text:
courtesy name
Four Beauties
Hubei Province
Han dynasty
Emperor Yuan
Chanyu
Huhanye
Xiongnu Empire
Han dynasty
Hubei
pipa
Four Arts of the Chinese Scholar
Guqin
Weiqi
Calligraphy
Chinese painting
Emperor Yuan of Han
lady-in-waiting
Huhanye
Chang'an
Xiongnu
Lou Jingde
Yituzhiyashi
Emperor Cheng
levirate
Yanzhi
Li Bai
Du Fu
Bai Juyi
Li Shangyin
Cai Yong
Wang Anshi
Yelü Chucai
Guo Moruo
Cao Yu
Tian Han
Jian Bozan
Fei Xiaotong
Lao She
Chen Zhisui
Zaju
Yuan Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
Han Shu
Cai Yong
Han Gong Qiu
Ma Zhiyuan
Guo Moruo
Cao Yu
Andre Norton
Yang Yang
Hong Kong
Shaw Brothers
Beyond The Great Wall
Hong Kong
Asia Television
Taiwan
CTV
China Central Television
Yang Mi
Li Caihua
Xi Shi
Diaochan
Yang Guifei
Hou Han Shu
Nan Xiong Nu Lie Zhuan
Zhaojun cultural festival

categories: Han dynasty imperial consorts,Xiongnu,1st-century BC Chinese people

paragraph: Wang Zhaojun

paragraph: Wang Qiang (Wang Ch'iang; 王牆, also 王檣 and 王嬙), commonly known by her courtesy name Wang Zhaojun () was known as one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. Born in Baoping Village, Zigui County (in current Hubei Province) in the Western Han dynasty (206 BC–8 AD), she was sent by Emperor Yuan to marry Chanyu Huhanye of the Xiongnu Empire in order to establish friendly relations with the Han dynasty through marriage.

paragraph: In the most prevalent version of the "Four Beauties" legend, it is said that Wang Zhaojun left her hometown on horseback on a bright autumn morning and began a journey northward. Along the way, the horse neighed, making Zhaojun extremely sad and unable to control her emotions. As she sat on the saddle, she began to play sorrowful melodies on a stringed instrument. A flock of geese flying southward heard the music, saw the beautiful young woman riding the horse, immediately forgot to flap their wings, and fell to the ground. From then on, Zhaojun acquired the nickname "fells geese" or "drops birds."

paragraph: Section::::Life.

paragraph: Section::::Life.:Entering the harem.

paragraph: Wang was born to a prominent family of Baopin village, Zigui country (now Zhaojun village, Xingshan county, Hubei) in the south of the Western Han empire. As she was born when her father was very old, he regarded her as "a pearl in the palm". Wang Zhaojun was endowed with dazzling beauty with an extremely intelligent mind. She was also adept in pipa and master of all the Four Arts of the Chinese Scholar – Guqin, Weiqi, Calligraphy and Chinese painting.

paragraph: In 36 BC, Emperor Yuan of Han chose his concubines from the whole state. Because of Wang's fame in the county, she was his first choice for the concubine from Nan county. Emperor Yuan issued the edict that Wang should enter the harem soon. Wang's father said that his daughter was too young to enter the harem, but could not violate the decree. Wang left her hometown and entered the harem of Emperor Yuan in early summer. According to the custom in the palace, when choosing a new wife, the Emperor was first presented with portraits of all the candidate women. It is said that because of Wang's confidence of beauty and temperament, she refused to bribe the artist Mao Yanshou as the other maids did. As a reprisal, Mao Yanshou painted a mole of widowed tears on Wang's portrait. As a result, during her time in the Lateral Courts, Wang Zhaojun was never visited by the Emperor and remained as a palace lady-in-waiting. Wang Zhaojun's portrait was either never viewed by the Emperor or was not in its true form, and therefore the Emperor overlooked her.

paragraph: Section::::Life.:Departing for the frontier.

paragraph: In 33 BC, Huhanye visited Chang'an as part of the tributary system that existed between the Han and Xiongnu governments. He took the opportunity to request to become an imperial son-in-law, which is recorded by Lou Jingde.

paragraph: Typically the daughter of a concubine would then be offered, but unwilling to honour Huhanye with a real princess, Emperor Yuan ordered that the plainest girl in the harem be selected. He asked for volunteers and promised to present her as his own daughter. The idea of leaving their homeland and comfortable life at court for the grasslands of the far and unknown north was abhorrent to most of the young women, but Wang Zhaojun accepted. When the matron of the harem sent her unflattering portrait to the Emperor, he merely glanced at it and nodded his approval. Only when summoned to court was Wang Zhaojun's beauty revealed.

paragraph: The Emperor considered retracting his decision, but it was too late by then, and he regretfully presented Wang Zhaojun to Huhanye, who was delighted. Relations with the Xiongnu subsequently improved, and artist Mao Yanshou was subsequently executed for deceiving the Emperor.

paragraph: Section::::Life.:Life with the Xiongnu.

paragraph: Wang Zhaojun became a favourite of Huhanye Chanyu, giving birth to two sons. Only one, Yituzhiyashi (伊屠智牙師), seems to have survived. They also had at least one daughter, Yun (雲), who was created Princess Yimuo and who would later become a powerful figure in Xiongnu politics.

paragraph: When Huhanye died in 31 BC, Wang Zhaojun requested to return to China. Emperor Cheng, however, ordered that she follow Xiongnu levirate custom and become the wife of the next Chanyu, the eldest brother (or her stepson, born by her husband's first wife) of her husband. In her new marriage, she had two daughters. Wang was honoured as Ninghu Yanzhi (寧胡閼氏 "Hu-Pacifying Chief-Consort").

paragraph: Section::::Cultural legacy.

