History.

Developed under the name "Project Mercury", the Game Gear was first released in Japan on October 6, 1990, in North America and Europe in 1991, and in Australia in 1992. Originally retailing at JP¥19,800 in Japan, US$149.99 in North America, and GB£99.99 in Europe, the Game Gear was developed to compete with the Game Boy, which Nintendo had released in 1989. The console had been designed as a portable version of the Master System, and featured more powerful systems than the Game Boy, including a full-color screen, in contrast to the monochromatic screen of its rival. According to former Sega console hardware research and development head Hideki Sato, Sega saw the Game Boy's black and white screen as "a challenge to make our own color handheld system."  To improve upon the design of their competition, Sega modeled the Game Gear with a similar shape to a Genesis controller, with the idea being that the curved surfaces and longer length would make the Game Gear more comfortable to hold than the Game Boy. The console's mass was carefully considered from the beginning of the development, aiming for a total mass between that of the Game Boy and the Atari Lynx, another full-color screen competing product. Despite the similarities the Game Gear shared with the Master System, the games of the latter were not directly playable on the Game Gear, and were only able to be played on the handheld by the use of an accessory called the Master Gear Converter. The original Game Gear pack-in game was "Columns", which was similar to the "Tetris" cartridge that Nintendo had included when it launched the Game Boy. With a late start into the handheld gaming market, Sega rushed to get the Game Gear into stores quickly, having lagged behind Nintendo in sales without a handheld on the market. As one method of doing so, Sega based the hardware of the Game Gear on the Master System, albeit with a much larger color palette than its predecessor: the Game Gear supported 4096 colors, compared to the 64 colors supported by the Master System. Part of the intention of this move was to make Master System games easy to port to the Game Gear. Though the Game Gear was designed to be technologically superior to the Game Boy, its design came at a cost of battery life: whereas the Game Boy could run for more than 30 hours on four AA batteries, the Game Gear required six AA batteries and could only run for three to five hours. With its quick launch in Japan, the handheld sold 40,000 units in its first two days, 90,000 within a month, and the number of back orders for the system was over 600,000. According to Sega of America marketing director Robert Botch, "there is clearly a need for a quality portable system that provides features other systems have failed to deliver. This means easy-to-view, full-color graphics and exciting quality games that appeal to all ages."

Release and marketing.

Before the Game Gear's launch in 1990, Sega had success marketing its 16-bit home console, the Sega Genesis, by advertising it as a "more mature" option for gamers. In keeping with this approach, Sega positioned the Game Gear as a "grown-up" option compared to the Game Boy. While Sega's marketing in Japan did not take this perspective, instead opting for advertisements with Japanese women featuring the handheld, Sega's worldwide advertising prominently positioned the Game Gear as the "cooler" console than the Game Boy.  In North America, marketing for the Game Gear included side-by-side comparisons of Sega's new handheld with the Game Boy and likened Game Boy players to the obese and uneducated. One Sega advertisement featured the quote, "If you were color blind and had an IQ of less than 12, then you wouldn't mind which portable you had." Such advertising drew fire from Nintendo, who sought to have protests organized against Sega for insulting disabled persons. Sega responded with a statement from Sega of America president Tom Kalinske saying that Nintendo "should spend more time improving their products and marketing rather than working on behind-the-scenes coercive activities". Ultimately, this debate would have little impact on sales for the Game Gear.  Europe and Australia were the last regions to receive the Game Gear. Due to the delays in receiving the new handheld, some importers paid as much as £200 in order to have the new system. Upon the Game Gear's release in Europe, video game distributor Virgin Mastertronic unveiled the price of the Game Gear as £99.99, positioning it as being more expensive than the Game Boy, but less expensive than the Atari Lynx, which was also a full-color system. Marketing in the United Kingdom included the use of the slogan, "To be this good takes Sega", and also included advertisements with a biker with a Game Gear.

Decline.

Support for the Game Gear by Sega was hurt by its primary focus on its home console systems. In addition to the success of the Genesis, Sega was also supporting two peripherals for its home system, the Sega CD, and the 32X, as well as developing its new 32-bit system, the Sega Saturn. Despite selling 10.62 million units by March 1996 (including 1.78 million in Japan), the Game Gear was never able to match the success of its main rival, the Game Boy, which sold over ten times that number. The system's late sales were further hurt by Nintendo's release of the Game Boy Pocket, a smaller version of the Game Boy which could run on two AAA batteries.  Plans for a 16-bit successor to the Game Gear were made to bring Sega's handheld gaming into the fifth generation of video games, but a new handheld system never materialized for Sega, leaving only the Genesis Nomad, a portable version of the Genesis, to take its place. Moreover, the Nomad was intended to supplement the Game Gear rather than replace it; in press coverage leading up to the Nomad's release, Sega representatives said the company was not dropping support for the Game Gear in favor of the Nomad, and that "We believe the two can co-exist". Though the Nomad had been released in 1995, Sega did not officially end support for the Game Gear until 1996 in Japan, and 1997 worldwide.  Though the system was no longer supported by Sega in 2000, third-party developer Majesco Entertainment released a version of the Game Gear at US$30, with games retailing at US$15. New games were released, such as a port of "Super Battletank". This version was also compatible with all previous Game Gear games, but was incompatible with the TV Tuner and some Master System converters. Over ten years later, on March 2, 2011, Nintendo announced that their 3DS Virtual Console service on the Nintendo eShop would feature games from the Game Gear.

Technical specifications.

A handheld game console, the Game Gear was designed to be played while being held horizontally. The console contains an 8-bit 3.5 MHz Zilog Z80 chip for a central processing unit, the same as the Master System. Its screen measures 3.2 inches on the diagonal and is able to display up to 32 colors at a time from a total palette of 4096 colors, with a frame rate of 59.922751013551 Hz at a display resolution of 160 × 144 non-square pixels. The screen is backlit in order to allow gamers to play in low-lighting situations. Powered by 6 AA batteries, the Game Gear has an approximate battery life of 3 to 5 hours. In order to lengthen this duration and to save money for consumers, Sega also released two types of external rechargeable battery packs for the Game Gear. The system contains 8kB of RAM and an additional 16kB of video RAM. It produces sound using a Texas Instruments SN76489 PSG, which was also used in the Master System; however, unlike the Master System, stereo sound is able to be supplied through an output for headphones. Physically, the Game Gear measures 210mm across, 113mm high, and 38mm deep.  Several accessories were created for the Game Gear during its lifespan. A TV Tuner accessory with a whip antenna plugs into the system's cartridge slot, allowing the viewing of analog television stations over-the-air on the Game Gear's screen. Released at $105.88 ($186 in 2016), the add-on was expensive but unique for collectors and contributed to the system's popularity. Another accessory, the Super Wide Gear, magnifies the Game Gear screen to compensate for its relatively small size. Also released was the Car Gear adapter that plugs into cars or cigarette lighters to power the system while traveling, and the Gear to Gear Cable that establishes a data connection between two Game Gear systems using the same multiplayer game and let users play against each other.  Over the course of its lifespan, the Game Gear also received a number of variations. Later releases included several different colors for the console, including a blue "sports" variation released in North America bundled with "World Series Baseball '95" or "The Lion King". A white version was also released, sold in a bundle with a TV tuner. Other versions included a red Coca-Cola-themed unit, bundled with the game "Coca-Cola Kid", and the Kids Gear, a Japan-only variation targeted toward children.

Game library.

Over 300 games were released for the Game Gear, although at the time of the console's launch, there were only six software games available. Prices for game cartridges initially ranged from $24.99 to $29.99 each. The casings were molded black plastic with a rounded front to aid in removal. Games for the system included "Sonic the Hedgehog", "The GG Shinobi", "Space Harrier", and "Land of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse", which was considered the best game for the system by "GamesRadar+". Later games took advantage of the success of the Genesis, Sega's 16-bit video game console, with games released from franchises originally released on the Genesis. A large part of the Game Gear's library consists of Master System ports. Because of the landscape orientation of the Game Gear's screen and the similarities in hardware between the handheld console and the Master System, it was easy for developers to port Master System games to the Game Gear.  Due to Nintendo's licensing practices during the lifespan of the Game Gear, few third-party developers were available to create games for Sega's system. This was a contributing factor to the large number of Master System ports for the Game Gear. Likewise, because of this, the Game Gear library contained many games that were not available on other handhelds, pulling sales away from the Atari Lynx and NEC TurboExpress and helping to establish the Game Gear's position in the market. While the Game Gear's library consisted of over 300 games, however, the Game Boy's library contained over 1000 individual games. Several Game Gear games were released years later on the Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console service on the Nintendo eShop. The emulator for the Virtual Console releases was handled by M2.

Reception.

Game Gear surpassed the Atari Lynx and NEC TurboExpress, but lagged far behind the Game Boy in the handheld marketplace. Retrospective reception to the Game Gear is mixed. In 2008, "GamePro" listed the Game Gear as 10th on their list of the "10 Worst-Selling Handhelds of All Time" and criticized aspects of the implementation of its technology, but also stated that the Game Gear could be considered a success for having nearly 11 million units sold. According to "GamePro" reviewer Blake Snow, "Unlike the Game Boy, the Game Gear rocked the landscape holding position, making it less cramped for human beings with two hands to hold. And even though the Game Gear could be considered a success, its bulky frame, relative high price, constant consumption of AA batteries, and a lack of appealing games ultimately kept Sega from releasing a true successor." In speaking with "Famitsu DC" for their November 1998 issue, Sato stated that the Game Gear did take a significant piece of the handheld console market share, but that "Nintendo’s Game Boy was such a runaway success, and had gobbled up so much of the market, that our success was still seen as a failure, which I think is a shame."  "GamesRadar+" offered some praise for the system and its library, stating, "With its 8-bit processor and bright color screen, it was basically the Sega Master System in your hands. How many batteries did we suck dry playing Sonic, Madden and Road Rash on the bus or in the car, or in the dark when we were supposed to be sleeping? You couldn't do that on a Game Boy!" By contrast, "IGN" reviewer Levi Buchanan stated the Game Gear's biggest fault was its game library when compared to the Game Boy, stating, "the software was completely lacking compared to its chief rival, which was bathed in quality games. It didn't matter that the Game Gear was more powerful. The color screen did not reverse any fortunes. Content and innovation beat out technology, a formula that Nintendo is using right now with the continued ascendance of the DS and Wii." Buchanan later went on to praise some parts of the Game Gear's library, however, stating "Some of those Master System tweaks were very good games, and fun is resilient against time." "Retro Gamer" praised Sega's accomplishment in surviving against the competition of Nintendo in the handheld console market with the Game Gear, noting that "for all the handhelds that have gone up against the might of Nintendo and ultimately lost out, Sega's Game Gear managed to last the longest, only outdone in sales by the Sony PSP. For its fans, it will remain a piece of classic gaming hardware whose legacy lives on forever."

