title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: On the morning of 25 June "Texas", in company with "Arkansas", "Nevada", four cruisers and eleven destroyers, closed in on the vital port of Cherbourg to suppress the fortifications and batteries surrounding the town while the US Army's VII Corps attacked the city from the rear. While en route to Cherbourg, the bombardment plan was changed and Task Group 129.2 (TG 129.2), built around "Arkansas" and "Texas", was ordered to move to the east of Cherbourg and engage the guns of Battery Hamburg, a large shore battery composed of four guns. At 12:08, "Arkansas" was the first to fire at the German positions, while the German gunners waited for "Arkansas" and "Texas" to be well in range to return fire. At 12:33, "Texas" was straddled by three German shells; five minutes later "Texas" returned fire with a continuous stream of two-gun salvos. The battleship continued her firing runs in spite of shell geysers blossoming about her and difficulty spotting the targets because of smoke; however, the enemy gunners were just as stubborn and skilled. At 13:16, a German 24-cm shell skidded across the top of her conning tower, sheared the top of the fire control periscope off (the periscope remains fell back into the conning tower and wounded the fire control officer, LTJG Paul Morigi and three others), hit the main support column of the navigation bridge and exploded. The explosion caused the deck of the pilot house above to be blown upwards approximately , wrecked the interior of the pilot house, and wounded seven. Of the eleven total casualties from the German shell hit, only one man succumbed to his wounds—the helmsman on duty, Christen Christensen. "Texas"s commanding officer, Captain Baker, escaped unhurt and quickly had the bridge cleared. The warship herself continued to deliver her 14-inch shells in two-gun salvos and, in spite of damage and casualties, scored a direct hit that penetrated one of the heavily reinforced gun emplacements to destroy the gun inside at 13:35.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: At 14:47, an unexploded 24 cm shell was reported. The shell crashed through the port bow directly below the Wardroom and entered the stateroom of Warrant Officer M.A. Clark, but failed to explode. The unexploded shell was later disarmed by a Navy bomb disposal officer in Portsmouth and is currently displayed aboard the ship. Throughout the three-hour duel, the Germans straddled and near-missed "Texas" over sixty-five times, but she continued her mission firing 206 fourteen-inch shells at Battery Hamburg until ordered to retire at 15:01.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: After "Texas" underwent repairs at Plymouth from damage sustained at Cherbourg, she drilled in preparation for the invasion of southern France. On 16 July, she departed Belfast Lough and headed for the Mediterranean. After stops at Gibraltar and Oran, Algeria, the battleship arrived in Taranto, Italy on 27 July. Departing Taranto on 11 August, "Texas" rendezvoused with three French destroyers off Bizerte, Tunisia, and set a course for the French Riviera. She arrived off Saint-Tropez during the night of 14 August and was joined early the next morning by battleship "Nevada" and cruiser At 04:44 on 15 August, she moved into position for the pre-landing bombardment and, at 0651, opened up on her first target, a battery of five 15 cm guns. The beaches had been fortified and heavy resistance was expected. Due to very poor visibility that morning, "Texas" relied on her SG radar equipment to determine her position and track for both navigation and gunnery purposes. No landmarks were visible during the firing and for the greater part of the forenoon.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: The heavy opposition that was expected never materialized, so the landing forces moved inland rapidly. As fire support from "Texas"s guns was no longer required, she departed the southern coast of France on the early morning of 17 August. After a stop at Palermo, Sicily, she left the Mediterranean and headed for New York where she arrived on 14 September 1944.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: At New York, "Texas" underwent a 36-day repair period during which the barrels on her main battery were replaced. After a brief refresher cruise, she departed Maine in November and set a course, via the Panama Canal, for the Pacific. She made a stop at Long Beach, California, and then continued on to Oahu. She spent Christmas at Pearl Harbor and then conducted maneuvers in the Hawaiian Islands for about a month at the end of which she steamed to Ulithi Atoll. She departed Ulithi on 10 February 1945, stopped in the Mariana Islands for two days of invasion rehearsals, and then she set a course for Iwo Jima. She arrived off Iwo Jima on 16 February, three days before the amphibious landings began. She spent just three days pounding the Japanese defenses on Iwo Jima in preparation for the landing of three Marine Corps Divisions. After the Marines stormed the beaches on 19 February, "Texas" switched to providing naval gunfire support for them. "On-call fire" in response to requests from Marine units continued through 21 February.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: Though the island of Iwo Jima was not declared to be captured until 16 March, "Texas" departed from the Volcano Islands on 7 March, and returned to Ulithi Atoll to prepare for the invasion of Okinawa (Operation Iceberg). She departed from Ulithi with Task Force 54, the gunfire support unit, on 21 March, and arrived in the Ryukyu Islands on the 26th. "Texas" moved in close to Okinawa and began her prelanding bombardment that same day. For the next six days, she fired multiple salvos from her main guns to prepare the way for several Army and Marine divisions to make their amphibious landings on 1 April.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: Each evening, "Texas" retired from her bombardment position close to Okinawa, but returned the next morning to resume her bombardments. The enemy ashore, preparing for a defense-in-depth strategy as at Iwo Jima, made no answer. Only air units provided a response, as several kamikaze raids were sent to harass the bombardment group. "Texas" escaped damage during those attacks. On 1 April, after six days of aerial and naval bombardment, the ground troops went ashore, and for almost two months, "Texas" remained in Okinawan waters providing gunfire support for the troops and fending off the enemy aerial assault. In performing the latter mission, she claimed one kamikaze kill on her own and claimed three assists. On 14 May she departed Okinawa for the Philippines.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: On 17 May, "Texas" arrived at Leyte in the Philippines and remained there until after the Japanese capitulation on 15 August. She returned to Okinawa toward the end of August and stayed in the Ryukyu Islands until 23 September. On that day, she set a course for the United States with homeward bound troops embarked as part of Operation Magic Carpet. The battleship delivered her passengers to San Pedro, California on 15 October, and celebrated Navy Day there on 27 October before resuming her mission to bring American troops home. She made two round-trip voyages between California and Oahu in November and a third in late December. On 21 January 1946, "Texas" departed San Pedro and steamed via the Panama Canal to Norfolk where she arrived on 13 February, and soon began preparations for inactivation. On 18 June, she was placed officially in reserve at Baltimore, Maryland.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: On 17 April 1947, the Battleship "Texas" Commission was established by the Texas Legislature to care for the ship. The $225,000 necessary to pay for towing her from Baltimore to San Jacinto was the Commission's first task. On 17 March 1948, "Texas" began her journey to her new anchorage along the busy Houston Ship Channel near the San Jacinto Monument, at San Jacinto State Park, arriving on 20 April, where she was turned over to the State of Texas the next day to serve as a permanent memorial. "Texas" sits just across from the monument at Battleground Park in the waters of the Port of Houston where she was ceremoniously decommissioned on the 21st, nine days later on 30 April 1948 her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register. "Texas" was the first permanent battleship memorial museum in the US. was displayed as a floating museum in Portland, Oregon from 1925 to 1941 but was scrapped in 1956. When the battleship was presented to the State of Texas, she was commissioned as the flagship of the Texas Navy.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: The funding produced by the Battleship "Texas" Commission was not up to the task of maintaining the ship. Consequently, years of neglect resulted in cracks and gaps in coated surfaces, water intrusion, and steel deterioration. Paint in interior spaces began to crack, then flake, exposing metal surfaces underneath, which began to rust. At the same time, pipes open to the sea ultimately failed, flooding various voids and bunkers.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: By 1968, the wooden main deck of the ship was so rotted that rainwater was leaking through the deck into the interior of the ship and pooling in various compartments. The Commission found that replacing the decayed deck timbers would be prohibitively expensive. The solution at the time was to remove the wooden deck and replace it with concrete. The concrete eventually cracked, and again, rainwater began to leak through the main deck into spaces below. In 1971, three local charitable institutions, the Brown Foundation, the Moody Foundation, and the Houston Endowment, together contributed $50,000 to the ship to enable the Commission to sandblast and paint the hull. By this time, newspaper articles reported that "Texas" was "under attack" from neglect and insufficient funding.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: Nevertheless, "Texas" was designated a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1975, and a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service in 1976.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: By 1983, concerns with the leadership of the Battleship "Texas" Commission led to the decision by the State Legislature to turn over control of the ship to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). The legislature abolished the commission effective 31 August 1983, and TPWD assumed operational control the next day. One of the first actions by TPWD was to hire a firm of naval architects to survey the ship in order to assess the deterioration and make recommendations as to what actions should be taken to preserve the ship. The survey revealed that the ship's watertight integrity was badly compromised, the hull was open to the sea in many places, and many compartments were full of standing rain water. The architects determined that the ship needed to go to dry dock for major repairs to the hull and to keep rain water from coming through the porous concrete deck. As part of this plan, serious consideration was given to protecting sensitive fabrics and restoring the interior of the ship. After a five-year-long fund-raising campaign, $15 million was collected to dry dock the ship and complete necessary repairs.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: On 13 December 1988, "Texas" was pulled from her berth with great difficulty over the course of six hours by six large tugboats to begin the trip from her berth to Todd Shipyards in Galveston, Texas. Once under tow in the Houston Ship Channel she started taking on water, with a serious breach just forward of the engine rooms. The crew had three pumps and two pumps in continuous service to combat the flooding. During the nine-plus hour transit, the ship's draft increased by in the stern.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: "Texas" entered the yard's floating drydock at approximately 22:30 on 13 December, at high tide with only to spare between her hull and the blocks she would sit on. She underwent a 14-month refit that sought to restore the ship to her 1945 condition. While under refit, yard workers sand-blasted paint from not only the hull but also the superstructure and replaced many tons of rusted metal from the hull. Inside the ship, welders and fabricators replaced weakened structural beams and numerous rusted-out deck plates. Topside, workers removed the concrete from the main deck and a new pinewood deck would be installed in Green's Bayou. In total, more than of steel (amounting to about 15% of the ship's hull) were replaced and more than 40,000 rivets were seal-welded on the underwater hull.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: On 24 February 1990, tugboats moved "Texas" from dry dock to Brown & Root's offshore fabrication facility on Green's Bayou for further repairs, and installation of the four mooring attachments on the starboard side of the vessel. Special diamond bit cutting blades had to be used to cut the 4" thick hull steel which was made in Germany and hardened in carbonized beds to reach over 425 HB hardness values according to original blueprints. It was here that the wood deck was also installed and four of the ten mounts of quad 40 mm guns were installed. On 26 July, the ship was returned to her berth at San Jacinto where the final six mounts of 40 mm guns were installed. Repairs complete, the ship officially reopened to the public on 8 September 1990. Since returning to her slip at San Jacinto, members of the ship's staff and volunteers have worked to restore the interior spaces.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: In 2004, after many years of working with many of the stakeholders at the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site evaluating a wide range of alternative plans to address the ship's problems, TPWD adopted a Master Plan that called for placing "Texas" into a permanent dry berth. The Texas Legislature was approached to secure appropriate funding. The Legislature allowed the voters of Texas to express their opinion and on 6 November 2007 Texas voters approved $25 million in funds to dry-berth the ship to prevent further deterioration from the corrosive waters of the ship channel.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: One of the provisions of the bond legislation was the Battleship Texas Foundation (BTF), a non-profit support organization, raise $4 million in private funds to supplement the $25 million in bond funds. This would provide a total of $29 million to accomplish the goal.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: BTF contracted a maritime engineering firm which determined that the ship's keel and main supporting internal structure would be sufficiently strong to support the ship in a dry berth, while another maritime engineering firm was also contracted to study the full range of dry berth alternatives. With these and other studies complete, TPWD presented a progress report to the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) in late July 2008.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: In March 2009 the LBB released the funds for the dry berthing project to commence. After a lengthy selection process and fee negotiations, TPWD signed a contract with AECOM, on 26 October 2010, to design and develop the plans for "Texas"s dry-berth. The contract called for AECOM to have its preliminary design completed by spring 2011, with the bidding process for the construction of the dry berth and temporary mooring of "Texas" to begin in mid-2014, and construction completed by summer 2017. However, by February 2019, funds had not yet been secured to commence construction, with efforts instead dedicated to repairs to the ship.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: On 28 May 2019, it was reported that "Texas" would be undergoing $35 million worth of repairs and then be moved further up the Texas coast, largely due to a decline in visitors at its current location. Later that year, "Texas" was closed to the public so necessary preparations could be made for the upcoming restoration process.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: In June 2010, a leak on the starboard side of the ship caused "Texas" to sink two to three feet in her mooring. The leak was precipitated by a burned out pump, which allowed the ship to take on more water than usual. Consequently, a seam separation was pulled below the waterline creating a second leak. Once the leak was discovered, the broken pump was replaced. of water had to be pumped from the ship.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: On 9 June 2012 (almost two years to the day later), about 30 new leaks, between holes and gaps, were discovered, ultimately necessitating a three-week closure of the ship to visitors; removal of water and repair of these leaks was complicated by the presence of residual oil in "Texas"s fuel bunkers. In less than a month, the leaks were fixed.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: On 12 June 2017, a hole about below the waterline caused the ship to list (tilt) six degrees to starboard. After emergency repairs, crews pumped out about of water per minute out of the ship for more than 15 hours.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: On 31 August 2022, "Texas" was towed out of her berth to a floating dry dock at Gulf Copper Dry Dock & Rig Repair in Galveston, Texas for repairs. The journey took four tugboats pulling the ship through the Houston Ship Channel and ended at around 4 pm.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: Once repairs are complete, the Battleship Texas Foundation intends to berth the ship at a different city; Baytown, Galveston, and Beaumont have all expressed interest in hosting her.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: "Texas" was the first and oldest of the eight US battleships that became permanent floating museums; the other battleships honored in this way are , , , , , , and . "Texas" is also one of the oldest surviving modern naval ships, having turned 100 years old on 12 March 2014.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: Radio commemorations occur on "Texas" yearly during Museum Ship Weekend and Pearl Harbor Day. Amateur radio operators from the Battleship Texas Amateur Radio operate on those two occasions under the Federal Communications Commission callsign NA5DV, similar to the original callsign NADV.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: "Texas" earned awards for her service in the Tampico Incident, World War I, and World War II. For her service in World War II "Texas" earned five battle stars, one for each of the major campaigns she participated in, among other awards.


