title: Grammatical mood

text: In linguistics, grammatical mood is a grammatical feature of verbs, used for signaling modality. That is, it is the use of verbal inflections that allow speakers to express their attitude toward what they are saying (for example, a statement of fact, of desire, of command, etc.). The term is also used more broadly to describe the syntactic expression of modality – that is, the use of verb phrases that do not involve inflection of the verb itself.


title: Grammatical mood

text: Mood is distinct from grammatical tense or grammatical aspect, although the same word patterns are used for expressing more than one of these meanings at the same time in many languages, including English and most other modern Indo-European languages. (See tense–aspect–mood for a discussion of this.)


title: Grammatical mood

text: Some examples of moods are indicative, interrogative, imperative, subjunctive, injunctive, optative, and potential. These are all finite forms of the verb. Infinitives, gerunds, and participles, which are non-finite forms of the verb, are not considered to be examples of moods.


title: Grammatical mood

text: Some Uralic Samoyedic languages have more than ten moods; Nenets has as many as sixteen. The original Indo-European inventory of moods consisted of indicative, subjunctive, optative, and imperative. Not every Indo-European language has all of these moods, but the most conservative ones such as Avestan, Ancient Greek, and Vedic Sanskrit have them all. English has indicative, imperative, and subjunctive moods; other moods, such as the conditional, do not appear as morphologically distinct forms.


title: Grammatical mood

text: Not all the moods listed below are clearly conceptually distinct. Individual terminology varies from language to language, and the coverage of, for example, the "conditional" mood in one language may largely overlap with that of the "hypothetical" or "potential" mood in another. Even when two different moods exist in the same language, their respective usages may blur, or may be defined by syntactic rather than semantic criteria. For example, the subjunctive and optative moods in Ancient Greek alternate syntactically in many subordinate clauses, depending on the tense of the main verb. The usage of the indicative, subjunctive, and jussive moods in Classical Arabic is almost completely controlled by syntactic context. The only possible alternation in the same context is between indicative and jussive following the negative particle "lā".


title: Grammatical mood

text: Realis moods are a category of grammatical moods that indicate that something is actually the case or actually not the case. The most common realis mood is the indicative mood. Some languages have a distinct generic mood for expressing general truths.


title: Grammatical mood

text: The indicative mood, or evidential mood, is used for factual statements and positive beliefs. It is the mood of reality. The indicative mood is the most commonly used mood and is found in all languages. Example: "Paul is eating an apple" or "John eats apples".


title: Grammatical mood

text: Irrealis moods or non indicative moods are the set of grammatical moods that indicate that something is not actually the case or a certain situation or action is not known to have happened. They are any verb or sentence mood that is not a realis mood. They may be part of expressions of necessity, possibility, requirement, wish or desire, fear, or as part of counterfactual reasoning, etc.


title: Grammatical mood

text: Irrealis verb forms are used when speaking of an event which has not happened, is not likely to happen, or is otherwise far removed from the real course of events. For example, in the sentence "If you had done your homework, you wouldn't have failed the class", "had done" is an irrealis verb form.


title: Grammatical mood

text: Some languages have distinct irrealis grammatical verb forms. Many Indo-European languages preserve a subjunctive mood. Some also preserve an optative mood that describes events that are wished for or hoped for but not factual.


title: Grammatical mood

text: Common irrealis moods are the conditional, the subjunctive, the optative, the jussive, and the potential. For other examples, see the main article for each respective mood.


title: Grammatical mood

text: The subjunctive mood, sometimes called conjunctive mood, has several uses in dependent clauses. Examples include discussing imaginary or hypothetical events and situations, expressing opinions or emotions, or making polite requests (the exact scope is language-specific). A subjunctive mood exists in English, though it is not inflectional form of the verb but rather a clause type which uses the bare form of the verb also used in imperatives, infinitives, and other constructions. An example of the English subjunctive is "Jill suggested "that Paul take his medicine"", as opposed to the indicative sentence ""Jill believes that Paul takes his medicine"".


title: Grammatical mood

text: Other uses of the subjunctive in English are archaisms, as in "And if he be not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring for his trespass..." (KJV Leviticus 5:7). Statements such as "I will ensure that he leave immediately" often sound archaic or formal, and have been largely supplanted by constructions with the indicative, like "I will ensure "that he leaves immediately"".


title: Grammatical mood

text: Some Germanic languages distinguish between two types of subjunctive moods, for example, the "Konjunktiv I" and "II" in German.


title: Grammatical mood

text: The subjunctive mood figures prominently in the grammar of the Romance languages, which require this mood for certain types of dependent clauses. This point commonly causes difficulty for English speakers learning these languages.


title: Grammatical mood

text: In certain other languages, the dubitative or the conditional moods may be employed instead of the subjunctive in referring to doubtful or unlikely events (see the main article).


title: Grammatical mood

text: The conditional mood is used for speaking of an event whose realization is dependent upon another condition, particularly, but not exclusively, in conditional sentences. In Modern English, this type of modality is expressed via a periphrastic construction, with the form "would" + infinitive, (for example, "I would buy"), and thus is a mood only in the broad sense and not in the more common narrow sense of the term "mood" requiring morphological changes in the verb. In other languages, verbs have a specific conditional inflection. In German, the conditional mood is identical to one of the two subjunctive moods "(Konjunktiv II," see above).


title: Grammatical mood

text: In the Romance languages, the conditional form is used primarily in the apodosis (main clause) of conditional sentences, and in a few set phrases where it expresses courtesy or doubt. The main verb in the protasis (dependent clause) is usually in the subjunctive or in the indicative mood. However, this is not a universal trait and among others in German (as above), Finnish, and Romanian (even though the last is a Romance language), the conditional mood is used in both the apodosis and the protasis. A further example is a sentence "I would buy a house if I earned a lot of money".


title: Grammatical mood

text: Because English is used as a lingua franca, a common error among second-language speakers is to use "would" in both clauses. For example, *"I would buy if I would earn...".


title: Grammatical mood

text: The optative mood expresses hopes, wishes or commands and has other uses that may overlap with the subjunctive mood. Few languages have an optative as a distinct mood; some that do are Albanian, Ancient Greek, Kazakh, Japanese, Finnish, Nepali, and Sanskrit.


title: Grammatical mood

text: The imperative mood expresses direct commands, prohibitions, and requests. In many circumstances, using the imperative mood may sound blunt or even rude, so it is often used with care. Example: "Pat, do your homework now". An imperative is used for telling someone to do something without argument. Many languages, including English, use the bare verb stem to form the imperative (such as "go", "run", "do"). Other languages, such as Seri, Hindi, and Latin, however, use special imperative forms.


title: Grammatical mood

text: The prohibitive mood, the negative imperative, may be grammatically or morphologically different from the imperative mood in some languages. It indicates that the action of the verb is not permitted. For example, "Don't you go!" In English, the imperative is sometimes used for forming a conditional sentence: for example, "go eastwards a mile, and you'll see it" means "if you go eastwards a mile, you will see it".


title: Grammatical mood

text: The jussive, similarly to the imperative, expresses orders, commands, exhortations, but particularly to a third person not present. An imperative, in contrast, generally applies to the listener. When a language is said to have a jussive, the jussive forms are different from the imperative ones, but may be the same as the forms called "subjunctive" in that language. Latin and Hindi are examples of where the jussive is simply about certain specific uses of the subjunctive. Arabic, however, is an example of a language with distinct subjunctive, imperative and jussive conjugations.


title: Grammatical mood

text: The potential mood is a mood of probability indicating that, in the opinion of the speaker, the action or occurrence is considered likely. It is used in Finnish, Japanese, in Sanskrit (where the so-called optative mood can serve equally well as a potential mood), in Northern Wu, and in the Sami languages. (In Japanese, it is often called something like tentative, since potential is used for referring to a voice indicating capability to perform the action.)


title: Grammatical mood

text: In Finnish, it is mostly a literary device, as it has virtually disappeared from daily spoken language in most dialects. Its affix is "-ne-", as in *"men" + "ne" + "e" → "mennee" "(she/he/it) will probably go".


title: Grammatical mood

text: In Hungarian, the potential is formed by the suffix "-hat/-het" and it can express both possibility and permission: ad"hat" "may give, can give"; Me"het"ünk? "Can we go?"


