Independent Kingdom Research Articles

A New Member of BRICS — Egypt

The article analyzes the political, economic and cultural development of Egypt over several millennia. It is claimed that Egypt is an ancient civilization, the «heart» of the Arab world and a recognized regional leader. The author explores the history of various state entities that existed on the territory of modern Egypt in the era of the Ancient World, Antiquity, the Middle Ages and Modern times. The emphasis is consistently placed on the rule of the pharaohs, Egypt’s presence in the Persian and especially the Greco-Roman world, the periods of the Arab conquest, Ottoman and British rule, the functioning of the independent Kingdom of Egypt and the Arab Republic of Egypt that succeeded it in 1953. The article contains a detailed overview of key events in the country’s internal life over the past 70 years, as well as Cairo’s activities in the international arena, including participation in the Arab-Israeli wars, relations with global and regional actors in the second half of the XX – early XXI centuries, the current position of the state as one of the leaders of the African continent. It is indicated that Egypt ranks first in Africa in terms of GDP, third in terms of population, has serious scientific and technical potential and advanced financial system by regional standards, actively attracts foreign investment and new technologies. In the field of foreign policy, Egypt, while maintaining relations with Western powers, is intensely cooperating with new centers of power, including Russia. The author concludes that today the Arab Republic of Egypt is a powerful regional actor that is diversifying its foreign policy and economic ties, as reflected by the country’s entry into the BRICS.

Medieval Caucasian Consumption and Identity: A Study of Splashed Sgraffito Wares

NEW AND DISTINCT CERAMIC TYPES emerged from the cultural centres of the Islamic Caliphate in Western Asia beginning in the eighth century AD. Islamic potters carefully added colour, glaze, and finishes to their vessels, which became luxury items throughout the Caliphate. People within the sphere of influence of the Islamic Caliphate slowly adopted objects, such as unique styles of glazed pottery, which symbolised status and power. The Byzantine Empire and Islamic Caliphate both influenced the material culture of the Southern Caucasus, which ebbed and flowed between them both. In particular, the emerging Caucasian polities in medieval Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan began to produce splashed sgraffito ceramics in the 9th and 10th centuries AD that were very similar to those created by Islamic potters in centres such as Baghdad, Samarra, and Nishapur. Scholars have explained such changes in Caucasian consumption patterns as the result of influence and trade between the Islamic Empire and the Caucasus; however, they have not considered the cultural implications of such a change. My paper discusses how Caucasian elites and eventually even the peasantry used splashed sgraffito to construct their individual and group identities. I examine three sites from the Caucasus where local potters produced and used splashed sgraffito ceramics. I assess Ani in Armenia, Shamkir in Azerbaijan, and Tbilisi in Georgia. My analysis suggests that ceramics played a larger role in the construction of political and individual identity at a time when independent kingdoms were emerging in the Caucasus.

Cultural Impact of Scholars in the Andalusian Emirate (138-442 AH / 756-1031 AD)

Scholars during the Islamic ages played a significant role in the development of society, culture, and various other fields including economy, science, literature and arts etc. With the fragmentation of Abbasid caliphate, various rulers became independent and formed parallel caliphates, and adopted their own approaches towards development. Andalusian emirate is one such independent kingdom in southern Spain, which disowned its diligence to the Islamic caliphate, and adopted its own approaches to the development of the region. Scholars during this period played a significant role in transfer of technology from foreign regions, leading innovation in various sciences such as agronomy, astrology, astronomy, mathematics, arts, philosophy etc. All these events led to a significant impact on the culture and society, which are discussed and presented in this paper.

