title: Huntress (Helena Bertinelli)

text: Similarly to Batman, Huntress possess no inherent super-powers and instead relies on her natural abilities. An expert martial artist, Huntress has mastered several unspecified martial arts and is considered a superb gymnast. She is also an expert on various weaponry and is a skilled marksman, able to use weaponry such as a bullwhip, crossbows, and throwing weapons (blades, darts, boomerangs, arrows, etc.). Her skills were suited enough to surprise and garner some praise from one of DC Universe's master martial artists, Lady Shiva. Huntress is also noted for her high pain tolerance, being able to withstand a beating from aforementioned assassin, giving her the title of "Iron Owl".


title: Huntress (Helena Bertinelli)

text: Among her strongest skills is her ability to disguise herself, her mastery allowing her to portray herself as a wide range of people and personalities and is capable enough to convince a serial killer of being their relative in one instance. Huntress's New 52 incarnation retains similar skills and abilities with some newer ones: a former agent of Spyral, she possess extensive espionage training with ties to a network of spies and informants. Her time as a agent of Spyral also made her an expert helicopter pilot and motorcyclist.


title: Huntress (Helena Bertinelli)

text: Among the weaponry Helena possess is a customized crossbow, her preferred weapon of choice. She also utilizes a customized motorcycle as her main mode of transportation.


title: Huntress (Helena Bertinelli)

text: In the prequel comic to "", Helena is a member of Batman's insurgency, that combats Superman's One-Earth regime, she was very close to Kate Kane and Renee Montoya, Helena is killed in a battle against Wonder Woman, thus angering Kate and strengthening her resolve to fight the regime. She is one of the few deceased members alongside Green Arrow, Dick Grayson, Renee, James Gordon and Alfred Pennyworth.


title: Huntress (Helena Bertinelli)

text: In the "Arrow" tie-in comic, after the death of her boyfriend Michael, Helena goes to Sicily in Italy where she discovers the existence of La Morte Sussurrata ("The Whispered Death"), an organisation of killers trained by the Hashshashins of Persia when they migrated to Italy. Helena begins to have sex with various members to earn their trust, one of them being Silvio, who trains her to become an effective killer. She uses those skills to take down her father's criminal empire and her father.


title: Huntress (Helena Bertinelli)

text: In "Arrow: Season 2.5" comic, Helena is released from prison by Lyla Michaels and Roy Harper after Felicity Smoak was taken by Renegades and Oliver having no backup. She helps him to take down the enemies including Lyle Bolton and back Felicity. After their rescuing, they go to helicopter, but Clinton Hogue (former bodyguard of Sebastian Blood) threatens to kill Roy. He is defeated when he is knocked out of the plane towards to the ground. Helena returns to prison, believing that she knew what justice required. As Oliver leaves, she tells him not to let Felicity get away.


title: Huntress (Helena Bertinelli)

text: In the view of Michael Eury and Gina Misiroglu the character of Helena Bertinelli was introduced and given her own series to capitalize on the popularity of the previous Huntress, Helena Wayne, after that character was eliminated in DC's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" series. While "The Huntress" was cancelled after 19 issues, "the heroine has maintained a profile through numerous gues appearances in other Batman titles", as well as in a number of other media.


title: Huntress (Helena Bertinelli)

text: Sophie Bonadè characterized Helena Bertinelli is an ambiguous female character since, unlike the other members of the Bat-Family, she doesn't hesitate to kill. Together with her predecessor Helena Wayne she is at the forefront of a very marked increase in the number of female characters in the catalog of the publisher DC Comics in the second half of the 1980s. She is a typical character of "Bad Girl Art": She is a woman of action, has an ambiguous morality and is scantily clothed. Among the new characters appearing the Batman univers during that time, the Huntress is the only superheroine, and the second female character in the Bat family to get her own comic series.


title: Huntress (Helena Bertinelli)

text: Marc DiPaolo called Helena Bertinelli's story a "retreat from psychological darkness into the light" and saw her "as a commentary on the Punisher" and "corrective to his pernicious influence": While she was initially also motivated by revenge, "she was ultimately rehabilitated" and "renounced murder" as a means in her crime fighting.


title: Einherjar

text: In Norse mythology, the einherjar (singular einheri) literally "army of one", "those who fight alone") are those who have died in battle and are brought to Valhalla by valkyries. In Valhalla, the einherjar eat their fill of the nightly-resurrecting beast Sæhrímnir, and valkyries bring them mead (which comes from the udder of the goat Heiðrún). The einherjar prepare daily for the events of Ragnarök, when they will advance for an immense battle at the field of Vígríðr.


title: Einherjar

text: The einherjar are attested in the "Poetic Edda", compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, the "Prose Edda", written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, the poem "Hákonarmál" (by the 10th century skald Eyvindr skáldaspillir) as collected in "Heimskringla", and a stanza of an anonymous 10th century poem commemorating the death of Eric Bloodaxe known as "Eiríksmál" as compiled in "Fagrskinna".


title: Einherjar

text: An etymological connection exists between the einherjar and the Harii (a Germanic people or figures from early Germanic folklore attested in the 1st century AD), and scholars have connected the einherjar to the eternal battle of Hjaðningavíg and the Wild Hunt. The einherjar have been the subject of works of art and poetry.


title: Einherjar

text: In the poem "Vafþrúðnismál", Óðinn engages the wise jötunn Vafþrúðnir in a game of wits. Disguised as "Gagnráðr", Óðinn asks Vafþrúðnir "where men fight in courts every day." Vafþrúðnir responds that (here "einherjar" is translated as "einheriar"):


title: Einherjar

text: In the poem "Grímnismál", Óðinn (disguised as "Grímnir") tells the young Agnarr Geirröðsson that the cook Andhrímnir boils the beast Sæhrímnir, which he refers to as "the best of pork", in the container Eldhrímnir, yet adds that "but few know by what the einheriar are nourished." Further into "Grímnismál", Odin gives a list of valkyries (Skeggjöld, Skögul, Hildr, Þrúðr, Hlökk, Herfjötur, Göll, Geirahöð, Randgríð, Ráðgríð, and Reginleif), and states that they bear ale to the einherjar. Towards the end of the poem, another reference to the einherjar appears when Óðinn tells the king Geirröd (unaware that the man he has been torturing is Óðinn) that Geirröd is drunk, and that Geirröd loses much when he loses his favor and the favor of "all the Einherjar."


title: Einherjar

text: In the poem "Helgakviða Hundingsbana I", the hero Sinfjötli flyts with Guðmundur. Sinfjötli accuses Guðmundur of having once been a female, including that he was "a witch, horrible, unnatural, among Odin's valkyries" and that all of the einherjar "had to fight, headstrong women, on your account".


title: Einherjar

text: In the "Prose Edda" book "Gylfaginning", the einherjar are introduced in chapter 20. In chapter 20, Third tells Gangleri (described as king Gylfi in disguise) that Óðinn is called "Valföðr" (Old Norse "father of the slain") "since all those who fall in battle are his adopted sons," and that Óðinn assigns them places in Valhalla and Vingólf where they are known as einherjar. In chapter 35, High quotes the "Grímnismál" valkyrie list, and says that these valkyries wait in Valhalla, and there serve drink, and look after tableware and drinking vessels in Valhalla. In addition, High says that Óðinn sends valkyries to every battle, that they allot death to men, and govern victory.


title: Einherjar

text: In chapter 38, High provides more detail about the einherjar. Gangleri says that "you say that all those men that have fallen in battle since the beginning of the world have now come to Odin in Val-hall. What has he got to offer them food? I should have thought that there must be a pretty large number there." High replies that it is true there are a pretty large number of men there, adding many more have yet to arrive, yet that "there will seem too few when the wolf comes." However, High adds that food is not a problem because there will never be too many people in Valhalla that the meat of Sæhrímnir (which he calls a boar) cannot sufficiently feed. High says that Sæhrímnir is cooked every day by the cook Andhrímnir in the pot Eldhrimnir, and is again whole every evening. High then quotes the stanza of "Grímnismál" mentioning the cook, meal, and container in reference.


title: Einherjar

text: Further into chapter 38, Gangleri asks if Óðinn consumes the same meals as the einherjar. High responds that Óðinn gives the food on his table to his two wolves Geri and Freki, and that Óðinn himself needs no food, for Óðinn gains sustenance from wine as if it were drink and meat. High then quotes another stanza from "Grímnismál" in reference. In chapter 39, Gangleri asks what the einherjar drink that is as plentiful as their food, and if they drink water. High responds that it is strange that Gangleri is asking if Óðinn, the All-Father, would invite kings, earls, and other "men of rank" to his home and give them water to drink. High says that he "swears by his faith" that many who come to Valhalla would think that he paid a high price for a drink of water if there were no better beverages there, after having died of wounds and in agony. High continues that atop Valhalla stands the goat Heiðrún, and it feeds on the foliage of the tree called Læraðr. From Heiðrún's udders flow mead that fills a vat a day. The vat is so large that all of the einherjar are able to drink to their fullness from it.


title: Einherjar

text: In chapter 40, Gangleri says that Valhalla must be an immense building, yet it must often be crowded around the doorways. High responds that there are plenty of doors, and that crowding doesn't occur around them. In support, High again quotes a stanza from "Grímnismál". In chapter 41, Gangleri notes that there are very many people in Valhalla, and that Óðinn is a "very great lord when he commands such a troop". Gangleri then asks what entertainment the einherjar have when they're not drinking. High responds that every day, the einherjar get dressed and "put on war-gear and go out into the courtyard and fight each other and fall upon each other. This is their sport." High says that when dinner time arrives, the einherjar ride back to Valhalla and sit down to drink. In reference, High quotes a stanza from "Grímnismál".


title: Einherjar

text: In chapter 51, High foretells the events of Ragnarök. After the god Heimdallr awakens all the gods by blowing his horn Gjallarhorn, they will assemble at a thing, Óðinn will ride to the well Mímisbrunnr and consult Mímir on behalf of himself and his people, the world tree Yggdrasil will shake, and then the Æsir and the einherjar will don their war gear. The Æsir and einherjar will ride to the field Vígríðr while Óðinn rides before them clad in a golden helmet, mail, and holding his spear Gungnir, and heading towards the wolf Fenrir.