Game Gear Micro.

On June 3, 2020 as part of their 60th anniversary, Sega revealed a Game Gear retroconsole, the. The Micro is scheduled for release in Japan on October 6, 2020 through Japanese storefronts in four different versions, varying in color and the game selection, with each containing four separate Game Gear games. Each unit otherwise is the same size, measuring with a display, and is powered by 2 AAA batteries or through a separate USB charger. Each unit also includes a headphone jack. A magnifying accessory modeled after the original system's Big Window accessory will be offered to customers who preorder all four variations. An international release has yet to be announced.  The models and corresponding games for each are:

The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990 in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily competed with Nintendo's Game Boy, the Atari Lynx, and NEC's TurboExpress. It shares much of its hardware with the Master System, and can play Master System games by the use of an adapter. Sega positioned the Game Gear, which had a full-color backlit screen with a landscape format, as a technologically superior handheld to the Game Boy.

Sega Game Gear je kapesní herní konzole, která byla odpovědí firmy Sega na Game Boy firmy Nintendo. Byla třetí komerčně dostupnou barevnou kapesní konzolí (po Atari Lynx a Turbo Express).


History.

Heraldry developed in medieval Europe from the late 11th century, originally as a system of personal badges of the warrior classes, which served, among other purposes, as identification on the battlefield. The same insignia were used on seals to authenticate documents. The earliest seals bore a likeness of the owner of the seal, with his shield and heraldic insignia included. In time the seals were reduced to only their shields.  The Catholic Church likewise identified the authenticity and ownership of documents and buildings with seals, which were ordinarily enclosed in a pointed ovular shape denominated a "vesica piscis", or simply "vesica", to distinguish them from the circular seals of secular use. King Edward I of England decreed in 1307 that all legal documents required a seal. These seals originally depicted a person, but as secular seals began to depict only shields, clergy likewise used seals with heraldic insignia. Personal seals of bishops and abbots continued to be used posthumously, and gradually became the impersonal seals of dioceses. Clergy tended to replace martial devices with clerical devices. The shield was retained, but ecclesiastical hats often replaced helmets and coronets. In some religious arms a skull replaced the helmet to symbolize mortality.  Ecclesiastical heraldry developed significantly in the 17th century when a system for ecclesiastical hats that is attributed to Pierre Palliot came into use. The full system of emblems around the shield was regulated in the Catholic Church by the letter of Pope Pius X "Inter multiplices curas" of 21 February 1905, while the Heraldry Commission of the Roman Curia regulated composition of the shield itself until Pope John XXIII abolished the body in 1960. The "Annuario Pontificio" ceased to publish the arms of cardinals and previous popes after 1969. International custom and national law govern some aspects of ecclesiastical heraldry, but composition of shields is now mostly guided by expert advice. Archbishop Bruno Heim, a noted ecclesiastical armorist, i. e., designer of arms, stated that:  A similar system for the Church of England was approved in 1976. The traditions of Eastern Christian heraldry have less developed regulation. Eastern secular coats of arms often display a shield before a mantle topped with a crown. Eastern clergy often display coats of arms according to this style, replacing the crown with an appropriate hat drawn from liturgical use.  Marking documents is the most common use of arms in the Church today. A Roman Catholic bishop's coat of arms was formerly painted on miniature wine barrels and presented during the ordination ceremony. Cardinals may place their coat of arms outside the church of their title in Rome. Impersonal arms are often used as the banner of a school or religious community.

Shield.

The shield is the normal device for displaying a coat of arms. Clergy have used less-military shapes such as the oval cartouche, but the shield has always been a clerical option. Clergy in Italy often use a shield shaped like a horse's face-armor. Clergy in South Africa sometimes follow the national style using a Nguni shield. Women traditionally display their coats of arms on a diamond-shaped lozenge; abbesses follow this tradition or use the cartouche.

Personal design.

In the Roman Catholic Church, unless a new bishop has a family coat of arms, he typically adopts within his shield symbols that indicate his interests or past service. Devotion to a particular saint is represented by symbols established in iconography and heraldic tradition. In the Church of England, new bishops typically choose a coat that looks entirely non-clerical, not least because their descendants may seek reassignment of the arms, and few of them are likely to be clerics.  The first rule of heraldry is the rule of tincture: "Colour must not appear upon colour, nor metal upon metal." The heraldic metals are gold and silver, usually represented as yellow and white, while red, green, blue, purple and black normally comprise the colors. Heraldic bearings are intended for recognition at a distance (in battle), and a contrast of light metal against dark color is desirable. The same principle can be seen in the choice of colors for most license plates.  This rule of tincture is often broken in clerical arms: the flag and arms of Vatican City notably have yellow (gold) and white (silver) placed together. In Byzantine tradition, colors have a mystical interpretation. Because gold and silver express sublimity and solemnity, combinations of the two are often used regardless of the rule of tincture.

Marshalling.

If a bishop is a diocesan bishop, it is customary for him to combine his arms with the arms of the diocese following normal heraldic rules. This combining is termed marshalling, and is normally accomplished by impalement, placing the arms of the diocese to the viewer's left ("dexter" in heraldry) and the personal arms to the viewer's right. The arms of Thomas Arundel are found impaled with those of the See of Canterbury in a document from 1411. In Germany and Switzerland, quartering is the norm rather than impalement. Guy Selvester, an American ecclesiastical heraldist, says if arms are not designed with care, marshalling can lead to "busy", crowded shields. Crowding can be reduced by placing a smaller shield overlapping the larger shield, known as an inescutcheon or an escutcheon surtout. In the arms of Heinrich Mussinghoff, Bishop of Aachen, the personal arms are placed in front of the diocesan arms, but the opposite arrangement is found in front on the arms of Paul Gregory Bootkoski, Bishop of Metuchen. Cardinals sometimes combine their personal arms with the arms of the Pope who named them a cardinal. As Prefect of the Pontifical Household, Jacques Martin impaled his personal arms with those of three successive pontiffs. A married Church of England bishop combines his arms with those of his wife and the diocese on two separate shields placed "accollé", or side-by-side.  Roman Catholic bishops in England historically used only their personal arms, as dioceses established by the See of Rome are not part of the official state Church of England and cannot be recognized in law, though in Scotland the legal situation has been different and many Roman Catholic dioceses have arms. If a suffragan or auxiliary bishop has a personal coat of arms, he does not combine it with the arms of the diocese he serves.

Around the shield.

The shield is the core of heraldry, but other elements are placed above, below, and around the shield, and are usually collectively called external ornaments. The entire composition is called the achievement of arms or the armorial bearings. Some of these accessories are unique to Church armory or differ notably from those which normally accompany a shield.

Ecclesiastical hat.

The ecclesiastical hat is a distinctive part of the achievement of arms of a Roman Catholic cleric. This hat, called a galero, was originally a pilgrim's hat like a sombrero. It was granted in red to cardinals by Pope Innocent IV at the First Council of Lyon in the 13th century, and was adopted by heraldry almost immediately. The galero in various colors and forms was used in heraldic achievements starting with its adoption in the arms of bishops in the 16th century. In the 19th century the galero was viewed heraldically as specifically "Catholic", but the Public Register of Arms in Scotland show Roman Catholic, presbyterian Church of Scotland and Anglican Episcopalian clergy all using the wide brimmed, low crowned hat. The galero is ornamented with tassels (also called "houppes" or "fiocchi") indicating the cleric's current place in the hierarchy; the number became significant beginning in the 16th century, and the meaning was fixed, for Catholic clergy, in 1832. A bishop's galero is green with six tassels on each side; the color originated in Spain where formerly a green hat was actually worn by bishops. A territorial abbot was equivalent to a bishop and used a green galero. An archbishop's galero is green but has ten tassels. Bishops in Switzerland formerly used ten tassels like an archbishop because they were under the immediate jurisdiction of the Holy See and not part of an archiepiscopal province. Both patriarchs and cardinals have hats with fifteen tassels. A cardinal's hat is red or scarlet while a patriarch who is not also a cardinal uses a green hat; the patriarch's tassels are interwoven with gold. Primates may use the same external ornaments as patriarchs.  The depiction of the galero in arms can vary greatly depending on the artist's style. The top of the hat may be shown flat or round. Sometimes the brim is shown much narrower; with a domed top it can look like a cappello romano with tassels, but in heraldry it is still called a galero. The tassels may be represented as knotted cords.  A special exception is made for Chinese bishops, who avoid using a green hat in their arms since "to wear a green hat" is a Chinese idiom for cuckoldry. Rather than green, these bishops use a variety of colors from violet and black to blue, or scarlet if a cardinal. A cross behind the shield denotes a bishop.  Lesser Roman Catholic prelates use a variety of colors. Violet hats were once actually worn by certain monsignors, and so in heraldry they have used a violet hat with red or violet tassels in varying numbers, currently fixed at six on each side. The lowest grade of monsignor, a Chaplain of His Holiness, uses a black hat with violet tassels. The superior general of an order displays a black galero with six tassels on each side, while provincial superiors and abbots use a black galero with six or three tassels on each side, although Norbertines (White Canons) use a white galero. Although a priest would rarely assume arms unless he had an ancestral right to arms independent of his clerical state, a priest would use a simple black ecclesiastical hat with a single tassel on each side. Priests who hold an office such as rector would have two tassels on each side.  Clergy of the Church of England who were not bishops historically bore arms identical to a layman, with a shield, helm and crest, and no ecclesiastical hat. In England in 1976 a system for deans, archdeacons and canons was authorized by the College of Arms, allowing a black ecclesiastical hat, black or violet cords, and three violet or red tassels on each side. A priest uses a black and white cord with a single tassel on each side, and a deacon a hat without tassels. A Doctor of Divinity may have cords interwoven with red and a hat appropriate to the degree, and members of the Ecclesiastical Household add a Tudor rose on the front of the hat. According to "Boutell's Heraldry", this system represents the practice of the Church in England in the 16th century.  Within Presbyterian Church heraldry, a minister's hat is represented as black with a single tassel on each side, sometimes blue, though a doctoral bonnet or Geneva cap may replace the brimmed hat. Clergy of the Chapel Royal display red tassels. The office of moderator does not have corporate arms, but for official occasions, a moderator may add tassels to his personal arms to indicate parity with offices of other churches: three for a moderator of a presbytery, and six for a moderator of a regional synod. The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland now uses a differenced version of the General Assembly's arms, with a hat having a blue cord and ten tassels on each side, and may also show the moderator's staff, a gold Celtic crosier, behind the shield as can be seen in vol 41, p 152 of the Scots Public Register.

