navy blue dress socks).


title: Sock

text: The modern English word "sock" is derived from the Old English word "socc", meaning "light slipper". This comes from the Latin "soccus", a term to describe a "light, low-heeled shoe" worn by Roman comic actors, and deriving from the Ancient Greek word "sykchos".


title: Sock

text: Socks have evolved over the centuries from the earliest models, which were made from animal skins gathered up and tied around the ankles. Because the manufacture of socks was relatively time-consuming in pre-industrial times, they were long used only by the rich. The poor wore footwraps, simple cloths wrapped around the feet. These remained in use in Eastern European armies until the end of the 20th century.


title: Sock

text: According to the Greek poet Hesiod, in the 8th century BC, the Ancient Greeks wore socks called "piloi", which were made from matted animal hair. The Romans also wrapped their feet with leather or woven fabrics. Around the 2nd century AD, the Romans started sewing the fabrics together making fitted socks called "udones". By the 5th century AD, socks called "puttees" were worn by holy people in Europe to symbolize purity.


title: Sock

text: During the Middle Ages, the length of trousers was extended and the sock became a tight, brightly colored cloth covering the lower part of the leg. Since socks did not have an elastic band, garters were placed over the top of the stockings to prevent them from falling down. When breeches became shorter, socks began to get longer (and more expensive). By 1000 AD, socks became a symbol of wealth among the nobility. From the 16th century onwards, an ornamental design on the ankle or side of a sock has been called a clock.


title: Sock

text: The invention of a knitting machine in 1589 meant that socks could be knitted six times faster than by hand. Nonetheless, knitting machines and hand knitters worked side by side until 1800.


title: Sock

text: The next revolution in sock production was the introduction of nylon in 1938. Until then socks were commonly made from silk, cotton and wool. Nylon was the start of blending two or more yarns in the production of socks, a process that still continues today.


title: Sock

text: Socks can be created from a wide variety of materials, such as cotton, wool, nylon, acrylic, polyester, olefins (such as polypropylene). To get an increased level of softness other materials that might be used during the process can be silk, bamboo, linen, cashmere, or mohair. The color variety of sock choices can be any color that the designers intend to make the sock upon its creation. Sock 'coloring' can come in a wide range of colors. Sometimes art is also put onto socks to increase their appearance. Colored socks may be a key part of the uniforms for sports, allowing players teams to be distinguished when only their legs are clearly visible.


title: Sock

text: Fort Payne, Alabama is regarded as the "Sock capital of the world" due to nearly half of socks manufactured in the early 21st century were made here. The Fort Payne sock industry employed about 7000 workers at its peak around 2000. Fort Payne, while still one of the largest producers of socks only produces only a quarter of socks, as it has lost that title to Datang.


title: Sock

text: The township-level district of Datang in the city of Zhuji in Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China, has become known as Sock City. The town currently produces 8 billion pairs of socks each year, a third of the world's sock production, effectively creating two pairs of socks for every person on the planet in 2011.


title: Sock

text: Socks are manufactured in a variety of lengths. No show, low cut, and ankle socks extend to the ankle or lower and are often worn casually or for athletic use. No show and low-cut socks are designed to create the look of bare feet when worn with shoes (sock not visible). Knee-high socks are sometimes associated with formal dress or as being part of a uniform, such as in sports (like football and baseball) or as part of a school's dress code or youth group's uniform. Over-the-knee socks or socks that extend higher (thigh-high socks) are sometimes referred to as female garments in the common era. They were widely worn by children, both boys and girls, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries; although, the popularity varied widely from country to country. When worn by adult females, knee-high or thigh-high socks can become the object of sexual attraction and fetishism by some men. Liner socks are socks which are worn underneath another sock with the intention being to prevent blisters.


title: Sock

text: Toe socks encases each toe individually the same way a finger is encased in a glove, while other socks have one compartment for the big toe and one for the rest, like a mitten; most notably what Japanese call tabi while other parts of the world simply call it split toe socks. Both of these allow one to wear flip-flops with the socks.