title: Einherjar

text: In chapter 52, Gangleri asks what will happen after the heavens, earth, and all of the world are burned and the gods, einherjar and all of mankind have died, noting that he had previously been told that "everyone will live in some world or other for ever and ever." High replies with a list of locations, and then describes the re-emerging of the world after Ragnarök. The einherjar receive a final mention in the "Prose Edda" in chapter 2 of the book "Skáldskaparmál", where a quote from the anonymous 10th century poem "Eiríksmál" is provided (see the " Fagrskinna" section below for more detail and another translation from another source):


title: Einherjar

text: At the end of the "Heimskringla" saga "Hákonar saga góða", the poem "Hákonarmál" (by the 10th century skald Eyvindr skáldaspillir) is presented. The saga relates that king Haakon I of Norway died in battle, and yet though he is Christian, he requests that since he has died "among heathens, then give me such burial place as seems most fitting to you." The saga relates that, shortly after, Haakon died on the same slab of rock that he was born upon, that he was greatly mourned by friend and foe alike, and that his friends moved his body northward to Sæheim in North Hordaland. Haakon was there buried in a large burial mound in full armor and his finest clothing, yet with no other valuables. Further, "words were spoken over his grave according to the custom of heathen men, and they put him on the way to Valhalla." The poem "Hákonarmál" is then provided.


title: Einherjar

text: In "Hákonarmál", Óðinn sends forth the two valkyries Göndul and Skögul to "choose among the kings' kinsmen" and who in battle should dwell with Óðinn in Valhalla. A battle rages with great slaughter. Haakon and his men die in battle, and they see the valkyrie Göndul leaning on a spear shaft. Göndul comments that "groweth now the gods' following, since Hákon has been with host so goodly bidden home with holy godheads." Haakon hears "what the valkyries said," and the valkyries are described as sitting "high-hearted on horseback," wearing helmets, carrying shields and that the horses wisely bore them. A brief exchange follows between Haakon and the valkyrie Skögul:


title: Einherjar

text: Skögul says that they shall now ride forth to the "green homes of the godheads" to tell Óðinn that the king will come to Valhalla. In Valhalla, Haakon is greeted by Hermóðr and Bragi. Haakon expresses concern that he shall receive Óðinn's hate (Lee Hollander theorizes this may be due to Haakon's conversion to Christianity from his Norse religion), yet Bragi responds that he is welcome:


title: Einherjar

text: In chapter 8 of "Fagrskinna", a prose narrative states that, after the death of her husband Eric Bloodaxe, Gunnhild Mother of Kings had a poem composed about him. The composition is by an anonymous author from the 10th century and is referred to as "Eiríksmál", and describes Eric Bloodaxe and five other kings arriving in Valhalla after their death. The poem begins with comments by Óðinn:


title: Einherjar

text: The god Bragi asks where a thundering sound is coming from, and says that the benches of Valhalla are creaking—as if the god Baldr had returned to Valhalla—and that it sounds like the movement of a thousand. Óðinn responds that Bragi knows well that the sounds are for Eric Bloodaxe, who will soon arrive in Valhalla. Óðinn tells the heroes Sigmund and Sinfjötli to rise to greet Eric and invite him into the hall, if it is indeed he.


title: Einherjar

text: Sigmund asks Óðinn why he would expect Eric more than any other king, to which Óðinn responds that Eric has reddened his gore-drenched sword with many other lands. Eric arrives, and Sigmund greets him, tells him that he is welcome to come into the hall, and asks him what other lords he has brought with him to Valhalla. Eric says that with him are five kings, that he will tell them the name of them all, and that he, himself, is the sixth.


title: Einherjar

text: According to John Lindow, Andy Orchard, and Rudolf Simek, scholars have commonly connected the einherjar to the Harii, a Germanic tribe attested by Tacitus in his 1st-century AD work "Germania".


title: Einherjar

text: Lindow says that "many scholars think there may be basis for the myth in an ancient Odin cult, which would be centered on young warriors who entered into an ecstatic relationship with Odin and that the name "Harii" has been etymologically connected to the "-herjar" element of "einherjar". Simek says that since the connection has become widespread, "one tends to interpret these obviously living armies of the dead as religiously motivated bands of warriors, who led to the formation of the concept of the "einherjar" as well as the Wild Hunt [...]". Simek continues that the notion of an eternal battle and daily resurrection appears in book I of Saxo Grammaticus' "Gesta Danorum" and in reports of the eternal battle of Hjaðningavíg.


title: Einherjar

text: According to Guðbrandur Vigfússon (1874), the concept of the einherjar links directly to the Old Norse name "Einarr". Vigfússon comments that "the name Einarr is properly = einheri", and points to a relation to the term with the Old Norse common nouns "einarðr" (meaning "bold") and "einörð" (meaning "valour").


title: New Jerusalem

text: In the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, New Jerusalem (, "YHWH šāmmā", YHWH [is] there") is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city centered on the rebuilt Holy Temple, the Third Temple, to be established in Jerusalem, which would be the capital of the Messianic Kingdom, the meeting place of the twelve tribes of Israel, during the Messianic era. The prophecy is recorded by Ezekiel as having been received on Yom Kippur of the year 3372 of the Hebrew calendar.


title: New Jerusalem

text: In the Book of Revelation in the New Testament, the city is also called the Heavenly Jerusalem, as well as being called Zion in other books of the Christian Bible.


title: New Jerusalem

text: In Jewish mysticism, there are two Gardens of Eden and two Promised Lands: the heavenly invisible one and the earthly visible one that is a copy of the heavenly invisible one. Heaven in Jewish mysticism includes a heavenly Promised land - including Jerusalem, the temple, and the ark of the covenant - and a heavenly Garden of Eden - including the tree of life, a storehouse for the manna that angels eat, and multiple rivers that water the garden. When the Bible mentions a New Jerusalem, heavenly sanctuary, bread of life, or God's throne, it is referring to the Jewish mystical understanding of heaven.


title: New Jerusalem

text: The Babylonian threat to the Kingdom of Judah began as the Babylonian Empire conquered Assyria and rose to power from 612 to 609 BCE. Jerusalem surrendered without major bloodshed to Babylon in 597BCE. An Israelite uprising brought the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar’s army in 586 BCE. The entire city, including the First Temple, was burned. Israelite aristocrats were taken captive to Babylon.


title: New Jerusalem

text: The Book of Ezekiel contains the first record of the New Jerusalem. Within , there is an extended and detailed description of the measurements of the Temple, its chambers, porticos, and walls. contains a list of twelve Temple gates named for Israel's tribes.


title: New Jerusalem

text: The Book of Zechariah expands upon Ezekiel's New Jerusalem. After the Second Temple was built after the exile, Jerusalem's population was only a few hundred. There were no defensive city walls until 445 BCE. In the passage, the author writes about a city wall of fire to protect the enormous population. This text demonstrates the beginning of a progression of New Jerusalem thought. In Ezekiel, the focus is primarily on the human act of Temple construction. In Zechariah, the focus shifts to God's intercession in the founding of New Jerusalem.


title: New Jerusalem

text: New Jerusalem is further extrapolated in Isaiah, where New Jerusalem is adorned with precious sapphires, jewels, and rubies. The city is described as a place free from terror and full of righteousness. Here, Isaiah provides an example of Jewish apocalypticism, where a hope for a perfected Jerusalem and freedom from oppression is revealed.


title: New Jerusalem

text: As the original New Jerusalem composition, Ezekiel functioned as a source for later works such as 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, Qumran documents, and the Book of Revelation. These texts used similar measurement language and expanded on the limited eschatological perspective in Ezekiel.


title: New Jerusalem

text: Judaism sees the Messiah as a human male descendant of King David who will be anointed as the king of Israel and sit on the throne of David in Jerusalem. He will gather in the lost tribes of Israel, clarify unresolved issues of halakha, and rebuild the Holy Temple in Jerusalem according to the pattern shown to the prophet Ezekiel. During this time Jews believe an era of global peace and prosperity will be initiated, the nations will love Israel and will abandon their gods, turn toward Jerusalem, and come to the Holy Temple to worship the one God of Israel. Zechariah prophesied that any family among the nations who does not appear in the Temple in Jerusalem for the festival of Sukkoth will have no rain that year. Isaiah prophesied that the rebuilt Temple will be a house of prayer for all nations. The city of "YHWH Shamma," (cf. Ezek 48:35) the new Jerusalem, will be the gathering point of the world's nations, and will serve as the capital of the renewed Kingdom of Israel. Ezekiel prophesied that this city will have 12 gates, one gate for each of the tribes of Israel. The book of Isaiah closes with the prophecy, "And it will come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, all flesh will come to worship before Me, says YHWH".


title: New Jerusalem

text: The Animal Apocalypse within 1 Enoch (chapters 85–90), is another example where conflict sparks hopes for the New Jerusalem. First Enoch is an apocalyptic response to the persecutions under Seleucid Emperor Antiochus IV. In 167 BCE, Emperor Antiochus returned from fighting in Egypt to quell a revolt in Jerusalem led by Jason, the former High Priest. An agitated Antiochus imposed harsh restrictions on Jewish religion. Circumcision, feast celebration, Sabbath observance were all banned. Antiochus ordered the burning of Torah copies. Jews were required to eat pork. The worst oppression came in the desecration of the Temple. A polytheistic cult was formed, and worship of YHWH abolished. A statue to a Seleucid deity was constructed on the Jewish altar.


title: New Jerusalem

text: First Enoch was written in the wake of this calamity between 166 BCE-163 BCE. For the author of 1 Enoch, history is a steep descent into evil from the utopia in Eden. The author's vision of the eschaton centers on the restoration of Jerusalem: "I saw until the owner of the sheep brought a house, new and larger and loftier than the former" (1 Enoch 90:29). In this New Jerusalem passage, the sheep are the Jewish people, the builder is God, and the house is the Temple. During the same time period, the Dead Sea scrolls contain a New Jerusalem tradition formed out of strife. As a tiny Jewish sect living in the caves of Qumran, the Essenes opposed Temple leadership and the High Priesthood in Jerusalem. Their condemnation of the Temple focused on criticizing High Priests. They were also frustrated that Judean Kings were also given the role of High Priest. The Essenes were not against the institution of the Temple and its cult per se. The Essenes at Qumran predicted the reunified twelve tribes to rise together against Roman occupation and incompetent Temple leadership and re-establish true Temple worship.


