On November 4, Chinese Space Station announced that the spacecraft The Shenzhou XXs crew was returning to Earth on the next day, after completing their 6-month mission in there, but on the same day,

President Donald Trump took over the broadcast booth while attending a Sunday night football game between the Washington Commanders (formally Redskins) and the Detroit Lions. Ahead of Veterans Day, Trump

Nikolay Gogol is one of the most famous Russian writers of the early 19th century. While his earliest literary creations reflected his interest in the history and culture of his native Ukraine, Gogols most famous works, such as The Government Inspector, Dead Souls, and The Overcoat, are known for their satire of the Russian provincial government. Although he acquired a reputation as a critic of tsarist corruption and inefficiency, Gogol presented himself as a conservative Slavophile who supported both the tsar and the Russian Orthodox Church during his final years.Nikolay Gogol: A Ukrainian in St. PetersburgStatue of Nikolay Gogol in Moscow, photograph by Jimmy Chen, 2015. Source: Jimmy ChenNikolay Gogol was born in 1809 in the town of Sorochyntsi, Ukraine, into a gentry family descended from Ukrainian Cossacks. His father, Vasily Gogol-Yanovsky, was a landowner and amateur playwright. As a child, Nikolay learned Ukrainian, Russian, and Polish. In 1820, the 11-year-old Gogol went to the college at Nizhyn. After spending eight years at the school, in 1828, Gogol went to St. Petersburg seeking employment.Gogol arrived in the Russian capital with literary aspirations and published a Romantic poem entitled Hans Kchelgarten at his own expense. It received such humiliating reviews that he bought back all the copies and destroyed them. Despite the humbling experience, he still dreamed of a literary career and befriended the poet Vasily Zhukovsky in 1830. Zhukovsky was a close friend of Alexander Pushkin, whom Gogol first met in 1831.Pushkin was impressed by a collection of Ukrainian tales Gogol published in 1831 under the title Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka. Gogol exploited the collections success by publishing a second volume in 1832.Illustration for the novel Taras Bulba, by Pyotr Fyodorovich Sokolov, 1841. Source: Wikimedia CommonsGogols literary creations during the first half of the 1830s were inspired by his interest in Ukrainian history. This was partly encouraged by the Polish Uprising of 1830, which was ruthlessly suppressed by tsarist forces. While Gogol was accustomed to publishing under a pseudonym, the anti-Polish sentiment in St. Petersburg encouraged him to abandon the Polish-sounding Yanovsky (Janowski) from his double-barreled surname.In 1835, Gogol published another two-volume collection of short stories entitled Mirgorod. Among the tales contained within was the historical novella Taras Bulba. Inspired by events during the Khmelnytsky Uprising against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the mid-17th century, the novellas hero is an old Ukrainian Cossack who goes to battle against the Poles with his sons. His hatred for the Poles is such that he shoots his son Andriy after seeing him in a Polish uniform. Gogol revised the story in 1842, introducing a new ending in which Taras is burned at the stake after being captured by the Poles.During the first half of the 1830s, Gogol had taken a series of odd jobs in government administration. In 1834, he set upon the idea of becoming professor of Ukrainian History at the new university in Kyiv but was refused. Instead, he was appointed professor of Medieval History at the University of St. Petersburg. He had no qualifications for the job and neglected his students to focus on his own writing. He quickly recognized his shortcomings and resigned from the post in 1835.The NoseIllustration for the short story The Nose, by Sergei Alimov, 1960s. Source: PolkaThe Polish scholar Edyta Bojanowska argues that in 1835, Gogol began reinventing himself as a Russian writer to achieve greater recognition in the Russian literary world (Bojanowska, p. 161). In 1836, his short story The Nose was published in Pushkins journal, The Contemporary.The tale opens with the barber Ivan Yakovlevich discovering, to his horror, that the nose of a client, Collegiate Assessor Kovalyov, has been baked into a loaf of bread made by his wife. The barber tries to throw the nose into the Neva River but is apprehended by a policeman. After realizing his nose is missing, Kovalyov sees that the nose is pretending to be a human and dressing as a high-ranking official. Kovalyov struggles to obtain police assistance, and while the nose is eventually returned to him, it refuses to be reattached to his face until several days later.Gogols venture into the realm of fantasy and the grotesque would be emblematic of his best work. The fantastical plot serves to sharpen Gogols satire of the Russian bureaucracy. It is already bad enough for Kovalyov to lose his nose, but what is even more humiliating is that his nose outranks him. In Kovalyovs mind, the fact that the nose is masquerading as a senior government official is sufficient grounds for police attention.The 20th-century writer Vladimir Nabokov notes that Gogols work regularly references noses, whether through smells, sneezes, snoring, or snuff-taking. Gogol himself had a particularly prominent nose, which was the distinguishing feature of his face (Nabokov, p. 4).The Government InspectorA commemorative stamp from Gogols bicentennial year depicting his play The Government Inspector, 2009. Source: Wikimedia CommonsDespite praise from the likes of Pushkin, Gogol was not yet a household name in the Russian literary world. This changed with the performance of his comedy The Government Inspector at St. Petersburgs Alexandrinsky Theater on April 19, 1836.The plot may have been inspired by Pushkin, who claimed to have been mistaken for a government official in Nizhny Novgorod while returning to St. Petersburg. The play is set in an unnamed Russian town, where the mayor and his officials receive the news that a government inspector is due to arrive incognito. As the officials frantically seek to hide evidence of their corruption, they are alerted to the presence of an individual named Khlestakov, who has been in the town for two weeks and refuses to pay his hotel bill.The officials conclude from this insolent behavior that Khlestakov must be the government inspector in question and compete to bow and scrape before him. After some initial confusion, Khlestakov exploits the mistaken identity and weaves fantastical tales about being intimately acquainted with Pushkin and the tsar. All the while, he demands loans from officials and merchants alike and flirts outrageously with the mayors wife and daughter.Tsar Nicholas I of Russia by Franz Krger, 1852. Source: State Hermitage Museum, St. PetersburgAfter making a promise to the merchants to dismiss the mayor and exile him for corruption and securing an engagement from the mayors daughter, Khlestakov leaves for St. Petersburg, afraid of being unmasked once the real inspector arrives. When the mayor finally learns of Khlestakovs true identity from an intercepted letter, he is enraged and blames his officials before famously