title: Grammatical mood

text: In English, it is formed by means of the auxiliaries "may", "can", "ought", and "must": ""She may go."".


title: Grammatical mood

text: The presumptive mood is used to express presupposition or hypothesis, regardless of the fact denoted by the verb, as well as other more or less similar attitudes: doubt, curiosity, concern, condition, indifference, and inevitability. It is used in Romanian, Hindi, Gujarati, and Punjabi.


title: Grammatical mood

text: In Romanian, the presumptive mood conjugations of the verb vrea are used with the infinitive form of verbs. The present tense and the past tense infinitives are respectively used to form the present and the past tense of the presumptive mood.


title: Grammatical mood

text: In Hindi, the presumptive mood conjugations of the verb honā (to be) are used with the perfective, habitual, and progressive aspectual participles to form the perfective presumptive, habitual presumptive, and the progressive presumptive moods. The same presumptive mood conjugations are used for present, future, and past tenses.


title: Grammatical mood

text: A few languages use a hypothetical mood, which is used in sentences such as "you could have cut yourself", representing something that might have happened but did not.


title: Grammatical mood

text: The inferential mood is used to report unwitnessed events without confirming them. Often, there is no doubt as to the veracity of the statement (for example, if it were on the news), but simply the fact that the speaker was not personally present at the event forces them to use this mood.


title: Grammatical mood

text: In the Balkan languages, the same forms used for the inferential mood also function as admiratives. When referring to Balkan languages, it is of<dfn>ten called</dfn> renarrative mood; when referring to Estonian, it is called oblique mood.


title: Grammatical mood

text: The inferential is usually impossible to be distinguishably translated into English. For instance, indicative Bulgarian "той отиде (toy otide)" and Turkish "o gitti" will be translated the same as inferential "той отишъл (toy otishal)" and "o gitmiş" — with the English indicative "he went". Using the first pair, however, implies very strongly that the speaker either witnessed the event or is very sure that it took place. The second pair implies either that the speaker did not in fact witness it take place, that it occurred in the remote past or that there is considerable doubt as to whether it actually happened. If it were necessary to make the distinction, then the English constructions "he must have gone" or "he is said to have gone" would partly translate the inferential.


title: Grammatical mood

text: The interrogative (or interrogatory) mood is used for asking questions. Most languages do not have a special mood for asking questions, but exceptions include Welsh, Nenets, and Eskimo languages such as Greenlandic.


title: Grammatical mood

text: Linguists also differentiate moods into two parental irrealis categories: deontic mood and epistemic mood. Deontic mood describes whether one could or should be able to do something. An example of deontic mood is: She should/may start. On the other hand, epistemic mood describes the chance or possibility of something happening. This would then change our example to: She may have started. To further explain modality, linguists introduce weak mood. A weak deontic mood describes how a course of action is not recommended or is frowned upon. A weak epistemic mood includes the terms "perhaps" and "possibly".


title: Grammatical mood

text: Pingelapese is a Micronesian language spoken on the Pingelap atoll and on two of the eastern Caroline Islands, called the high island of Pohnpei. "e" and "ae" are auxiliary verbs found in Pingelapese. Though seemingly interchangeable, "e" and "ae" are separate phonemes and have different uses. A Pingelapese speaker would choose to use "e" when they have a high degree of certainty in what they are saying and "ae" when they are less certain. This therefore illustrates that "e" and "ae" are mood indicators. They have no effect on the direct translation of a sentence, but they are used to alter the mood of the sentence spoken. The following example shows the difference between "e" and "ae" when applied in the same sentence.


title: Grammatical mood

text: The use of "ae" instead of "e" can also indicate an interrogative sentence. This is a form of non-declarative speech that demonstrates the speaker has no commitment to the statement they are saying. The following sentence is an example.


title: Grammatical mood

text: The language we know as Reo Rapa was created as a result of the introduction of Tahitian to the Rapa monolingual community. Old Rapa words are still used for the grammar and structure of the sentence or phrase, but most common content words were replaced with Tahitian. The Reo Rapa language uses Tense–Aspect–Mood (TAM) in their sentence structure such as the imperfective TAM marker "/e/" and the imperative TAM marker "/a/".


title: Grammatical mood

text: Mortlockese is an Austronesian language made up of eleven dialects over the eleven atolls that make up the Mortlock Islands in Micronesia. Various TAM markers are used in the language. Mood markers include the past tense hortative (marking encouragement or to urge) "aa", the hortative "kɞ" which denotes a polite tone, "min" or "tin" to stress the importance of something, and the word "tɞ" to denote warning or caution. Each of these markers is used in conjunction with the subject proclitics except for the "aa" marker.


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: The Duchy of Aquitaine (, ; , ) was a historical fiefdom in western, central, and southern areas of present-day France to the south of the river Loire, although its extent, as well as its name, fluctuated greatly over the centuries, at times comprising much of what is now southwestern France (Gascony) and central France.


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: It originated in the 7th century as a duchy of Francia, ultimately a recreation of the Roman provinces of . As a duchy, it broke up after the conquest of the independent Aquitanian duchy of Waiofar, going on to become a sub-kingdom within the Carolingian Empire. It was then absorbed by West Francia after the 843 partition of Verdun and soon reappeared as a duchy under it. In 1153, an enlarged Aquitaine pledged loyalty to the Angevin kings of England. As a result, a rivalry emerged between the French monarchs and the Angevins over control of the latter's territorial possessions in France. By the mid-13th century, only Gascony remained in Angevin hands. The Hundred Years' War finally saw the kingdom of France gain full control over Aquitaine in the 1450s, with much of its territory directly incorporated into the French royal domain itself.


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: Gallia Aquitania fell under Visigothic rule in the 5th century. It was conquered by the Franks under Clovis I in 507, as a result of the Battle of Vouillé. During the 6th and early 7th century, it was under direct rule of Frankish kings, divided between the realms of Childebert II and Guntram in the Treaty of Andelot of 587. Under Chlothar II, Aquitaine was again integral part of Francia, but after Chlothar's death in 628, his heir Dagobert I granted a subkingdom in southern Aquitaine to his younger brother Charibert II. This subkingdom, consisting of Gascony and the southern fringe of Aquitaine proper, is conventionally known as "Aquitaine" and forms the historical basis for the later duchy.


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: Charibert campaigned successfully against the Basques, but after his death in 632, they revolted again, in 635 subdued by an army sent by Dagobert (who was at the same time forced to deal with a rebellion in Brittany).


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: The duchy of Aquitaine as a quasi-independent realm within the Frankish empire established itself during the second half of the 7th century, certainly by 700 under Odo the Great. The first duke is on record under the name of Felix, and as having ruled from about 660. As his successor, Lupus held loose ties with the Frankish kings, ruling autonomously ("princeps"). Odo succeeded Lupus in 700 and signed a peace treaty with Charles Martel. He inflicted on the Moors a crushing defeat at the Battle of Toulouse in 721.


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: However, Charles Martel coveted the southern realm, crossed the Loire in 731 and looted much of Aquitaine. Odo engaged the Franks in battle, but lost and came out weakened. Soon after this battle, in 732, the Moors raided Vasconia and Aquitaine as far north as Poitiers and defeated Odo twice near Bordeaux. Odo saw no option but to invoke the aid of Charles Martel and pledge allegiance to the Frankish prince.


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: Odo was succeeded by his son Hunald, who reverted to former independence, so defying the Frankish Mayor of the Palace Charles Martel's authority. The Carolingian leader attacked Hunald twice in 735 and 736, but was unable to totally subdue the duke and an army put together by counts of key Aquitanian towns, e.g. Bourges, Limoges, etc. Eventually, Hunald retired to a monastery, leaving both the kingdom and the continuing conflict to Waifer, or Guaifer. Following the full occupation of Septimania in 759, Pepin turned now his attention to Aquitaine, initiating a cyclical military campaign that lasted for eight years, i.e. the War of Aquitaine. Waifer strenuously carried on an unequal struggle with the Carolingian Franks, but his assassination in 768 marked the demise of Aquitaine's relative independence. Aquitaine underwent during these years intensive destruction of urban, economic, military and intellectual centres. Pepin's forces destroyed up to 36 monasteries.