title: USS Texas (BB-35)

text: "Texas" has appeared in several films prior to and since her retirement. Her cinema debut, though brief, was in the final scene of the 1937 film "Boy of the Streets" starring Jackie Cooper and Maureen O'Conner. The 1966 Steve McQueen film "The Sand Pebbles" shot some scenes aboard the ship, but these were removed from the final cut of the movie and subsequently lost.


title: Dick York

text: Richard Allen York (September 4, 1928 – February 20, 1992) was an American radio, stage, film, and television actor. He was the first actor to play Darrin Stephens on the ABC fantasy sitcom "Bewitched". He played teacher Bertram Cates in the film "Inherit the Wind" (1960).


title: Dick York

text: York's career was hampered by a serious back injury he sustained while working on the film "They Came to Cordura" in 1959; although his role in "Bewitched" was a success, he left the series in 1969 after a further decline in his physical health, and rarely acted thereafter.


title: Dick York

text: York was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana to Bernard York, a salesman, and Betty, a seamstress. He grew up in Chicago, where a Catholic nun first recognized his vocal promise. He began his career at the age of 15 as the star of the CBS radio program "That Brewster Boy". He also appeared in hundreds of other radio shows and instructional films before heading to New York City, where he acted on Broadway in "Tea and Sympathy" and "Bus Stop". He performed with stars including Paul Muni and Joanne Woodward in live television broadcasts and with Janet Leigh, Jack Lemmon, and Glenn Ford in movies, including "My Sister Eileen" and "Cowboy".


title: Dick York

text: While filming the movie "They Came to Cordura" (1959) with Gary Cooper and Rita Hayworth, he suffered a permanent, disabling back injury. In York's own words, "Gary Cooper and I were propelling a handcar carrying several 'wounded' men down [the] railroad track. I was on the bottom stroke of this sort of teeter-totter mechanism that made the handcar run. I was just lifting the handle up as the director yelled 'cut!' and one of the 'wounded' cast members reached up and grabbed the handle. Now, instead of lifting the expected weight, I was suddenly, jarringly, lifting his entire weight off the flatbed180 pounds or so. The muscles along the right side of my back tore. They just snapped and let loose. And that was the start of it all: the pain, the painkillers, the addiction, the lost career."


title: Dick York

text: York's injury did not immediately end his career. In 1960, a year after York's injury, he played Bertram Cates (modeled on John Thomas Scopes, of "Monkey Trial" fame) in the film version of "Inherit the Wind".


title: Dick York

text: York went on to star with Gene Kelly and Leo G. Carroll in the ABC comedy-drama "Going My Way" (1962). York was cast in the series, which lasted one season, as Tom Colwell, who operates a secular youth center.


title: Dick York

text: York appeared in dozens of episodes of now-classic television series, including "Justice", "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour", "The Untouchables", "Rawhide", "The Americans", "Wagon Train", "Father Knows Best", and CBS's "The Twilight Zone" and "Route 66".


title: Dick York

text: York was cast as Darrin Stephens in the 1960s sitcom "Bewitched" as Samantha's (Elizabeth Montgomery) mortal husband. The show was a huge success and York was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1968.


title: Dick York

text: The crew built York a slanted wall on which he could lean between scenes; during the first two seasons, this allowed York to manage his back injury with little difficulty. Halfway through the third season, York's back injury was aggravated into a painful degenerative spine condition, frequently causing shooting delays while he required assistance to walk. Because York would sometimes be seized with debilitating pain, the scripts for some of his later "Bewitched" episodes were written and staged such that his character would be in bed or on the couch for the entire episode. York did not appear in several third- and fourth-season episodes, and his eventual departure from the show well into the filming of the fifth season necessitated more episodes focusing on Samantha and other members of her family, with mentions that Darrin was away on business.


title: Dick York

text: While filming the fifth-season episode "Daddy Does His Thing," York fell ill: "I was too sick to go on. I had a temperature of 105, full of strong antibiotics, for almost 10 days. I went to work that day, but I was sick. I lay in my dressing room after being in make-up, waiting to be called on the set. They knew I was feeling pretty rotten, and they tried to give me time to rest. I kept having chills. This was the middle of the summer and I was wearing a sheepskin jacket and I was chilling. I was shaking all over. Then, while sitting on a scaffolding with Maurice Evans, being lit for a special-effects scene: They were setting an inkythat's a little tiny [spotlight] that was supposed to be just flickering over my eyes. That flickering, flickering, flickering made me feel weird. And I'm sitting on this platform up in the air... and I turned to Gibby, who was just down below, and I said, 'Gibby, I think I have to get down.' He started to help me down and that's the last thing I remember until I woke up on the floor. That's about all I remember of the incident... and I'd managed to bite a very large hole in the side of my tongue before they could pry my teeth apart."


title: Dick York

text: From York's hospital bed, he and director William Asher discussed York's future. "Do you want to quit?" Asher asked. "If it's all right with you, Billy," York replied. With that, York left the sitcom to devote himself to recovery, never to return. Dick Sargent replaced York in the role of Darrin Stephens, taking over the role at the start of the series' sixth season (1969–1970) and continuing in the part until the series ended after its eighth season (1971–1972). Sargent was originally offered the role of Darrin in 1964, but declined in favor of a part in the short-lived sitcom "Broadside".


title: Dick York

text: For the next 18 months, York was largely bed-ridden in a haze of prescription painkillers. In his memoir, "The Seesaw Girl and Me", published posthumously, he describes the struggle to break his addiction and come to grips with the loss of his career. The book is in large part a love letter to his wife, Joan (née Alt), the seesaw girl of the title, who stuck with him through the hard times.