title: Sock

text: Leg warmers, which are not typically socks, may be replaced with socks in cold climates and are similar to leggings due to the fact that they typically only keep your legs warm in cold weather but not the entire foot.


title: Sock

text: A business sock or dress sock is a term for a dark-colored sock (typically black or navy blue) for formal or casual footwear. It is often loosely referred to as a work sock or a formal sock for formal occasions, for example, weddings, funerals, graduation ceremonies, prom, church, or work.


title: Sock

text: Crew socks are short and thick or thin everyday socks. Those socks are usually ribbed at the top of the ankles. They can be used in a way to warm legs if pulled all the way up. The first familiar practice of crew socks was in 1948. Crew socks are usually unisex.


title: Sock

text: A low cut sock is a kind of sock that describe in a way to be cut below the ankle. Low cut socks are formed to cover the contours of a person's feet. Although the low cut socks are unisex, but women and girls commonly use them. Low cut socks are normally worn with shoes such as boat shoes, Oxfords, moccasins and loafers.


title: Sock

text: The Ancient Egyptian style of sock is a blend between modern Western socks and Japanese tabi, both of which it predates. Like tabi, Egyptian socks have one compartment for the big toe and another for the rest, permitting their use with sandals; like Western socks, they fit snugly to the foot and do not use fasteners like tabi.


title: Sock

text: Although generally holding to a pattern of being divided into sizes of small-medium-large, etc., what range of shoe sizes those sock sizes correspond to carries in different markets. Some size standards are coordinated by standard-setting bodies but others have arisen from custom. Sock lengths vary, from ankle-high to thigh level.


title: Sock

text: Most sports require some sort of sock, usually a knee length or mid-calf sock to protect one's legs from being scraped while participating in sport activities. In basketball, tube socks are worn, and in lacrosse, mid-calf socks are required. In football, knee socks are used. They are mostly to stop grass burns.


title: Sock

text: The layer of leather or other material covering the insole of a shoe is also referred to as a sock. When only part of the insole is covered, leaving the forepart visible, this is known as a half-sock.


title: Sock

text: Footwraps, pieces of cloth that are worn wrapped around the feet, were worn with boots before socks became widely available. They remained in use by armies in Eastern Europe until the beginning of the 21st century.


title: Sock

text: For use in cold environments, thermal socks are thicker. They are commonly worn for skiing, skating, and other winter sports. They provide not only insulation, but also greater padding due to their thickness.


title: Sock

text: Diabetic socks are a kind of thermal sock made from an acrylic, cotton, nylon, and elastic. These are made to improve comfort while at the same time keeping feet cool and dry. However, there is no solid evidence that they are helpful.


title: Sock

text: A sock is also used as a holiday item during Christmas. Children hang a large ceremonial sock called a Christmas stocking by a nail or hook on Christmas Eve, and then their parents fill it with small presents while the recipients are asleep. According to tradition, Santa Claus brings these presents to well-behaved children, while naughty kids instead receive coal.


title: Sock

text: Among Muslims, socks have initiated a discussion about the intricacies of wudhu, the formal washing carried out before prayer. Some Muslim clerics, mindful of possible hardship among Muslims in inhospitable circumstances, have issued Muslim edicts permitting practicing Muslims to wipe water over their sock or sprinkle their sock. This would allow prayer where there are no seating facilities, or if there is a queue. This is the stated opinion especially of Maliki Sunnis.


title: Mina El Hammani

text: Mina El Hammani (; born 29 November 1993) is a Spanish actress, model and film director best known for her role of 'Nadia' in the streaming television series "Élite."


title: Mina El Hammani

text: Mina El Hammani was born and raised in Madrid, Spain. Her family is of Moroccan origin. She began her acting career in 2014.


title: Biwi No.1

text: Biwi No.1 () is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by David Dhawan, being a remake of the 1995 Tamil film "Sathi Leelavathi". It stars Salman Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Sushmita Sen, Tabu and Saif Ali Khan.