Cross.

In the Catholic Church, display of a cross behind the shield is restricted to bishops as a mark of their dignity. The cross of an ordinary bishop has a single horizontal bar or traverse, also known as a Latin cross. A patriarch uses the patriarchal cross with two traverses, also called the cross of Lorraine. The papal cross has three traverses, but this is never displayed behind the papal arms.  Beginning in the 15th century, the cross with a double traverse is seen on the arms of archbishops, and relates to their processional cross and the jurisdiction it symbolizes. Except for cardinals of the Roman Curia, most cardinals head an archdiocese and use an archiepiscopal cross on their arms. Other cardinals use a simple Latin cross, as is found in the arms of Cardinal Joseph Zen, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, because Hong Kong is not an archdiocese.  Today all cardinals are required to be bishops, but priests named cardinal at an advanced age often petition the Pope for an exception to this rule. Bruno Heim says that since the cross is one heraldic emblem that only bishops have the right to bear, cardinals who are not bishops do not use it. Notable examples are Cardinals Albert Vanhoye and Avery Dulles; the latter's arms do display a cross.

Mitre and pallium.

In the western churches, the mitre was placed above the shield of all persons who were entitled to wear the mitre, including abbots. It substituted for the helmet of military arms, but also appeared as a crest placed atop a helmet, as was common in German heraldry. In the Anglican Churches, the mitre is still placed above the arms of bishops and not an ecclesiastical hat. In the Roman Catholic Church, the use of the mitre above the shield on the personal arms of clergy was suppressed in 1969, and is now found only on some corporate arms, like those of dioceses. Previously, the mitre was often included under the hat, and even in the arms of a cardinal, the mitre was not entirely displaced.  The mitre may be shown in all sorts of colours. It may be represented either gold or jewelled, the former more common in English heraldry. A form of mitre with coronet is proper to the Bishop of Durham because of his role as Prince-Bishop of the palatinate of Durham. For similar reasons the Bishop of Durham and some other bishops display a sword behind the shield, pointed downward to signify a former civil jurisdiction.  The pallium is a distinctive vestment of metropolitan archbishops, and may be found in their bearings as well as the corporate arms of archdioceses, displayed either above or below the shield. The pallium is sometimes seen within the shield itself. With the exception of York, the archiepiscopal dioceses in England and Ireland include the pallium within the shield.

Crosier.

The crosier was displayed as a symbol of pastoral jurisdiction by bishops, abbots, abbesses, and cardinals even if they were not bishops. The crosier of a bishop is turned outward or to the right. Frequently the crosier of an abbot or abbess is turned inward, either toward the mitre or to the left, but this distinction is disputed and is not an absolute rule. Pope Alexander VII decreed in 1659 that the crosiers of abbots include a sudarium or veil, but this is not customary in English heraldry. The veil may have arisen because abbots, unlike bishops, did not wear gloves when carrying an actual crosier. Because the cross has similar symbolism, the crosier was suppressed for cardinals and bishops by the Catholic Church in 1969, and is now used only on some corporate arms, and the personal arms of abbots and some abbesses. In English custom and in the Anglican Churches, two crosiers are often found crossed "in saltire" behind the shield. In the Lutheran Church of Sweden, the crosier is displayed in the arms of bishops in office but is removed when a bishop retires.  A "bourdon" or knobbed staff is shown behind the arms of some priors and prioresses as a symbol of office analogous to the crosier. Arms of priors from the 15th century had a banner surrounding the shield, but today this is often a rosary.

Mantle.

Mantling was originally a piece of material attached to a helmet and covering the shoulders, possibly to protect from the sun. In secular heraldry the mantling was depicted shredded, as if from battle. In the 17th and 18th centuries, another form of mantling called a "robe of estate" became prominent. This form is used especially in the Orthodox Churches, where bishops display a mantle tied with cords and tassels above the shield. The heraldic mantle is similar to the mantiya, and represents the bishop's authority. It can also be found in the arms of the Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.  The outside of the mantle may be any color, typically red, while the inside is white or sometimes yellow to distinguish it from a secular mantle. David Johnson suggested that the mantle of all bishops should be white inside, excepting only patriarchs who use ermine, to indicate that all bishops are equally bishops. Above the mantle is a mitre (of the Eastern style) between a processional cross and a crosier. The earliest examples of the arms of Orthodox hierarchs have the cross to the dexter of the mitre and the bishop's staff to sinister, but opposite examples exist. An abbot (archimandrite or hegumen) should display a veiled abbot's staff to distinguish it from the bishop's staff. Archpriests and priests would use a less ornate mantle in their arms, and an ecclesiastical hat of the style they wear liturgically. Although an Orthodox monk (not an abbot) displaying personal arms is rare, a hieromonk (monk who has been ordained a priest) would appropriately display a monastic hat ("klobuk") and a black cloak or veil suggestive of his attire, and a hierodeacon (monastic deacon) would display an orarion behind the shield.  A shield in front of a mantle or cloak may be found among bishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches. However, some Eastern ecclesiastical variations omit the mantle but retain the mitre, cross and staff. Maronite bishops traditionally display a pastoral staff behind the shield, topped with a globe and cross or a cross within a globe. Eastern Catholic bishops may follow the Roman style with a low crowned, wide brimmed ecclesiastical hat, although the shield itself is often rendered in a Byzantine artistic style, and a mitre if present would be in the appropriate liturgical style.

Motto.

A motto is a short phrase usually appearing below the shield as a statement of belief. Catholic bishops and Presbyterian churches use a motto in their arms, though it is rare among Anglican bishops. A notable exception is the motto on the coat of arms of Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury.  Gustavo Testa, created cardinal in December 1959, quickly selected as his arms a shield with the words "sola gratia tua" and the motto "et patria et cor" in order to meet a publishing deadline. Literally these phrases mean "only by your favor" and "both fatherland and heart". Testa explained to Pope John XXIII that the shield meant "I am a cardinal because of you alone", and the motto meant "because I am from Bergamo and a friend".

Papal insignia.

Saint Peter was represented holding keys as early as the fifth century. As the Roman Catholic Church considers him the first pope and bishop of Rome, the keys were adopted as a papal emblem; they first appear with papal arms in the 13th century. Two keys perpendicular were often used on coins, but beginning in the 15th century were used to represent St. Peter's Basilica. Perpendicular keys last appeared in the shield of the papacy in 1555, after which the crossed keys are used exclusively. The keys are gold and silver, with the gold key placed to dexter (viewer's left) on the personal arms of the Pope, although two silver keys or two gold keys were used late into the 16th century. The keys as a symbol of Saint Peter may be found within many coats of arms; the coat of arms of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen displayed two argent (silver) crossed keys as Saint Peter is the patron saint of the Bremian archiepiscopal cathedral.  The Papal Tiara or "triregnum" is the three-tiered crown used by the Pope as a sovereign power. It is first found as an independent emblem in the 13th century, though at that time with only one coronet. In the 15th century, the tiara was combined with the keys above the papal shield. The tiara and keys together within a shield form the arms of Vatican City. In heraldry, the white tiara is depicted with a bulbous shape and with two attached red strips called lappets or infulae. The coat of arms of Pope Benedict XVI sparked controversy by displaying a mitre and pallium instead of the customary tiara.  Besides the Holy See, another Catholic see has the right to bear the triple tiara in its coat of arms: the Patriarchate of Lisbon. The title of Patriarch of Lisbon was created in 1716 and is held by the archbishop of Lisbon since 1740. While the coat of arms of the Holy See combines the tiara with the crossed keys of St. Peter, that of the Lisbon Patriarchate combines it with a processional cross and a pastoral staff. The red and gold striped ombrellino or pavilion was originally a processional canopy or sunshade and can be found so depicted as early as the 12th century. The earliest use of the ombrellino in heraldry is in the 1420s when it was placed above the shield of Pope Martin V. It is more commonly used together with the keys, a combination first found under Pope Alexander VI. This combined badge represents the temporal power of Vatican City between Papal reigns, when the acting head of state is the cardinal Camerlengo. The badge first appeared with a cardinal's personal arms on coins minted by order of the Camerlengo, Cardinal Armellini, during the inter-regnum of 1521. During the 17th and 18th centuries, it appeared on coins minted "sede vacante" by papal legates, and on coins minted in 1746 and 1771 while a pope reigned. The ombrellino appears in the arms of basilicas since the 16th century, with ornamentation for major basilicas. If found in a family's coat of arms, it indicates that a relative had been pope. The papal coats of arms are often depicted with angels as supporters. Other Catholic or Anglican clergy do not use supporters unless they were awarded as a personal honor, or were inherited with family arms. Some cathedral arms use a single chair (cathedra) as a supporter.

