Early life.

Reeves was born in Leeds, the son of Audrey (née Leigh) and James Neill Moir (1926–2004). At the age of five, he moved to Darlington, County Durham, with his parents and younger sister Lois. He attended Heathfield Infants and Junior School and went on to the nearby secondary school, Eastbourne Comprehensive in Darlington. After leaving school, Reeves undertook an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering at a factory in Newton Aycliffe. Eventually he moved to London, where he attended the Polytechnic of North London and Middlesex Polytechnic.

Career.

Reeves formed the Fashionable Five, a group of five friends (including Jack Dent, who ran the original Fan Club) who would follow bands like the Enid and Free onto stage, and perform pranks (including Reeves pretending to have a brass hand, and following a Terry Scott lookalike around Darlington town centre in single-file formation). Eventually, they formed their own band. Reeves had an early breakthrough with the help of comedian Malcolm Hardee.  In 1983, Reeves began a part-time course at a local art college, developed his love of painting and eventually persuaded a local art gallery to stage an exhibition of his work. Although still primarily known as a comedian, Reeves is gaining a reputation as an artist. His drawings and paintings have been used in his television shows and form a major part of his 1999 book, "Sun Boiled Onions".

As Vic Reeves.

As well as working and performing in bands in London, including being an original member of the Industrial/Experimental band Test Dept and performing onstage with them at their debut gig (then leaving soon afterwards), Reeves also joined the alternative comedy circuit under many different guises. These included a loudmouthed American called Jim Bell, a beat poet called Mister Mystery and, eventually, "The North-East's Top Light Entertainer"—Vic Reeves. His stage show "Vic Reeves Big Night Out" began life as a regular Thursday night gig at Goldsmith's Tavern, New Cross (now the New Cross House). Here, he met Bob Mortimer, a solicitor who attended the show and enjoyed it so much that he soon began to participate. Reeves' television début came in December 1986 on Channel 4 Television's "The Tube" in a comedy game show segment called "Square Celebrities", suspended by a wire to ask the "celebrities" questions. His next appearance was on the short-lived chat/comedy show "One Hour with Jonathan Ross" in a game show segment known as "Knock Down Ginger". Reeves' growing TV profile led to "Big Night Out" being given a slot on Channel 4 the following year. It was about this time that Reeves and Mortimer rented a back room at Jools Holland's office/recording studio in Westcombe Park, Greenwich where they would spend hours writing material.  The name Reeves is due to his fondness of the American singer Jim Reeves.  Reeves continued to work alongside Mortimer as a comedy duo in "The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer", "Shooting Stars", and "Bang Bang, It's Reeves and Mortimer", some of which also featured future cast members of "The Fast Show" and "Little Britain".  Reeves is one of the few comedians to have had a number one record in the UK Singles Chart, which he did in company with The Wonder Stuff, singing "Dizzy" (previously a number one hit for Tommy Roe). Including "Dizzy", he released two other singles from his 1991 album "I Will Cure You".  A 1994 pilot written by Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson entitled "The Honeymoon's Over" was due to feature Chris Bell, a character from "The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer"; however, the series was never commissioned. The same year, Reeves made a guest appearance on the Radio 1 series "Shuttleworth's Showtime", hosted by John Shuttleworth.  Between August 1998 and May 1999, Reeves and Mortimer presented the Channel X produced BBC Saturday game show "Families at War" with Alice Beer.  Reeves played Marty Hopkirk in the BBC's 2000–2001 thriller series "Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)"—a revival of the original 1960s series, with Mortimer as Randall, Emilia Fox as Jeannie and Tom Baker as Wyvern.  In 2000, Reeves presented a series entitled, "Vic Reeves Examines" on UK Play, featuring celebrities such as Ricky Gervais, Johnny Vegas, Lauren Laverne and Emma Kennedy discussing a topic of their choice. The same year, Reeves presented a one-off radio show on BBC Radio 1, entitled "Cock of the Wood".  In 2003 Reeves appeared on the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs.  In 2004 Reeves and Sorrell were both contestants in the fourth series of "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!". He appeared in the series "Catterick" with Mortimer appearing as several characters.  In September 2005, Reeves hosted a show for Virgin Radio called "Vic Reeves Big Night In" produced by Mark Augustyn, for a short period on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 7.00pm.  In May 2006, Reeves presented a programme on ITV Tyne Tees about Northeast comedy culture called "It's Funny Up North with... Vic Reeves".  Reeves presented a historical ten-part series, entitled "Rogues Gallery", which was shown on the Discovery Channel (UK) in 2005, where he investigated, and portrayed Anne Bonny and Mary Read, Captain Kidd, Claude Duval, Jonathan Wild, Rob Roy, Colonel Blood, George Ransley, Deacon Brodie, Blackbeard and Dick Turpin. Sorrell also appeared in some episodes. Continuing in this vein, "Vic Reeves' Pirates" was shown on ITV West and, subsequently, on the History Channel in 2007.  In 2007, Reeves hosted a show called "Vic Reeves Investigates: Jack the Ripper". Reeves, with the help of historians and leading experts, tried to discover who Jack the Ripper was. At the end of the show, he came to the conclusion that Jack the Ripper was Francis Tumblety.  On 8 May 2007, Reeves was the main presenter of "" during the fifth and sixth series, replacing Richard Hammond.  Beginning in June 2007, Reeves presented a BBC Radio 2 panel game called "Does the Team Think?".  On 17 November 2007, Reeves appeared in a weekly sketch show on BBC Radio 2, entitled "Vic Reeves' House Arrest". The show's premise was that Reeves had been put under house arrest for "a crime he didn't commit", and each episode consists of the various events that take place in and around his house on a particular day. Mortimer plays his housecall-making hairdresser, Carl, while other performers include "The Mighty Boosh" star Noel Fielding as a local vagrant who comes to Reeves' door on a weekly basis looking for work, as well as Sorrell in multiple roles.  On 27 February 2008, Reeves announced that he and Mortimer were working together on a new sitcom about super heroes who get their powers through a malfunctioning telegraph pole. He also reiterated his desire to bring back "Shooting Stars" for a 6th series. Along with his son, Reeves is also featured in one edition of a factual series for Five, "Dangerous Adventures for Boys", based on the best-selling book written by Conn and Hal Iggulden, "The Dangerous Book for Boys".  In February 2009, Reeves appeared as presenter of the first episode of "My Brilliant Britain", one of the new television shows commissioned for UKTV People channel's relaunch as Blighty.  On 25 August 2009, Reeves appeared as a guest on the BBC One's "The One Show" with Mortimer.  Series 6 of "Shooting Stars" began airing on 26 August 2009 with Reeves and Mortimer, along with Ulrika Jonsson and Jack Dee as team captains.  Reeves appeared as one of the guests in "Reece Shearsmith's Haunted House", a light-hearted radio discussion show broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in two parts on either side of Halloween on 29 October 2009 and 5 November 2009.  Reeves also lends his voice to the Virgin Atlantic Airlines onboard safety video, with Dani Behr.  In July 2011, Reeves and Mortimer for a selection of YouTube improvised comedy sketches, in association with Foster's. They released their "Afternoon Delight" clips every weekday afternoon in July.  In 2020, Reeves co-hosted the Netflix original, reality series The Big Flower Fight alongside Natasia Demetriou.

Television appearances.

Reeves has appeared without Mortimer on a number of British television shows, primarily game shows, poll programmes and charity telethons. These include:

Art.

Alongside his comedy, Reeves is a serious artist, although the two often combine. Reeves works in many media including painting, ceramics, photography and lino prints, and has a distinctive style. His work has been described as Dada-esque, surreal and sometimes macabre. For Reeves, his art and comedy are different ways of expressing the same idea. He says "I think putting your imagination on canvas or a television screen is the same thing" and "I don't differentiate between painting, acting or comedy. I think everything I do is art." Reeves has stated that he is an artist first and a comedian second, and that in ten years time he would like to be remembered for his art and writing, rather than his comedy.  Much like his comedy, Reeves is not one to analyse his artworks. He has said that art should be "just for laughs" and that he dislikes people looking for statements in his work, because there are none. "If something makes me laugh, that's it." "I've done straight drawings and paintings... and I haven't got as much pleasure out of them as if I'd done something that would make me laugh." His work has been described by artists Jake and Dinos Chapman as "able to command our laughter as a purgative, to encourage the viewer to leak at both ends". Artist Damien Hirst, a friend of Reeves', has also described Reeves as an influence. This crossover of comedy and art often features within Reeves and Mortimer's television shows. A notable example is "The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer" first episode. Several of Reeves' drawings are featured, illustrating the lyrics of the opening song. (These drawings would later be published within his book "Sun Boiled Onions".) As seen in the script book for the show, Reeves often drew sketches for the BBC's costume and set designers saying that "if we just tell them what we want, it never ends up looking like it does in our minds".

Background and education.

Arts and crafts played a large part in Reeves' upbringing. His mother and father, a seamstress and typesetter by trade, made extra money by selling handmade wooden crafts and ceramics at local markets. Building on these money-making schemes, Reeves began charging for his own artistic services such as customising and painting his school friend's Haversack bags and elaborately embroidering clothing. Later he would go on to forge artworks his acquaintances liked with the aim of selling them to them. Wanting to study art, but being pressured into work, Reeves began a five-year engineering apprenticeship at a factory in Newton Aycliffe with the aim of working in their technical drawings department.  After completing the apprenticeship, Reeves applied to Goldsmiths College in London to study art, but failed to get a place. He has admitted to sneaking in and using their equipment regardless. In 1983 he completed a one-year foundation course at Sir John Cass College, where he is now an honorary graduate. Once leaving college, he worked as a curator at The Garden Gallery, an independent London gallery. It was there that he held his first art exhibition in 1985, with the help of a grant from Lewisham Council.

