History of local archaeology.

The conquistadores found the country occupied by numerous entrepreneurial towns busy on the practice of the arts and peaceful industries. Dr. Berendt, great explorer and scholar of aboriginal people of Central America, in the light of philological results obtained by himself and by American diplomat Ephraim George Squier (1849), as well as traditions preserved mainly by Oviedo, Torquemada and Herrera, believed that the Cholutecas, chorotegan, Dirianes and Orotinas were descendants of the people who migrated from Cholula, Mexico. These people occupied the greater part of the country from the Gulf of Fonseca to Nicoya, its territorial continuity interrupted near the current city of Leon by the Marabios, and again a by an Azteca colony occupying the narrowest part of the strip of land between the Pacific and the Lake of Nicaragua, and the islands of the Lake. The King and his latest national capital wore name Nicarao (Conference read before the American geographical society, July 10, 1876, by Dr. C. H. Berendt). The former inhabitants of this region left abundant relics of their civilization in burial mounds, cemeteries, etc.  In 1987 Elphidio Ortega, Advisor to the Organization of American States (OAS), conducted 14 stratigraphic wells on the, site contrary to previous researchers, he suggested that the colonial settlement was not located on the native site, but rather alongside a prehispanic town. Lourdes Dominguez, a Cuban national also made investigations in 12 wells, both outside the limit of some structures from which obtained more 1100 pieces of ceramic evidence. After her research, Dominguez proposed the theory that the ruins of León Viejo site were built on a prehispanic settlement, since the abundance of ceramics was enough evidence to make such a statement, this theory came into contradiction with Elphidio Ortega, who concluded that the colonial city was established along an indigenous settlements, but not over it.  In 1996, Devora Ederman Cornavaca, postgraduate student at the University of California Los Angeles obtained permission from the Department of cultural heritage of the Nicaraguan Culture Institute (INC) to carry out excavations in León Viejo, aimed at studying the impact of the Spanish society on the native populations of the region. The first area that excavated was near current limits city, and found evidence of a possible smithy, the second excavation made was on an agricultural parcel limited south with León Viejo, in what is now part of the buffer zone of the site. Unfortunately the final results report of this research period has not been published. But Cornavaca, states that the Spanish settlement was located outside of the native town of the area. (Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America an Encyclopedia - Susan Toby Evans and David L. Webster. Pages: 401-402).

Investigation.

The anthropological research Department of Nicaragua National Museum (MNN) conducted excavations and archaeological explorations in León Viejo, digging trenches 8 X 2 meters in width and length respectively, oriented north to south.  Excavations recovered material consisted of: ceramic, porcelain, metal, wildlife remains and human remains.  a fragment of a musical instrument, possibly a "flute" made from remains of a human humerus was found, associated to a set of prehispanic materials. E. Espinoza, in his article on "Shamanism" in prehispanic Nicaragua, points out that the German archaeologist G. Haberland., registered in a burial zone, a musical artifact associated with human remains that probably belonged to a shaman; hence it is inferred that this type of object is linked to a ritual or ceremony.  In the cathedral a skull trepanation (surgical intervention) specimen was found, of a woman belonging to the prehispanic population.  One of the few cases with this type of surgery (trepanation) recorded in the history of the Nicaraguan archaeology of. The abundance of pottery, stone artifacts as chalcedony, basalt, and fragments of prismatic knives (Obsidian), which was probably brought from different sources in the Central American region. This allows assumptions about forms of trade in prehispanic peoples. It is a coveted raw material in many great ancient cultures that used it for the production of domestic and ceremonial tools.

Funeral burials León Viejo.

Found in the east sector of grid 3D, the first 20 cm, had previously been removed, this condition was observed in the next 40 cm, i.e. at the end of the second level. Morphologically the soil is a mixture of volcanic sand, clay and degraded of bedrock dirt geologically known as pumice, by which dirt takes a white color - yellowish and very soft texture.  Due to the soil characteristics, it proved impossible to define the morphology of the burial, no special arrangements were observed, only that the head rested on small volcanic stones "Tufa".  The burial is atypical, the skull is on the south side as if looking at Momotombo mountain, or perhaps the Lake, the position in which the individual was laid is not well defined, his right hand has the ulna - radius - in the chest and the right hand ulna - radius on the facial bones as if covering the face, metacarpal bones and phalanges are associated with the clavicle and left scapulae. It is possible that the burial may be an extended burial and corpse has been buried when the body became stiff which is why the hand is on the face. The skull has a hole at the top of the left parietal caused by circular trepanation or surgery which was practiced on the bone to cure some illness. Furthermore, a set of holes caused by osteoporosis was observed through an electronic magnifying glass, the operation was performed in the same region of the skull (Personal communication with Dr. Henry Guerzten, Pathology Professor at the University of Virginia, USA)  The skeleton is quite complete and in acceptable preservation condition, according to biometric data obtained from the measurement of the skull bones ranges from 22 to 23 cm. and postcranial bones, the column including pelvis 55-56, femur 42, shinbone - fibula 34 cm, respectively, a height of between 1.50 and 155 was calculated approximately and bone anatomy infer that this is a young woman between 25 and 30 years of age, female. All dental parts are anatomically articulated and morphologically incisors teeth (spade-shaped) make us to infer that it is a specimen belonging to the Imabite people Chorotega indigenous population of the area. Over the pelvic region of the specimen a sacrum and coccyx and a lumbar vertebra were found, by the feet a package of bones was found that corresponds to the lower extremities, near the head found bone remains of bones belonging to the upper limbs of another individual, the perturbed human remains mixed seem to correspond to a mature adult, male.  With regard to the interpretation of the cultural context of this funerary burial, the burial space is not on a main altar, but another area of burial, although this space is also considered a place privileged in the Church, it is difficult to infer whether the burial was disturbed when the different were stages of construction of the most important Spanish religious temple was erected in the city, but do not discard the possibility the corpse to retain his place and position.  Archaeological evidence shows that there was disturbance of the human remains of other specimens, and not with the individual unearthed in grid 3D and was buried as looking at the volcano. If we talk about that it is an individual of the prehispanic population; then it is possible that the orientation of this person have some link with a ritual, a ceremonial act or a human sacrifice to honor one of their gods, the God of the mountain, the God of heights or the Momotombo volcano, prehispanic population feared these large volcanoes, but also paid tributes because they associated height to their gods, they believed that being in the highest places could come into contact with one of their gods.  The team resorted to data on burials types recorded both in Europe and America: as noted by Goodwin (1945), burial rites are closely delimited by customs, and the position and orientation of the body can help show the distribution of a cultural group, both in space as time. Variations in type of burial that are associated with a given people can contribute to determining differences in beliefs and customs, although as noted Ucko (1969), the ethnographic interpretation of burials can be a risky affair. That there were considerable variations in the type of burial even in prehistoric times is something that has been left clearly exposed Marija (1956), but the interpretation is not always easy.  The presence of stone artifacts is remarkable, as fragments of prismatic knives made of Obsidian (volcanic glass), reported chips of obsidian, chalcedony quartz, wildlife remains corresponding to small mammals, reptiles, birds and fish, part of these materials were associated with the human bones. Indigenous peoples that lived around the city, in what could have been the largest settlement around Imabite, with about 15 thousand people according to Oviedo.

Funerary Burials 2.

This second burial was located between the southern profile grid (C - 1A) and north grid profile (C - 1B) the skeleton has the body and head tilted slightly to the northwest, with the feet below the first step of the altar.  The burial was discovered below the human remains that correspond to the second Archbishop who arrived in Nicaragua in 1540 fray Francisco Mendavia, and was buried between 80 and 100 cm deep at the altar of the Cathedral. The bones under Mendavia tomb were found at between 160–180 cm depth, the specimen was buried with the head toward the west side and face toward where the sun rises or facing the altar, the skeleton was anatomically articulated in a stretched position with both arms parallel to the femur, this burial form is not a Christian habit, it is more associated with prehispanic burials. Human remains are: properly articulated skull, clavicles, shoulder, humor bone, dices - radius, femurs, ulna - fibulae, cervical, thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, pelvis and bones of both hands and feet. Biometric data from the specimen are as follows: skull 23 cm, left femur 44 cm, right tibia 36 cm and the column including the pelvis 55 cm, infer that the height of the individual range between 1.55 and 1.60 cm approximately. According to the biological characteristics of bones and teeth appear to correspond to an adult individual female, 30–35 years of age approximately.  Most of the molars display a very marked wear that is typical of the prehispanic Nicaragua population, the upper molars are spent in the form of channel, attrition in the enamel and well-worn dental cusps, teeth of this specimen were compared with a collection of dental pieces belonging to archaeological excavations and indigenous people. Pathological problems were observed in two dental pieces, the molar inferior M1 on both sides have lesions caused by decay, by examination through an electronic magnifying observed a set of holes mainly in the proximal and distal parts of the long bones that were possibly affected by osteoporosis.

Archaeological artefacts recovered during excavations.

During the excavation process several archaeological objects were found that corresponds to the pre-Hispanic period and a few to the colonial period, these artefacts were developed with different types of raw material, for example: lithic, human bones, clay, metal etc. The material have been systematically controlled and with great scientific rigor.  Fishing net artefacts made with fragments of pottery negative Usulután and oval shape, long 5.5 cm, level 6, depth 1.20 cm. C - 3D. Weight for fishing nets, one has circular measure 3.3 cm diameter and 5 cm wide and oval shaped fragment. Level 3, depth of 40–60 cm. C - 3 c. C - grid-2 level 1 c, a device was recorded with elaborate tip with red ceramic.