Chivalric insignia.

Roman Catholic clergy may not display insignia of knighthood in their arms, except awards received in the Order of the Holy Sepulchre or the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. If entitled, Roman Catholic clergy may display the red Jerusalem Cross for the former or the Maltese cross for the latter behind the shield, or may display the ribbon of their rank in the order. This restriction does not apply to laymen who have been knighted in any royal or Papal order, who may display the insignia of their rank, either a ribbon at the base of the shield or a chain surrounding the shield.  Church of England clergy may display chivalric insignia. The Dean of Westminster is also the Dean of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, and displays the civil badge of that order.

Ecclesiastical heraldry refers to the use of heraldry within the Christian Church for dioceses and Christian clergy. Initially used to mark documents, ecclesiastical heraldry evolved as a system for identifying people and dioceses. It is most formalized within the Catholic Church, where most bishops, including the Pope, have a personal coat of arms. Clergy in Anglican, Lutheran, Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches follow similar customs, as do institutions such as schools and dioceses.

Církevní heraldika je část heraldiky, která se zabývá znaky církevních hodnostářů, institucí a úřadů převážně z římskokatolické církve. Živé jsou i heraldiky anglikánské a luteránské.


History.

Early works.

Ancient Mesopotamian recipes have been found on three Akkadian tablets, dating to about 1700 BC.  The earliest collection of recipes that has survived in Europe is "De re coquinaria", written in Latin. An early version was first compiled sometime in the 1st century and has often been attributed to the Roman gourmet Marcus Gavius Apicius, though this has been cast in doubt by modern research. An "Apicius" came to designate a book of recipes. The current text appears to have been compiled in the late 4th or early 5th century; the first print edition is from 1483. It records a mix of ancient Greek and Roman cuisine, but with few details on preparation and cooking.  An abbreviated epitome entitled "Apici Excerpta a Vinidario", a "pocket Apicius" by Vinidarius, "an illustrious man", was made in the Carolingian era. In spite of its late date it represents the last manifestation of the cuisine of Antiquity.  The earliest cookbooks known in Arabic are those of al-Warraq (an early 10th-century compendium of recipes from the 9th and 10th centuries) and al-Baghdadi (13th century). "Manasollasa" from India contains recipes of vegetarian and non-vegetarian cuisines, which preceded the cookbook writing history in Europe by a century. While the text is not the first among Indian books to describe fermented foods, it contains a range of cuisines based on fermentation of cereals and flours.  Chinese recipe books are known from the Tang dynasty, but most were lost. One of the earliest surviving Chinese-language cookbooks is Hu Sihui's "Yinshan Zhengyao" (Important Principles of Food and Drink), believed to be from 1330. Hu Sihui, Buyantu Khan's dietitian and therapist, recorded a Chinese-inflected Central Asian cuisine as eaten by the Yuan court; his recipes were adapted from foods eaten all over the Mongol Empire. "Eumsik dimibang", written around 1670, is the oldest Korean cookbook and the first cookbook written by a woman in East Asia.  After a long interval, the first recipe books to be compiled in Europe since Late Antiquity started to appear in the late thirteenth century. About a hundred are known to have survived, some fragmentary, from the age before printing. The earliest genuinely medieval recipes have been found in a Danish manuscript dating from around 1300, which in turn are copies of older texts that date back to the early 13th century or perhaps earlier.  Low and High German manuscripts are among the most numerous. Among them is "Daz buch von guter spise" ("The Book of Good Food") written c. 1350 in Würzberg and "Kuchenmeysterey" ("Kitchen Mastery"), the first printed German cookbook from 1485. Two French collections are probably the most famous: "Le Viandier" ("The Provisioner") was compiled in the late 14th century by Guillaume Tirel, master chef for two French kings; and "Le Menagier de Paris" ("The Householder of Paris"), a household book written by an anonymous middle class Parisian in the 1390s. Du fait de cuisine is another Medieval French cookbook, written in 1420.  From Southern Europe there is the 14th century Valencian manuscript Llibre de Sent Soví (1324), the Catalan "Llibre de totes maneres de potatges de menjar" ("The book of all recipes of dishes") and several Italian collections, notably the Venetian mid-14th century "Libro per Cuoco", with its 135 recipes alphabetically arranged. The printed "De honesta voluptate et valetudine" ("On honourable pleasure"), first published in 1475, is one of the first cookbooks based on Renaissance ideals, and, though it is as much a series of moral essays as a cookbook, has been described as "the anthology that closed the book on medieval Italian cooking".  Medieval English cookbooks include "The Forme of Cury" and "Utilis Coquinario", both written in the fourteenth century. The Forme of Cury is a cookbook authored by the chefs of Richard II. Utilis Coquinario is a similar cookbook though written by an unknown author. Another English manuscript (1390s) includes the earliest recorded recipe for ravioli, even though ravioli did not originate in England.

Modern cookbooks.

With the advent of the printing press in the 16th and 17th centuries, numerous books were written on how to manage households and prepare food. In Holland and England competition grew between the noble families as to who could prepare the most lavish banquet. By the 1660s, cookery had progressed to an art form and good cooks were in demand. Many of them published their own books detailing their recipes in competition with their rivals. Many of these books have now been translated and are available online.  By the 19th century, the Victorian preoccupation for domestic respectability brought about the emergence of cookery writing in its modern form. In 1796, the first known American cookbook titled, "American Cookery", written by Amelia Simmons, was published in Hartford, Connecticut. Until then, the cookbooks printed and used in the Thirteen Colonies were British. The first modern cookery writer and compiler of recipes for the home was Eliza Acton. Her pioneering cookbook, "Modern Cookery for Private Families" (1845), was aimed at the domestic reader rather than the professional cook or chef. This was an immensely influential book, and it established the format for modern writing about cookery. The publication introduced the now-universal practice of listing the ingredients and suggested cooking times with each recipe. It included the first recipe for Brussels sprouts. Contemporary chef Delia Smith is quoted as having called Acton "the best writer of recipes in the English language". "Modern Cookery" long survived her, remaining in print until 1914 and available more recently in facsimile reprint.  Acton's work was an important influence on Isabella Beeton, who published "Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management" in 24 monthly parts between 1857 and 1861. The book was a guide to running a Victorian household, with advice on fashion, child care, animal husbandry, poisons, the management of servants, science, religion, and industrialism. Despite its title, most of the text consisted of recipes, such that another popular name for the volume is "Mrs Beeton's Cookbook". Most of the recipes were illustrated with coloured engravings, and it was the first book to show recipes in a format that is still used today. Many of the recipes were plagiarised from earlier writers, including Acton.  In 1885 the "Virginia Cookery Book" was published by Mary Stuart Smith. In 1896 the American cook Fannie Farmer (1857–1915) published "The Boston Cooking School Cookbook" which contained some 1,849 recipes.

Types of cookbooks.

Cookbooks that serve as basic kitchen references (sometimes known as "kitchen bibles") began to appear in the early modern period. They provided not just recipes but overall instruction for both kitchen technique and household management. Such books were written primarily for housewives and occasionally domestic servants as opposed to professional cooks, and at times books such as "The Joy of Cooking" (USA), "La bonne cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange" (France), "The Art of Cookery" (UK, USA), "Il cucchiaio d'argento" (Italy), and "A Gift to Young Housewives" (Russia) have served as references of record for national cuisines. Cookbook also tell stories of the writers themselves and reflect upon the era in which they are written. They often reveal notions of social, political, environmental or economic contexts. For example, during the era of industrialization, convenience foods were brought into many households and were integrated and present in cookbooks written in this time. Related to this class are instructional cookbooks, which combine recipes with in-depth, step-by-step recipes to teach beginning cooks basic concepts and techniques. In vernacular literature, people may collect traditional recipes in family cookbooks.  While western cookbooks usually group recipes for main courses by the main ingredient of the dishes, Japanese cookbooks usually group them by cooking techniques (e.g., fried foods, steamed foods, and grilled foods). Both styles of cookbook have additional recipe groupings such as soups or sweets.

International and ethnic.

International and ethnic cookbooks fall into two categories: the kitchen references of other cultures, translated into other languages; and books translating the recipes of another culture into the languages, techniques, and ingredients of a new audience. The latter style often doubles as a sort of culinary travelogue, giving background and context to a recipe that the first type of book would assume its audience is already familiar with. Popular Puerto Rican cookbook, Cocina Criolla, written by Carmen Aboy Valldejuli, includes recipes that are typically of traditional Puerto Rican cuisine such as mofongo and pasteles. Valldejuli's cookbook was not only important to Puerto Ricans, but also very popular in the United States where her original cookbook has since been published in several editions, including English versions. These include The Art of Caribbean Cookery - Doubleday, 1957; Puerto Rican Cookery - Pelican Publishing, 1983; and, Juntos en la Cocina (co-authored with her husband, Luis F. Valldejuli) - Pelican Publishing, 1986.

Professional cookbooks.

Professional cookbooks are designed for the use of working chefs and culinary students and sometimes double as textbooks for culinary schools. Such books deal not only in recipes and techniques, but often service and kitchen workflow matters. Many such books deal in substantially larger quantities than home cookbooks, such as making sauces by the liter or preparing dishes for large numbers of people in a catering setting. While the most famous of such books today are books like "Le guide culinaire" by Escoffier or "The Professional Chef" by the Culinary Institute of America, such books go at least back to medieval times, represented then by works such as Taillevent's "Viandier" and Chiquart d'Amiço's "Du fait de cuisine".

Single-subject.