Published work and exhibitions.

Reeves has released two books of his art, "Sun Boiled Onions" in 1999 and "Vic Reeves' Vast Book of World Knowledge" in 2009. His drawings also appear in his autobiography "Me:Moir Volume One", and the published script book for "The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer". He provided thirty illustrations for Random House's 2011 reprint of Jerome K. Jerome's classic story "Three Men in a Boat". He was also commissioned to create several celebrity drawings for Jools Holland's Channel 5 series "Name That Tune".  Reeves has hosted several exhibitions of his artwork, including:  In 2010, a selection of Reeves' paintings were displayed at the Saatchi Gallery, London as part of an exhibition by charity The Art of Giving. He was also a judge for the charity's open art competition.  In 2012, Reeves took part in the Illuminating York festival. His illuminations, known as "Wonderland", were projected across a number of historic buildings including the Yorkshire Museum, St Mary's Abbey, and the ten-acre site of York Museum Gardens.

Music.

Before finding fame with his comedy, Reeves was a member of several bands with many different names and musical styles, in which he usually played bass guitar and/or sang. He sold tapes of his early material in the back pages of "NME" magazine under the name "International Cod".  Mark Lamarr, later to become team captain of Shooting Stars, was sent a tape of Reeves' band "Fan Tan Tiddly Span". When Reeves appeared on "Never Mind the Buzzcocks" in 1998, Lamarr repeatedly played a sample from the song "Fantasia (Side A)" in an attempt to embarrass him.  As part of early "Big Night Out" performances, Reeves would sometimes hand out promotional materials to the audience. On one occasion he handed out a 7" flexi disc of original song "The Howlin' Wind". Having surplus copies of the discs, Reeves passed them on to Darlington-based band Dan who then included a copy of the disc with their album "Kicking Ass at T.J.'s".

Album.

"I Will Cure You" was Reeves' only album. It was released in 1991 by Island Records and peaked at No. 16 in the UK Albums Chart. It featured the Number One single "Dizzy" which was a collaboration with The Wonder Stuff. It included a mixture of covers and original songs in a variety of musical styles, many of which were originally introduced in "Big Night Out". Along with "Dizzy", two other singles were released from the album, a cover of the Matt Monro song "Born Free" and a dance reworking of Christian hymn "Abide With Me" which reached No. 6 and No. 47 in the UK Singles Chart, respectively.

Singles.

In 1995, Reeves and Mortimer released a cover of The Monkees song "I'm a Believer" with British band EMF which reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart. Reeves had a history with the track, having both sung it at the beginning of early "Big Night Out" performances in London, and opened the Channel 4 series with it. In the music video, which was directed by Reeves, the duo dress as Mike Nesmith and Davy Jones of The Monkees. On the CD release of the single, a studio version of "At This Stage I Couldn't Say" was included, a track originally sung by characters Mulligan and O'Hare in "The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer". On the 7" release, the bonus track was "At Least We've Got Our Guitars", which was the opening song for the last episode of "The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer".  In April 2007, the theme to British stop-motion animation "Shaun the Sheep", sung by Reeves, was released as a single. The song reached No. 20 in the UK Singles Chart.

Contributions.

In 1990 both Reeves and Mortimer contributed backing vocals to Jools Holland's "Holy Cow" (a Lee Dorsey cover). The track was included on Holland's album "World of his Own" and also released as a single. Later, Reeves would advertise Holland's album "Moving Out to the Country".  Also in 1990, Reeves provided backing vocals for former Smiths singer Morrissey's cover of "That's Entertainment", originally by The Jam. Reeves' vocals were not used in the final edit but he was thanked (as Jim Moir) in the sleeve notes of Morrissey's Sing Your Life single, which featured "That's Entertainment" as a bonus track. A fan of the Smiths, Reeves opened some episodes of "Big Night Out" with covers of the band's songs including "Sheila Take a Bow" which he intended to include a cover of on his album "I Will Cure You". It did not make the final cut.  In 1992, Reeves contributed a track to "Ruby Trax", a compilation album released by "NME" magazine to commemorate 40 years of the publication. He covered the Ultravox song "Vienna", but drastically altered the original lyrics.  In 1998, Reeves contributed to "", a tribute album featuring notable singers and bands such as Elton John, Sting, Robbie Williams and Paul McCartney. Reeves covered Coward's 1934 track "Don't Put Your Daughter on the Stage Mrs. Worthington", which was arranged by David Arnold for the album. The song, described by Reeves as "sinister", was initially recorded with all original verses intact, but as the last included foul language, it was edited out of the final release.  In 2000, Reeves' cover of "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?" was featured as a bonus track on the theme single to the "Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)" series in which he starred. Reeves was originally to duet with Nina Persson (of the Cardigans), who provided vocals, but missed the final cut. A shortened version of Reeves' cover also featured in the series itself. Both Reeves and Mortimer appeared in the music video for the single.

Music videos.

Other than the music videos for his own singles, Reeves has appeared in others. His first was the 1987 video for Shakin' Stevens' single "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For". He was hired for the shoot and paid £10 for his appearance.  Reeves also appeared in the 1988 music video for Band of Holy Joy's song "Tactless". He introduces the band and can be seen at the bar part way through. The video was filmed in Deptford, London and original advertising posters for "Big Night Out" can be seen at the beginning.

Advertising.

Reeves has appeared in television advertisements, both with Mortimer and alone. He has done solo advertising work for a variety of products including Guinness, MFI, Müller Light, First Direct, Churchill Insurance, Cadbury's Boost, Mars Bar, Fanta, Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Domestos bleach, Maryland Cookies, 888 Ladies and East Coast Trains. Reeves also advertised Jools Holland's 2006 album "Moving Out to the Country".

Personal life.

Reeves has four children, the eldest two by his first wife Sarah Vincent, whom he married in 1990 and divorced in 1999. He met his second wife, Nancy Sorrell, in 2001, and the couple married on 25 January 2003. Sorrell gave birth to twin girls Beth and Nell at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent, on 25 May 2006.  Reeves lives in Charing, near Ashford.  He buried his classic Austin A40 Somerset car in his back garden, as shown on the BBC's 1997 "Omnibus" documentary "A Film of Reeves & Mortimer".  Along with Mortimer he is a lifelong fan of the rock band Free.

James Roderick Moir (born 24 January 1959), better known by the stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian, artist, musician, actor and television presenter, best known for his double act with Bob Mortimer as Vic and Bob. He is known for his surreal sense of humour.

Vic Reeves, de son vrai nom James "Jim" Roderick Moir, né à Leeds le, est un acteur britannique très connu en Grande-Bretagne pour son duo comique avec Bob Mortimer. Il est plus connu en France en tant que présentateur de l'émission scientifique dans laquelle il remplace Richard Hammond.


Concept and duration.

Since the 19th century traditional historiography has stressed the existence of the "Reconquista", a continuous phenomenon by which the Christian Iberian kingdoms opposed and conquered the Muslim kingdoms, understood as a common enemy who had militarily seized territory from native Iberian Christians. The concept of a Christian reconquest of the peninsula first emerged, in tenuous form, at the end of the 9th century. A landmark was set by the Christian "Chronica Prophetica" (883–884), a document stressing the Christian and Muslim cultural and religious divide in Iberia and the necessity to drive the Muslims out.  Both Christian and Muslim rulers fought amongst themselves. Alliances between Muslims and Christians were not uncommon. Blurring distinctions even further were the mercenaries from both sides who simply fought for whoever paid the most. The period is seen today to have had long episodes of relative religious tolerance. However, this idea has been challenged by scholars today.  The Crusades, which started late in the 11th century, bred the religious ideology of a Christian reconquest, confronted at that time with a similarly staunch Muslim Jihad ideology in Al-Andalus by the Almoravids, and to an even greater degree by the Almohads. In fact, previous documents from the 10th and 11th centuries are mute on any idea of "reconquest". Propaganda accounts of Muslim-Christian hostility came into being to

Background.

Landing in Visigothic Hispania and initial expansion.

In 711, North African Berber soldiers with some Arabs commanded by Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, engaging a Visigothic force led by King Roderic at the Battle of Guadalete in a moment of serious in-fighting and division across the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania.

Islamic rule.

After the establishment of a local Emirate, Caliph Al-Walid I, ruler of the Umayyad Caliphate, removed many of the successful Muslim commanders. Tariq ibn Ziyad was recalled to Damascus and replaced with Musa ibn-Nusayr, who had been his former superior. Musa's son, Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa, apparently married Egilona, Roderic's widow, and established his regional government in Seville. He was suspected of being under the influence of his wife and was accused of wanting to convert to Christianity and of planning a

Reconquista.

Beginning of the "Reconquista".

A drastic increase of taxes by the emir Anbasa ibn Suhaym Al-Kalbi provoked several rebellions in Al-Andalus, which a series of succeeding weak emirs were unable to suppress. Around 722, a Muslim military expedition was sent into the north in late summer to suppress a rebellion led by Pelagius of Asturias (Pelayo in Spanish, Pelayu in Asturian). Traditional historiography has hailed Pelagius' victory at Covadonga as the beginning of the "Reconquista". No Muslim source mentions the battle at Covadonga, in contrast with the Battle of Toulouse in 721, with a death toll of perhaps tens of thousands, which was mourned for centuries as a large scale tragedy by the Iberian Muslims. For Pelagius, however, the Christian victory secured his independent rule, while the precise date and circumstances of the battle are unclear. Among the possibilities is that Pelagius' rebellion was successful because the greater part of the Muslim forces were focusing in Septimania and Toulouse (721).  Two northern realms, the Basque Navarre and Asturias, despite their small size, demonstrated an ability to maintain their independence. Because the Umayyad rulers based in Córdoba were unable to extend their power over the

Franks and Al-Andalus.