title: Dick York

text: He then quit drugs cold turkey, which led to six months' difficult withdrawal and recovery. "I had a band playing in my head, bagpipes night and day," York recalled. "It just went on and on and on and on and on... The fans whisper to you and the walls whisper to you and you look at television and sometimes it flashes in a certain way that sends you into a fit and you know that your wife has put her hand in your mouth so you won't bite off your tongue. You can't sleep. You hallucinate. I used to make a tape recording of rain so I could listen to the rain lying in bed at night to drown out those damned bagpipes."


title: Dick York

text: York eventually beat his addiction, and in the early 1980s tried to revive his career. His last two credits were on two primetime television series, "Simon & Simon" and "Fantasy Island".


title: Dick York

text: York was a three-pack-a-day smoker for much of his life and often smoked cigarettes on the set of "Bewitched"; he spent his final years battling emphysema. By 1989, he was using an oxygen tank to help him breathe. While bedridden in his Rockford, Michigan, home, he founded "Acting for Life", a private charity to help the homeless and others in need. Using his telephone as his pulpit, York motivated politicians, business people, and the general public to contribute supplies and money.


title: Dick York

text: Despite his suffering, York said, "I've been blessed. I have no complaints. I've been surrounded by people in radio, on stage, and in motion pictures and television who love me. The things that have gone wrong have been simply physical things."


title: Dick York

text: York died of complications from emphysema at Blodgett Hospital in East Grand Rapids, Michigan, on February 20, 1992, at age 63. He is buried at Plainfield Cemetery in Rockford, Michigan.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: The Crimean Bridge (), also called Kerch Strait Bridge or Kerch Bridge, is a pair of parallel bridges, one for a four-lane road and one for a double-track railway, spanning the Kerch Strait between the Taman Peninsula of Krasnodar Krai in Russia and the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea. Built by the Russian Federation after the annexation of Crimea at the start of 2014, the bridge cost ₽227.92 billion (US$3.7 billion) and has a length of , making it the longest bridge in Europe and the longest bridge ever constructed by Russia.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: In January 2015, the multibillion-dollar construction contract for the bridge was awarded to Arkady Rotenberg's Stroygazmontazh. Construction began


title: Crimean Bridge

text: in February 2016. The road bridge was inaugurated by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 15 May 2018. It opened for cars on 16 May and for trucks on 1 October. The rail bridge was inaugurated on 23 December 2019 and the first scheduled passenger train crossed the bridge two days later. The bridge was opened for freight trains on 30 June 2020. A record amount of traffic, totaling 36,393 cars, was recorded on 15 August 2020.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: The bridge was named the "Crimean Bridge" after an online vote in December 2017, while "Kerch Bridge" and "Reunification Bridge" were the second and third most popular choices, respectively.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: On 8 October 2022, an explosion occurred on the roadway leading from Russia to Crimea, starting a large fire and causing parts of the road bridge to collapse, with repairs ordered to be completed by end of July 2023.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: Proposals to build a bridge across the Kerch Strait were considered from the early 20th century onward.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: During World War II the German Organisation Todt built a ropeway over the strait. Finished in June 1943, it had daily capacity of 1,000 tonnes. Construction of a combined road and railway bridge started in April 1943, but before it was finished, retreating German troops blew up the completed parts of the bridge and destroyed the ropeway.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: In 1944, the Soviet Union constructed a railway bridge across the strait. This bridge, not designed as permanent, was marred by design and construction errors, and was destroyed by flowing ice in February 1945. A proposal to repair it was quickly dismissed and the remnants of the bridge were dismantled, with permanent bridge designs envisaged instead.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: In 1949 the Soviet government ordered the construction of a two-tier combined road-rail bridge (two road lanes on the upper tier and two rail tracks on the lower tier) with 40 m clearance below, connecting Yeni-Kale with Chushka Spit, but in 1950 the construction was halted and a ferry line was created instead.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: A different version of the fixed link, the Kerch waterworks project («Керченский гидроузел») was developed since the mid-1960s, proposing a system of dams and bridges across the strait. The project was not implemented due to a lack of funding and the collapse of the USSR.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: Although the idea of an international bridge linking Ukraine and Russia survived the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, the two countries failed to finalize the project. Former Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov was a vocal advocate for a highway bridge across the strait, expressing hope that it would bring the Crimeans closer to Russia, both economically and symbolically. Similar hopes were expressed by pro-Russian authorities in Crimea, who hoped that the bridge would contribute to either a "revival of the Silk Road" or to a multinational road along the Black Sea coast.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: Construction of the bridge was reconsidered by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in 2006, and the then-Transport Minister of Ukraine Mykola Rudkovsky stated that he expected the bridge to be a "net positive for Crimea" as it would allow "every tourist visiting Russian Caucasus to visit Crimea as well". The issue was discussed by prime ministers of both countries in 2008, and a Transport Strategy of Russia, adopted in that year, envisaged the construction of the Kerch Strait bridge as a high priority issue for the development of the Southern Federal District's transport infrastructure in the period 2016–2030, with design to be created by 2015.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: In 2010, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed an agreement to build a bridge across the Kerch Strait, and Russia and Ukraine signed a memorandum of mutual understanding on the construction of the bridge on 26 November 2010. A 2011 study by the Ukrainian government announced preliminary preference for a route between Cape Fonar and Cape Maly Kut. Had that project been accomplished, it would have meant construction of a bridge link, with of adjacent roads and of adjacent railroads.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: The shelving of the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement in November 2013 led to increased interest in the construction of a bridge between Crimea and the Taman Peninsula of Russia, and an agreement on the construction of that bridge was signed as a part of the 17 December 2013 Ukrainian–Russian action plan. In late January 2014, the Ukrainian and Russian governments decided that a new joint Ukrainian–Russian company would be commissioned to handle the construction of the bridge, while the Russian state enterprise Russian Highways (Avtodor) would become responsible for the bridge in the long term.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: It was decided a special working group would determine the location and set the technical parameters. The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine estimated that construction would take five years and cost between $1.5 and $3 billion. In early February 2014, Russian Highways (Avtodor) was instructed by the First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia to work on a feasibility study to be published in 2015.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: In the following months, as relations between Ukraine and Russia deteriorated, bilateral negotiations over the bridge collapsed, yet Russia claimed that it expected the December 2013 deals to be honored, and on 3 March prime minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a governmental decree to create a subsidiary of Avtodor to oversee the project. A contest for the engineering survey of the bridge project was announced by that subsidiary on 18 March, but by that time the premise of the contest, which still referred to 2013 agreements, was already outdated. In April 2014, following Russian annexation of Crimea the Ukrainian government gave Russia six months' notice of its withdrawal from the now-defunct bilateral Kerch Bridge agreement.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: Following the Russian invasion and annexation of Crimea in March 2014 amid a sharp deterioration in Ukrainian-Russian relations, Russia declared it would unilaterally build the Kerch Strait bridge to connect the Russian mainland with the annexed Ukrainian peninsula. The project was strategic, an instrumental part of Russian plans to integrate the newly annexed territory into Russia. The project aims to shift Crimean dependence on Ukraine and reduce Kyiv's leverage, remove Moscow's reliance upon inadequate sea and air links for supplying the peninsula, and allow Russia to independently supply Crimea, whose economy has become dependent upon significant subsidies from Moscow. The bridge has a symbolic purpose: it is meant to show Russia's resolve to hold Crimea, and as a "physical" attachment of Crimea to Russian territory.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: The announcement that Russia would build a road-rail bridge over the strait was made by the Russian President Vladimir Putin on 19 March 2014, just one day after Russia officially claimed Crimea. In January 2015, the contract for construction of the bridge was awarded to the SGM Group, whose owner Arkady Rotenberg (reportedly a close personal friend of Putin) was internationally sanctioned in response to the Russian military's involvement in Ukraine. SGM typically constructed pipelines and had no experience building bridges, according to BBC News.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: The construction of the Kerch Bridge took place without Ukraine's consent. The Ukrainian government has actively condemned Russian construction of the bridge as illegal because Ukraine, "as a coastal state with regard to the Crimean Peninsula", did not give its consent to such construction, and called on Russia to demolish "those parts of that structure located within temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory". Sanctions were introduced by the United States and the European Union against companies involved in the construction.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: Since December 2018 the United Nations General Assembly has repeatedly condemned the construction and opening of the bridge as "facilitating the further militarization of Crimea" and "restricting the size of ships that can reach the Ukrainian ports on the Azov coast". Russia, on the other hand, asserted that it "shall not ask for anybody's permission to build transport infrastructure for the sake of the population of Russian regions".


title: Crimean Bridge

text: Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian plans and calls for the "destruction" of the bridge have risen, bringing criticism and talks of guaranteed protection of the bridge from Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin Press Secretary.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: On 8 October 2022 a major explosion occurred on the bridge, forcing portions of the Crimea-bound road segment to collapse and causing several oil tanker wagons on the rail section to catch fire. Vladimir Konstantinov, Chairman of the State Council of Crimea, attributed the explosion to a Ukrainian attack. Limited traffic resumed on the remaining lines shortly afterwards. Russian authorities ordered repairs to be complete by July 2023.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: After the annexation, Russian officials looked at various options for connecting Crimea to the Russian mainland, including a tunnel, but eventually settled on a bridge.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: The bridge spans the Strait of Kerch between the Taman Peninsula of Krasnodar Krai and the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: The Russian government's draft resolution of 1 September 2014 required the bridge to have four lanes of vehicle traffic and a double-track railway.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: An official video from October 2015 contained a CGI concept of the bridge design, annotated with various measurements. It showed a four-lane, flat deck highway bridge running parallel with the separate two-track railway. The main span over the Kerch Strait shipping channel would have a steel arch support, wide with a clearance above the water to allow ships to pass under. There would be three segments: from the Taman Peninsula to Tuzla Spit is ; across Tuzla Island is ; and from Tuzla Island to the Crimean Peninsula is ( total).


