title: Polycarbonate

text: Polycarbonate is mainly used for electronic applications that capitalize on its collective safety features. A good electrical insulator with heat-resistant and flame-retardant properties, it is used in products associated with power systems and telecommunications hardware. It can serve as a dielectric in high-stability capacitors. Commercial manufacture of polycarbonate capacitors mostly stopped after sole manufacturer Bayer AG stopped making capacitor-grade polycarbonate film at the end of 2000.


title: Polycarbonate

text: The second largest consumer of polycarbonates is the construction industry, e.g. for domelights, flat or curved glazing, roofing sheets and sound walls.


title: Polycarbonate

text: Polycarbonates are used extensively in 3D FDM printing, producing durable strong plastic products with a high melting point. Polycarbonate is relatively difficult for casual hobbyists to print compared to thermoplastics such as Polylactic acid (PLA) or Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) because of the high melting point, difficulty with print bed adhesion, tendency to warp during printing, and tendency to absorb moisture in humid environments. Despite these issues, 3D printing using polycarbonates is common in the professional community.


title: Polycarbonate

text: A major polycarbonate market is the production of compact discs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs. These discs are produced by injection-molding polycarbonate into a mold cavity that has on one side a metal stamper containing a negative image of the disc data, while the other mold side is a mirrored surface. Typical products of sheet/film production include applications in advertisement (signs, displays, poster protection).


title: Polycarbonate

text: In the automotive industry, injection-molded polycarbonate can produce very smooth surfaces that make it well-suited for sputter deposition or evaporation deposition of aluminium without the need for a base-coat. Decorative bezels and optical reflectors are commonly made of polycarbonate.


title: Polycarbonate

text: Its low weight and high impact resistance have made polycarbonate the dominant material for automotive headlamp lenses. However, automotive headlamps require outer surface coatings because of its low scratch resistance and susceptibility to ultraviolet degradation (yellowing). The use of polycarbonate in automotive applications is limited to low stress applications. Stress from fasteners, plastic welding and molding render polycarbonate susceptible to stress corrosion cracking when it comes in contact with certain accelerants such as salt water and plastisol. It can be laminated to make bullet-proof "glass", although "bullet-resistant" is more accurate for the thinner windows, such as are used in bullet-resistant windows in automobiles. The thicker barriers of transparent plastic used in teller's windows and barriers in banks are also polycarbonate.


title: Polycarbonate

text: So-called "theft-proof" large plastic packaging for smaller items, which cannot be opened by hand, is typically made from polycarbonate.


title: Polycarbonate

text: The cockpit canopy of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor jet fighter is fabricated from high optical quality polycarbonate. It is the largest item of its type.


title: Polycarbonate

text: Polycarbonate, being a versatile material with attractive processing and physical properties, has attracted myriad smaller applications. The use of injection molded drinking bottles, glasses and food containers is common, but the use of BPA in the manufacture of polycarbonate has stirred concerns (see Potential hazards in food contact applications), leading to development and use of "BPA-free" plastics in various formulations.


title: Polycarbonate

text: Polycarbonate is commonly used in eye protection, as well as in other projectile-resistant viewing and lighting applications that would normally indicate the use of glass, but require much higher impact-resistance. Polycarbonate lenses also protect the eye from UV light. Many kinds of lenses are manufactured from polycarbonate, including automotive headlamp lenses, lighting lenses, sunglass/eyeglass lenses, swimming goggles and SCUBA masks, and safety glasses/goggles/visors including visors in sporting helmets/masks and police riot gear (helmet visors, riot shields, etc.). Windscreens in small motorized vehicles are commonly made of polycarbonate, such as for motorcycles, ATVs, golf carts, and small airplanes and helicopters.


title: Polycarbonate

text: The light weight of polycarbonate as opposed to glass has led to development of electronic display screens that replace glass with polycarbonate, for use in mobile and portable devices. Such displays include newer e-ink and some LCD screens, though CRT, plasma screen and other LCD technologies generally still require glass for its higher melting temperature and its ability to be etched in finer detail.


title: Polycarbonate

text: As more and more governments are restricting the use of glass in pubs and clubs due to the increased incidence of glassings, polycarbonate glasses are becoming popular for serving alcohol because of their strength, durability, and glass-like feel.


title: Polycarbonate

text: Other miscellaneous items include durable, lightweight luggage, MP3/digital audio player cases, ocarinas, computer cases, riot shields, instrument panels, tealight candle containers and food blender jars. Many toys and hobby items are made from polycarbonate parts, like fins, gyro mounts, and flybar locks in radio-controlled helicopters, and transparent LEGO (ABS is used for opaque pieces).


title: Polycarbonate

text: Standard polycarbonate resins are not suitable for long term exposure to UV radiation. To overcome this, the primary resin can have UV stabilisers added. These grades are sold as UV stabilized polycarbonate to injection moulding and extrusion companies. Other applications, including polycarbonate sheets, may have the anti-UV layer added as a special coating or a coextrusion for enhanced weathering resistance.


title: Polycarbonate

text: Polycarbonate is also used as a printing substrate for nameplate and other forms of industrial grade under printed products. The polycarbonate provides a barrier to wear, the elements, and fading.


title: Polycarbonate

text: Many polycarbonate grades are used in medical applications and comply with both ISO 10993-1 and USP Class VI standards (occasionally referred to as PC-ISO). Class VI is the most stringent of the six USP ratings. These grades can be sterilized using steam at 120 °C, gamma radiation, or by the ethylene oxide (EtO) method. Dow Chemical strictly limits all its plastics with regard to medical applications. Aliphatic polycarbonates have been developed with improved biocompatibility and degradability for nanomedicine applications.


title: Polycarbonate

text: Some smartphone manufacturers use polycarbonate. Nokia used polycarbonate in their phones starting with the N9's unibody case in 2011. This practice continued with various phones in the Lumia series. Samsung started using polycarbonate with Galaxy S III's "hyperglaze"-branded removable battery cover in 2012. This practice continues with various phones in the Galaxy series. Apple started using polycarbonate with the iPhone 5C's unibody case in 2013.


title: Polycarbonate

text: Benefits over glass and metal back covers include durability against shattering (advantage over glass), bending and scratching (advantage over metal), shock absorption, low manufacturing costs, and no interference with radio signals and wireless charging (advantage over metal).


title: Polycarbonate

text: Polycarbonates were first discovered in 1898 by Alfred Einhorn, a German scientist working at the University of Munich. However, after 30 years' laboratory research, this class of materials was abandoned without commercialization. Research resumed in 1953, when Hermann Schnell at Bayer in Uerdingen, Germany patented the first linear polycarbonate. The brand name "Makrolon" was registered in 1955.


title: Polycarbonate

text: Also in 1953, and one week after the invention at Bayer, Daniel Fox at General Electric (GE) in Schenectady, New York, independently synthesized a branched polycarbonate. Both companies filed for U.S. patents in 1955, and agreed that the company lacking priority would be granted a license to the technology.


title: Polycarbonate

text: Patent priority was resolved in Bayer's favor, and Bayer began commercial production under the trade name Makrolon in 1958. GE began production under the name Lexan in 1960, creating the GE Plastics division in 1973.


title: Polycarbonate

text: The use of polycarbonate containers for the purpose of food storage is controversial. The basis of this controversy is their hydrolysis (degradation by water, often referred to as leaching) occurring at high temperature, releases bisphenol A:


title: Polycarbonate

text: More than 100 studies have explored the bioactivity of bisphenol A derived from polycarbonates. Bisphenol A appeared to be released from polycarbonate animal cages into water at room temperature and it may have been responsible for enlargement of the reproductive organs of female mice. However, the animal cages used in the research were fabricated from industrial grade polycarbonate, rather than FDA food grade polycarbonate.


title: Polycarbonate

text: An analysis of the literature on bisphenol A leachate low-dose effects by vom Saal and Hughes published in August 2005 seems to have found a suggestive correlation between the source of funding and the conclusion drawn. Industry-funded studies tend to find no significant effects whereas government-funded studies tend to find significant effects.


title: Polycarbonate

text: Sodium hypochlorite bleach and other alkali cleaners catalyze the release of the bisphenol A from polycarbonate containers. Polycarbonate is incompatible with ammonia and acetone. Alcohol is a recommended organic solvent for cleaning grease and oils from polycarbonate.


title: Polycarbonate

text: Studies have shown that at temperatures above 70 °C, and high humidity, polycarbonate will hydrolyze to bisphenol A (BPA). After about 30 days at 85 °C/96% RH, surface crystals are formed which for 70% consisted of BPA. BPA is a compound that is currently on the list of potential environmental hazardous chemicals. It is on the watch list of many countries, such as United States and Germany.


title: Polycarbonate

text: The leaching of BPA from polycarbonate can also occur at environmental temperature and normal pH (in landfills).The amount of leaching increases as the discs get older. A study found that the decomposition of BPA in landfills (under anaerobic conditions) will not occur. It will therefore be persistent in landfills. Eventually, it will find its way into water bodies and contribute to aquatic pollution.


title: Polycarbonate

text: In the presence of UV light, oxidation of this polymer yields compounds such as ketones, phenols, o-phenoxybenzoic acid, benzyl alcohol and other unsaturated compounds. This has been suggested through kinetic and spectral studies. The yellow color formed after long exposure to sun can also be related to further oxidation of phenolic end group


title: Polycarbonate

text: This product can be further oxidized to form smaller unsaturated compounds. This can proceed via two different pathways, the products formed depends on which mechanism takes place.


title: Polycarbonate

text: Photo-aging is another degradation route for polycarbonates. Polycarbonate molecules (such as the aromatic ring) absorb UV radiation. This absorbed energy causes cleavage of covalent bonds which initiates the photo-aging process. The reaction can be propagated via side chain oxidation, ring oxidation or photo-Fries rearrangement. Products formed include phenyl salicylate, dihydroxybenzophenone groups, and hydroxydiphenyl ether groups.