After the Umayyad conquest of the Iberian heartland of the Visigothic kingdom, the Muslims crossed the Pyrenees and gradually took control of Septimania, starting in 719 with the conquest of Narbonne through 725 when Carcassonne and Nîmes were secured. From the stronghold of Narbonne, they tried to conquer Aquitaine but suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Toulouse (721).  Ten years after halting their advance north, Odo of Aquitaine married his daughter to Uthman ibn Naissa, a rebel Berber and lord of Cerdanya (perhaps all of contemporary Catalonia as well), in an attempt to secure his southern borders to fend off Charles Martel's attacks on the north. However, a major punitive expedition led by Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, the latest emir of Al-Andalus, defeated and killed Uthman.

Pepin the Younger and Charlemagne.

After expelling the Muslims from Narbonne in 759 and driving their forces back over the Pyrenees, the Carolingian king Pepin the Short conquered Aquitaine in a ruthless eight-year war. Charlemagne followed his father by subduing Aquitaine by creating counties, taking the Church as his ally and appointing counts of Frankish or Burgundian stock, like his loyal William of Gellone, making Toulouse his base for expeditions against Al-Andalus. Charlemagne decided to organize a regional subkingdom in order to keep the Aquitanians in check and to secure the southern border of the Carolingian Empire against Muslim incursions. In 781, his three-year-old son Louis was crowned king of Aquitaine, under the supervision of Charlemagne's trustee William of Gellone, and was nominally in charge of the incipient Spanish March.  Meanwhile, the takeover of the southern fringes of Al-Andalus by Abd ar-Rahman I in 756 was opposed by Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman, autonomous governor ("wāli") or king ("malik") of al-Andalus. Abd ar-Rahman I expelled Yusuf from Cordova, but it took still decades for him to expand to the north-western Andalusian districts. He was also opposed externally by the Abbasids of Baghdad who failed in their attempts to overthrow him. In 778, Abd al-Rahman closed in on the Ebro valley. Regional lords saw the Umayyad emir at the gates and decided to enlist the nearby Christian Franks. According to Ali ibn al-Athir, a Kurdish historian of the 12th century, Charlemagne received the envoys of Sulayman al-Arabi, Husayn, and Abu Taur at the Diet of Paderborn in 777. These rulers of Zaragoza, Girona, Barcelona, and Huesca were enemies of Abd ar-Rahman I, and in return for Frankish military aid against him offered their homage and allegiance.  Charlemagne, seeing an opportunity, agreed upon an expedition and crossed the Pyrenees in 778. Near the city of Zaragoza Charlemagne received

Expansion into the Crusades and military orders.

In the High Middle Ages, the fight against the Moors in the Iberian Peninsula became linked to the fight of the whole of Christendom. The "Reconquista" was originally a mere war of conquest. It only later underwent a significant shift in meaning toward a religiously justified war of liberation (see the Augustinian concept of a Just War). The papacy and the influential Abbey of Cluny in Burgundy not only justified the acts of war but actively encouraged Christian knights to seek armed confrontation with Moorish "infidels" instead of with each other.  From the 11th century onwards indulgences were granted: In 1064 Pope Alexander II promised the participants of an expedition against Barbastro ("Tagr al-Andalus", Aragon) a collective indulgence 30 years before Pope Urban II called the First Crusade. Papal interest in Christian-Muslim relations in the peninsula was not without precedent – Popes

Christian military culture in medieval Iberia.

In an atmosphere of constant conflict, warfare and daily life were strongly intertwined during this period. Small, lightly equipped armies reflected the need for society to be on constant alert during the first chapters of the Reconquista. These forces were capable of moving long distances in short times, allowing a quick return home after sacking a target. The initial battles were mainly waged between clans, expelling intruder armies or sacking expeditions.  In the context of the relative isolation of the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of Europe, and the contact with Moorish culture, there were military strategies and tactics that were slightly different from those found in the rest of western Europe during the early stages of the Reconquista.  Medieval Iberian armies mainly comprised two types of forces: the cavalry (mostly nobles, but including commoner knights from the 10th century on) and the infantry, or "peones" (peasants). Infantry only went to war if needed, which was not frequent.

Cavalry and infantry.

Iberian cavalry tactics involved knights approaching the enemy, throwing javelins, then withdrawing to a safe distance before commencing another assault. Once the enemy formation was sufficiently weakened, the knights charged with thrusting spears (lances did not arrive in Hispania until the 11th century). There were three types of knights ("caballeros"): royal knights, noble knights ("caballeros hidalgos"), and commoner knights ("caballeros villanos", or "mounted soldier from a villa"). Royal knights were mainly nobles with a close relationship with the king, and thus

Technological changes.

This style of warfare remained dominant in the Iberian Peninsula until the late 11th century, when lance tactics entered from France, although the traditional horse javelin-shot techniques continued to be used. In the 12th and 13th centuries, soldiers typically carried a sword, a lance, a javelin, and either bow and arrows or crossbow and darts/bolts. Armor consisted of a coat of mail over a quilted jacket, extending at least to the knees, a helmet or iron cap, and bracers protecting the arms and thighs, either metal or

Northern Christian realms.

The northern principalities and kingdoms survived in their mountainous strongholds (see above). However, they started a definite territorial expansion south at the turn of the 10th century (Leon, Najera). The fall of the Caliphate of Cordova (1031) heralded a period of military expansion for the northern kingdoms, now divided into several mighty regional powers after the division of the Kingdom of Navarre (1035). A myriad of autonomous Christian kingdoms emerged thereafter.

Kingdom of Asturias (718–924).

The Kingdom of Asturias was located in the Cantabrian Mountains, a wet and mountainous region in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. It was the first Christian power to emerge. The kingdom was established by a nobleman, Pelagius ("Pelayo"), who had possibly returned after the Battle of Guadalete in 711 and was elected leader of the Asturians, laying the foundations for the Kingdom of Asturias and starting the Astur-Leonese dynasty that spanned from 718 to 1037 and led the initial efforts in the Iberian peninsula to take back the territories then ruled by the Moors. Although the new dynasty first ruled in the

Kingdom of León (910–1230).

Alfonso III of Asturias repopulated the strategically important city León and established it as his capital. King Alfonso began a series of campaigns to establish control over all the lands north of the Douro river. He reorganized his territories into the major duchies (Galicia and Portugal) and major counties (Saldaña and Castile), and fortified the borders with many castles. At his death in 910 the shift in regional power was completed as the kingdom became the Kingdom of León. From this power base, his heir Ordoño II was able to organize attacks against Toledo and even Seville.  The Caliphate of Córdoba was gaining power, and began to attack León. King Ordoño allied with Navarre against Abd-al-Rahman, but they were defeated in Valdejunquera in 920. For the next 80 years, the Kingdom of León suffered civil wars, Moorish attack, internal intrigues and assassinations, and the partial independence of Galicia and Castile, thus delaying the reconquest and weakening

Kingdom of Castile (1037–1230).

Ferdinand I of León was the leading king of the mid-11th century. He conquered Coimbra and attacked the taifa kingdoms, often demanding the tributes known as parias. Ferdinand's strategy was to continue to demand parias until the taifa was greatly weakened both militarily and financially. He also repopulated the Borders with numerous "fueros". Following the Navarrese tradition, on his death in 1064 he divided his kingdom between his sons. His son Sancho II of Castile wanted to reunite the kingdom of his father and attacked his brothers, with a young noble at his side: Rodrigo Díaz, later known as El Cid Campeador. Sancho was killed in the siege of Zamora by the traitor Bellido Dolfos (also known as Vellido Adolfo) in 1072. His

Kingdom of Navarre (824–1620).

The Kingdom of Pamplona primarily extended along either side of the Pyrenees on the Atlantic Ocean. The kingdom was formed when local leader Íñigo Arista led a revolt against the regional Frankish authority and was elected or declared King in Pamplona (traditionally in 824), establishing a kingdom inextricably linked at this stage to their kinsmen, the muwallad Banu Qasi of Tudela.  Although relatively weak until the early 11th century, Pamplona took a more

Kingdom of Aragon (1035–1706).

The Kingdom of Aragon started off as an offshoot of the Kingdom of Navarre. It was formed when Sancho III of Navarre decided to divide his large realm among all his sons. Aragon was the portion of the realm which passed to Ramiro I of Aragon, an illegitimate son of Sancho III. The kingdoms of Aragon and Navarre were several times united in personal union until the death of Alfonso the Battler in 1135.  In 1137 the heiress of the kingdom married the count of Barcelona, and their son Alfonso II ruled from 1162 the combined possessions of his parents, resulting in what

Kingdom of Portugal (1139–1910).

In 1139, after an overwhelming victory in the Battle of Ourique against the Almoravids, Afonso Henriques was proclaimed the first King of Portugal by his troops. According to the legend, Christ announced from heaven Afonso's great deeds, whereby he would establish the first Portuguese Cortes at Lamego and be crowned by the Primate Archbishop of Braga. In the Treaty of Zamora in 1143, Alfonso VII of León and Castile recognized Portuguese independence from the Kingdom of León.  In 1147, Portugal captured Santarém, and seven months later the city of Lisbon was also brought under Portuguese control after the Siege of Lisbon. By the papal bull Manifestis Probatum, Pope Alexander III recognized Afonso Henriques as King of Portugal in 1179.  With Portugal finally recognized as an independent kingdom by its neighbours, Afonso Henriques and his successors, aided by Crusaders and the military monastic orders the Knights Templar, the Order of Aviz or the Order of Saint James, pushed the Moors to the Algarve

Other.

Minor Christian realms were the Kingdom of

Christian infighting.