title: New Jerusalem

text: The surviving New Jerusalem texts in Qumran literature focus specifically on the twelve city gates, and on the dimensions of the entire new city. In 4Q554, the gates of Simeon, Joseph, and Reuben are mentioned in this partial fragment. For the author of this fragment, the New Jerusalem's twelve gates signify the reunification of the twelve tribes of Israel. In 5Q15, the author accompanies an angel who measures the blocks, houses, gates, avenues, streets, dining halls, and stairs of the New Jerusalem. There are two important points to consider regarding the Qumran Essenes. First, we do not have enough scroll fragments to completely analyze their New Jerusalem ideologies. Second, based on the evidence available, the Essenes rebelled against Temple leadership, not the Temple itself. Their vision of the New Jerusalem looked for the reunification of the twelve tribes around an eschatological Temple.


title: New Jerusalem

text: As evidenced above, the historical progression of New Jerusalem language is specifically tied to conflict. The Babylonian Exile, Antiochene persecutions, and corrupt leadership in Jerusalem incited apocalyptic responses with a vision for a New Jerusalem. In the 1st century CE, an even greater conflict exploded in Iudaea province; the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, as well as the other Roman-Jewish Wars. Subsequent apocalyptic responses fundamentally altered the New Jerusalem eschatology for Jews and Early Christians.


title: New Jerusalem

text: At the core, apocalypses are a form of theodicy. They respond to overwhelming suffering with the hope of divine intercession and a perfected World to Come. The destruction of the Second Temple in 70 meant an end to Second Temple Judaism. Naturally, apocalyptic responses to the disaster followed. This section will first cover 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch. Fourth Ezra and 2 Baruch are important for two reasons. First, they look for a Temple in Heaven, not the eschaton. Second, these texts exhibit the final new Temple texts in Judaism. Jewish texts like 3 Baruch began to reject a restored Temple completely. However, these texts were deemed to be apocryphal by the Rabbis who maintained the belief in a Third Temple as central to Rabbinic Judaism.


title: New Jerusalem

text: The Jewish apocalypse of 4 Ezra is a text contained in the apocryphal book 2 Esdras. The genre of 4 Ezra is historical fiction, set thirteen years after the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem. Fourth Ezra is dated approximately in 83 CE, thirteen years after the Roman destruction of Jerusalem. The story follows Ezra's period of mourning following Jerusalem's fall. Ezra is Job-like in his criticism of God's allowance of Jerusalem's downfall.


title: New Jerusalem

text: In Ezra's deep state of grief, he meets a woman lamenting over Jerusalem. Ezra consoles the woman, and tells her to, "shake off your great sadness, and lay aside your many sorrows… the Most High may give you rest." (4 Ezra 10:24). Suddenly, the woman is transfigured in an array of bright lights. She transforms into the New Jerusalem being rebuilt. As a bereaved widow she convinced Ezra to apply solace to himself through the image of a New Jerusalem.


title: New Jerusalem

text: Fourth Ezra has two clear messages. First, do not grieve excessively over Jerusalem. Second, Jerusalem will be restored as a heavenly kingdom. Fourth Ezra also uses the title "Most High," throughout the apocalypse to emphasis that the Lord will once again reign and reside in Jerusalem.


title: New Jerusalem

text: The apocalypse of 2 Baruch is a contemporary narrative of 4 Ezra. The text also follows the same basic structure 4 Ezra: Job-like grief, animosity towards the Lord, and the rectification of Jerusalem that leads to the comfort of the Job-figure. Second Baruch is historical fiction, written after the Roman destruction but set before the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians.


title: New Jerusalem

text: Baruch is distressed when the Lord informs him of Jerusalem's impending doom. Baruch responds with several theological questions for God. For this study, Baruch's inquiry about the future of Israel and the honor of the Lord are most pertinent (2 Baruch 3:4-6). Baruch learns that the Lord will destroy the city, not the enemy. Baruch also learns of a pre-immanent heavenly Temple: "[The Temple] was already prepared from the moment I decided to create paradise." And I showed it to Adam before he sinned." (2 Baruch 4:3). This Temple was created before Adam, and shown to him before Adam’s fall.


title: New Jerusalem

text: Two important conclusions come from 2 Baruch. First, the author dismisses hopes for an earthly re-built Temple. The focus is entirely on the heavenly Temple that pre-dated the Garden of Eden. This may be a device to express the supremacy of the heavenly Temple as a sanctuary built before Eden (the traditional location of the earthly Temple). Second, Baruch believes that restoration for the people of Israel exists in heaven, not on earth.


title: New Jerusalem

text: The apocalypse of 3 Baruch is the anomaly among post-revolt New Jerusalem texts. Unlike 2 Baruch and 4 Ezra, the text exemplifies an alternative tradition that lacks a restored Temple. Like other apocalypses, 3 Baruch still mourns over the Temple, and re-focuses Jews to the heavens. Yet 3 Baruch finds that the Temple is ultimately unnecessary. This move could be polemical against works which afforded the Temple with excessive veneration. In the passage, an angel comes to Baruch and consoles him over Jerusalem: "Where is their God? And behold as I was weeping and saying such things, I saw an angel of the Lord coming and saying to me: Understand, O man, greatly beloved, and trouble not thyself so greatly concerning the salvation of Jerusalem." (3 Baruch 1:3)


title: New Jerusalem

text: Third Baruch certainly mourns over the Temple. Yet 3 Baruch is not ultimately concerned with the lack of a Temple. This text goes along with Jeremiah and Sibylline Oracles 4 to express a minority tradition within Jewish literature. In the first Christian apocalypse, the Book of Revelation coincides with this perspective on Jerusalem. The study will now move to early Christian perspectives on the Temple and the apocalyptic response in Revelation.


title: New Jerusalem

text: Christians have always placed religious significance on Jerusalem as the site of the crucifixion of Jesus and other events central to the Christian faith.


title: New Jerusalem

text: In particular, the destruction of the Second Temple that took place in the year 70, a few decades after Christianity began its split from Judaism, was seminal to the nascent Christian apocalypticism of that time. In the Olivet discourse of the Gospels, Jesus predicts the destruction of Herod's Temple, and promises that it will precede the return of the Son of Man, commonly called the Second Coming. This prophecy of the renewal of Jerusalem by the messiah echoes those of the Jewish prophets. John of Patmos' vision of the New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation draws on the Olivet discourse and all the historical precursors mentioned above.


title: New Jerusalem

text: Based on the Book of Revelation, premillennialism holds that, following the end times and the second creation of heaven and earth (see The New Earth), the New Jerusalem will be the earthly location where all true believers will spend eternity with God. The New Jerusalem is not limited to eschatology, however. Many Christians view the New Jerusalem as a current reality, that the New Jerusalem is the consummation of the Body of Christ, the Church and that Christians already take part in membership of both the heavenly Jerusalem and the earthly Church in a kind of dual citizenship. In this way, the New Jerusalem represents to Christians the final and everlasting reconciliation of God and his chosen people, "the end of the Christian pilgrimage." As such, the New Jerusalem is a conception of Heaven, see also Heaven (Christianity).


title: New Jerusalem

text: Christianity interprets the city as a physical and/or spiritual restoration or divine recreation of the city of Jerusalem. It is also interpreted by many Christian groups as referring to the Church to be the dwelling place of the saints.


title: New Jerusalem

text: John of Patmos describes the New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation in the Christian Bible, and so the New Jerusalem holds an important place in Christian eschatology and Christian mysticism, and has also influenced Christian philosophy and Christian theology. Such a renewal of Jerusalem, if a reconstruction, is an important theme in Judaism, Christianity, and the Baháʼí Faith. Renewed Jerusalem bears as its motto the words "Ad librum" (Latin: "as by the book".)


title: New Jerusalem

text: Many traditions based on biblical scripture and other writings in the Jewish and Christian religions, such as Protestantism, and Orthodox Judaism, expect the literal renewal of Jerusalem to some day take place at the Temple Mount in accordance with various prophecies. Dispensationalists believe in a literal New Jerusalem that will come down out of Heaven, which will be an entirely new city of incredible dimensions. Other sects, such as various Protestant denominations, modernist branches of Christianity, Mormonism and Reform Judaism, view the New Jerusalem as figurative, or believe that such a renewal may have already taken place, or that it will take place at some other location besides the Temple Mount.


title: New Jerusalem

text: It is important to distinguish between "the camp of the saints, and the beloved city" spoken of in Revelation 20:9, and the New Jerusalem of chapter 21.


title: New Jerusalem

text: Rev. 20:9 refers to an earthly City, description and purpose of which is found in book of Ezekiel, starting with chapter 36 and ending with chapter 48.


title: New Jerusalem

text: One of the most obvious differences is that the dimensions of the New Jerusalem of Rev. 21 are 1000 times bigger than dimensions of the city in Ezekiel 48 (and, in Rev. 20:9).


title: New Jerusalem

text: New Jerusalem of Revelation 21 is 2225 km in length, width, and height. A city of these gigantic proportions cannot be located on Earth; but, as stated in Rev. 21, A New Heaven and a New Earth, the city comes "down out of Heaven from God", presumably onto, the "new earth."


title: New Jerusalem

text: The term "New Jerusalem" () occurs twice in the New Testament, in verses and of the Book of Revelation. A large portion of the final two chapters of Revelation deals with John of Patmos' vision of the New Jerusalem. He describes the New Jerusalem as "'the bride, the wife of the Lamb'", where the river of the "Water of Life" flows ().


title: New Jerusalem

text: After John witnesses the new heaven and a new earth "that no longer has any sea", an angel takes him "in the Spirit" to a vantage point on "a great and high mountain" to see New Jerusalem's descendants. The enormous city comes out of heaven down to the New Earth. John's elaborate description of the New Jerusalem retains many features of the Garden of Eden and the paradise garden, such as rivers, a square shape, a wall, and the Tree of Life.