title: Crimean Bridge

text: The final concept was a major change from the initial project considered in late 2014, which had envisaged construction of two bridge links (parallel road and rail bridges between the Taman Peninsula and the Tuzla Spit and a double deck road-rail bridge between Tuzla Island and the Kerch Peninsula) and a causeway on Tuzla Spit. This design was scrapped, the causeway being deemed too risky to rely on given the instability of the Tuzla Spit.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: The official reason for abandonment of a double deck bridge in favor of two continuous parallel structures was that the latter solution allows for less massive spans and for simultaneous construction of both bridges (rather than having to construct one level of bridge first before starting the second one), an important consideration given demands by the Russian government that road and rail links be operational quickly. The "Tuzla route" was preferred over shorter variants (starting at Chushka Spit), in particular because doing otherwise would have interfered with the still operational ferry line, to the effect of worsening transport communications between Russia and Crimea.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: The bridge was built by Stroygazmontazh Ltd (SGM), which had never before built a major bridge. Because of the risk of sanctions, no international insurance company was willing to underwrite the potential $3 billion loss. It was insured instead by a small Crimean company.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: The geology of the Kerch Strait is difficult: it has a tectonic fault, and the bedrock is covered by a layer of silt. About 70 mud volcanoes have been found in the area of the strait. More than 7,000 piles support the bridges; these piles have been driven up to beneath the water surface. Some of the piles are at an angle to make the structure more stable during earthquakes.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: Some experts expressed doubts that the construction was safe, given the tectonic and sea current conditions in the strait.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: Preliminary work on the bridge began in May 2015. More than 200 bombs and a few airplanes (including an Ilyushin Il-2 and a Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk) from the World War II era were found in the area during pre-construction clearance. Three temporary bridges were built, to facilitate access (independent of weather and currents) for main construction. By October 2015, the first of the temporary bridges had been constructed, connecting Tuzla Island and Taman Peninsula.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: Main construction started in February 2016. The first piles were installed in early 2016, and in April 2016 the first pillar of the road bridge was constructed. The foundations of the road bridge were completed in August 2017. The two shipping channel arches (over the Kerch–Yenikale Canal) were lifted into position in August and October that year.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: In October 2017, National Guard of Russia Director Viktor Zolotov announced the formation of a new "maritime brigade", intended to protect the bridge as part of Russia's Southern Military District. In December 2017 all road pillars and spans were completed, by April 2018 asphalt concrete was laid onto the road bridge, and after some examination the road bridge was deemed ready for operation.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: On 15 May 2018, the road bridge was officially unveiled. President Vladimir Putin led a convoy of trucks, driving one himself, across the bridge in an inauguration ceremony. The bridge was opened for non-truck vehicle traffic on 16 May 2018 and for trucks on 1 October.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: The construction of the rail bridge continued. In June 2018 pile installation was finished, and in July 2018 deployment of the rail tracks started.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: In October 2018, the Russian Taman Road Administration reported that when one of the railway spans was being lowered into place, it tilted and fell into the sea. This occurred in the sea section between Tuzla Spit and Tuzla Island. In November 2018 the installation of the railway pillars was completed.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: On 24 March 2019 the bridge's press center reported completion of construction of railway spans, and on 18 July it reported completion of the bridge's rail tracks. In October 2019, the opening for freight trains was postponed until 2020, the official cause was a delay in the construction of the connecting railroad caused by the discovery of an ancient site on the Kerch Peninsula. Sale of train tickets across the Kerch Strait started in November 2019. On 18 December 2019 the rail bridge was deemed ready for operation, and President Putin formally opened the bridge on 23 December. The first scheduled passenger train crossed the bridge on 25 December 2019, while the bridge was opened for freight trains on 30 June 2020.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: The rail bridge design provides the ability to install an overhead railway electrification system "whenever such decision will be made", requiring no rebuilding of the bridge's structures. Pending electrification, the rail bridge is served by diesel locomotives.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: The road bridge, opened in 2018, quickly overtook the Kerch Strait ferry as a preferred route of communication between Crimea and Russia. In its first 12 hours of operation the bridge broke the traffic record of the ferry, which had been established in August 2017. After the bridge was opened for trucks in October 2018, truck transportation via the ferry virtually ceased. After the first full year of operation (May 2018 – May 2019) the road bridge had served three times more traffic than the Kerch Strait ferry had served in the whole of 2017.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: Since the road bridge is free of charge, in contrast to the ferry, it is claimed that users of the bridge saved more than 16 billion rubles. The bridge is said to have contributed to an increase of the number of tourists visiting the Crimea, with bridge traffic peaking in the summer months – on 5 August 2018 the bridge broke a single-day record for car traffic, with 32,000 vehicles crossing the span, followed by over 33,000 vehicles on 12 August that year and over 35,000 a year later. The long roadway with few diversions occasionally becomes congested, with long traffic queues.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: A fall in the price of retail goods in Crimea, which was expected to occur after the opening of the road bridge, did not happen. According to the local Russian administration, this situation persists because large retail groups are not operating in Crimea due to either risk of being sanctioned or because they deem Crimea a "logistic dead end", although there were expectations that the opening of the rail bridge would eventually contribute to a decrease in price of certain goods.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: The Russian bridge crosses the sole access point for ships travelling to and from Ukraine's eastern port cities, including Mariupol and Berdiansk through which Ukraine exported steel and agricultural products. Following completion of the bridge various restrictions were imposed on Ukrainian shipping which affect their operating costs, which Ukraine and others alleged was part of a creeping hybrid blockade of Ukrainian ports in the Azov Sea.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: These restrictions, including Russian inspections of ships, had risen sharply since the bridge opened in May 2018, some being forced to wait for three days before being allowed through. Additionally, due to the height limits of the main span of the bridge ( above sea level) the Ukrainian maritime authority said many ships are too big to pass safely under the bridge. The bulk carrier "Copan" (deadweight tonnage 17,777 tons) solved this problem by cutting off the top of her mast. On 26 October 2018 "The Globe and Mail", citing Ukrainian sources, reported that the bridge had reduced Ukrainian shipping from its Sea of Azov ports by about 25%.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: In November 2018 the area near the bridge became the site of the Kerch Strait incident, in which the Russian navy claimed that three Ukrainian vessels entered Russian territorial waters. Russian forces seized the vessels and arrested their crews. During this time, passage through the Strait was blocked by a large cargo ship, placed under the bridge to prevent passage of other craft. In response, Ukraine declared martial law in some regions of the country for 30 days.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: Part of a large Greek terracotta statue was found at the Crimean Bridge construction site, during underwater digging near the Ak-Burun Cape. According to archaeologists, this is a unique finding, since it is the first of its kind found in the northern Black Sea area.


title: Crimean Bridge

text: Russian film director Tigran Keosayan made a romantic comedy film about the construction of the bridge called "The Crimean Bridge. Made with Love!". It was officially released in cinemas in Russia on 1 November 2018.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: Assassin's Creed Rogue is a 2014 action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Sofia and published by Ubisoft. It is the seventh major installment in the "Assassin's Creed" series, and is set between 2013's "" and 2012's "Assassin's Creed III". It also has ties to "Assassin's Creed Unity", which was released on the same day as "Rogue". It is the last "Assassin's Creed" game to be developed for the seventh generation of consoles, being released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2014, and for Microsoft Windows in March 2015. A remastered version of the game was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in March 2018. It was also released on the Nintendo Switch as part of "The Rebel Collection" alongside "Black Flag" in December 2019, and for Google Stadia in October 2021.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: The plot is set in a fictional history of real-world events and follows the millennia-old struggle between the Assassin Brotherhood, who fight to preserve peace and free will, and the Templar Order, who desire peace through control. The framing story is set during the 21st century and depicts the player as an employee of Abstergo Industries (a company used as a front by the modern-day Templars), who uncovers various secrets about the Assassin-Templar conflict while attempting to fix the company's servers. The main plot is set before and during the French and Indian War from 1752 to 1760, and follows Shay Patrick Cormac, an Irish American privateer and Assassin, who defects to the Templars and helps them hunt down members of his former Brotherhood after becoming disillusioned with their tactics. Gameplay in "Rogue" is very similar to that of "Black Flag" with a mixture of ship-based naval exploration and third-person land-based exploration, though some new features have been added.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: Upon release, "Rogue" received a mixed reception, with praise directed at the game's twist on the traditional formula by playing as a Templar, the mature storyline, complex protagonist, and sophisticated depiction of the Assassin-Templar conflict, as well as the additions to the franchise's lore and the naval warfare gameplay. However, it was criticized for failing to innovate the series' formula, its short length, and similarities to "Black Flag".


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: "Assassin's Creed Rogue" is an action-adventure, stealth game set in an open world environment and played from a third-person perspective. The game features three main areas: the western North Atlantic, the fictional River Valley (partly inspired by the Hudson Valley), and New York City. The first two include numerous individual locations that can be explored, such as small islands, human settlements, naval forts, and shipwrecks. Like "", naval exploration and combat are a major component of the gameplay. The "Morrigan", the ship that protagonist Shay Cormac captains, has a shallower draft than Edward Kenway's "Jackdaw", allowing for river travel, and can be equipped with several new weapons, including Puckle guns, oil slicks which can be ignited, and an icebreaker. Additionally, enemy ships can board the "Morrigan", and certain icebergs can be destroyed to create waves that damage smaller ships. However, the underwater diving missions featured in "Black Flag" have been removed as swimming in the North Atlantic causes the player's health to rapidly deplete due to the frigid water, though Shay is able to swim freely in the southerly waters of the River Valley.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: For combat, the game introduces an air rifle, similar to the blowpipe from "Black Flag", which allows the player to silently take out enemies at a distance. The air rifle can be outfitted with a variety of different projectiles, such as sleeping darts and firecrackers. At a predetermined point in the narrative, Shay is also given a grenade launcher attachment for his rifle by a fictionalized version of Benjamin Franklin, which could fire off shrapnel grenades and other loads. Hand-to-hand combat has been slightly altered, and now enemy attacks can be countered with timing, similar to the "" series of games. Enemy Assassins feature archetypes similar to previous games, using skills that players have been using throughout the series; they can hide in bushes, blend in with crowds, and perform air assassinations against the player. Poison gas can now be used as an environmental weapon, and Shay has a mask that can mitigate its effects. When being stalked by an enemy, Shay's Eagle Vision changes to reflect this, taking elements from the multiplayer feature of previous games in the series that allowed players to track an enemy's position via a radar-like system. Even without using Eagle Vision, the player is warned of the presence of stalkers by the edges of the screen turning red.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: The player can upgrade Shay's equipment through a crafting system, which requires animal pelts gained from hunting or fishing. In-game collectibles, such as Templar treasures, Native pillars, and Viking sword fragments, also provide Shay with new outfits and equipment upon finding them. The "Morrigan" can also be upgraded using resources acquired from raiding ships, warehouses, and camps, allowing it to face off against more powerful ships; the strongest of which are the five Legendary Ships—hidden boss battles located in the North Atlantic, which were also present in "Black Flag".