title: Polycarbonate

text: Waste polycarbonate will degrade at high temperatures to form solid, liquid and gaseous pollutants. A study showed that the products were about 40–50 wt.% liquid, 14–16 wt.% gases, while 34–43 wt.% remained as solid residue. Liquid products contained mainly phenol derivatives (∼75wt.%) and bisphenol (∼10wt.%) also present. Polycarbonate, however, can be safely used as a carbon source in the steel-making industry.


title: Polycarbonate

text: Phenol derivatives are environmental pollutants, classified as volatile organic compounds (VOC). Studies show they are likely to facilitate ground level ozone formation and increase photo-chemical smog. In aquatic bodies, they can potentially accumulate in organisms. They are persistent in landfills, do not readily evaporate and would remain in the atmosphere.


title: Polycarbonate

text: In 2001 a species of fungus in Belize, "Geotrichum candidum", was found to consume the polycarbonate found in compact discs (CD). This has prospects for bioremediation. However, this effect has not been reproduced.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Mary Kay Bergman (June 5, 1961 – November 11, 1999), also credited as Shannen Cassidy, was an American voice actress and voice-over teacher. Bergman was the lead female voice actress on "South Park" from the show's 1997 debut until her death. Throughout her career, Bergman performed voice work for over 400 television commercials and voiced over 100 cartoon, film, and video game characters.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Born in Los Angeles, Bergman had an interest in fantasy and animation early in her life. She acted in plays during high school and also studied theater at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). After struggling to secure on-screen acting jobs, she began taking work as a voice-over actress. In 1989, she began voicing the Disney character Snow White. In the 1990s, she voiced Daphne Blake in three films from the "Scooby Doo" franchise as well as Timmy Turner in the "Oh Yeah! Cartoons". From 1991 to 1997, she voiced several minor characters on "The Simpsons".


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Mary Kay Bergman was born on June 5, 1961, in Los Angeles, California to Jewish parents. She was the only child of musicians David "Dave" Bergman and Patricia Paris "Pat" McGowan. She grew up around the corner from the home of Adriana Caselotti, the original voice of Snow White.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Her parents performed as a singing duo at lounges and clubs in Reno and Las Vegas and in Los Angeles. They settled in Los Angeles after her mother became pregnant. Characterizing her mother's previous work inking and painting cels for Fleischer, Bergman said it was a mechanical task, but it piqued her mother's interest in animation that was shared with Bergman years later by watching Saturday morning cartoon series with her. Among Bergman's favorite series were "Jonny Quest", "The Flintstones", and "Wait Till Your Father Gets Home", which she considered a "precursor to "The Simpsons"."


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Bergman attended Le Conte Middle School and Hollywood High School, graduating in June 1978 with top academic honors. Following in the steps of one of her idols, Carol Burnett, Bergman attended University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and studied theater arts from 1978 until 1981. She was a classmate and friend of future "The Simpsons" voice actress Nancy Cartwright.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: After getting cast in an equity-waiver play outside of school, Bergman decided to leave UCLA. Having started acting in high school plays, she got an agent for on-camera commercials, film, and television and studied privately with acting coach Harry Mastrogeorge for several years. At age 16, Bergman received her first professional acting job in the TV movie "Return Engagement", which starred Elizabeth Taylor. After leaving school, Bergman joined a small agency that had started six months earlier. She had an audition for an exercise program that was going to be on TV and got the role. She was hired because she had a "nice figure" but could also be a dancer, comedian, singer, or impressionist. However, less than a week after she got the job, the agency closed. Bergman said, "Everything fell apart. I thought, 'I'm really not getting anywhere. Maybe I should give up this silly dream of mine about becoming this great star and actually get a real job.'" In the 1990 Signing Time series, Bergman originally played Rachel in the UK version until her death.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Bergman's next post was as a receptionist for the Boy Scouts of America. She enjoyed the job and was pleased to work with the people of the organization. Bergman commented, "All the time I kept hearing, 'Gosh, you have a lovely speaking voice. You should do something with that.'" She worked as a receptionist for an insurance company and from there she moved up the ranks to become an assistant underwriter, which she found extremely boring. To break the monotony, Bergman thought about becoming a disc jockey but could not find information about where to take classes and considered a career in the Air Force.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: The origins of Bergman's voice acting can be traced to when she attended a housewarming party at one of her co-workers' houses. Someone brought a karaoke machine to the party and Bergman started "going wild", using several different voices. One of the guests at the party was studying with voice-over coach Kat Lehman and suggested she take a class with his teacher, which she did.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Bergman took many voice-over classes in order to do many different styles and voices. Some specialized in animation, some in ADR/looping, and others in commercial and improvisation. Bergman studied the skill of matching celebrity voices. Bergman stated that accents came very easily to her. She stated that she enjoyed doing accents such as Chinese, Japanese, Australian, English, American, French, German, Spanish and Italian.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: In 1994, Bergman started teaching the technique of doing voice-overs for animation at the Kalmenson and Kalmenson Studios in Burbank, California. After voicing the villain Dr. Blight on the series "Captain Planet and the Planeteers", replacing Meg Ryan, she acquired a reputation for voice matching and began doing these matches for other actors such as Jodie Foster, Gillian Anderson, Helen Hunt, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Tilly, Emma Thompson, and Alfre Woodard.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: After her first voice role as a frightened woman in a radio commercial for a small home security company on a local station in 1986, and a few more radio spots in 1989, Bergman was not making enough to earn a living, so she worked part-time at Robinson's department store. During this time, she got the role with Disney as the voice of Snow White on tape, replacing Adriana Caselotti. She told her boss she needed the day off for the recording, but he refused and she left the post.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Disney was pleased with her performance, but she agreed to accept future jobs only when Caselotti was unavailable. She later learned that Disney had different plans. When Disney was releasing a restored version of "Snow White", Caselotti was brought back in to record a scene that was missing its audio track. After the studio executives listened to her work, they chose to have Bergman record the scene instead. Caselotti was unaware her voice had been replaced until the 1993 Academy Awards, when she heard Bergman as Snow White presenting an award for best animated short subject. Disney received hundreds of complaints after the ceremony, noting the changes to the Snow White character that Jeffrey Katzenberg had made. Katzenberg apologized, and Bergman did not publicly admit to voicing Snow White while Caselotti was still alive.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Bergman was the original voice for most of the female characters for "South Park" and the feature film "" (1999). Her characters included Liane Cartman, Sheila Broflovski, Shelly Marsh, Sharon Marsh, Carol McCormick and Wendy Testaburger. She was originally credited as "Shannen Cassidy" (taken from stars Shannen Doherty and David Cassidy) out of concerns regarding possible conflicts with her continued work as Disney's official Snow White voice. "It was a conscious decision to be anonymous at first, because none of us knew the show would be a hit, and if anyone tells you they did, they're lying", she said. "Then it did hit, and Shannen Cassidy was getting mail like Santa Claus, so we transitioned out of it." Bergman credited "South Park" for pulling her out of a typecasting rut. "I'm known for these sweet, cute little characters", she said, noting her roles in various Disney films. "So I've been doing them forever. My agents were trying to submit me on shows that are edgy, and they're laughing, 'Mary Kay, are you kidding? No way!'" After Bergman's death, the two episodes "Starvin' Marvin in Space" (the final episode for which she recorded original dialogue) and "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics" (the final episode in which her voice was used via archive footage) were dedicated in her memory.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Bergman worked on over 400 television commercials, including the voice of Mrs. Butterworth in Mrs. Butterworth's syrup commercials. She had roles in many Disney films, including "Beauty and the Beast", as the Bimbettes; "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", as Quasimodo's mother and Djali; "Hercules", as several female characters; "Mulan", as the female ancestors; and the posthumously released "Toy Story 2", in which she is credited under "additional voices." Her appearances in video games included "The Curse of Monkey Island".


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: She worked on other series including "Jay Jay the Jet Plane", "Oh Yeah! Cartoons", "The Fairly OddParents", and several female voices in "The Tick" animated series. She also provided the voice of Gwen Stacy in the final episode of "Spider-Man". Mary Kay Bergman then voiced the Scooby-Doo character Daphne Blake in "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island" (1998), "Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost" (1999) and "Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders" (2000), this last one being a posthumous release and final film role, dedicated to her. Her other film role was in "" (2002), released three years after her death, in which she voiced a vixen and a wolverine.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Bergman contributed vocals to the "Weird Al" Yankovic song "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi", alongside Tress MacNeille. Al stated:


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Originally I had Mary Kay come in to sing the whole song. I basically wanted her to do the voice of Kyle's mom from "South Park". Her agent wouldn't let her do it (thinking that it might get her in trouble with Comedy Central)—so Mary Kay wound up doing kind of a squeaky voice instead. Later, I decided that the "squeaky voice" thing really wasn't what I was looking for, so I called in my old friend Tress to do her Fran Drescher impersonation instead. The part that you can still hear Mary Kay on is the line in the middle of the song where she does the very Gentile-sounding "for a Rab-bi...".