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: As a successor state to the Roman province of Gallia Aquitania and the Visigothic Kingdom (418–721), Aquitania (Aquitaine) and Languedoc (Toulouse) inherited the Visigothic Law and Roman Law which had combined to allow women more rights than their contemporaries in other parts of Europe. Particularly with the Liber Judiciorum, which was codified in 642 and 643 and expanded in the Code of Recceswinth in 653, women could inherit land and title and manage it independently from their husbands or male relations, dispose of their property in legal wills if they had no heirs, and women could represent themselves and bear witness in court by age 14 and arrange for their own marriages by age 20. As a consequence, male-preference primogeniture was the practiced succession law for the nobility.


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: The autonomous and troublesome duchy of Aquitaine was conquered by the Franks in 769, after a series of revolts against their suzerainty. In order to avoid a new demonstration of Aquitain particularism, Charlemagne decided to organize the land within his kingdom.


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: After the Carolingian conquest, the duchy ceased to exist as such, whose powers were taken over by the counts (dukes) of Toulouse, main seat of the Carolingian government in the Midi, represented by Chorso and, after being deposed, by Charlemagne's trustee William (of Gellone), a close relative of his. In 781, he made his third son Louis, then three years of age, king of Aquitaine. The Carolingian Kingdom of Aquitaine subordinated to the Carolingian king or (later) emperor based in Francia (Austrasia, Neustria). It included not only Aquitaine proper, but also Gothia, Vasconia (Gascony) and the Carolingian possessions in Spain as well. In 806, Charlemagne planned to divide his empire between his sons. Louis received Provence and Burgundy as additions to his kingdom.


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: When Louis succeeded Charlemagne as emperor in 814, he granted Aquitaine to his son Pepin I, after whose death in 838 the nobility of Aquitaine chose his son Pepin II of Aquitaine (d. 865) as their king. The emperor Louis I, however, opposed this arrangement and gave the kingdom to his youngest son Charles, afterwards the emperor Charles the Bald. Confusion and conflict resulted, eventually falling in favor of Charles; although from 845 to 852 Pepin II was in possession of the kingdom, at Eastertide 848 in Limoges, the magnates and prelates of Aquitaine formally elected Charles as their king. Later, at Orléans, he was anointed and crowned by Wenilo, archbishop of Sens. In 852, Pepin II was imprisoned by Charles the Bald, who soon afterwards pronounced his own son Charles as the ruler of Aquitaine. On the death of the younger Charles in 866, his brother Louis the Stammerer succeeded to the kingdom, and when, in 877, Louis became king of the Franks, Aquitaine was fully absorbed into the Frankish crown.


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: By a treaty made in 845 between Charles the Bald and Pepin II, the kingdom had been diminished by the loss of Poitou, Saintonge and Angoumois in the northwest of the region, which had been given to Rainulf I, count of Poitiers. The title of Duke of Aquitaine, already revived, was now borne by Rainulf, although it was also claimed by the counts of Toulouse. The new duchy of Aquitaine, including the three districts already mentioned, remained in the hands of Ramulf's successors, despite disagreement with their Frankish overlords, until 893 when Count Rainulf II was poisoned by order of King Charles III, or Charles the Simple. Charles then bestowed the duchy upon William the Pious, count of Auvergne, the founder of the abbey of Cluny, who was succeeded in 918 by his nephew, Count William II, who died in 926.


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: A succession of dukes followed, one of whom, William IV, fought against Hugh Capet, king of France, and another of whom, William V, called the Great, was able to strengthen and extend his authority considerably, although he yielded the proffered Lombard crown rather than fight Conrad II for it. William's duchy almost reached the limits of the old Roman Gallia Aquitania but did not stretch south of the Garonne, a district which was in the possession of the Gascons. William died in 1030. Odo or Eudes (d. 1039) joined Gascony to Aquitaine.


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: The Ramnulfids had become the dominant power in southwestern France by the end of the 11th century. By marriage rather than conquest, their possessions passed into the "Angevin Empire" under the English crown by 1153.


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: William IX, Duke of Aquitaine (d. 1127), who succeeded to the dukedom in 1087, gained fame as a crusader and a troubadour. His granddaughter, Eleanor of Aquitaine, succeeded the duchy as the eldest daughter and heir of William X (d. 1137) — as his son did not live past childhood. She married King Louis, the Junior King of France three months after her father's death due to the quick-thinking of Prince Louis' father, King Louis VI, who did not want to leave a territory such as Aquitaine governed by a child of thirteen. When King Louis VI died, and Eleanor's new husband became Louis VII of France, the Duchy of Aquitaine officially came under the rule of the French Crown, and for fifteen years, Louis VII had territory that rivaled that of the English Crown and the Counts of Toulouse. The marriage was later annulled on the grounds of consanguinity by a bishop on 21 March 1152, and she kept her lands and title as Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right. On 18 May 1152, she married Henry FitzEmpress (later Henry II of England), the son of Empress Matilda and a claimant to the English throne. When he defeated his mother's cousin, Stephen of Blois, in 1153 and became King of England, Aquitaine merged with the English Crown.


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: Having suppressed a revolt in his new possession, Henry gave it to his son Richard. When Richard died in 1199, it reverted to Eleanor, and on her death five years later, it was absorbed into the English crown and henceforward followed the fortunes of the other English possessions in France, such as Normandy and Anjou, ultimately leading to the Hundred Years' War between the French and English crowns.


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: Aquitaine as it came to the English kings stretched from the Loire to the Pyrenees, but its range was limited to the southeast by the extensive lands of the counts of Toulouse. The name Guienne, a corruption of Aquitaine, seems to have come into use about the 10th century, and the subsequent history of Aquitaine is merged in that of Gascony and Guienne.


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: In 1337, King Philip VI of France reclaimed the fief of Aquitaine (essentially corresponding to Gascony) from Edward III of England. Edward in turn claimed the entire Kingdom of France as the only grandson of King Philip IV of France. This triggered the Hundred Years' War, in which both the Plantagenets and the House of Valois claimed supremacy over Aquitaine. In 1360, both sides signed the Treaty of Brétigny, in which Edward renounced the French crown but remained sovereign Lord of Aquitaine (rather than merely duke). However, when the treaty was broken in 1369, both these English claims and the war resumed. In 1362, King Edward III, as Lord of Aquitaine, made his eldest son Edward, Prince of Wales, Prince of Aquitaine. In 1390, King Richard II, son of Edward the Black Prince appointed his uncle John of Gaunt Duke of Aquitaine. That title passed on to John's descendants although they belonged to the crown because John of Gaunt's son, Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford, managed to successfully usurp the crown from Richard II, therefore 'inheriting' the title Lord of Aquitaine from his father, which was passed down to his descendants as they became Kings. His son, Henry V of England, ruled over Aquitaine as King of England and Lord of Aquitaine from 1400 to 1422. He invaded France and emerged victorious at the siege of Harfleur and the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. He succeeded in obtaining the French crown for his family by the Treaty of Troyes in 1420. Henry V died in 1422, when his son Henry VI inherited the French throne at the age of less than a year; his reign saw the gradual loss of English control of France.


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: The Valois kings of France, claiming supremacy over Aquitaine, granted the title of duke to their heirs, the Dauphins, during 1345 and 1415: John II (1345–50), Charles VII (1392?–1401), and Louis (1401–1415). French victory was complete with the Battle of Castillon of 1453. England and France nominally remained at war for another 20 years, but England was in no position to continue its campaign, due to its escalating internal conflicts. The Hundred Years' War was formally concluded with the Treaty of Picquigny of 1475. With the end of the Hundred Years' War, Aquitaine returned under direct rule of the king of France and remained in the possession of the king. Only occasionally was the title of "duke of Aquitaine" granted to another member of the dynasty, and then as a purely nominal distinction.