turning to the audience to ask, What are you laughing at? Youre laughing at yourselves! While the recriminations fly around the group, the mayor receives an urgent summons from the real government inspector.Gogols merciless satire of the Russian bureaucracy naturally caught the attention of government censors who refused to stage it, and it took the personal intervention of Tsar Nicholas I to allow the performance to go ahead. The tsar attended the premiere and thoroughly enjoyed the show, allegedly remarking while leaving his box, What a play! Everybody got his due, I most of all! (Nabokov, p. 36)Gogols play was praised by the critic Vissarion Belinsky for highlighting real problems in Russian society rather than presenting an idealized image of the Russian Empire and its people. Others saw the Ukrainian Gogol slandering the Russian people. Gogol was horrified by such interpretations. He claimed that he had no intention of challenging the foundations of the Russian state but was rather highlighting humanitys corrupt tendencies in general, which would be corrected by the real government inspector.Dead SoulsPortrait of Nikolay Gogol, by Otto Friedrich Theodor von Mller, 1840. Source: Wikimedia Commons/State Tretyakov Gallery, MoscowIn the wake of the scandal he had inadvertently caused, Gogol left Russia for Paris, where he met and befriended the Polish writer Adam Mickiewicz. Edita Bojanowska suggests that this casts doubts on Gogols Russian nationalism and indicates that Gogol was more willing to associate himself with anti-Russian sentiments outside of Russia. Between 1839 and 1841, Gogol was working on a tragedy that returned to Ukrainian themes. When he gave a reading to a small circle of friends during a brief return to Russia, Zhukovsky fell asleep, and Gogol burned the manuscript (Bojanowska, pp. 164-165).By 1838, Gogol had established himself in Rome, where he worked on his novel Dead Souls. He had been planning the novel since 1835. Gogol claimed that the idea came from Pushkin, and prior to his departure from Russia, he had shown the novels opening to Pushkin a few months before the latters death following a duel in February 1837.The plot of Dead Souls revolves around the attempts by a financial speculator, Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, to exploit a loophole in Russian serfdom. Under the system, serfscommonly referred to as soulsare valuable financial assets who generate income by working the land, but can also be bought and sold and used as collateral for loans. Serfs are also a source of government revenue since their owners are obliged to pay poll taxes on them. Since government censuses are carried out infrequently, landowners have to continue paying taxes for their dead serfs.A commemorative plaque at the apartment building in Rome where Gogol lived between 1838 and 1842, photograph by Remi Jouan. Source: Wikimedia CommonsChichikovs scheme sees him traveling around provincial Russia seeking to buy dead serfs from landowners to take them off their books and reduce their tax burden. By the time Chichikov acquires 1,000 such soulsphysically dead but officially alivehe intends to use them as collateral for a large loan, which he can then use to buy an estate with living serfs to generate the income to pay off his loan. The novel follows Chichikovs interactions with various landowners who respond to his offer with varying levels of confusion and understanding. In some cases, they are willing to transfer their dead souls to Chichikov for free, while others demand impossibly high prices.While Chichikov is an unscrupulous financial speculator, at first glance, it appears that there are no victims to his fraud. The landowners are better off after selling their dead souls to Chichikov, and the government continues to receive taxes from Chichikov. The absurdity of the plot both distracts from and accentuates the tragic reality that living people can be bought and sold. The novel is less a critique of the Russian people as of the institutional factors that motivate human behavior.Dead Souls was published in 1842 when Gogol briefly returned to Russia and organized a new edition of his previous work, which included major updates to Taras Bulba and other Ukrainian tales to make them more appealing to a Russian audience. Dead Souls brought accusations that Gogol was again defaming the Russian character. Gogol responded by explaining that the novel was merely the first part of a trilogy based on the structure of Dantes Divine Comedy, and Chichikov would eventually be redeemed. Although he would spend much of the next decade working on the second part, it would never see the light of day.The OvercoatA commemorative stamp from Gogols bicentennial year depicting his short story The Overcoat, 2009.Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe year 1842 also witnessed the publication of Gogols most famous and influential short story, The Overcoat. Set in St. Petersburg, the story follows the life of Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin, a bureaucrat who makes a living copying government documents. He has been in the same grade for as long as anyone can remember. Once, his superior had asked him to make minor changes to a document by changing the first person into the third person, but even this proved too challenging for him. His longevity in the same job makes him the target of mockery by younger colleagues, as does his torn and threadbare overcoat. When Akaky takes the overcoat to the tailor Petrovich and asks him to repair it, the latter sees that the garment is in no condition to be patched.After painstakingly saving up his money, Akaky pays Petrovich to make him a fine new overcoat from the finest materials he can afford. He is delighted and proudly shows it off to his colleagues, who decide to throw a party to honor Akaky and his overcoat. As Akaky walks home late at night after the party, he is attacked by two bearded assailants who wrestle him to the ground and run off with his pride and joy.Soviet-era commemorative stamp depicting the literary critic Vissarion Belinsky, by Post of USSR, 1957. Source: Wikimedia CommonsA distraught Akaky relates the tale to his landlady, who encourages him to inform the police. After the local police chief refuses to help, a colleague advises him to bring his case to an important personage.This individual, a recently promoted general, not only refuses to help Akaky but shouts at him for wasting his time over such a trivial matter. The generals abuse causes Akaky to faint and fall mortally ill. After Akakys death, the St. Petersburg police receive a series of reports of people having their overcoats stolen by a ghost resembling Akaky. These thefts suddenly come to an end, and the ghost gets hold of the generals overcoat.As a portrayal of the Russian bureaucracy, The Overcoat bears many similarities to The Nose. However, stylistically, the tale shifts from comedy to tragedy as the reader stops laughing at Akaky and starts sympathizing with him. The tale received a positive appraisal from Belinsky, but The Overcoat also had a major influence on Fyodor Dostoevskys novel Poor Folk, in which the lowly civil servant becomes a purely tragic figure.Belinsky praised Dostoevsky