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: Side missions and activities return, with a number of them based on those of the previous games. Reflecting Shay's role as a Templar, the game introduces a new side mission: Assassin Interception. These mirror the Assassination side missions in previous games, in that Shay, after intercepting a messenger pigeon carrying an assassination contract, must prevent an assassination target from being killed by finding and eliminating Assassins hidden nearby. Other side activities are connected to the Seven Years' War and include naval clashes, freeing prisoners of war held aboard enemy ships, and taking over enemy forts and settlements.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: Another returning feature from earlier installments is the ability to renovate buildings, which then generate income that is deposited in the bank and must be collected regularly. This system functions similarly to the Borgia towers from "" and the Templar dens from "", as buildings can only be renovated after the area they are located in has been liberated from the Assassins' control. In the game, the Assassins run a gang that has a total of ten hideouts across the three main regions. To clear a hideout, the player must assassinate its gang leader (who can block most of Shay's direct attacks and has an unblockable hidden blade strike), burn the gang's flag, and in some cases kill Templar defectors or rescue captured British soldiers.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: In 1752, Shay Patrick Cormac (Steven Piovesan) is a new recruit to the Colonial Brotherhood of Assassins, whose potential is offset by his insubordination. While Shay trains with the North Atlantic chapter under the Assassin Mentor Achilles Davenport (Roger Aaron Brown), the Assassin Adéwalé (Tristan D. Lalla) arrives with news that Port-au-Prince has been devastated by an earthquake during their search for a Precursor site. Due to his experience captaining ships, Shay is tasked to retrieve a Precursor box and manuscript linked to the temple from the Templars. However, Shay begins to question the Assassins' motives after they refuse to engage in dialogue with the Templars, instead ordering Shay to assassinate them regardless of circumstance.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: In 1754, after recovering the box and manuscript, Shay delivers them to Benjamin Franklin (Rick Jones), whose experiments on the box generate a map that shows the locations of more Precursor temples around the world. Ordered to investigate a temple in Lisbon, Shay inadvertently triggers a devastating earthquake when he tries removing the Piece of Eden at its center, leaving him guilt-ridden. Deducing that Port-au-Prince was destroyed similarly, Shay is horrified to learn that Achilles intends to continue the search for Pieces of Eden, endangering more lives. He steals the manuscript and attempts to escape with it, but is cornered by the Brotherhood. Shay is shot and left for dead before he can destroy the manuscript.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: Cast adrift, Shay is found by Colonel George Monro (Graham J. Cuthbertson), who saves him and leaves him in the care of Templar sympathizers in New York City. After recovering in 1756, Shay cleans out Assassin-allied gangs that are extorting the citizenry, catching Monro's attention, who convinces Shay that he can improve the lives of others. After retaking his ship, the "Morrigan", from the Assassins and recruiting Christopher Gist (Richard M. Dumont) as his quartermaster, Shay agrees to assist his newfound Templar allies. Discovering that the Assassins have not given up their search for the Pieces of Eden, Shay hunts them down. After killing Le Chasseur (Chimwemwe Miller), Kesegowaase (Danny Blanco-Hall), Adéwalé, Hope Jensen (Patricia Summersett), and Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye (Marcel Jeannin) over the following years, only two members of the Colonial Brotherhood remain: Achilles and his second-in-command, Liam O'Brien (Julian Casey), once Shay's best friend.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: Shay and the Templar Grand Master Haytham Kenway (Adrian Hough) pursue the Assassins to the Arctic, where another Temple had been located. After eliminating the Assassin expedition, Shay and Haytham enter the Temple to find Liam and Achilles, who have realized that the artifact is a means to stabilize the world, not a weapon to control it. During the confrontation, the artifact is accidentally destroyed, triggering another earthquake. As the four escape, Shay and Liam duel and the latter is fatally injured. Shay returns to his ship as Haytham overpowers Achilles. Shay persuades Haytham to spare Achilles, to ensure knowledge of the Temples is not lost, so the Assassins will not pursue them again. Haytham agrees, but cripples Achilles.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: Tasked by Haytham to recover the Precursor box from the Assassins, Shay spends the next sixteen years tracking it down. In 1776, with Benjamin Franklin's help, Shay infiltrates the Palace of Versailles in France and kills the Assassin Charles Dorian to obtain the box. He reaffirms his commitment to the Templar cause, and suggests that the Templars should soon start their own revolution.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: In the modern-day, the player is an unnamed Abstergo Entertainment employee tasked with researching Shay's memories. During their investigation, the player inadvertently trips a hidden memory file that infects the Animus servers. Abstergo is placed in lockdown, and the player must clean the Animus servers by living out Shay's memories. Juhani Otso Berg (Andreas Apergis), a senior Templar, orders the player to upload Shay's memories to the Assassin servers, to weaken their resolve. The Brotherhood responds by cutting off communications. In a mid-credits scene, Berg thanks the player for their help, and gives them a choice: join the Templars, or die. The player's decision is not revealed.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: By March 2014, a game code-named "Comet" was revealed to be in development, set for release on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. By the end of the month, additional reports indicated that "Comet" would be set around 1758 in New York, as well as feature sailing on the Atlantic Ocean. The game would be a direct sequel to "", and would feature a Templar named Shay as the main protagonist. Haytham Kenway from "Assassin's Creed III" and Adéwalé from "Black Flag" would also make appearances"."


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: The game was officially announced on August 5, 2014, following a leak of the title. Game director Martin Capel described the game as the conclusion to the series' "North American saga" and said that it was designed to accommodate specific fan requests, such as taking on the role of a Templar. The game is intended to "fill the gaps" of the story between "Assassin's Creed III" and "Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag" and has "a crucial link" to the events of the previous games. In addition to Ubisoft Sofia's work on the game, contributions are also being made by Ubisoft studios in Singapore, Montreal, Quebec, Chengdu, Milan and Bucharest. Ubisoft also stated that the game was being envisioned without multiplayer components "at this stage", but did not rule out any modes being added after the game launched.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: Writer Richard Farrese suggested that one of the exciting things about playing a Templar is that the player experienced "all of that from the other side", and now that they are part of the Templar Order as Shay, the game places the player in direct opposition against the chaos wrought by the Assassins. One of the key differences between both organizations, besides their philosophical differences, comes down to resources: Farrese explained that the Templars are well-heeled compared to the Assassins, and while they are not in control of the Colonial authorities at the onset of the French and Indian War, they are actively trying to manipulate them. The Templar Order's access to a wealth of resources is manifested through Shay's arsenal of rare and exotic weapons that either existed as prototypes during the era or were actually in use at the time.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: "Rogue" incorporates the naval battles and exploration which were core gameplay mechanics in "Black Flag". According to writer Susan Patrick, there is a thematic link between Shay Cormac and his ship, the "Morrigan", as Cormac is a Gaelic name that means "raven" and The Morrigan is a goddess from Irish mythology associated with war and fate who is often depicted as a raven.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: The core concept of Shay Cormac's story arc is based on the idea of a member of the Assassins having a change of heart and leaving as a result of a traumatic act of betrayal. Richard Farrese, one of the writers for "Rogue", explained that the character is prompted to rethink his whole philosophy and his allegiance to the Assassins as a result of a cataclysmic event, and realizes that the Templars' goals and methods are much more in line with his own beliefs. Shay is depicted at the beginning of "Rogue"'s narrative as a somewhat frivolous personality who does not take his role seriously due to his youth and lack of wisdom, though he is full of inner conflict as he questions the motivations of his leaders. Ivan Balabanov, producer and general manager of Ubisoft Sofia, describes Shay's character arc as a "transformation into this very somber, dedicated character who is pursuing his former comrades for something he genuinely believes is the better road.” Balabanov further noted that "there are not many lines which Shay doesn't cross" and that "Rogue" was the most tragic of the franchise's titles to date.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: Ubisoft staff have explained during interviews that Shay is not evil or ruthless at any point in the game's narrative, but rather the narrative focuses on Shay "as a human being, his story, why he's doing what he's doing, all in the context of demonstrating these gray areas". The development team wanted to create a relatable character whose actions create room for understanding, and that they deliberately avoid creating a "monodimensional, very flat character, a stereotypical bad guy who kills the good guys". Balabanov explained that "Shay is not somebody who, once he's made up his mind, he's forgotten what it's like to know these people. He knows who they are. He's regretful when he kills them." Producer Karl van der Luhe further elaborated that from Shay's perspective, it is not about "going to the dark side", but rather a case of him finding himself being aligned with the Templars' approach as he comes to a realization that their motives and strategy are more in-line with what he believes is right, and he joins to help push it further. Van der Luhe noted that the Templars and Assassins essentially want the same things and that their point of difference is their approach into getting there. Writer Susan Patrick suggested that by hunting down his former comrades, Shay is in fact seeking redemption.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: "Assassin's Creed Rogue" was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on November 11, 2014, in North America; November 13, 2014, in most other regions; and November 14, 2014, in the United Kingdom, to coincide with the release of "Assassin's Creed Unity" for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. A Windows version of "Rogue" was also released four months later, on March 10, 2015.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: Four downloadable content packs were released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game, each adding new weapons and/or customization options for Shay and the "Morrigan": the "Officer Pack", "Commander Pack", "Templar Pack", and "Explorer Pack". All the downloadable content available for "Rogue" was later compiled into a single pack, titled the "Templar Legacy Pack", which was released on January 13, 2015. Additionally, Ubisoft released four Time Saver packs (the "Activities Pack", "Collectibles Pack", "Resources Pack", and "Technology Pack"), which provide the player with early in-game resources to upgrade the "Morrigan" and the locations of all collectibles in order to facilitate gameplay.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: Through Ubisoft's Uplay system, players could redeem several in-game bonuses, including the Assassin Killer outfit, a Katana and Wakizashi weapon set, and customization items for the "Morrigan" inspired by the "Jackdaw" from "".