Clashes and raids on bordering Andalusian lands did not keep the Christian kingdoms from battling among themselves or allying with Muslim kings. Some Muslim kings had Christian-born wives or mothers. Some Christian champions, like El Cid, were contracted by taifa kings to fight against their neighbours. Indeed, El Cid's first battle experience was gained fighting for a Muslim state against a Christian state. At the Battle of Graus in 1063, he and other Castilians fought on the side of al-Muqtadir, Muslim sultan of Zaragoza, against the forces of Ramiro I of Aragon. There is even an instance of a crusade being declared against another Christian king in Iberia.  Following the disastrous defeat of Alfonso VIII, King of Castile,

Christian repopulation of Iberian Peninsula.

The "Reconquista" was a process not only of war and conquest, but also of repopulation. Christian kings moved their own people to locations abandoned by Muslims in order to have a population capable of defending the borders. The main repopulation areas were the Douro Basin (the northern plateau), the high Ebro valley (La Rioja) and central Catalonia. The repopulation of the Douro Basin took place in two distinct phases. North of the river, between the 9th and 10th centuries, the "pressure" (or "presura") system was employed. South of the Douro, in the 10th and 11th centuries, the "presura" led to the "charters" ("forais" or "fueros"). "Fueros" were used even south of the Central Range.  The "presura" referred to a group of peasants who crossed the mountains and settled in the abandoned lands of the Douro Basin. Asturian laws promoted this system, for instance granting a peasant all the land he was able to work and defend as his own property. Of course, Asturian and Galician minor nobles and clergymen sent their own expeditions with the peasants they maintained. This led to very feudalised areas, such as León and Portugal, whereas Castile, an arid land with vast plains and harsh climate, only attracted peasants with no hope in Biscay. As

Muslim decline and defeat.

Fall of the Caliphate.

During the 9th century the Berbers returned to North Africa in the aftermath of revolts. Many governors of large cities distant from the capital, Córdoba, had planned to establish their independence. Then, in 929, the Emir of Córdoba (Abd-ar-Rahman III), the leader of the Umayyad dynasty, declared himself Caliph, independent from the Abbasids in Baghdad. He took all the military, religious, and political power and reorganised the army and the bureaucracy.  After regaining control over the dissident governors, Abd-ar-Rahman III tried to conquer the remaining Christian kingdoms of the Iberian peninsula, attacking them several times and forcing them back beyond the Cantabrian Mountains. Abd-ar-Rahman's grandson

Almoravids.

The Almoravids were a Muslim militia composed of Berber, and unlike previous Muslim rulers, they were not so tolerant towards Christians and Jews. Their armies entered the Iberian peninsula on several occasions (1086, 1088, 1093) and defeated King Alfonso at the Battle of Sagrajas in 1086, but initially their purpose was to unite all the taifas into a single Almoravid Caliphate. Their actions halted the southward expansion of the Christian kingdoms. Their only defeat came at Valencia in 1094, due to the actions of El Cid.  Meanwhile, Navarre lost all

Almohads.

After a brief period of disintegration (the second Taifa period), the Almohads, the rising power in North Africa, took over most of "Al-Andalus". However they were decisively defeated

Granada War and the end of Muslim rule in Iberia.

Ferdinand and Isabella completed the "Reconquista" with a war against the Emirate of Granada that started in 1482 and ended with Granada's surrender on January 2, 1492. The Moors in Castile previously numbered "half a million within the realm". By 1492 some 100,000 had died or been enslaved, 200,000 had emigrated, and 200,000 remained in Castile. Many of the Muslim elite, including Granada's former Emir Muhammad XII, who had been given the

Conversions and expulsions.

As elsewhere in the Muslim world, Christians and Jews were allowed to retain their religions, with their own legal systems and courts, by paying a tax, the "jizya". The penalty for not paying it was imprisonment and death.  The new Christian hierarchy demanded heavy taxes from non-Christians and gave them rights, such as in the Treaty of Granada (1491) only for Moors in recently Islamic Granada. On July 30, 1492, all the Jewish community – some 200,000 people – were forcibly expelled. The next year the Alhambra decree ordered the expulsion of practicing Jews, leading many to convert to Catholicism. In 1502, Queen Isabella I declared conversion to Catholicism compulsory within the Kingdom of Castile. King Charles V did the same to Moors in the Kingdom of Aragon in 1526, forcing conversions of its Muslim population during the Revolt of the Germanies. Many local officials took advantage of the situation to seize property.

Spanish Inquisition.

Most of the descendants of those Muslims who submitted to conversion to Christianity – rather than exile – during the early periods of the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisition, the Moriscos, were later expelled from Spain after serious social upheaval, when the Inquisition was at its height. The expulsions were carried out more severely in eastern Spain (Valencia and Aragon) due to local animosity towards Muslims and Moriscos where they were seen as economic rivals by local workers who saw them as cheap labor undermining their bargaining position with the landlords. Exactions imposed on the Moriscos paved the way to a major Morisco revolt happening

Classifications and later consequences.

The many advances and

Legacy.

Real, legendary, and fictional episodes from the "Reconquista" are the subject of much of medieval Galician-Portuguese, Spanish, and Catalan literature such as the "cantar de gesta".  Some noble genealogies show the close relations (although not very numerous) between Muslims and Christians. For example, Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir, whose rule is considered to have marked the peak of power for Moorish "Al-Andalus" Iberia, married Abda, daughter of Sancho Garcés II of Navarra, who bore him a son, named Abd al-Rahman and commonly known in a pejorative sense as Sanchuelo ("Little Sancho"; in Arabic: "Shanjoul").  After his father's death, Sanchuelo/Abd al-Rahman, as a son of a Christian princess, was a strong contender to take over the ultimate power in Muslim al-Andalus. A hundred years later, King Alfonso VI of Castile, considered among the greatest of the Medieval Spanish kings, designated as his heir his son (also a Sancho) by the refugee Muslim princess Zaida of Seville.  The "Reconquista" was a war with long periods of respite between the adversaries, partly for pragmatic reasons and also due to infighting among the Christian kingdoms of the North spanning over seven centuries. Some populations practiced Islam or Christianity as their own religion during these centuries, so the identity of contenders changed over time.

Festivals in modern Spain and Portugal.

Currently, festivals called "moros y cristianos" (Castilian), "moros i cristians" (Catalan), "mouros e cristãos" (Portuguese) and "mouros e cristiáns" (Galician), which all

Persistent effects.

A 2016 study found that the "rate of Reconquest"—how rapidly the Christian frontier was expanded—has persistent effects on the Spanish economy to this day. After an initial phase of military conquest, Christians states incorporated the conquered land. When large frontier regions were incorporated at

Reverberations.

On the conclusion of Iberian victory over the Moors, the Iberian powers, Spain and Portugal didn't stop their warring against the Muslims solely in their homelands—they extended the conflict against Islam overseas. The Spanish under the Habsburg dynasty soon became the champions of Roman Catholicism in Europe and the Mediterranean against the encroaching threat of the Ottoman Empire. In a similar vein, the Portuguese also extended the Reconquista, this time against Muslim states overseas. The conquest of Ceuta marked the beginning of Portuguese expansion

The (Portuguese and Spanish for "reconquest") was a period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula of about 780 years between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711, the expansion of the Christian kingdoms throughout Iberia, and the fall of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada in 1492.

La Reconquista (mot espagnol et portugais, en français : « Reconquête ») est le nom donné à la période du Moyen Âge durant laquelle s'est produite la reconquête, par les royaumes chrétiens, des territoires de la péninsule Ibérique et des îles Baléares occupés par les musulmans. Il est communément admis que la "Reconquista" commence lors de la première moitié du ; néanmoins, l'année exacte de son début reste sujette à débat. La victoire asturienne lors de la bataille de Covadonga en 722 est une des dates admises comme le point de départ de la reconquête. Elle s'achève le dans l'actuelle Espagne, lorsque les « Rois catholiques » prennent le dernier bastion musulman à Grenade.


History.

Founding.

In June 1598, Juan de Oñate led a group of Spanish settlers through the Jornada del Muerto, an inhospitable patch of desert that ends just south of the present-day city of Socorro. As the Spaniards emerged from the desert, Piro Indians of the pueblo of Teypana gave them food and water. Therefore, the Spaniards renamed this pueblo Socorro, which means "help" or "aid". Later, the name "Socorro" would be applied to the nearby Piro pueblo of Pilabó.  Nuestra Señora de Perpetuo Socorro, the first Catholic mission in the area, was probably established c. 1626. Fray Agustín de Vetancurt would later write that around 600 people lived in the area during this period. Mines in the Socorro mountains were opened by 1626.  During the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, Spanish refugees stopped in the pueblo of Socorro. A number of Piro Indians followed the Spaniards as they left the province to go south to safety. With no protection of Spanish troops, Socorro was destroyed and the remaining Piro were killed by the Apache and other tribes.  The Spanish did not initially resettle Socorro when they re-conquered New Mexico. Other than El Paso, there were no Spanish settlements south of Sabinal (which is approximately north of Socorro) until the 1800s. In 1800, governor Fernando Chacon gave the order to resettle Socorro and other villages in the area. However, Socorro was not resettled until about 1815. In 1817, 70 Belen residents petitioned the crown for land in Socorro. The 1833 Socorro census lists over 400 residents, with a total of 1,774 people living within the vicinity of the village.  The mission of San Miguel de Socorro was established soon after Socorro was resettled. The church was built on the ruins of the old Nuestra Señora de Socorro.

Territorial period.