Pre-hispanic ceramic.

The specimens found consists of 2239 ceramic remains, that include, monochrome ceramic, Lago Negro modeling, Red slip ware, Castle Esgrafiado, Sacasa striated, Managua Polychrome, Leo Punteado, Vallejo Polychrome, Usulután negative, colonial associated to Perulera and unclassified Perulera ceramic.  Within the material recorded during the excavation found a total of 17 ceramic monochromatic vessels with fabric impressions, they were distributed in the excavation.  Notes: The domestic pottery type monochrome vessels were examined through a magnifying glass and with X 40 Power. The test allowed to observe tissue impressions, noting that the printed fabric are different dimensions, i.e. size and shape, inferring that the cloth was of different thickness. Waste coal was observed and vegetal remains in clay, in some fragments could see varied pigmentation probably due to the temperature at which the utensils were used or the use in the kitchen. Ceramic vessels have been recorded with tissue impressions in the Managua area during the "Archaeology of the Managua Metropolitan area" project (Lange 1996, down: 43).  Test # 1: This probe test discovered an architectural well-shaped structure, consists of a hole of about a meter in diameter and was discovered at about 40 to 50 cm, depth. The discovered structure in the north wall of the building and in the surface part before the beginning of its circular shape, is made up of descendant levels in the form of steps, subsequently the well diameter enlarges as the depth increases. The structure was built on the rock or "matrix" known as pumice stone and was excavated to a depth of 2.30 m, it was undefined. The structure was not morphologically defined and is not known what its purpose was; to clarify these aspects further excavations must be made.  Lithic artifacts: Obsidian: the analysis was conducted on 175 artifacts recovered in the excavation at the main altar of the Cathedral ruins. The analytic process took into account technological morphology features, based on the quality of the material. As the sample did not have a large diversity of types and waste, the artifacts were classified into three basic categories: core fragments, chips and knives. The categories based on the stone tools are: tip points, knives, scrapers, axes, metates and grinding stone or pestle.  Knives: These are chips that have a length double than the width and parallel side edges. They are considered to be a superior cutting tool and associated with more complex sociocultural levels. The prismatic razors represent the technological apogee of implements because there are many complicated steps to make them (Finlayson in Lange, 1996. Page: 139).  A total 83 artifacts or prismatic knives were found, of which 50 seem to have been manufactured with raw materials from Ixtepeque Guatemala. 26 artifacts or fragments were identified as likely to have been manufactured with raw materials from the Chayal, El Salvador. 6 of the objects were possible manufactured with raw materials from the Guinope, Honduras. And one artifact is of undetermined origin. From the lithic waste (chips) 31 fragments were recorded of which 11 appear to be from Ixtepeque, Guatemala; 8 chips might come from the Chayal, El Salvador, and 12 chips seem to be raw material brought from Guinope, Honduras.  Quartz: A fragment was registered in the upper part of an archaeological artifact with anthropomorphic motifs, only displays a part of a face with one of his eyes, made with gray grey. The totals of quartz stone remains collected are 13, of which 3 were considered as fragments of possible artifacts and 10 are waste (chips).  Chalcedony: two items of this material were found, a complete spearhead with stalk, leaf shaped: measuring 3,8 cm long, wide on the proximal part 0,5 cm., 0,6 cm on the medial side and 0.1 to 0.2 cm, distal part. A leaf shaped arrowhead with its peduncle designed as if to be assembled on a wooden handle or other materials; the dimensions are: length 2.5 cm, width at proximal 0.6 cm, the medial part 0.8 cm, and distal part 0.2 cm.  This object is considered one of the most complete, well manufactured and defined, presents an excellent preservation state in its morphology; although some wear was noted in both sides, by which it is inferred that the cutting edge and its functional tips were used. This artifact is considered as a hunting weapon for smaller animals or determined for a more delicate and specific activity, its quality, design and finish allow inferring that it was made by people specialized in this type of tools. It was found with remains of pottery, animal and human prehispanic remains.  Lithic summary: 175 Lithic fragments were recovered and were classified as follows: 92 are considered as artifact fragments, 77 waste or chips, 4 core residues, 2 green stone residues. Two (2) of these instruments by its excellent condition were identified in the complete artifacts (material chalcedony) category, and as a result of importance, is the greater frequency of artifacts (fragments) of Obsidian prismatic knives (83), probably made with raw material from different sources in the Central America region. This allows an interpretation about trade, the exchange of raw materials or objects, which developed between the prehispanic settlements that inhabited the area of León Viejo (Imabite) and other towns of Central America.  Metal: A metal sample consists of a number of nails and fragments (63) of different shapes and size, pins (4), and undetermined metal residue. All these objects have evidence of rotten wood and decomposition (oxidation) evidence. There was a piece of metal shaped as a "key" 4.7 cm long.  Remains of animals at the main altar of the Cathedral The total animal samples in quantitative terms are very small, but even so, remains of several specimens were collected that provide valuable information to the research. The animal remains collected in the excavation were separated in the most accepted taxonomic order: mollusks (47), fish (53), reptiles (21), amphibians (2), birds (37), and mammals (287).

Hypotheses on the burials.

The city of León de Imabite, known today as León Viejo, has been dated from the initial European contact (1522–1524) up to its abandonment in 1610. Archives information suggests the fact that in this area there was human occupation and was used as an Imabite native burial area. For example, seven (7) funeral burials unearthed at the main altar presented anthropological evidence and characteristic features of prehispanic burials. Furthermore, 4 unearthed specimens are below the soil of the Spanish occupation, that according to the stratigraphic geomorphology are registered at a depth ranging from.60 to 1.80 m. and one of burials was found in a funeral urn with animal remains inside.  Unfortunately, many of the skeletons were disturbed and were destroyed by diverse vandalism actions which have limited anthropological results. This also had the effect that human remains of several specimens appear scattered and intermingled with other materials during the investigation. Incisors (teeth) that are present among human osteology remains are spade shaped. This feature has a high frequency in the native populations and low frequency between most of the European population (Ubelaker, 1994: 26).  The anthropological biometric data of skulls, jaws and teeth of these specimens is evidence that they belong to the native population of the area. The presence of cultural materials totally predominant by prehispanic artifacts; such as 84 fragments of obsidian prismatic knives, weapons with well-defined carving (arrow), polychrome Managua type ceramic, monochrome ceramic, ceramic vessels with fabric impressions and wildlife remains, among others, are tangible evidence of the site occupation before the Spaniards arrival.  unearthed and exhumed human remains during four field seasons carried out in Leon Viejo on the three most important religious structures of colonial times, such as the Convent, Church and Cathedral de la Merced, the specimens are distributed between 11, 25 and 31 respectively, it was possible to determine the ontological remains of 67 individuals among men, women and children of different ages. Include Spaniards remains, between rulers and Viceroyalty religious.  Interpretation of Disperse Human Remains These unearthed human remains specimens do not come from tombs or funeral burials, (osteology material disturbed by vandalism). During the excavation process a total of 25 burial were discovered of which most had articulated human bones and in some cases in packages of disjointed bones and skulls but feasible to locate anatomically.  The characteristics of these specimens, do not allow origin determination.  It was possible to diagnose pathological problems in some specimens mainly at dental level. In addition to the skeleton, considered most complete; a large number of human bone remains fragments were found scattered in the excavation, there is no specific origin, but it was possible to identify and associate with biological elements that allow inferring that they correspond to 5 male individuals, skeletal fractions that possibly belonged to 23 specimens of undetermined gender and 4 infants of different ages, all of which add to 32 individuals.

Conclusion.

Based on laboratory tests performed on remnants with osteology emphasis is easy to determine the archaeological remains that predominate in the specimens come from prehispanic social groups inhabiting the place; while considering the burials found cultural historical importance Another element that provides important data are the animal remains found associated with other cultural evidence. It is possible to assume the human consumption of different species belonging to zoological groups: such as large and small mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and mollusks. These records allow speculation on the ecosystems that existed in the area and therefore the possible diet of the inhabitants of the region during prehispanic and historical times.  In parallel to these studies, obtained a range of data related to architectural aspects and constructive systems of structures affected by the investigation. The presence of cultural materials belonging to the early colonial period in the site, in relation to utensils is almost zero, the sample is reduced to a few nail fragments from coffins and probably iron remains and nails used in the construction of buildings.  Archaeological records allow assuming that there are different chronologies for the León Viejo site. In considering results, conclusions and assumptions of research preceding ours, it is considered that archeologist Lourdes Dominguez conclusions, somehow match the results of the current research, in that the Spaniards built their buildings on cultural deposits or a settlement that belonged to the prehispanic population of the place. Not preclude the possibility that the Spaniards constructed and imposed their religious temple on a site where native population gathered and perhaps the main plaza of the native communities in the area.

Ruins of León Viejo is a World Heritage Site in Nicaragua. It was the original location of León. It is the present location of the town of Puerto Momotombo in the Municipality of La Paz Centro of the Department of León. It is administered by the Instituto Nicaragüense de Cultura (Nicaraguan Institute of Culture).

León Viejo (do češtiny se dá volně přeložit jako "Starý León") je původní místo, kde stávalo město León. Nachází se na břehu jezera Managua u obce "Puerto Momotombo" v departementu León přibližně 35 km východně od současného města León. Ruiny byly objeveny v roce 1960 a od roku 2000 jsou zapsány na seznam světového dědictví UNESCO.


Names.