What Artefacts may Reveal and Hide about Power? Insights from the Pillars at Ningalasaini Temple, Far West Nepal

This paper deals with a type of organisation found at the temple of the goddess Ningala Saini, in Dehi Mandu, Baitadi district, Far Western Nepal. The temple is located in a region where small independent kingdoms ruled by Chand Thakuri kings developed after the fall of the Khas Malla Empire (12-14th century), between the two antagonistic powers of Kumaon to its east, and of Doti, to its west. The temple of the goddess Ningala Saini stands as a neutral territory, ruled by lower-rank ritual kings, and it presents a complex arrangement of artefacts related to power. Supported by massive wooden pillars, carved with motifs, the temple is also surrounded by a forest of pillars or posts (kham, maul) of varying sizes, colours and shapes. The paper aims to explore the variety of signs that the different pillars found at Ningala Saini stand for, and what they may reveal, or purposely hide, of the local configuration of power.

Inscription Proving Snake Worship Found in Bijapur District of the Bastar Division

In ancient times, small kingdoms of Nagas were established all over Northern India. Different branches of Nagas existed in different areas all over India. After the fall of Nala dynasty, the rule of Naga dynasty was established in Bastar region. Chhindak dynasty of Nagas was in power in Bastar. There were about 6 branches of the Chhindak clan of Nagas in India, out of which two branches were ruling in Chakrakot and Bhramarkot of today's Bastar. The same 4 branches of Chhindak clan were ruling in Bagalkot, Yelaburga, Belgutti and Bijapur of Karnataka. From around 760 A.D. to 1324 A.D., Chhindak rulers ruled Bastar for 700 years. In the 10th-11th century, the Chhindak rulers of Chakrakot established their independent kingdom. The Nagas ruled the Godavari region from about the first century to the fourth century, but there is no history of the Nagas between the fifth and seventh centuries. At the same time, there is information about the appearance of Guptas in Madhya Pradesh and Nagas in Karnataka under the name Chhindak.1 At the time when South Kosala was being ruled by the Kalchuris, at about the same time Bastar was under the rule of the Chhindak Naga kings. This Nagvanshi ruler held the title of “Bhogwati Purveshwar.”2 He was known as the Nagvanshi king of Chakrakot. In the Narayanapal inscription3, Dharavarsha has been given the title of “Maharaj Parambhattarak – Parmeshwar”. A Telugu inscription has been found from here, in which the names of Someshwara Dev and his queen are found. Who was probably a snake ruler. Two branches of the Naga rulers of Bastar are known, in which the symbol of the first branch was “Shavak Samyukta Vyaghra” and that of the second branch was “Kamal-Kadali.”4 On the basis of these symbols, it can probably be said that the first branch The rulers were Shaivites and the rulers of the other branch followed Vaishnav religion. Naga ruler Someshwar Dev had patronized Jainism, many statues of Jain Tirthankaras of his reign are found in every corner of Bastar.

Origin of Caste System in Manipur: A Brief Discussion

Before Manipur was merged into the Union of India on October 15, 1949, the state was a princely state having a long history of its own covering about two thousand years of existence as an independent kingdom. This kingdom did not follow Hinduism to its full swing till King Garibniwas (1707-48 A.D.) became the king of Manipur. He enforced the people to profess Hinduism against their wishes since there was no authority to pay heed to their emotional and passionate appeals and protests against the king. Later kings of Manipur especially King Bhagyachandra (1763-98 A.D.) popularized among the people of Manipur. The main theme of this paper is to trace how did some elements of the caste system which were practiced in mainland India was slowly creep into and accepted by the Manipuri society, especially during the times of King Garibniwaz and King Bhagyachandra.

New Inscribed Bricks of Takil-ilissu, King of Malgûm

Abstract In this paper, we publish some remarkable brick inscriptions of Takil-ilissu, king of Malgûm, which were recently found during a survey that led to the identification of Malgûm, the capital of an independent kingdom in the Isin-Larsa period. The bricks come from Tulūl al-Fāj, the site that has been identified as ancient Malgûm. Besides adding new details about Takil-ilissu, a relatively little-known ruler, these inscriptions are noteworthy for containing unusual words, expressions, and clauses.