paragraph: Statistics show that there are about 700 poems and songs and 40 kinds of stories and folktales about Wang Zhaojun from more than 500 famous writers, both ancient (Shi Chong, Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi, Li Shangyin, Zhang Zhongsu, Cai Yong, Wang Anshi, Yelü Chucai) and modern (Guo Moruo, Cao Yu, Tian Han, Jian Bozan, Fei Xiaotong, Lao She, Chen Zhisui).

paragraph: Section::::Cultural legacy.:Literature.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Chapter novel: "You Feng Qi Yuan"

paragraph: BULLET::::- Variety Plays (known as Zaju in China) in Yuan Dynasty: "Han Gong Qiu'

paragraph: BULLET::::- Biography in Ming Dynasty: "He Rong Ji"

paragraph: BULLET::::- Han Shu, Xiongnu Zhuan (first known account of Wang Zhaojun)

paragraph: BULLET::::- Qin Cao ("Principle of the Lute") by Cai Yong (c. 2nd century)

paragraph: BULLET::::- Xijin Zaji ("Sundry Accounts of the Western Capital") (c. 3rd century)

paragraph: BULLET::::- Han Gong Qiu ("The Autumn in the Palace of Han") by Ma Zhiyuan (c. 13th century)

paragraph: BULLET::::- Wang Zhaojun by Guo Moruo (1923)

paragraph: BULLET::::- Wang Zhaojun by Cao Yu (1978)

paragraph: BULLET::::- Imperial Lady by Andre Norton and Susan Schwartz (1990)

paragraph: BULLET::::- Chapter 3, "Naturalizing National Unity: Political Romance and the Chinese Nation," of The Mongols at China's Edge by Uradyn E. Bulag (2002) contains a detailed discussion of variants of the Wang Zhaojun legend.

paragraph: Section::::Cultural legacy.:Film and television.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Chinese song "Wang Zhaojun" from Yang Yang

paragraph: BULLET::::- Hong Kong Shaw Brothers, 1964, Beyond The Great Wall. Linda Lin Dai played Wang Zhaojun.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Hong Kong Asia Television, TV series in 1984, "Wang Zhaojun", supervised by Wang Ximei.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Hong Kong Asia Television Limited, TV series in 1985, "Wang Zhaojun". Wei Qiuhua played Wang Zhaojun.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Taiwan CTV, TV series broadcast at 8 pm in 1988, "Wang Zhaojun", directed by Zhou You. Song Gangling played Wang Zhaojun.

paragraph: BULLET::::- China Central Television (CCTV) and China Television Media, Ltd, TV series in 2005, "Wang Zhaojun". Yang Mi played Wang Zhaojun.

paragraph: BULLET::::- China Central Television (CCTV), TV series in 2006,"Zhaojun Chu Sai". Li Caihua played Wang Zhaojun.

paragraph: Section::::See also.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Xi Shi

paragraph: BULLET::::- Diaochan

paragraph: BULLET::::- Yang Guifei

paragraph: Section::::External links.

paragraph: BULLET::::- "Hou Han Shu" Chapter eighty nine Nan Xiong Nu Lie Zhuan

paragraph: BULLET::::- Zhaojun cultural festival

alias:
Wang Qiang
Zhaojun

description: politician

wikidata_label: Wang Zhaojun

wikipedia_title: Wang Zhaojun


text: Bulgaria

text: First Bulgarian Empire

text: Byzantines

text: Magyars

text: Serbs

text: Eastern Europe

text: Golden Age

text: Bulgarian culture

text: Aegean

text: Adriatic

text: Black Sea

text: Bulgarian Orthodox Church

text: patriarchate

text: Pentarchy

text: Glagolitic

text: Cyrillic

text: Christian

text: Slavic

text: Preslav Literary School

text: Cyrillic alphabet

text: Emperor

text: Tsar

text: Prince

text: Knyaz

text: Boris I

text: Krum

text: Christianized Bulgaria

text: Vladimir

text: University of Constantinople

text: Simeon

text: Demosthenes

text: Aristotle

text: Greek

text: Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople

text: Preslav

text: Tiča

text: Naum of Preslav

text: paganism

text: Arnulf of Carinthia

text: assembly in Preslav

text: Pliska

text: Byzantine Emperor

text: Leo VI the Wise

text: Zoe Zaoutzaina

text: Stylianos Zaoutzes

text: Thessaloniki

text: Danube

text: Byzantine navy

text: Franks

text: Nikephoros Phokas

text: southern Italy

text: Árpád

text: Galaţi

text: Northern Dobruja

text: Drǎstǎr

text: Pechenegs

text: Leo Choirosphaktes

text: astrological

text: casus belli

text: Battle of Southern Buh

text: Etelköz

text: Pannonia

text: Thrace

text: Battle of Bulgarophygon

text: Babaeski

text: Turkey

text: Strandža

text: Serbia

text: Petar Gojniković

text: Leo of Tripoli

text: Macedonia

text: Albania

text: Constantine VII

text: Alexander

text: prepare for war

text: Patriarch

text: Nicholas Mystikos

text: Italy

text: arrears

text: Blachernae Palace

text: Adrianople

text: Durrës

text: Leo Phokas the Elder

text: Nikephoros Phokas

text: Romanos Lekapenos

text: Nesebǎr

text: Acheloos

text: Pomorie

text: Battle of Acheloos

text: Leo the Deacon

text: admiral

text: Western Europe

text: Michael of Zahumlje

text: Katasyrtai

text: Theodore Sigrica

text: Marmais

text: Helena Lekapene

text: Thessaly

text: Isthmus of Corinth

text: Dardanelles

text: Lampsacus

text: Pigae

text: Golden Horn

text: Bizye

text: Fatimid

text: Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah

text: Calabria

text: Časlav Klonimirović

text: Theophanes Continuatus

text: Papacy

text: John X

text: Alogobotur

text: King Tomislav

text: Battle of the Bosnian Highlands

text: status quo

text: heart failure

text: Peter I

text: Maria (Eirene)