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Bergman married voice actor Dino Andrade on April 7, 1990. They remained married until Bergman's suicide in November 1999.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Bergman suffered from bipolar and generalized anxiety disorders, which she hid from her family, friends, and her co-stars. When her mother was diagnosed with cancer, Bergman's depression was mistaken as a reaction to her mother's illness along with job-related stress. Andrade said that he found herbal mood medications that Bergman had hidden in their home.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Bergman had privately confessed to her husband that she was "afraid of losing her talent," as sessions were not going well. She was concerned that people would feel that her talent had gone, and that her career would come to an end. Andrade later regretted that Bergman had told nobody about her distress. As time went by, Bergman's fears seemed to lessen as her mother was doing better. Bergman and her husband were also planning to purchase a new house within a year, but she still suffered physically. Because of this, she and her husband decided to have an elaborate vacation in Las Vegas, which they had planned a week before her death.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: On the morning of November 11, 1999, Bergman contributed to a radio program celebrating Disneyland's 45th anniversary. She was last seen alive at 9 p.m., while she was talking to a friend on the phone. An hour and 20 minutes later, her husband and his friend, John Bell, returned home to find that she had shot herself in the head with a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun. She was pronounced dead in the hospital at 10:18 p.m. at the age of 38.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Dino Andrade established the Mary Kay Bergman Memorial Fund, which contributes to operation of the Suicide Prevention Center at the Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center. To benefit the Mary Kay Bergman Memorial Fund, a Memorial Celebration and Concert was held in March 2000. Many industry voice actors came to the event including Jane Jacobs, Mona Marshall (who would be one of her "South Park" successors), Barbara Goodson and Diane Michelle, all of whom sang in the choir. The service was held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in the Blossom Room, where the first Academy Awards was presented in 1929. Also contributing to the memorial fund was March 28, 2000's Los Angeles edition of the "Daily Variety" magazine, which ran a full-page Oscar version of the "Open Letter to All" by Andrade.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: "Bob's Video", made by Mary Kay & Dino's production company, Klaxon Filmworks, had been completed before Bergman died but was posthumously shown at the HBO Urban World Film Festival, at the Blue Sky Festival, and at a Mary Kay Bergman memorial screening. This included her only live-action role, a few voice roles, still photography, and work as executive producer for the film.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Bergman's interview on "Nightcap", a show by Chapman University, was recorded on November 5, 1999, but was aired posthumously. The episode was dedicated to her.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Al Lowe, who had worked with Bergman on three "Leisure Suit Larry" video games, posted a tribute to her on his website. He stated, "Mary Kay was the sort of person who could light up a room just by entering. She was a joy to work with and made me look good as a novice voice-over director. It was therefore even more shocking when I learned that she had taken her own life."


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: "Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders" was the last Scooby-Doo film to feature Bergman as the voice of Daphne, and it was dedicated to her memory.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: In an August 2010 interview, Bergman's friend and student Grey DeLisle, who inherited the role of Daphne Blake in the "Scooby-Doo" franchise, said of her:


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: In a March 2000 interview, "South Park" creators and stars Matt Stone and Trey Parker said about Bergman:


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Voice actresses Mona Marshall and Eliza Schneider replaced Bergman for a select few female characters on "South Park".


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Voice actress Tara Strong replaced Bergman as the voice of Timmy Turner in "The Fairly OddParents", as well as redubbing Bergman's lines from the "Oh Yeah! Cartoons" era.


title: Mary Kay Bergman

text: Voice actress Debi Derryberry was cast to replace Bergman as the voice of Jay Jay, Herky, Savannah, and Revvin' Evan on "Jay Jay the Jet Plane".


title: French Fourth Republic

text: The French Fourth Republic () was the republican government of France from 27 October 1946 to 4 October 1958, governed by the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Third Republic that was in place from 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War to 1940 during World War II, and suffered many of the same problems. France adopted the constitution of the Fourth Republic on 13 October 1946.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: Despite the political dysfunction, the Fourth Republic saw an era of great economic growth in France and the rebuilding of the nation's social institutions and industry after World War II, with assistance from the United States provided through the Marshall Plan. It also saw the beginning of the rapprochement with former longtime enemy Germany, which in turn led to Franco-German co-operation and eventually to the development of the European Union.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: Some attempts were also made to strengthen the executive branch of government to prevent the unstable situation that had existed before the war, but the instability remained and the Fourth Republic saw frequent changes in government – there were 21 administrations in its 12-year history. Moreover, the government proved unable to make effective decisions regarding decolonization of the numerous remaining French colonies. After a series of crises, most importantly the Algerian crisis of 1958, the Fourth Republic collapsed. Wartime leader Charles de Gaulle returned from retirement to preside over a transitional administration that was empowered to design a new French constitution. The Fourth Republic was dissolved on 5 October 1958 following a public referendum which established the modern-day Fifth Republic with a strengthened presidency.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: After the liberation of France in 1944, the Vichy government was dissolved and the Provisional Government of the French Republic (, GPRF), also known as the French Committee of National Liberation, was instituted after a unanimous request of the Provisional Consultative Assembly to be properly represented. With most of the political class discredited and containing many members who had more or less collaborated with Nazi Germany, Gaullism and communism became the most popular political forces in France.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: Charles de Gaulle led the GPRF from 1944 to 1946. Meanwhile, negotiations took place over the proposed new constitution, which was to be put to a referendum. DeGaulle advocated a presidential system of government, and criticized the reinstatement of what he pejoratively called "the parties system". He resigned in January 1946 and was replaced by Felix Gouin of the French Section of the Workers' International (, SFIO). Ultimately only the French Communist Party (, PCF) and the socialist SFIO supported the draft constitution, which envisaged a form of government based on unicameralism; but this was rejected in the referendum of 5 May 1946.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: For the 1946 elections, the Rally of Left Republicans (, RGR), which encompassed the Radical-Socialist Party, the Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance and other conservative parties, unsuccessfully attempted to oppose the Christian democrat and socialist MRP–SFIO–PCF alliance. The new constituent assembly included 166 MRP deputies, 153 PCF deputies and 128 SFIO deputies, giving the tripartite alliance an absolute majority. Georges Bidault of the MRP replaced Felix Gouin as the head of government.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: A new draft of the Constitution was written, which this time proposed the establishment of a bicameral form of government. Leon Blum of the SFIO headed the GPRF from 1946 to 1947. After a new legislative election in June 1946, the Christian democrat Georges Bidault assumed leadership of the Cabinet. Despite DeGaulle's so-called discourse of Bayeux of 16 June 1946 in which he denounced the new institutions, the new draft was approved by 53% of voters voting in favor (with an abstention rate of 31%) in the referendum held on 13 October 1946 and the Constitution of 27 October 1946 came into force two weeks later as the Fourth Republic, in an arrangement in which executive power essentially resided in the hands of the President of the Council (the prime minister). The President of the Republic was given a largely symbolic role, although he remained chief of the French Army and as a last resort could be called upon to resolve conflicts.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: After the expulsion of the Communists from the governing coalition, France joined the Cold War against Stalin, as expressed by becoming a founding member of NATO in April 1949. France now took a leadership position in unifying western Europe, working closely with Konrad Adenauer of West Germany. Robert Schuman, who was twice Prime Minister and at other times Minister of Finance and Foreign Minister, was instrumental in building post-war European and trans-Atlantic institutions. A devout Catholic and anti-Communist, he led France to be a member of the European Communities, the Council of Europe and NATO.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: "Les Trente Glorieuses" ('The Glorious Thirty') was the high prosperity in the 30 years from 1945 to 1975. In 1944, DeGaulle introduced a dirigiste economic policy, which included substantial state-directed control over a capitalist economy, which was followed by 30 years of unprecedented growth.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: The wartime damage was extensive and expectations of large reparations from defeated Germany did not happen. The United States helped revive the French economy with the Marshall Plan (1948–1951), whereby it gave France $2.3 billion with no repayment. France was the second largest recipient after Britain. The total of all American grants and credits to France from 1946 to 1953 amounted to $4.9 billion. It provided urgently needed funding for modernizing the transport systems, electricity generation, and basic industries, especially cement, coal, and steel. It required a modernization of French industrial and managerial systems, free trade, and friendly economic relations with West Germany.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: The French economy grew rapidly like economies of other developed countries within the framework of the Marshall Plan such as West Germany, Italy, and Japan. These decades of economic prosperity combined high productivity with high average wages and high consumption, and were also characterised by a highly developed system of social benefits. According to various studies, the real purchasing power of the average French worker's salary went up by 170% between 1950 and 1975, while overall private consumption increased by 174% in the period 1950-74. The French standard of living, which had been damaged by both World Wars, became one of the world's highest. The population also became far more urbanized; many rural départements experienced a population decline while the larger metropolitan areas grew considerably, especially that of Paris. Ownership of various household goods and amenities increased considerably, while the wages of the French working class rose significantly as the economy became more prosperous. As noted by the historians Jean Blondel and Donald Geoffrey Charlton in 1974,


title: French Fourth Republic

text: If it is still the case that France lags in the number of its telephones, working-class housing has improved beyond recognition and the various 'gadgets' of the consumer society–from television to motor cars–are now purchased by the working class on an even more avid basis than in other Western European countries.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: The worldwide 1973 oil crisis slowed down its explosive growth. Thus, the mid-1970s marked the end of the period. Thomas Piketty describes the Trente Glorieuses as an exceptional "catch up" period following the world wars. He cites statistics showing that normal growth in wealthy countries is about 1.5–2%, whereas in Europe growth dropped to 0.5% between 1913 and 1950, and then "caught up" with a growth rate of 4% between 1950 and 1970, until settling back to 1.5–2% from 1970 onward.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: Public opinion polls showed that in February 1954, only 7% of the French people wanted to continue the fight in Indochina against the Communists, led by Ho Chi Minh and his Viet Minh movement.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: Pierre Mendes France was a Radical Party leader who was Prime Minister for eight months in 1954–55, working with the support of the Socialist and Communist parties. His top priority was ending the war in Indochina, which had already cost 92,000 dead, 114,000 wounded and 28,000 captured in the wake of the humiliating defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in early May 1954.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: At the Geneva Conference (1954), he made a deal that gave the Viet Minh control of Vietnam north of the 17th parallel, and allowed him to pull out all French forces. That left South Vietnam standing alone. However, the United States moved in and provided large-scale financial, military and economic support for South Vietnam.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: Mendes France next came to an agreement with Habib Bourguiba, the nationalist leader in Tunisia, for the independence of that colony by 1956, and began discussions with the nationalist leaders in Morocco for a French withdrawal.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: The intention of the new Constitution's authors was to rationalize the parliamentary system. Ministers were accountable to the legislative body, the French National Assembly, but some measures were introduced in order to protect the Cabinet and to reinforce the authority of the Prime Minister of France, who led the Cabinet. The goal of the new constitution was to reconcile parliamentary democracy with ministerial stability.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: For instance, under the new Constitution, the President of the Council was the leader of the executive branch (Prime Minister of France). The President of the French Republic, elected by the Parliament (the National Assembly and the Council of the Republic), played a symbolic role. His main power was to propose a Prime Minister, who was subject to election by the National Assembly before forming a Cabinet. Only the Prime Minister could invoke a parliamentary vote on legitimacy of the Cabinet. The Prime Minister was also the only member of the executive able to demand a vote of confidence from the National Assembly (in the Third Republic any minister could call for a vote of confidence). The Cabinet could be dismissed if an absolute majority of the National Assembly's members voted against the Cabinet. Finally, the National Assembly could be dissolved after two ministerial crises in the legislature.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: However, these constitutional measures did not work. In January 1947, after his election by the National Assembly and the nomination of his ministers, Prime Minister Paul Ramadier called for a vote of confidence in order to verify that the Assembly approved the composition of his Cabinet. This initiated a custom of double election, a vote for the Prime Minister followed by a vote of confidence in the chosen Cabinet, that weakened the Prime Minister's authority over the Cabinet. Cabinets were dismissed with only a plurality (not the absolute majority) of the National Assembly voting against the Cabinet. Consequently, these ministerial crises did not result in the dissolution of Parliament. Thus, as in the Third Republic, this regime was characterized by ministerial instability.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: The Fourth Republic was also a victim of the political context. The split of the three-party alliance in spring 1947, the departure of Communist ministers, Gaullist opposition, and the new proportional representation did not create conditions for ministerial stability. Governmental coalitions were composed of an undisciplined patchwork of center-left and center-right parties. Finally, the Fourth Republic was confronted with the collapse of the French colonial empire.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: The creation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was first proposed by French foreign minister Robert Schuman and French economist Jean Monnet on 9 May 1950 as a way to prevent further war between France and Germany. Though the United Kingdom was invited, its Labour government, then preparing for a re-election fight, did not join the initiative. It was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris, signed by France, Italy, West Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Between these countries the ECSC would create a common market for coal and steel. The ECSC was governed by a 'High Authority', checked by bodies representing governments; representatives of the peoples of the member States (selected from each state's Members of Parliament); and an independent judiciary.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: The Treaty of Paris (1951), which created the ECSC, was superseded on 25 March 1957 by the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community (the forerunner to the European Union, created in 1993 through the Maastricht Treaty).