Single-subject books, usually dealing with a specific ingredient, technique, class of dishes or target group (e.g. for kids), are quite common as well. Jack Monroe for example features low budget recipes. Some imprints such as Chronicle Books have specialized in this sort of book, with books on dishes like curries, pizza, and simplified ethnic food. Popular subjects for narrow-subject books on technique include grilling/barbecue, baking, outdoor cooking, and even recipe cloning (Recipe cloning is copying commercial recipes where the original is a trade secret).

Community.

Community cookbooks (also known as compiled, regional, charitable, and fund-raising cookbooks) are a unique genre of culinary literature. Community cookbooks focus on home cooking, often documenting regional, ethnic, family, and societal traditions, as well as local history. Sondra Gotlieb, for example, wrote her cookbooks on Canadian food culture by visiting people and homes by region. She gathered recipes, observed the foodways, observed the people and their traditions of each region by being in their own homes. Gotlieb did this so that she could put together a comprehensive cookbook based on the communities and individuals that make up Canada. Gooseberry Patch has been publishing community-style cookbooks since 1992 and built their brand on this community.

Chefs.

Cookbooks can also document the food of a specific chef (particularly in conjunction with a cooking show) or restaurant. Many of these books, particularly those written by or for a well-established cook with a long-running TV show or popular restaurant, become part of extended series of books that can be released over the course of many years. Popular chef-authors throughout history include people such as Delia Smith, Julia Child, James Beard, Nigella Lawson, Edouard de Pomiane, Jeff Smith, Emeril Lagasse, Claudia Roden, Madhur Jaffrey, Katsuyo Kobayashi, and possibly even Apicius, the semi-pseudonymous author of the Roman cookbook De re coquinaria, who shared a name with at least one other famous food figure of the ancient world.

Famous cookbooks.

Famous cookbooks from the past, in chronological order, include:

Collections and collectors.

Several libraries have extensive collections of cookbooks.  Some individuals are notable for their collections of cookbooks, or their scholarly interest therein. Elizabeth Robins Pennell, an American critic in London from the 1880s, was an early writer on the subject, and has recently been called "one of the most well-known cookbook collectors in the world". Much of her collection eventually went to the Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress. Held alongside hers are the thousands of gastronomic volumes donated by food chemist Katherine Bitting; their collections were evaluated in tandem in "Two Loaf-Givers", by one of the LOC's curators; a digital version is available.

Usage outside the world of food.

The term "cookbook" is sometimes used metaphorically to refer to any book containing a straightforward set of already tried and tested "recipes" or instructions for a specific field or activity, presented in detail so that the users who are not necessarily expert in the field can produce workable results. Examples include a set of circuit designs in electronics, a book of magic spells, or "The Anarchist Cookbook", a set of instructions on destruction and living outside the law. O'Reilly Media publishes a series of books about computer programming named the Cookbook series, and each of these books contain hundreds of ready to use, cut and paste examples to solve a specific problem in a single programming language.

A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food.

Kuchařská kniha (často jen kuchařka) je kniha, která obsahuje recepty k vaření a přípravě jídel a nápojů. Může obsahovat také informace o původu různých surovin a ingrediencí, jejich trvanlivosti a zjišťování a zachovávání kvality. Může obsahovat i informace o kuchyňském vybavení a jeho použití. V dnešní době má také online podobu, kdy jde sice o internetové stránky, ale ty samy sebe nazývají kuchařkami a umožňují také tvorbu vlastních seznamů receptů.


Kvalifikace na Mistrovství světa ve fotbale 2010 (OFC)

Format.

The first phase began at the 2007 Pacific Games in Samoa, with the football tournament doubling as an OFC World Cup qualifying competition. The gold, silver, and bronze medallists (New Caledonia, Fiji, and Vanuatu, respectively) advanced to the second phase.  The three medallists joined seeded side New Zealand in a home-and-away round-robin tournament on FIFA match dates in 2007 and 2008, also acting as the 2008 OFC Nations Cup.  There were some confusion as to how the final qualifier for the playoff against an AFC nation would be selected. The FIFA website initially indicated that the top two sides from the round robin would advance to a play-off which would determine the qualifier, but the OFC articles did not include this round (with the round-robin winner advancing automatically). Later FIFA articles confirmed that the round-robin winner would advance automatically.

First round.

The 2007 South Pacific Games held the first round. The draw was held on 12 June 2007 in Auckland, New Zealand. Tuvalu were not members of FIFA and so would have been unable to qualify for the World Cup had they proceeded to the OFC Nations Cup stage. It was not even clear whether Tuvalu would be eligible to advance that far had they finished in a medal position, as the OFC press release for the second stage draw stated that "nine eligible member associations battle it out for the gold, silver and bronze medals that will hand them a berth in a Stage Two round robin home and away playoff with New Zealand" - implying one nation (Tuvalu) would not be eligible. This question was rendered moot, however, as Tuvalu finished last in their table.  Papua New Guinea, having initially entered the 2010 World Cup and indicated their intention to enter the South Pacific Games, were involved in a dispute with their sporting authorities and failed to meet the official accreditation deadline for the South Pacific Games. This meant they were effectively disqualified from the World Cup.

Knockout stage.

The three medalists, New Caledonia, Fiji, and Vanuatu, advanced to the 2008 OFC Nations Cup (together with automatic qualifier New Zealand).

Second round.

New Zealand qualified for the play-off with the AFC 5th-placed team, as well as the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.

Inter-confederation play-offs.

The Oceania champion (New Zealand) played the 5th Place team from the Asian qualifiers, Bahrain, in a two-legged play-off; New Zealand beat Bahrain to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.  The draw for the order in which the two matches would be played was held on 2 June 2009 during the FIFA Congress in Nassau, the Bahamas.

Qualified teams.

The following team from OFC qualified for the final tournament.

Goalscorers.

There were 150 goals scored over 38 games (including the intercontinental play-off), for an average of 3.95 goals per game.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification for the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) selected New Zealand to compete in a two-legged home-and-away playoff against Bahrain, the fifth-place team from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for a spot in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. (Oceania is the only confederation that does not have an automatic place in the finals.) Its final round was the 2008 OFC Nations Cup. Consequently, New Zealand is also considered the OFC Nations Cup champion, and represented the OFC in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Kvalifikace na Mistrovství světa ve fotbale 2010 zóny OFC určila účastníka mezikontinentální baráže s 5. týmem zóny AFC. Kvalifikace zóny OFC byla zároveň osmým ročníkem Oceánského poháru národů, tj. kontinentálního mistrovství.


Design.

Green, gold and red are considered Pan-African colours. Green is also used to symbolise Islam, and the gold is for the sands of the Sahara desert. The red stripes, which were added to the flag in 2017, represent "the efforts and sacrifices that the people of Mauritania will keep consenting, to the price of their blood, to defend their territory". The crescent and star are symbols of Islam, which is Mauritania's state religion. Some writers have also speculated that green symbolises a bright future and growth. There is no official specification or construction sheet for the exact relative measurements of the star and crescent, although the flag's measurements are 2:3.

Use.

The design acts as the national flag of Mauritania and is also used in circular form as an aircraft roundel.

Variants.

Although the constitutional amendments only mentioned the addition of red bands, officials have been using different flag's models since the change in 2017.

Legal basis.

The current constitution of 12 July 1991 specifies that: Unlike the seal, the exact flag is specified, not merely the right for a law to specify it at some later date. However, the flag has its official basis in the earlier constitution of 22 March 1959; no changes were made when the country declared its independence in 1960.

New flag in 2017.

In 2017, a red band at the top and bottom were added to symbolise "the efforts and sacrifices that the people of Mauritania will keep consenting, to the price of their blood, to defend their territory", in a referendum on 5 August 2017, scheduled by President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz which contained among other constitutional amendments a modification of the national flag and anthem. First scheduled as part of a single vote, these changes proved controversial enough for them to be made into a separate vote the same day as the vote on institutions.

The flag of Mauritania (Arabic: علم موريتانيا) is a green field containing a gold star and crescent, with a red stripe at the top and bottom of the field. The original national flag was introduced under the instructions of President Moktar Ould Daddah and the constitution of 22 March 1959 and was adopted on 1 April 1959.

Vlajka Mauritánie je tvořena listem o poměru stran 2:3 (zákonem však není poměr stanoven) se třemi pruhy: červeným, zeleným a červeným o poměru šířek 1:3:1. V zeleném poli je zobrazen žlutý půlměsíc s cípy k hornímu okraji. Mezi cípy je žlutá pěticípá hvězda.


History.

Previous flags.

Until the mid-18th century, the design and significance of maritime flags flying on ships in Tunis are unknown. However, various sources have been able to distinguish certain similarities among the flags: they were designed with a crescent-oriented shape in the presence of the colors blue, green, red, and white. Thereafter, and until the early 19th century, the flag was composed of horizontal blue, red and green stripes, identifying the Ottoman regency in Tunis. This kind of flag with multiple bands and irregular contours floated on top of ships all along the coast of North Africa; similar flags with different colors and arrangements were also used on the continent.  According to Ottfried Neubecker, the Bey of Tunis also had his own flag. This flag was most likely a simple personal banner of the ruler, as it floated above the Bardo Palace, the Citadel of Tunis, on navy ships, and also in the center of the coat of arms in Tunisia. It was used at a number of public ceremonies—including at the proclamation of the Ottoman constitution on 21 March 1840—until the abolition of the Bey monarchy on 25 July 1957.  Believed to have been introduced by Al-Husayn II ibn Mahmud, although some sources, such as Abdel-Wahab, claim that it was in use three centuries earlier, the flag was rectangular in shape and divided into nine stripes, the middle one green and double the size of all other bands, while the others alternated between yellow and red. Featured in the center of the green stripe was the Zulfiqar, the legendary Islamic sword of Ali, with the blade in white and the hilt multicolored. The red and yellow stripes each contained five equidistant symbols, whose order was alternated between each stripe. These symbols were divided into two categories: one red six-sided star voided with a disk of a different color in the center—either a red star and green disk or a white star and blue disk—, and a large disk voided in its lower right by a small disk of different color, with the combination being either a small red disk within a larger blue disk or a small yellow disk within a larger green disk. The first yellow stripe contains three red stars and two blue disks. The second stripe, red in color, contains three green disksand two white stars. The third stripe (second yellow one) is identical to the first, with the exception that the star in its center is white, while the fourth stripe (second white one) is identical to the 2nd stripe.