for surpassing Gogol in his realistic depiction of Russian society. However, he criticized him for doubling down on Gogolian fantasy in his next novel, The Double, in which the protagonist encounters a doppelganger who exhibits social traits that he would like to emulate but is incapable of doing so on the grounds of morality and propriety. The influence of The Overcoat on Dostoevsky is such that he is believed to have remarked, We all came out from under Gogols Overcoat. In fact, this quote appears in The Russian Novel by French diplomat and literary critic Eugne-Melchior de Vog and is attributed to an unnamed Russian writer (de Vog, p. 110).Nikolay Gogols Last Years: Depression and DeathGogol burning the manuscript of the second part of Dead Souls, painting by Ilya Repin, 1909. Source: State Tretyakov Gallery, MoscowBetween 1842 and 1848, Gogol traveled restlessly while maintaining a base in Rome. He worked on the second volume of Dead Souls but struggled to make progress as he began questioning the purpose of his craft. Increasingly influenced by Christian mystics, he concluded that the absurd and grotesque elements of his work had been inspired by the Devil. Thus, he faced the challenge of abolishing these aspects in the second part while maintaining a stylistic coherence with the first part.In 1847, Gogol published his Selected Passages from Correspondence with Friends to communicate his newfound belief that art should have a didactic purpose. In apparent contradiction to much of his previous work, Gogol argued that the cure for Russias social ills lay in the State and the Church. The books publication caused a scandal and prompted a famous reply from Belinsky, who attacked Gogols defense of Church and State via an eloquent attack on serfdom.In January 1848, Gogol made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, seeking to restore his physical and spiritual health. After returning to Russia, he remained restless and traveled frequently between Moscow, St. Petersburg, and his mothers estate in Ukraine. His health continued to deteriorate, and on February 24, 1852, he burned the manuscript for Dead Souls Part Two. He took to his bed, refused to eat, and died in Moscow on March 4, 1852, at the age of 43.Gogols body was initially buried at Danilov Monastery in Moscow. After suppressing the monastery in 1931, the Soviet authorities moved his remains to the Novodevichy Cemetery, where they remain to this day. He leaves behind a complex legacy that continues to attract scholarly interest.BibliographyBojanowska, E. (2012). Nikolay Vasilievich Gogol (1809-1852). In S. Norris, W. Sunderland (Ed.) Russias people of empire: life stories from Eurasia, 1500 to the present (pp. 159-168). Indiana University Press.Nabokov, V. (1961). Nikolai Gogol. New Directions.de Vog, E.-M. (1913). The Russian Novel. Chapman and Hall. (Original work published 1886).

The end of monarchy in Russia was a time of tumultuous change for many. While Tsar Nicholas II faced much controversy during his reign, one place he found solace and welcoming comfort was in his marriage and family. The closeness and friendship Nicholas and his wife, Alexandra, shared were unique among royal couples of the time. Despite their passion for one another, their admirable relationship would play a key role in the conclusion of Russian autocracy, the growth of revolution, and the demise of their entire family.The Last TsarNicholas II (left) and his cousin George V, who was the first British king of the Windsor dynasty, photographed in Berlin in 1913. Source: Wikimedia CommonsNikolai Aleksandreovich Romanov, more commonly known as Nicholas II, was born in 1868. He was the son of the Russian tsar (or czar) Alexander III. Upon his fathers death in 1894, Nicholas ascended to the throne. Little did he know he would be the last tsar of the Russian Empire.At first, Nicholas was a favorite of the Russian peasants, the majority of the countrys citizens. Despite his massive wealth and fame, the tsar traditionally held a favorable position among the countrys poor. The idea of divine right that was present in the Russian Orthodox Church supported the rights of the monarchy. The ruler was viewed as benevolent and even accessible, with the populace granted the prerogative to write letters and send petitions directly to the tsar.Despite the love that the peasants had for Nicholas, he was less popular among many nobles and government officials. He was often seen as a weak ruler, conceding to opposition too easily and making poor choices for his country.Princess Alexandra in 1899. Source: A. Pasetti via Wikimedia CommonsThe same year he became emperor, Nicholas married the love of his life: Princess Alexandra Feodorovna of Hesse-Darmstadt (now a region of Germany), often called Alix.Like many European royals of the age, the two were related through several branches of the monarchial family tree. Alix was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England, and Nicholas mother, Marie, was the sister of future King Edward VIIs wife, also named Alexandra. Nicholas uncle Serge was married to Alixs sister, Ella. The husband and wife were also related through a German ancestor.Despite these connections, the marriage was not a favorable one in the eyes of many. Many Russian nobles looked down on the fact that Alix was German and Protestant, and she refused to convert to Russian Orthodoxy.The two had met as children, and Nicholas was instantly smitten. In 1892, he wrote in his diary, My dream is some day to marry Alix H. I have loved her a long while (Massie, 1995).His parents were less enthused, hoping to instead pair their son with a woman who could help secure alliances and was more palatable to the Russian people. However, his affection for her grew stronger, and his parents eventually consented to the match.A Rare LoveThe happy couple aboard their yacht in 1908. Source: The Royal Collection via Wikimedia CommonsAs Nicholas and Alixs relationship developed, they cultivated a relationship of friendship and love, which was somewhat unusual for royal families at the time. Marriages among royals were often made for convenience or alliance, and love was hardly a factor. The pair wrote one another letters daily when apart, Alix fondly referring to her husband as Nicky.Despite how Nicholas felt about his wife, the Russian public struggled to accept her. A quiet, solemn woman, her presence seemed standoffish to many. Shy Alix preferred to stay out of the spotlight and enjoy the company of family rather than performing her royal duties, but this gave the public the impression that she was arrogant and considered herself above the Russian people.The outbreak of World War I led to additional suspicion of the German queen.The Russian royal family in 1913. Source: The Hermitage Museum via Wikimedia CommonsPublic opinion of the empress further deteriorated as the couple began having children. As was the case among most European royals at the time, the desire for a son and heir was paramount. However, the couples first child was a daughter, Olga, born in 1895. Not disappointed, Nicholas reveled in his infant daughter, saying, We are grateful she was a daughter; if she was a boy she would have belonged to the people, being