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: On January 11, 2018, Ubisoft announced a remastered version of "Assassin's Creed Rogue", to be released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on March 20. The remaster features enhanced visuals and all previously released downloadable content, as well as exclusive legacy outfits inspired by Jacob Frye from "Assassin's Creed Syndicate", Aguilar de Nerha from the live-action "Assassin's Creed" film, and Bayek from "Assassin's Creed Origins". On December 6, 2019, "Assassin's Creed Rogue: Remastered" was released alongside "Black Flag" as "The Rebel Collection" for the Nintendo Switch.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: In 2019, DAMTOYS released a figure of Shay Cormac, which stands at just over 12 inches tall and dressed in the character's signature robed outfit, with accessories such as pistol bags, bracers, and pouches. The action figure features nearly a dozen interchangeable hands, which allows for poses with different types of weapons.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: "Assassin's Creed Rogue" received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: Ray Carsillo from Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game an 8.5/10, praising its interesting lead character, enjoyable story, new weapons introduced, new mission design, which requires players to prevent assassinations instead of carrying out assassinations like in other "Assassin's Creed" titles, as well as advanced and improved combat mechanics. However, he criticized poor pacing of the story, frequent bugs, lack of replayability and the lack of inclusion of a multiplayer mode. He concluded the review by saying that ""Rogue" is a far more pleasurable experience than I anticipated. It does just enough to put its own stamp on the franchise while also giving us critical story details in order to tie up loose ends between "Assassin's Creed III" and "". It serves as a perfect conclusion to the series' time spent exploring Europe's North American colonies in the 18th century."


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: "Eurogamer" drew comparisons between "Rogue" and "Assassin's Creed Revelations"—a game which served to resolve storylines from Ezio Auditore's saga as a lead-in to "Assassin's Creed III", due to its focus on expanding on characters and storylines introduced in "III" and "Black Flag". Although noting that some settings, weapons, and mechanics had been reused from previous games in the series (such as an expansion of the New York City setting from "III", naval combat, renovating buildings to build income, and locating enemies with a radar similar to the former multiplayer mode), the use of Assassins as an enemy was considered to be a "much-needed new [idea] to the series' fighting mechanics" due to their use of tactics that were used by the player themselves in previous games (such as smoke bombs and hiding), and that "Rogue" felt the most "fresh" whilst exploring its new North Atlantic overworld. However, the story missions themselves and single player campaign overall were criticized for being noticeably shorter than in previous games.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: Matt Miller from Game Informer gave the game an 8.25/10. He praised the huge variety of activities, varied environments, and mission types, new additions and well-performed gameplay, despite being too similar to its predecessors. He criticized the repetitive melee combat and the absence of multiplayer mode. He described the game by saying that ""Rogue" is vast with lots to explore, and while it lacks novelty, it offers a wealth of gameplay and lore to faithful fans." Daniel Bloodworth from GameTrailers gave the game a 7.2/10, praising the return of some old characters in the "Assassin's Creed" series, stunning scenery and environment, interesting interceptions missions, but criticizing the predictable and dull lead character, poorly-constructed missions in the beginning of the game, disappointing boss battles, as well as numerous bugs. He described the game by saying that ""Rogue" in many ways feels like an extension of last year's "Black Flag", even down to the menus, but there are some tweaks to the formula thanks to your new role as a former assassin, hunting down his old comrades."


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: Daniel Krupa from IGN gave the game a 6.8/10. He praised the engaging story, atmospheric scenery, but criticized the lack of Templar abilities included, bland encounters with other main characters, uninspired side quests, empty world, as well as the frustrating combat and traversal system, which he stated has shown no improvements. He also criticized the game for not encouraging the player to explore the world. Mark Walton from GameSpot gave the game a 6/10, criticizing the predictable story, unlikeable lead character, lack of interesting missions, as well as being thin on core content. He stated that the game feels like a glorified "Black Flag" DLC pack and has done nothing to put the franchise forward. Xav de Matos from Joystiq gave the game a 6/10, criticizing the game for not adding anything new to the franchise. He stated that ""Assassin's Creed Rogue" is essentially a clone of "Black Flag"s setting and systems. If you can accept rampant copy-and-paste in another full priced entry, you'll more than likely enjoy what "Assassin's Creed Rogue" has to offer."


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: Critical commentary often focused on the nuanced characterization of Shay's humanity. Andy Kelly from "PC Gamer" praised Shay as a "tough and ruthless" character who refuses to prey on the weak and occasionally shows mercy, and that more "nuanced and flawed" lead characters like him should appear in the "Assassin's Creed" series. Mitch Dyer from "IGN" commented that while "Rogue" is the darkest, most brutal game in the entire series, its main character is not the villainous sociopath he had expected, but rather has goals, regrets, fears, and a grounded personality that makes him a fascinating character. Dyer observed that Shay is more relatable compared to previous series protagonists, and that his fall from grace happens slower than he had anticipated, which contributes to making his change of allegiance more convincing. He concludes that it is discomforting that the assassin he finds the most interesting is the one who hunts down and slays his former comrades, though the narrative's grim tone is balanced by what he considered to be one of the most preposterous, hilarious events in the entire series: Benjamin Franklin giving Shay a grenade launcher. Stephen Totilo from "Kotaku" considered him to be one of the most interesting protagonists in the series whose character arc is satisfyingly told through playable missions. "Softpedia's" review of "Rogue" praised Shay is probably one of the most complex characters in the series who has an actual personality and deep moral dilemmas, and claimed that one could not find fault with his actions even though the series have predominantly depicted the Assassin and Templar conflict from the perspective of the former.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: Steven Piovesan's performance as Shay Patrick Cormac have received mixed reviews. Marshall Honorof from "Tom's Guide" thought Piovesan convincingly portrays Shay as thoughtful and conflicted. The Irish accent Piovesan uses for the character on the other hand have attracted criticism, particularly from Irish publications.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: In April 2020, "Game Informer" ranked the game as the ninth (out of twelve) best game in the "Assassin's Creed" series to date. In a retrospective examination of "Rogue" published by "Gamingbolt" in September 2020, Shubhankar Parijat said Shay's transformation from young Assassin to Master Templar remains "fascinating to see". Parijat said "Rogue's" storyline, which revolves around Shay's personal conflict with his former friends and allies, seeing him being forced to view things in different ways, watching him interact with and form closer bonds with his newfound comrades in the Templars, deserves a special place in the "Assassin's Creed" series.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: Writing for the "New York Times", Totilo commented that while Shay "theoretically turns full-on bad guy" when he joins the Templars, who are the overarching antagonists in the majority of the "Assassin's Creed" media franchise, he noted that "Rogue" still allow players to feel like the "good guy". To Totilo, the creators of "Rogue" have provided a clear signal to players on the issue of morality, and noted that the opportunity to play as a bona fide "bad guy" in a video game is a rare perspective, much less asking players to consider that they're wrong or to feel good about what they're doing while identifying with an unsavory group. Shay's status as one of the few Templar characters who is portrayed sympathetically in the series is discussed by Lars de Wildt in the 2019 book "Playing Utopia: Futures in Digital Games" Shay's tampering of a Precursor artifact as directed by the Assassin leadership, which inadvertently triggers The Great Lisbon Earthquake event in "Rogue's" narrative, is cited as an example of the exploration of the theme of theodicy in popular media by author Frank G. Bosman.


title: Assassin's Creed Rogue

text: As of December 31, 2014, Ubisoft had shipped a combined 10 million copies of "Assassin's Creed Unity" and "Assassin's Creed Rogue".


title: Amazons

text: In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες "Amazónes", singular Ἀμαζών "Amazōn", via Latin "Amāzon, -ŏnis") are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, the "Argonautica" and the "Iliad". They were a group of female warriors and hunters, who beat men in physical agility and strength, in archery, riding skills, and the arts of combat. Their society was closed for men and they only raised their daughters, either killing their sons or returning them to their fathers, with whom they would only socialize briefly in order to reproduce.


title: Amazons

text: Courageous and fiercely independent, the Amazons, commanded by their queen, regularly undertook extensive military expeditions into the far corners of the world, from Scythia to Thrace, Asia Minor and the Aegean Islands, reaching as far as Arabia and Egypt. Besides military raids, the Amazons are also associated with the foundation of temples and the establishment of numerous ancient cities like Ephesos, Cyme, Smyrna, Sinope, Myrina, Magnesia, Pygela, etc.


title: Amazons

text: The texts of the original myths envisioned the homeland of the Amazons at the periphery of the then known world. Various claims to the exact place ranged from provinces in Asia Minor (Lycia, Caria etc.) to the steppes around the Black Sea, or even Libya. However, authors most frequently referred to Pontus in northern Anatolia, on the southern shores of the Black Sea, as the independent Amazon kingdom where the Amazon queen resided at her capital Themiscyra, on the banks of the Thermodon river.


title: Amazons

text: Palaephatus, who himself might have been a fictional character, attempted to rationalize the Greek myths in his work "On Unbelievable Tales". He suspected that the Amazons were probably men who were mistaken for women by their enemies because they wore clothing that reached their feet, tied up their hair in headbands, and shaved their beards. Probably the first in a long line of skeptics, he rejected any real basis for them, reasoning that because they did not exist during his time, most probably they did nοt exist in the past either.