text: Slavic Europe

text: Preslav Literary School

text: Ohrid Literary School

text: Cyrillic alphabet

text: Bulgarian literature

text: Cyril and Methodius

text: Clement of Ohrid

text: Naum

text: Constantine of Preslav

text: Bible

text: John Chrysostom

text: Basil of Caesarea

text: Cyril of Alexandria

text: Gregory of Nazianzus

text: Athanasius of Alexandria

text: John Malalas

text: George Hamartolus

text: John Exarch

text: Černorizec Hrabǎr

text: cross-domed churches

text: Golden (or Round) Church

text: Theodore Stratelates

text: Michael

text: Peter

text: Lombard

text: Liutprand of Cremona

text: Velikite Bǎlgari

text: 100 Greatest Britons

text: the Great

text: Ivan Vazov

text: Bosphorus

text: Zlatniyat vek

text: Marius Donkin

text: historical drama

text: Silistra

text: Alfons Mucha

text: The Slav Epic

text: Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

text: rakija

text: Antarctic

text: Livingston Island

text: South Shetland Islands

text: Simeon Peak

text: Antarctic Place-names Commission

text: lyrics

categories: 927 deaths,9th-century Bulgarian monarchs,10th-century Bulgarian emperors,860s births,Eastern Orthodox monarchs

paragraph: Simeon I of Bulgaria

paragraph: Simeon (also Symeon) I the Great (, transliterated "Simeon I Veliki" ) ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeon's successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever, making it the most powerful state in contemporary Eastern Europe. His reign was also a period of unmatched cultural prosperity and enlightenment later deemed the Golden Age of Bulgarian culture.

paragraph: During Simeon's rule, Bulgaria spread over a territory between the Aegean, the Adriatic and the Black Sea. The newly independent Bulgarian Orthodox Church became the first new patriarchate besides the Pentarchy, and Bulgarian Glagolitic and Cyrillic translations of Christian texts spread all over the Slavic world of the time. It was at the Preslav Literary School in the 890s that the Cyrillic alphabet was developed. Halfway through his reign, Simeon assumed the title of Emperor ("Tsar"), having prior to that been styled Prince ("Knyaz").

paragraph: Section::::Background and early life.

paragraph: Simeon was born in 864 or 865, as the third son of Knyaz Boris I of Krum's dynasty. As Boris was the ruler who Christianized Bulgaria in 865, Simeon was a Christian all his life. Because his eldest brother Vladimir was designated heir to the Bulgarian throne, Boris intended Simeon to become a high-ranking cleric, possibly Bulgarian archbishop, and sent him to the leading University of Constantinople to receive theological education when he was thirteen or fourteen. He took the name Simeon as a novice in a monastery in Constantinople. During the decade (ca. 878–888) he spent in the Byzantine capital, he received excellent education and studied the rhetoric of Demosthenes and Aristotle. He also learned fluent Greek, to the extent that he was referred to as "the half-Greek" in Byzantine chronicles. He is speculated to have been tutored by Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople, but this is not supported by any source.

paragraph: Around 888, Simeon returned to Bulgaria and settled at the newly established royal monastery of Preslav "at the mouth of the Tiča", where, under the guidance of Naum of Preslav, he engaged in active translation of important religious works from Greek to Medieval Bulgarian (Currently referred to as Church Slavonic), aided by other students from Constantinople. Meanwhile, Vladimir had succeeded Boris, who had retreated to a monastery, as ruler of Bulgaria. Vladimir attempted to reintroduce paganism in the empire and possibly signed an anti-Byzantine pact with Arnulf of Carinthia, forcing Boris to re-enter political life. Boris had Vladimir imprisoned and blinded, and then appointed Simeon as the new ruler. This was done at an assembly in Preslav which also proclaimed Bulgarian as the only language of state and church and moved the Bulgarian capital from Pliska to Preslav, to better cement the recent conversion. It is not known why Boris did not place his second son, Gavril, on the throne, but instead preferred Simeon.

paragraph: Section::::Reign.

paragraph: Section::::Reign.:Trade War with Byzantium and Magyar invasions.

paragraph: With Simeon on the throne, the long-lasting peace with the Byzantine Empire established by his father was about to end. A conflict arose when Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise, allegedly acting under pressure from his mistress Zoe Zaoutzaina and her father Stylianos Zaoutzes, moved the marketplace for Bulgarian goods from Constantinople to Thessaloniki, where the Bulgarian merchants were heavily taxed. The Bulgarians sought protection by Simeon, who in turn complained to Leo. However, the Byzantine emperor ignored his embassy.

paragraph: Unable to effectively respond to the Bulgarian campaign due to the engagement of their forces against the Arabs, the Byzantines convinced the Magyars to attack Bulgaria, promising to transport them across the Danube using the Byzantine navy. Leo VI may have also concluded an agreement with Arnulf to make sure that the Franks did not support Simeon against the Magyars. In addition, the talented commander Nikephoros Phokas was called back from southern Italy to lead a separate army against Bulgaria in 895 with the mere intention to overawe the Bulgarians. Simeon, unaware of the threat from the north, rushed to meet Phokas' forces, but the two armies did not engage in a fight. Instead, the Byzantines offered peace, informing him of both the Byzantine foot and maritime campaign, but intentionally did not notify him of the planned Magyar attack. Simeon did not trust the envoy and, after sending him to prison, ordered the Byzantine navy's route into the Danube closed off with ropes and chains, intending to hold it until he had dealt with Phokas.