Sejarah Konflik Muslim Rohingya

The Rohingya are a Muslim population in the Mayu Frontier region, today's Buthidaung and the towns of Maungdaw Arakan (Rakhine), a remote province in the west of the country which includes the entire Naaf River on the border of Bangladesh. Arakan was once an independent kingdom before it was conquered by the Burmese in 1784. This research aims to find out the condition of the Rohingya Muslims, what are the reasons behind the expulsion of the Rohingya Muslims from their own territory and how to solve the problems faced by the Rohingya Muslims.

“Little Tibet”

Abstract With the Chinese invasion of Tibet, exile-Tibetan Buddhist leaders have found new bases for their monastic endeavors in the Himalayan regions of India and Nepal. This article highlights how the northwest Himalayan region of Ladakh has become a homeland for Tibetan-led Buddhism in India. While previously an independent kingdom, Ladakh has been dubbed “Little Tibet” because of its close geographical, political, cultural, and religious association with the central Tibetan empire. Ladakhis themselves promote the region as “Little Tibet” and the “last Shangri-la” to emphasize the identity of the region as Buddhist. In this way, Ladakhis utilize the moral economy of “Tibetanness” as a means for cultural survival, but also to promote tourism and gain the economic benefits of being “Little Tibet.” By highlighting multiple and ongoing processes of Tibetanization, such as historical/political, cultural/religious, and imagined, this article illuminates the complex Ladakhi-Tibetan relations within projects of cultural preservation in India. Ladakhis are not passive recipients of the cultural domination of Tibetan religious leaders in the area; instead they adopt selective processes of Tibetanization to help safeguard their distinct religious and cultural identity as a religious and ethnic minority in India.

Fragments of an Indian Ocean Life: Aristide Corroller between Islands and Empires

Abstract Born on Ile de France in late 1799 to a French father and a free mixed-race mother from Fort-Dauphin in southeast Madagascar, Aristide Corroller gained an education at Port-Louis but departed to pursue a political career in Madagascar after 1815. Corroller first assisted his maternal uncles to capture the sovereignty of Madagascar's central eastern coast (Ivondro-Tamatave-Foulpointe) but then entered the service of King Radama of Imerina. He rose through the ranks of Radama's service to become commander-in-chief of Antananarivo's armed forces and the second most powerful man of that independent kingdom. His fortunes soured with the death of Radama in July 1828, however. He was placed under house arrest for a time and then returned to govern Tamatave but died there with frustrated ambitions in late 1835, leaving a written account of his achievements on which this article is substantially based. This article employs Corroller's writings found in a library in New Zealand not only to trace his career but to discuss the strategies of his island-hopping family—particularly his maternal ancestors from Madagascar who moved to Ile de France and his maternal uncles who returned to Madagascar—and the careers of European administrators of empire who collected and pored over his work. Corroller's career, mixed-race family, and labors illuminate the contours of life in the western Indian Ocean islands of his time, bringing their migrations, commerce, colonial constraints and opportunities, as well as human interconnections and racial structures, into conversation.