Origin of the current flag.

Several Muslim countries along the south coast of the Mediterranean Sea used a red flag similar to the flag of the Ottoman Empire. After the destruction of the Tunisian naval division at the Battle of Navarino on 20 October 1827, the sovereign Husainid Dynasty leader Al-Husayn II ibn Mahmud decided to create a flag to use for the fleet of Tunisia, to distinguish it from other fleets. There are some discrepancies over the date of the flag's adoption, as the government states that it was adopted in 1831, while other sources like Siobhan Ryan's "Ultimate Pocket Flags of the World" claim that it was adopted in 1835.

French protectorate.

During the era of the French protectorate in Tunisia, French authorities did not change the Tunisian flag. However, according to an article in the "Flag Bulletin" publishing in Fall 2000, for a short period of time during the French protectorate, the flag of France was placed in the canton (upper left) of the Tunisian flag. In the same vein, vexillologist Whitney Smith stated that the addition of the French flag was "modification of the unofficial Tunisian national flag, used for a few years". He added:  Confusion arose when an issue of the French daily newspaper "Le Petit Journal", published on 24 July 1904 on the occasion of the bey of Tunis's visit to France, reproduced an illustration showing the flag used while he was visiting the Hôtel de Ville, Paris. Ivan Sache of "Flags of the World" claimed that this flag design, which hadn't been seen earlier, may have been inaccurate, suggesting that the journalist might not have been at the affair or he had reproduced a drawing of the wrong flag.

Description.

The Tunisian flag was defined in Article 4 of the 1 June 1959 constitution under these terms: "The flag of the Republic of Tunisia is red, it has, under the conditions defined by law, in the middle, a white disk containing a five-pointed star surrounded by a red crescent."  The Organic Law No. 99-56 of 30 June 1999, adopted on 3 July by the Chamber of Deputies, formalized the Tunisian flag for the first time in law, clarifying Article 4 of the constitution. The flag is in the form of a red rectangle with a width equal to two-thirds of its length. In the middle of the flag is a white disk whose diameter is equal to one-third of the length of the rectangle and whose center is located at the intersection of the diagonals of the rectangle. A red five-pointed star is located to the right of the disk, whose center is at a distance equal to one-thirtieth of the length of the flag from the center of the disk. The location of the star's five points is determined by an imaginary disk centered on the star's center, its diameter equal to roughly 15% the length of the flag. The points of the star are equidistant from each other, and one of the points is located on the horizontal median of the flag to the left of the center of the imaginary disk. The star is surrounded on its left by a red crescent made by the intersection of two arcs, an outer arc whose diameter is equal to one-fourth of the length of the flag, and an internal arc with a diameter equal to one-fifth of the flag's length. In addition, at the top of the flag used by the President of the Republic, the words "for the nation" () are written in gold. The three outer edges of the flag are lined with golden yellow fringe and a red ribbon, with golden fringe on the right vertical side and a white disk with a star and crescent near the fringe, is attached to the flag pole above the flag.  Article 4 of the 1959 constitution specifies the presence of a technical dossier containing a model of the flag, a guide to drawing it, which includes the proper measurements, and technical specifications of its colors.

Symbolism.

For the Tunisian embassy in France, the color red represents the blood of martyrs killed during the Ottoman conquest of Tunisia in 1574. However, the Tunisians invited the Turkish to liberate them from the Spanish invaders and from what was left of the Hafside dynasty. Another interpretation is that the "red Beylical flag spread light throughout the Muslim world". The white symbolizes peace, the disk symbolizes the radiance of the nation as the sun, while the crescent and five-pointed star represent unity of all Muslims and the Five Pillars of Islam, respectively.  According to Ludvík Mucha, author of "Webster's Concise Encyclopedia of Flags & Coats of Arms", the white disk located in the center of the flag represents the sun. The red crescent and the five-pointed star, two ancient symbols of Islam, were most notably used on Ottoman flag and have since appeared on many flags of Islamic countries. The crescent is, from the viewpoint of an Arabic observer, supposed to bring good luck. The color red is a symbol of resistance against Turkish supremacy. Whitney Smith states that the crescent was first emblazoned on standards and buildings in the Punic state of Carthage, located in present-day Tunisia. Since appearing on the Ottoman flag, they were widely adopted by Muslim countries, and have become known as symbols of Islam, when in fact, they may be cultural symbols. Likewise, the sun is often represented with the crescent on ancient Punic artifacts and is associated with the ancient Punic religion, especially with the Sign of Tanit.

Protocol.

The Tunisian flag is visible on all public and military buildings. The flag also floats on the seats of Tunisian ambassadors at regional and international meetings as well as at buildings housing Tunisian representatives around the world. It is deployed during commemorations and national honors in a strictly ceremonial manner. On the listed Flag Days below, the Tunisian flag is flown in public buildings, compulsory by law:  Article 129 of Penal Code of Tunisia punishes the insult either "publicly, by words, writings, gestures or any other manner" of the Tunisian flag and also foreign flags with one year imprisonment.

Variants.

The colors of the flag are included in other Tunisian symbols, such as the coat of arms, which contains a crescent and star enclosed in a disk with red border. In addition, equipment belonging to the Tunisian army are visually recognized by the presence of a cockade.  Most political parties of Tunisia reflect the colors of the flag or the flag itself. Many postal stamps reflect the motifs of the flag, which radiate "with brightness" on them.

The red and white flag of Tunisia, adopted as the national flag in 1959, has its origins in the naval ensign of the Kingdom of Tunis adopted in 1831 by Al-Husayn II ibn Mahmud. The current official design dates to 1999.

Vlajka Tuniska byla poprvé přijata v roce 1831 "Hassinem I.", od té doby přijala několik nepříliš významných změn. Má poměr 2:3 a sytě červené pozadí, na kterém je umístěn bílý kruh. V bílém kruhu jsou zobrazeny v sytě červené barvě symboly islámu – pěticípá hvězda a srpek. Srpek je otevřen napravo a připomíná symbol Osmanské říše.


23. pěší divize Armády Spojených států amerických

Operations in World War II.

The 164th Infantry Regiment of the Americal Division went into action on Guadalcanal on 13 October 1942 alongside the 1st Marine Division as the first United States Army unit to conduct an offensive operation against the enemy in either the Pacific or European Theater of Operations during World War II. Eight other U.S. Army divisions began offensive combat operations in late 1942: the 32nd and the 41st Infantry Divisions in the Pacific on New Guinea; and in North Africa, the 1st, 3rd, 9th, and 34th Infantry Divisions, and the 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions.)

Formation.

As the "square" divisions of the National Guard were being transitioned to the triangular division TO&E in 1942, they each "shed" an infantry regiment, leaving several trained and operational "orphan" regiments available for independent service.  The "line" regiments selected to form the Americal Division were the 132nd Infantry Regiment from Illinois, formerly part of the 33rd Infantry Division, the 164th Infantry Regiment from North Dakota, formerly part of the 34th Infantry Division, and the 182nd Infantry Regiment from Massachusetts, formerly part of the 26th Infantry Division.

New Caledonia.

New Caledonia, a likely target for the Japanese for its critical strategic position on the lines of communication with New Zealand and Australia and its nickel and chromium mines, was now under the control of the Free French with a poorly equipped and trained native force and a company of Australian commandos.  The United States Army was already building airfields with Australian labor on the island which according to early agreements fell into the British sphere and delegated to the Australians for defense. The French objected to the arrangement and, increasingly worried about Japanese invasion being attracted by the airfield, demanded additional American forces.  With pressing needs to build up defenses in Hawaii and Australia, Army planners decided to put together a force rather than commit an already organized division. The regiments available through the reorganization of divisions along with other elements made available a force of about 15,000 men. This force, designated Task Force 6814 and often mentioned as Poppy Force (New Caledonia was code named Poppy), under Brigadier General Alexander M. Patch, Jr. had the elements of a division and more in its composition. For example, there was a brigade headquarters from the 26th Division, two infantry regiments and a field artillery regiment along with support elements augmented by a battalion of light tanks, antiaircraft and coast artillery regiments and a pursuit squadron. The force's mission was to hold New Caledonia. It was an independent command, directly under the War Department in Washington.  Within two weeks, despite an urgent need of shipping elsewhere and at the cost of delaying and rearranging schedules elsewhere and consultations at the head of state level, Task Force 6814 along with some 4,000 troops destined for Australia were assembled in the largest single troop convoy up until that time, designated BT-200 and totaling over 20,000 troops aboard seven transports. The convoy sailed from the New York Port of Embarkation on 23 January 1942 and reached Melbourne on 26 February.  This large and critical convoy was covered by a striking group and long range air between its intended position and Japanese forces arranged by Admiral King (COMINCH) with Admiral Nimitz (CINCPAC). Despite some desire locally to use the force to reinforce Australia or the Netherlands East Indies, under direct orders from Washington the force moved secretly, not even informing the French, to New Caledonia.  Transshipment of troops and equipment was completed in Melbourne and the seven transports departed on 7 March (Australian time) for New Caledonia as convoy ZK-7, arriving six days later. General Patch, preceding the force by air, had arrived on 5 March with news for the French that American forces were underway. Despite having no early prospect of reinforcements, another infantry regiment arrived in April, along with the authority to organize an infantry division from elements of the overall force and, in May, the Americal Division was organized.  On 14 March 1942, two days after the task force later to be known as the Americal Division landed in Nouméa, New Caledonia, the 182nd Infantry was detailed to provide a special unit to be called Force A for advance occupation and outpost of the New Hebrides, a group of islands lying directly across the supply to United States.  Assigned to this duty were companies L and M and attached elements from Headquarters Company, Service Company, the Medical Detachment plus a platoon of the 101st Engineers.  The total strength being in the vicinity of 480 men was under the command of Brigadier General Rose. That a brigadier general should be placed in command of two infantry rifle companies indicated the degree of importance, and hazard, that G.H.Q. placed upon the mission. Mainly though it was so he could deal directly with the highest local French authorities.  The men were assembled and told that Force A and 50 Australians held the most advanced outpost of the Allied Forces in the South Pacific along with Australian forces at Port Moresby, Papua. No retreat was possible, no reinforcements could be relied on. Supply was unreliable and limited.  On 28 March 1942, a unit of Force A left an isolated coconut plantation called Euralia for Port Havanah with two 2nd lieutenants and 22 men on a small auxiliary sailboat with equipment and 10 days' rations to begin their 'guerrilla' action by gathering the native headhunters and plantation workers from the nearby islands as reinforcements.