In the middle of his life, Tao changed his name (keeping his family name) from Tao Yuanming () to Tao Qian (). "Master of the Five Willows", another name which he used when quite young, seems to be a soubriquet of his own invention. There is a surviving autobiographical essay from his youth in which Tao Yuanming uses "Five Willows" to allude to himself. After this, Tao refers to himself in his earlier writings as "Yuanming"; however; it is thought that with the demise of the Eastern Jin dynasty in 420, that he began to refer to himself as "Qian", meaning "hiding", as a signification of his final withdrawal into the quiet life in the country and his decision to avoid any further participation in the political scene. "Tao Qian" could also be translated "Recluse Tao". However, this in no way implies an eremitic lifestyle or extreme asceticism; rather a comfortable dwelling, with family, friends, neighbors, musical instruments, wine, a nice library, and the beautiful scenery of a mountain farm were Tao Qian's compensation for giving up on the lifestyle of Tao Yuanming, government servant.  The names Yuanliang (), Shenming (), and Quanming () are all associated with Tao Yuanming. Some of this confusion results from a naming taboo during the Tang dynasty, specifically that the characters for an emperor's name were impermissible to use either to write or even to casually pronounce. This taboo required the substitution of similar characters or words in order to avoid this prohibition. As the "High Founder" of the Tang dynasty (posthumously titled Emperor Gaozu of Tang) had the personal name Li Yuan, the "yuan" () character became taboo. So, since this was the same as the "yuan" in Yuanming, various authors substituted the synonymous "shen" () for "yuan"—both referring to "depths".

Life.

Ancestry.

Tao Yuanming's great-grandfather was the eminent Jin dynasty general and governor, Tao Kan (259-334). His grandfather and father also both served as government officials, rising to the level of County Governor. However, the family circumstances into which Tao Yuanming was born were only those of moderate poverty and lack of much political influence. Family circumstances included the death of his father when he was eight years old.

Personal background.

Tao Yuanming is considered to be a person of the Eastern Jin dynasty (316/317 - 419/420CE), although living beyond the demise of that dynasty. The last stable period in Chinese history had been during the Han dynasty (206BCE – 220CE), which was followed by the various political permutations known as the Three Kingdoms, one which of these successor states was Cao Wei, founded and ruled by the Cao clan, and which basically briefly reunified China. The Jin dynasty was founded and controlled by the Sima clan, the leading members of which were known for gaining and retaining power through corruption. This began before the birth of Tao Yuanming, when Sima Yan usurped the throne of the monarchal ruler of Cao Wei dynasty, establishing its headquarters at the western capital of Chang'an, and renaming the kingdom Jin. Subsequently,the history of the dynasty was characterized by nepotism, corrupt politics, civil disorder, and violence. Various other clans also vied for power. The Sima fought against these as well as each other. The weaknesses inherent in the system culminated in the War of the Eight Princes (291 to 306), all eight princes being Simas. Immediate subsequent events resulted in certain bandits or revolutionaries and various neighboring powers overrunning the country. These neighboring powers to the north and west were not ethnic Han Chinese, and for these reasons were referred to as were referred to as the Five "Hu", or "Wu Hu", one of which was a Xiongnu empire; and, this event thus known as the Uprising of the Five "Hu". The Xiongnu overthrew remnants of the Sima princes and the bandit leaders north of the Yangzi river, eventually capturing, and killing the two last Sima rulers of Western Jin, and in the process capturing the capital Chang'an. Upon the territory north of the Yangzi being captured, a southerner named Sima Rui set up a new Jin dynasty state with a capital at Jiankang. This new Jin empire continued the traditions of violence and corruption of their predecessor; and, it was this manifestation of Jin, known as Eastern Jin, was the one in which Tao Yuanming was born and lived most of his life. Control of Eastern Jin was usurpered by a series of successors of various clans, and also subject to less-successful rebellions by various warlords, and also facing external threats from other states such as Northern Wei, whose dynastic rulers were of the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. Eventually the whole Jin state was replaced by Liu Song, in 419/420. This new dynasty was named Song (like the much later, larger dynasty) and was ruled by the Liu family, and also corrupt and short-lived. Versions of Tao Yuanming's biography in the Chinese source material vary as to his name and age during the various historical events of Eastern Jin and Liu Song known from other sources

Birth.

Tao Yuanming was born during the Eastern Jin dynasty (317-420), in Chaisang, a place which is now a district of the city of Jiujiang in Jiangxi Province, China.

Year of birth controversy.

Tao Yuanming is generally believed to have been born in the year 365 CE in Chaisang () (modern Jiujiang, Jiangxi), an area of great natural beauty. At the time the province was named Jiangzhou, and had an actively Buddhist Governor. This birth date is confirmed in Tao's biography in the "Book of Jin", which state that he was born "in the third year of the Xingning Reign Period of Emperor Ai", or Common Era year 365. However, there is some uncertainty regarding this date, and the Chinese scholar Yuan Xingpei has argued that Tao was actually born in 352.

Place of birth.

The name of Tao Yuanming's ancestral village, Chaisang, literally means "Mulberry-Bramble". Nearby sights have included Mount Lu, Poyang Lake (then known as P'eng-li), as well as a good selection of nature's features located in the immediate vicinity of Chaisang.

Younger years.

Detailed information on Tao Yuanmings younger years are not known, although it is safe to say that they were lived in a difficult environment. When he would have been eighteen or nineteen, occurred the invasion by the state of Former Qin (ruled by an ethnically "Hu" dynasty) and the events culminating in the Battle of Fei River (383), which after great risk to the existence of Eastern Jin, resulted in against odds gains of territory north of Yangzi river, also whetting Eastern Jin appetites for reconquering the former northern territories. Many events would occur during Tao Yuanming's lifetime, including two revolts leading to usurpation of the throne, and eventually, in his old age, the overthrow of Eastern Jin.

Incident at Tiger Creek Bridge.

Tao Yuanming's birth place was very near Mount Lu (Lushan), which became a center of Buddhism, and eventually a source of origin for Pure Land Buddhism. According to historical accounts, in the eleventh year of emperor Xiaowu's Taiyuan reign period (386), when Tao Yuanming would have been 21 years old, Buddhist priest Huiyuan (later considered First Ancestor of Pure Land Buddhism) came to build the Donglin Monastery and organized the White Lotus Society, or a branch therof. Many scholars and poets participated in the Huiyuan's social circle, centered at the mountain monastery. According to the book "Stories of Worthy Personages in the Lotus Society" (), Master Huiyuan was supposed to never leave the monastery, except for one time. The official border of the monastery was known as Tiger Creek (also known as Tiger Gorge), over which there was a bridge. Tiger Creek was named for the tigers then inhabiting the neighboring hills. However, once, following a visit by Tao Yuanming and another scholar, Master Huiyuan, on accompanying his guests out, became so wrapped up in their conversation, that he did not notice that he was leaving the monastery grounds. Upon crossing the Tiger Creek Bridge, the local tigers were so astonished at this departure from the Master's practice of never leaving the monastery grounds that they began to roaring and howling. The story goes on to say that once Huiyuan realized he had breached his practice, the three all burst out laughing. This incident later became the subject of the famous paintings of "Three Laughing Men at Tiger Creek".

Government service.

Tao Yuanming ended up serving more than ten years in government service, personally involved with the sordid political scene of the times, which he did in five stints. Tao served in both civil and military capacities, which included making several trips down the Yangzi to the capital Jiankang, then a thriving metropolis, and the center of power during the Six Dynasties. The ruins of the old Jiankang walls can still be found in the modern municipality of Nanjing. During this period, Tao Yuanming's poems begin to indicate that he was becoming torn between ambition and a desire to retreat into solitude.

Political background.

Through the history of the times, enough is known of the general state of affairs during Tao's governmental career to indicate why such service during that sorry state of political affairs was so miserable for him: Tao Yuanming served under the two usurpers Huan Xuan and Liu Yu, not to mention the weak and pitiful emperor An.  The future emperor An of Eastern Jin (born 382 and personally named Sima Dezong) was a scion of the dynastic ruling family of the Jin empire, the Sima. His father was emperor Xiaowu, who named him crown prince in 387, despite his extreme developmental disabilities (being unable to dress himself, speak, or generally communicate). When Xiaowu was murdered in bed by his secondary wife, the Lady Zhang, An was crowned emperor in 397. Acting as regent, actual control of the empire was in the hands of emperor An's father's younger brother Sima Daozi. The regent, Sima Daozi, could dress himself and communicate verbally, but nevertheless was not that capable of a ruler, with a reputation for feasting and drinking rather than attending to affairs of state, and surrounding himself with flatterers. Various insurrections developed during the span of this corrupt and incompetent government, mostly unsuccessful, a state of affairs which did not change much when Sima Daozi's son Sima Yuanxian succeeded as regent (an event reported to happening during a bout of drunkenness on the part of Sima Daozi). Eventually, the warlord Huan Xuan was able to consolidate enough power to seize the regency for himself. Huan Xuan was a kleptocrat, who found some way to seize whatever valuable objects or properties that he envied. Besides that, Huan had a habit of tyrannically punishing any official who made the slightest mistake or whom he was suspicious of. In 403, Huan had emperor An abdicate, so that he himself could be ruler both in fact and in name, and renamed his empire as the Chu dynasty. Shortly thereafter Huan Xuan was killed during the course of an uprising, in 404/405. The rebels then restored emperor An to his nominal position, and the empire's name to Jin. The leader of the rebels was Huan Xuan's general Liu Yu, who proceeded to rule as regent for emperor An. A typical pattern of external warfare and rebellions from within followed. In 418/419 Liu Yu had an assassin kill emperor An. Liu Yu installed An's younger brother (Sima Dewen) as emperor Gong, with Liu Yu retaining the real power. Liu Yu then forced Gong to abdicate, and not long after had him assassinated. Upon Gong's abdication, Liu Yu had himself named as Emperor Wu of Song, thus officially ending the Jin dynasty. This is the government in which Tao Yuanming served, and his poems portray his increasing discontent with doing so, whether or not he was really inclined to do so anyway is less clear (and he seems to have other personal, family reasons for his decision to resign). Nevertheless, after around a decade of service, Tao decided to leave the government and go back to his home region.