title: New Jerusalem

text: According to John, the New Jerusalem is "pure gold, like clear glass" and its "brilliance [is] like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper." The street of the city is also made of "pure gold, like transparent glass". The base of the city is laid out in a square and surrounded by a wall made of jasper. It says in that the height, length, and width are of equal dimensions – as it was with the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and First Temple – and they measure 12,000 furlongs (which is approximately 1500.3 miles, or 1 furlong = approx 220 yards). John writes that the wall is 144 cubits, which is assumed to be the thickness since the length is mentioned previously. 144 cubits are about equal to 65 meters, or 72 yards. It is important to note that 12 is the square root of 144. The number 12 was very important to early Jews and Christians, and represented the 12 tribes of Israel and 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ. The number symbolizes completeness in Revelation. The four sides of the New City represent the four cardinal directions (North, South, East, and West.) In this way, New Jerusalem is thought of as an inclusive place, with the 12 gates accepting all of the 12 tribes of Israel from all corners of the earth.


title: New Jerusalem

text: There is no temple building in the New Jerusalem. God and the Lamb are the city's temple, since they are worshipped everywhere. Revelation 22 goes on to describe a river of the water of life that flows down the middle of the great street of the city from the Throne of God. The tree of life grows in the middle of the street and to both sides of the river. The tree bears twelve (kinds of) fruit and yields its fruit every month. According to John, "The leaves of the tree were for healing (those of all) nations." This inclusion of the tree of life in the New Jerusalem harkens back to the Garden of Eden. The fruit the tree bears may be the fruit of life.


title: New Jerusalem

text: John states that the New Jerusalem will be free of sin. The servants of God will have theosis (i.e. the power or likeness of God, that is "in his image" of holiness) and "His name will be on their foreheads." Night will no longer fall, and the inhabitants of the city will "have need (of) no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light." John ends his account of the New Jerusalem by stressing its eternal nature: "And they shall reign forever and ever."


title: New Jerusalem

text: It had a great, high wall with twelve gates and with twelve angels in charge of the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. There were three gates on each side: three on the east, three on the south, three on the north, and three on the west (Revelation 21:12-13). The twelve gates were twelve pearls; each gate was made from a single pearl (Revelation 21:21a). The gates in the north wall are named for Reuben, Judah, and Levi; those in the east wall, for Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan; those in the south wall, for Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun; and those in the west wall are named for Gad, Asher, and Naphtali (Ezekiel 48:31-34).


title: New Jerusalem

text: The New Jerusalem gates may bear some relation to the gates mentioned in Enoch, Chapters 33–35, where the prophet Enoch reports that from each of the four "heavenly gates – opening in heaven – three (new gates) were seen distinctly separating (off, as if) the extremities of the whole earth" [were pulling apart each of the four gates into three new ones]. Thus, the four gates were each replaced by three new ones, totaling twelve [i.e. 3 x 4 = 12] gates in all. [33, 3.][ref. Laurence translation, Book of Enoch.]


title: New Jerusalem

text: In 21:16, the angel measures the city with a golden rod or reed, and records it as 12,000 stadia by 12,000 stadia at the base, and 12,000 stadia high. A stadion is usually stated as 185 meters, or 607 feet, so the base has dimensions of about 2220 km by 2220 km, or 1380 miles by 1380 miles. In the ancient Greek system of measurement, the base of the New Jerusalem would have been equal to 144 million square stadia, 4.9 million square kilometers or 1.9 million square miles (roughly midway between the sizes of Australia and India). If rested on the Earth, its ceiling would be inside the upper boundary of the exosphere but outside the lower boundary. By way of comparison, the International Space Station maintains an orbit with an altitude of about 386 km (240 mi) above the earth.


title: New Jerusalem

text: The Book of Revelation was composed during the end of the 1st century AD near the end of Domitian’s reign (A.D. 96), or some date it earlier during the later end of the reign of Emperor Nero Domitius (54 to 68 CE). The work is addressed to the "seven churches that are in Asia" (1:4). Revelation is normally broken into three sections: the prologue (1:1-3:22), the visions (4:1-22:5), and the epilogue (22:6-20). This study is principally concerned with chapter 21.


title: New Jerusalem

text: The author of Revelation was both a Jew by birth and a believing Christian. For the author and the addressees of Revelation, they are searching for the Lord to vindicate them and judge the "inhabitants of the earth," for their suffering (6:10). The fall of Jerusalem coupled with the Neronian persecutions form the tension within the subtext of Revelation.


title: New Jerusalem

text: Throughout Revelation, several references to the Temple are made . This Temple appears to be of heavenly origin. When the eschaton arrives in , the reader expects the temple to come down from heaven with the New Jerusalem. Revelation 21 even contains typical New Jerusalem terminology that accompanies a restored Temple. Specific measurements are given for the new city (Ezekiel 40–48, 4Q554), and the city is built with gold, sapphires, and emeralds (Isaiah, Tobit). In addition, 21:21 references the "twelve gates." Revelation maintains another typical aspect of New Jerusalem tradition – the reunification of the twelve tribes of Israel (Ezekiel 48:33-34, 4Q554).


title: New Jerusalem

text: Verse 22 marks a sudden and remarkable shift in New Jerusalem apocalyptic rhetoric: "I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb." Following with the tradition of 3 Baruch and 4 Sibylline Oracles, Revelation foresees an eschaton without the Temple. Why has the Revelation suddenly denied an eschatological Temple? Verse 23 sheds light on this disparity.


title: New Jerusalem

text: Verse 23 proclaims, "And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is the light, and its lamp is the lamb." For the author of Revelation, there is no need for a Temple because the Lord will be the New Jerusalem's eternal light and Jesus (the lamb) will be its lamp. This re-interpretation utilizes Isaiah to make its case:


title: New Jerusalem

text: "The LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun shall no more go down, or your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended." (Isaiah 60:19)


title: New Jerusalem

text: The Temple is discarded in the eschaton because the Lord will provide illumination for the New Jerusalem, and Christ will be the glory for its residents. Henceforth, Christians believed that the New Jerusalem no longer required a Temple. For Christians, their Lord sufficiently replaced the Temple.


title: New Jerusalem

text: Discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls near Qumran, Israel, were fragments of a scroll which describes New Jerusalem in minute detail. The New Jerusalem Scroll (as it is called) appears to contain apocalyptic vision, although, being fragmented, it is hard to categorize. Written in Aramaic, the text describes a vast city, rectangular in shape, with twelve gates and encircled by a long wall. Similar descriptions appear in Ezekiel 40-48 and Revelation 21-22 and comparison to the Temple Scroll (also found near Qumran) shows many similarities despite no direct literary links between the two.


title: New Jerusalem

text: From the middle of the 2nd century CE to the middle of the 6th century CE, the ancient Christian sect of Montanism, which spread all over the Roman Empire, expected the New Jerusalem to descend to earth at the neighboring Phrygian towns of Pepuza and Tymion. In late antiquity, both places attracted crowds of pilgrims from all over the Roman Empire. Pepuza was the headquarters of the Montanist church. The Montanist patriarch resided at Pepuza. Women played an emancipated role in Montanism, serving as priests and also bishops. In the 6th century CE, this church became extinct.


title: New Jerusalem

text: Since 2001, Peter Lampe of the University of Heidelberg has directed annual archaeological campaigns in Phrygia, Turkey. During these interdisciplinary campaigns, together with William Tabbernee of Tulsa, numerous unknown ancient settlements were discovered and archaeologically documented. Two of them are the best candidates so far in the search for the identification of the two holy centers of ancient Montanism, Pepuza and Tymion, the sites of the expected descent of the New Jerusalem. Scholars had searched for these lost sites since the 19th century.


title: New Jerusalem

text: The ancient settlement discovered and identified as Pepuza by William Tabbernee and Peter Lampe was settled continuously from Hellenistic times to Byzantine times. In Byzantine times, an important rock-cut monastery belonged to the town. The town is in the Phrygian Karahallı area, near the village of Karayakuplu (Uşak Province, Aegean Region, Turkey). The ancient site of Tymion identified by Peter Lampe is located not far away at the Turkish village of Şükranje. For the Montanists, the high plane between Pepuza and Tymion was an ideal landing place for the heavenly New Jerusalem.


title: New Jerusalem

text: The Catholic Church places the New Jerusalem in the eschatological role found in Revelation. Catholicism also holds that the New Jerusalem already exists as a spiritual community in Heaven, the Church triumphant, with an outpost on earth, the Church militant. Together, the Church triumphant, Church militant, and Church suffering form the Church universal. Augustine of Hippo, a Doctor of the Church and Church Father, draws inspiration from John's account of the New Jerusalem to outline this view in his monumental work "The City of God".


title: New Jerusalem

text: theologians deem more appropriate that there should be a special and glorious abode, in which the blessed have their peculiar home and where they usually abide, even though they be free to go about in this world. For the surroundings in the midst of which the blessed have their dwelling must be in accordance with their happy state; and the internal union of charity which joins them in affection must find its outward expression in community of habitation. At the end of the world, the earth together with the celestial bodies will be gloriously transformed into a part of the dwelling-place of the blessed (Revelation 21). Hence there seems to be no sufficient reason for attributing a metaphorical sense to those numerous utterances of the Bible which suggest a definite dwelling-place of the blessed. Theologians, therefore, generally hold that the heaven of the blessed is a special place with definite limits. Naturally, this place is held to exist, not within the earth, but, in accordance with the expressions of Scripture, without and beyond its limits. All further details regarding its locality are quite uncertain. The Church has decided nothing on this subject.


title: New Jerusalem

text: Emperor Lalibela of Ethiopia built the city of Lalibela as a new reconstructed Jerusalem in response to the Muslim capture of Jerusalem by Saladin's forces in 1187.


title: New Jerusalem

text: The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that the New Jerusalem is the City of God that will come down from heaven in the manner described in the Book of the Apocalypse (Revelation). The Church is an icon of the heavenly Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem Monastery in Russia takes its name from the heavenly Jerusalem.


title: New Jerusalem

text: The New Jerusalem was an important theme in the Puritan colonization of New England in the 17th century. The Puritans were inspired by the passages in Revelation about the New Jerusalem, which they interpreted as being a symbol for the New World. The Puritans saw themselves as the builders of the New Jerusalem on earth. This idea was foundational to American nationalism.


title: New Jerusalem

text: Ecclesiastic Swedenborgians often refer to their organizations as part of or contributing to the New Jerusalem as explained by Emanuel Swedenborg in such books as "New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine", "Apocalypse Revealed", and "Apocalypse Explained". According to Swedenborg, the New Jerusalem described in the Bible is a symbol for a new dispensation that was to replace/restore Christianity. Also according to these books, this New Jerusalem began to be established around 1757. This stems from their belief that Jerusalem itself is a symbol of the Church, and so the New Jerusalem in the Bible is a prophetic description of a New Church.