해적 張伯路와 2세기 전반 동아시아 국제정세

This study examined the East Asian international situation during the 2nd century, by focusing on the Yellow Sea pirate, Zhang Bolu, and explored the historical significance of his pirate activities. In March 111, Buyeo attacked Lelang Commandery of Later Han Dynasty while Goguryeo attacked Xuantu Commandery of Later Han Dynasty. Both countries mobilized their national forces and the kings themselves participated in the attack. It is highly likely that both countries mutually agreed on attacking Later Han Dynasty. Liaodong-Yemaek in Suzihe river basin joined Goguryeo, and Eupru which was subordinated to Buyeo also supported Buyeo too. In March 111, anti-Later Han forces rapidly expanded around the Northeast Asian countries. This study focused on Pirate Zhang Bolu for such international situations.
 The Zhang Bolu forces grew through marine activities around Hebei and Shandong provinces. In 109 to 110, the forces grew their power around Shandong and surrounding regions. The Zhang Bolu forces also claimed them as an independent kingdom. In April 110, however, they left Shandong Peninsula and moved to southern Liaodong Peninsula because they were unable to withstand the attack of Later Han Dynasty. Nevertheless, the Zhang Bolu forces continued attacking southern Liaodong Peninsula and eastern Shandong Peninsula by centering on Miaodao Islands and Changshan Islands until the first half of 111. The maritime activities of Zhang Bolu forces blocked the direct transportation between Liaodong Commandery, Lelang Commandery, and Xuantu Commandery with the Later Han Dynasty from 109 to the first half of 111. The military forces of Liaodong Commandery were mobilized to fight against the Zhang Bolu forces while Lelang Commandery and Xuantu Commandery were isolated. In March 111, Buyeo and Goguryeo attacked Later Han Dynasty and it is considered that such attack was associated with the maritime activities of the Zhang Bolu forces. In April 111, Later Han suppressed the Zhang Bolu forces. The Later Han Dynasty organized Liaodong Commandery, Lelang Commandery, and Xuantu Commandery and Buyeo and Goguryeo established an amicable relationship with Later Han again. This shows that the international relations of Buyeo and Goguryeo, which were formerly anti- Later Han countries, were associated with rise and fall of the Zhang Bolu forces. The Shandong Peninsula, Liaodong Peninsula, and northwestern Korean Peninsula were connected with Myodo-Jangsan Coastal Routes in the early stage. Han Dynasty installed Liaodong Commandery, followed by Lelang Commandery to expand negotiation and trade.
 As a result, Myodo-Jangsan Coastal Routes were built and operated as marine routes for general uses and surrounding regions developed with commerce and fishery. However, people were often overwhelmed because acts and taxes were forcedly imposed by centering on inland agricultural society. So, people living in the islands and sea left their lands. The several examples of pirates during 1st century to 3rd century show the independence of the sea world in contrary to the land forces. The Zhang Bolu forces during the 2nd century were associated with the East Asian international situation by reflecting the growth of Myodo-Jangsan Coastal Routes. This implies the historical significance of the Zhang Bolu forces in the sea world.