title: Biwi No.1

text: Prem Mehra is married to the loving yet traditional Pooja Khanna; they have 2 children. Rupali Walia arrives at Prem's office to give a modeling interview. They fall in love and begin an extramarital affair. Pooja finds out and Prem leaves her to move in with Rupali. With the help of Prem's friend Lakhan, Pooja has a make-over, turning modern and taking on modeling assignments. She sends her mother-in-law and children to live with Prem and Rupali. They intentionally trouble Rupali and tell Prem that she keeps them hungry and wants to poison and kill them.


title: Biwi No.1

text: Ultimately, the relationship between Prem and Rupali breaks down. Prem realizes she only came to him since he gave her material things, while Pooja stuck with him via thick and thin. Rupali gets back with her former boyfriend Deepak. Lakhan befriends her, addressing her as a sister. While hugging her, his wife Lovely sees them and misunderstands. She leaves, but Lakhan chases after and they make up as she realises the truth. He says to Lovely that she is his "Biwi no. 1."


title: Biwi No.1

text: Manisha Koirala was offered the role of Pooja, but she rejected it for unknown reasons and was subsequently replaced by Karishma Kapoor. Bobby Deol and Suniel Shetty were offered the role of Deepak which was later did by Saif Ali Khan.Filming took place in areas of Florida such as Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach. Second part of filming took place in Delhi and Mumbai compound areas.


title: Biwi No.1

text: The movie response was good in parts of India, and was considered a super-hit, though its business was affected by the Cricket World Cup 1999. The collections were close to 50% in all centers. "Biwi No.1" was the second highest-grossing film of Bollywood that year after "Hum Saath-Saath Hain", which also starred Salman Khan, Karishma Kapoor, Tabu, Saif Ali Khan, Himani Shivpuri, and Rajeev Verma. It ranks 53rd in the List of Top 500 Bollywood movies after adjusting inflation its worldwide gross reaches 52.80crores.


title: Biwi No.1

text: The "Biwi No.1" soundtrack was composed by Anu Malik except for "Hai Hai Mirchi" which was composed by Sukhwinder Singh. The lyrics were written by Sameer, Dev Kohli (only "Biwi No. 1"), and Sukhwinder Singh (only "Mehboob Mere" & "Hai Hai Mirchi"). The songs "Chunnari Chunnari" and "Ishq Sona Hai" became major hits after their release in 1999. The track "Aan Milo Ya Milne Se" did not feature in the movie.


title: Mitra

text: Mitra (Proto-Indo-Iranian: "*mitrás") is the name of an Indo-Iranian divinity from which the names and some characteristics of Rigvedic Mitrá and Avestan Mithra derive.


title: Mitra

text: The names (and occasionally also some characteristics) of these two older figures were subsequently also adopted for other figures:


title: Mitra

text: Both Vedic Mitra and Avestan Mithra derive from an Indo-Iranian common noun "*mitra-", generally reconstructed to have meant "covenant, treaty, agreement, promise." This meaning is preserved in Avestan "miθra" "covenant." In Sanskrit and modern Indo-Aryan languages, "" means "friend," one of the aspects of bonding and alliance.


title: Mitra

text: The Indo-Iranian reconstruction is attributed to Christian Bartholomae, and was subsequently refined by A. Meillet (1907), who suggested derivation from the Proto-Indo-European root "*mey-" "to exchange."


title: Mitra

text: A suggested alternative derivation was "*meh" "to measure" (Gray 1929). Pokorny (IEW 1959) refined Meillet's "*mei" as "to bind." Combining the root "*mei" with the "tool suffix" "-tra-" "that which [causes] ..." (also found in "man-tra-", "that which causes to think"), then literally means "that which binds," and thus "covenant, treaty, agreement, promise, oath" etc. Pokorny's interpretation also supports "to fasten, strengthen", which may be found in Latin "moenia" "city wall, fortification", and in an antonymic form, Old English "(ge)maere" "border, boundary-post".