title: French Fourth Republic

text: The trigger for the collapse of the Fourth Republic was the Algiers crisis of 1958. France was still a colonial power, although conflict and revolt had begun the process of decolonization. French West Africa, French Indochina, and French Algeria still sent representatives to the French parliament under systems of limited suffrage in the French Union. Algeria in particular, despite being the colony with the largest French-identifying population, saw rising pressure for separation from the . The situation was complicated by those in Algeria, such as the Pieds-Noirs, who wanted to stay part of France, so the Algerian War became not just a separatist movement but had elements of a civil war.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: Further complications came when a section of the French Army rebelled and openly backed the "" movement to defeat separation. Revolts and riots broke out in 1958 against the French government in Algiers, but there were no adequate and competent political initiatives by the French government in support of military efforts to end the rebellion owing to party politics. The feeling was widespread that another debacle like that of Indochina in 1954 was in the offing and that the government would order another precipitous pullout and sacrifice French honour to political expediency. This prompted General Jacques Massu to create a French settlers' committee to demand the formation of a new national government under General DeGaulle, who was a national hero and had advocated a strong military policy, nationalism and the retention of French control over Algeria. General Massu, who had gained prominence and authority when he ruthlessly suppressed Algerian militants, famously declared that unless General DeGaulle was returned to power, the French Army would openly revolt; General Massu and other senior generals covertly planned the takeover of Paris with 1,500 paratroopers preparing to take over airports with the support of French Air Force units. Armoured units from Rambouillet prepared to roll into Paris.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: On 24 May, French paratroopers from the Algerian corps landed on Corsica, taking the French island in a bloodless action called . Operation Resurrection would be implemented if DeGaulle was not approved as leader by the French Parliament, if DeGaulle asked for military assistance to take power, or to thwart any organized attempt by the French Communist Party to seize power or stall DeGaulle's return.


title: French Fourth Republic

text: DeGaulle, who had announced his retirement from politics a decade before, placed himself in the midst of the crisis, calling on the nation to suspend the government and create a new constitutional system. On 29 May 1958, French politicians agreed upon calling on DeGaulle to take over the government as prime minister. The French Army's willingness to support an overthrow of the constitutional government was a significant development in French politics. With Army support, DeGaulle's government terminated the Fourth Republic (the last parliament of the Fourth Republic voted for its dissolution) and drew up a new constitution proclaiming the French Fifth Republic in 1958.


title: Sydney Airport

text: Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (colloquially Mascot Airport, Kingsford Smith Airport, or Sydney Airport; ; ) is an international airport in Sydney, Australia, located 8 km (5 mi) south of the Sydney central business district, in the suburb of Mascot. The airport is owned by Sydney Airport Holdings. It is the primary airport serving Sydney, and is a primary hub for Qantas, as well as a secondary hub for Virgin Australia and Jetstar, as well as a focus city for Air New Zealand. Situated next to Botany Bay, the airport has three runways.


title: Sydney Airport

text: Sydney Airport is one of the world's longest continuously operated commercial airports and is the busiest airport in Australia, handling 42.6 million passengers and 348,904 aircraft movements in 2016–17. It was the 38th busiest airport in the world in 2016. Currently 46 domestic and 43 international destinations are served to Sydney directly.


title: Sydney Airport

text: In 2018, the airport was rated in the top five worldwide for airports handling 40–50 million passengers annually and was overall voted the 20th best airport in the world at the Skytrax World Airport Awards.


title: Sydney Airport

text: The land used for the airport had been a bullock paddock, with a lot of the area around Mascot being swampy. Flights had been taking off from at least 1911 from these fields, with aviators using other Sydney locations like Anderson Park, Neutral Bay for a few years prior. Nigel Love, who had been a pilot in the First World War, was interested in establishing the nation's first aircraft manufacturing company. This idea would require him to establish a factory and an aerodrome close to the city. A real estate office in Sydney told him of some land owned by the Kensington Race Club that was being kept as a hedge against its losing its government-owned site at Randwick. It had been used by a local abattoir which was closing down, to graze sheep and cattle. This land appealed to Love as the surface was perfectly flat and was covered with a pasture of buffalo grass. The grass had been grazed so evenly by the sheep and cattle that it required little to make it serviceable for aircraft. In addition, the approaches on all four sides had no obstructions, it was bounded by Ascot Racecourse, gardens, a river and Botany Bay.


title: Sydney Airport

text: Love established the airfield at Mascot as a private concern, leasing from the Kensington Race Club for three years. It initially had a small canvas structure but was later equipped with an imported Richards hangar. The first flight from Mascot was in November 1919 when Love carried freelance movie photographer Billy Marshall up in an Avro. The official opening flight took place on 9 January 1920, also performed by Love.


title: Sydney Airport

text: In 1921, the Commonwealth Government purchased in Mascot for the purpose of creating a public airfield. In 1923, when Love's three-year lease expired, the Mascot land was compulsorily acquired by the Commonwealth Government from the racing club. The first regular flights began in 1924.


title: Sydney Airport

text: In 1933, the first gravel runways were built. By 1949 the airport had three runways – the 11/29, the 16/34 and the 04/22. The Sydenham to Botany railway line crossed the latter runway approximately from the northern end and was protected by special safeworking facilities. The Cooks River was diverted away from the area in 1947–52 to provide more land for the airport and other small streams were filled. Sydney Airport was declared an aerodrome in 1920. On 14 August 1936 the airport was renamed Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport in honour of pioneering Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith. Up to the early 1960s the majority of Sydneysiders referred to the airport as Mascot. The first paved runway was 07/25. The next runway constructed, 16/34 (now 16R/34L), was extended into Botany Bay to accommodate jet aircraft, which started arriving in 1959. Runway 07/25 is used mainly by lighter aircraft, but is used by all aircraft including Airbus A380s when conditions require. Runway 16R/34L is presently the longest operational runway in Australia, with a paved length of and between the zebra thresholds. Runway 16L/34R is mainly used by domestic aircraft and aircraft up to the size of A330/B787/B772/A359, but is used by large aircraft such as B77W/A35K/B747/A380 when no other runway is available.


title: Sydney Airport

text: By the 1960s, the need for a new international terminal had become apparent, and work commenced in late 1966. Much of the new terminal was designed by Paynter and Dixon Industries with Costain appointed lead contractor.


title: Sydney Airport

text: The new terminal was officially opened on 3 May 1970, by Queen Elizabeth II. The first Boeing 747 "Jumbo Jet" at the airport, Pan Am's "Clipper Flying Cloud" (N734PA), arrived on 4 October 1970. The east–west runway was then long; in the 1970s the north–south runway was expanded to become one of the longest runways in the southern hemisphere. The international terminal was expanded in 1992 and has undergone several refurbishments since then, including a major one in early 2000 in time for the 2000 Summer Olympics held in Sydney. The airport underwent another project development that began in 2010 to extend the transit zone which brought new duty free facilities, shops & leisure areas for passengers.


title: Sydney Airport

text: The limitations of having only two runways that crossed each other had become apparent and governments grappled with Sydney's airport capacity for decades. Eventually the controversial decision to build a third runway was made. The third runway was parallel to the existing runway 16/34, entirely on reclaimed land from Botany Bay. A proposed new airport on the outskirts of Sydney was shelved in 2004, before being re-examined in 2009–2012 following reports that Kingsford Smith airport will not be able to cope by 2030.


title: Sydney Airport

text: The "third runway", which the Commonwealth government commenced development of in 1989 and completed in 1994, remained controversial because of increased aircraft movements, especially over inner suburbs. In 1995 the No Aircraft Noise party was formed to contest the 1995 New South Wales state election. The party did not win a seat in parliament, but came close in the electorate of Marrickville. It also contested the 1996 Australian federal election.


title: Sydney Airport

text: In 1995, the Australian Parliament passed the "Sydney Airport Curfew Act 1995", which limits the operating hours of the airport. This was done in an effort to reduce airport noise over residential areas and thereby curb complaints. The curfew prevents aircraft from taking off or landing between the hours of 11 pm and 6 am. A limited number of scheduled and approved take-offs and landings are permitted respectively in the "shoulder periods" of 11 pm to midnight and 5 am to 6 am. The Act does not stop all aircraft movements overnight, but limits noise by restricting the types of aircraft that can operate, the runways they can use and the number of flights allowed. During extreme weather, flights are often delayed and it is often the case that people on late flights are unable to travel on a given day. , fines for violating curfew have been levied against four airlines, with a maximum fine of A$550,000 applicable.