title: Amazons

text: Decades of archaeological discoveries of burial sites of female warriors, including royalty, in the Eurasian Steppes suggest that the horse cultures of the Scythian, Sarmatian and Hittite peoples likely inspired the Amazon myth. In 2019, a grave with multiple generations of female Scythian warriors, armed and in golden headdresses, was found near Russia's Voronezh.


title: Amazons

text: The origin of the word is uncertain. It may be derived from an Iranian ethnonym "*ha-mazan-" 'warriors', a word attested indirectly through a derivation, a denominal verb in Hesychius of Alexandria's gloss (""": 'to make war' in Persian"), where it appears together with the Indo-Iranian root "*kar-" 'make'.


title: Amazons

text: It may alternatively be a Greek word descended from "" 'manless, without husbands' (alpha privative combined with a derivation from "*man-" cognate with Proto-Balto-Slavic "*mangjá-", found in Czech "muž") has been proposed, an explanation deemed "unlikely" by Hjalmar Frisk. A further explanation proposes Iranian *"ama-janah" 'virility-killing' as source.


title: Amazons

text: Among the ancient Greeks, the term "Amazon" was given a folk etymology as originating from (ἀμαζός 'breastless'), connected with an etiological tradition once claimed by Marcus Justinus who alleged that Amazons had their right breast cut off or burnt out. There is no indication of such a practice in ancient works of art, in which the Amazons are always represented with both breasts, although one is frequently covered. According to Philostratus Amazon babies were not fed just with the right breast. Author Adrienne Mayor suggests that the false etymology led to the myth.


title: Amazons

text: Herodotus used the terms "Androktones" () 'killers/slayers of men' and "Androleteirai" () 'destroyers of men, murderesses'. Amazons are called "Antianeirai" () 'equivalent to men' and Aeschylus used "Styganor" () 'those who loathe all men'.


title: Amazons

text: In his work "Prometheus Bound" and in "The Suppliants", Aeschylus called the Amazons "...τὰς ἀνάνδρους κρεοβόρους τ᾽ Ἀμαζόνας" 'the unwed, flesh-devouring Amazons'. In the Hippolytus tragedy, Phaedra calls Hippolytus, 'the son of the horse-loving Amazon' (). In his Dionysiaca, Nonnus calls the Amazons of Dionysus "Androphonus" () 'men slaying'.


title: Amazons

text: Herodotus stated that in the Scythian language, the Amazons were called "Oiorpata", which he explained as being from "oior" 'man' and "pata" 'to slay'.


title: Amazons

text: The ancient Greeks never had any doubts that the Amazons were, or had been, real. Not the only people enchanted by warlike women of nomadic cultures, such exciting tales also come from ancient Egypt, Persia, India, and China. Greek heroes of old had encounters with the queens of their martial society and fought them. However, their original home was not exactly known, thought to be in the obscure lands beyond the civilized world. As a result, for centuries scholars believed the Amazons to be purely imaginary, although


title: Amazons

text: there were various proposals for a historical nucleus of the Amazons in Greek historiography. Some authors preferred comparisons to cultures of Asia Minor or even Minoan Crete. The most obvious historical candidates are Lycia and Scythia and Sarmatia in line with the account by Herodotus. In his Histories (5th century BC) Herodotus claims that the "Sauromatae" (predecessors of the Sarmatians), who ruled the lands between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, arose from a union of Scythians and Amazons.


title: Amazons

text: Herodotus also observed rather unusual customs among the Lycians of southwest Asia Minor. The Lycians obviously followed matrilineal rules of descent, virtue, and status. They named themselves along their maternal family line and a child's status was determined by the mother's reputation. This remarkably high esteem of women and legal regulations based on maternal lines, still in effect in the 5th century BC in the Lycian regions that Herodotus had traveled to, lent him the idea that these people were descendants of the mythical Amazons.


title: Amazons

text: Modern historiography no longer relies exclusively on textual and artistic material, but also on the vast archaeological evidence of over a thousand nomad graves from steppe territories from the Black Sea all the way to Mongolia. Spectacular discoveries of battle-scarred female skeletons buried with their weapons (bows and arrows, quivers, and spears) prove that women warriors were not merely figments of imagination, but the product of the Scythian/Sarmatian horse-centered lifestyle.


title: Amazons

text: According to myth, Otrera, the first Amazon queen, is the offspring of a romance between Ares the god of war and the nymph Harmonia of the Akmonian Wood, and as such a demigoddess.


title: Amazons

text: Early records refer to two events in which Amazons appeared prior to the Trojan War (before 1250 BC). Within the epic context, Bellerophon, Greek hero, and grandfather of the brothers and Trojan War veterans "Glaukos and Sarpedon", faced Amazons during his stay in Lycia, when King Iobates sent Bellerophon to fight the Amazons, hoping they would kill him, yet Bellerophon slew them all. The youthful King Priam of Troy fought on the side of the Phrygians, who were attacked by Amazons at the Sangarios River.


title: Amazons

text: There are Amazon characters in Homer's Trojan War epic poem, the "Iliad", one of the oldest surviving texts in Europe (around 8th century BC).


title: Amazons

text: The now lost epic "Aethiopis" (probably by Arctinus of Miletus, 6th century BC), like the "Iliad" and several other epics, is one of the works that in combination form the Trojan War Epic Cycle. In one of the few references to the text, an Amazon force under queen Penthesilea, who was of Thracian birth, came to join the ranks of the Trojans after Hector's death and initially put the Greeks under serious pressure. Only after the greatest effort and the help of the reinvigorated hero Achilles, the Greeks eventually triumphed. Penthesilea died fighting the mighty Achilles in single combat. Homer himself deemed the Amazon myths to be common knowledge all over Greece, which suggests that they had already been known for some time before him. He was also convinced that the Amazons lived not at its fringes, but somewhere in or around Lycia in Asia Minor - a place well within the Greek world.


title: Amazons

text: Troy is mentioned in the "Iliad" as the place of Myrine's death. Later identified as an Amazon queen, according to Diodorus (1st century BC), the Amazons under her rule invaded the territories of the Atlantians, defeated the army of the Atlantian city of Cerne, and razed the city to the ground.


title: Amazons

text: The Poet Bacchylides (6th century BC) and the historian Herodotus (5th century BC) located the Amazon homeland in "Pontus" at the southern shores of the Black Sea, and the capital Themiscyra at the banks of the Thermodon (modern Terme river), by the modern city of Terme. Herodotus also explains how it came to be that some Amazons would eventually be living in Scythia. A Greek fleet, sailing home upon defeating the Amazons in battle at the Thermodon river, included three ships crowded with Amazon prisoners. Once out at sea, the Amazon prisoners overwhelmed and killed the small crews of the prisoner ships and, despite not having even basic navigation skills, managed to escape and safely disembark at the Scythian shore. As soon as the Amazons had caught enough horses, they easily asserted themselves in the steppe in between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea and, according to Herodotus, would eventually assimilate with the Scythians, whose descendants were the Sauromatae, the predecessors of the Sarmatians.


title: Amazons

text: Strabo (1st century BC) visits and confirms the original homeland of the Amazons on the plains by the Thermodon river. However, long gone and not seen again during his lifetime, the Amazons had allegedly retreated into the mountains. Strabo, however, added that other authors, among them Metrodorus of Scepsis and Hypsicrates claim that after abandoning Themiscyra, the Amazons had chosen to resettle beyond the borders of the Gargareans, an all-male tribe native to the northern foothills of the Caucasian Mountains. The Amazons and Gargareans had for many generations met in secrecy once a year during two months in spring, in order to produce children. These encounters would take place in accordance with ancient tribal customs and collective offers of sacrifices. All females were retained by the Amazons themselves, and males were returned to the Gargareans. 5th century BC poet Magnes sings of the bravery of the Lydians in a cavalry-battle against the Amazons.


title: Amazons

text: Hippolyte was an Amazon queen killed by Hercules, who had set out to obtain the queen's magic belt in a task he was to accomplish as one of the Labours of Hercules. Although neither side had intended to resort to lethal combat, a misunderstanding led to the fight. In the course of this, Heracles killed the queen and several other Amazons. In awe of the strong hero, the Amazons eventually handed the belt to Heracles. In another version, Heracles does not kill the queen, but exchanges her kidnapped sister Melanippe for the belt.


title: Amazons

text: Queen Hippolyte was abducted by Theseus, who took her to Athens, where she experienced forced marriage, sexual slavery, rape, and- as a result of forced pregnancy- bore him a son, Hippolytus. In other versions, the kidnapped Amazon is called Antiope, the sister of Hippolyte. In revenge, the Amazons invaded Greece, plundered some cities along the coast of Attica, and besieged and occupied Athens. Hippolyte, who fought on the side of Athens, according to another account was killed during the final battle along with all of the Amazons.


title: Amazons

text: According to Plutarch, the god Dionysus and his companions fought Amazons at Ephesus. The Amazons fled to Samos and Dionysus pursued them and killed a great number of them at a site since called "Panaema" (blood-soaked field). The Christian author Eusebius writes that during the reign of Oxyntes, one of the mythical kings of Athens, the Amazons burned down the temple at Ephesus.


title: Amazons

text: In another myth Dionysus unites with the Amazons to fight against Cronus and the Titans. Polyaenus writes that after Dionysus has subdued the Indians, he allies with them and the Amazons and takes them into his service, who serve him in his campaign against the Bactrians. Nonnus in his "Dionysiaca" reports about the Amazons of Dionysus, but states that they do not come from Thermodon.


title: Amazons

text: Amazons are also mentioned by biographers of Alexander the Great, who report of Queen Thalestris bearing him a child (a story in the "Alexander Romance"). However, other biographers of Alexander dispute the claim, including the highly regarded Plutarch. He noted a moment when Alexander's naval commander Onesicritus read an Amazon myth passage of his "Alexander History" to King Lysimachus of Thrace who had taken part in the original expedition. The king smiled at him and said: "And where was I, then?"