The Formation of Christendom, 2nd ed. by Judith Herrin

Reviewed by: The Formation of Christendom, 2nd ed. by Judith Herrin Sam Ottewill-Soulsby The Formation of Christendom, 2nd ed Judith Herrin Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2021. Pp. 568. ISBN: 9780691219219 It takes confidence to reissue, largely unchanged, a book more than thirty years old concerned with a scholarly field that has transformed itself over the intervening decades. But Judith Herrin's The Formation of Christendom was a bold enterprise from the beginning. The book investigated the changes wrought by the rise of Christianity on the Roman world over the course of Late Antiquity, starting in the fifth century and tracking the development of the three successors of Rome identified by the author as Latin Western Christendom, Byzantium, and the world of Islam, down to the middle of the ninth century. Nor was Herrin satisfied with a purely academic viewership for her vast canvas. The Formation was addressed to "the general reader" as much as to professional historians. This [End Page 240] audacity paid dividends, with the volume receiving positive reviews in both the scholarly and mainstream press. Alterations have been kept to a minimum in this reissue by Princeton University Press. The opening chapters of the book follow the collapse of Roman power in the West and the spread of Christian beliefs and institutions through the structure and culture of the empire. The second section examines the slow emergence of separate western and eastern Christendoms, with a particular focus on the seventh century and the impact of doctrinal controversy and the Arab conquests. These trends culminate in the last chapters, with the final sundering of the Roman world into three, marked by the consolidation of the Caliphate, war, and iconoclasm in Byzantium, and the alliance between the papacy and the rising power of the Franks. Changes to the text itself mostly take the form of minor corrections, allowing the book to retain the same pagination. Occasionally this results in non sequiturs, as on page 226, where the reader is informed, apropos of very little, that "Leovigild was not the first Gothic ruler to put his own name on the coinage," because the first edition said that he was, and removing the sentence entirely would have changed the page number. Somewhat more eccentric is the decision to systematically rename Eusebios as Eusebius in a volume where everyone else goes by the Greek spelling of their name (for example, Arios, Herakleios). Errors remain, ranging from spelling mistakes (page 4: both Eusebios and Eusebius wrote "one hunded years" after Sextus Julius Africanus) to more serious problems (page 301: Cyril and Methodius are no longer credited with bringing Christianity to the Bulgars but still organized it in "the independent kingdom of Moldavia," presumably meant to be Moravia.) A more substantial addition to the volume is the new preface provided by the author (pages ix–xvi), which provides interesting insights for rereading the book as a whole. Here, Herrin reflects upon some of the absences in the work as it stands. Some of these are a consequence of a planned companion volume concerning the economic structures of the church which never materialized, with the author instead shifting her attention to gender in the period, another topic that receives little attention in The Formation. Any survey of Late Antiquity written today would need to engage with considerable recent scholarship in both fields. As Herrin notes, such a work would also be far more concerned with those forms of belief labelled "heresy" and with non-elite religion more generally. More provocatively, the author regrets the term "Late Antiquity" for implying a world trapped by the past, preferring instead "Early Christendom" (page xiii) in order to look to the future. This raises difficulties when considering other faiths, most obviously Islam. Heavily influenced by Pirenne, Herrin insists upon the importance of the rise of Islam in shaping Byzantium and the west, but the third heir of Rome receives by far the least attention and is consistently approached from the outside and within a purely Mediterranean context. By contrast, recent decades have done much to examine and integrate the early Caliphate into the history of the period. Indeed, the geography of The Formation is perhaps one...

СТВОРЕННЯ І РОЗВИТОК СИСТЕМ ВАГОВИХ МІР НІМЕЧЧИНИ, АВСТРІЇ І КРАЇН СКАНДИНАВІЇ

The development of the economy in the territories of modern Germany, the peninsulas of Jutland and Scandinavia, inhabited since ancient times by tribes that spoke Germanic languages, required the use of various measures, the units of which must be related to each other. Since primitive times, the Germans, like other peoples of the world, used the so-called primitive natural measures, the standards of which were borrowed from nature itself. The political disunity of the Germanic tribes led to their lack of a single system of measures. However, a generally accepted standard of weight measures appeared with them. It was a mass of wheat or barley grain. When using units of measure in production and trade, the calculation was based on the numbers of ten and twenty adopted by the Indo-European peoples. In the II–I century B.C., the Romans conquered the territory of modern Germany to the west bank of the Rhine River. Roman colonies were founded there; the Roman system of measures and the monetary system were put into use. The Germanic lands to the east of the Rhine were not part of the Roman Empire. However, due to political ties and trade exchange with the Roman Empire, Roman monetary and weight measures gradually came into use in these lands. In the first centuries A.D., Germanic tribes attacked the Romans. In the 5th century, the Western Roman Empire fell. The territory of its provinces was conquered by Germanic tribes who created independent kingdoms here. In the 8th century, Charlemagne, the ruler of one of them, namely Frankish, united the former territories of the Western Roman Empire under his authority. In the empire of Charlemagne, a single system of measures was created, in which Roman and German measures were combined. In particular, instead of the Roman siliqua, which is a carob bean, the mass of a barley grain was adopted as the standard of weight. The calculation of units according to this system was conducted not only with the help of Roman numerals for 6 and 12, but also by dividing by the two system and using the decimal system. Charlemagne’s weight measures included units of coin and trade weight. Subsequently, as the analysis of the sources shows, it was on the basis of the Carolingian units of trade weight that systems of weight measures were created in the territories of Germany, Austria and the Scandinavian countries during the Middle Ages. In the 9th century, the Carolingian empire fell apart. In the 10th century, Otto I, the king of Germany, having united under his authority certain territories of Western Europe, announced the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation. Later, this state gradually fell apart into separate possessions, the rulers of which introduced their own monetary and weight measures. They were based on the division into marks. Initially, this monetary weight unit was equal to 2/3 of a Roman pound. Subsequently, various stamp weight standards appeared in German lands. From the 15th century, the gold and silver mass standards of the Cologne mark are being distributed in Western Europe. In the second half of the XIX century, the political unification of Germany took place, which coincided with the introduction of the international metric system in the territories of Germany, Austria and the Scandinavian countries.