paragraph: Despite the problems they encountered because of the fencing, the Byzantines ultimately managed to ferry the Magyar forces led by Árpád's son Liüntika across the Danube, possibly near modern Galaţi, and assisted them in pillaging the nearby Bulgarian lands. Once notified of the surprise invasion, Simeon headed north to stop the Magyars, leaving some of his troops at the southern border to prevent a possible attack by Phokas. Simeon's two encounters with the enemy in Northern Dobruja resulted in Magyar victories, forcing him to retreat to Drǎstǎr. After pillaging much of Bulgaria and reaching Preslav, the Magyars returned to their lands, but not before Simeon had concluded an armistice with Byzantium towards the summer of 895. A complete peace was delayed, as Leo VI required the release of the Byzantine captives from the Trade War.

paragraph: Section::::Reign.:Anti-Magyar campaign and further wars with Byzantium.

paragraph: Having dealt with the pressure from the Magyars and the Byzantines, Simeon was free to plan a campaign against the Magyars looking for retribution. He negotiated a joint force with the Magyars' eastern neighbours, the Pechenegs, and imprisoned the Byzantine envoy Leo Choirosphaktes in order to delay the release of the captives until after the campaign against the Magyars. This would allow him to renegotiate the peace conditions in his favour. In an exchange of letters with the envoy, Simeon refused to release the captives and ridiculed Leo VI's astrological abilities.

paragraph: Using a Magyar invasion in the lands of the neighbouring Slavs in 896 as a "casus belli", Simeon headed against the Magyars together with his Pecheneg allies, defeating them completely in the Battle of Southern Buh and making them leave Etelköz forever and settle in Pannonia. Following the defeat of the Magyars, Simeon finally released the Byzantine prisoners in exchange for Bulgarians captured in 895.

paragraph: Claiming that not all prisoners had been released, Simeon once again invaded Byzantium in the summer of 896, heading directly to Constantinople. He was met in Thrace by a hastily assembled Byzantine army, but annihilated the Byzantine forces in the Battle of Bulgarophygon (at modern Babaeski, Turkey). Arming Arab captives and sending them to fight with the Bulgarians as a desperate measure, Leo VI managed to repel the Bulgarians from Constantinople, which they had besieged. The war ended with a peace treaty which formally lasted until around Leo VI's death in 912 and under which Byzantium was obliged to pay Bulgaria an annual tribute. Under the treaty, the Byzantines also ceded an area between the Black Sea and Strandža to the Bulgarian Empire. Meanwhile, Simeon had also imposed his authority over Serbia in return for recognizing Petar Gojniković as their ruler.

paragraph: Simeon often violated the peace treaty with Byzantium, attacking and conquering Byzantine territory on several occasions, such as in 904, when the Bulgarian raids were used by Arabs led by the Byzantine renegade Leo of Tripoli to undertake a maritime campaign and seize Thessaloniki. After the Arabs plundered the city, it was an easy target for Bulgaria and the nearby Slavic tribes. In order to dissuade Simeon from capturing the city and populating it with Slavs, Leo VI was forced to make further territorial concessions to the Bulgarians in the modern region of Macedonia. With the treaty of 904, all Slavic-inhabited lands in modern southern Macedonia and southern Albania were ceded to the Bulgarian Empire, with the border line running some 20 kilometres north of Thessaloniki.

paragraph: Section::::Reign.:Recognition as Emperor.

paragraph: The death of Leo VI on 11 May 912 and the accession of his infant son Constantine VII under the guidance of Leo's brother Alexander, who expelled Leo's wife Zoe from the palace, constituted a great opportunity for Simeon to attempt another campaign against Constantinople, the conquest of which remained the dream of his life. In the spring of 913, Simeon's envoys, who had arrived in Constantinople to renew the peace of 896, were sent away by Alexander, who refused to pay the annual tribute, urging Simeon to prepare for war.

paragraph: Before Simeon could attack, Alexander died on 6 June 913, leaving the empire in the hands of a regency council headed by Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos. Many residents of Constantinople did not recognize the young emperor and instead supported the pretender Constantine Doukas, which, exacerbated by revolts in southern Italy and the planned Arab invasion in eastern Anatolia, was all to Simeon's advantage. Nicholas Mystikos tried to discourage Simeon from invading Byzantium in a long series of pleading letters, but the Bulgarian ruler nevertheless attacked in full force in late July or August 913, reaching Constantinople without any serious resistance.

paragraph: The anarchy in Constantinople had ceased after the murder of the pretender Constantine Doukas, however, and a government had promptly been formed with Patriarch Nicholas at the helm. This urged Simeon to raise his siege and enter peace negotiations, to the joy of the Byzantines. The protracted negotiations resulted in the payment of the arrears of Byzantine tribute, the promise that Constantine VII would marry one of Simeon's daughters, and, most importantly, Simeon's official recognition as Emperor of the Bulgarians by Patriarch Nicholas in the Blachernae Palace.

paragraph: Shortly after Simeon visited Constantinople, Constantine's mother Zoe returned to the palace on the insistence of the young emperor and immediately proceeded to eliminate the regents. Through a plot, she managed to assume power in February 914, practically removing Patriarch Nicholas from the government, disowning and obscuring his recognition of Simeon's imperial title, and rejecting the planned marriage of her son to one of Simeon's daughters. Simeon had to resort to war to achieve his goals. He invaded Thrace in the summer of 914 and captured Adrianople. Zoe was quick to send Simeon numerous presents in order to conciliate him, and she managed to convince him to cede back Adrianople and withdraw his army. In the following years, Simeon's forces were engaged in the northwestern Byzantine provinces, around Drač (Durrës) and Thessaloniki, but did not make a move against Constantinople.

paragraph: Section::::Reign.:Victories at Acheloos and Katasyrtai.

paragraph: By 917, Simeon was preparing for yet another war against Byzantium. He attempted to conclude an anti-Byzantine union with the Pechenegs, but his envoys could not match the financial resources of the Byzantines, who succeeded in outbidding them. The Byzantines hatched a large-scale campaign against Bulgaria and also tried to persuade the Serbian Prince Petar Gojniković to attack the Bulgarians with Magyar support.