In August 1846, during the Mexican–American War, New Mexico was occupied by the American Army. In Las Vegas, New Mexico, Colonel Stephen W. Kearny proclaimed New Mexico's independence from Mexico. On their way to begin their assault on Mexico, American troops stopped in Socorro. A British officer, Lt. George Ruxton, commented that these soldiers were "unwashed and unshaven, were ragged and dirty, without uniforms..." and were lacking in discipline.  In September 1850, New Mexico became a territory of the United States. At the time, New Mexico encompassed what is now the states of New Mexico and Arizona. In 1850, the population of Socorro was only 543 people. This included 100 American soldiers who were soon moved to Valverde.  The first military post built near Socorro was Fort Conrad, south of the town. Built in August 1851, the fort was badly constructed and was abandoned for Fort Craig, located a few miles away. Fort Craig was first occupied on March 31, 1854.  The New Mexico School of Mines (now the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology) was founded in Socorro in 1889.  On April 24, 1964, Lonnie Zamora, a local policeman, claimed to have observed a flying saucer and two little beings. Zamora's claim is known as the Lonnie Zamora incident.

Geography and geology.

Socorro is located south of Albuquerque, at an average elevation of. The town lies adjacent to the Rio Grande in a landscape dominated by the Rio Grande rift and numerous extinct volcanoes. The immediate region encompasses approximately of vertical relief between the Rio Grande and the Magdalena Mountains. Notable nearby locales include the Cibola National Forest, the Bureau of Land Management Quebradas Scenic Backcountry Byway, and the Bosque del Apache and Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuges. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which, or 0.21%, is water.

Climate.

Socorro has a typical New Mexico cool semi-arid climate with hot summers – which divide naturally into a dry early summer from April to June and a relatively humid monsoon season from July into September – and mild, dry winters with very cold nights. Winters are dry even compared to the rest of New Mexico due to shielding from adjacent mountains, and monthly precipitation totals from November to June have only once exceeded (in May 1937). The wettest month on record has been July 1915 with, the wettest calendar year 1907 with, and the wettest day September 29 of 1904 with The driest calendar year has been 1956 with.  Temperatures in Socorro are consistently hot from May to September, with 83 days topping or reaching and nine reaching or topping. The hottest temperature on record has been on 26 June 1994 during a record heatwave throughout the region. Large diurnal temperature ranges make summer less unpleasant: only eight nights stay above and fewer than ten nights on record have stayed above. On average 121 nights fall below freezing, but nights falling to or below are rare and not one has occurred since February 2011 when the temperature plummeted to. Winter maxima are pleasant: on average only two afternoons per winter will fail to top freezing, and only 29 days do not reach at least, with the most days staying below freezing being seven in the record cold January 1949. Snowfall is consequently rare: many seasons have no snow and the mean is only, with the most in one month being in December 1960.

Demographics.

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,877 people, 3,415 households, and 2,151 families residing in the city. The population density was 615.8 people per square mile (237.9/km2). There were 3,940 housing units at an average density of 273.3 per square mile (105.6/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 66.16% White, 0.74% African American, 2.77% Native American, 2.24% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 23.24% from other races, and 4.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 54.50% of the population. There were 3,415 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% were married couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.02. In the City of Socorro 25.4% of the total population was under the age of 18, 16.9% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.6 males.  The median income for a household in the city was $22,530, and the median income for a family was $33,013. Males had a median income of $31,517 versus $23,071 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,250. About 24.1% of families and 32.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 44.4% of those under age 18 and 23.6% of those age 65 or over.  The languages spoken at home were 62.41% English, 35.64% Spanish, 0.90% Chinese, 0.76% German, and 0.36% Navajo.

Economy.

Major employers in Socorro include the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NM Tech), the Bureau of Land Management, Socorro General Hospital, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, municipal and county governments, Socorro Consolidated Schools. A large number of small businesses are represented by the Socorro County Chamber of Commerce.

Tourism.

Golf.

The Elfego Baca Golf Shoot is named after a former mayor of Socorro who survived a gun battle near what is now Reserve, New Mexico, involving over 4,000 bullets that were fired over the course of 36 hours. The golf shoot begins by teeing off from Socorro Peak, also known as M Mountain, at an altitude of, golfers proceed down the side of the mountain some 2,550 vertical feet to the one hole almost three miles (5 km) away. Surviving rattlesnakes, gnats, cacti, treacherous terrain and the New Mexican sun and heat, golfers have a chance at winning the title to what is considered one of the two most difficult golf courses in the world.

Education.

Socorro Consolidated School District has approx. 2,000 students and 285 staff. Socorro has one public high school, Socorro High School.  The town is the location of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, which is a state-funded research- and teaching-oriented university. New Mexico Tech has approximately 1,500 undergraduate students, 500 graduate students, and 150 academic staff.  Currently, the Summer Science Program in Astrophysics is hosted at New Mexico Tech.

Infrastructure.

Airport.

The Socorro airport located on the southern edge of the city received scheduled airline service by Continental Airlines in the early 1950s. A Douglas DC-3 aircraft provided a daily northbound flight to Albuquerque that went on to Denver after several stops and a southbound flight to El Paso with stops at Truth or Consequences and Las Cruces. Zia Airlines, a small commuter airline, also made on-demand flag stops at the Socorro airport on their flights between Albuquerque and Las Cruces in the mid 1970s. The airport remains in use as a general aviation facility with several based aircraft.

In popular culture.

Socorro was among the locations in the movie "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (1974), though in a somewhat derogatory sense, as Ellen Burstyn's character decides to leave the town for a new beginning elsewhere. The aftermath scene of Burstyn's character's husband's fatal traffic accident at the beginning of the film, although implied as being in Socorro, was actually filmed in Tucson.  The Roger Corman movie "Gas-s-s-s" (1971) was filmed in and around Socorro, including a scene using the New Mexico Tech golf carts.  Actress Jodie Foster stayed in Socorro while filming the movie "Contact" (1997) at the Very Large Array fifty miles west of the city. Based on the map that was faxed to Jodie Foster's character (Dr. Eleanor Arroway) in the film, the Socorro airport was also the location of meeting between Dr. Arroway and S.R. Hadden.  "12 Strong" (2018) had several scenes recorded in Socorro, NM due to how similar the terrain was to Afghanistan. Filming specifically took place on M Mountain for several days, among the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center's bomb range. 50 extras from Socorro and surrounding areas were used in several scenes in the film. Originally titled "Horse Soldiers", filming also took place in White Sands National Monument, and Fort Bliss. During this time, production crew and actors were seen in Socorro as they mostly stayed in local hotels, and ate out at local restaurants. Chris Hemsworth was spotted at the Socorro Springs restaurant and New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology's gym.

Socorro is a city in Socorro County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is in the Rio Grande Valley at an elevation of. In 2010 the population was 9,051. It is the county seat of Socorro County. Socorro is located south of Albuquerque and north of Las Cruces.

La ville de Socorro est le siège du comté de Socorro dans l'État du Nouveau-Mexique, aux États-Unis. Elle se trouve dans la vallée du Río Grande à une altitude de. Sa population en 2000 était de habitants.


History.

1868–1929: Early years.

The first Belmont Stakes was held at Jerome Park Racetrack in The Bronx, built in 1866 by stock market speculator Leonard Jerome (1817–1891) and financed by August Belmont Sr. (1816–1890), for whom the race was named. The first race in 1867 saw the filly Ruthless win, while the following year was won by General Duke. The race continued to be held at Jerome Park until 1890, when it was moved to the nearby facility, Morris Park Racecourse. The 1895 race was almost not held because of new laws that banned bookmaking in New York: it was eventually rescheduled for November 2. The race remained at Morris Park Racecourse until the May 1905 opening of the new Belmont Park, racetrack in Elmont, New York on Long Island, just outside the New York City borough of Queens. When anti-gambling legislation was passed in New York State, Belmont Racetrack was closed, and the race was cancelled in 1911 and 1912.  The first winner of the Triple Crown was Sir Barton, in 1919, before the series was recognized as such. In 1920, the Belmont was won by the great Man o' War, who won by 20 lengths, setting a new stakes and American record.  Starting in 1926, the winner of the Belmont Stakes has been presented with August Belmont Trophy. The owner may keep the trophy for one year, and also receives a silver miniature for permanent use.

1930–2000: Evolution of the Triple Crown series.