title: Mitra

text: Meillet and Pokorny's "contract" did however have its detractors. Lentz (1964, 1970) refused to accept abstract "contract" for so exalted a divinity and preferred the more religious "piety." Because present-day Sanskrit "mitra" means "friend," and New Persian "mihr" means "love" or "friendship," Gonda (1972, 1973) insisted on a Vedic meaning of "friend, friendship," not "contract".


title: Mitra

text: Meillet's analysis also "rectified earlier interpretations" that suggested that the Indo-Iranian common noun "*mitra-" had anything to do with the light or the sun. When H. Lommel suggested that such an association was implied in the Younger Avesta (since the 6th century BCE), that too was conclusively dismissed. Today, it is certain that "(al)though Miθra is closely associated with the sun in the Avesta, he is not the sun" and "Vedic Mitra is not either."


title: Mitra

text: Old Persian "Miθra" or "Miθa" – both only attested in a handful of 4th-century BCE inscriptions of Artaxerxes II and III – "is generally admitted [to be] a borrowing from the Avesta," the genuine Old Persian form being reconstructed as "*Miça". (Kent initially suggested Sanskrit but later changed his mind). Middle Iranian "myhr" (Parthian, also in living Armenian usage) and "mihr" (Middle Persian), derive from Avestan "Mithra".


title: Mitra

text: Greek/Latin "Mithras," the focal deity of the Greco-Roman cult of Mithraism is the nominative form of vocative Mithra. In contrast to the original Avestan meaning of "contract" or "covenant" (and still evident in post-Sassanid Middle Persian texts), the Greco-Roman Mithraists probably thought the name meant "mediator." In Plutarch's 1st-century discussion of dualistic theologies, "Isis and Osiris" (46.7) the Greek historiographer provides the following explanation of the name in his summary of the Zoroastrian religion: Mithra is a "meson" ("in the middle") between "the good Horomazdes and the evil Aremanius [...] and this is why the "Pérsai" call the Mediator Mithra". Zaehner attributes this false etymology to a role that Mithra (and the sun!) played in the now extinct branch of Zoroastrianism known as Zurvanism.


title: Mitra

text: Vedic Mitra is a prominent deity of the Rigveda distinguished by a relationship to Varuna, the protector of "rta" as described in hymn 2, Mandala 1 of Rigveda. Together with Varuna, he counted among the Adityas, a group of solar deities, also in later Vedic texts. Vedic Mitra is the patron divinity of honesty, friendship, contracts and meetings.


title: Mitra

text: The first extant record of Indo-Aryan Mitra, in the form "mi-it-ra-", is in the inscribed peace treaty of c. 1400 BC between Hittites and the Hurrian kingdom of the Mitanni in the area southeast of Lake Van in Asia Minor. Mitra appears there together with four other Indic divinities as witnesses and keepers of the pact.


title: Mitra

text: In Zoroastrianism, Mithra is a member of the trinity of "ahuras", protectors of "asha/arta", "truth" or "[that which is] right". Mithra's standard appellation is "of wide pastures" suggesting omnipresence. Mithra is "truth-speaking, ... with a thousand ears, ... with ten thousand eyes, high, with full knowledge, strong, sleepless, and ever awake." ("Yasht" 10.7). As preserver of covenants, Mithra is also protector and keeper of all aspects of interpersonal relationships, such as friendship and love.


title: Mitra

text: Related to his position as protector of truth, Mithra is a judge ("ratu"), ensuring that individuals who break promises or are not righteous ("artavan") are not admitted to paradise. As also in Indo-Iranian tradition, Mithra is associated with (the divinity of) the sun but originally distinct from it. Mithra is closely associated with the feminine yazata Aredvi Sura Anahita, the hypostasis of knowledge.