a girl she belongs to us.The couple had three more daughters, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia, in quick succession. They were finally blessed with a son, Alexei, in 1904. Alexei was granted the title of Tsarevitch, meaning he was intended to inherit the throne.Nicholas proved to be an attentive father and devoted husband. Rather than recording state matters as intended, his journals often detailed his childrens exploits and achievements. Alexandra was also devoted to their family, continuing to exchange daily letters filled with endearments with her husband when he was away and staying involved in her childrens lives.This would be especially true in the case of Alexei, who received a devastating diagnosis shortly after birth. The boy began bleeding from his navel, and the flow refused to ebb. The family realized that the young prince was afflicted with the Coburg disease, or hemophilia. Hemophilia is an inherited blood disorder in which the blood does not clot properly. If bleeding occurs from a routine injury or cut, it could prove devastating for a hemophilia patient. The disorder may also cause chronic joint pain and seizures as a result of internal bleeding, though it is now very treatable in the modern era.Alexei feeding a sheep in an undated photo. Source: Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale UniversityThe hereditary disease was known as the Coburg disease, as it was known to be present in Alexandras German line, stemming from Queen Victoria herself (Massie, 1995). Women are generally not afflicted, though it is not impossible, and instead carry the disorder with the risk of passing it to their children. Though they knew where the calamity had originated, there was little that the Russian royal family or the world at large understood about hemophilia at the time of Alexeis birth in 1904.Nicholas and Alix kept their sons disease a state secret until 1912 when it was leaked after a particularly profound attack in which the boy almost perished. They did not want the future ruler of Russia to appear disabled or weak. Alexei was prohibited from typical childhood endeavors, such as rough play and horseback riding, in an effort by his parents to minimize his risk of dangerous bleeding.Nicholas and Alexandra doted on their son and supported one another through his struggles. Alexandra, in particular, was devoted to the boy, spending hours by his bedside as he struggled through bleeding episodes or periods of debilitating joint pain that would prevent his mobility.A Welcome InterloperAn anti-monarchy leaflet depicting Rasputin in control of the Tsar and Tsarina. Source: Wikimedia CommonsIn 1906, Nicholas received a man who would become incredibly influential over his future as Tsar. Grigori Rasputin visited the tsar and tsarina, and as Nicholas later recorded in his journals, the man made a strong impression on both of them. A man of religious fervor, Rasputin was charismatic and quickly became popular with the noble class.He encouraged Nicholas to have more confidence in his monarchical role and soon became a persuasive voice in the royals ear, leading to his falling out of favor with others in the noble class. Rasputin also branded himself a faith healer, and after he seemed to soothe Alexeis pain and bleeding when doctors couldnt, Alexandra became more enamored with the man. Rumors began to swirl that the two were having an affair, but despite this, Nicholas stood by Rasputin and continued to listen to his advice.Nicholas greeting an unknown official aboard his yacht, the Standart. Source: Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale UniversityIn the meantime, Nicholas was struggling with his role as tsar beyond his affiliation with Rasputin. His empire encompassed one-sixth of the worlds land mass, and there were many issues that needed attention. However, Nicholas was not a forceful manager and often found himself at odds with his ministers and other nobles (Massie, 1995).While World War I briefly strengthened Nicholas role in Russian society when he took direct command of the Russian military in 1915, every loss or failure by the army resulted in more blame piled on the monarch, weakening his reputation among the Russian people. Wartime hardships led to food shortages and hyperinflation in the Russian economy, pushing more and more people into already rampant poverty.The murder of Rasputin at the end of 1916 did little to improve the public standing of the royal family among the dissatisfied populace. In 1917, large-scale protests began, and Nicholas found that the army no longer believed in him.The EndingThe Tsar and Tsarina with their children in an undated photo. Source: Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale UniversityWith Russias faith in him disintegrating and no military to support him, Nicholas decided to abdicate from the throne in 1917. His decision ended approximately 300 years of Russian autocracy, and the entire family was immediately imprisoned.The family was moved to various homes throughout the Russian countryside, but it is said that Nicholas was quite content during this internment. Without the pressures and stresses of his role as tsar, he could be something he had always desired: a private family man.The Romanovs hoped that a foreign government, perhaps that of Nicholas cousin George of England, would offer them asylum. However, these hopes were dashed as the Bolshevik party seized power from Russias interim government. The communist revolutionaries tightened the freedoms of the tsar and his family, restricting them to a villa in Ekaterinburg. A high fence was added around the home to prevent the public from seeing their fallen king.In the early morning of July 17, 1918, the Romanov family was told to dress quickly and assemble in the homes basement to prepare for yet another move. Instead, once they gathered, the doors were locked, and soldiers opened fire on the tsar, tsarina, their five children, and several close associates.The murders were later said to be brutal, as Alix and her daughters had sewn jewels into their clothing for safekeeping, deterring bullets. As a result, they were bayoneted or bludgeoned after the initial onslaught failed. Though rumors of survival, especially involving Anastasia and Alexei, ran rampant throughout the twentieth century, the entire family was killed.A painting of the wedding of Nicholas II and Alexandra by Laurits Tuxen, commissioned by Queen Victoria, finished in 1899. Source: Royal Collection TrustDespite a marriage that was faced with challenges from the very beginning, there is no doubt that Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia, and Alexandra of Hesse-Darmstadt were a couple devoted to one another and their children. Their marriage was fraught with politics, heartbreak, and sometimes scandal, but the two never wavered. It was a unique relationship that varied in many ways from a typical royal marriage; the two shared love and enjoyed one anothers company. Despite their roles as the last Tsar and Tsarina of Russia, Nicky and Alix preserved a loving union for the ages.Recommended Reading:Massie, R.K. (1995). Nicholas and Alexandra: The Story of the Love That Ended an Empire. New York: Ballantine Books.