The term Triple Crown was first used when Gallant Fox won the three races in 1930, but the term did not enter widespread use until 1935 when his son Omaha repeated the feat. Sir Barton was then honored retroactively. Since 1931, the order of Triple Crown races has been the Kentucky Derby first, followed by the Preakness Stakes, and then the Belmont Stakes. Prior to 1931, the Preakness was run before the Derby eleven times. On May 12, 1917 and again on May 13, 1922, the Preakness and the Derby were run on the same day. On eleven occasions, the Belmont Stakes was run before the Preakness Stakes. The date of each event is now set by the Kentucky Derby, which is always held on the first Saturday in May. The Preakness Stakes is currently held two weeks later; and the Belmont Stakes is held three weeks after the Preakness (five weeks after the Derby). The earliest possible date for the Derby is May 1, and the latest is May 7; the earliest possible date for the Belmont is thus June 5, and the latest is June 11. In 1937, War Admiral became the fourth Triple Crown winner after winning the Belmont in a new track record time of 2:28 3/5. In the 1940s, four Triple Crown winners followed: Whirlaway in 1941, Count Fleet in 1943, Assault in 1946 and Citation in 1948. Count Fleet won the race by a then-record margin of twenty-five lengths. He also set a stakes record of 2:28 1/5, a record tied by Citation. In 1957, the stakes record was smashed when Gallant Man ran the Belmont in 2:26 3/5 in a year when the Triple Crown series was split three ways.  The Belmont Stakes race was held at Aqueduct Racetrack from 1963 to 1967, while the track at Belmont was restored and renovated.  The largest crowd of the 20th century was in 1971 with over 80,000 people, supplemented by the city's Latino community, there to cheer on their new hero, Cañonero II, the Venezuelan colt who had won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and was poised to win the U.S. Triple Crown. However, due to a foot infection that had bothered the horse for several days, Cañonero II failed to win the Triple Crown when he struggled across the finish line in 4th place behind Pass Catcher, ridden by Walter Blum. Despite this loss, Cañonero II was named the winner of the first Eclipse Award for Outstanding Three-Year-Old Male Horse.  On June 9, 1973, Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by thirty-one lengths in a record time of 2:24, becoming a Triple Crown champion, ending a 25-year gap between Citation, the Belmont and Triple Crown winner in 1948. Secretariat's record still stands as the fastest running of the Belmont Stakes and an American record for 11⁄2 miles on the dirt. In 1977, Seattle Slew became the first horse to win the Triple Crown while undefeated. Affirmed was the last winner of the Triple Crown in the 20th century, taking the Belmont Stakes in 2:26 4/5 on June 10, 1978. Ridden by eighteen-year-old Steve Cauthen, Affirmed defeated rival Alydar with Jorge Velasquez in the saddle. At the time the race was the third-slowest start and the third-fastest finish with the quarter in 25, the half in 50, 3/4 in 1:14, the mile in 1:37 2/5.  In 1988, Secretariat's son Risen Star won the Belmont in 2:26 2/5, then the second-fastest time in the history of the race. The next year, Easy Goer lowered the mark for second-fastest time to 2:26. Easy Goer also holds a Beyer Speed Figure of 122 for the race, the best of any Triple Crown race since these ratings were first published in 1987.

2001–present: Recent years.

For three years in a row, horses came to the Belmont Stakes with a Triple Crown on the line only to fail. In 2002, Belmont Park hosted what was then the largest crowd in its history when 103,222 saw War Emblem lose to longshot Sarava after stumbling at the start. In 2003, 101,864 watched Funny Cide finish third behind Empire Maker. In 2004, the attendance record was shattered when 120,139 people saw Smarty Jones upset by Birdstone.  In 2007, Rags to Riches became the first filly to win the race since Tanya in 1905. Three more failed Triple Crown bids followed: in 2008, Big Brown lost to Da' Tara; in 2012, I'll Have Another was withdrawn due to injury; and in 2014, California Chrome was beaten by Tonalist. This fueled debate about whether the series needed to be changed, for example by lengthening the period between races.  American Pharoah won the 2015 race, becoming the 12th horse in history to win the Triple Crown and the first in 37 years. The crowd that year was limited for the first time, to 90,000. His time of 2:26.65 was the sixth-fastest in Belmont Stakes history, and the second-fastest time for a Triple Crown winner. In 2018, Justify became the 13th Triple Crown winner and only the second horse to do so while undefeated.  The 152nd running of the Belmont Stakes will take place without in-person fans on June 20, 2020, delayed from June 6 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Leading to the announcement, NYRA considered various dates after evaluating the spring-summer meeting at Belmont Park and after the other three majors set their respective dates: the Kentucky Derby moving to September 5, the Preakness Stakes moving to October 3, and the Breeders' Cup Classic slated for November 7. Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York announced on May 16 that horse racing tracks statewide, including Belmont Park, would be permitted to resume races without in-person fans on June 1. The 2020 contest will also mark the first time in history that the Belmont Stakes will serve as the Triple Crown opening leg, with its running length shortened accordingly to, its shortest run since 1894.

Distance and race details.

The Belmont Stakes has been run at a mile and a half since 1926 (except 2020), having been run at that distance in 1874–1889.  The race has also been run at the following distances: a mile and five furlongs in 1867–1873; a mile and a quarter in 1890–1892, 1895, and 1904–1905; a mile and a furlong in 1893–1894; and a mile and three furlongs from 1896–1903 and 1906–1925.  The purse for the first running in 1867 was $1,500 added, meaning the purse was supplemented by nomination and entry fees. This made the total purse $2,500, with the winner receiving $1,850. The purse increased sharply in the Roaring Twenties, from Man O'War's earnings of $7,950 in 1920 to Gallant Fox's take of $66,040 in 1930. Purses declined as a result of the Great Depression, with War Admiral earning only $28,020 in 1937, then began to recover. Throughout the sixties and early seventies, the value to the winner was roughly $100,000, depending on the added money generated by entry fees (larger fields thus leading to higher prize money). The purse was repeatedly raised in the eighties and nineties, reaching $500,000 added, with the winner receiving roughly $400,000. In 1998, the purse was changed to $1,000,000 guaranteed, with the winner receiving $600,000. In 2014, the purse was raised to $1,500,000.  With one exception, the race has been run at a level weight of 126 pounds (with a 5-pound allowance for fillies) since 1900. The 126 pounds comes from the English Classics, where the standard weight is 9 stone, with one stone equaling 14 pounds. In 1913, the Belmont was run as a handicap with the winner carrying only 109 pounds compared to the runner-up carrying 126 pounds. Races run prior to 1900 had varied weight conditions.  The first post parade in the United States was at the 14th Belmont, in 1880. Before 1921, the race was run in the clockwise tradition of English racing. Since then, the race has been run in the American, or counter-clockwise, direction. Because of its length (one lap around the enormous Belmont main track), and because it is the final race of the Triple Crown, it is called the "Test of the Champion". Most three-year-olds are unaccustomed to the distance, and lack the experience, if not the stamina, to maintain a winning speed for so long. In a long race such as the Belmont, positioning of the horse and the timing of the move to chase for the lead can be critical.

Traditions.

The Belmont Stakes is traditionally called "The Test of the Champion" because of its 1.5 mile length—by far the longest of the three Triple Crown races, and one of the longest for a first-class race in the United States on the dirt. It is also known as "The Run for the Carnations" because the winning horse is draped with a blanket of white carnations after the race, in similar fashion to the blanket of roses and black-eyed Susans for the Derby and Preakness, respectively. The winning owner is ceremonially presented with the silver winner's trophy, designed by Paulding Farnham for Tiffany and Co. It was first presented to August Belmont Jr. in 1896 and donated by the Belmont family for annual presentation in 1926.  Despite the fact that the Belmont Stakes is the oldest of the Triple Crown races, its traditions have been more subject to change. Until 1996, the post parade song was "The Sidewalks of New York". From 1997 to 2009, the song was changed to broadcast a recording by Frank Sinatra of the "Theme from New York, New York" in an attempt to appeal to younger fans. In 2010, the song was changed to Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" sung by Jasmine V before reverting to "Theme from "New York, New York"" from 2011 through the present. This tradition is similar to the singing of the state song at the post parades of the first two Triple Crown races: "My Old Kentucky Home" at the Kentucky Derby and "Maryland, My Maryland" at the Preakness Stakes. The change of song gave rise to "the myth of Mamie O'Rourke," a reference to a character in the lyrics of "The Sidewalks of New York." Before American Pharoah won the Triple Crown in 2015, some claimed that changing the official Belmont song "cursed" the Triple Crown and was why no horse had won since Affirmed in 1978. Others note that there was no Triple Crown winner between 1979 and 1996, even though "Sidewalks" was still played.  Along with the change of song in 1997, the official drink was also changed, from the "White Carnation" to the "Belmont Breeze." "The New York Times" reviewed both cocktails unfavorably, calling the Belmont Breeze "a significant improvement over the nigh undrinkable White Carnation" despite the fact that it "tastes like a refined trashcan punch." In 2011, the Belmont Breeze was again changed to the current official drink known as the "Belmont Jewel."  While the origin of the white carnation as the official flower of the Belmont Stakes is unknown, traditionally, pure white carnations stand for love and luck. It takes approximately 700 "select" carnations imported from Colombia to create the 40-pound blanket draped over the winner of the Belmont Stakes. The NYRA has long used The Pennock Company, a wholesale florist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to import the carnations used for the mantle.

Broadcasting history.

From 1986 until 2005, the Triple Crown television rights comprised a single package. In late 2004, the New York Racing Association withdrew from that agreement to negotiate independently. As a result of this NBC, who was the rights holder for all three events, was only able to keep its broadcast rights to the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. ABC regained the rights to the Belmont Stakes as part of a five-year contract that expired following the 2010 race; NBC has since regained the rights to the race through 2020.

Records.

Speed record:  Biggest Margin of Victory:  Most wins by a jockey:  Most wins by a trainer:  Most wins by an owner:

Fillies in the Belmont.

Only 23 fillies have run in the Belmont; three of which have won:  This gives them a respectable 13% win rate when entered. For context, three fillies have won the Kentucky Derby while five have won the Preakness Stakes. On average, fillies have won between 2% and 3% of the Triple Crown races, with similar numbers for geldings; while about 95% of these races have been won by colts. The last filly as of November 2017 to run in the Belmont was in 2013 when Unlimited Budget ran six behind the winner Palace Malice.  A † designates a Triple Crown Winner.A ‡ designates a filly.

The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry. The race, nicknamed The Test of the Champion and The Run for the Carnations, is the traditional third and final leg of the Triple Crown. It is usually held on the first or second Saturday in June, five weeks after the Kentucky Derby and three weeks after the Preakness Stakes. The 1973 Belmont Stakes and Triple Crown winner Secretariat holds the mile and a half stakes record (which is also a track and world record on dirt) of 2:24.

Les Belmont Stakes est une course hippique de plat se déroulant au mois de juin sur l'hippodrome de Belmont Park, à Elmont, dans le Comté de Nassau, près de la ville de New York aux États-Unis.


Early life: 1730–1751.