Five stints as a government official.

Tao Yuanming's first stint in government was as State Officer of Rites, when he was about twenty-nine. He did this in part due to family poverty, and to support his aged parents. However, he had a difficult time of it and returned home. Accounts of Tao's second and third government service stints vary somewhat. One source of information is "A Year-by-Year Biography of Tao Yuanming" by Lu Qingli. Tao's second stint in government seems to have been working for Huan Xuan. According to Lu, Tao served in the government during the Long'an years of emperor An, during the time of the Sun En revolt. (Sun En seems to have been a populist magician associated with the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice movement.) Tao would have been about thirty-five years old, and the warlord Huan Xuan had become Governor of Tao's home province, Jiangzhou. Huan had a plan to coordinate with other warlords (including Liu Yu) to eradicate Sun En. Again according to Lu, Tao Yuanming was the official to go to the imperial capital, Jiankang, and officially submit this proposal to the imperial government. After receiving approval, Huan and associates successfully subdued the rebellion. Then, about three tears later, Huan Xuan and other warlords rebelled, and captured both the capital city and the emperor, An, and thus the imperial power. But by this time Tao Yuanming was working not for Huan but as Defense Strategist (apparently his third stint as a government official), handling paperwork for Liu Yu, the general in charge of defending the Sima-lead imperial government. There was also a fourth stint. When he was about forty, Tao worked for general Liu Jingxuan, who resigned about a year later, and Tao along with him. Tao Yuanming's fifth and final stint, as Penze county magistrate (beginning March of the first year of the Yixing regnal year), only lasted about eighty days, as he resigned in August the same year. This was the time period when he wrote his essay "To Return", in his preface to which he mentions taking the job because having "a house full of little kids", and goes on to explain why he wants to give up government work and return home. Each stint seems to have lasted no more than a few years, and each time Tao Yuanming seems to have resigned and returned home. Officially, his retirement was due to the sudden death of his younger sister and his need to attend to the funeral rites. Another reason, given by his biographer Xiao Tong, was that Tao was faced with the imminent imposition of an onerous supervisor, whom he was told he "had to treat right", and which was the occasion of him saying, "I won't bow to a bucolic boy for the sake of five pecks of rice." Subsequently, despite various offers by Liu Yu, after he became emperor, Tao Yuanming refused to return to government service. Of Tao Yuanming's career Su Shi describe him as "working for the government when he desired to, without feeling shame in his requests; retiring when he desired to, without thinking himself lofty."

Return to the fields.

In the Spring of 405, Tao Yuanming was serving in the army, as aide-de-camp to the local commanding officer. The death of his sister together with his disgust at the corruption and infighting of the Jin Court prompted him to resign. As Tao himself put it, he would not """bow like a servant in return for five pecks of grain" (為五斗米折腰), a saying which has entered common usage meaning ""swallowing one's pride in exchange for a meager existence"". 'Five pecks of grain' was among other things the specified salary of certain low-rank officials. Certainly Tao Yuanming's salary as Penze County Magistrate was far higher than five pecks, so this was a symbolic expression. For the last 22 years of his life, he lived in retirement on his small farmstead.

Children and family.

Tao Yuanming married two times. His first wife died when he was in his thirties.  Tao Yuanming had five sons. The oldest son was Tao Yan, as mentioned in his letter "A Letter to My Sons Yan, Etc.", a sort of apology for any hunger or cold which they suffered as a result of following his ideal and conscience and not working for the government any more. The daughters, if any, were unrecorded (as customary). However, just how this occurred within the chronology of his life is unknown.

Religious and philosophical influences.

Tao Yuanming's works show a certain spiritual side to them. The three main sources of religious/philosophical influence on Tao Yuanming were Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist.  In his youth, Tao says, "I enjoyed studying the Six Classics." He mentions this in Title 16 of his "Drinking Poems" series. The Six Classics refers to the Six Confucian Classics (now the Five Classics, due to the loss of the "Book of Music"), fundamental Confucian texts. Tao shows his Daoist influence in various works, referring harmonizing with Nature; for example, such lines as "I long to return to Nature.", from his poem "Returning to Country and Farming", or his sentiments in his essay "Return", deprecating artificial limits or restrictions in interpersonal relationships, and the desire for a simple life, with Nature taking its course. Also in "Returning to Country and Farming", Tao Yuanming shows a Buddhist side (although he never formally became a Buddhist): "Life is like an illusion; everything returns to emptiness.", he says, echoing the Buddhist sutras. His ability to absorb and creatively employ the three diverse religions/philosophies leads Florence Chia-ying Yeh to say: "Among the Chinese poets, Tao Yuanming had the greatest perseverance and integrity. His power to persevere was based upon his acceptance and absorption of the essentials of various philosophies, such as Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. He mastered not only the external words, doctrines, and rituals, but also had a thorough internal understanding and acceptance of the best and most valuable parts of those schools of thought."

Death.

His main biographies give Tao Yuanming's death as "in the fourth year of the Yuanjia reign period of Emperor Wen". Thus, Tao Qian is generally but not universally held to have died in 427, which mathematically works out to the age of 63. If, however, he was in fact born in 352, he would instead have been 76 years old when he died.

Sources.

There are various sources on information about Tao Yuanming. As living in the Jin dynasty he is chronicled in the "Book of Jin". Since he lived into Liu Song times, he is also chronicled in the "Book of Song". Tao Yuanming has another biography in the "History of the South". There is also some information to be found in his preserved works, which were first systematically collected by Xiao Tong, a Liang dynasty prince (princely title Zhaoming), who also included a biography, in his book "Wen Xuan".

Works and legacy.

Approximately 130 of his works survive: mostly poems or essays which depict an idyllic pastoral life of farming and drinking.

Poetry.

Because his poems depict a life of farming and of drinking his home made wine, he would later be termed "Poet of the Fields". In Tao Yuanming's poems can be found superlative examples of the theme which urges its audience to drop out of official life, move to the country, and take up a cultivated life of wine, poetry, and avoiding people with whom friendship would be unsuitable, but in Tao's case this went along with actually engaging in farming. Tao's poetry also shows an inclination to fulfillment of duty, such as feeding his family. Tao's simple and plain style of expression, reflecting his back-to-basics lifestyle, first became better known as he achieved local fame as a hermit. This was followed gradually by recognition in major anthologies. By the Tang dynasty, Tao was elevated to greatness as a poet's poet, revered by Li Bai and Du Fu.  Han poetry, Jian'an poetry, the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, and the other earlier Six dynasties poetry foreshadowed some of Tao's particular symbolism and the general "returning home to the country" theme, and also somewhat separately show precursory in evolving of poetic form, based on the "yuefu" style which traces its origin to the Han dynasty Music Bureau. An example given of the thematic evolution of one of Tao's poetic themes is Zhang Heng's "Return to the Field", written in the Classical Chinese poetry form known as the "fu", or "rhapsody" style, but Tao's own poetry (including his own "Return to the Field" poem) tends to be known for its use of the more purely poetic "shi" which developed as a regular line length form from the literary "yuefu" of the Jian'an and foreshadows the verse forms favored in Tang poetry, such as "gushi", or "old-style verse". Tao's poems, prose and their combination of form and theme into his own style broke new ground and became a fondly relied upon historical landmark. Much subsequent Chinese painting and literature would require no more than the mention or image of chrysanthemums by the eastern fence to call to mind Tao Yuanming's life and poetry. Later, his poetry and the particular motifs which Tao Yuanming exemplified would prove to importantly influence the innovations of Beat poetry and the 1960s poetry of the United States and Europe. Both in the 20th century and subsequently, Tao Yuanming has come to occupy a position as one of the select group of great world poets.

Poems.

The following is an extract from a poem Tao wrote, in the year 409, in regard to a traditional Chinese holiday:  <poem>  </poem>  Poem number five of Tao's "Drinking Wine" series is translated by Arthur Waley:  <poem> I built my hut in a zone of human habitation  Yet near me there sounds no noise of horse or coach. Would you know how that is possible? A heart that is distant creates a wilderness round it. I pluck chrysanthemums under the eastern hedge, Then gaze long at the distant summer hills. The mountain air is fresh at the dusk of day: The flying birds two by two return. In these things there lies a deep meaning; Yet when we would express it, words suddenly fail us. </poem>  Another, from the same source is "Returning to the Fields" (alternatively translated by others as "Return to the Field"):  <poem> My only love was for the hills and mountains. Unwitting I fell into the Web of the World's dust And was not free until my thirtieth year. The migrant bird longs for the old wood: The fish in the tank thinks of its native pool. I had rescued from wildness a patch of the Southern Moor And, still rustic, I returned to field and garden. My ground covers no more than ten acres: My thatched cottage has eight or nine rooms. Elms and willows cluster by the eaves: Peach trees and plum trees grow before the hall. Hazy, hazy the distant hamlets of men. Steady the smoke of the half-deserted village, A dog barks somewhere in the deep lanes, A cock crows at the top of the mulberry tree. At gate and courtyard—no murmur of the World's dust: In the empty rooms—leisure and deep stillness. Long I lived checked by the bars of a cage: Now I have turned again to Nature and Freedom. </poem>  Tao's poems greatly influenced the ensuing poetry of the Tang and Song Dynasties. A great admirer of Tao, Du Fu wrote a poem "Oh, Such a Shame" of life in the countryside:

"Peach Blossom Spring".