title: New Jerusalem

text: In the Latter Day Saint movement, the New Jerusalem is viewed as a physical kingdom that will be built in North America, centered on Independence, Missouri. The movement refers to the New Jerusalem as Zion. The movement's founder, Joseph Smith, attempted to establish this Zion in the early 1830s, and drafted a detailed plat of Zion based on his view of the biblical description of the New Jerusalem, including plans for a temple. However, due to political and military rivalry with other Missouri settlers, members of the religion were expelled from Missouri in 1838. Subsequently, several Latter Day Saint denominations have established residence there, believing that it will be the center of God's Millennial kingdom.


title: New Jerusalem

text: Jehovah's Witnesses believe that New Jerusalem is made up of anointed Christians serving in heaven as Kings and Priests over the earth. The number of these King-Priests will eventually total 144,000. This belief is based on New Jerusalem being described as "a bride adorned for her husband" , and this same "bride" then being described as "the Lamb's wife" . is seen as depicting a wife-like relationship between the Lamb and the 144,000, therefore linking the identity of the 144,000 with the Lamb's wife and in-turn also that of New Jerusalem.


title: New Jerusalem

text: The religious community known collectively as the Society of Universal Friends that gathered around the Quaker evangelist known as the Public Universal Friend in the late 18th century was one of religious righteousness and devotion to Christian ideals. In 1790, the preacher founded a community called (New) Jerusalem, planned as a communal society where righteousness would prevail in the wilderness of New York's Finger Lakes region, in what is today the town of Jerusalem, New York. The society faded away after the death of their leader.


title: New Jerusalem

text: Richard Brothers, the originator of British Israelism, developed a viewpoint that the British are descended from the Lost Tribes of Israel, and that the capital city of Britain should therefore be re-modeled as a New Jerusalem for the coming Age of Enlightenment. Supposedly this idea was already present in 16th Century England, and that it reached its height of influence during and just after the First World War; certain buildings, such as St Paul's Cathedral, supposedly contain elements of the plan in their design.


title: New Jerusalem

text: Bedwardism, a Jamaican religious movement active between 1889 and 1921, asserted that August Town (a suburb of Kingston) was the New Jerusalem for the western hemisphere, and that Union Camp, where Alexander Bedward's Free Baptist Church was located, was Zion. This movement fell apart when Bedward was arrested in 1921.


title: New Jerusalem

text: Kimbanguism, a Congolese sectarian church founded in 1921 by Simon Kimbangu, refers to Kimbangu's birthplace in Nkamba, Congo (a village near Mbanza-Ngungu), as New Jerusalem, where he reputedly performed miracles. Like Bedward, Kimbangu was imprisoned for life in the year 1921, however his movement continues with many followers to the present.


title: New Jerusalem

text: The Kimbanguist believe that people of the Nkamba village saw the New Jerusalem descending from heaven (a building) physically in 1935, by which time Father Simon Kimbangu was in prison. The Kimbanguist has constructed this same design of the building, calling it Nkamba New Jerusalem, in reference to Revelation 21; it has a river with supposed healing power.


title: New Jerusalem

text: In 1853, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom captured Nanjing (Nanking) During the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing dynasty of China and renamed the city "New Jerusalem".


title: New Jerusalem

text: The Baháʼí Faith views the New Jerusalem as the renewal of religion that takes place about every thousand years and which secures the prosperity of the human world. Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, identified the New Jerusalem with his claimed revelation (the word of God), and more specifically with the Law of God.


title: New Jerusalem

text: `Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'u'lláh's son, further explains that the New Jerusalem which descends from heaven is not an actual city which is renewed, but the law of God since it descends from heaven through a new revelation and it is renewed.


title: New Jerusalem

text: Shoghi Effendi, head of the religion after the death of `Abdu'l-Bahá, stated that specifically Bahá'u'lláh's book of laws, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, is the new Jerusalem. Bahá'u'lláh, in the Tablet of Carmel, also states that the new Jerusalem had appeared upon the new Mount Zion, Mount Carmel.


title: New Jerusalem

text: The Lutheran hymn "Jerusalem, du hochgebaute Stadt", with lyrics written by Johann Matthäus Meyfart in 1626, describes entering the Heavenly Jerusalem. It was set by composers such as Max Reger and Sigfrid Karg-Elert.


title: New Jerusalem

text: Carly Simon references "the New Jerusalem," in her Oscar-winning song from "Working Girl", "Let the River Run."


title: New Jerusalem

text: Progressive-rock band Genesis references "the New Jerusalem" in the final lyric of their 23-minute epic "Supper's Ready" from the 1972 album "Foxtrot".


title: New Jerusalem

text: Mark Hollis, former lead singer of Talk Talk, references "the New Jerusalem" on his song "A New Jerusalem", the closing track of his 1998 solo album, "Mark Hollis".


title: New Jerusalem

text: Science fiction writer Robert Heinlein wrote the story ""If This Goes On—"", depicting a charismatic preacher managing to be elected President of the United States and setting up a theocratic dictatorship. Among other things, the capital is moved from Washington, D.C. to "New Jerusalem".


title: New Jerusalem

text: Similarly, Poul Anderson's story "The Bitter Bread" is set in theocratic future where, after the Armageddon War, the ruined Earth was rebuilt - and taken over - by the World Protectorate and the Absolute Christian Church. The world capital is New Jerusalem, built on the site of Cimarron, Kansas.


title: New Jerusalem

text: In American hip hop culture and the Five-Percent Nation, "New Jerusalem" and "New Jeru" refer to New Jersey.


title: Ayana Taketatsu

text: She attended Nihon Narration Engi Kenkyujo, a voice actor training school before becoming affiliated with then management company. She is now affiliated with Link Plan. Due to her sharp vocal tones, she often voices tsundere characters (although she has voiced other mysterious or flirtatious characters). Taketatsu formed a singing unit Petit Milady with fellow voice actress Aoi Yūki in 2013. Taketatsu left the talent agency Assemble Heart for the agency Link Plan on January 1, 2017. On her 30th birthday, she announced on Twitter that she married Yuki Kaji. On June 30, 2022, she and Kaji announced that they were expecting their first child together. On November 3, 2022, the couple announced that Taketatsu safely gave birth to their first child.


title: Ayana Taketatsu

text: As the voice actor for Azusa Nakano in "K-On!", she is a member of the band Hokago Tea Time, and has participated in seven singles and one album.


title: Ayana Taketatsu

text: She additionally performed "Hey! Calorie Queen" (Hey!カロリーQueen), the ending theme for "Dagashi Kashi". It was ranked No. 19 on Oricon singles charts.


title: Western India

text: Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of its western part. The Ministry of Home Affairs in its Western Zonal Council Administrative division includes the states of Goa, Gujarat, and Maharashtra along with the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, while the Ministry of Culture and some historians also include the state of Rajasthan. The Geological Survey of India includes Maharashtra but excludes Rajasthan whereas Ministry of Minority Affairs includes Karnataka but excludes Rajasthan.


title: Western India

text: Madhya Pradesh is also often included and Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and southern Punjab are sometimes included. Western India may also refer to the western half of India, i.e. all the states west of Delhi and Chennai, thus also including Punjab, Kerala and surrounding states. The region is highly industrialised, with a large urban population. Roughly, western India is bounded by the Thar Desert in the north, the Vindhya Range in the east and north and the Arabian Sea in the west. A major portion of Western India shares the Thar Desert with North India and Pakistan and the Deccan Plateau with South and Central India.


title: Western India

text: In ancient history, Western India was divided into three great states according to Hwen Thsang, namely Sindh (which comprised the whole valley of the Indus from the Punjab to the sea, including the Delta and the island of Kutch), Gurjara (which comprised Western Rajputana and the Indian Desert), and Balabhi (which comprised the peninsula of Gujarat, with a small portion of the adjacent coast). Before the partition of India, the now-Pakistani territories of Sindh and Balochistan were also included in this region. In art history, the term normally covers just Gujarat and Rajasthan, which tend to move together in terms of style. Western India has the second-largest gross domestic product than any other region in India.


title: Western India

text: Parts of Gujarat were the site of Indus Valley civilization. Places have been uncovered in Gujarat at Lothal, Surkotada, and around Ghaggar river in Rajasthan. The Western Indian region was ruled by the Rashtrakuta Empire, the Maurya Empire, the Gupta Empire, Rajputs, Satavahanas, Western Satraps, Indo Greeks, Kadambas etc. in the ancients times. During the medieval age, the area was under the rule of the Vaghela dynasty, the Gujarat Sultanate, and the Delhi Sultanate. Thereafter, the area was under Mughal rule. Later, the Maratha Empire which arose in western Maharashtra came to dominate a major portion of the Indian sub-continent. However, its defeat by the British in the Anglo-Maratha wars left most of India under colonial rule. The region then experienced great upheavals during the struggle for Indian Independence. Gandhi's Dandi March took place in Gujarat. The region became part of independent India in 1947, and the present state boundaries were drawn based on linguistic considerations in 1956.


title: Western India

text: The region consists of the predominantly arid to semi-arid region of Saurashtra and Kutch in the North. The region South of that of Cambay and Southern Gujarat makes the northern semi arid region and the southern humid region submerge. The Western Ghats lie along the coast of South Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa. The Deccan plains of the Vidarbha, Marathwada in central and eastern Maharashtra define the rest of the region. The vegetation varies from tropical rainforests along the Konkan coast to thorny bushes and shrubs in northern Gujarat. The rivers in this region are the Mahi, Narmada, Tapi, Godavari, Zuari, Mandovi, Krishna, Ghaggar, Chambal and many other smaller tributaries of other rivers.


title: Western India

text: The climate varies between tropical wet, tropical wet and dry, and semi arid. The coastal regions experience little seasonal variations although the temperatures range between 20 °C to 38 °C. Mumbai and northern Konkan regions experience cooler winters with minimum temperatures hovering around 12 °C. Interior Maharashtra experiences hot summers with maximum temperatures averaging 40 °C and mild winters with minimum temperatures averaging about 10 °C. Pune, a city in the western region experiences temperatures around 35-40 °C in summers and 7-12 °C on winters. Gujarat also has a warm climate with hot summers and cool winters.