A descendant of the 1st Earl of Strafford, Lord Rockingham was brought up at the family home of Wentworth Woodhouse near Rotherham in Yorkshire. He was educated at Westminster School. During the Jacobite rising of 1745 Rockingham's father made him a colonel and organised volunteers to defend the country against the "Young Pretender". Rockingham's sister Mary wrote to him from London, saying the King "did not doubt but that you was as good a colonel as he has in his army" and his other sister Charlotte wrote that "you have gained immortal honour and I have every day the satisfaction of hearing twenty handsome things said of the Blues and their Collonel". The march of the Jacobite army into northern England caused the Wentworth household to flee to Doncaster and Rockingham rode from Wentworth to Carlisle to join the Duke of Cumberland in pursuit of the "Young Pretender". Rockingham did this without parental consent and Cumberland wrote to Rockingham's father, saying that his "zeal on this occasion shows the same principles fix't that you yourself have given such strong proofs of". Rockingham wrote to his father that Cumberland "blamed me for my disobedience, yet as I came with a design of saving my King and country...it greatly palliated my offence". Rockingham's mother wrote to his father: "Though I hope you won't tell it him, never any thing met with such general applause, in short he is the hero of these times, and his Majesty talks of this young Subject, in such terms, as must please you to hear...in the Drawing Room no two people talk together, but he makes part of the discourse".  In April 1746 Rockingham's father was made a marquess (remaining the only marquess in the British peerage for quite some time) and Rockingham himself assumed the courtesy title of Earl of Malton. These honours came about due to the patronage of Henry Pelham. At this time Rockingham was travelling across Europe under the tutorship of George Quarme, as his father had decided against sending him to Cambridge. During his stay in Rome, Rockingham noted that amongst Englishmen Whigs outnumbered Jacobites four-to-one and there were "no Persons of rank about the Pretender" and that "the vile spirit of Jacobitism" was greatly declining. When in Herrenhausen, Hanover Rockingham met George II and made an impression: the King told Rockingham's uncle Henry Finch that he had never seen a finer or a more promising youth. In September 1750, two months before his father's death, he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland in his own right as Baron Malton and Earl Malton.

Early political career: 1751–65.

On 13 May 1751 (his 21st birthday), Rockingham inherited his father's estates. The rents from the land in Yorkshire, Northamptonshire and Ireland gave him an annual income of £20,000 (). He also controlled both of the borough parliamentary seats of Malton and one seat for the single-member borough of Higham Ferrers (Northants), along with twenty-three livings and five chaplaincies in the church. In July he was appointed Lord Lieutenant and custos rotulorum of the West Riding in Yorkshire, Lord Lieutenant of York city, and custos rotulorum of York city and county. In 1751–52 Rockingham joined White's, the Jockey Club and the Royal Society.  Rockingham's maiden speech was on 17 March 1752 in support of the Bill which disposed of Scottish lands confiscated in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745. He wanted the lands cultivated by people "employed in husbandry & handicrafts" who repudiated "plunder, rapine & rebellion". He said "the highlanders have remained in their ancient state, prolific, bold, idle, & consequently hives of rebellion". He compared his favoured policy with the policy which his ancestor Lord Strafford had used in Ireland. Rockingham's speech was not well received, with Horace Walpole criticising him for venturing into "a debate so much above his force". Rockingham's uncle William Murray, the Solicitor-General, believed him to be poorly educated so he employed Quarme as Rockingham's tutor again. Rockingham was for four months to study Demosthenes for oratory, to learn the histories of the Assyrian, Persian, Greek and Roman empires along with modern history. Murray wanted Rockingham to take after Sir Walter Raleigh.  In 1752, Rockingham was appointed Lord of the Bedchamber to George II and married Mary Bright. In 1753 the Rockingham Club was formed, containing the first Rockingham Whigs. Rockingham hired James Stuart, of whom he was a patron, to paint portraits of William III and George II for the club rooms. The club held monthly meetings and a list written in June 1754 showed it had 133 members. In 1755 the King appointed him to the honorary office of Vice Admiral of the North. During a French invasion scare in 1756 Rockingham raised a volunteer militia at his own expense and when rioting broke out against Army enlistments Rockingham restored order without the use of military force in Sheffield. The Secretary at War, Lord Barrington, wrote to him: "You are the only instance of a Lord lieutenant's exerting the civil authority upon these occasions". Rockingham asked in 1760 to be made a knight of the Order of the Garter and the King consented.  In 1760, George II died, and his grandson ascended the throne as George III. Rockingham was allied to the Duke of Newcastle and his supporters, whilst the new King had a favourite in Lord Bute. Rockingham believed that Bute and his supporters wanted to take "the whole Administration & Government of this country into their hands" and wanted Newcastle to resign now before he would be inevitably disposed of. Rockingham believed that the revolution in British politics since George III's accession was harmful to the country, since it removed the Whigs from their ascendancy which had settled the constitution and secured the House of Hanover on the British throne. Rockingham wrote to Newcastle: ...without flattery to your Grace, I must look and ever shall upon you and your connections as the solid foundations on which every good which has happened to this country since the [Glorious] Revolution, have been erected.... What a medley of government is probably soon to take place & when it does what an alarm will ensue!  Rockingham resigned as Lord of the Bedchamber on 3 November 1762 in protest at the King's policies and other Whigs associated with the Duke of Newcastle did the same. The next month the King removed Rockingham from the office of Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding, Lord Lieutenant of the city and county of York, as custos rotulorum of the North and West Riding, as custos rotulorum of the city and county of York and as Vice Admiral of York and county.  Over the next several years, Rockingham gradually became the leader of those of Newcastle's supporters who were unwilling to reconcile themselves to the premierships of Bute and his successor, George Grenville.

Prime Minister: 1765–1766.

The king's dislike, as well as Grenville's general lack of parliamentary support, led to his dismissal in 1765, and, following negotiations conducted through the medium of the king's uncle, the Duke of Cumberland, Lord Rockingham was appointed Prime Minister. Rockingham recovered the honours of which he had been deprived in 1762. Rockingham appointed his allies Henry Seymour Conway and the Duke of Grafton as secretaries of state. Also at this time, Edmund Burke, the Irish statesman and philosopher, became his private secretary and would remain a lifelong friend, political ally and advisor until Rockingham's premature death in 1782.  Rockingham's administration was dominated by the American issue. Rockingham wished for repeal of the Stamp Act 1765 and won a Commons vote on the repeal resolution by 275 to 167 in 1766. However Rockingham also passed the Declaratory Act, which asserted that the British Parliament had the right to legislate for the American colonies in all cases whatsoever.  However, internal dissent within the cabinet led to his resignation and the appointment of Lord Chatham as Prime Minister (the Duke of Grafton was appointed First Lord of the Treasury, one of the few cases in which those two offices were separate).

Opposition: 1766–1782.

Rockingham spent the next sixteen years in opposition. He was a keen supporter of constitutional rights for colonists.  Rockingham wrote to Edmund Burke on 14 February 1771: "I fear indeed the future struggles of the people in defence of their Constitutional Rights will grow weaker and weaker. It is much too probable that the power and influence of the Crown will increase rapidly. We live at the period when for the first time since the Revolution, the power and influence of the Crown is held out, as the main and chief and only support of Government. If we...do not exert now, we may accelerate the abject state to which the Constitution may be reduced". On 24 May 1771 Benjamin Franklin arrived from the Rectory of Thornhill, where he had stayed with the Rev. John Michell, vicar to Rockingham's kinsman, fellow leading politician and keen advocate of colonists' rights Sir George Savile. Rockingham wrote to Augustus Keppel on 3 November 1779, saying that he believed the war against America could not be won, that the government was corrupt but not unpopular, and that the longer this continued the greater the danger to the liberties and the constitution of Britain: "Perhaps a total change of "men" and "measures", & "system" in the Government: of this country might have effect on the councils of some foreign countries...who might think that it was no longer a Court system to combat, but that the whole nation wd; united & make the utmost efforts".  Rockingham was recruited to hunt down the Cragg Vale Coiners. He had thirty Coiners arrested by Christmas Day 1769.

Prime Minister: 1782.

In 1782 he was appointed Prime Minister for a second time (with Charles James Fox and Lord Shelburne as Secretaries of State) and, upon taking office, pushed for an acknowledgement of the independence of the United States, initiating an end to British involvement in the American War of Independence.  Due to rising unemployment, in this second premiership, Rockingham's administration saw the passage of Gilbert's Act, the Relief of the Poor Act 1782, after 17 years of opposing Thomas Gilbert's ideas, this saw the creation of unions of civil parishes, later officially called "unions under Gilbert's Act", to provide outdoor relief and set up workhouses.  Paul Langford has claimed that the Rockingham administration "represented a landmark in constitutional history. The ministerial changes of 1782 involved a more extensive upheaval among office-holders than any since 1714, virtually replacing one administration with another drawn from opposition".  Rockingham's second term was short-lived, for Lord Rockingham died fourteen weeks later at the beginning of July from an Influenza epidemic. He was replaced as Prime Minister by Lord Shelburne, who was more reluctant to accept the total independence of America and proposed a form of Dominion status, however by April 1783 he succeeded in securing peace with America and this feat remains his legacy.  Rockingham was buried in the Strafford family vault in York Minster in Yorkshire.

Legacy.

Rockingham's estates, but not his marquessate, passed to his nephew William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam. Burke wrote to Fitzwilliam on 3 July 1782: "You are Lord Rockingham in every thing.... I have no doubt that you will take it in good part, that his old friends, who were attached to him by every tie of affection, and of principle, and among others myself, should look to you, and should not think it an act of forwardness and intrusion to offer you their services". On 7 July 150 supporters of Rockingham met at Fitzwilliam's house and decided to withdraw support for Lord Shelburne's administration. The old Rockingham party fragmented, with Fox and the Duke of Portland leading a coalition of Whigs. The Whig party further split over the French Revolution, with Burke writing to Fitzwilliam on 4 January 1797: "As to our old friends, they are so many individuals, not a jot more separated from your Lordship, than they are from one another. There is no mutual affection, communication, or concert between them".  The Whig historian Thomas Babington Macaulay was an admirer of Rockingham and his Whig faction:

Places named after Lord Rockingham.