Examining the autonomy of Zulu Ingoma from the 1930s to present: Image or authentic experience?

It is prudent to highlight that Ingoma has played an essential role in the transformation of amaZulu. The Ingoma’s story is of dramatic socioeconomic changes in Zulu society after the final ‘downfall’ of the independent kingdom. It is the decade in which amaZulu entered the migrant labour system in greater proportions than ever before. As expected from any African society, the narrative for this decade could well be expressed in music, song, dance and some other forms of performances, which could be collectively called Ingoma. Sentiments arose around this period in the history of Zulu Ingoma, whereby some felt it as negative, while others saw it as positive. As such, this article set out to examine the story of Ingoma during the decade between 1929 and 1939. This article adopted an ethnomethodological approach within an interpretive paradigm to understand the impact of Ingoma musical and/or dance performance tradition. The results of this article reveal that Ingoma musical and/or dance performance traditions of the 1920s and 1930s represented the less continuity of precolonial musical and/or dance performance traditions of amaZulu expressions of power and warfare than the complex interaction of dance traditions, labour migration and missionisation. This article concludes by affirming that people continuously construct their cultures to reflect their identities. These results imply two things: firstly, amaZulu migrants were not just passive recipients of cultural changes at that time, and secondly, they were consciously responsible for the transformation of Ingoma dance songs as they reflected on the socioeconomic changes they found themselves in.Contribution: This study contributes by establishing the factual impact of this transformative period on Ingoma musical and/or dance performance tradition and on the broader cultural expression of amaZulu as a society in developing South Africa.

La grandezza delle capitali nel dibattito dei riformatori illuministi: Napoli, Parigi, Londra, by Giorgio Simoncini

The debate over the size of Europe’s rapidly growing capital cities was one of the most interesting of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The two capitals which had grown most rapidly were Paris and London: both are estimated to have had more than 500,000 inhabitants by 1700, though London had surged ahead by 1800. In third place came Naples, Europe’s largest city in the sixteenth century, which remained strikingly populous despite being ravaged by plague in 1656; by the 1730s, when it became the capital of an independent kingdom, its population was once again close to 300,000. (If anything, as Jan de Vries showed in European Urbanization 1500–1800 [1984], Naples was an exception to all patterns across this period, a genuine historical puzzle.) Debate prompted by such growth was increasingly grounded in political economy, and intersected with other issues high on the intellectual agenda in the eighteenth century, notably the luxury question. Contributors included economic writers, philosophers, social commentators, government officials, urban designers and architects, many of them associated with the Enlightenment. The classic treatment of the debate, focused on Naples but covering contributions from Paris, London and elsewhere, remains Franco Venturi’s 1971 essay, ‘Napoli capitale nel pensiero dei riformatori illuministi’, in Volume VIII of the Storia di Napoli.