Over the course of Britains post-Roman era, the Anglo-Saxons progressively conquered more and more territory. This is what eventually led to the formation of England. However, not all Anglo-Saxon kings were equally successful in battle. Some were much more effective than others. King Athelfrith of Northumbria was a notable monarch who contributed significantly to the expansion of Anglo-Saxon territory in Britain. He did this through various important battles that crushed the power of many British kingdoms. What were some of the most notable battles that occurred during his reign?How Bede Presented Athelfrith as the Conqueror of the British KingsFolio of Manuscript Tiberius Bede, c. 8th century. Source: British LibraryThe English historian Bede wrote The Ecclesiastical History of the English People in about the year 731. In this important historical work, he provides a historical narrative covering the period of the Anglo-Saxon conquest of Britain up to his own time. With this in view, it is fascinating to see how he described Athelfrith:At this time, the brave and ambitious king, Ethelfrid, governed the kingdom of the Northumbrians, and ravaged the Britons more than all the chiefs of the English, insomuch that he might be compared to Saul of old, king of the Israelites, save only in this, that he was ignorant of Divine religion. For he conquered more territories from the Britons than any other chieftain or king, either subduing the inhabitants and making them tributary, or driving them out and planting the English in their places.According to Bede, Athelfrith was the most effective conqueror against the Britons who had ruled until then. What, specifically, did Athelfrith do?The Battle of CatraethThe Book of Aneirin, containing the poem Y Goddodin, c. 8th century. Source: National Library of WalesFrom the perspective of the medieval Britons, one of the most significant events involving Athelfrith was the Battle of Catraeth. This battle is known from the Y Gododdin, a poem from about the year 600, attributed to the late 6th- or early 7th-century bard Aneirin. It describes a massive battle between the Britons and the Anglo-Saxons, involving an alliance of Britons from various different kingdoms. It appears to have been a raid on the Anglo-Saxon settlement at modern-day Catterick, Yorkshire, which has been interpreted as the Catraeth of the poem.The enemies are explicitly named as the men of Deira and Bernicia. Together, those two kingdoms formed the kingdom of Northumbria, which Athelfrith united. The leader of the British forces is referred to as Mynyddog Mwynfawr or Mynyddog Eidyn. The latter epithet refers to Din Eidyn, which is modern-day Edinburgh. Hence, this attack force appears to have been primarily directed by the northern Britons.St Annes Church, Catterick, Yorkshire, the likely area of the Battle of Catterick. Source: Alison Stamp via GeographDespite the evidently massive army that was organized by the Britons, they were almost all killed by the Anglo-Saxons of Northumbria. For this reason, the Battle of Catraeth was remembered by the medieval Britons as a great tragedy. The poem Y Gododdin does not specifically mention Athelfrith of Northumbria at this battle. However, he logically must have been the king involved on the side of the Anglo-Saxons. The battle took place in his territory, and the poem specifically mentions the two kingdoms making up Northumbria. Furthermore, Athelfrith became king in c. 593.We can be sure that the Battle of Catraeth did not take place before that year. It would appear that the powerful king known as Urien Rheged died in about that year. He had such prominence in that region that he would surely have been mentioned in Y Gododdin if he had still been ruling when the battle occurred. For this reason and others, most scholars date the Battle of Catraeth to c. 600, which fits perfectly within the reign of Athelfrith.The Battle of DegsastanMap showing the expansion of Northumbria between 600-700 CE. Source: Wikimedia CommonsIn Bedes overview of Athelfriths reign, which was partially quoted above, he highlights one particular battle as being especially noteworthy. This was the Battle of Degsastan. What do we know about it? Bede tells us that at this battle, Aedan, the king of the Scots, came up against Athelfrith. From many other records, we know that Aedan was the king of Dal Riada. This was an Irish kingdom in western Scotland. The Irish themselves were the Scots, which is why Bede refers to Aedan as the king of the Scots.Bede tells us the following:Aedan, king of the Scots that dwell in Britain, being alarmed by his success, came against him with a great and mighty army, but was defeated and fled with a few followers.In other words, this was a massive battle that resulted in defeat for Aedan and his great and mighty army. In this respect, it is very similar to the Battle of Catraeth.Replica of the Stone of Scone, used in the accession ceremony of King Aedan of Dal Riada. Source: Aaron Bradley via FlickrBede goes on to tell us that Athelfrith ended this war in 603. This has often been taken to mean that the Battle of Degsastan itself occurred in 603, but this is not what Bede actually says. It could well be that the Battle of Degsastan occurred several years before the conclusion of the war as a whole.In any case, the fact that this is the one battle that Bede makes a point of mentioning in his overview of Athelfriths reign shows that it must have been exceptionally important. From this alone, we can reasonably conclude that it must have been a major battle with significant political consequences. Bedes reference to Aedans great and mighty army partially confirms this. Furthermore, Bede provides us with at least part of the reason why this battle was so significant. He tells us the following:From that time, no king of the Scots durst come into Britain to make war on the English to this day.While Aedan was not a king of the Britons, there is reason to believe that the Britons were allied with him in this endeavor. For instance, in multiple medieval British manuscripts, Aedan is presented as an ally of several British kings of the north.The Battle of ChesterRoman ruins at Chester, near the Wolf Gate. Source: Jeff Buck via GeographLater in Athelfriths reign, another major battle occurred against the Britons. This occurred further south than the Battle of Catraeth and the Battle of Degsastan, which may, in fact, have been the same event. This was the Battle of Chester. Chester was an important city near the present-day border of England and Wales. It was known in medieval times as the City of the Legion, in reference to the fact that it was one of the permanent legionary bases in Britain during the Roman era. This was a location of strategic importance, and like the Battle of Catraeth, the medieval Britons remembered it as a tragedy.The Battle of Chester is mentioned in both the Annales Cambriae and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The former is a 10th-century chronicle written by the Britons, while the latter is a chronicle from about the same time written by the English. To the Britons, it was a tragedy, while the Anglo-Saxons remembered it as a glorious victory.St Dunawd Church, Bangor-on-Dee. Source: Robin Drayton via GeographIn fact, this battle was so notable that it was also recorded in the Irish Annals. What happened during this remarkable event? According to Bedes account, Athelfrith took his forces to this area to do battle against the Britons. They came across an enormous group of monks at the monastery of Bangor-on-Dee, praying for the success of the British army. Seeing as they were unarmed, Athelfrith ordered these monks to be slain first. This massive slaughter of almost all the monks there, over 1,000 of them, is part of the reason why this was such a shocking tragedy to the Britons.The Annales Cambriae dates the battle to 613, although most scholars today accept 616 as the most likely date. This chronicle states that Selim, son of Cinan, fell in the Battle of Chester. He is obviously identifiable as Selyf ap Cynan of the dynasty of Powys, which was the territory in which Chester was located. Hence, Athelfrith defeated the king of this powerful British kingdom.How Athelfrith of Northumbria Conquered BritainBamburgh Castle, said to have been named after King Athelfriths queen. Source: Tim Gorman via FlickrIn conclusion, we can see that Athelfrith enlarged the territory of the Anglo-Saxons through conquest against the Britons. It was for this reason that Bede described him as defeating the Britons more than any other Anglo-Saxon king. One major defeat of the Britons was at the Battle of Catraeth. This occurred in c. 600, and it involved a massive army of Britons, mainly from the north of Athelfriths kingdom, invading his territory. It appears that they were trying to reclaim Catterick, which had formerly been in the territory of Urien Rheged. This ended in a crushing defeat of the Britons. The same occurred when Aedan of Dal Riada came against him at the Battle of Degsastan at about the same time as the Battle of Catraeth, once again with a massive army from the north. British kings were almost certainly allied with Aedan during this event. Finally, we have seen that Athelfrith inflicted a crushing defeat against the Britons at the Battle of Chester in about 616, in which the British king of Powys was killed.