Guadalcanal.

In contrast to several other US Army divisions in the Pacific War, soldiers in the Americal division received extensive weapons training as well as company- and battalion-level exercises in jungle terrain while at New Caledonia. Under the command of General Patch, the Americal Division was the first US Army unit to be sent to Guadalcanal. Largely because of transport constraints, the Americal arrived piecemeal and was fed into combat alongside the battle-hardened and exhausted US 1st Marine Division, which it eventually relieved. Its soldiers were quick to assimilate from the Marines on Guadalcanal lessons on battle tactics against Japanese forces. Americal casualties were consequently less than what might be expected.  The 164th Infantry Regiment landed on Guadalcanal on 13 October 1942 ahead of its brother regiments, as emergency reinforcement for the 1st Marine Division. The Regiment was the first U.S. Army unit to engage in offensive action during World War II as part of the Battle of Guadalcanal. Between 24 and 27 October, elements of the regiment withstood repeated assaults from Japanese battalions and inflicted some two thousand enemy casualties; the 164th also supported and participated in Marine attacks. The First Marine Division's commander, Major General A. A. Vandegrift, was so impressed by the soldiers' stand that he issued a unit commendation to the regiment for having demonstrated "an overwhelming superiority over the enemy." In addition, General Vandegrift took the unusual step of awarding Lt. Colonel Robert Hall, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 164th, with the Navy Cross for his role in these battles. The 164th was then occasionally referred to as the '164th Marines' due to their special relationship with the Marines on Guadalcanal.  In November the 164th took part in the offensive across the Matanikau River. Other elements of the division arrived piecemeal in the last few weeks of 1942.  In January 1943, the 132nd Infantry Regiment of the division took Hill 27 and 31 of the Mount Austen complex. The division later participated in offensives to sweep Guadalcanal of remaining Japanese resistance. After the last Japanese defenders were killed, captured, or evacuated from the island, the division was relieved on 9 February 1943.  Despite its ad-hoc formation, the Americal Division fought well at Guadalcanal. The 164th Regiment took part in repulsing a major Japanese offensive in October 1942, while the 132nd Regiment, along with the 25th Infantry Division assaulted the highly fortified Japanese Gifu defensive complex at Mount Austen in January 1943. Historians describe the Americal Division as the most effective of all the US Army divisions in that campaign. Following the withdrawal of the 1st Marine Division, the division continued operations on Guadalcanal as part of the U.S. XIV Corps with the 25th Infantry Division (who later earned their 'Tropic Lightning' nickname here) and the 2nd Marine Division (Arrived earlier as reinforcements to the 1st MarDiv) until all of the Japanese resistance had ended.

Bougainville.

The division next moved to the Fiji Islands, beginning 5 March 1943, to assume the defense of the main island of Viti Levu and to engage in extensive training.  During the period 25 December 1943 to 12 January 1944 the Americal Division landed on Bougainville, relieving the 3rd Marine Division. They were given the task (alongside the 37th Infantry Division and a Marine defense battalion) of holding and extending the right half of a previously established perimeter.  Warned by intelligence, they met a massive and sustained Japanese counter-attack, which began on 7 March 1944. Despite ample warning and thorough defensive preparations, the battle soon degenerated into a bitter, close-quarters infantry affair, with artillery restricted by the need to avoid friendly troops and tanks unable to reach the scene. The 37th and Americal Divisions stood firm, and by 25 March, the Japanese were forced to retreat. It was the last Japanese ground offensive in the South Pacific.  The division went on the offensive in March 1944, driving the Japanese east of Mavavia River, 7–9 April 1944, and seizing numerous strategic hill bases during the remainder of the month. Training and long-range patrol activity continued until 30 November 1944 when the division was relieved.

Philippines.

On 8 January 1945, the division began movement to Leyte and Samar, to take part in cleaning out remaining Japanese forces on those islands, and to invade Biri, Capul, Ticao, and Burias. On Leyte, the division was relieved on 13 March 1945 and then landed on Cebu on 26 March, and seized the city and airfield by 28 March. Divisional combat teams made landings on Bohol, Negros, and Mindanao, where they cleared out pockets of resisting Japanese until 17 June when ordered to return to Cebu, arriving on 25 June. The Americal Division added by the newly local Filipino troops of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and Philippine Constabulary and the recognized guerrillas for the liberated in Visayas and Mindanao against the Japanese.  Training continued on Cebu for the proposed invasion of Japan, but the Japanese surrendered on 14 August 1945. On 10 September 1945, the Americal Division landed in Japan and took part in the occupation of the Yokohama–Kawasaki–Yokosuka area.

Postwar.

The division returned to the United States on 21 November 1945, and was inactivated on 12 December 1945. It was reactivated on 1 December 1954 as the 23rd Infantry Division, retaining the name "Americal" as part of its official designation. On 2 December 1954 the 65th Infantry Regiment was assigned to the division. The 23rd Division encompassed geographically-separated units in the Caribbean region. On 10 April 1956, the 65th Infantry Regiment was inactivated at Camp Losey, Puerto Rico, and relieved from assignment to the 23d, which itself was inactivated.  The division served in the Panama Canal Zone until 10 April 1956, when it was again inactivated.

Vietnam.

The division was reactivated 25 September 1967 at Chu Lai in Vietnam from a combination of units already in Vietnam and newly arrived units. Its precursor, a division-sized task force known as Task Force Oregon was created in Quảng Ngãi and Quảng Tín provinces from the 3rd Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division, the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, and the 196th Light Infantry Brigade (all brigades that deployed separately to Vietnam in 1966). Task Force Oregon operated in close cooperation with the 1st Marine Division in the I Corps Military Region. As more US Army units arrived in Vietnam the two divisional brigades were released back to their parent organizations and two arriving separate brigades were assigned to Task Force Oregon, which was in turn re-designated the 23rd Infantry Division (Americal). The division was composed of the 11th, 196th, and 198th Light Infantry Brigades and divisional support units. Both the 11th and 198th brigades were newly formed units.  The Americal, in Vietnam, suffered an important defeat at the Battle of Kham Duc but gave a solid performance during the Tet Offensive, the Battle of Lo Giang and the Battle of Landing Zone Center/Hill 352. Platoon Sergeant Finnis McCleery was awarded the Medal of Honor for his valiant efforts on Hill 352. Sgt. Alan Allen was awarded the Silver Star for this same battle. Both men were members of A Co. 1/6 198th. 20 men from A Company were lost in the Battle of LoGiang on 8 February 1968. A Co. of the 198th was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for its heroic efforts in the Battle of Lo Giang, 8 February 1968.  The Americal Division became notorious after a platoon of troops from the division led by Lieutenant William Calley slaughtered hundreds of South Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai Massacre in March 1968. A helicopter crew from the division's 123rd Aviation Battalion, led by Hugh Thompson, Jr., attempted to intervene in the massacre and were later awarded the Soldier's Medal. Seymour Hersh broke the story of the massacre in November 1969, and a year later 14 officers – including Samuel W. Koster, the division's commanding officer – were charged with covering the massacre up. Most of the charges were later dropped, but Koster was subsequently demoted and stripped of his Distinguished Service Medal. For his part, 2nd Lieutenant William Calley was charged, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment and hard labor on 31 March 1971 for the murder of 22 Vietnamese civilians. President Richard Nixon soon intervened and on 1 April 1971 ordered Calley transferred from Fort Leavenworth to house arrest at Fort Benning, pending his appeal. Calley, the only person convicted for the slaughter of hundreds innocent Vietnamese civilians at My Lai, eventually served only three and half years of house arrest and was released in September 1974.  The brigade responsible for the My Lai Massacre, the 11th Brigade, had seen the replacement Brigadier General John W. Donaldson be tried for shooting civilians from helicopters on 13 separate incidents. The case had fallen apart when Donaldson had pressured witnesses who were under his command to recant the story, according to Colonel Henry Tufts from the Army CID tasked with prosecution. Donaldson was the highest-ranking officer to undergo court-martial during the war.  On 28 March 1971, Vietcong sappers attacked Firebase Mary Ann, which was being transferred by the 1st Battalion, 46th Infantry Regiment to the ARVN, resulting in 33 US/ARVN killed.  The 198th and 11th Brigades were withdrawn from Vietnam in November 1971, and the division was inactivated. The 196th Brigade was reconstituted as a separate brigade and remained in Vietnam until 29 June 1972, the last major combat unit to be withdrawn. Its 3rd Battalion, 21st infantry (Gimlets) was the last U.S. maneuver battalion to leave Vietnam, on 23 August 1972.

Insignia.