title: Sydney Airport

text: In addition to the curfew, Sydney Airport also has a cap of 80 aircraft movements per hour which cannot be exceeded, leading to increased delays during peak hours.


title: Sydney Airport

text: In 1998 the Federal Government agreed to separate Sydney Airport from the Federal Airports Corporation and to incorporate it as Sydney Airport Corporation and appointed David Mortimer as Chair and Tony Stuart as CEO. Its mandate was to successfully redevelop the airport as the gateway for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, support the growth of new airlines such as Virgin and Emirates, and prepare it for a successful $3 billion plus privatisation. In 2001 Sydney Airport was awarded World's best Airport. In preparation for privatisation the airport argued successfully for a new regulatory regime.


title: Sydney Airport

text: In 2002, the Commonwealth Government sold Sydney Airport Corporation (SAC), to Southern Cross Airports Corporation Holdings for $5.4 billion. 83 per cent of SAC is owned by MAp Airports International Limited, a subsidiary of Macquarie Group, Sydney Airport Intervest GmbH own 12 per cent and Ontario Teachers' Australia Trust own 5 per cent. SACL holds a 99-year lease on the airport which remains Crown land and as such is categorised as a Leased Federal Airport.


title: Sydney Airport

text: Since the international terminal's original completion, it has undergone two large expansions. One such expansion is underway and will stretch over twenty years (2005–25). This will include an additional high-rise office block, the construction of a multi-level car park, the expansion of both international and domestic terminals. These expansions—and other plans and policies by Macquarie Bank for airport operations—are seen as controversial, as they are performed without the legal oversight of local councils, which usually act as the local planning authority for such developments. , some of the proposed development has been scaled back.


title: Sydney Airport

text: Sydney Airport's International terminal underwent a $500 million renovation that was completed in mid-2010. The upgrade includes a new baggage system, an extra of space for shops and passenger waiting areas and other improvements.


title: Sydney Airport

text: In March 2010, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission released a report sharply critical of price gouging at Sydney airport, ranking it fifth out of five airports. The report noted Sydney Airport recorded the highest average prices at $13.63 per passenger, compared to the lowest of $7.96 at Melbourne Airport, while the price of short-term parking had almost doubled in the 2008–09 financial year, from $28 to $50 for four hours. The report also accused the airport of abusing its monopoly power.


title: Sydney Airport

text: In December 2011, Sydney Airport announced a proposal to divide the airport into two airline-alliance-based precincts; integrating international, domestic and regional services under the one roof by 2019. The current domestic Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 would be used by Qantas, Jetstar and members of the oneworld airline alliance while today's international Terminal 1 would be used by Virgin Australia and its international partners. Other international airlines would continue to operate from T1.


title: Sydney Airport

text: In September 2012, Sydney Airport Managing Director and CEO Kerrie Mather announced the airport had abandoned the proposal to create alliance-based terminals in favour of terminals "based around specific airline requirements and (passenger) transfer flows". She stated the plan was to minimise the number of passengers transferring between terminals.


title: Sydney Airport

text: In June 2013, the airport released a draft version of its 2033 Masterplan, which proposes operating domestic and international flights from the same terminals using 'swing gates', along with upgrading Terminal 3 (currently the Qantas domestic terminal) to accommodate the Airbus A380.


title: Sydney Airport

text: On 17 February 2014, the Australian Government approved Sydney Airport's Master Plan 2033, which outlines the airport's plans to cater for forecast demand of 74 million passengers in 2033. The plan includes Sydney Airport's first ever integrated ground transport plan.


title: Sydney Airport

text: Sydney Airport has three passenger terminals. The International Terminal is separated from the other two by a runway; therefore, connecting passengers need to allow for longer transfer times.


title: Sydney Airport

text: Terminal 1 was opened on 3 May 1970, replacing the old Overseas Passenger Terminal (which was located where Terminal 3 stands now) and has been greatly expanded since then. Today it is known as the International Terminal, located in the airport's north western sector. It has 25 gates (thirteen in concourse B numbered 8–37, and twelve in concourse C numbered 50–63) served by aerobridges. Pier B is used by Qantas, all Oneworld members and all Skyteam members (except Delta Air Lines). Pier C is used by Virgin Australia and its partners (including Delta) as well as all Star Alliance members. There are also a number of remote bays which are heavily utilised during peak periods and for parking of idle aircraft during the day.


title: Sydney Airport

text: The terminal building is split into three levels, one each for arrivals, departures and airline offices. The departure level has 20 rows of check-in desks each with 10 single desks making a total of 200 check-in desks. The terminal hosts eight airline lounges: two for Qantas, and one each for The House, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, American Express and SkyTeam. The terminal underwent a major $500 million redevelopment that was completed in 2010, by which the shopping complex was expanded, outbound customs operations were centralised and the floor space of the terminal increased to . Further renovations began in 2015 with a reconfiguration and decluttering of outbound and inbound duty-free areas, extension of the airside dining areas and installation of Australian Border Force outbound immigration SmartGates. These works were completed in 2016.


title: Sydney Airport

text: Terminal 2, located in the airport's north-eastern section, is a domestic terminal and the former home of Ansett Australia's domestic operations. It features 20 parking bays served by aerobridges and several remote bays for regional aircraft. It serves FlyPelican, Jetstar, Rex Airlines and Virgin Australia. There are lounges for Regional Express Airlines and Virgin Australia.


title: Sydney Airport

text: Terminal 3 is a domestic terminal, serving Qantas with QantasLink flights having moved their operations from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3 on 16 August 2013. Originally, it was home for Trans Australia Airlines (later named Australian Airlines). It is located in the north-eastern section adjacent to Terminal 2, with which it shares an underground train station.


title: Sydney Airport

text: The current terminal building is largely the result of extensions designed by Hassell that were completed in 1999. This included construction of a 60-metre roof span above a new column-free checkin hall and resulted in extending the terminal footprint to 80,000 square metres. There are 14 parking bays served by aerobridges, including two served by dual aerobridges. Terminal 3 features a large Qantas Club lounge, along with a dedicated Business Class and Chairmans lounge. Terminal 3 also has a 'Heritage Collection' located adjacent to gate 13, dedicated to Qantas and including many collections from the airline's 90-plus years of service. It also has a view of the airport's apron and is used commonly by plane-spotters.


title: Sydney Airport

text: In 2015, Qantas sold its lease of Terminal 3, which was due to continue until 2019, back to Sydney Airport for $535 million. This means Sydney Airport resumes operational responsibility of the terminal, including the lucrative retail areas.


title: Sydney Airport

text: Sydney Airport previously had a fourth passenger terminal, east of Terminal 2. This was formerly known as "Domestic Express" and was used by Regional Express Airlines, and low-cost carriers Virgin Blue (now known as Virgin Australia) and the now-defunct Impulse Airlines, during the time Terminal 2 was closed following the collapse of Ansett Australia. It is now used as an office building.


title: Sydney Airport

text: The airport is a major hub for freight transport to and from Australia handling approximately 45 percent of the national cargo traffic. Therefore, it is equipped with extensive freight facilities including seven dedicated cargo terminals operated by several handlers.


title: Sydney Airport

text: The local, state and federal governments have investigated the viability of building a second major airport in Sydney since the 1940s. Significant passenger growth at Sydney Airport indicates the potential need for a second airport – for example, total passenger numbers increased from less than 10 million in 1985–86 to over 25 million in 2000–01, and over 40 million in 2015–16. This growth is expected to continue, with Sydney region passenger demand forecast to reach 87 million passengers by 2035.


title: Sydney Airport

text: On 15 April 2014, the Federal Government announced that Badgerys Creek would be Sydney's second international airport, to be known as Western Sydney Airport. Press releases suggest that the airport will not be subject to curfews and will open in phases, initially with a single airport runway and terminal. It would be linked to Sydney Airport by local roads and motorways, and by extensions to the existing suburban rail network. In May 2017 the Federal Government announced it would build (pay for) the second Sydney Airport, after the Sydney Airport Group declined the Government's offer to build the second airport.


title: Sydney Airport

text: In 2019 Sydney Airport handled 521,014 tonnes of international air freight and 23,260 tonnes of international air mail.


title: Sydney Airport

text: The airport is accessible via the Airport Link underground rail line. The International Airport station is located below the International terminal, while the Domestic Airport station is located under the car park between the domestic terminals (Terminal 2 and Terminal 3). While the stations are part of the Sydney Trains suburban network, they are privately owned and operated by the Airport Link Company and their use is subject to a surcharge. The trains that service the airport are regular suburban trains. Unlike airport trains at some other airports, these do not have special provisions for customers with luggage, do not operate express to the airport and may have all seats occupied by commuters before the trains arrive at the airport.


title: Sydney Airport

text: Transdev John Holland operates route 350 from the domestic terminal to Bondi Junction railway station while Transit Systems operates route 420 from Mascot railway station to Westfield Burwood via both International and Domestic terminals, as well as Banksia and Rockdale railway stations.


title: Sydney Airport

text: The airport station surcharge may be avoided by passengers alighting at nearby stations and walking to either the International Terminal (from Wolli Creek station, about 1.6 km) or the Domestic Terminal (from Mascot station, about 1.8 km).


title: Sydney Airport

text: Sydney Airport has road connections in all directions. Southern Cross Drive (M1), a motorway, is the fastest link with the city centre. The M5 South Western Motorway (including the M5 East Freeway) links the airport with the south-western suburbs of Sydney. A ring road runs around the airport consisting of Airport Drive, Qantas Drive, General Holmes Drive, M5 East Freeway and Marsh Street. General Holmes Drive features a tunnel under the main north–south runway and three taxiways as well as providing access to an aircraft viewing area. Inside the airport a part-ring road – Ross Smith Avenue (named after Ross MacPherson Smith) – connects the Domestic Terminal with the control tower, the general aviation area, car-rental company storage yards, long-term car park, heliport, various retail operations and a hotel. A perimeter road runs inside the secured area for authorised vehicles only.