paragraph: In 917, a particularly strong Byzantine army led by Leo Phokas the Elder, son of Nikephoros Phokas, invaded Bulgaria accompanied by the Byzantine navy under the command of Romanos Lekapenos, which sailed to the Bulgarian Black Sea ports. En route to Mesembria (Nesebǎr), where they were supposed to be reinforced by troops transported by the navy, Phokas' forces stopped to rest near the river of Acheloos, not far from the port of Anchialos (Pomorie). Once informed of the invasion, Simeon rushed to intercept the Byzantines, and attacked them from the nearby hills while they were resting disorganized. In the Battle of Acheloos of 20 August 917, one of the largest in medieval history, the Bulgarians completely routed the Byzantines and killed many of their commanders, although Phokas managed to escape to Mesembria. Decades later, Leo the Deacon would write that "piles of bones can still be seen today at the river Acheloos, where the fleeing army of the Byzantines was then infamously slain".

paragraph: The planned Pecheneg attack from the north also failed, as the Pechenegs quarrelled with admiral Lekapenos, who refused to transport them across the Danube to aid the main Byzantine army. The Byzantines were not aided by Serbs and Magyars either: the Magyars were engaged in Western Europe as Frankish allies, and the Serbs under Petar Gojniković were reluctant to attack Bulgaria because Michael of Zahumlje, an ally of Bulgaria, had notified Simeon of their plans.

paragraph: Simeon's army quickly followed up the victory of Acheloos with another success. The Bulgarians sent to pursuit the remnants of the Byzantine army approached Constantinople and encountered Byzantine forces under Leo Phokas, who had returned to the capital, at the village of Katasyrtai in the immediate proximity of Constantinople. The Bulgarian regiments attacked and again defeated the Byzantines, destroying some of their last units before returning to Bulgaria.

paragraph: Section::::Reign.:Suppression of Serbian unrest and late campaigns against Byzantium.

paragraph: Immediately after that campaign, Simeon sought to punish the Serbian ruler Petar Gojniković who had attempted to betray him by concluding an alliance with the Byzantines. Simeon sent an army led by two of his commanders, Theodore Sigrica and Marmais, to Serbia. The two managed to persuade Petar to attend a personal meeting, during which he was enchained and carried off to Bulgaria, where he died in a dungeon. Simeon put Pavle Branović, prior to that an exile in Bulgaria, on the Serbian throne, thus restoring the Bulgarian influence in Serbia for a while.

paragraph: Meanwhile, the Byzantine military failures forced another change of government in Constantinople: the admiral Romanos Lekapenos replaced Zoe as regent of the young Constantine VII in 919, forcing her back into a convent. Romanos betrothed his daughter Helena Lekapene to Constantine and advanced to the rank of co-emperor in December 920, effectively assuming the government of the empire, which was largely what Simeon had planned to do.

paragraph: No longer able to climb to the Byzantine throne by diplomatic means, the infuriated Simeon once again had to wage war to impose his will. Between 920 and 922, Bulgaria increased its pressure on Byzantium, campaigning in the west through Thessaly reaching the Isthmus of Corinth and in the east in Thrace, reaching and crossing the Dardanelles to lay siege on the town of Lampsacus. Simeon's forces appeared before Constantinople in 921, when they demanded the deposition of Romanos and captured Adrianople, and 922, when they were victorious at Pigae, burned much of the Golden Horn and seized Bizye. In the meantime, the Byzantines attempted to ignite Serbia against Simeon, but he substituted Pavle with Zaharije Pribisavljević, a former refugee at Constantinople that he had captured.

paragraph: Desperate to conquer Constantinople, Simeon planned a large campaign in 924 and sent envoys to the Fatimid caliph Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah, who possessed a powerful navy which Simeon needed. The caliph agreed and sent his own representatives back with the Bulgarians to arrange the alliance. However, the envoys were captured by the Byzantines at Calabria. Romanos offered peace to the Arabs, supplementing this offer with generous gifts, and ruined their union with Bulgaria.

paragraph: In Serbia, Zaharije was persuaded by the Byzantines to revolt against Simeon. Zaharije was supported by many Bulgarians exhausted from Simeon's endless campaigns against Byzantium. The Bulgarian emperor sent his troops under Sigrica and Marmais, but they were routed and the two commanders beheaded, which forced Simeon to conclude an armistice with Byzantium in order to concentrate on the suppression of the uprising. Simeon sent an army led by Časlav Klonimirović in 924 to depose Zaharije. He was successful, as Zaharije fled to Croatia. After this victory, the Serbian nobility was invited to come to Bulgaria and bow to the new Prince. However, he did not appear at the supposed meeting and all of them were beheaded. Bulgaria annexed Serbia directly.

paragraph: In the summer of 924, Simeon nevertheless arrived at Constantinople and demanded to see the patriarch and the emperor. He conversed with Romanos on the Golden Horn on 9 September 924 and arranged a truce, according to which Byzantium would pay Bulgaria an annual tax, but would be ceded back some cities on the Black Sea coast. During the interview of the two monarchs, two eagles are said to have met in the skies above and then to have parted, one of them flying over Constantinople and the other heading to Thrace, as a sign of the irreconcilability of the two rulers. In his description of this meeting, Theophanes Continuatus mentions that "the two "emperors"... conversed", which may indicate renewed Byzantine recognition of Simeon's imperial claims.

paragraph: Section::::Reign.:War with Croatia and death.

paragraph: Most likely after (or possibly at the time of) Patriarch Nicholas' death in 925, Simeon raised the status of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to a patriarchate. This may be linked to Simeon's diplomatic relations with the Papacy between 924 and 926, during which he demanded and received Pope John X's recognition of his title as "Emperor of the Romans", truly equal to the Byzantine emperor, and possibly the confirmation of a patriarchal dignity for the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

paragraph: In 926, Simeon's troops under Alogobotur invaded Croatia, at the time a Byzantine ally, but were completely defeated by the army of King Tomislav in the Battle of the Bosnian Highlands. Fearing a Bulgarian retribution, Tomislav accepted to abandon his union with Byzantium and make peace on the basis of the "status quo", negotiated by the papal legate Madalbert. In the last months of his life, Simeon prepared for another conflict with Constantinople despite Romanos' desperate pleas for peace.