title: Mitra

text: There is a deity Mithra mentioned on monuments in Commagene. According to the archaeologist Maarten Vermaseren, 1st century BC evidence from Commagene demonstrates the "reverence paid to Mithras" but does not refer to "the mysteries". In the colossal statuary erected by King Antiochus I (69–34 BC) at Mount Nemrut, Mithras is shown beardless, wearing a Phrygian cap, and was originally seated on a throne alongside other deities and the king himself. On the back of the thrones there is an inscription in Greek, which includes the name Apollo Mithras Helios in the genitive case (Ἀπόλλωνος Μίθρου Ἡλίου). Vermaseren also reports about a Mithras cult in the 3rd century BC. Fayum. R. D. Barnett has argued that the royal seal of King Saussatar of Mitanni from c. 1450 BC. depicts a tauroctonous Mithras.


title: Mitra

text: Maitreya is sometimes represented seated on a throne, and venerated both in Mahāyāna and non-Mahāyāna Buddhism. Some have speculated that inspiration for Maitreya may have come from the ancient Iranian deity "Mithra". The primary comparison between the two characters appears to be the similarity of their names. According to Tiele (1917) ""No one who has studied the Zoroastrian doctrine of the Saoshyants or the coming saviour-prophets can fail to see their resemblance to the future Maitreya.""


title: Mitra

text: Paul Williams claims that some Zoroastrian ideas like Saoshyant influenced the beliefs about Maitreya , such as expectations of a heavenly helper, the need to opt for positive righteousness, the future millennium, and universal salvation. Possible objections are that these characteristics are not unique to Zoroastrianism, nor are they necessarily characteristic of the belief in Maitreya .


title: Mitra

text: The name Mithra was adopted by the Greeks and Romans as "Mithras", chief figure in the mystery religion of Mithraism. At first identified with the Sun-god Helios by the Greeks, the syncretic Mithra-Helios was transformed into the figure Mithras during the 2nd century BC, probably at Pergamon. This new cult was taken to Rome around the 1st century BC and was dispersed throughout the Roman Empire. Popular among the Roman military, Mithraism was spread as far north as Hadrian's Wall and the Germanic Limes.


title: Pontiac's War

text: Pontiac's War (also known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Pontiac's Rebellion) was launched in 1763 by a loose confederation of Native Americans dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War (1754–1763). Warriors from numerous nations joined in an effort to drive British soldiers and settlers out of the region. The war is named after Odawa leader Pontiac, the most prominent of many indigenous leaders in the conflict.


title: Pontiac's War

text: The war began in May 1763 when Native Americans, alarmed by policies imposed by British General Jeffrey Amherst, attacked a number of British forts and settlements. Eight forts were destroyed, and hundreds of colonists were killed or captured, with many more fleeing the region. Hostilities came to an end after British Army expeditions in 1764 led to peace negotiations over the next two years. The Natives were unable to drive away the British, but the uprising prompted the British government to modify the policies that had provoked the conflict.


title: Pontiac's War

text: Warfare on the North American frontier was brutal, and the killing of prisoners, the targeting of civilians, and other atrocities were widespread. In an incident that became well-known and frequently debated, British officers at Fort Pitt attempted to infect besieging Indians with blankets that had been exposed to smallpox. The ruthlessness of the conflict was a reflection of a growing racial divide between indigenous peoples and British colonists. The British government sought to prevent further racial violence by issuing the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which created a boundary between colonists and Natives.


title: Pontiac's War

text: The conflict is named after its most well-known participant, the Odawa leader named Pontiac. An early name for the war was the "Kiyasuta and Pontiac War," "Kiyasuta" being an alternate spelling for Guyasuta, an influential Seneca/Mingo leader. The war became widely known as "Pontiac's Conspiracy" after the 1851 publication of Francis Parkman's "The Conspiracy of Pontiac". Parkman's book was the definitive account of the war for nearly a century and is still in print.