title: Sydney Airport

text: The New South Wales Government plans to build the Sydney Gateway, a major road interchange between the WestConnex motorway and Sydney Airport's terminals. The project will provide a motorway-grade road directly to the terminals. Construction is expected to begin in early 2021 and be open in 2024.


title: Sydney Airport

text: The Airport runs several official car parks—Domestic Short Term, Domestic Remote Long Term, and International Short/Long Term.


title: Sydney Airport

text: The International Terminal is located beside a wide pedestrian and bicycle path. It links Mascot and Sydney City in the north-east with Tempe (via a foot bridge over Alexandra Canal) and Botany Bay to the south-west. All terminals offer bicycle racks and are also easily accessible by foot from nearby areas.


title: Natsuki Hanae

text: Hanae entered workforce while in high school. He thought about his career, but planned to become a voice actor. He joined Across Entertainment in November 2009. He made his first leading role in "Tari Tari", and was credited as a composer for episodes 5 and 12. Hanae won the Best Rookie award at the 9th Seiyu Awards. He and Ryōta Ōsaka hosted the radio show . On August 27, 2016, Hanae announced that he had married a woman who is five years older than him. He began uploading Let's Play videos on YouTube in March 2019, amassing over 500,000 subscribers seven months later. On September 20, 2020, Hanae became a father of fraternal twin girls.


title: Natsuki Hanae

text: On July 23, 2021, Hanae wrote on Twitter that his SNS accounts' (Twitter and YouTube) total followers surpassed two million people.


title: Natsuki Hanae

text: On January 27, 2022, Hanae tested positive for COVID-19. On February 7, 2022, it was announced that he had recovered.


title: Nicole Byer

text: Nicole Byer (born August 29, 1986) is an American comedian, actress, and television host. She is known as the host of the Netflix comedic reality bake-off series "Nailed It!" (2018–present), for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations.


title: Nicole Byer

text: Byer gained recognition for her work in the commentary series "Girl Code" (2013). Byer later starred in the MTV/Facebook Watch comedy series "Loosely Exactly Nicole" (2016–2018), which was based on her real life experiences. She made several guest appearances in such comedy series as "30 Rock" (2012), "Family Guy" (2016), "Transparent" (2016–2017), "The Good Place" (2019), "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (2019–2021), and "The Simpsons" (2019). She also appeared in films, including "Other People" (2016), "All About Nina" (2018), "Bad Hair" (2020), and "Valley Girl" (2020). In 2021, Byer began co-hosting "Wipeout" with John Cena.


title: Nicole Byer

text: Byer is the host of the Team Coco podcast "Why Won't You Date Me?," the Earwolf podcast "Best Friends" co-hosted with Sasheer Zamata, and the Headgum podcast "Newcomers".


title: Nicole Byer

text: Byer's first full-length special, "Nicole Byer: BBW (Big Beautiful Weirdo)", premiered on Netflix in December 2021 and earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special.


title: Nicole Byer

text: Byer was born in New Jersey and moved to New York City in the early 2000s. She worked there as a waitress for a restaurant and cabaret club. She described how the experience eventually led to her to studying improv, "They would give me a lot of money because they were like, 'You're very funny. You have to get out of here. You're very bad at this [waiting tables].'" Byer's parents both died when she was young, her mother while Nicole was a teen in high school, and her father when she was 21. She has said that comedy helped her work through both her parents' deaths, "it was a blessing that I had found these things before they passed away so I could escape."


title: Nicole Byer

text: She then took classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade, starting improv and sketch comedy in June 2008, the same month that her father died. She continued with improv and sketch comedy for many years before starting her stand-up career in 2013. Byer graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy Certificate Program in Professional Performance.


title: Nicole Byer

text: She tours the United States doing stand-up comedy and regularly performs improv with Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles.


title: Nicole Byer

text: Byer began appearing on "Girl Code" on MTV in 2013. In 2014, she hosted the first season of MTV's "Are You the One? The Aftermatch Live", an after-show for "Are You the One?". She appeared in several roles on network television in 2016. That year, she had supporting roles on three shows: MTV's commentary show "Girl Code"; a hidden camera prank show "Ladylike", also on MTV; and she was a series regular on the Fox show "Party Over Here", a half-hour sketch comedy created by Paul Scheer and Lonely Island, which was cancelled after one season. As a commentator on the show "Girl Code", she was described by Maitri Mehta at "Bustle" as a "beloved talking head"; Stephanie Merry at "The Washington Post" called Byer "one of the most dependably funny commentators" on the show.


title: Nicole Byer

text: Byer has guest-starred in several shows including "BoJack Horseman", "Transparent", and "Bob's Burgers". She played Lizette in season 5, episode 7 of the Freeform series "Young & Hungry" in 2017. She appeared as a guest judge on the third season of "".


title: Nicole Byer

text: Since March 2018, Byer has hosted the Netflix original bake-off series "Nailed It!" alongside head judge chocolatier Jacques Torres. Each episode features three home bakers with a "terrible track record" attempting to recreate extremely complicated pastries for a $10,000 prize. Byer received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program twice (in 2020 and 2021). She is the first Black woman to be nominated in the category.


title: Nicole Byer

text: Because her comedy is "not kid-friendly", her commentary is edited to create the "feel-good G-rated comedy" that the show is known for. An entire season is shot in only 13 days.


title: Nicole Byer

text: In 2016, MTV premiered "Loosely Exactly Nicole", a scripted, single-camera comedy written and starring Byer, based on her life. Madeleine Davies at "Jezebel" described the show's premise as a "comedic look on [Byer's] life as a black actress struggling to make it in Hollywood." "Loosely Exactly Nicole" premiered September 5, 2016 on MTV. It was later cancelled after one season. Shortly after, it was picked up by Facebook Watch for a second season.


title: Nicole Byer

text: Byer is the host of four podcasts: "Why Won't You Date Me?, Best Friends!, 90 Day Bae," and "Newcomers."


title: Nicole Byer

text: In December 2017, Byer launched a weekly podcast "Why Won't You Date Me?" on the HeadGum podcast network. Each episode features a guest, typically another comedian, with whom Byer converses openly about her limited dating history, past sexual experiences, and frustration with being single. The guest also critiques her Tinder profile. Byer concludes each show by asking the guest host if they would date her. Past guests include her very close friend Sasheer Zamata, Emily Heller, and Brooks Wheelan. Critics have referred to the show as "bold" and "refreshing." In 2021, the show left HeadGum to join Conan O'Brien's Team Coco podcast network.


title: Nicole Byer

text: In 2019, Byer, alongside Sasheer Zamata, launched a podcast on the Earwolf podcast network, "Best Friends", a weekly podcast in which the two ruminate on the nature of friendship. Guest episodes have included such pairs such as actresses June Diane Raphael and Casey Wilson, drag queens Katya Zamolodchikova and Trixie Mattel, and internet personalities Keith Habersberger and Zach Kornfeld of The Try Guys. The same year, Byer joined comedian and actor Mano Agapion as a co-host on the "RuPaul's Drag Race" recap podcast "Drag Her", and became a cohost of the "90 Day Fiance" recap podcast "90 Day Bae" with Marcy Jarreau.


title: Nicole Byer

text: In 2020, Byer launched a weekly podcast, "Newcomers", on the HeadGum podcast network alongside Lauren Lapkus, in which the two friends watch films for the first time and comment on their feelings on each movie as newcomers to the series. Each episode features a guest who provides more background on the series and characters. Past guests have included John Gemberling, Demi Adejuyigbe, Paul F. Tompkins, and Betsy Sodaro.


title: Nicole Byer

text: Season one covered the "Star Wars" franchise and "The Lord of the Rings" in the second. The third season explored Tyler Perry's body of work and the fourth goes through the "Fast & Furious" franchise, with a new co-host, Jon Gabrus as a guide. The fifth season is covering selections from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.


title: Nicole Byer

text: Her first book "#VERYFAT #VERYBRAVE: The Fat Girl's Guide to Being #Brave and Not a Dejected, Melancholy, Down-in-the-Dumps Weeping Fat Girl in a Bikini" was released in 2020. The book features over 100 photos of Byer in bikinis with much of the book written through captions, making it both a comedy book and a photo book. Byer has explained the long title, "I, Nicole Byer, wrote this book to #1, share my impressive bikini collection and my hot body with the world, and #2, help other people feel #brave by embracing their body as it is." The title began as a joke hashtag on Instagram, making fun of the way people often comment on photos of fat women wearing relatively little clothing as, 'You're so brave.'


title: Nicole Byer

text: In 2013, Byer and Sasheer Zamata created and starred in a web series called "Pursuit of Sexiness" which was produced by Upright Citizens Brigade.


title: Nicole Byer

text: On The Ringer, Allison P. Davis described Byer's comedy: "Most easily compared to a raunchier Retta with a hint of Ilana Glazer's madcap energy. She's mouthy, vulgar, a little bit goofy, relatable but ridiculously charming, and not afraid to infuse her broad comedy with a confident sexuality." Writing for "USA Today", Jaleesa M. Jones said that "it's precisely [Byer's] brazen, ribald brand of comedy that landed her in the creative incubator that is MTV, where she toplines two new comedy shows in 2016, "Ladylike" and "Loosely Exactly Nicole"".


title: Nicole Byer

text: Byer has been vocal about a casting experience where she was asked to act out stereotypical blackness, including making a comedy sketch about it. Nicole tells the story of auditioning for Israeli Nestle, "So the cast director was a white lady ... and she was like, "OK, Nicole, how do I say this — I need you to be as black as possible, and if you go too black, I'll bring you back." And in my head I was like, "What does that mean?" [...] it's hurtful when you realize: Oh, Hollywood understands one type of black. And there isn't just one type of black — just like there isn't one type of white. Like, Emma Stone, Emma Roberts — all these girls get to exist and they don't have to be one thing. They can be anything they want. And we have to be just one thing."Byer also recollects when she was younger and adults would comment on how well-spoken she was and it took her into adulthood to recognize that as the microaggression it is.