Canada  United States

Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, (13 May 1730 – 1 July 1782), styled The Hon. Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1733, Viscount Higham between 1733 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750 and The Marquess of Rockingham in 1750 was a British Whig statesman, most notable for his two terms as Prime Minister of Great Britain. He became the patron of many Whigs, known as the Rockingham Whigs, and served as a leading Whig grandee. He served in only two high offices during his lifetime (Prime Minister and Leader of the House of Lords), but was nonetheless very influential during his one and a half years of service.

Charles Watson-Wentworth ( – ), de Rockingham, appelé L'Honorable Charles Watson-Wentworth avant 1733, vicomte Higham entre 1733 et 1746, comte de Malton (titre de courtoisie) entre 1746 et 1750 et comte Malton en 1750, est un homme d'État britannique du parti Whig, qui est deux fois Premier ministre de Grande-Bretagne. Il ne tient que deux mandats importants au cours de son existence, Premier ministre et Président de la Chambre des lords, mais son influence est considérable lors de son second mandat.


Life.

Youth and education.

Ibn Dawud was born in Baghdad in the year 255 according to the Islamic calendar, corresponding to the year 868 according to the Gregorian calendar. By the age of seven, he had memorized the entire Qur'an by heart. By the age of ten, he was already an exemplary student in the fields of Arabic grammar, lexicography and Arabic literature under his teacher Niftawayh, himself a student of Ibn Dawud's father. In regard to the variant readings of the Qur'an, Ibn Dawud learned from Al-Duri, a student of Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala', one of the ten primary transmitters of the Qur'an. Ibn Dawud's classmate, Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, also learned the Qur'an from the same study circle in addition to having been a student of Ibn Dawud's father, suggesting a close relationship early on, despite their later rivalry.  Ibn Dawud's relationship with his father was complex. As a child, Ibn Dawud was bullied by other children, being given the name "poor little sparrow." When he complained to his father about the nickname, his father insisted that names of people and things are predestined by God; there was no reason to analyze the meaning of names in order to know that they had been established. His father then actually affirmed the nickname given by the other children, emphasizing that all things occur according to divine will. While Ibn Dawud told his father that he was as mean as the other children were for laughing at his own son, it is not known if this episode continued to affect Ibn Dawud into adulthood, or if this was characteristic of the entire father-son relationship.

Academia and judiciary.

Upon his father's death in 884, Ibn Dawud took up Dawud's teaching position in Baghdad. Despite being only fifteen years old, he was still considered an outstanding jurist, and the four-hundred or so students of his father became his own students. Ibn Dawud had a tendency to speak using Saj', a form of Arabic rhymed prose, in everyday speech. This caused difficulty for many who sought verdicts from him, though it is not regarded as having lessened his popularity.  Some years after his teaching position, the Abbasid administration appointed him to a judicial post in western Baghdad.

Death.

Although Ibn Dawud is generally considered to have died young, his exact date of death has been a matter of some dispute. Masudi recorded Ibn Dawud's death at 296 Hijri, corresponding to 908 or 909 Gregorian. The "Encyclopaedia of Islam" records his death as 294 Hijri and 909 Gregorian, yet the two dates do not match. Ibn Khallikan recorded Ibn Dawud's death as Ramadan 9, 297 Hijri, or May 22, 910 Gregorian. While the exact cause of death is not known, Ibn Dawud proclaimed a deathbed confession to his teacher Niftawayh that he was dying of a broken heart, due to a forbidden love for another man. The topic of Ibn Dawud's affections has been the topic of much discussion, as his confession of such feelings is unique among Muslim theologians even up to the present era.  The setting of his death has been perhaps the most vividly described piece of his biography. During his final moments, Ibn Dawud lied on a bed between the light filtering in through the grated window and the empty space of the floor as a blind nightingale sang in a gilded cage nearby; he was described as weary with regrets, yet also serene in his last moments. His body was ritually washed by his student Ibn al-Mughallis according to Islamic funeral rites.

Philosophy.

Ibn Dawud was an opponent of using analogical reason and juristic preference in Muslim jurisprudence. At the same time, Ibn Dawud still upheld the validity of using inference in order to deduce religious verdicts. The same views were held by his father, whom Ibn Dawud followed in his Zahirite religious views.  Ibn Dawud also rejected the notion that verdicts of the first generation of Muslims could constitute a source of law. This position is not specific to the Zahirite rite, being the preferred view of the Shafi'ites as well.

Theology.

Like his father, Ibn Dawud has not left theological works which have survived to the modern era. Ibn Dawud was known to have been involved in public debates with the Mu'tazila, an ancient Muslim sect, in a court of the caliph Al-Muwaffaq in Wasit. This is not surprising considering the Mu'tazilites ill reception of Ibn Dawud's father, in whose footsteps Ibn Dawud followed, and the scorn which the Mu'taziltes heaped upon Zahirites in general. More is known about what Ibn Dawud opposed theologically rather than what he himself believed.

Nature of the soul.

In his book on love, Ibn Dawud quoted Greek playwright Aristophanes who, according to Plato's Symposium, held the view that the soul of a person who had fallen in love was actually only half a soul. In this view, the bodies of two people in love were each given only half of the same soul by God. Later writers have mistaken this for being Ibn Dawud's own belief, though modern scholarship has shown that he was merely quoting the speech of philosophers in an almost derisive way rather than ascribing to the belief himself. Ibn Dawud's own beliefs regarding the soul were never actually stated, and were likely no different from those held by the rest of Islamic orthodoxy at the time.

Opposition to Sufism.

Ibn Dawud, like many within the religious establishment at the time, was hostile toward Sufism, especially Sufi metaphysics. In 901, he declared the mystic Mansur Al-Hallaj as a heretic in a well-known verdict. Initially, Ibn Dawud's appeal to the caliph Al-Mu'tadid was not heeded, and Hallaj was able to continue preaching his ideas for a time. It is likely, however, that Ibn Dawud's verdict was one contributing factor to the caliph Al-Muqtadir's ordering of Hallaj's execution.

Reception.

Historically, Shi'ite writers and especially Ismaili Shi'ites have criticized Ibn Dawud for rejecting the usage of analogical reason and juristic preference in religious verdicts while affirming inference. Fatimid historian Qadi al-Nu'man was particularly scathing, accusing Ibn Dawud and his father of contradicting themselves.

Works.

Religion.

Ibn Dawud composed a book on the topic of the principles of Muslim jurisprudence titled "The Path to Knowledge of Jurisprudence". It was one of the earliest works on the subject after Shafi'i's Risala, and the primary basis for Nu'man's "Differences Among the Schools of Law", despite Nu'man's criticisms of Ibn Dawud. Yaqut al-Hamawi mentions that in a chapter of the book regarding juristic consensus, Ibn Dawud criticizes his former companion Tabari as having contradictory views on the subject. Like Ibn Dawud's other works, "The Path" has not survived on complete form to the modern era; however, large tracts of it are quoted in other works and modern scholarship suggests that al-Nu'man's "Differences" was derived from Ibn Dawud's book. Despite their differences in opinion, Tabari's own work on the principles of jurisprudence, "The Clarification of the Principles of Verdicts", was strongly resemblant of "The Path" of Ibn Dawud and the works of Dawud's father, rather than Shafi'is work or even post-9th century works on the topic. This not only contradicts the common theme within the genre, but also implies similarities between the extant yet non-mainstream Zahirite school of law, and the extinct Jariri school.  In addition to "The Path", Masudi and Ibn al-Nadim both attribute three other works to Ibn Dawud within the field of Muslim jurisprudence: the Book of Admonishment, the Book of Excuse and the Book of Refutation. The latter book includes another critique of the views Tabari.

Love.

In the late 9th century, Ibn Dawud composed his book "Kitab al-Zahrah" while in his native city of Baghdad. His work is considered to be one of the first Arabic language works on the theory of love, though only the first half is concerned with this: the second half is an anthology of poetry. Ibn Duraid, who authored the second ever comprehensive dictionary of the language, ranked this book along with the treatises on love by Ibn Abi Tahir Tayfur and Ibn Qutaybah as the three most important works for one who wanted to become eloquent in speaking and writing. The book is organized as an anthology, with each chapter headed by an appropriate aphorism and being devoted to various phenomena relating to the true meaning of love. Although he wrote from more of a humanistic perspective than a theological one, Ibn Dawud's piety was apparent, as chastity was a common theme. Chapter eight of the book, "A refined person will be chaste," is opened with an alleged quote from the prophet Muhammad in praise of admirers who keep their affections secret. The quote is quite telling of his own personal feelings, as Ibn Dawud repeated it shortly after he confessed his love for another man on his deathbed. Similarly, the opening chapter is titled "he whose glances are many, his sorrows are prolonged," indicating a belief that pursuing multiple objects of affection will yield negative results. The martyrdom of chastity is a repeated theme, as is Ibn Dawud's denial of the possibility of divine-human mutual love.  Incomplete portions of the book are still extant today, though not widely available.

Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Dawud al-Zahiri, Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Dāwūd al-Iṣbahānī,also known as avendeath was a medieval theologian and scholar of the Arabic language and Islamic law. He was one of the early propagators of his father Dawud al-Zahiri's method in jurisprudence, Zahirism.

Abou Bakr Mohamed Ibn Dawoud ou Ibn Dawud (868 - 909) était un juriste iranien zâhirite et un poète de langue arabe.