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: Over the course of its existence, the duchy incorporated the Duchy of Gascony and, until 1271, the County of Toulouse, which now falls in the region of Occitanie. Most of the rest of the post-1271 duchy now forms the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, though parts fall into the three neighbouring regions of Pays de la Loire, Centre-Val de Loire and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.


title: Duchy of Aquitaine

text: The county of Aquitaine as it stood in the High Middle Ages, then, was bordering the Pyrenees to the south (Navarre, Aragon and Barcelona, formerly the Marcha Hispanica) and the county of Toulouse and the kingdom of Burgundy (Arelat to the east. To the north, it bordered on Bretagne, Anjou, Blois and Bourbonnais, all of which had passed to the kingdom of France by the 13th century.


title: Brett Young (singer)

text: Brett Charles Young (born March 23, 1981) is an American country pop singer, songwriter and guitarist from Orange County, California. He was a college baseball pitcher but took up songwriting after an elbow injury. His self-titled debut EP, produced by Dann Huff, was released by Republic Nashville on February 12, 2016. The lead single, "Sleep Without You", was released on April 11, and he had a major success with his following single, "In Case You Didn't Know". He released his second major label album "Ticket to L.A." in 2018, and the third, "Weekends Look a Little Different These Days", in 2021.


title: Brett Young (singer)

text: Young was born in Anaheim, Orange County. He attended Calvary Chapel High School in Costa Mesa, California, and then Ole Miss, Irvine Valley College, and Fresno State. He started singing in the late 1990s when he stepped in to replace an absent leader of the band during a Christian worship meeting at high school.


title: Brett Young (singer)

text: Young was a pitcher on his high school baseball team and led the squad to a CIF championship. He went to Ole Miss on a baseball scholarship in 1999 after turning down pre-draft selection by both Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Minnesota Twins. In his one season on the Rebel baseball team in 2000, he earned a varsity letter and posted two wins and two saves. He then lettered for one season at Irvine Valley before moving to Fresno. However, his pursuit of a professional baseball career was cut short by an elbow injury while at Fresno in 2003.


title: Brett Young (singer)

text: According to Young, he was inspired by Gavin DeGraw after he heard his album "Chariot" as well as singer-songwriter Jeremy Steele and decided to return to music. Young independently released a self-titled four-song EP in 2007, then "Make Believe" in 2011, followed by the albums "Brett Young", "On Fire", and "Broken Down" in 2012–13.


title: Brett Young (singer)

text: After eight years based in Los Angeles, Young moved to Nashville. He was soon signed by the Big Machine Label Group in August 2015.


title: Brett Young (singer)

text: In February 2016, Young released a six-song self-titled EP. "Sleep Without You" was released as the first single from the EP in April 2016. Young wrote the song with Justin Ebach and Kelly Archer. The second single to be released from the album "In Case You Didn't Know", was released January 9, 2017. The song was Young's first to reach number one on the Country Airplay chart, and it has been certified 5× Platinum by RIAA. The album's third single, "Like I Loved You" released to country radio on July 17, 2017.


title: Brett Young (singer)

text: On February 10, 2017, Young released his self-titled debut studio album "Brett Young". The album was produced by Dann Huff, and released through Big Machine Label Group. It debuted at number two on the Top Country Albums chart. Brett is currently touring with his band which includes lead guitarist Keaton Simons, drummer Billy Hawn, Keys/guitarist Matt Ferranti, and bass guitarist Noah Needleman.


title: Brett Young (singer)

text: In December 2018, Young released his sophomore album "Ticket to L.A.". The lead single for the album, "Here Tonight", which he co-wrote with Ben Caver, Justin Ebach and Charles Kelley, was released in September 2018. It reached at number one on the Country Airplay in April 2019. The album's second single, "Catch" released to country radio on June 3, 2019.


title: Brett Young (singer)

text: In April 2020, Young released the single "Lady", which he wrote about his wife and daughter. It serves as the lead-off single to his third studio album "Weekends Look a Little Different These Days", which was released on June 4, 2021. "Lady" reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in April 2021. The album's second single "Not Yet" was released the same month.


title: Brett Young (singer)

text: In October 2021, Young released a Christmas album "Brett Young & Friends Sing the Christmas Classics".


title: Brett Young (singer)

text: In February 2018, Young got engaged to his girlfriend Taylor Mills. The couple wed in Palm Desert, California on November 3, 2018. On April 6, 2019, they announced they are expecting their first child in the fall 2019. Their daughter Presley was born on October 21, 2019. On January 27, 2021, they announced they were expecting their second child in summer 2021. Their second daughter Rowan was born on July 21, 2021.


title: Lyra Belacqua

text: Lyra Belacqua (), also known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the heroine of Philip Pullman's trilogy "His Dark Materials". In "His Dark Materials" Lyra is a young girl who inhabits a universe parallel to our own. Brought up in the cloistered world of Jordan College, Oxford, she finds herself embroiled in a cosmic war between Lord Asriel on one side, and a deity figure known as The Authority and his Regent, Metatron, on the other. Lyra also features prominently in the subsequent trilogy "The Book of Dust".


title: Lyra Belacqua

text: Lyra Belacqua, aged around eleven at the beginning of the trilogy, is the daughter of Lord Asriel and Marisa Coulter in a fictional Oxford, similar to our own. She was brought up at Jordan College, where the scholars, professors and servants treat her as an adopted daughter. She was raised believing that her parents had died in an airship crash, and that Lord Asriel was her uncle, and later learned the truth from John Faa, leader of the Gyptians. Lyra spends much of her time socialising with other children of the city, sometimes harmoniously, frequently mock-violently, and often in order to avoid schoolwork. Her closest friend among the other children is a Jordan kitchen boy named Roger Parslow, who disappears early in "Northern Lights". The search to find Roger, and other children, is Lyra's motivation throughout much of "Northern Lights".


title: Lyra Belacqua

text: Lyra is described as having wavy dirty-blonde hair and pale-blue eyes, and is thin and short for her age. Lyra is unruly and tomboyish and her complete disregard for her appearance and personal hygiene exasperates her adult carers. She receives a scant and haphazard education at the hands of Jordan scholars, being neither interested in study nor officially a student of the college. However, she is highly intelligent, and is particularly talented at deceiving others; she is capable of making up complex yet plausible lies on the spur of the moment. Initially she uses this talent to avoid punishment by her guardians, and to entertain and deceive other children, but later in the series employs it to save her own life and the lives of others. She deceives Iofur Raknison, king of the panserbjørne ("armoured bears" in Danish) of Svalbard, by suggesting that she can become his dæmon if Iofur defeats Iorek in combat. Tricking a panserbjørn was a feat that her friend Iorek Byrnison had believed to be impossible for a human, and her success prompts Iorek to informally christen her "Silvertongue", which is the surname by which she is known in The Secret Commonwealth.


title: Lyra Belacqua

text: The character's first name comes from Lyra Davidica, which means "harp of David." Lyra Davidica is the title of a hymnal collection, but Pullman mistook it for the author's name of an Easter hymn he liked, as it was printed under the number of the hymn. He later realized it wasn't actually a person’s name, though due to the popularity of the character, it has now become one.


title: Lyra Belacqua

text: Lyra's original surname, Belacqua, is the name of a character in Dante's "Divine Comedy", a soul in the ante-purgatory, representing those who wait until the last opportunity before turning to God. The mood in the ante-purgatory is said to be one of helplessness, nostalgia, and yearning – Belacqua and the other souls in ante-purgatory are caught between two worlds and lack clear understanding of themselves. Whether this has any connection to Lyra is not known.


title: Lyra Belacqua

text: Lyra's dæmon, Pantalaimon , is her dearest companion, whom she calls "Pan". In common with dæmons of all children, he can take any animal form he pleases; he first appears in the story as a dark brown moth. His name in Greek means "all-compassionate" (Παντελεήμων "Panteleēmon"). He changes into many forms throughout the series, ranging from a dragon to an eagle, but his favourite forms are a snow-white ermine, a moth, a wildcat, and a mouse. At the end of the trilogy, as Lyra is entering adulthood, Pantalaimon finds his final form when Will Parry touches him, and is later described as a beautiful pine marten, red-gold in colour with a "patch of cream-white fur" on his throat.


title: Lyra Belacqua

text: Pantalaimon is portrayed as a cautious and level-headed counterpoint to Lyra's impulsive, inquisitive, and sometimes reckless character.


title: Lyra Belacqua

text: Lyra must separate from Pantalaimon when she enters the Land of the Dead in "The Amber Spyglass", causing extreme pain to both of them; Pantalaimon avoids Lyra for a while afterwards. However, surviving this separation allows the two to move great distances from one another, an ability only witches and shamans generally possess in her world.