title: Nicole Byer

text: After years of on-set makeup artists not knowing how to work on her dark skin, Byer learned how to do her own makeup. Similar issues with hairstylists caused Byer to start buying and wearing wigs, instead of dealing with people who did not know how to do her hair and get her ready to be on screen.


title: Nicole Byer

text: Byer supports body positivity and stated in an interview with Brit+Co, "Body positivity, to me, means you accept the body that you're in... And if you want to change it, you can, but you should love the skin that you're in currently, forever. Because everyone is beautiful. No one's truly ugly. You're always beautiful to somebody, and you're always ugly to somebody."


title: Nicole Byer

text: On her sexual orientation, Byer has said that she "doesn't identify as straight", but is uncomfortable with the labels "bisexual" or "queer." She has stated on her podcast "Why Won't You Date Me?" that she is open to dating people of any gender, and has dated men and women in the past.


title: Nicole Byer

text: She lives in Los Angeles with her two rescue dogs named Clyde and Charlie. She previously lived with fellow comedian John Milhiser.


title: Heraclius

text: Heraclius (; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.


title: Heraclius

text: Heraclius's reign was marked by several military campaigns. The year Heraclius came to power, the empire was threatened on multiple frontiers. Heraclius immediately took charge of the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628. The first battles of the campaign ended in defeat for the Byzantines; the Persian army fought their way to the Bosphorus but Constantinople was protected by impenetrable walls and a strong navy, and Heraclius was able to avoid total defeat. Soon after, he initiated reforms to rebuild and strengthen the military. Heraclius drove the Persians out of Asia Minor and pushed deep into their territory, defeating them decisively in 627 at the Battle of Nineveh. The Persian king Khosrow II was overthrown and executed by his son Kavad II, who soon sued for a peace treaty, agreeing to withdraw from all occupied territory. This way peaceful relations were restored to the two deeply strained empires.


title: Heraclius

text: However, Heraclius soon lost many of his newly regained lands to the Rashidun Caliphate. Emerging from the Arabian Peninsula, the Muslims quickly conquered the Sasanian Empire. In 636, the Muslims marched into Roman Syria, defeating Heraclius's brother Theodore. Within a short period of time, the Arabs conquered Mesopotamia, Armenia and Egypt. Heraclius responded with reforms which allowed his successors to combat the Arabs and avoid total destruction.


title: Heraclius

text: Heraclius entered diplomatic relations with the Croats and Serbs in the Balkans. He tried to repair the schism in the Christian church in regard to the Monophysites, by promoting a compromise doctrine called Monothelitism. The Church of the East (commonly called Nestorian) was also involved in the process. Eventually this project of unity was rejected by all sides of the dispute.


title: Heraclius

text: Heraclius was the eldest son of Heraclius the Elder and Epiphania. His father, Heraclius the Elder, is almost universally recognized as being of Armenian origin. His mother, Epiphania, was probably of Cappadocian origin. Walter Kaegi considers Heracliusʼ Armenian origin "probable" and speculates that he was presumably "bilingual (Armenian and Greek) from an early age, but even this is uncertain." According to the 7th century Armenian historian Sebeos, Heraclius was related to the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia. Elizabeth Redgate considers his Armenian origin likely. However, Anthony Kaldellis argues that there is not a single primary source that says that Heraclius [the Elder] was an Armenian and that the assertion is based on an erroneous reading of Theophylact Simocatta. In a letter, Priscus, a general who had replaced Heraclius the Elder, wrote to him "to leave the army and return to his own city in Armenia". Kaldellis interprets it as the command headquarters of Heraclius the Elder, and not his home town. Nevertheless, beyond that, there is little specific information known about his origin. His father was a key general during Emperor Maurice's war with Bahram Chobin, usurper of the Sasanian Empire, during 590. After the war, Maurice appointed Heraclius the Elder to the position of Exarch of Africa.


title: Heraclius

text: In 608, Heraclius the Elder renounced his loyalty to the Emperor Phocas, who had overthrown Maurice six years earlier. The rebels issued coins showing both Heraclii dressed as hypatos, though neither of them explicitly claimed the imperial title at this time. Heraclius's younger cousin Nicetas launched an overland invasion of Egypt; by 609, he had defeated Phocas's general Bonosus and secured the province. Meanwhile, the younger Heraclius sailed eastward with another force via Sicily and Cyprus.


title: Heraclius

text: As he approached Constantinople, he made contact with prominent leaders and planned an attack to overthrow aristocrats in the city. When he reached the capital, the Excubitors, an elite Imperial Guard unit led by Phocas's son-in-law Priscus, deserted to Heraclius, and he entered the city without serious resistance. When Heraclius captured Phocas, he asked him "Is this how you have ruled, wretch?" Phocas's reply—"And will you rule better?"—so enraged Heraclius that he beheaded Phocas on the spot. He later had the genitalia removed from the body because Phocas had raped the wife of Photius, a powerful politician in the city.


title: Heraclius

text: On 5 October 610, Heraclius was crowned in the Chapel of St. Stephen within the Great Palace. He then married Fabia, who took the name Eudokia. After her death in 612, he married his niece Martina in 613; this second marriage was considered incestuous and was very unpopular. In the reign of Heraclius's two sons, the divisive Martina was to become the center of power and political intrigue. Despite widespread hatred for Martina in Constantinople, Heraclius took her on campaigns with him and refused attempts by Patriarch Sergius to prevent and later dissolve the marriage.


title: Heraclius

text: During his Balkan campaigns, Emperor Maurice and his family were murdered by Phocas in November 602 after a mutiny. Khosrow II (Chosroes) of the Sasanian Empire had been restored to his throne by Maurice, and they had remained allies until the latter's death. Thereafter, Khosrow seized the opportunity to attack the Byzantine Empire and reconquer Mesopotamia. Khosrow had at his court a man who claimed to be Maurice's son Theodosius, and Khosrow demanded that the Byzantines accept this Theodosius as emperor.


title: Heraclius

text: The war initially went the Persians' way, partly because of Phocas's brutal repression and the succession crisis that ensued as the general Heraclius sent his nephew Nicetas to attack Egypt, enabling his son Heraclius the younger to claim the throne in 610. Phocas, an unpopular ruler who is invariably described in historical sources as a "tyrant" (in its original meaning of the word, i.e. illegitimate king by the rules of succession), was eventually deposed by Heraclius, who sailed to Constantinople from Carthage with an icon affixed to the prow of his ship.


title: Heraclius

text: By this time, the Persians had conquered Mesopotamia and the Caucasus, and in 611 they overran Syria and entered Anatolia. A major counter-attack led by Heraclius two years later was decisively defeated outside Antioch by Shahrbaraz and Shahin, and the Roman position collapsed; the Persians devastated parts of Asia Minor and captured Chalcedon across from Constantinople on the Bosporus.


title: Heraclius

text: Over the following decade the Persians were able to conquer Palestine and Egypt (by mid-621, the whole province was in their hands) and to devastate Anatolia, while the Avars and Slavs took advantage of the situation to overrun the Balkans, bringing the Empire to the brink of destruction. In 613, the Persian army took Damascus with the help of the Jews, seized Jerusalem in 614, damaging the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and capturing the True Cross, and afterwards capturing Egypt in 617 or 618. When the Sasanians reached Chalcedon in 615, it was at this point, according to Sebeos, that Heraclius had agreed to stand down and was about ready to allow the Byzantine Empire to become a Persian client state, even permitting Khosrow II to choose the emperor. In a letter delivered by his ambassadors, Heraclius acknowledged the Persian empire as superior, described himself as Khosrow II's "obedient son, one who is eager to perform the services of your serenity in all things", and even called Khosrow II the "supreme emperor". Khosrow II nevertheless rejected the peace offer, and arrested Heraclius' ambassadors.


title: Heraclius

text: With the Persians at the very gate of Constantinople, Heraclius thought of abandoning the city and moving the capital to Carthage, but the powerful church figure Patriarch Sergius convinced him to stay. Safe behind the walls of Constantinople, Heraclius was able to sue for peace in exchange for an annual tribute of a thousand talents of gold, a thousand talents of silver, a thousand silk robes, a thousand horses, and a thousand virgins to the Persian King. The peace allowed him to rebuild the Empire's army by slashing non-military expenditure, devaluing the currency, and melting down, with the backing of Patriarch Sergius, Church treasures to raise the necessary funds to continue the war.


title: Heraclius

text: On 4 April 622, Heraclius left Constantinople, entrusting the city to Sergius and general Bonus as regents of his son. He assembled his forces in Asia Minor, probably in Bithynia, and, after he revived their broken morale, he launched a new counter-offensive, which took on the character of a holy war; an acheiropoietos image of Christ was carried as a military standard.


title: Heraclius

text: The Roman army proceeded to Armenia, inflicted a defeat on an army led by a Persian-allied Arab chief, and then won a victory over the Persians under Shahrbaraz. Heraclius would stay on campaign for several years. On 25 March 624, he again left Constantinople with his wife, Martina, and his two children; after he celebrated Easter in Nicomedia on 15 April, he campaigned in the Caucasus, winning a series of victories in Armenia against Khosrow and his generals Shahrbaraz, Shahin, and Shahraplakan. In the same year the Visigoths succeeded in recapturing Cartagena, capital of the western Byzantine province of Spania, resulting in the loss of one of the few minor provinces that had been conquered by the armies of Justinian I. In 626 the Avars and Slavs supported by a Persian army commanded by Shahrbaraz, besieged Constantinople, but the siege ended in failure (the victory was attributed to the icons of the Virgin which were led in procession by Sergius about the walls of the city), while a second Persian army under Shahin suffered another crushing defeat at the hands of Heraclius's brother Theodore.


title: Heraclius

text: With the Persian war effort disintegrating, Heraclius was able to bring the Gokturks of the Western Turkic Khaganate, under Ziebel, who invaded Persian Transcaucasia. Heraclius exploited divisions within the Persian Empire, keeping Shahrbaraz neutral by convincing him that Khosrow had grown jealous of him and had ordered his execution. Late in 627 he launched a winter offensive into Mesopotamia, where, despite the desertion of his Turkish allies, he defeated the Persians under Rhahzadh at the Battle of Nineveh. Continuing south along the Tigris he sacked Khosrow's great palace at Dastagird and was only prevented from attacking Ctesiphon by the destruction of the bridges on the Nahrawan Canal. Discredited by this series of disasters, Khosrow was overthrown and killed in a coup led by his son Kavad II, who at once sued for peace, agreeing to withdraw from all occupied territories. In 629 Heraclius restored the True Cross to Jerusalem in a majestic ceremony.