Aside from his poems, Tao is also known for his short, influential, and intriguing prose depiction of a land hidden from the outside world called ""Peach Blossom Spring"" (). The name "Peach Blossom Spring" (桃花源 "Tao Hua Yuan") is now a well known, standard Chinese term for a utopia. This fable recounted by Tao Yuanming begins with a claim that it occurred in the Taiyuan era of the Jin dynasty (376-396). According to the story, a fisher gets lost and discovers a place out of time, but cannot find it again after he leaves and tells of its existence. It is a very influential story.

Legacy.

Tao Yuanmings literary legacy also includes influence on later poets and authors. One example is Song dynasty poet Xin Qiji. Also, Su Shi wrote "Matching Tao's Poems", in which the perhaps more famous Song dynasty poet wrote a series of poems, innovating from Tao Yuanmings poems, wherein Su matched each of Tao's poems by writing a new poem, but using all the same rhymes for his lines. Another poet inspired in part by Tao Yuanming was the 16th century Korean poet Yi Hwang.

Critical appraisal.

Zhong Rong (468-518) described Yuanming's literary style as "spare and limpid, with scarcely a surplus word." In 詩品 ("Poetry Gradings"), Zhong Rong wrote: Su Shi (1037–1101), one of the major poets of the Song era, said that the only poet he was particularly fond of was Yuanming, who "deeply impressed [him] by what he was as a man." Su Shi exalted Yuanming's "unadorned and yet beautiful, spare and yet ample" poems, and even asserted that "neither Cao Zhi, Liu Zhen, Bao Zhao, Xie Lingyun, Li Bai, nor Du Fu achieves his stature".  Huang Tingjian (1045–1105), one of the Four Masters of the Song Dynasty and a younger friend of Su Shi, said, "“When you’ve just come of age, reading these poems seems like gnawing on withered wood. But reading them after long experience in the world, it seems the decisions of your life were all made in ignorance.”  Lin Yutang (1895–1976) considered Yuanming the perfect example of "the true lover of life". He praised the harmony and simplicity in Yuanming's life as well as in his style, and claimed that he "represents the most perfectly harmonious and well-rounded character in the entire Chinese literary tradition."  In "Great lives from history" (1988), Frank Northen Magill highlights the "candid beauty" of Yuanming's poetry, stating that the "freshness of his images, his homespun but Heaven-aspiring morality, and his steadfast love of rural life shine through the deceptively humble words in which they are expressed, and as a consequence he has long been regarded one of China's most accomplished and accessible poets." He also discusses what makes Yuanming unique as a poet, and why his works were perhaps overlooked by his contemporaries:

Gallery.

Tao Yuanming has inspired not only generations of poets, but also painters and other artists.

Tao Yuanming (365?–427), also known as Tao Qian (Hanyu Pinyin) or T'ao Ch'ien (Wade-Giles), was a Chinese poet who was born during the Eastern Jin dynasty (317-420) and died during the Liu Song (420-479) dynasty (Jin-Song transition). Tao is a major poet of the Six Dynasties period. Tao Yuanming spent much of his life in reclusion, living in the countryside, farming, reading, drinking wine, receiving the occasional guest, and writing poems in which he often reflected on the pleasures and difficulties of life, as well as his decision to withdraw from civil service. Tao's simple and direct style was somewhat at odds with the norms for literary writing in his time. Relatively well-known as a recluse poet in the Tang dynasty (618-907), during the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127), influential literati figures such as Su Shi (1037-1101) declared him a paragon of authenticity and spontaneity in poetry, that Tao Yuanming would achieve lasting literary fame. However, Tao Yuanming's inclusion in the 6th century literary anthology "Wen Xuan" argues for at least a beginning of fame in his own era, at least in his own birth area. Tao Yuanming would later be regarded as the foremost representative of what we now know as Fields and Gardens poetry. Tao Yuanming found inspiration in the beauty and serenity of the natural world close at hand.

Tchao Jüan-ming (čínsky:, pinyin: Táo Yuānmíng; 365, Sin-jang, prov. Ťiang-si – 427), známý i jako Tchao Čchien (čínsky, pinyin: "Tao Qian", WG: "T'ao Ch'ien"; česky "„Tchao Skrytý“"), byl jeden z největších čínských básníků. Žil v období vlády dynastie Ťin. Měl velký vliv na tvorbu slavných básníků dynastií Tchang a Sung.


Early life and reign.

Born in Moscow on, the son of Tsar Michael and Eudoxia Streshneva, the sixteen year old Alexei acceded to the throne after his father's death on 12 July 1645. In August, the Tsar's mother died, and following a pilgrimage to Sergiyev Posad he was crowned on 28 September in the Dormition Cathedral. He was committed to the care of his tutor Boris Morozov, a shrewd boyar open to Western ideas.  Morozov's pursued a peaceful foreign policy, securing a truce with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and carefully avoiding complications with the Ottoman Empire. His domestic policy aimed at limiting the privileges of foreign traders and abolishing useless and expensive court offices. On 17 January 1648 Morozov procured the marriage of the tsar with Maria Miloslavskaya, himself marrying her sister, Anna, ten days later, both daughters of Ilya Danilovich Miloslavsky.  Morozov was regarded as a corrupt, self-seeking boyar and was accused of sorcery and witchcraft. In May 1648 Muscovites rose against his faction in the Salt Riot, and the young Tsar was compelled to dismiss them and exile Boris to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. Four months later, Boris secretly returned to Moscow to regain some of his power.  The popular discontent demonstrated by the riot was partially responsible for Alexis' 1649 issuance of a new legal code, the Sobornoye Ulozhenie.

Later reign.

Military reform.

In 1648, using the experience of creating regiments of the foreign system during the reign of his father, Alexis began reforming the army.  The main direction of the reform was the mass creation of New Order Regiments: Reiters, Soldiers, Dragoons and Hussars. These regiments formed the backbone of the new army of Tsar Alexis. To fulfill the reform goals, a large number of European military specialists were hired for service. This became possible because of the end of the Thirty Years' War, which created a colossal market for military professionals in Europe.

Rebellions.

Throughout his reign, Alexei faced rebellions across Russia. After resolving the 1648 Salt Riot Alexei faced rebellions in 1650 in the cities of Pskov and Great Novgorod. Alexei put down the Novgorod rebellion quickly, but was unable to subdue Pskov, and was forced to promise the city amnesty in return for surrender. The Metropolitan Nikon distinguished himself at Great Novgorod and in 1651 became the Tsar's chief minister.  By the 1660s, Alexei's wars with Poland and Sweden had put an increasing strain on the Russian economy and public finances. In response, Alexei's government had begun minting large numbers of copper coins in 1654 to increase government revenue but this led to a devaluation of the ruble and a severe financial crisis. As a result, angry Moscow residents revolted in the 1662 Copper Riot, which was put down violently.  In 1669, the Cossacks along the Don in southern Russia erupted in rebellion. The rebellion was led by Stenka Razin, a disaffected Don Cossack who had captured the Russian terminus of Astrakhan. From 1670 to 1671, Razin seized multiple towns along the Volga River. The turning point in his campaign was his failed siege of Simbirsk in October 1670. Razin was finally captured on the Don in April 1671, and was drawn and quartered in Moscow.

War against Safavid Iran.

In 1651 Safavid troops attacked Russian fortifications in the North Caucasus. The main issue involved the expansion of a Russian garrison on the Koy Su River, as well as the construction of several new fortresses, in particular the one built on the Iranian side of the Terek River. The successful Safavid offensive resulted in the destruction of the Russian fortress and its garrison being expelled. In 1653 Alexis, initially thinking about sending the Zaporozhian Cossacks, eventually decided to send an embassy to Persia for a peaceful settlement of the conflict. In August 1653 courtier Prince Ivan Lobanov-Rostov and steward Ivan Komynin traveled from Astrakhan to Isfahan. Shah Abbas II agreed to settle the conflict, stating that the conflict was initiated without his consent.

Wars against Poland and Sweden.