Ming Army, color panel, late 1500sThe Koreas of today are two nations technically still at war; relations between them run hot and cold. Despite this, Korean history runs deep, with some historians claiming a 5,000-year history. Divided between three kingdoms for centuries, only one prevailed-Goguryeo. Korea became a sort of historical crossroad.An Unintended SanctuaryAsiatic Black Bear. Source: Animalia.bioThe Korean War ended in 1953, dividing the country into political opposites. The split became the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). This buffer, a nearly 250-kilometer-long, four-kilometer-wide strip, is fortified, mined, and under constant observation. Yet this strip remains relatively untouched, a surprisingly biodiverse hotspot. Biologists estimate that some 5,000 species reside here, including endangered species. This includes the Asiatic black bear, long-tailed goral, and red-crowned crane.Even migratory birds rest here, in a spot covered with barbed wire and watched. It remains a pleasant contradiction in a hotspot.The Warm Stone HeatingThe fire that provides warmth for the ondol. Source: KHS NewsThe Koreans, like the Romans, used a heated underfloor system to keep their houses warm during the autumn and winter. Unlike the Romans vertical flues, however, this traditional Korean system used horizontal ones. Called ondol or warm stone, channeled heat from a wood-fired stove through the pipes beneath the floor. As the heat rose, this provided warmth for living spaces. Smoke from the stove vented out via a chimney. The houses stone floors retained the heat for some time after the fire went out.As a heating system, this was great, but ondol did more. This system played a significant role in Korean life. Unlike Western homes, people slept and ate on the floor, mingling in daily life. Ondol dates back over two millennia, with evidence found in archeological digs.Ondol represents a clever way to heat a home using engineering available at the time. Its said that ondol inspired other societies to copy it!A Deliberate Writing SystemHangeul Chart. Source: WikimediaWriting systems are a complex thing born from a need to communicate. Most are native grown or spread via cultural contact. Yet Hangeul, Koreas writing system, resulted from a royal order. King Sejong (Joseon Dynasty) in 1443 mandated the creation of a new language. This language, called Hangeul, short for Hunminjeongeum, meaning correct sounds for instructing the people, was developed for one purpose. King Sejong sought to break the nobles exclusive monopoly on writing.Korean nobles used Classical Chinese, a complex system requiring years of study. This eliminated commoners from writing or learning. Hangeul consisted of twenty-four letters, each with a separate sound. Written in compressed blocks, Hangeuls arrangement and logic made for easy learning. Apart from breaking the elites learning monopoly, Hangeuls unique Korean origins also helped reduce Imperial Chinas influence.Meet the Pre-Gutenberg Press BookExamples of print block characters from the later Joseon dynasty. Creative Commons License. Photo by GaryTodd. Source: Democracy WebThe Gutenberg press, invented in 1455, revolutionized European printing. Printers could now cheaply produce copies of the Bible and other texts, resulting in durable documents. Yet unbeknownst to the West, Korean monks in 1377 created the oldest metal plate printed book. These Goryeo Dynasty monastics predated Europeans by 78 years!This book, Jikji Simche Yojeol or Anthology of Great Buddhist Priests Zen Teaching, was printed at the Heungdeok Temple. The monks, especially the monk Baegun, created this book to educate and preserve Buddhist teachings. Plus, this knowledge could easily be made and disseminated. Their secret lay in the bronze movable metal type made possible by Koreas metallurgical skills.The movable type proved superior to traditional woodblock printing. Artisans would carve a complete page into the wooden blocks. Next, the artisans inked the blocks and pressed them onto paper. Unlike the changeable metal types, new pages or updates meant repeating the process.Ironically, the only surviving copy of the Jikji resides in a French museum. The Jikjis demonstrates that parallel solutions to similar problems can happen.81,258 Blocks of DevotionThe 80,000 Wooden Blocks of the Tripitaka Koreana. Source: WikimediaAs the number displays, the Koreans produced the Tripitaka Koreana-a, a collection of over 80,000 Buddhist scriptures around 1251 CE. Like the later Jikji, monks produced these religious texts during the Goryeo Dynasty, a high point for Buddhism in Korea.The Tripitaka Koreana is the most complete collection of Buddhist texts in the world. Work on the blocks commenced in 1237 CE and finished in 1248. Many Buddhist woodblocks were destroyed during the Mongol invasions. Each block is made from birch and treated with smoke, brine, and drying to prevent warping or insect damage. With no known mistakes, the blocks number over 6,568 volumes on 81,258 blocks. Now housed at the Haeinsa Temple, this national treasure of blocks is available for public viewing.