The shoulder sleeve insignia was originally approved for the Americal Division on 20 December 1943. It was redesignated for the 23d Infantry Division on 4 November 1954. On 14 December 1967 the distinctive unit insignia was approved.  The shoulder sleeve insignia's four white stars on a blue field are symbolic of the Southern Cross under which the organization has served. The blue color stands for infantry.  On the distinctive unit insignia, the blue saltire (cross of St. Andrew) alludes to New Caledonia in the Southwest Pacific where the division was created and first activated on 27 May 1942. Each of the four white stars stands for the Southern Cross constellation on its division insignia, as well as the four World War II campaigns (Guadalcanal, Northern Solomons, Leyte and Southern Philippines) in which the division participated. The anchor refers to the Presidential Unit Citation (Navy) awarded the division for Guadalcanal. The red arrowhead and Philippine sun stand for the assault landing, Southern Philippines, and the award of the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation (7 October 1944 to 4 July 1945). The unsheathed sword with point to top refers to Vietnam where the division was active. In view of the division's origin and outstanding service in World War II and inasmuch as it was one of the few U.S. Army divisions to bear a name instead of a number, the division's former name "Americal" has been taken as a motto, the association with that name being both inspirational and of historical military significance.

Commanders.

MG Alexander M. Patch, Jr. (May–December 1942)BG Edmund Sebree (January–May 1943)MG John R. Hodge (May 1943 – April 1944)MG Robert B. McClure (April–October 1944)MG William H. Arnold (November 1944 to WW II inactivation)MG Samuel W. Koster (October 1967 – June 1968)MG Charles M. Gettys (June 1968 – June 1969)MG Lloyd B. Ramsey (June 1969 – March 1970)MG Albert E. Milloy (March–November 1970)MG James L. Baldwin (November 1970 – July 1971)MG Frederick J. Kroesen (July–November 1971 (Vietnam inactivation))

The 23rd Infantry Division, initially, and more commonly known as, the Americal Division, of the United States Army was activated 27 May 1942 on the island of New Caledonia. In the immediate emergency following Pearl Harbor, the United States had hurriedly sent a task force to defend New Caledonia against a feared Japanese attack. This division was the only division formed outside of United States territory during World War II (a distinction it would repeat when reformed during the Vietnam War). At the suggestion of a subordinate, the division's commander, Major General Alexander Patch, requested that the new unit be known as the "Americal Division"—the name being a contraction of "American, New Caledonian Division". This was unusual, as all other U.S. divisions are known by a number. After World War II the Americal Division was officially re-designated as the 23rd Infantry Division. However, it was rarely referred to as such, even on official orders.

23rd Infantry Division (23. pěší divize) "Americal Division" je pěší divizí US Army. Jednotka byla aktivována v květnu 1942 v Tichomoří ze tří pluků národní gardy, na základně v Nové Kaledonii. Odtud pochází i přezdívka divize Americal Division: "American, New Caledonian Division". Za druhé světové války se jednotka zúčastnila bojů o Guadalcanal, Bougainville a vyčišťovacích operací na Filipínách.


Early life and education.

Sorbo was born in Mound, Minnesota, on September 24, 1958. He is of Norwegian descent. He was raised in a Lutheran family. Sorbo attended Minnesota State University Moorhead, where he double majored in marketing and advertising. To help pay for tuition, he began to work as a model for print and television advertising.

Career.

In the mid 1980s, Sorbo travelled around Europe and Australia working in television commercials and worked in over 150 commercials by the early 1990s. One of the popular commercials he appeared in was for Jim Beam bourbon whiskey, known for Sorbo's repeated catchphrase "This ain't Jim Beam". He occasionally landed acting roles during this period with his first appearance in an episode of the soap opera "Santa Barbara" in 1986. This was followed by guest appearances in television series such as "1st & Ten", "Murder She Wrote" and "The Commish". In 1992, he starred in an unsuccessful pilot for a medical drama series titled "Condition: Critical" which was not picked up but aired as a television film on CBS. He was considered for and lost out to Dean Cain as Superman in "" and was a possible contender for the role of Fox Mulder in "The X Files" which went to David Duchovny. In 1993, he made his film debut playing a supporting role in "Slaughter of the Innocents".  In 1994, he got his breakthrough leading role as the Ancient Greek mythical demigod Hercules in a series of five television films which aired as part of Universal Television's Action Pack. The first film was "Hercules and the Amazon Women" which aired in April and the fifth film "Hercules in the Maze of the Minotaur" aired in November. The ratings success of these films paved the way for the commissioning of the television series "" which started airing in syndication from January 1995 and ran for six seasons. The series made Sorbo an international star and was one of the highest rated syndicated television shows at the time. Sorbo also directed two episodes of the series during its run and co-wrote one episode. The success of the show spawned the popular spin-off series "" starring Lucy Lawless, who was introduced in a three episode arc in the first season of "Hercules". Sorbo made his first of two appearances on "Xena" in the Season One episode "Prometheus" in 1995. In 1998, a spin-off direct-to-video animated film titled "" was released with both Sorbo and Lawless voicing the characters.  "Hercules" was cancelled midway through the filming of Season Six of which only eight episodes were produced and the final episode aired in November 1999. This was reportedly due to Sorbo declining to extend his contract to continue starring in the series for a further three years. Sorbo would go on to make his final appearance as Hercules on "Xena" in the Season Five episode "God Fearing Child" which aired in February 2000.  In between the years playing "Hercules", he played his first leading film role in "Kull the Conqueror" (1997). After "Hercules" came to an end, Sorbo played the starring role of Captain Dylan Hunt in the science-fiction drama series "Andromeda" from 2000 to 2005. In 2006, he played a recurring role on the final season of "The O.C." and guest-starred in the sitcom "Two and a Half Men". In 2007, he starred in the direct-to-video film "", which was a sequel to the 2004 film "Walking Tall". He reprised his role in the second sequel, "" which released later that year. He also starred in the Lifetime Channel film "Last Chance Café", the Hallmark Channel film "Avenging Angel", co-starring his real life wife Sam Jenkins and guest starred as a bounty hunter in the season-two episode "Bounty Hunters!" of the series "Psych". He appeared in the 2008 spoof film "Meet the Spartans", which was a box office success despite being universally negatively reviewed by critics. He starred in the Albert Pyun directed science fiction vampire film "Tales of an Ancient Empire".  He served as executive producer and star of the movie "Abel's Field" in 2012. In 2012, Sorbo appeared in an episode of "Celebrity Ghost Stories" to recount an experience he had while in Minnesota shortly after he graduated from college. He and his girlfriend claimed to have seen the ghost of the "Bride of White Rock Lake" – a woman who supposedly died on her wedding day, murdered by a former lover.  Sorbo voiced one of the main protagonists, Prometheus, in the Wii video game "The Conduit". Sorbo returned to the role of Hercules in a more sinister portrayal, in the video game "God of War III", which was released for the PlayStation 3 in March 2010.  Kevin also had a prominent role in the film "Soul Surfer" released in 2011.  In July 2013, Sorbo, along with his wife, Sam, provided voice over for characters in the video game "Cloudberry Kingdom". In 2014, Sorbo co-starred in "God's Not Dead", a Christian film in which he portrayed an atheist college professor who requires his students to disown their religions on the first day of his class. He also voiced Crusher in the "Skylanders" franchise and Retro Hercules in "Smite".  In 2015 and 2016, Sorbo played wizard Gojun Pye in a series of five "Mythica" sword-and-sorcery fantasy movies.  In 2017, Sorbo played the ill-fated King Lar Gand of Daxam on the CW series "Supergirl". He appeared opposite Teri Hatcher as his wife Queen Rhea—24 years earlier, they were almost cast opposite each other in "Lois and Clark" before Sorbo lost out to Dean Cain. Cain also appeared in the same series but did not share any scenes with them. That same year, he also directed and starred in the film "Let There Be Light".  Kevin Sorbo's career also includes voice over work with "Breathe Bible".

Health.

In late 1997 while on a publicity tour for "Kull the Conqueror" and between the fourth and fifth seasons of "Hercules", the newly engaged Sorbo experienced an aneurysm in his shoulder which caused four strokes. As a result, he was weakened for the next several years, a condition kept secret from the public while he recovered. During the last two seasons of "Hercules" (the fifth and sixth, which aired in 1998 and 1999), Sorbo had a reduced filming schedule to accommodate his condition, and more guest stars were featured in the show in order to reduce Sorbo's duties. The strokes, thought to be triggered when chiropractic manipulation of his shoulder released blood clots from the aneurysm, left Sorbo with a permanent 10 percent vision loss, weakness, impaired balance, and migraines. In his 2011 autobiography "True Strength", Sorbo revealed the details of his injury and how his wife Sam helped him recover.

Personal life.

On January 5, 1998, Sorbo married actress Sam Jenkins, whom he met the previous year when she had a small recurring role on "Hercules". They have three children: Braedon Cooper (born 2001), Shane Haaken (born 2004), and Octavia Flynn (born 2005). Sorbo is the spokesman and chair of A World Fit for Kids! (AWFFK!), a non-profit organization that trains teenagers to become mentors to younger children.  In 2001, Sorbo was featured on a Celebrity Edition of the game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", winning $32,000 after giving Regis Philbin the wrong answer at the $125,000 question; the money was donated to his charity, A World Fit For Kids.  In 2015, Sorbo provided the foreword to Stan Holden's book "Giving Candy to Strangers".  He and Sam own a house in Park City, Utah's St. Regis Deer Valley resort.

Religious and political beliefs.

Sorbo is a Christian and attends a nondenominational church, though he grew up being a Lutheran. Sorbo believes his religious views have caused Hollywood to limit his career, stating, "There's a negativity towards Christians in Hollywood, and a negativity towards people who believe in God."  As a guest on "Stossel", Sorbo said he voted for Ronald Reagan and Bob Dole. In addition, he is anti-abortion.

Kevin David Sorbo (born September 24, 1958) is an American actor. He had starring roles in two television series: as Hercules in "", and as Captain Dylan Hunt in "Andromeda". Sorbo is also known for acting in the Christian drama films "God's Not Dead" and "Let There Be Light".

Kevin David Sorbo (24. září 1958) je americký herec nejlépe známý díky rolím Herkula v seriálu "Herkules" a kapitána Dylana Hunta v seriálu "Andromeda".