title: Lyra Belacqua

text: In the first novel of "His Dark Materials", "Northern Lights" (known in US and some other countries as "The Golden Compass"), Serafina Pekkala tells of the prophecy of a girl who is "destined to bring about the end of destiny". The witches' prophecy states that this girl will be able to pick the "correct" cloud-pine branch out of several, as indeed Lyra does. It transpires that Lyra's destiny is to be the second Eve and fall into the temptation of the serpent, represented by Mary Malone. Will Parry and the Dust in the abyss are corrected, and the universes start to work in harmony. In order to ensure the stability of the universes and protect people from the creation of Spectres, Will and Lyra must close all of the inter-world windows with the help of angels and keep them closed forever – and since their dæmons cannot survive long outside of their own birth worlds, they must part forever. Despite this, they decide to sit on the same bench each year for an hour at noon on Midsummer's Day, in the Botanic Gardens in their separate Oxfords – so that they might feel themselves to be in each other's presence. She fulfils her destiny to "bring an end to death" by leading the ghosts out of the world of the dead.


title: Lyra Belacqua

text: In the most recent edition of "The Amber Spyglass" released in the UK, the post-script "Lantern Slides" section shows Lyra studying the alethiometer (a rare truth-telling device) with Pantalaimon at age 18. She is excited to start recognising a pattern in the readings, and Pullman tells us that this discovery of a pattern is the "second thing she said to Will next day in the Botanic Garden", implying that the next day was Midsummer's Day, when she and Will would be sitting on the same bench in their separate worlds.


title: Lyra Belacqua

text: Letters written by Lyra included in the companion book "Once Upon a Time in the North" reveal that Lyra is researching her dissertation for a M.Phil. in Economic History, showing she is still studying in her twenties. The title of her dissertation is "Developments of patterns of trade in the European Arctic region with particular reference to independent balloon carriage (1950–1970)". In the first letter, Lyra also mentions that she is continuing to study the alethiometer. Once she finishes her studies, she will be able to read the alethiometer not with grace, as she used to, but with certainty and knowledge.


title: Lyra Belacqua

text: In the 1999 unabridged audio production, Lyra was performed by the voice-over actress Jo Wyatt (as Joanna Wyatt).


title: Lyra Belacqua

text: The National Theatre in London staged a two-part, six-hour-long adaptation of the novels. The production ran in 2003 and 2004; Lyra was played by Anna Maxwell Martin in the first run and by Elaine Symons in the second.


title: Lyra Belacqua

text: In "The Golden Compass", the film adaptation of the first book, Lyra is portrayed by Dakota Blue Richards. British singer/songwriter Kate Bush wrote and recorded a song, "Lyra", for the film which features choristers from Magdalen College School in Oxford.


title: Clive Dunn

text: Dunn started his acting career in 1935, but this was interrupted by the Second World War, in which he served as a trooper in the 4th Queen's Own Hussars. In 1941 the regiment was forced to surrender after it was overrun during the Greek campaign and Dunn was held as a POW in Austria for the next four years.


title: Clive Dunn

text: After the war, Dunn resumed his acting career in repertory theatre. He made his first television appearance in 1951 as the man in the pub in "Surprise Attack", a short film commissioned by the Ministry of Health. Dunn appeared in both series of "The Tony Hancock Show" and made many appearances with Tony Hancock, Michael Bentine, Dora Bryan and Dick Emery, among others, before winning the role of Jones in "Dad's Army" in 1968.


title: Clive Dunn

text: After "Dad's Army" ended, Dunn capitalised on his reputation for playing elderly character roles by playing the lead character Charlie Quick, in the slapstick children's TV series "Grandad", from 1979 to 1984.


title: Clive Dunn

text: Born in Brixton, south London, Dunn was the son of actor parents, and the cousin of actress Gretchen Franklin. Dunn was educated at Sevenoaks School, an independent school for boys (now co-educational). After leaving school, Dunn studied at the independent Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London.


title: Clive Dunn

text: He had a few small film roles in the 1930s. While still attending school, he appeared with Will Hay in the films "Boys Will Be Boys" (1935), and "Good Morning, Boys" (1937). In 1939, he was the stage manager for a touring production entitled "The Unseen Menace". However, the detective play was not a success because the billed star of the show, Terence De Marney, did not appear on stage and his dialogue was supplied by a gramophone recording.


title: Clive Dunn

text: With the outbreak of the Second World War, Dunn joined the British Army in 1940. He served as a trooper in the 4th Queen's Own Hussars. The regiment was posted to the Middle East arriving on 31 December 1940 and as part of the 1st Armoured Brigade in the 6th Australian Infantry Division which fought in the Greek Campaign. Dunn fought in the rearguard action at the Corinth canal in April 1941. The regiment was forced to surrender after it was overrun and Dunn was among 400 men (including all the regiment's senior officers) who were taken as prisoners of war.


title: Clive Dunn

text: Dunn was held as a POW in Austria for the next four years. He remained in the army after the war ended, until finally demobilised in 1947.


title: Clive Dunn

text: Dunn resumed his acting career in repertory theatre. But he soon made his first television appearance. In 1951 he appeared as the man in the pub in "Surprise Attack", a short film produced by the Crown Film Unit and commissioned by the Ministry of Health.


title: Clive Dunn

text: In 1956 and 1957, Dunn appeared in both series of "The Tony Hancock Show" and the army reunion party episode of "Hancock's Half Hour" in 1960. In the 1960s, he made many appearances with Tony Hancock, Michael Bentine, Dora Bryan and Dick Emery, among others, before winning the role of Jones in "Dad's Army" in 1968.


title: Clive Dunn

text: From early in his career, his trademark character was that of a doddering old man. This first made an impression in the show "Bootsie and Snudge", a spin-off from "The Army Game". Dunn played the old dogsbody Mr. Johnson at a slightly seedy gentlemen's club where the characters Pte. "Bootsie" Bisley (Alfie Bass) and Sgt. Claude Snudge (Bill Fraser) find work after leaving the Army. In the early 1960s he made regular appearances on "It's a Square World", including as the first parody of Doctor Who on New Year's Eve 1963.


title: Clive Dunn

text: In 1967, he made a guest appearance in an episode of "The Avengers", playing the proprietor of a toy shop in "Something Nasty in the Nursery".


title: Clive Dunn

text: At 48 Dunn was one of the younger members of the "Dad's Army" cast when he took on the role of the elderly butcher whose military service in earlier wars made him the most experienced member of the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard, as well as one of the most decrepit. Jack Haig and David Jason had previously been considered for the role. His relative youth, compared with most of the cast, meant that he was handed much of the physical comedy in the show, of which many of the other cast members were no longer capable.


title: Clive Dunn

text: After "Dad's Army" ended, Dunn capitalised on his skill in playing elderly character roles by playing the lead character Charlie Quick, in the slapstick children's TV series "Grandad", from 1979 to 1984 (he played the caretaker at a village hall, and sang the lyrics in the theme). He had previously had a number one hit single with the song "Grandad" on his 51st birthday in January 1971, accompanied by a children's choir. The song was written by bassist Herbie Flowers. He performed the song four times on "Top of the Pops". The B-side of "Grandad", "I Play The Spoons", also received considerable airplay. After cancellation of "Grandad" in 1984, he retired to Portugal. Following the success of the "Grandad" record, Dunn released several other singles, but never hit the charts again.


title: Clive Dunn

text: He married fashion model Patricia Kenyon in London in 1951. The couple divorced in 1958. He married actress Priscilla Pughe-Morgan (born 14 January 1934) in June 1959. They had two daughters.


title: Clive Dunn

text: A 2006 article described Dunn as having eye trouble and sometimes being unable to see, but otherwise appearing to be in good health. In August 2008, he recorded a message for the programme "Jonathan Ross Salutes Dad's Army", which was shown to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of "Dad's Army".


title: Clive Dunn

text: He spent the last three decades of his life in the Algarve, Portugal, and occupied himself as an artist, painting portraits, landscapes and seascapes, until his sight failed.


title: Clive Dunn

text: Dunn was a supporter of the Labour Party. He said that his outspoken socialist beliefs often caused conflict with his "Dad's Army" co-star, Arthur Lowe, who was a staunch conservative. When Dunn was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1975, it was reported that Lowe would only accept a higher-rated honour from the Queen. As a schoolboy, Dunn and his classmates had briefly joined the British Union of Fascists, but Dunn left the party once he learned of its anti-Semitic ideology.