paragraph: On 27 May 927, Simeon died of heart failure in his palace in Preslav. Byzantine chroniclers tie his death to a legend, according to which Romanos decapitated a statue which was Simeon's inanimate double, and he died at that very hour.

paragraph: He was succeeded by his son Peter I, with George Sursubul, the new emperor's maternal uncle, initially acting as a regent. As part of the peace treaty signed in October 927 and reinforced by Peter's marriage to Maria (Eirene), Romanos' granddaughter, the existing borders were confirmed, as were the Bulgarian ruler's imperial dignity and the head of the Bulgarian Church's patriarchal status.

paragraph: Section::::Culture and religion.

paragraph: During Simeon's reign, Bulgaria reached its cultural apogee, becoming the literary and spiritual centre of Slavic Europe. In this respect, Simeon continued his father Boris' policy of establishing and spreading Slavic culture and attracting noted scholars and writers within Bulgaria's borders. It was in the Preslav Literary School and Ohrid Literary School, founded under Boris, that the main literary work in Bulgaria was concentrated during the reign of Simeon in the new Cyrillic alphabet which was developed there.

paragraph: The late 9th and early 10th century constitute the earliest and most productive period of medieval Bulgarian literature. Having spent his early years in Constantinople, Simeon introduced Byzantine culture to the Bulgarian court, but eliminated its assimilative effect by means of military power and religious autonomy. The disciples of Cyril and Methodius, among whom Clement of Ohrid, Naum and Constantine of Preslav, continued their educational work in Bulgaria, actively translating Christian texts, such as the Bible and the works of John Chrysostom, Basil of Caesarea, Cyril of Alexandria, Gregory of Nazianzus, Athanasius of Alexandria, as well as historic chronicles such as these of John Malalas and George Hamartolus, to Bulgarian. The reign of Simeon also witnessed the production of a number of original theological and secular works, such as John Exarch's "Six Days" ("Šestodnev"), Constantine of Preslav's "Alphabetical Prayer" and "Proclamation of the Holy Gospels", and Černorizec Hrabǎr's "An Account of Letters". Simeon's own contribution to this literary blossoming was praised by his contemporaries, for example in the "Praise to Tsar Simeon" preserved in the "Zlatostruj" collection and "Simeon's Collection", to which the tsar personally wrote an addendum.

paragraph: Simeon turned the new Bulgarian capital Preslav into a magnificent religious and cultural centre, intended more as a display of his realm's heyday and as a royal residence than as a military fortress. With its more than twenty cross-domed churches and numerous monasteries, its impressive royal palace and the Golden (or Round) Church, Preslav was a true imperial capital. The development of Bulgarian art in the period is demonstrated by a ceramic icon of Theodore Stratelates and the Preslav-style illustrated ceramics.

paragraph: Section::::Family.

paragraph: Simeon was married twice. By his first wife, whose identity is unknown, Simeon had a son called Michael. Possibly because his mother was of inferior birth, he was excluded from the succession and sent to a monastery.

paragraph: By his second wife, the sister of the influential noble George Sursubul, he had three sons: Peter, who succeeded as Emperor of Bulgaria in 927 and ruled until 969; Ivan, who unsuccessfully conspired against Peter in 929 and then fled to Byzantium; and Benjamin (Bajan), who, according to Lombard historian Liutprand of Cremona, "possessed the power to transform himself suddenly into a wolf or other strange animal".

paragraph: Simeon also had several daughters, including one who was arranged to marry Constantine VII in 913. The marriage was annulled by Constantine's mother Zoe once she had returned to the court.

paragraph: Section::::Legacy and popular culture.

paragraph: Tsar Simeon I has remained among the most highly valued Bulgarian historical figures, as indicated by popular vote in the "Velikite Bǎlgari" (a spin-off of "100 Greatest Britons") television programme, which in February 2007 placed him fourth among the greatest Bulgarians ever. Simeon the Great has been regularly featured in fiction. Bulgarian national writer Ivan Vazov dedicated a children's patriotic poem to him, "Tsar Simeon", and it was later arranged as a song, "Kray Bosfora šum se vdiga" ("A Clamour Rises by the Bosphorus"). An eleven-episode drama series filmed in 1984, "Zlatniyat vek" ("The Golden Age"), retells the story of Simeon's reign. In the series, the tsar is played by Marius Donkin. A historical drama play called "Tsar Simeon Veliki — Zlatniyat vek" produced by Stefan Staychev, director of the Silistra Theatre, premiered in December 2006. Ivan Samokovliev stars in the part of Simeon.

paragraph: The painting, "The Bulgarian Tsar Simeon" is part of the 20-canvas work by Alfons Mucha, "The Slav Epic".

paragraph: The last Bulgarian monarch, Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was named after Simeon I. A brand of high-quality grape rakija, "Car Simeon Veliki", also bears his name, and an Antarctic peak on Livingston Island of the South Shetland Islands was named Simeon Peak in his honour by the Antarctic Place-names Commission.

paragraph: Section::::References.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Todorov, Boris. "The value of empire: tenth-century Bulgaria between Magyars, Pechenegs and Byzantium," Journal of Medieval History (2010) 36#4 pp 312–326

paragraph: BULLET::::- Nikolov, Angel. "The Perception of the Bulgarian Past in the Court of Preslav around 900 AD.," in "State and Church: Studies in Medieval Bulgaria and Byzantium". Ed. by V. Gjuzelev and K. Petkov. American Research Center in Sofia: Sofia, 2011, 157–171

paragraph: BULLET::::- Nikolov, Angel. "Making a new basileus: the case of Symeon of Bulgaria (893–927) reconsidered," in "Rome, Constantinople and Newly converted Europe. Archeological and Historical Evidence". Vol. I. Ed. by M. Salamon, M. Wołoszyn, A. Musin, P. Špehar. Kraków-Leipzig-Rzeszów-Warszawa, 2012, 101–108

paragraph: Section::::External links.