KERAJAAN MELAYU KUNO: Tinjauan Sejarah Jambi Hingga abad 13

This paper focuses on several issues surrounding the existence of the Malay Kingdom which to this day still hold many unanswered issues, especially regarding the origins of the kingdom, the ruling kings, the central government, and the scope of the region. This research work is expected to contribute to the development of knowledge, especially about the local history of Jambi, and can be used as consideration by related institutions to preserve historical and cultural values and for the development of the tourism industry in the Jambi region. By using a multidimensional approach and supported by the application of historical methods that refer to scientific historical research procedures, it is hoped that the questions raised in the formulation of the problem will be expressed objectively and systematically. The results show that the Malay kingdom has its roots in three ancient pre-Malay kingdoms, namely Koying, Tupo, and Kantoli, which grew in the 4th century to the 7th century AD. The Malay kingdom emerged as an independent state marked by sending envoys to China. at 644-645M. The center of the kingdom at that time was in Jambi. Since 685 the Malay Kingdom was under Srivijaya control but the Malay port still functioned as an important port. The Malay kingdom re-emerged as an independent kingdom in the 12th century after the Srivijaya kingdom declined due to the Cola kingdom's attack. In this period the center of the kingdom had moved to Dharmasraya in the present-day area of West Sumatra. However, after the 1286 AD Pamalayu expedition, the Malay Kingdom was forced to vazal kingdom status by recognizing the power of Singhasari and Majapahit. Entering the 14th century under Adityawarman, the Malay Kingdom grew into the largest kingdom in Sumatra but the center of the kingdom moved to Pagaruyung, an area located in the natural center of Minangkabau, West Sumatra Province today.

A way forward for wild fungi in international sustainability policy

AbstractA series of international sustainability policies currently in negotiation will shape biodiversity conservation for decades to come. However, discussions of current sustainability policy have a huge blind spot: the absence of Fungi, one of the eukaryotic Kingdoms. Wild fungi are a key component of natural ecosystems (e.g., through parasitic symbiosis), maintain soil fertility by decomposing organic matter, and facilitate uptake of water and nutrients through mycorrhizal association with plant roots, enhancing carbon sequestration. Moreover, the harvest, use, and trade of wild fungi are essential economic and cultural activities, supporting livelihoods and providing food and medicinal ingredients. Still, the sustainability of wild fungi use is hard to assess because there is a lack of attention from research, legislation, and society at large. Here, we present a way forward for including wild fungi in international sustainability policy. We layout four key steps to foster a much‐needed policy and societal transformation: acknowledge the existence of Fungi as an independent Kingdom; tailor sustainability policy targets to include Fungi; implement comprehensive monitoring of wild fungi status and trends; and promote responsible use of wild fungi as a livelihood opportunity in rural areas. These steps can facilitate a transition toward better recognizing, valuing, and conserving the ecosystem services wild fungi provide.

The Scientific Imagination in South Africa: 1700 to the Present by William Beinart and Saul Dubow