title: Pontiac's War

text: In the 20th century, some historians argued that Parkman the extent of Pontiac's influence in the conflict, so it was misleading to name the war after him. Francis Jennings (1988) wrote that "Pontiac was only a local Ottawa war chief in a 'resistance' involving many tribes." Alternate titles for the war have been proposed, such as "Pontiac's War for Indian Independence," the "Western Indians' Defensive War" and "The Amerindian War of 1763." Historians generally continue to use "Pontiac's War" or "Pontiac's Rebellion," with some 21st century scholars arguing that 20th century historians had underestimated Pontiac's importance.


title: Pontiac's War

text: In the decades before Pontiac's War, France and Great Britain participated in a series of wars in Europe that involved the French and Indian Wars in North America. The largest of these wars was the worldwide Seven Years' War, in which France lost New France in North America to Great Britain. Most fighting in the North American theater of the war, generally called the French and Indian War in the United States, or the War of Conquest (French: Guerre de la Conquête) in French Canada, came to an end after British General Jeffrey Amherst captured French Montréal in 1760.


title: Pontiac's War

text: British troops occupied forts in the Ohio Country and Great Lakes region previously garrisoned by the French. Even before the war officially ended with the Treaty of Paris (1763), the British Crown began to implement policy changes to administer its vastly expanded American territory. The French had long cultivated alliances amongst indigenous polities, but the British post-war approach essentially treated the indigenous nations as conquered peoples. Before long, Native Americans found themselves dissatisfied with the British occupation.


title: Pontiac's War

text: Indigenous people involved in Pontiac's War lived in a vaguely defined region of New France known as the "pays d'en haut" ("the upper country"), which was claimed by France until the Paris peace treaty of 1763. Natives of the "pays d'en haut" were from many different tribal nations. These tribes were linguistic or ethnic groupings of anarchic communities rather than centralized political powers; no individual chief spoke for an entire tribe, and no nations acted in unison. For example, Ottawas did not go to war as a tribe: Some Ottawa leaders chose to do so, while other Ottawa leaders denounced the war and stayed clear of the conflict.


title: Pontiac's War

text: The tribes of the "pays d'en haut" consisted of three basic groups. The first group was composed of tribes of the Great Lakes region: Ottawas, Ojibwes, and Potawatomis, who spoke Algonquian languages, and Hurons, who spoke an Iroquoian language. They had long been allied with French "habitants" with whom they lived, traded, and intermarried. Great Lakes Indians were alarmed to learn they were under British sovereignty after the French loss of North America. When a British garrison took possession of Fort Detroit from the French in 1760, local Indians cautioned them that "this country was given by God to the Indians." When the first Englishman reached Fort Michilimackinac, Ojibwe chief Minavavana told him "Englishman, although you have conquered the French, you have not yet conquered us!"


title: Pontiac's War

text: The second group was made up of tribes from eastern Illinois Country, which included Miamis, Weas, Kickapoos, Mascoutens, and Piankashaws. Like the Great Lakes tribes, these people had a long history of close relations with the French. Throughout the war, the British were unable to project military power into the Illinois Country, which was on the remote western edge of the conflict. The Illinois tribes were the last to come to terms with the British.


title: Pontiac's War

text: The third group consisted of tribes of the Ohio Country: Delawares (Lenape), Shawnees, Wyandots, and Mingos. These people had migrated to the Ohio valley earlier in the century to escape British, French, and Iroquois domination. Unlike the Great Lakes and Illinois Country tribes, Ohio tribes had no great attachment to the French regime, though they had fought as French allies in the previous war in an effort to drive away the British. They made a separate peace with the British with the understanding that the British Army would withdraw. But after the departure of the French, the British strengthened their forts rather than abandoning them, and so the Ohioans went to war in 1763 in another attempt to drive out the British.


title: Pontiac's War

text: Outside the "pays d'en haut", the influential Iroquois did not, as a group, participate in Pontiac's War because of their alliance with the British, known as the Covenant Chain. However, the westernmost Iroquois nation, the Seneca tribe, had become disaffected with the alliance. As early as 1761, Senecas began to send out war messages to the Great Lakes and Ohio Country tribes, urging them to unite in an attempt to drive out the British. When the war finally came in 1763, many Senecas were quick to take action.