title: Clive Dunn

text: Dunn died in Algarve, Portugal, on 6 November 2012 as a result of complications from an operation that had taken place earlier that week. His agent, Peter Charlesworth, said the star would be "sorely missed" and that his death was "a real loss to the acting profession". His death, and those of Bill Pertwee in 2013, Pamela Cundell in 2015, and Frank Williams in 2022 leaves Ian Lavender as the only remaining original cast member of Dad's Army.


title: Clive Dunn

text: Frank Williams, who played the Vicar in "Dad's Army", said Dunn was always "great fun" to be around. "Of course he was so much younger than the part he played," he told BBC Radio Four. "It's very difficult to think of him as an old man really, but he was a wonderful person to work with – great sense of humour, always fun, a great joy really."


title: Clive Dunn

text: Ian Lavender, who played Private Pike in the show, said: "Out of all of us he had the most time for the fans. Everyone at one time or another would be tempted to duck into a doorway or bury their head in a paper; but not Clive, he always made time for fans."


title: Greg Baldwin

text: Baldwin has worked in the theater extensively as Sidney Lipton in "God's Favorite", Mushnik in "Little Shop of Horrors", Dr. Zubritsky in Neil Simon's "Fools", Count Otto Von Bruno in "Bullshot Crummond," and the Baker in "The Baker's Wife".


title: Greg Baldwin

text: Baldwin voiced Iroh for of "" and for the second and third seasons of "The Legend of Korra". He can also be heard as the ancient Jedi Master Tera Sinube and as Casiss on "". He provided the voice of multiple characters in "", most notably, the voice of Furlac. He voiced Aku in the fifth season of "Samurai Jack".


title: Greg Baldwin

text: Baldwin performed a substantial portion of Splinter's dialogue in the movie "TMNT" after Mako died during production. In 2016, he appeared as communist writer Dutch Zweistrong in "Hail, Caesar!".


title: Greg Baldwin

text: Baldwin first voiced Aku (from "Samurai Jack") in the 2009 video game "". Baldwin was credited as the original actor for Atlas/Frank Fontaine, the main antagonist in "BioShock"; he was replaced by Karl Hanover in the final version of the game, and the character's original Southern drawl was changed into an Irish accent. His voice can also be heard in numerous other video games, including "", "", "F.E.A.R." and "Fallout 4".


title: Greg Baldwin

text: On April 2, 2021, Baldwin announced that he was cast in an undisclosed original role for the upcoming Disney Television Animation program, "The Ghost and Molly McGee". Upon release, Baldwin’s role was later revealed to be one of the members of the Ghost Council.


title: Greg Baldwin

text: Baldwin currently resides in Albuquerque with his wife Melissa Baldwin. Together they have two children, Sydney and Cooper.


title: Greg Baldwin

text: According to an interview with The Dot and Line, Baldwin was able to fill-in for the late Mako Iwamatsu on his voice roles by listening to the cast album of "Pacific Overtures", a musical that Mako starred in, which was a personal favorite album of Baldwin’s.


title: Chevrolet Astro

text: The Chevrolet Astro is a van that was manufactured and marketed by the Chevrolet division of American auto manufacturer General Motors from 1985 to 2005. Sold alongside the GMC Safari, the Astro was marketed in multiple configurations, including passenger minivan and cargo van.


title: Chevrolet Astro

text: The Astro and Safari are GM M-body vehicles, using a rear-wheel drive chassis; all-wheel drive became an option in 1990. For its entire production, the Astro and Safari were produced by Baltimore Assembly in Baltimore, Maryland; the vans would be the final model line produced by the facility. In total, approximately 3.2 million Astros and Safaris were produced from 1985 to 2005.


title: Chevrolet Astro

text: The Astro and Safari were introduced for 1985 as the first minivan from General Motors. While marketed as a response to the first-generation Chrysler minivans, GM selected a rear-wheel drive layout, sizing the Astro and Safari closely to the short-wheelbase Chevrolet G10 van. Similar to the Ford Aerostar, to reduce production costs, GM adapted light-truck powertrain components; engines and transmissions were sourced from the Chevrolet S-10, allowing for a towing capacity of up to .


title: Chevrolet Astro

text: Prior to its use on a minivan, the Astro nameplate was used twice by General Motors; in 1967 (for the Chevrolet Astro 1 concept car) and from 1969 to 1987 (on the GMC Astro COE semitractor). GMC sourced the Safari nameplate from Pontiac (used by the latter to denote station wagons). As GMC was half of the Pontiac/GMC Division (later including Buick), from 1985 to 1989, both GMC and Pontiac Safaris were simultaneously offered through the same dealership network.


title: Chevrolet Astro

text: Initial advertising boasted that it was a vehicle that will "make you realize that life is too big for a minivan", referring to the Chrysler minivans. The van can have a seating configuration between two and eight passengers.


title: Chevrolet Astro

text: Engine choices ranged from a 2.5 L four-cylinder to a 4.3 L V6, depending on options and/or model year. The 4-cylinder engine was only offered in cargo versions of the Astro; it was dropped after 1990. For 1985, the 4.3l-V6 (RPO LB1) used a 4 barrel carburetor. For 1986 throttle body fuel injection (TBI) was used. For 1992 and later years, the central port injection was used.


title: Chevrolet Astro

text: Much like the second-generation GM-F body 1970-1981 and X-body vehicles, the GM M-van (Astro/Safari) had a bolt-on subframe. For the M-van, the front suspension shared most components with the GM B-body station wagon (Chevrolet Caprice, Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser and larger variants of the Pontiac Safari and Buick Estate Wagon) with a leaf-spring rear suspension. The lower ball joints were larger than their B-body counterparts (similar to 1977-96 Cadillac D platform vehicles, e.g., Fleetwood limousines). These ball joints were later used in the final Chevrolet Caprice 9C1 (police package) cars manufactured in 1995 and 1996. They also shared many mechanical similarities to the GMT 325/330 midsize S/T pickups and utility vehicles.


title: Chevrolet Astro

text: Digital dashboards were offered in the first generation Astro; this option did not continue after 1995.


title: Chevrolet Astro

text: 1989 was the final year that the Borg Warner T-5 manual transmission was made available. All subsequent models were equipped with 700R4/4l60 automatic transmissions through 1993.


title: Chevrolet Astro

text: In 1990 a new all-wheel drive (AWD) system (the first U.S.-built minivan to do so), designed and developed by FF Developments (FFD), was made optional. The AWD models had a lower fuel economy: 17 miles per gallon highway versus 20 to 21 miles per gallon for rear-wheel drive vans. AWD Astros used a Borg Warner 4472 transfer case.


title: Chevrolet Astro

text: The 1990 model year also introduced a new analog dashboard and the hydroboost braking system, a system using the same accessory belt-driven pump to supply the power steering and brakes. In mid-1990 an extended body option, sharing its wheelbase with the shorter version, also became available.


title: Chevrolet Astro

text: In 1992, a new optional door form was introduced, colloquially known as Dutch doors. This form was two bi-parting doors with a flip-up window above. Previously, Astro and Safari vans were equipped only with bi-parting doors. An optional 4.3 L (RPO L35) engine with central port injection and a balance shaft was phased in.


title: Chevrolet Astro

text: In 1993, the electronically controlled 4L60E 4-speed automatic transmission with overdrive became standard as the sole transmission offering. As with many other 1993 model year GM vehicles, Scotchgard fabric protection also became a standard feature on Astro vans equipped with cloth seats. 1994 also saw the addition of three new exterior paint colors. These colors were Indigo Blue Metallic (#39), Light Quasar Blue Metallic (#20), and Medium Quasar Blue Metallic (#80).


title: Chevrolet Astro

text: For the 1994 model year, GM started manufacturing most of their vehicles, including the Astro and Safari, with CFC-free air-conditioning systems, which used R134a refrigerant instead of R-12 refrigerant.


title: Chevrolet Astro

text: In 1995, the model was facelifted with an extended nose that resembled the then-new full-size Express vans; while the original rectangular sealed beam headlights were retained for use on lower trim levels, higher spec models now used horizontally-mounted rectangular headlights that had debuted on the full-size trucks in 1990, and would eventually appear on the smaller trucks in 1998. Also for 1995, the shorter length body was dropped. In 1996, a redesigned dash received a passenger-side airbag. The vans remained mostly unchanged until the end of production in 2005.


title: Chevrolet Astro

text: In 2003, GM upgraded the chassis of both the Astro and Safari with certain suspension components, larger brakes, and six-lug, 16 inch wheels from the full-size Chevrolet and GMC half-ton pickup trucks.