paragraph: BULLET::::- "The Realm of War and the Realm of Peace", an article by Georgi Todorov

paragraph: BULLET::::- , lyrics

description: King of the Bulgarians

wikidata_label: Simeon I of Bulgaria

wikipedia_title: Simeon I of Bulgaria


text: NCAA Division I

text: college baseball

text: Mississippi State

text: Southeastern Conference

text: SEC tournament

text: NCAA tournament

text: College World Series

text: College World Series

text: Donna Lopiano

text: Georgia Southern

text: Georgia

text: Arizona

text: New Mexico

text: University of Alabama at Birmingham

text: Blazers

text: Brian Shoop

text: Rafael Palmeiro

text: Will Clark

text: College Baseball Hall of Fame

text: Jim Case

text: John Cohen

text: Pete Dunn

text: Mark Johnson

text: Pat McMahon

text: David Perno

text: Daron Schoenrock

text: Brian Shoop

text: Buck Showalter

text: Steve Smith

categories: Georgia Southern Eagles baseball coaches,Sportspeople from Boston,Georgia Bulldogs baseball coaches,Miami Dade Sharks baseball coaches,Arizona Wildcats baseball coaches,1944 births,Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball coaches,New Mexico Lobos baseball coaches,Living people,College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees

paragraph: Ron Polk

paragraph: Ronald George Polk (born January 12, 1944) is an American professional coach in NCAA Division I college baseball. He was a long-time head baseball coach at Mississippi State and is considered, by some, to be the "Father of Southeastern Conference Baseball." Polk compiled one of the most successful winning records, as a coach, in both MSU and Southeastern Conference history. In 31 seasons as an SEC coach he compiled a 1218-638-2 () record. His career record stands at 1373-702-2. He currently ranks 9th on the all-time wins list nationally for 10+ year Division I coaches. His teams won five SEC championships and five SEC tournament championships. His teams participated in the NCAA tournament twenty-three times, and reached the College World Series eight times.

paragraph: There were 185 players who played under him as a Head Coach, who signed professional baseball contracts, and 23 of these players played in the major leagues. He coached 35 All-Americans and 76 All-Southeastern Conference players. During his tenure at Mississippi State, Polk had eight players drafted in the first round of the professional baseball draft. He is one of only three coaches in college baseball history to coach at three different schools that have played in the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. Georgia Southern University – 1973; Mississippi State University – 1979, 1981, 1985, 1990, 1997, 2007; University of Georgia – 2001. He coached teams that played in Omaha over a period of five decades (nine appearances) including as an assistant coach at the University of Arizona in 1966.

paragraph: Polk is a member of the following Six Halls of Fame; Georgia Southern University Hall of fame (1990). American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame (1995). State of Mississippi Athletic Hall of Fame (1998). Mississippi State University Athletic Hall of Fame (1998). National College Baseball Hall of Fame (2009). Phoenix, Arizona High School District Hall of Fame (2017). He is a Former President of the American Baseball Coaches Association (1985). Winner of the Lefty Gomez Award which is the highest award given by the American Baseball Coaches Association (1988). Received the highest award given out by the state of Mississippi Athletic Hall of Fame- The "Rube" Award (2017). Mississippi State University named the baseball stadium The Polk-Dement Stadium (1997). Coach Polk has also completed seven tours on the U.S.A. National baseball team coaching staff serving as the head coach two times and as an assistant five times. He has coached in the Olympic Games two times once Seoul, South Korea in 1988 when the team won the gold medal and the other in Atlanta, Georgia in 1996 when the team won the Bronze medal. Polk authored "The Baseball Playbook", the leading textbook for baseball in college, and coauthored "The Baseball-Softball Playbook" with Donna Lopiano.

paragraph: From 1972 to 1975, he served as the head coach at Georgia Southern. From 2000 to 2001, he coached at Georgia. He has also served as an assistant coach at Arizona, and New Mexico.

paragraph: In July 2008, Polk was announced as a volunteer assistant coach for the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers baseball squad. The Blazers are coached by Polk's former MSU assistant Brian Shoop.

paragraph: Polk in 2009 and his former Mississippi State players, Rafael Palmeiro in 2009 and Will Clark in 2006, were inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2018 he was named as a Legend in the Southeastern Conference.

paragraph: Coach Polk has been coaching in the Cape Cod summer league as an assistant coach with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks baseball team.

paragraph: Section::::Coaching tree.

paragraph: Former players and assistant coaches who went on to be college head coaches and MLB team managers include Jim Case, John Cohen, Pete Dunn, Mark Johnson, Pat McMahon, David Perno, Daron Schoenrock, Brian Shoop, Buck Showalter, and Steve Smith.

paragraph: Section::::See also.

paragraph: BULLET::::- List of college baseball coaches with 1,100 wins

description: baseball coach

wikidata_label: Ron Polk

wikipedia_title: Ron Polk


text:
India
Bengali
Kolkata
Sanskrit
Ishwar Chandra Gupta
Ramtanu Lahiri
Sanskrit College
Fort William College
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune
Lord Lytton
Vernacular Press Act
Sir Richard Temple
Harinavi DVAS High School
Varanasi
Satna
Sivanath Sastri

categories: People from South 24 Parganas district,1886 deaths,Writers from Kolkata,Scholars from Kolkata,Bengali people,Bengali writers,Sanskrit College alumni,1820 births

paragraph: Dwarkanath Vidyabhusan

paragraph: Dwarkanath Vidyabhusan () (1820 - 22 August 1886) was an Indian scholar, editor and publisher of the trend-setting weekly Bengali newspaper "Somprakash".