title: Heraclius

text: Heraclius took for himself the ancient Persian title of "King of Kings" after his victory. Later on, starting in 629, he styled himself as "Basileus", the Greek word for "sovereign", and that title was used by the Byzantine emperors for the next 800 years. The reason Heraclius chose this title over previous Roman terms such as "Augustus" has been attributed by some scholars to his Armenian origins.


title: Heraclius

text: Heraclius's defeat of the Persians ended a war that had been going on intermittently for almost 400 years and led to instability in the Persian Empire. Kavad II died only months after assuming the throne, plunging Persia into several years of dynastic turmoil and civil war. Ardashir III, Heraclius's ally Shahrbaraz, and Khosrow's daughters Boran and Azarmidokht all succeeded to the throne within months of each other. Only when Yazdgerd III, a grandson of Khosrow II, succeeded to the throne in 632 was there stability. But by then the Sasanid Empire was severely disorganised, having been weakened by years of war and civil strife over the succession to the throne.


title: Heraclius

text: The war had been devastating, and left the Byzantines in a much-weakened state. Within a few years both empires were overwhelmed by the onslaught of the Arabs, ultimately leading to the Arab conquest of Persia and the fall of the Sasanian dynasty in 651.


title: Heraclius

text: By 630, the Arabs had unified all the tribes of the Hijaz, previously too divided to pose a serious military challenge to the Byzantines or the Persians. They composed one of the most powerful states in the region. The first conflict between the Byzantines and the Arabs was the Battle of Mu'tah in September 629. A small Arabs skirmishing force attacked the province of Arabia in response to the Arabs ambassador's death at the hands of the Ghassanid Roman governor, but were repulsed. Since the engagement was a Byzantine victory, there was no apparent reason to make changes to the military organization of the region. The Roman military wasn't accustomed to fighting Arab armies at scale, much like the Islamic forces of Hijaz who had no prior experience in their engagements against the Romans. Even the Strategicon of Maurice, a manual of war praised for the variety of enemies it covers, does not mention warfare against Arabs at any length. The religious zeal of the Arab army, which was a recent development following the rise of Islam, ultimately contributed to the latter's success in its campaigns against the Romans.


title: Heraclius

text: The following year, the Arabs launched an offensive into the Arabah south of Lake Tiberias, taking al-Karak. Other raids penetrated into the Negev, reaching as far as Gaza. The Battle of Yarmouk in 636 resulted in a crushing defeat for the larger Byzantine army; within three years, the Levant had been lost again. Heraclius died of an illness on 11 February 641; and most of Egypt had fallen by that time as well.


title: Heraclius

text: Looking back at the reign of Heraclius, scholars have credited him with many accomplishments. He enlarged the Empire, and his reorganization of the government and military were great successes. His attempts at religious harmony failed, but he succeeded in returning the True Cross, one of the holiest Christian relics, to Jerusalem.


title: Heraclius

text: Although the territorial gains produced by his defeat of the Persians were lost to the advance of the Muslims, Heraclius still ranks among the great Roman emperors. His reforms of the government reduced the corruption which had taken hold in Phocas's reign, and he reorganized the military with great success. Ultimately, the reformed Imperial army halted the Muslims in Asia Minor and held on to Carthage for another 60 years, saving a core from which the empire's strength could be rebuilt.


title: Heraclius

text: The recovery of the eastern areas of the Roman Empire from the Persians once again raised the problem of religious unity centering on the understanding of the true nature of Christ. Most of the inhabitants of these provinces were Monophysites who rejected the Council of Chalcedon. Heraclius tried to promote a compromise doctrine called Monothelitism but this philosophy was rejected as heretical by both sides of the dispute. For this reason, Heraclius was viewed as a heretic and bad ruler by some later religious writers. After the Monophysite provinces were finally lost to the Muslims, Monotheletism rather lost its "raison d'être" and was eventually abandoned.


title: Heraclius

text: The Croats and Serbs of Byzantine Dalmatia initiated diplomatic relations and dependencies with Heraclius. The Serbs, who briefly lived in Macedonia, became "foederati" and were baptized at the request of Heraclius (before 626). At his request, Pope John IV (640–642) sent Christian teachers and missionaries to Duke Porga and his Croats, who practiced Slavic paganism. He also created the office of sakellarios, a comptroller of the treasury.


title: Heraclius

text: Up to the 20th century he was credited with establishing the Thematic system but modern scholarship now points more to the 660s, under Constans II.


title: Heraclius

text: Heraclius was long remembered favourably by the Western church for his reputed recovery of the True Cross from the Persians. As Heraclius approached the Persian capital during the final stages of the war, Khosrow fled from his favourite residence, Dastagird near Baghdad, without offering resistance. Meanwhile, some of the Persian grandees freed Khosrow's eldest son Kavad II, who had been imprisoned by his father, and proclaimed him King on the night of 23–24 February, 628. Kavad, however, was mortally ill and was anxious that Heraclius should protect his infant son Ardeshir. So, as a goodwill gesture, he sent the True Cross with a negotiator in 628.


title: Heraclius

text: After a tour of the Empire, Heraclius returned the cross to Jerusalem on 21 March 629 or 630. For Christians of Western Medieval Europe, Heraclius was the "first crusader". The iconography of the emperor appeared in the sanctuary at Mont Saint-Michel (ca. 1060), and then it became popular, especially in France, the Italian Peninsula, and the Holy Roman Empire. The story was included in the "Golden Legend", the famous 13th-century compendium of hagiography, and he is sometimes shown in art, as in "The History of the True Cross" sequence of frescoes painted by Piero della Francesca in Arezzo, and a similar sequence on a small altarpiece by Adam Elsheimer (Städel, Frankfurt). Both of these show scenes of Heraclius and Constantine I's mother Saint Helena, traditionally responsible for the excavation of the cross. The scene usually shown is Heraclius carrying the cross; according to the "Golden Legend", he insisted on doing this as he entered Jerusalem, against the advice of the Patriarch. At first, when he was on horseback (shown above), the burden was too heavy, but after he dismounted and removed his crown it became miraculously light, and the barred city gate opened of its own accord.


title: Heraclius

text: Some scholars disagree with this narrative, Professor Constantin Zuckerman going as far as to suggest that the True Cross was actually lost, and that the wood contained in the allegedly-still-sealed reliquary brought to Jerusalem by Heraclius in 629 was a fake. In his analysis, the hoax was designed to serve the political purposes of both Heraclius and his former foe, the Persian general Shahrbaraz.


title: Heraclius

text: In early Islamic and Arab histories, Heraclius is the most popular Roman emperor, who is discussed at length. Owing to his role as Roman emperor at the time Islam emerged, he is remembered in Arabic literature, such as the Islamic hadith and sira.


title: Heraclius

text: The Swahili "Utendi wa Tambuka", an epic poem composed in 1728 at Pate Island (off the shore of present-day Kenya) and depicting the wars between the Muslims and Byzantines from the former's point of view, is also known as "Kyuo kya Hereḳali" ("The Book of Heraclius"). In that work, Heraclius is portrayed as declining the Prophet's request to renounce his belief in Christianity: he is therefore defeated by the Muslim forces.


title: Heraclius

text: In Muslim tradition, he is seen as a just ruler of great piety, who had direct contact with the emerging Islamic forces. The 14th-century scholar Ibn Kathir (d. 1373) went even further, stating that "Heraclius was one of the wisest men and among the most resolute, shrewd, deep and opinionated of kings. He ruled the Romans with great leadership and splendor." Historians such as Nadia Maria El-Cheikh and Lawrence Conrad note that Islamic histories even go so far as claiming that Heraclius recognized Islam as the true faith and Muhammad as its prophet, by comparing Islam to Christianity.


title: Heraclius

text: Islamic historians often cite a letter in which they claim Heraclius wrote to Muhammad: "I have received your letter with your ambassador and I testify that you are the messenger of God found in our New Testament. Jesus, son of Mary, announced you." According to the Muslim sources reported by El-Cheikh, he tried to convert the ruling class of the Empire, but they resisted so strongly that he reversed course and claimed that he was just testing their faith in Christianity. El-Cheikh notes that these accounts of Heraclius add "little to our historical knowledge" of the emperor; rather, they are an important part of "Islamic kerygma," attempting to legitimize Muhammad's status as a prophet.


title: Heraclius

text: Most Western academic historians view such traditions as biased and proclamatory and of little historical value. Furthermore, they argue that any messengers sent by Muhammad to Heraclius would not have received an imperial audience or recognition. According to Kaegi, there is no evidence outside of Islamic sources to suggest Heraclius ever heard of Islam, and it is possible that he and his advisors actually viewed the Muslims as some special sect of Jews.


title: Heraclius

text: Heraclius was married twice: first to Fabia Eudokia, a daughter of Rogatus, and then to his niece Martina. He had two children with Fabia (Eudoxia Epiphania and Emperor Constantine III) and at least nine with Martina, most of whom were sickly children. Of Martina's children at least two were disabled, which was seen as punishment for the illegality of the marriage: Fabius (Flavius) had a paralyzed neck and Theodosios was a deaf-mute. The latter married Nike, daughter of the Persian general Shahrbaraz, or daughter of Niketas, cousin of Heraclius.


title: Heraclius

text: Two of Heraclius's children would become emperor: Heraclius Constantine (Constantine III), his son with Eudokia, and Martina's son Heraclius (Heraclonas). Constantine was crowned co-emperor ("augustus") on 22 January 613, at the age of 8 months. Heraclonas was made "caesar" on 1 January 632, aged 6, and was later crowned "augustus" on 4 July 638. They ruled for a few months in 641, but where eventually succeeded by Constans II, the son of Constantine III, by the end of the year.