title: Chevrolet Astro

text: The Chevrolet Astro and GMC Safari twins were originally scheduled to be discontinued after 2002, but they continued until 2005 because of good sales.


title: Chevrolet Astro

text: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), gave the Astro a "Poor" rating in 1996 because of a display of structural failure in the institute's crash test into a fixed, offset barrier. The underbody of the test van buckled, pitching both front seats forward and shoving the crash dummy into the dashboard and steering wheel, and resulting in a broken left leg, leading the institute to comment that "[t]he collapse of the occupant compartment left little survival space for the driver."


title: Chevrolet Astro

text: In testing performed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), however, the Astro and Safari fared better, improving from a single-star rating in 1991 to a three-star (driver) and four-star (passenger) rating by 2000. In side impacts, the Astro and Safari both received the highest, five-star rating in every year that the test was administered.


title: Chevrolet Astro

text: In 2007, the IIHS reported that the 2001–2004 model year Chevrolet Astro recorded during calendar years 2002–2005 the fewest killed drivers of all passenger vehicles in the United States, as calculated per every million units on the road. Driver's habits and vehicle usage might have influenced this result.


title: Tyler Alvarez

text: Tyler Sage Alvarez (born October 25, 1997) is an American actor, known for his roles as Diego Rueda in Nickelodeon's teen sitcom "Every Witch Way" and Peter Maldonado in Netflix's mockumentary series "American Vandal".


title: Tyler Alvarez

text: Alvarez was born in New York City, to a first generation Cuban American father, and a fourth generation Puerto Rican American mother. His father works for the Drug Enforcement Administration and his mother works as a nurse administrator for a private hospital. He had one older brother, Niko, who died in October 2018. Alvarez's parents divorced when he was a child and both subsequently remarried. He has two younger half-siblings, Alex and Brianna, from his father, and a younger half-sister, Sofia, from his mother.


title: Tyler Alvarez

text: Alvarez was educated at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School in New York City, and at Jericho High School in Jericho, New York. He is fluent in Spanish.


title: Tyler Alvarez

text: Alvarez's first professional acting job was in a Totino's pizza rolls commercial. In 2014, he began starring as Diego Rueda, a human with magical powers, in Nickelodeon's teen sitcom "Every Witch Way". The following year, Alvarez began portraying Benny Mendoza, the eldest son of Litchfield inmate Gloria Mendoza, in Netflix's comedy-drama series "Orange Is the New Black".


title: Tyler Alvarez

text: In 2017, he began playing the lead role of Peter Maldonado in Netflix's true crime mockumentary series "American Vandal". He returned for the second season which aired in 2018. The series has since been cancelled by Netflix.


title: Tyler Alvarez

text: Tyler Alvarez also appeared in the YouTube satirical miniseries "¡Me Llamo Alma!", starring as Miguel.


title: Tyler Alvarez

text: In 2020, Alvarez made his off-Broadway debut with the Roundabout Theatre Company's play "72 Miles to Go". The production closed prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Abu al-Abbas Abdallah ibn Harun al-Rashid (; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name Al-Ma'mun (), was the seventh Abbasid caliph, who reigned from 813 until his death in 833. He succeeded his half-brother al-Amin after a civil war, during which the cohesion of the Abbasid Caliphate was weakened by rebellions and the rise of local strongmen; much of his domestic reign was consumed in pacification campaigns. Well educated and with a considerable interest in scholarship, al-Ma'mun promoted the Translation Movement, the flowering of learning and the sciences in Baghdad, and the publishing of al-Khwarizmi's book now known as "Algebra". He is also known for supporting the doctrine of Mu'tazilism and for imprisoning Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the rise of religious persecution ("mihna"), and for the resumption of large-scale warfare with the Byzantine Empire.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Abdallah, the future al-Ma'mun, was born in Baghdad on the night of the 13 to 14 September 786 CE to Harun al-Rashid and his concubine Marajil, from Badghis. On the same night, which later became known as the "night of the three caliphs", his uncle al-Hadi died and was succeeded by Ma'mun's father, Harun al-Rashid, as ruler of the Abbasid Caliphate. Marajil died soon after his birth, and Abdallah was raised by Harun al-Rashid's wife, Zubayda, herself of high Abbasid lineage as the granddaughter of Caliph al-Mansur (). As a young prince, Abdallah received a thorough education: al-Kisa'i tutored him in classical Arabic, Abu Muhammad al-Yazidi in "adab", and he received instruction in music and poetry. He was trained in "fiqh" by al-Hasan al-Lu'lu'i, showing particular excellence in the Hanafi school, and in the "hadith", becoming himself active as a transmitter. According to M. Rekaya, "he was distinguished by his love of knowledge, making him the most intellectual caliph of the Abbasid family, which accounts for the way in which his caliphate developed".