During the 18th century, Haiti was known as Saint Domingue, a French Empire colony. Following the American and French Revolutions, Haitians, 90% of whom were enslaved Africans and their descendants, organized and began to rebel. In 1791, the Haitian Revolution began and kicked off a fight for freedom, both for themselves and their country, that would not be over in earnest until the mid-20th century. Read on to discover what caused the Haitian Revolution, how it unfolded, and the fight for true independence that sprawled over centuries.Society on Saint DominguePlanting the Sugarcane, circa 1820. Source: Royal Museums GreenwichSaint Domingue, present-day Haiti, consisted of the westernmost part of the island of Hispaniola. The island wasand still isdivided in two, with Spain (modern-day Dominican Republic) controlling the eastern part and the French controlling Saint Domingue.Saint Domingue was Frances wealthiest overseas colonial holding in the 18th century. This was largely due to reliance on the colonys slave economy. No workforce costs meant profits soared for the resources provided to the French crown, which included cocoa, sugar cane, coffee, and indigo. The colony of Saint Domingue provided France with almost the same revenue as all 13 North American colonies did for the British.A stratified and rigid caste-based society existed in Saint Domingue. Those at the top, mostly French-born planters and minor aristocrats, were called grands blancs. The middle-class and poorer white colonists, the petits blancs, were mostly artisans, shopkeepers, day laborers, and overseers. The total white population of Saint Domingue in the late 1700s was around 40,000.Below the petits blancs were the gens de couleur libres, or free people of color. Several discriminatory laws were passed against the free Black population of Saint Domingue, which regulated what clothes they could wear, what jobs they could hold, and where they could live. Many worked as domestic servants or day laborers. Their population, including free mulattoes, was around 28,000.The lowest class in Saint Domingue was the enslaved laborers, who outnumbered the white population on a scale of around ten to one. Around 452,000 enslaved Black people lived in Saint Domingue and worked the plantations, with the bare minimum rest, food, and shelter given. The life expectancy for enslaved people brought directly from Africa was around two to three years. In comparison, an enslaved person born in the colony was expected to live only about 16 years.Free Women of Color with their Children and Servants in a Landscape by Agostino Brunias, 18th century. Source: Traveling HaitiSince the death rate was higher than the birth rate in Saint Domingue, it was cheaper for plantation owners to have a constant influx of enslaved Africans coming to the colony. This created a stratification among the enslaved population of Saint Domingue. Colony-born enslaved people were seen as a higher class, who got less labor-intensive jobs, such as those in the kitchen or the main house as personal servants, while those from Africa were treated as lesser and worked in the fields.Finally, another group of Black Haitians existed on the outskirts of the plantations. The maroons, or runaway slaves, survived off of subsistence farming deep in the forests and mountains of the island.The grand majority of enslaved people on the island spoke a mix of French and African languages called Haitian Creole, and also mixed religions to form Haitian Voodou. This combined Catholic and West African religious traditions into a religion that implicitly believed that slavery did not exist.Society in Saint Domingue was a precarious one. Poorer whites resented rich whites, and vice versa. Free Blacks resented poor whites, mulattoes resented free Blacks, enslaved Creoles resented those from Africa, and so on. The petits blancs were disenchanted with the strict taxation and tariffs imposed by the French government and favored independence. However, they still believed in the institution of slavery. Enslaved Haitians also wanted independence, and with numbers and manpower on their sides, slave rebellions had been attempted in the past and would be imminent in the future.The Beginning of the Haitian RevolutionCremonie du Bois-Caman by Andre Normil, 1990. Source: Atlanta Black StarThe Haitian Revolution formally began between August 13 and 14, 1791, during the ceremony of Bois Caman. Two leaders, Boukman Dutty and Ccile Fatiman, both of whom were Voodou priests, with Dutty also serving as leader of the Maroons, gave space to a gathered crowd of enslaved people to air their grievances. Speeches against enslavement were made, and the two leaders gave the signal for a revolt to begin.Within the week, plantations all over Haiti were burning. On the night of August 21, a tropical storm began rolling onto the island. Taking the thunder and lightning as auspicious signs, the enslaved population escalated and began killing plantation owners and their families. The carnage was brutal from the beginning, as enslaved Black Haitians had developed an extreme hatred for white planters due to their cruel treatment.Enslaved revolutionaries, who over the next few months came to number around 100,000, took control of the entire Northern Province of Haiti and killed over 4,000 white people. One hundred eighty sugar plantations had been destroyed, and hundreds of coffee and indigo plantations were also razed.Led by former slave Toussaint LOuverture, the enslaved rebels held a third of Haiti by 1792. While the French attempted to send troops to quell the rebellion, none of their campaigns were successful, and it seemed that the fighting would continue.British & Spanish InvolvementToussaint LOuverture by John Barlow, 1805. Source: National Portrait Gallery, LondonIn 1793, during the French Revolutionary Wars, France declared war on Great Britain. The grands blancs of Saint Domingue initially decided to ally themselves with the British. This alliance served as a play to protect slavery in the colony, as Great Britain enforced enslavement in all of its Caribbean colonies.However, the British could not conquer the island, and their forces suffered from inexperience and disease. Thus, when the Spanish invaded Saint Domingue, they allied with the rebels and served to bolster the British forces against France. Spain and Britain provided LOuvertures troops with supplies and weapons, eventually pushing the newly Republican France into an agreement: emancipation.In late 1793 and early 1794, France abolished slavery in all of its colonies and allowed Haiti to send representatives to its National Assembly. Though Haitian forces had been allied with Spain and Britain, LOuverture and his generals abruptly severed ties with the Spanish in May 1794 and turned on the British. LOuverture and his troops allied themselves with France and soon expelled the Spanish from Haiti.The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, 1795. Source: lyseThe British, although they held on for a few more years, were also eventually expelled from Haiti. Their troops had been decimated by yellow fever, and they officially withdrew from the conflict in 1798.Meanwhile, the Haitian rebels had secured victory in the interim. The French Constitution, which was enforced until Napoleon Bonaparte took over the country, declared slavery abolished and granted full rights of French citizenship to all colonists regardless of skin color.While the British and the Spanish helped to wear down the French government alongside the Haitian rebels, in the end, both were overpowered by LOuvertures forces. The Haitian army secured their freedom and continued their campaign, capturing the Spanish-controlled portion of Hispaniola in 1801. LOuverture