title: Amazons

text: The Talmud recounts that Alexander wanted to conquer a "kingdom of women" but reconsidered when the women told him:


title: Amazons

text: Virgil's characterization of the Volsci warrior maiden Camilla in the "Aeneid" borrows from the myths of the Amazons. Philostratus, in "Heroica", writes that the Mysian women fought on horses alongside the men, just as the Amazons. The leader was Hiera, wife of Telephus. The Amazons are also said to have undertaken an expedition against the Island of Leuke, at the mouth of the Danube, where the ashes of Achilles were deposited by Thetis. The ghost of the dead hero so terrified the horses, that they threw off and trampled upon the invaders, who were forced to retreat. Virgil touches on the Amazons and their queen Penthesilea in his epic Aeneid (around 20 BC).


title: Amazons

text: The biographer Suetonius had Julius Caesar remark in his "De vita Caesarum" that the Amazons "once ruled a large part of Asia". Appian provides a vivid description of Themiscyra and its fortifications in his account of Lucius Lucinius Lucullus' "Siege of Themiscyra" in 71 BC during the Third Mithridatic War.


title: Amazons

text: An Amazon myth has been partly preserved in two badly fragmented versions around historical people in 7th century BC Egypt. The Egyptian prince "Petechonsis" and allied Assyrian troops undertook a joint campaign into the "Land of Women", to the "Middle East" at the border to India. "Petechonsis" initially fought the Amazons, but soon fell in love with their queen "Sarpot" and eventually allied with her against an invading Indian army. This story is said to have originated in Egypt independently of Greek influences.


title: Amazons

text: Sources provide names of individual Amazons, that are referred to as queens of their people, even as the head of a dynasty. Without a male companion, they are portrayed in command of their female warriors. Among the most prominent Amazon queens were:


title: Amazons

text: Quintus Smyrnaeus, author of the Posthomerica lists the attendant warriors of Penthesilea: "Clonie was there, Polemusa, Derinoe, Evandre, and Antandre, and Bremusa, Hippothoe, dark-eyed Harmothoe, Alcibie, Derimacheia, Antibrote, and Thermodosa glorying with the spear."


title: Amazons

text: Diodorus Siculus lists twelve Amazons who challenged and died fighting Heracles during his quest for Hippolyta's girdle: Aella, Philippis, Prothoe, Eriboea, Celaeno, Eurybia, Phoebe, Deianeira, Asteria, Marpe, Tecmessa, Alcippe. After Alcippe's death, a group attack followed. Diodorus also mentions Melanippe, who Heracles set free after accepting her girdle and Antiope as ransom.


title: Amazons

text: Diodorus lists another group with Myrina as the queen who commanded the Amazons in a military expedition in Libya, as well as her sister Mytilene, after whom she named the city of the same name. Myrina also named three more cities after the Amazons who held the most important commands under her, Cyme, Pitane, and Priene.


title: Amazons

text: Both Justin in his "Epitome of Trogus Pompeius" and Paulus Orosius give an account of the Amazons, citing the same names. Queens Marpesia and Lampedo shared the power during an incursion in Europe and Asia, where they were slain. Marpesia's daughter Orithyia succeeded them and was greatly admired for her skill on war. She shared power with her sister Antiope, but she was engaged in war abroad when Heracles attacked. Two of Antiope's sisters were taken prisoner, Menalippe by Heracles and Hippolyta by Theseus. Heracles latter restored Menalippe to her sister after receiving the queen's arms in exchange, though, on other accounts she was killed by Telamon. They also mention Penthesilea's role in the Trojan War.


title: Amazons

text: Another list of Amazons' names is found in Hyginus' "Fabulae". Along with Hippolyta, Otrera, Antiope and Penthesilea, it attests the following names: Ocyale, Dioxippe, Iphinome, Xanthe, Hippothoe, Laomache, Glauce, Agave, Theseis, Clymene, Polydora.


title: Amazons

text: Perhaps the most important is Queen Otrera, consort of Ares and mother by him of Hippolyta and Penthesilea. She's also known for building a temple to Artemis at Ephesus.


title: Amazons

text: Another different set of names is found in Valerius Flaccus' "Argonautica". He mentions Euryale, Harpe, Lyce, Menippe and Thoe. Of these Lyce also appears on a fragment, preserved in the "Latin Anthology" where she is said to have killed the hero Clonus of Moesia, son of Doryclus, with her javelin.


title: Amazons

text: Stephanus of Byzantium (7th-century CE) provides numerous alternative lists of the Amazons, including for those who died in combat against Hercules, describing them as the "most prominent of their people". Both Stephanus and Eustathius connect these Amazons with the placename "Thibais", which they claim to have been derived from the Amazon "Thiba's" name. Several of Stephanus' Amazons served as eponyms for cities in Asia Minor, like "Cyme" and "Smyrna" or "Amastris", who was believed to lend her name to the city previously known as "Kromna", although in fact it was named after the historical Amastris. The city Anaea in Caria was named after an Amazon.


title: Amazons

text: In his work "Getica" (on the origin and history of the Goths, ) Jordanes asserts that the Goths' ancestors, descendants of Magog, originally lived in Scythia, at the Sea of Azov between the Dnieper and Don Rivers. When the Goths were abroad campaigning against Pharaoh Vesosis, their women, on their own successfully fended off a raid by a neighboring tribe. Emboldened, the women established their own army under Marpesia, crossed the Don and invaded eastward into Asia. Marpesia's sister Lampedo remained in Europe to guard the homeland. They procreated with men once a year. These women conquered Armenia, Syria and all of Asia Minor, even reaching Ionia and Aeolis, holding this vast territory for 100 years.


title: Amazons

text: In the "Grottaferrata Version" of "Digenes Akritas", the twelfth century medieval epic of "Basil, the Greco-Syrian knight" of the Byzantine frontier, the hero battles with and kills the female warrior Maximo, descended from some Amazons and taken by Alexander from the Brahmans.


title: Amazons

text: John Tzetzes lists in "Posthomerica" twenty Amazons, who fell at Troy. This list is unique in its attestation for all the names but Antianeira, Andromache and Hippothoe. Other than these three, the remaining 17 Amazons were named as Toxophone, Toxoanassa, Gortyessa, Iodoce, Pharetre, Andro, Ioxeia, Oistrophe, Androdaixa, Aspidocharme, Enchesimargos, Cnemis, Thorece, Chalcaor, Eurylophe, Hecate, and Anchimache.


title: Amazons

text: Medieval and Renaissance authors credit the Amazons with the invention of the battle-axe. This is probably related to the "sagaris", an axe-like weapon associated with both Amazons and Scythian tribes by Greek authors (see also Thracian tomb of Aleksandrovo kurgan). Paulus Hector Mair expresses astonishment that such a "manly weapon" should have been invented by a "tribe of women", but he accepts the attribution out of respect for his authority, Johannes Aventinus.


title: Amazons

text: Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso" contains a country of warrior women, ruled by Queen Orontea; the epic describes an origin much like that in Greek myth, in that the women, abandoned by a band of warriors and unfaithful lovers, rallied together to form a nation from which men were severely reduced, to prevent them from regaining power. The Amazons and Queen Hippolyta are also referenced in Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" in "The Knight's Tale".


title: Amazons

text: Amazons continued to be subject of scholarly debate during the European Renaissance, and with the onset of the Age of Exploration, encounters were reported from ever more distant lands. In 1542, Francisco de Orellana reached the Amazon River, naming it after the "", a tribe of warlike women he claimed to have encountered and fought on the Nhamundá River, a tributary of the Amazon. Afterwards the whole basin and region of the Amazon ("Amazônia" in Portuguese, "Amazonía" in Spanish) were named after the river. Amazons also figure in the accounts of both Christopher Columbus and Walter Raleigh.


title: Amazons

text: Beginning around 550 BC. depictions of Amazons as daring fighters and equestrian warriors appeared on vases. After the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC the "Amazon battle - Amazonomachy" became popular motifs on pottery. By the sixth century BC, public and privately displayed artwork used the Amazon imagery for pediment reliefs, sarcophagi, mosaics, pottery, jewelry and even monumental sculptures, that adorned important buildings like the Parthenon in Athens. Amazon motifs remained popular until the Roman imperial period and into Late antiquity.


title: Amazons

text: Apart from the artistic desire to express the passionate womanhood of the Amazons in contrast with the manhood of their enemies, some modern historians interpret the popularity of Amazon in art as indicators of societal trends, both positive and negative. Greek and Roman societies, however, utilized the Amazon mythology as a literary and artistic vehicle to unite against a commonly-held enemy. The metaphysical characteristics of Amazons were seen as personifications of both nature and religion. Roman authors like Virgil, Strabo, Pliny the Elder, Curtius, Plutarch, Arrian, and Pausanius advocated the greatness of the state, as Amazon myths served to discuss the creation of origin and identity for the Roman people. However, that changed over time. Amazons in Roman literature and art have many faces, such as the "Trojan ally, the warrior goddess, the native Latin, the warmongering Celt, the proud Sarmatian, the hedonistic and passionate Thracian warrior queen, the subdued Asian city, and the worthy Roman foe".


title: Amazons

text: In Renaissance Europe, artists started to reevaluate and depict Amazons based on Christian ethics. Queen Elizabeth of England was associated with Amazon warrior qualities ("the foremost ancient examples of feminism") during her reign and was indeed depicted as such. Though, as explained in "Divinia Viagro" by Winfried Schleiner, Celeste T. Wright has given a detailed account of the bad reputation Amazons had in the Renaissance. She notes that she has not found any Elizabethans comparing the Queen to an Amazon and suggests that they might have hesitated to do so because of the association of Amazons with enfranchisement of women, which was considered contemptible. Elizabeth was present at a tournament celebrating the marriage of the Earl of Warwick and Anne Russell at Westminster Palace on 11 November 1565 involving male riders dressed as Amazons. They accompanied the challengers carrying their heraldry. These riders wore crimson gowns, masks with long hair attached, and swords.