paragraph: Section::::Father.

paragraph: Vidyabhusan's father, Harachandra Bhattacharya (better known as "Nyayratna") was a scholar. He had studied under Kashinath Tarkalankar, who had a popular traditional centre of education at Hatibagan in north Kolkata, Nyayratna taught in the traditional centres of Sanskrit-based education called "tol-chatuspatis" and also taught some boys in his spare time at his home. Amongst his renowned students were Ishwar Chandra Gupta and Ramtanu Lahiri.

paragraph: Section::::Early life.

paragraph: After initial education in the traditional centre of village education, "the pathsala", Dwarkanath joined Sanskrit College, Kolkata in 1832, and studied there up to 1845, winning many prizes and earning fame as a scholar. He won the title of "Vidyabhusan" in his last examination. He had a short stint as a teacher in Fort William College and then joined Sanskrit College as a librarian. He later rose to the position of a professor and also assisted Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, when he was principal of the college.

paragraph: A strong supporter of the women's education, Dwarkanath Vidyabhusan joined other liberals to support Bethune School (established by John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune) for twenty years.

paragraph: In 1856, his father established a printing press. It must be mentioned that it was an age when publishers concentrated on an incongruous double bill of religion and erotica but tastes had started changing. In 1857, forty-six Indian-owned printing presses put out 322 books for sale. Although religion still held sway, erotica had started ebbing out. However, his father fell ill and died shortly after establishing the printing press. Vidyabhusan inherited the press and published in Bengali two volumes on the history of Greece and history of Rome, he had written. That was possibly the first time that fat volumes of history written in easy flowing Bengali language was published and it immediately established Vidybhusan as a writer.

paragraph: Section::::Somprakash.

paragraph: Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar proposed the publication of a weekly newspaper "Somprakash" partly with the objective of providing employment for a deaf scholar. The newspaper hit the stands in 1858 but the deaf scholar never joined it. The entire responsibility of editing and publishing the newspaper vested in Vidyabhusan. At that time, Bengali newspapers such as "Sambad Prabhakar" and "Sambad Bhaskar" were 'defiling the moral environment in Bengal'. With its dignified tastes, lucid language and fearless criticism, "Somprakash" occupied the top position in the field of Bengali newspapers.

paragraph: Initially, "Somprakash" was published from a lane in Champatala in Kolkata. When the railway was extended to Canning in 1862, he shifted the printing press to his native village Chingripota (renamed as Subhasgram), now in South 24 Parganas.

paragraph: It strongly criticised the powerful indigo planters and landlords. In his evidence before the Indigo Enquiry Committee, Rev. James Long emphatically stated, "These periodicals play a significant role as the mouthpiece of the Indian public." In 1878, when the viceroy, Lord Lytton, introduced the Vernacular Press Act, specially targeting the Bengali press, Vidyabhusan closed down "Somprakash", rather than sign an undertaking about it, agreeing to follow the dictates of the authorities. Sir Richard Temple, lieutenant governor, called him to his house and requested him not to close down the newspaper. Later, when the Act was withdrawn, he resumed publication of "Somprakash", but it never regained its past form and glory.

paragraph: Section::::Later life.

paragraph: He established an English school in his native place called Harinavi DVAS High School(Harinavi Dwarkanath Vidyabhusan Anglo Sanskrit High School) and bore the expenses of running the same. A man of high moral standards he stood by the down trodden in society. With advancing age, his health started faltering. He published a monthly magazine "Kalpadrum" for sometime. Once he went and stayed in Varanasi for sometime and was shocked by the wretched state of affairs of religion and morals. He died at Satna where he had gone to recoup his health.

paragraph: Sivanath Sastri was his sister's son.

paragraph: Section::::Works.

paragraph: History: "History of Greece", "History of Rome" (both in Bengali).

paragraph: Text books: "Nitisar", "Pathamrita", "Chhatrabodh", "Bhusansar Byakaran".

paragraph: Poetry: "Prakrito Prem", "Prokrito Sukh", "Biseswar Bilap".

description: Scholar, editor

wikidata_label: Dwarkanath Vidyabhusan

wikipedia_title: Dwarkanath Vidyabhusan


text:
Major League Baseball
pitcher
New York Yankees
Smithland, Iowa
Sioux City, Iowa

categories: Topeka Jayhawks players,New York Yankees players,1940 deaths,1891 births,Baseball players from Iowa,Des Moines Boosters players,Major League Baseball pitchers,Iowa State Cyclones baseball players

paragraph: George Clark (baseball)

paragraph: George Myron Clark (May 19, 1891 – November 14, 1940) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. Clark played for the New York Yankees in . In 11 career games, he had a 0–1 record with a 9.00 ERA. He batted right and threw left-handed.

paragraph: Clark was born in Smithland, Iowa, and died in Sioux City, Iowa.

description: American baseball player

wikidata_label: George Myron Clark

wikipedia_title: George Clark (baseball)


text:
Lublin Voivodeship
Poland
Lublin
Lubelski

categories: 1702 deaths,1639 births,Tarło family,Polish nobility,Secular senators of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

paragraph: Karol Tarło

paragraph: Karol Tarło (1639–1702) was governor of Lublin Voivodeship (present-day Poland) in the years 1685–1689.

paragraph: His father was Peter Alexander Tarło, castellan of Lublin, and his mother was Jadwiga Lanckorońska (before 1674). His son was Adam Tarło Peter (d. 1719) - stolnik royal governor and prefect of Lubelski, Janowski. He had three daughters, Jagwiga Tarło - wife of John Casimir castellan of Radom Lanckorońskiego, Teresa Magdalena and Dorota.

description: Polish-Lithuanian politician

wikidata_label: Karol Tarło

wikipedia_title: Karol Tarło