title: Western India

text: The majority follow Hinduism and there are significant minority who follow Islam and smaller number who follow Christianity. There are also a few indigenous Jews called the Bene Israel who speak Marathi. The Parsees who settled in Gujarat made Mumbai and Surat their home. Significant percentages of Jains and Buddhists can be found too. Most Christians live in the state of Goa.


title: Western India

text: Overall, 83.66% of the population is Hindu, 10.12% Muslim, 4% Buddhist with Christians in Goa and Maharashtra making up the majority of the remainder.


title: Western India

text: Overall, 83.66% of the population is Hindu, 10.12% Muslim, 4% Buddhist with Christians in Goa and Maharashtra making up the majority of the remainder


title: Western India

text: Marathi, is the most widely spoken language in Western India with about 73 million speakers, followed by Gujarati with about 46 million speakers and Konkani 2.5 million speakers, all of which are Indo-Aryan languages. As in other parts of India, a high level of multilingualism is seen with English and Hindi being spoken as additional languages in urban areas.


title: Western India

text: The average literacy rate of West India is around 76%, higher than the national average of 70.5%. The population density is around 290 per square km. The average fertility rate is about 2.2, while the average household size is about 4.7.


title: Western India

text: Maharashtrian culture derives from the ancient Hindu Vedic culture influenced deeply by the Maratha Empire. Maharashtrians take great pride in the Maratha Empire, and many places in Maharashtra are named after the founder of the Empire, Shivaji. Marathi literature and cinema are popular in the state as well as across India. Bollywood has had a huge impact on the lifestyle and culture of this part of India as the industry is primarily located in Mumbai.


title: Western India

text: Gujarati culture is a blend of Indian culture and foreign influence. It has been influenced by the Parsis, who migrated to Gujarat from Persia about a 1000 years ago. Gujarat also saw Turkic and Mughal conquests, as well as a constant stream of back and forth migrations to and from Sindh and Rajasthan, which helped shape the unique cultural landscape of the state. Cultural Events like Rann Utsav, International Kite Festival and Global Garba festivals have been started in Gujarat to showcase its culture internationally.


title: Western India

text: Goa's culture is a unique blend of Indian and Portuguese cultures, as a result of it formerly being part of Portuguese India for 450 years. The state is popular amongst tourists for its beaches, Goan cuisine, temples, churches and architecture. The Churches and Convents of Goa have been declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.


title: Western India

text: The cuisine of Western India is diverse. Maharashtrian cuisine is diverse and ranges from bland to fiery hot. Pohay, Shrikhand, Pav bhaji and Vada pav are good examples of Maharashtrian cuisine. Goan cuisine is dominated by the use of rice, coconut, seafood, Kokum, cashew-nuts. With its distinct spices and medium of cooking as coconut oil, both vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian cuisine is equally popular.


title: Western India

text: Gujarati cuisine is almost exclusively vegetarian. Gujarat is one of three states in India, with prohibition on alcohol, along with Mizoram and Manipur. In contrast, Maharashtra has some of the best vineyards in India, with Nashik and Sangli districts being the country's biggest grape-producing districts.


title: Western India

text: The region generates 24.00% of the national GDP of the country, with an annual growth rate of 14.5% as of 2006. The states generate about 23% of the tax revenues of the country. More than 85% of the households have access to electricity with about 55% owning a television. Agriculture employs most people in the region, while services have largest share in the total GDP.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Robert Thomas Woods (born April 10, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC, where he was recognized as a consensus All-American. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He previously played for the Los Angeles Rams.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Woods was born in Gardena, California on April 10, 1992. He first attended Killian Elementary and Alvarado Intermediate. He then attended and played high school football and ran track at Junípero Serra High School in Gardena, California, where he was a teammate of George Farmer and Marqise Lee. In his junior year, in 2008, Woods had 81 receptions for 1,378 yards and 19 touchdowns to go along with 15 carries for 124 rushing yards on offense. He also had 87 tackles, seven interceptions, and one fumble recovery on defense.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: In his senior year, in 2009, Woods caught 66 passes for 1,112 yards, had five carries for 70 yards, and had 96 total tackles along with eight interceptions and a forced fumble on defense for the Serra Cavaliers. In his senior year, his team won the CIF Northwestern Division Championship defeating west coast power house Oaks Christian, ending their winning streak at 34. His team would then play and beat Marin Catholic 24–20 to win the CIF Division 3 state championship and complete the season undefeated 15–0. They ranked fifth in the West according to "USA Today". Following his senior season, Woods was recognized as a "USA Today" high school All-American and played in the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. As an accomplished sprinter, Woods was a 2010 All-USA high school track & field selection by "USA Today". He recorded personal bests of 21.04 seconds in the 200 meter dash, and 46.17 seconds in the 400 meter dash. Woods' 400 meters time of 46.17 ranked him #11 on the 2010 World Junior list, #4 in the USA. At the 2010 CIF California State Meet, Woods finished runner-up in the 400 metres to Joshua Mance in a photo finish. He placed third in the 200 metres, behind Remontay McClain and Davonte Stewart. He had career-bests of 21.04 seconds in the 200 metres and 46.17 seconds in the 400 metres. He graduated in 2010. Scout.com rated him as the No. 11 prospect overall and No. 1 wide receiver prospect. Rivals.com listed him as the nation's No. 6 overall recruit, and the No. 1 ranked athlete. He accepted a scholarship to attend the University of Southern California.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Woods played college football for the USC Trojans football from 2010 to 2012 under head coach Lane Kiffin.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Woods was an immediate contributor for the Trojans as a freshman. In his first collegiate game, at Hawaii, he had four receptions for 46 receiving yards. On September 18, against Minnesota, he had his first collegiate touchdown on a 97-yard kickoff return. On September 25, against Washington State, he had his first collegiate receiving touchdown, a 11-yard reception from quarterback Matt Barkley. On October 9, he had a breakout performance with 12 receptions for 224 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns against Stanford. In his next game, he had seven receptions for 116 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns against California. Overall, he finished his freshman season with 65 receptions for 792 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns. In addition, he was a prolific kickoff returner, finishing first in the Pac-10 that year in kickoff returns with 38 and kickoff return yards with 971.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Woods started his sophomore season with a strong performance against Minnesota with 17 receptions for 177 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. On September 24, in a game at Arizona State, he had eight receptions for 131 receiving yards. In the following game, against Arizona, Woods had a stellar performance with 14 receptions for 255 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. On October 22, against Notre Dame, he had 12 receptions for 119 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. On November 4, against Colorado, he had nine receptions for 130 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. On November 19, he had seven receptions for 53 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns against Oregon. The next week, against UCLA, he had 12 receptions for 113 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. Overall, he finished his sophomore season with 111 receptions for 1,292 receiving yards and 15 receiving touchdowns. He led the Pac-12 in receptions and receiving touchdowns and finished fourth in the conference in receiving yards. As a result of his stellar sophomore season, Woods was one of three finalists for the 2011 Biletnikoff Award and Maxwell Award. In addition, he was named as a Consensus All-American.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Woods started his junior season with six receptions for 42 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns against Hawaii. In the next game, against Syracuse, he had 10 receptions for 93 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. Over the next four games, he had 20 receptions for 225 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. On October 20, against Colorado, he had eight receptions for 132 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns. In the final five games of the season, he finished with 30 receptions for 357 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. Woods declared for the 2013 NFL Draft after his junior season.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Prior to his junior season in April 2012, Woods was projected a top five prospect and ranked as the top wide receiver prospect in the next NFL Draft. By mid-season, Woods' draft projection fell to the late first round, due to his declining role in the Trojans' offense and the emergence of Marqise Lee.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: The Buffalo Bills drafted Woods in the second round (41st overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft. Woods was the fifth wide receiver drafted and was the first of two wide receivers selected by the Bills in 2013, before third round pick (78th overall) Marquise Goodwin.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Throughout training camp, Woods competed to be the secondary starting wide receiver against T. J. Graham and Brad Smith. Head coach Doug Marrone named Stevie Johnson and Woods the starting wide receivers to begin the regular season.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Woods made his NFL debut and first career start in the season-opener against the New England Patriots and caught his first NFL touchdown on an 18-yard pass from quarterback E. J. Manuel in a narrow 23–21 loss. The touchdown also marked his first career reception. During Week 9, Woods caught four passes for 44 yards before leaving in the third quarter of a 23–13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs due to an ankle injury. He remained inactive for the next two games (Weeks 10–11). During Week 15, Woods caught a season-high five passes for 82 yards and scored his third touchdown of the season during a 27–20 road victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. In the next game, Woods was ejected for throwing a punch at safety Reshad Jones after the two engaged in a tussle during the Bills' 19–0 shut-out win over the Miami Dolphins.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Woods finished his rookie year with 40 receptions for 587 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games and starts.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: During training camp, Woods competed to retain his role as a starting wide receiver against Mike Williams and Chris Hogan. Marrone named Woods and rookie Sammy Watkins as the starting wide receivers to begin the regular season, although Williams started at wide receiver in all four preseason games.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: During a Week 14 38-3 victory over the New York Jets, Woods caught a season-high nine passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. The game took place at Ford Field in Detroit due to a snowstorm in New York.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Woods finished his second professional season with a career-high 65 receptions for 699 yards and five touchdowns in 16 games and 15 starts. He finished second on the team in all three categories and also recorded four combined tackles on special teams.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: On January 1, 2015, head coach Doug Marrone chose to opt out of his contract and resigned from his head coaching position. On January 13, the Bills announced their decision to hire former New York Jets' head coach Rex Ryan as their new head coach. Woods competed against Percy Harvin to be the No. 2 starting wide receiver during training camp. Ryan named Woods the third wide receiver on the Bills' depth chart to start the regular season in 2015, behind Sammy Watkins and Percy Harvin. Woods replaced Harvin in the starting lineup after Harvin was placed on injured reserve due to a season-ending knee injury.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: During Week 7, Woods caught a season-high nine passes for 84 yards and a touchdown during a narrow 34–31 road loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars. During Week 14, he had five receptions for a season-high 106 yards in a 26–20 road loss against the Philadelphia Eagles. On December 22, 2015, Woods was placed on injured reserve after he aggravated a groin injury he sustained during training camp. His injury sidelined him for the last two games (Weeks 16–17) of the regular season.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Woods finished his first season under new offensive coordinator Greg Roman with 47 receptions for 552 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games and nine starts.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Woods entered training camp as a starting wide receiver in 2016. Rex Ryan retained Woods and Sammy Watkins as the starting wide receiver tandem to begin the regular season in 2016.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Woods was inactive during the Bills' Week 7 loss at the Miami Dolphins due to a foot injury. Two weeks later, he caught a season-high ten passes for 162 yards during a 31–25 road loss against the Seattle Seahawks. Woods was sidelined for two games (Weeks 12–13) due to a knee injury.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Woods finished his fourth season with 51 receptions for 613 yards and a touchdown in 13 games and ten starts.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: On March 9, 2017, Woods was signed by the Los Angeles Rams to a five-year, $34 million contract that includes $15 million guaranteed.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Woods entered training camp slated as the No. 1 starting wide receiver. Head coach Sean McVay named Woods and Sammy Watkins the starting wide receivers to begin the regular season.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: During Week 3, Woods caught six passes for 108 yards in a 41–39 road victory over the San Francisco 49ers on "Thursday Night Football". In Week 8, he had four catches for 70 yards and caught two touchdowns during a 51–17 road victory over the New York Giants. The performance marked Woods' first multi-touchdown game of his career. In the next game, Woods caught eight passes for a season-high 171 yards and two touchdowns in a 33–7 victory over the Houston Texans. During the game, he caught a 94-yard touchdown reception to set a franchise record for the longest touchdown reception since 1964. It was the most receiving yards by a Rams player since Torry Holt had 200 receiving yards in a 2003 game against the San Francisco 49ers. The following week, Woods caught a season-high eight passes for 81 yards during a 24–7 road loss against the Minnesota Vikings. He sustained a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter and was inactive for the next three games (Weeks 12–14). McVay decided to rest Woods and multiple starters for the regular-season finale against the San Francisco 49ers in preparation for the playoffs. The Rams lost 34–13.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Woods finished his first season with the Rams with 56 receptions for a career-high 781 yards and five touchdowns in 12 games and 11 starts.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: The Rams finished the 2017 season atop the NFC West with an 11–5 record. On January 6, 2018, Woods started in his first NFL playoff game and caught a game-high nine passes for 142 yards during a 26–13 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the .