declared himself leader for life, abolished slavery, and allowed for Haitian control over Santo Domingo until 1844.While victory had been secured and Haitians successfully recognized as French citizens, Bonapartes empiric aspirations held something new in store for the former colony.Napoleonic Rule & Reimposition of SlaveryGeneral Charles Leclerc, brother-in-law of Napoleon Bonaparte. Source: The Haitian Revolution Timeline/Wikimedia CommonsIn 1801, after his declaration to be made governor-for-life, Toussaint LOuverture and his government released their constitution, which conceded autonomy to all Black Haitians and called for Saint Domingue to become a free sovereign Black state.In response to this declaration, the new Emperor of the French, Napoleon Bonaparte, sent some 43,000 troops, led by his brother-in-law, Charles Leclerc, to retake the island for France. The French troops were also under a secretive order to reestablish slavery in Saint Domingue. LOuverture was to be treated with deference until the French base had been established, at which time he was to be arrested, and any of his troops were to be shot.When the French arrived in February 1802, they attempted to take the port city of Le Cap. Rather than surrender, Haitians set the city ablaze. LOuverture and one of his generals, Henri Christophe, were named enemies of the French Republic.General Henri Christophe of Haiti. Source: The SpectatorFighting ensued, both in traditional battle and, mostly, on the part of the Haitians, in guerilla warfare tactics. The Haitian army continued overpowering the French when the rainy season struck, and another outbreak of yellow fever resulted in disaster for the French troops. Five thousand soldiers died, with 5,000 more being hospitalized for the disease.This progress for the Haitians was overturned when General Christophe defected to the French Army, bringing the majority of his troops with him. On May 6, 1802, LOuverture was promised freedom if he gave up the rest of his forces for integration into the French army, and he did so. However, LOuverture was betrayed by the French and was instead arrested and sent to prison in France, where he later died.The tides were shifting for the French, but they would not remain so for long. Haitian troops were tired of the French imposition and fought against their forcible allies again beginning in late 1802.The Haitian War of IndependenceBattle of Vertires II, 1803 by Ulrick Jean-Pierre, 1995. Source: H-NetWhen turning on the French, the Haitian army was led by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who took to fighting wholeheartedly against the islands occupation. While Leclerc died of yellow fever in November 1802, his successor, the Vicomte de Rochambeau, waged an even more sadistic campaign against the Haitians, attempting near-genocidal levels of mass murder.The French were being decimated by yellow fever, but Dessalines troops responded in kind to the violence perpetrated by Rochambeau. For every group of Haitians killed, Dessalines killed groups of French colonists. At the same time, battles raged on for many months until May 1803, when the British declared war on France again and sailed to the Caribbean.Attack and take of the Crte--Pierrot (March 24, 1802) by Auguste Raffet. Source: BlackPastThe British and Haitian forces began overpowering the French, whose numbers were dwindling due to violence and disease. Though reinforcements were sent, they were no match for the Royal Navy and the Haitian rebels combined. The Haitians fought with reckless abandon, and it was clear that the British were not budging either.In November 1803, the French retreated, with Rochambeau having delayed the necessary return until there were very few remaining troops in his army. French forces were defeated by the end of 1803, and Haiti, under the leadership of Dessalines, was finally free.On January 1, 1804, Dessalines declared independence and renamed the former colony Haiti after the islands name in the native Arawak language. Now, nation-building could begin.The Impact of the Haitian RevolutionThe Haitian Constitution of 1805. Source: Haiti conomieThe Haitian Revolution established the first free Black Caribbean nation. However, the path to freedom was rocky, with many casualties and a decimated economic and political structure left in its wake.To recover, Haitian leaders turned to agriculture, and the former colony slipped back into its pre-revolutionary stratified ways. For many years, the country was even split between the working class and the elites, with two leaders ruling over the separate parts of the island.Eventually, Jean-Pierre Boyer, a mulatto man and part of the new nations elite, took over rule and began reunification of the country. However, this would not prevent the constant threat of French invasion. The French offered Haiti a deal in 1825, which would ultimately lead to the economic impoverishment of the island nation well into the future.The once again monarchical country of France, led by Charles X, demanded that Haiti pay reparations to its former colonial power in exchange for recognition of independence and thus reentry into the global political and economic market.Boyer agreed to pay the French 150 million francs in reparations to become officially recognized as a nation by a world power. This sum, though reduced to 90 million in 1838, would take Haiti until 1947 to pay off. The Haitian government had to take out loans from French banks to pay the debt. While this saved Haiti from the threat of French invasion, it made the country dependent on its former colonizers to remain afloat.While the Haitian Revolution was a massive step forward in the fight against slavery and free Black nations, the outcome was economically disastrous. The country of Haiti remained poor and indebted long into its first century of independence. Occupation, dictatorship, war, and instability followed. After instability righted by the United Nations in 2004, Haiti was rocked by a massive earthquake and subsequent cholera outbreak in 2010, with years of elected officials failing to stabilize the government afterward.Place de lIndpendance in Gonaves, with its monument to Dessalines, leading Haiti towards freedom. Source: Age of RevolutionsHaiti, which started as Saint Domingue and is often called the Pearl of the Antilles, was Frances richest colonial holding in the Americas. However, it was built on the backs of enslaved people, and the Haitian Revolution is one of the most successful examples of enslaved revolt. Haitians fought for a free state where they could rule as they pleased under the watch of no one, but the country was still oppressed after independence, which took a toll on the future of the nation.The Haitian Revolution was a symbol of hope in a world that enslaved Black people for decades after the revolutions success. It is still a reminder that freedom costs nations much, and colonization can and did have a lasting impact on the Americas. The Haitian Revolution is remembered for its successes, though in reality, freedom is a much more complicated matter that leads to problems wherever it is fought.

Last week, the long-running multimedia sci-fi action horror Predator franchise saw its seventh mainline film and third Predator film directed by Dan Trachtenberg release to theaters worldwide with Predator: Badlands.

Maxwell is happy that Fort Bryant is clean and safe and Democrats dont like that. Maxwell is happier at Fort Bryan, but Dems are sad because she did not implicate Trump. Democratic members continue

What did Senate Democrats get out of the 40-day Schumer Shutdown? Nothing more than what they would have had with the clean continuing resolution.Chuck Schumers caucus threw in the towel last