In 1653 the weakness and disorder of Poland, which had just emerged from the Khmelnytsky Uprising, encouraged Alexei to attempt to annex the old Rus’ lands. On 1 October 1653 a national assembly met at Moscow to sanction the war and find the means of carrying it out, and in April 1654 the army was blessed by Nikon, who had been elected patriarch in 1652.  The campaign of 1654 was an uninterrupted triumph, and scores of towns, including the important fortress of Smolensk, fell into the hands of the Russians. Ukrainian Hetman Bogdan Khmelnitsky appealed to Tsar Alexei for protection from the Poles, and the Treaty of Pereyaslav brought about Russian dominance of the Cossack Hetmanate in Left-Bank Ukraine.  In the summer of 1655, a sudden invasion by Charles X of Sweden briefly swept the Polish state out of existence, in what became known as the Deluge. The Russians, unopposed, quickly appropriated nearly everything that was not already occupied by the Swedes. When the Poles offered to negotiate, the whole grand-duchy of Lithuania was the least of the demands made by Alexei. However Alexei and the king of Sweden quarrelled over the apportionment of the spoils, and at the end of May 1656, with encouragement by the Habsburg emperor and the other enemies of Sweden, Alexei declared war on Sweden.  Great things were expected by Russia of the Swedish war, but nothing came of it. Dorpat was taken, but countless multitudes of men were lost in vain before Riga. In the meantime Poland had so far recovered herself as to become a much more dangerous foe than Sweden, and, as it was impossible to wage war with both simultaneously, the tsar resolved to rid himself of the Swedes first. In the Peace of Kardis (2 July 1661), Russia retroceded all her conquests.  The Polish war dragged on for six years longer and was then concluded by the Truce of Andrusovo (11 February 1667), nominally for thirteen years, which proved the most durable of treaties. According to the truce, Polotsk and Polish Livonia were restored to Poland, but the more important cities of Smolensk and Kiev remained in the hands of Russia together with the whole eastern bank of the Dnieper River. This truce was the achievement of Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin, the first Russian chancellor and diplomat in the modern sense, who after the disgrace of Nikon became the tsar's first minister until 1670, when he was superseded by the equally able Artamon Matveyev, whose beneficent influence prevailed to the end of Alexei's reign.

Response to English Civil War.

When Charles I of England was beheaded by the Parliamentarians under Oliver Cromwell in 1649, an outraged Alexei broke off diplomatic relations with England and accepted Royalist refugees in Moscow. He also banned all English merchants from his country (notably members of the Muscovy Company) and provided financial assistance to "the disconsolate widow of that glorious martyr, King Charles I."

Schism with the Old Believers.

In 1653, Patriarch Nikon established a series of reforms that aimed to bring the practices of the Russian Orthodox Church into line with its Greek counterpart. Most notably, the church began to mandate the use of three fingers instead of two in making the sign of the cross. This resulted in significant dissent among the church community. Nevertheless, Alexei continued to support Nikon until 1658, when Nikon abandoned his post due to a personal insult, leaving the seat of the patriarch vacant.  In 1666, the tsar convened the Great Moscow Synod, which was attended by Patriarch Macarios III of Antioch and Patriarch Paisius of Alexandria, in order to address the problems caused by Nikon. The synod agreed to formally depose Nikon, and also decided to excommunicate all who opposed the reforms of the church; those opponents broke away from the official Russian Orthodox Church to form the Old Believers movement.

Assessment.

According to the "Encyclopædia Britannica" Eleventh Edition:  Alexei's letters were first published by Pyotr Bartenev in 1856. They have earned him a place in the history of Russian literature, as assessed by D.S. Mirsky:  A few private letters and an instruction to his falconers is all we have of him. But it is sufficient for Sergey Platonov to proclaim him the most attractive of Russian monarchs. He acquired the moniker "Tishayshy", which means "most quiet" or "most peaceful". He received this moniker through the ways he behaved- he would be kind and friendly, but the sounds created from instruments would provoke him. Certain aspects of Russian Orthodoxy, not its most purely spiritual, but its aesthetic and worldly aspects, found in him their most complete expression. The essence of Alexei's personality is a certain spiritual Epicureanism, manifested in an optimistic Christian faith, in a profound, but unfanatical, attachment to the traditions and ritual of the Church, in a desire to see everyone round him happy and at peace, and in a highly developed capacity to extract a quiet and mellow enjoyment from all things.

Family and children.

Alexei's first marriage to Miloslavskaya was harmonious and felicitous. She bore him thirteen children (five sons and eight daughters) in twenty-one years of marriage, and died only weeks after her thirteenth childbirth. Four sons survived her (Alexei, Fyodor, Semyon, and Ivan), but within six months of her death, two of these were dead, including Alexei, the 15-year-old heir to the throne. The couple's children were:  Alexei remarried on 1 February 1671 to Nataliya Kyrillovna Naryshkina (1 September 16514 February 1694). She was brought up in the house of Artamon Matveyev, whose wife was the Scottish-descended Mary Hamilton. Their children were:

Alexei Mikhailovich (; – ) was the Tsar of Russia from 1645 until his death in 1676. His reign saw wars with Poland and Sweden, schism in the Russian Orthodox Church, and the major Cossack revolt of Stenka Razin. Nevertheless, at the time of his death Russia spanned almost.

Alexej Michajlovič (), 19. března 1629, Moskva - 29. ledna 1676, Moskva), syn Michaila III. Fjodoroviče (1613-1645) z dynastie Romanovců, byl v letech 1645 až 1676 ruským carem.


Process.

One side of a clean glass plate was coated with a thin layer of iodized collodion, then dipped in a silver nitrate solution. The plate was exposed in the camera while still wet. Exposure times varied from five to sixty seconds or more depending on the brightness of the lighting and the speed of the camera lens. The plate was then developed and fixed. The resulting negative, when viewed by reflected light against a black background, appears to be a positive image: the clear areas look black, and the exposed, opaque areas appear relatively light. This effect was integrated by backing the plate with black velvet; by taking the picture on a plate made of dark reddish-colored glass (the result was called a ruby ambrotype); or by coating one side of the plate with black varnish. Either the emulsion side or the bare side could be coated: if the bare side was blackened, the thickness of the glass added a sense of depth to the image. In either case, another plate of glass was put over the fragile emulsion side to protect it, and the whole was mounted in a metal frame and kept in a protective case. In some instances the protective glass was cemented directly to the emulsion, generally with a balsam resin. This protected the image well but tended to darken it. Ambrotypes were sometimes hand-tinted; untinted ambrotypes are monochrome, gray or tan in their lightest areas.

History.

The ambrotype was based on the wet plate collodion process invented by Frederick Scott Archer. Ambrotypes were deliberately underexposed negatives made by that process and optimized for viewing as positives instead. In the US, ambrotypes first came into use in the early 1850s. In 1854, James Ambrose Cutting of Boston took out several patents relating to the process. Although Cutting, the patent holder, had named the process after himself, it appears the term, "ambrotype" itself may have been first coined in the gallery of Marcus Aurelius Root, a well-known daguerreotypist, as documented in the 1864 book "The Camera and the Pencil" as follows :  "After considerable improvements, this process was first introduced, in 1854, into various Daguerrean establishments, in the Eastern and Western States, by Cutting & Rehn. In June of this year, Cutting procured patents for the process, though Langdell had already worked it from the printed formulas.  "The process has since been introduced, as a legitimate business, into the leading establishments of our country. The positive branch of it; i.e. a solar impression upon one glass-plate, which is covered by a second hermetically sealed thereto, is entitled the "Ambrotype," (or the "imperishable picture"), a name devised in my gallery.  Root also states (pp. 373): "Isaac Rehn, formerly a successful daguerreotypist, in company with Cutting, of Boston, perfected and introduced through the United States the "Ambrotype," or the positive on glass." What isn't mentioned in the referenced book is the particular year in which the term "ambrotype" was first used.  Ambrotypes were much less expensive to produce than daguerreotypes, the medium that predominated when they were introduced, and did not have the bright mirror-like metallic surface that could make daguerreotypes troublesome to view and which some people disliked. An ambrotype, however, appeared dull and drab when compared with the brilliance of a well-made and properly viewed daguerreotype.  By the late 1850s, the ambrotype was overtaking the daguerreotype in popularity. By the mid-1860s, the ambrotype itself was being replaced by the tintype, a similar image on a sturdy black-lacquered thin iron sheet, as well as by photographic albumen paper prints made from glass plate collodion negatives.

The ambrotype (from — “immortal”, and — “impression”) also known as a collodion positive in the UK, is a positive photograph on glass made by a variant of the wet plate collodion process. Like a print on paper, it is viewed by reflected light. Like the daguerreotype, which it replaced, and like the prints produced by a Polaroid camera, each is a unique original that could only be duplicated by using a camera to copy it.

Ambrotypie (koloidní pozitiv nebo melanotypie, z řeckého "ambrosios" - nesmrtelný, neměnný) je historický fotografický proces, který vynalezl Frederick Scott Archer a amatérský fotograf a právník Peter Fry. Objevuje se i pojmenování amphitypie (z řec. "amfi" - obojí, ve smyslu obrazy, jak pozitiv, tak i negativ). V českém prostředí se objevoval okolo roku 1853 také nesprávný název vitrotypie podle německého Glasbilder. Ambrotypie patří do kategorie přímých pozitivních procesů.


History.

The Mexican–American War ended on February 3, 1848, although California was a de facto American possession before that. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided for, among other things, the formal transfer of Upper California to the United States. The California Gold Rush began at Sutter's Mill, near Coloma. On January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall, a foreman working for Sacramento pioneer John Sutter, found shiny metal in the tailrace of a lumber mill Marshall was building for Sutter on the American River. Marshall brought what he found to John Sutter, and the two privately tested the metal. After the tests showed that it was gold, Sutter expressed dismay: he wanted to keep the news quiet because he feared what would happen to his plans for an agricultural empire if there were a mass search for gold.

Discovery announced.

Rumors of the discovery of gold were confirmed in March 1848 by San Francisco newspaper publisher and merchant Samuel Brannan. Brannan hurriedly set up a store to sell gold prospecting supplies, and walked through the streets of San Francisco, holding aloft a vial of gold, shouting "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!"  On August 19, 1848, the "New York Herald" was the first major newspaper on the East Coast to report the discovery of gold. On December 5, 1848, US President James Polk confirmed the discovery of gold in an

Transportation to California.