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Woods returned as the Rams' No. 1 wide receiver and started alongside second-year receiver Cooper Kupp and offseason acquisition Brandin Cooks.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: During Week 3, Woods caught ten receptions for 104 yards and two touchdowns in a 35–23 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. In the next game against the Minnesota Vikings, he had five receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown in the 38–31 victory. Two weeks later, Woods had seven receptions for 109 yards in a 23–20 road victory over the Denver Broncos. During Week 14 against the Chicago Bears, he caught seven passes for 61 yards as the Rams lost 15–6. Woods reached 1,000 receiving yards for the season for the first time in his career in this game.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Woods finished the 2018 season with 86 receptions for 1,219 yards and six touchdowns in 16 games and starts. In the playoffs, Woods helped the Rams defeat the Dallas Cowboys in the with six receptions for 69 yards in a 30–22 victory. He had six receptions for 33 yards as the Rams defeated the New Orleans Saints on the road in overtime by a score of 26–23 in the to reach Super Bowl LIII where they faced the New England Patriots. In the Super Bowl, Woods recorded five catches for 70 yards and a five-yard rush but the Rams lost by a score of 13–3 in the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in history. He was ranked 76th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2019.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: During Week 4 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Woods caught 13 passes for 164 yards in the 55–40 loss. During Week 13 against the Arizona Cardinals, he had 13 catches for 172 yards in a 34–7 victory. In the next game against the Seattle Seahawks, Woods rushed twice for 29 yards and caught seven passes for 98 yards and his first touchdown of the season during the 28–12 victory. During Saturday Night Football against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16, he finished with eight catches for 117 yards as the Rams lost 31–34 and were eliminated from playoff contention.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Woods finished the 2019 season with 90 receptions for 1,134 yards and two touchdowns in 15 games and starts.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Woods started off the 2020 season with six receptions for 105 receiving yards in a 20–17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on "Sunday Night Football". On September 18, 2020, Woods signed a four-year, $65 million contract extension with the Rams.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: In Week 11 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on "Monday Night Football", Woods recorded 12 catches for 130 yards and a touchdown during the 27–24 win.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: He later earned the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award. Overall, in the 2020 season, Woods finished with 90 receptions for 936 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns. In addition, he had 24 carries for 155 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. The Rams made the playoffs and earned the #6-seed in the NFC. In the against the Seattle Seahawks, he had four receptions for 48 receiving yards and a touchdown in the 30–20 victory.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: On November 12, 2021, Woods tore his ACL during practice, ending his season. Prior to his injury, Woods had 45 catches and 556 yards to go with five touchdowns in nine games played. The Rams went on to win Super Bowl LVI against the Cincinnati Bengals without Woods. Coincidentally, the Rams signed Odell Beckham Jr., who would play a crucial role in their Super Bowl run, the day before Woods' injury.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Woods is the son of Robert Woods, who played for the Houston Oilers in 1978 and for the Detroit Lions in 1979.


title: Robert Woods (wide receiver, born 1992)