Reviewed by: The Scientific Imagination in South Africa: 1700 to the Present by William Beinart and Saul Dubow Mueni wa Muiu Beinart, William, and Saul Dubow. The Scientific Imagination in South Africa: 1700 to the Present. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2021. It is not often that one comes across a volume that traces the history of science in South Africa from 1700 to the present. Especially one that also highlights the role of science in governing South Africa from colonialism to the postapartheid period. Power is displayed throughout this period as South Africa is cataloged and recorded. Relations between the colonialists and the indigenous people are unequal, because the settlers have the power to research, catalog, and record all aspects of life in South Africa, which the indigenous people cannot do to the Europeans. Toward that end, physical conquest is both intellectual and ideological. How South Africa is known informs the types of methods used for domination and oppression of the indigenous communities, such as anthropological studies that present the indigenous people as "lazy" and "warlike." White supremacy also influenced relations and methods used to exterminate the Khoi and San people. In this sense, the Bible, book, and gun played critical roles in the making of South Africa. This volume is divided into seven chapters. The first one introduces the reader to scientific imagination and local knowledge of the Cape in the eighteenth century. The reader learns about the role of scientists, from identifying South Africa's animals, diseases, plants, and governance systems to setting up a department of health and a sewage system. Accounts by travelers such as John Barrow and Martin Lichtenstein reflected their beliefs about the local people as well as the methods used to govern. For Barrow, British colonialism was more "enlightened" than that of the Dutch. He also believed that slavery in the Cape was unnecessary, since it encouraged laziness among the colonialists. Most items gathered in South Africa, from animals to plants, were shipped to Dutch laboratories and later to British ones. This science dehumanized the African woman, as the case of Sara Baartman illustrates. Scientists from Holland and Britain [End Page 217] influenced the development of science in South Africa. Most of South Africa's scientists also joined various esteemed organizations in South Africa, such as the Royal Geographic Society, as well as prestigious academic institutions in Europe and the United States. In chapter 2, the authors examine the role of science in the creation of colonial institutions and governance. Once they replaced the Dutch, the British introduced their own versions of colonial institutions. Changes in law and in the currency used were introduced to make governance more efficient. The first chief justice, whose expertise was Roman-Dutch Law, was appointed in 1812. The court system was extended to cover more areas. New medical and scientific institutions were also introduced. Indigenous knowledge was also changing, with the Zulu Kingdom using new military weapons and innovations in fighting such as amabutho (regiments). Science also informed agriculture and the mining sector, as discussed in chapter 3. Indigenous populations fought against the colonial encroachment, but between the 1870s and the 1890s the remaining independent kingdoms were conquered once Britain imported soldiers to fight using new military weapons. These populations were integrated in the four settler states based on white supremacy and inequality: Cape, Natal, Orange Free State, and the South African Republic (Transvaal). Africans were pushed into overcrowded reserves where cleanliness implied racial cleansing. Science informed the progress of the Anglo–Boer War (1899), which resulted from Britain's imperialist greed to control the mining sector. Africans (20,000) and Afrikaners (28,000) were forced into concentration camps, where initially the British refused to vaccinate them against typhoid and measles. British "methods of barbarism" resulted in immense suffering. The authors note that the cause of typhoid had been identified by 1880 as a bacterium that was transmitted through water and contaminated food. The war also introduced the plague in South Africa, which affected most African reserves. American engineers played a critical role in the mining sector. Science also informed governance once the Union of South Africa was created in 1910 as a white settler state...

Relation of Koch and Mughals on political realm: From Akbar to Aurangzeb

In North Eastern India the place ‘Koch Behar’ situated just next to the Assam. Koch Behar mentioned as ‘Pragjyotish’ or ‘Kamrup’ in various scriptures of Ancient India. From Ramayana, Mahabharat to Harsharcharit in everywhere the term ‘Kamrup’ was mentioned. some period of time Kamrup mentioned as feudatory under Pala’s, Ahoms and so on and also some sought of time Kamrup act as self-governed independent Kingdom. Mainly the habitat of Koches or Kamta named as Koch Behar. From the period of Akbar, Koches maintains direct relation with the Mughals and successfully suppress the Ahom aggression and able to rule moreover independently. The political alliance long last up to the period of Aurangzeb. In between time, not only the political relation but marriage association also done between them. Mughal intervention in the politics paved the way for Mughal type administration as well as land settlement method in Koch Behar.

The New Zion of Ot’kht’a

The lavra of Ot’kht’a Eklesia and its twin monastery at Parkhali are located in an isolated, mountainous area of present-day north-east Turkey, which, in the ninth-tenth century, gradually emerged as the politically de facto independent kingdom of Tao-Klarjet’i and as a stronghold of Georgian culture. Both lavras were established on the steep slopes of valleys carved by the tributaries of the Çoruh (Č’orox’i) river by Georgian monks seeking for those “deserts” that, in their opinion, God had reserved to them since the Creation of the world. Thanks to the support of David iii the Curopalates, the churches of Ot’kht’a and Parkhali erected in monumental dimensions and lavishly decorated with a complex, almost identical program of mural paintings in the apses. The present paper aims to show to what extent images could reflect the monastic view of their relationship with the natural world in terms of Biblical allegorism. In particular, it lays emphasis on the multi-layered symbolism associated with the “Holy Zion” - notion and the different ritual, performative, and visual strategies whereby site-bound holiness came to be materially evoked.