In what has been referred to as the "first world-class gold rush," there was no easy way to get to California; forty-niners faced hardship and often death on the way. At first, most s, as they were also known, traveled by sea. From the East Coast, a sailing voyage around the tip of South America would take four to five months, and cover approximately. An alternative was to sail to the Atlantic side of the Isthmus of Panama, take canoes and mules for a week through

Supplies and goods needed.

Supply ships arrived in San Francisco with goods to supply the needs of the growing population. When hundreds of ships were abandoned after their crews deserted

Northern California strikes.

Within a few years, there was an important but lesser-known surge of prospectors into far Northern California, specifically into present-day Siskiyou, Shasta and Trinity Counties. Discovery of gold nuggets at the site of present-day Yreka in 1851 brought thousands of gold-seekers up the Siskiyou Trail and throughout California's northern counties.  Settlements of the Gold Rush era, such as Portuguese Flat on the Sacramento River, sprang into existence and then faded. The Gold Rush town of Weaverville on the

Indigenous driven out.

By 1850, most of the easily accessible gold had been collected, and attention turned to extracting gold from more difficult locations. Faced with gold increasingly difficult to retrieve, Americans began to drive out foreigners to get at the most accessible gold that remained. The new California State Legislature passed a foreign miners tax of twenty dollars per month ($ per month as of ), and American

Earlier discoveries of gold.

The first gold found in California was made on March 9, 1842. Francisco Lopez, a native California, was searching for stray horses. He stopped on the bank of a small creek in what later was known as Placerita Canyon, about east of the present-day Newhall, California, and about northwest of Los Angeles. While the horses grazed, Lopez dug up some wild onions and found a small

Forty-niners.

The first people to rush to the goldfields, beginning in the spring of 1848, were the residents of California themselves—primarily agriculturally oriented Americans and Europeans living in Northern California, along with Native Americans and some "Californios" (Spanish-speaking Californians). These first miners tended to be families in which everyone helped in the effort. Women and children of all ethnicities were often found panning next to the men. Some enterprising families set up boarding houses to accommodate the influx of men; in such cases, the women often brought in steady income while their husbands searched for gold.  Word of the Gold Rush spread slowly at first. The earliest gold-seekers were people who lived near California or people who heard the news from ships on the fastest sailing routes from California. The first large group of Americans to arrive were several thousand Oregonians who came down the Siskiyou Trail. Next came people from the Sandwich Islands, and several thousand Latin Americans, including people from Mexico, from Peru and from as far away as Chile, both by ship and overland. By the end of 1848, some 6,000 Argonauts had come to California.  Only a small number (probably fewer than 500) traveled overland from the United States that year. Some of these "forty-eighters", as the earliest gold-seekers were sometimes called, were able to collect large amounts of easily accessible gold—in some cases, thousands of dollars worth each day. Even ordinary prospectors averaged daily gold finds worth 10 to 15 times the daily wage of a laborer on the East Coast. A person could work for six months in the goldfields and find the equivalent of six years' wages back home. Some hoped to get rich quick and return home, and others wished to start businesses in California.  By the beginning of 1849, word of the Gold Rush had spread around the world, and an overwhelming number of gold-seekers and merchants began to arrive from virtually every continent. The largest group of forty-niners in 1849 were Americans, arriving by the tens of thousands overland across the continent and along various sailing routes (the name "forty-niner" was derived from the year 1849). Many from the East Coast negotiated

Legal rights.

When the Gold Rush began, the California goldfields were peculiarly lawless places. When gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill, California was still technically part of Mexico, under American military occupation as the result of the Mexican–American War. With the signing of the treaty ending the war on February 2, 1848, California became a possession of the United States, but it was not a formal "territory" and did not become a state until September 9, 1850. California existed in the unusual condition of a region under military control. There was no civil legislature, executive or judicial body for the entire region. Local residents operated under a confusing and changing mixture of Mexican rules, American principles, and personal dictates. Lax enforcement of federal laws, such as the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, encouraged the arrival of free blacks and escaped slaves.  While the treaty ending the Mexican–American War obliged the United States to honor Mexican land grants,

Development of gold-recovery techniques.

Four hundred million years ago, California lay at the bottom of a large sea; underwater volcanoes deposited lava and minerals (including gold) onto the sea floor. By tectonic forces these minerals and rocks came to the surface of the Sierra Nevada, and eroded. Water carried the exposed gold downstream and deposited it in quiet gravel beds along the sides of old rivers and streams. The forty-niners first focused their efforts on these deposits of gold.  Because the gold in the California gravel beds was so richly concentrated, early forty-niners were able to retrieve loose gold flakes and nuggets with their hands, or simply "pan" for gold in rivers and streams. Panning cannot take place on a large scale, and industrious miners and groups of miners graduated to placer mining, using "cradles" and "rockers" or "long-toms" to process larger volumes of gravel. Miners would also engage in "coyoteing", a method that involved digging a shaft deep into placer deposits along a stream. Tunnels were then dug in all directions to reach the richest veins of pay dirt.  In the most complex placer mining, groups of prospectors would divert the water from an entire river into a sluice alongside the river, and then dig for gold in the newly exposed river bottom. Modern estimates are that as much as 12 million ounces (370 t) of gold were removed in the first five years of the Gold Rush.  In the next stage,

Profits.

Recent scholarship confirms that merchants made far more money than miners during the Gold Rush. The wealthiest man in California during the early years of the rush was Samuel Brannan, a tireless self-promoter, shopkeeper and newspaper publisher. Brannan opened the first supply stores in Sacramento, Coloma, and other spots in the goldfields. Just as the rush began he purchased all the prospecting supplies available in San Francisco and re-sold them at a substantial profit.  Some gold-seekers made a significant amount of money. On average, half the gold-seekers made a modest profit, after taking all expenses into account; economic historians have suggested that white miners were more successful than black, Indian, or Chinese miners. However, taxes such as the California foreign miners tax passed in 1851, targeted mainly Latino miners and kept them from making as much money as whites, who did not have any taxes imposed on them. In California most late arrivals made little or wound up losing money. Similarly, many unlucky merchants set up in settlements which disappeared, or which succumbed to one of the calamitous fires that swept the towns that sprang up. By contrast, a businessman who went on to great success was Levi Strauss, who first began selling denim overalls in San Francisco in 1853.  Other businessmen reaped great rewards in retail, shipping, entertainment, lodging, or transportation. Boardinghouses, food preparation, sewing, and laundry were highly profitable businesses often run by women (married, single, or widowed) who realized men would pay well for a service done by a woman. Brothels also brought in large profits, especially when combined with saloons and gaming houses.  By 1855, the economic climate had changed dramatically. Gold could be retrieved profitably from the goldfields only by medium to large groups of workers, either in partnerships or as employees. By the mid-1850s, it was the owners of these gold-mining companies who made the money. Also, the population and economy of California had become large and diverse enough that money could be made in a wide variety of conventional businesses.

Path of the gold.

Once extracted, the gold itself took many paths. First, much of the gold was used locally to purchase food, supplies and lodging for the miners. It also went towards entertainment, which consisted of anything from a traveling theater to alcohol, gambling, and prostitutes. These transactions often took place using the recently recovered gold, carefully weighed out. These merchants and vendors in turn used the gold to purchase supplies from ship captains or packers bringing goods to California.  The gold then left California aboard ships or mules to go to the makers of the goods from around the

Near-term effects.

The arrival of hundreds of thousands of new people in California within a few years, compared to a population of some 15,000 Europeans and "Californios" beforehand, had many dramatic effects.  A 2017 study attributes the record-long economic expansion of the United States in the recession-free period of 1841–1856 primarily to "a boom in transportation-goods investment following the discovery of gold in California."

Development of government and commerce.

The Gold Rush propelled California from a sleepy, little-known backwater to a center of the global imagination and the destination of hundreds of thousands of people. The new immigrants often showed remarkable inventiveness and civic-mindedness. For example, in the midst of the Gold Rush, towns and cities were chartered, a state constitutional convention was convened, a state constitution written, elections held, and representatives sent to Washington, D.C. to negotiate the admission of California as a state.  Large-scale agriculture (California's second "Gold Rush") began during this time. Roads, schools, churches, and civic organizations quickly came into existence. The vast majority of the immigrants were

Impact on Native Americans.

The human and environmental costs of the Gold Rush were substantial. Native Americans, dependent on traditional hunting, gathering and agriculture, became the victims of starvation and disease, as gravel, silt and toxic chemicals from prospecting operations killed fish and destroyed habitats. The surge in the mining population also resulted in the disappearance of game and food gathering locales as gold camps and other settlements were built amidst them. Later farming spread to supply the settlers' camps, taking more land away from the Native Americans.  In some areas, systematic attacks against tribespeople in or near mining districts occurred. Various

World-wide economic stimulation.

The Gold Rush stimulated economies around the world as well. Farmers in Chile, Australia, and Hawaii found a huge new market for their food; British manufactured goods were in high demand; clothing and even prefabricated houses arrived from China. The return of large amounts of California gold to pay for these goods raised prices and stimulated investment and the creation of jobs around the world. Australian prospector Edward Hargraves, noting similarities between the geography of California and his home country, returned

Longer-term effects.