text: Woods lost his sister, Olivia, to cancer on April 19, 2007. Her death and final words to him motivated Woods to pursue his goals of making it into the NFL and finishing his college degree. Woods honored her in his commencement speech upon graduating from USC.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: Thomas Vermaelen (born 14 November 1985) is a retired Belgian professional footballer who is currently an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Being left-footed, he usually played as a left-sided centre-back and could play at left-back as well. His key attributes included aerial ability, leadership skills, and his quickness with the ball at his feet. He was also known for his goalscoring ability as a defender.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: Vermaelen joined the Ajax youth academy in 2000 and won the 2003–04 Eredivisie title in his first season with the club. He had a loan spell with RKC Waalwijk before rejoining Ajax and winning the KNVB Cup and Johan Cruyff Shield. After Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's departure in 2009, he served as club captain for the remainder of the season. He joined Arsenal in 2009 and was included in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year for that season. Following Robin van Persie's transfer to Manchester United in August 2012, he was named club captain but found first team opportunities limited due to the success of Arsenal's new first-choice defensive partnership of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny. In August 2014, he completed a £15 million transfer to Barcelona in La Liga. In 2019, he joined Vissel Kobe before retiring in 2021.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: Vermaelen made his international debut for Belgium in 2006, and took part at the 2008 Olympics, where Belgium came fourth, as well as the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and 2018 (where Belgium came third), and the UEFA European Championship in 2016 and 2021.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: Vermaelen started his youth career in his home country with Germinal Ekeren, which later became Germinal Beerschot after a merger.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: Vermaelen joined the academy of Dutch club Ajax. He made his professional debut on 15 February 2004 in a 0–2 away win over FC Volendam.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: His breakthrough came when he returned to Ajax and won the KNVB Cup. Performances that season resulted in a call-up to the Belgium national football team. Ajax won the Johan Cruyff Shield and another KNVB Cup the following season and in 2007, they won the Johan Cruyff Shield for the second consecutive time. He forged a partnership with fellow academy graduate John Heitinga and later Jan Vertonghen when Heitinga left for Atlético Madrid in Spain. Following the departure of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in mid-season, Vermaelen served as captain of Ajax for the remainder of the 2008–09 season, where he mostly played as a left-back.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: Vermaelen joined Arsenal from Ajax for an initial fee of €10 million (rising to €12 million) on 19 June 2009, signing a four-year contract. After Kolo Touré surrendered the number 5 jersey to him upon joining Manchester City, Vermaelen, with William Gallas, formed Arsenal's central defence pairing. Vermaelen made his Premier League debut on 15 August 2009 in a 1–6 away win against Everton, and scored in the 37th minute. He became the 84th Arsenal player to score in their debut. He then scored a brace against Wigan Athletic in a 4–0 victory.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: Arsenal fans voted him as their Player of the Month twice in a row on Arsenal.com, and affectionately nicknamed him the "Verminator". However, he scored an own goal in a home match against Chelsea when a cross came in from Ashley Cole. The match finished 0–3 to Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: Vermaelen became notable for being a goal-scoring defender during the first half of Arsenal's 2009–10 season. In recognition of his contributions, he was nominated for the Belgian Sportsman of the year award and was also included in the PFA Team of the Season. Vermaelen finished the season with 45 games and eight goals in all competitions under his belt.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: In the pre-season of the 2010–11 season, Vermaelen captained Arsenal in an Emirates Cup match against Milan with regular captain Cesc Fàbregas and vice-captains Manuel Almunia and Robin van Persie not in the squad. Vermaelen started all of the first three Arsenal matches of the season before suffering an Achilles tendon injury on international duty with Belgium.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: He had a new injury setback when manager Arsène Wenger reported that the Achilles tendon problem would keep him out of action for an unforeseeable time. On 17 March 2011, Wenger confirmed that Vermaelen would miss the remainder of the season with a new injury setback, but on 26 April, Vermaelen played 90 minutes in his first competitive game after eight months in a reserves game against Manchester United at Old Trafford on 28 April. On 8 May, he was included in Arsenal's 18-man squad travelling to Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium. However, Vermaelen was an unused substitute, but on 15 May, he finally returned in Arsenal's 2–1 defeat to Aston Villa and played the full 90 minutes.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: Following Cesc Fàbregas' transfer to Barcelona in August 2011, Vermaelen was named vice-captain of Arsenal, with Robin van Persie named captain. On 6 September 2011, Vermaelen had treatment on his Achilles tendon which ruled him out for six weeks. On 18 October 2011, he signed a contract extension to keep him at the club for an additional four years. He made his long-awaited return against Bolton Wanderers in the fourth round of the League Cup, where he captained the side to a 2–1 victory at the Emirates Stadium. He suffered a suspected calf injury in the 84th minute, but to Arsenal's relief, he stated in the post-match interview it was just a cramp. On 1 November, Vermaelen started his first UEFA Champions League game in three months against Marseille and played a key role in helping keep a clean sheet for "the Gunners" in which the game ended 0–0.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: Vermaelen scored Arsenal's second goal in their 3–0 win over West Bromwich Albion on 5 November. He also featured in the 1–1 draw with Fulham on 26 November, when he scored a 65th minute own-goal but salvaged a point with an 82nd-minute equaliser for Arsenal. On 3 December, Vermaelen scored the second goal against Wigan to win the match 4–0.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: On 12 March 2012, Vermaelen scored the winner in the 95th minute against Newcastle United. He had run the entire length of the pitch to score a half-volley from Theo Walcott's cross. In the following game, he converted a Robin van Persie corner, heading home Arsenal's only goal in a 0–1 victory over Everton at Goodison Park. On 16 April 2012, he headed home a Tomáš Rosický cross against Wigan to reduce the deficit to 1–2, with Wigan having taken a two-goal lead at the Emirates. However, the scoreline finished the same. Manager Arsène Wenger has called him a defensive rock and his partnership with Laurent Koscielny is strong, enabling Arsenal to build from the back.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: In August 2012, Vermaelen was announced as Arsenal's new captain, replacing Robin van Persie upon his departure to Manchester United.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: On 11 December 2012, Vermaelen missed the deciding penalty kick in Arsenal's shoot-out defeat against League Two side Bradford City in the League Cup, his shot striking the post. Vermaelen had scored Arsenal's equalising goal within normal time of the same match. However, consistently poor performances followed for Vermaelen, most notably against Manchester City and Liverpool.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: Vermaelen's performances forced Arsène Wenger to drop him for the pivotal Champions League game against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. Arsenal won 0–2, although it was not enough to progress to the next round through aggregate, but they were the first team to prevent Bayern from scoring that season, thanks to an assured performance from the defence and reserve goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański. Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny continued to partner each other at centre-back for the following games, until the former's red card against West Brom at The Hawthorns on 6 April 2013 gave Vermaelen a chance to reestablish himself in the team. Arsenal held on for a 1–2 win. Due to Mertesacker's suspension, Vermaelen partnered Koscielny for the game against Norwich City on 13 April, with Arsenal winning 3–1.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: On 17 May 2014, Vermaelen won his only trophy with Arsenal as an unused substitute in the team's 3–2 win over Hull City in the 2014 FA Cup Final.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: On 9 August 2014, Arsenal accepted a £15 million offer from Barcelona for Vermaelen. The next day, he completed his move after signing a five-year contract. Vermaelen was plagued with injuries since his transfer; he was thought to be ready for Barcelona's game against APOEL in the Champions League, but was taken out of the squad. He underwent surgery on 2 December 2014 for a recurring hamstring injury, and was expected back in four-to-six months. After being an unused substitute in a 2–0 win over Real Sociedad two weeks earlier, Vermaelen started on his debut for Barcelona on 23 May 2015 in the final La Liga match of the season against Deportivo de La Coruña in which he played for 63 minutes before being substituted for Douglas in a 2–2 draw at the Camp Nou.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: In the second game of his second season on 29 August 2015, Vermaelen scored his first goal for Barcelona, finishing from a cross to win a home match against Málaga. He was praised by manager Luis Enrique afterwards. Vermaelen was an 81st-minute substitute for Javier Mascherano on 20 December as Barcelona won the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup Final against River Plate in Japan.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: On 8 August 2016, Roma loaned Vermaelen from Barcelona on a one-year deal with an option to purchase. On 18 August 2016, Vermaelen made his debut for the Rome club in a UEFA Champions League qualification play-off against FC Porto and was sent off for two yellow card offences after only 41 minutes.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: During his time at the club, Vermaelen played only 607 minutes due to injury and returned to Barcelona at the end of the season.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: On 26 November 2017, Vermaelen was selected to start in Barcelona's 1–1 draw with Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium, covering for the suspended Gerard Piqué. He retained his place in central defence for seven of the next eight fixtures, before picking up an injury, including Barça's 3–0 win at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium against rivals Real Madrid.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: On 27 July 2019, Vermaelen signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with J1 League side Vissel Kobe. At the club, he rejoined former Barcelona teammates Andrés Iniesta and Sergi Samper, and former Arsenal teammate Lukas Podolski. On 1 January 2020, Vermaelen won his first trophy in Japan, starting in Vissel Kobe's 2–0 victory over Kashima Antlers in the final of the 2019 Emperor's Cup.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: On 8 February 2020, Vermaelen was one of nine consecutive players to miss their spot-kick in the penalty-shootout of the Japanese Super Cup; his teammate Hotaru Yamaguchi eventually won the match for the cup winners with a successful penalty. On 15 May, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw against Cerezo Osaka.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: On 21 January 2022, the Royal Belgian Football Association announced Vermaelen's retirement as a player, adding that he would be joining the Belgium national team as an assistant coach ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: A former youth international, Vermaelen had participated in the U-19 Championships and the 2007 U-21 European Championships. He made his senior debut for Belgium at age 20 against Luxembourg in March 2006. On 8 October 2009, he was named Belgium captain prior to the games against Turkey and Estonia in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, but could not prevent the Belgians from finishing fourth in their group. He was recalled to squad for 14 November friendly against Hungary and scored his first goal for his country by tapping in an Eden Hazard cross.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: On 13 May 2014, Vermaelen was named in Belgium's squad for the 2014 World Cup. After spending Belgium's first match of the tournament, a 2–1 win against Algeria, on the substitutes' bench, Vermaelen was chosen to start in the second match against Russia, replacing former Ajax teammate Jan Vertonghen at left-back. However, after 31 minutes, Vermaelen was taken off with an injury and replaced by Vertonghen.


title: Thomas Vermaelen

text: In 2012, Vermaelen began dating English glamour model and TV presenter Polly Parsons. The couple have two sons, Raff and Ace. The couple married in June 2017.


title: Song 2

text: "Song 2" is a song by English rock band Blur. The song is the second song on their eponymous fifth studio album. Released on 7 April 1997, "Song 2" peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, number four on the Australian ARIA Charts, and number six on the US "Billboard" Alternative Songs chart (previously called the Modern Rock Tracks chart).


title: Song 2

text: At the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, "Song 2" was nominated for Best Group Video, and Best Alternative Video. At the 1998 Brit Awards, the song was nominated for Best British Single, and Best British Video. In 1998, BBC Radio 1 listeners voted "Song 2" the 15th Best Track Ever. In 2011, "NME" placed it number 79 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".


title: Song 2

text: According to Graham Coxon, "Song 2" was intended to be a joke on the record company. Damon Albarn had recorded an acoustic demo of the song which was slower but featured the song's distinctive "woo-hoo" chorus in whistle form. Coxon then suggested that they pump up the speed and perform the song loudly, with Coxon deliberately seeking out an amateurish guitar sound. From there, Coxon told Albarn to tell the record company that they wanted to release the song as a single to "blow the ... labels' heads off". To Coxon's surprise, record executives reacted positively. When asked if the band had any idea of the song's commercial appeal, Coxon replied, "We'd just thought it was way too extreme".


title: Song 2

text: The track was originally nicknamed "Song 2" as a working title which represented its slot in the tracklist, but the name stuck. The song is two minutes and two seconds long, with two verses, two choruses and a hook featuring Albarn yelling "woo-hoo!" as the distorted bass comes in. It is the second song on Blur's self-titled album, as well as "", and was the second single released from the former album.


title: Song 2

text: Some writers have stated that the song is intended to be a parody of the grunge genre, while others state that it was a parody of radio hits and the music industry with a punk rock chorus.


title: Song 2

text: PopMatters described the song as a "[pastiche] [of] Seattle grunge and grubby lo-fi indie rock". Rolling Stone Australia, called it "frankly grunge-flavoured".


title: Song 2

text: A reviewer from "Music Week" wrote, "This punky, new wavathon is more immediate than most of the cuts from their new album and all the better for the catchy "woo-hoo" bits." David Sinclair from "The Times" noted "the American garageband banging and crashing" of the song.


title: Song 2

text: In the UK, "Song 2" built upon the success of Blur's chart-topping single "Beetlebum" to reach number two in the charts. It was also popular on radio stations in the US; consequently, it went at number 55 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, number 6 on "Billboard"s Modern Rock Tracks chart, staying on that chart for 26 weeks and number 25 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It also placed number two on Triple J's Hottest 100 for 1997 in Australia. The song is atypical of Blur's previous style. The song's intro has been called Graham Coxon's "finest moment". "NME" ranked "Song 2" at number two in its end-of-year list of the Top 20 Singles of 1997, and later listed it as one of the best songs from the 1990s.


title: Song 2

text: The music video for this song was directed by Sophie Muller, and it features the band playing in a small, secluded room with loud amplifiers behind them. During the choruses, the volume of the song sends the band members crashing against the walls and ground. The set used was modelled on that in the video for their pre-breakthrough single "Popscene".


title: Song 2

text: My Chemical Romance played the song at BBC Radio 1. The cover was later featured on the album "Radio 1's Live Lounge", released on October 11, 2006.


title: Song 2

text: On October 20, 2018, at the Demon Dayz Fest LA, Damon Albarn's other well-known band Gorillaz played the familiar "Song 2" theme but in characteristic Gorillaz style with dub/funk elements. While recognition was still dawning on the audience, Graham Coxon joined Gorillaz onstage and launched into his original riff before he and Gorillaz went on to perform the classic arrangement to an enthusiastic reception.


title: Song 2

text: During the end of his only 2022 U.S. solo performance to promote "The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows", Albarn commented that he was asked if he'd perform "Song 2" by "L.A. Times" journalist Mikael Wood, "before [Wood] cast [Albarn] into the social media abyss". Earlier that day, an interview published by Wood put Albarn into heavy controversy, with Albarn claiming in the article that musician Taylor Swift did not write her own songs. Swift would issue a harsh rebuke to this claim, with several of her friends and collaborators coming to her defense. Albarn would dedicate the song, which ended up closing the set, to Wood.


title: Song 2

text: The song became popular in the UK and overseas upon its release in 1997. It was featured on college and modern rock radio stations.


title: Song 2

text: Licensed worldwide on numerous occasions, it made its first appearance in the episode "Malled" of the animated series "Daria".


title: Song 2

text: In 2010, Blur manager Chris Morrison said, "Northrop Grumman, which is an American defence contractor, got in touch with us and asked if they could use the song for their trade shows to promote the next generation of stealth fighters. We thought that was probably inappropriate. The money was great but we turned it down." Albarn is an antiwar campaigner.