California's name became indelibly connected with the Gold Rush, and fast success in a new world became known as the "California Dream." California was perceived as a place of new beginnings, where great wealth could reward hard work and good luck. Historian H. W. Brands noted that in the years after the Gold Rush, the California Dream spread across the nation:  Overnight California gained the international reputation as the "golden state". Generations of immigrants have been attracted by the California Dream. California farmers, oil drillers, movie makers, airplane builders, computer and microchip makers, and "dot-com" entrepreneurs have each had their boom times in the decades after the Gold Rush.  Included among the modern legacies of the California Gold Rush are the California state motto, "Eureka" ("I have found it"), Gold Rush images on the California State Seal, and the state nickname, "The Golden State", as well as place names, such as Placer County, Rough and Ready, Placerville (formerly named "Dry Diggings" and then "Hangtown" during rush time), Whiskeytown, Drytown, Angels Camp, Happy Camp, and Sawyers Bar. The San Francisco 49ers National Football League team, and the similarly named athletic teams of California State University, Long Beach, are named for the prospectors of the California Gold Rush.  In addition, the standard route shield of state highways in California is in the shape of a miner's spade to honor the California Gold Rush. Today, the aptly named State Route 49 travels through the Sierra Nevada foothills, connecting many Gold Rush-era towns such as Placerville, Auburn, Grass Valley, Nevada City, Coloma, Jackson, and Sonora. This state highway also passes very near Columbia State Historic Park, a protected area encompassing the historic business district of the town of Columbia; the park has preserved many Gold Rush-era buildings, which are presently occupied by tourist-oriented businesses.

The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and abroad. The sudden influx of gold into the money supply reinvigorated the American economy, and the sudden population increase allowed California to go rapidly to statehood, in the Compromise of 1850. The Gold Rush had severe effects on Native Californians and accelerated the Native American population's decline from disease, starvation and the California Genocide. By the time it ended, California had gone from a thinly populated ex-Mexican territory, to having one of its first two U.S. Senators, John C. Frémont, selected to be the first presidential nominee for the new Republican Party, in 1856.

Kalifornská zlatá horečka (1848–1855) začala 24. ledna 1848 v Coloma (Kalifornie), když bylo Jamesem Marshallem při stavbě Sutterovy pily objeveno zlato. Zpráva o objevu se brzy rozšířila, výsledkem bylo 300 000 mužů, žen a dětí, kteří přišli do Kalifornie ze zbytku Spojených států a zahraničí. United States Geological Survey odhaduje, že během prvních pěti let zlaté horečky bylo vytěženo až 370 tun zlata. Cena tohoto množství zlata by dnes činila přibližně 16 miliard dolarů. Do dneška se na území Kalifornie podle odhadů vytěžilo okolo 3700 tun zlata.


Course.

The Semliki begins near Ishango, DRC, at the northern end of Lake Edward and soon enters Virunga National Park, through which it flows over much of its upper course. The A-109 road between Mpondwe, Uganda, and Beni, DRC, is on the right, sometimes nearby and sometimes at a distance, as the river meanders through the park. Slightly southeast of Beni, the river passes under the A-109 road and continues north. At this point, the stream is west of Mount Baker (Kiyanja) in Rwenzori Mountains National Park in Uganda.  Before leaving the park, the river passes under another road linking the DRC settlement of Oicha to settlements in the Semliki Valley west of the DRC–Uganda border and the Uganda town of Bundibugyo. Downstream of the road crossing, the river leaves the Virunga Park and runs along the west edge of Semuliki National Park, which is in Uganda. Here the river becomes the border between the DRC and Uganda, and it remains the border for most of the rest of the river's course. As the river leaves Semuliki Park, it nears Sempaya National Park and the Toro Game Reserve, both in Uganda. Over its last reach, the river flows west of the international border and enters the southern end of Lake Albert at a point southeast of Bunia, DRC.

People.

The two main ethnic groups in the region are the Amba people (Baamba, Bwamba) and the Bakonjo (Konjo). People in the Semliki Valley include Batuku, pastoral cattle keepers whose herds graze on grasslands along the river. Small populations of Batwa (pygmies), who have traditionally been forest hunter-gatherers, also live in the valley.

Flora and fauna.

In Semuliki National Park, the forest resembles that of the Congo River basin. "Cynometra alexandri", a tropical tree species, dominates but is interspersed with other trees and swamp flora. Annual rainfall in this tropical forest averages.  More than 400 bird species, including the forest ground-thrush, Sassi's olive greenbul, and nine species of hornbill frequent the park, as do over 450 species of butterflies. Among the mammals in the park are elephants, leopard, African golden cat, buffalo, hippopotami, duikers, and pygmy scaly-tailed flying squirrels.  Along its course, the Semliki falls about through a series of rapids, and this isolates Lake Edward's fish species, many of them found no-where else, from those found downriver in Lake Albert (and consequently the Nile).

Semliki River is a major river, long, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda in Central and East Africa. It flows north from Lake Edward to Lake Albert in the Albertine Rift west of the Rwenzori Mountains. Along its lower reaches, it forms part of the international border between the DRC and the western Ugandan district of Bundibugyo, near the Semuliki National Park. It empties into Lake Albert slightly west of the border in Orientale Province of the DRC.

Semliki () je řeka ve Východní Africe. Protéká Demokratickou republikou Kongo a na dolním toku tvoří její hranici s Ugandou. Je 230 km dlouhá.


Biography.

The "Chronicle of Early Kings" records his contemporary as Su-abu, who was once identified with the founder of the First Dynasty of Babylon, Sumu-abum, c. 1830 BC. The word "battles" is discernible on the subsequent, fragmentary line of the Chronicle and this has led some historians to believe Ilu-shuma may have engaged in conflict with his southerly neighbor. A brick inscription of Ilu-shuma describes his relations with the south and reads:  The historian M. Trolle Larsen has suggested that this represented an attempt to lure traders from the south of Assur with tax privileges and exemptions, to monopolize the exchange of copper from the gulf for tin from the east. The cities cited therefore are the three major caravan routes the commodities would have traveled rather than campaign routes for the king.  Ilu-shuma's construction activities included building the old temple of Ishtar, a city wall, subdivision of the city into house plots and diversion of the flow of two springs to the city gates Aushum and Wertum. Tukultī-Ninurta I recorded that he preceded him by 720 years, on his own inscriptions commemorating his construction of an adjacent Ishtar temple. From this it might be deduced that, despite later being among the "kings whose year names are not known", the reign length of Ilu-shuma was still known in the time of Tukulti-Ninurta I to be 21 years. Larsen has suggested that he may have been a contemporary of Iddin-Dagan and Ishme-Dagan of Isin, which would clash with the synchronization with Sumu-abum, but make more sense given the current chronology favored.

Ilu-shuma or Ilu-šūma, inscribed DINGIR"-šum-ma", son of Shalim-ahum was the thirty-second king of Assyria, c. 1900 BC (short chronology.) The length of his reign is uncertain, as the "Assyrian King List" records him as one of the "six kings whose names were written on bricks, but whose eponyms are not known", referring to the lists of officials after which years were named.

Ilu-šumma je jedním z prvních nám známých asyrských králů. Vládl někdy na konci 20. a možná i na začátku 19. století př. n. l., ale přesná data nejsou známa. Proslavil se hlavně svým tažením proti babylonskému králi Sumuabovi. Po jeho smrti panovali postupně dva jeho synové – Erišum I. a Ikúnum.


Licchavi administration.

Only scattered reports of the Licchavi government system survive. The introductory portions of the and the mention the Licchavi as having 7,707 s. The number is one of convention, and unlikely to have been exact. It does demonstrate that Licchavi, unlike most of its neighbours, was not an absolute monarchy. Ultimate authority rested with the 7,707 "raja" who met each year to elect one of their member as ruler and a council of nine to assist him. It was far from a modern democracy, as only a small portion of the Licchavi population qualified to vote. Those with "raja" status were only the male heads of households who belonged to the kshatriya varna.  The seat of the Licchavi administration was in, the capital of the Vajjiian confederacy. The was the highest executive and judicial authority. The introductory portion of the mentions a tank, the water of which was used for the (the coronation) of the s of. The assembly hall where these s met for discussion was known as the.

The executive.

The mentions three chief functionaries of the Licchavi administration, the (the ruling chief), the (the deputy chief) and the (the chief of the army). The introductory portion of the adds one more with it, the (the chancellor of exchequer).

The judiciary.

According to the, an accused criminal had to pass through seven layers of judges, each of whom investigated and interrogated the accused.  These judges were the (the inquiring magistrate), the (the jurist-judge), the

Licchavis and the Imperial Guptas.

The Gupta emperor Chandragupta I married a Licchavi princess Kumaradevi and the legend "Licchavayah" is found along with a figure of goddess Lakshmi on the reverse of the Chandragupta I-Kumaradevi type gold coins of Samudragupta. In the Allahabad Pillar inscription of Samudragupta, he is described as the "Licchavidauhitra" (the grandson of the Licchavis from his mother's side). These probably suggest Licchavi occupation of Magadha immediately before the rise of the imperial Guptas, although there is no direct evidence to prove it.

Decline.

The Licchavi feud with Ajatashatru from 484 BCE to 468 BCE ended with the victory of the latter.

The Licchavis were a clan amongst the Vajji Mahajanapada of ancient India. Vaishali the capital and homeland of the Licchavis, was the capital of the Vajji mahajanapada also. It was later occupied by Ajatashatru, who annexed the Vajji territory into his kingdom.

Liččhaviové byl lid, který někdy v průběhu 6.–5. století př. n. l. osídlil severní břeh řeky Indu v místech dnešního Biháru. Liččhaviové se později usídlili v Nepálu v údolí Káthmándú, kde se přibližně mezi lety 400–750 nacházelo „království Liččhaviů“. Rané buddhistické texty představují Liččhavie jako vládnoucí indický rod v době Gautamy Buddhy. Jazyk Liččhavijů byl sanskrt.