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Although Abdallah was the oldest of his sons, in 794 Harun named the second-born Muhammad, born in April 787 to Zubayda, as the first in line of succession. This was the result of family pressure on the Caliph, reflecting Muhammad's higher birth, as both parents descended from the Abbasid dynasty; indeed, he remained the only Abbasid caliph to claim such descent. Muhammad received the oath of allegiance ("bay'ah") with the name of al-Amin ("The Trustworthy"), first in Khurasan by his guardian, the Barmakid al-Fadl ibn Yahya, and then in Baghdad. Abdallah was recognized as second heir only after entering puberty, in 799, under the name al-Ma'mun ("The Trusted One"), with another Barmakid, Ja'far ibn Yahya, as his guardian. At the same time, a third heir, al-Qasim, named al-Mu'tamin, was appointed, under the guardianship of Abd al-Malik ibn Salih.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: These arrangements were confirmed and publicly proclaimed in 802, when Harun and the most powerful officials of the Abbasid government made the pilgrimage to Mecca. Al-Amin would succeed Harun in Baghdad, but al-Ma'mun would remain al-Amin's heir and would additionally rule over an enlarged Khurasan. This was an appointment of particular significance, as Khurasan had been the starting-point of the Abbasid Revolution which brought the Abbasids to power, and retained a privileged position among the Caliphate's provinces. Furthermore, the Abbasid dynasty relied heavily on Khurasanis as military leaders and administrators. Many of the original Khurasani Arab army ("Khurasaniyya") that came west with the Abbasids were given estates in Iraq and the new Abbasid capital, Baghdad, and became an elite group known as the "abnāʾ al-dawla" ("sons of the state/dynasty"). This large-scale presence of an Iranian element in the highest circles of the Abbasid state, with the Barmakid family as its most notable representatives, was certainly a factor in the appointment of al-Ma'mun, linked through his mother with the eastern Iranian provinces, as heir and governor of Khurasan. The stipulations of the agreement, which were recorded in detail by the historian al-Tabari, accorded al-Mamun's Khurasani viceroyalty extensive autonomy. However, modern historians consider that these accounts may have been distorted by later apologists of al-Ma'mun in the latter's favour. Harun's third heir, al-Mu'tamin, received responsibility over the frontier areas with the Byzantine Empire in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Very quickly, the latent rivalry between the two brothers had important repercussions: almost immediately after the court returned to Baghdad in January 803, the Abbasid elites were shaken by the abrupt fall of the Barmakid family from power. On the one hand, this event may reflect the fact that the Barmakids had become indeed too powerful for the Caliph's liking, but its timing suggests that it was tied to the succession issue as well: with al-Amin siding with the "abnāʾ" and al-Ma'mun with the Barmakids, and the two camps becoming more estranged every day, if al-Amin was to have a chance to succeed, the power of the Barmakids had to be broken.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Al-Fadl ibn Sahl, a Kufan of Iranian origin whose father had converted to Islam and entered Barmakid service, replaced Ja'far ibn Yahya as al-Ma'mun's tutor. In 806 he also became al-Ma'mun's secretary ("katib"), an appointment that marked him out as the chief candidate for the vizierate should al-Ma'mun succeed to the throne. In 804, al-Ma'mun married his cousin, Umm Isa, a daughter of the Caliph al-Hadi (). The couple had two sons, Muhammad al-Asghar and Abdallah.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: The years after the fall of the Barmakids saw an increasing centralization of the administration and the concomitant rise of the influence of the "abnāʾ", many of whom were now dispatched to take up positions as provincial governors and bring these provinces under closer control from Baghdad. This led to unrest in the provinces, especially Khurasan, where local elites had a long-standing rivalry with the "aabnāʾ" and their tendency to control of the province (and its revenues) from Iraq. The harsh taxation imposed by a prominent member of the "abnāʾ", Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan, even led to a revolt under Rafi ibn al-Layth, which eventually forced Harun himself, accompanied by al-Ma'mun and the powerful chamberlain ("hajib") and chief minister al-Fadl ibn al-Rabi, to travel to the province in 808. Al-Ma'mun was sent ahead with part of the army to Merv, while Harun stayed at Tus, where he died on 24 March 809.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: In 802 Harun al-Rashid, father of al-Maʾmūn and al-Amin, ordered that al-Amin succeed him, and al-Ma'mun serve as governor of Khurasan and as caliph after the death of al-Amin. In the last days of Harun's life his health was declining and saw in a dream Musa ibn Jafar sitting in a chamber praying and crying, which made Harun remember how hard he had struggled to establish his own caliphate. He knew the personalities of both his sons and decided that for the good of the Abbasid dynasty, al-Maʾmūn should be caliph after his death, which he confided to a group of his courtiers. One of the courtiers, Fadl ibn Rabi', did not abide by Harun's last wishes and convinced many in the lands of Islam that Harun's wishes had not changed. Later the other three courtiers of Harun who had sworn loyalty to Harun by supporting al-Maʾmūn, namely, 'Isa Jarudi, Abu Yunus, and Ibn Abi 'Umran, found loopholes in Fadl's arguments, and Fazl admitted Harun had appointed al-Maʾmūn after him, but, he argued, since Harun was not in his right mind, his decision should not be acted upon. Al-Maʾmūn was reportedly the older of the two brothers, but his mother was a Persian woman while al-Amin's mother was a member of the reigning Abbasid family. After al-Rashid's death in 809, the relationship between the two brothers deteriorated. In response to al-Ma'mun's moves toward independence, al-Amin declared his own son Musa to be his heir. This violation of al-Rashid's testament led to a succession struggle. Al-Amin assembled a massive army at Baghdad with 'Isa ibn Mahan at its head in 811 and invaded Khorasan, but al-Maʾmūn's general Tahir ibn al-Husayn (d. 822) destroyed the army and invaded Iraq, laying siege to Baghdad in 812. In 813 Baghdad fell, al-Amin was beheaded, and al-Maʾmūn became the undisputed Caliph.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: There were disturbances in Iraq during the first several years of al-Maʾmūn's reign, while the caliph was in Merv (near present-day Mary, Turkmenistan). On 13 November 815, Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq (Al-Dibaj) claimed the Caliphate for himself in Mecca. He was defeated and he quickly abdicated asserting that he had only become caliph on news that al-Ma'mun had died. Lawlessness in Baghdad led to the formation of neighborhood watches with religious inspiration, with two notable leaders being Khalid al-Daryush and Sahl ibn Salama al-Ansari. Sahl adopted the slogan, "la ta'a lil- makhluq fi ma'siyat al-khaliq", or 'no obedience to the creature in disobedience of the Creator' (originally a Kharijite slogan), alluding to what he saw as "the conflict ... between God's will and Caliphal authority". "Most" of the leadership of this vigilante movement came from the "sulaahd" ("men of good will of the neighborhoods and blocks") and from "popular preachers" (as both Khalid al-Daryush and Sahl ibn Salama al-Ansari were); its followers were called the " 'amma", (the common people). The volunteers of the movement were known as "mutawwi'a", which was the same name given to "volunteers for frontier duty and for the holy war against Byzantium".


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Sahl's and movement influence was such that military chiefs first "delayed capitulation to al-Ma'mun" and adopted Sahl's religious "formula" until they became alarmed at his power and combined to crush him in 817-81 CE.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: In A.H. 201 (817 AD) al-Ma'mun named Ali ar-Rida, (the eighth descendant of Ali, also known as Imam Reza), as his heir as caliph. This move may have been made to appease Shi'ite opinion in Iraq and "reconcile the 'Alid and 'Abbasid branches of the Hashimite family", but in Baghdad it caused the Hashimites—supported by "military chiefs of al-Harbiyya, including Muttalib and 'Isa ibn Muhammad"—to depose al-Ma'mun and elect Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi Caliph.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: According to Shia sources, the deposing of Al-Ma'um in Baghdad was not out of opposition to the wise and pious Imam Reza, but because of rumors spread by Fazl ibn Sahl. Al-Ma'mun moved Imam Reza to Merv in hopes of keeping watch over him, but was foiled by the Imam's growing popularity there. People from all over the Muslim world traveled to meet the prophet's grandson and listen to his teachings and guidance (according to these sources). In an attempt to humiliate the Imam, Al-Ma'mun set him up with the greatest scholars of the world's religions, but the Imam prevailed and then informed al-Ma'mun that his grand vizier, Fazl ibn Sahl, had withheld important information from him.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: In Baghdad, al-Maʾmūn was unseated and replaced by Ibrahim ibn Mehdi not because al-Maʾmūn's naming Imam Reza as his heir was unpopular, but because of "rumors" spread by Fazl ibn Sahl.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Seeking to put down the rebellion in Baghdad, Al-Ma'mun set out for the city on 12 April 818. At Tus, he stopped to visit his father's grave. However, when they reached the town of Sarakhs, his vizier, Fazl ibn Sahl, was assassinated, and when they reached Tus, the Imam was poisoned. Al-Ma'mūn ordered that the Imam be buried next to the tomb of his own father, Harun al-Rashid, and showed extreme sorrow in the funeral ritual and stayed for three days at the place. Nonetheless, Shia tradition states he was killed on orders of Al-Ma'mun, and according to Madelung the unexpected death of both the vizier and the successor, "whose presence would have made any reconciliation with the powerful ʿAbbasid opposition in Baghdad virtually impossible, must indeed arouse strong suspicion that Ma'mun had had a hand in the deaths."


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Following the death of Imam Reza, a revolt took place in Khurasan. Al-Ma’mun tried unsuccessfully to absolve himself of the crime.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: The rebel forces in Baghdad splintered and wavered in opposition to Al-Ma'mun. According to scholar and historian Al-Tabari (839–923 CE), al-Ma'mun entered Baghdad on 11 August 819. He wore green and had others do so. Informed that compliance with this command might arouse popular opposition to the colour, on 18 August he reverted to traditional Abbasid black. While Baghdad became peaceful, there were disturbances elsewhere. In A.H. 210 (825–826 CE) Abdullah ibn Tahir al-Khurasani secured Egypt for al-Ma'mun, freeing Alexandria from Andalusians and quelling unrest. The Andalusians moved to Crete, where al-Tabari records their descendants were still living in his day (see Emirate of Crete). Abdallah returned to Baghdad in 211 Hijri (826–827 C.E.) bringing the defeated rebels with him.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Also, in 210 Hijri (825–826 CE), there was an uprising in Qum sparked by complaints about taxes. After it was quashed, the tax assessment was set significantly higher. In 212 Hijri (827–828 CE), there was an uprising in Yemen. In 214 (829–30 CE), Abu al-Razi, who had captured one Yemeni rebel, was killed by another. Egypt continued to be unquiet. Sindh was rebellious. In 216 (831–832 CE), Ghassan ibn 'Abbad subdued it. An ongoing problem for al-Ma'mun was the uprising headed by Babak Khorramdin. In 214 Babak routed a Caliphate army killing its commander Muhammad ibn Humayd.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: By the time al-Ma'mun became Caliph, the Arabs and the Byzantine Empire had settled down into border skirmishing, with Arab raids deep into Anatolia to capture booty and Christians to be enslaved. The situation changed however with the rise to power of Michael II in 820 AD. Forced to deal with the rebel Thomas the Slav, Michael had few troops to spare against a small Andalusian invasion of 40 ships and 10,000 men against Crete, which fell in 824 AD. A Byzantine counter offensive in 826 AD failed miserably. Worse still was the invasion of Sicily in 827 by Arabs of Tunis. Even so, Byzantine resistance in Sicily was fierce and not without success whilst the Arabs became quickly plagued by internal squabbles. That year, the Arabs were expelled from Sicily but they were to return.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: In 829, Michael II died and was succeeded by his son Theophilos. Theophilos experienced mixed success against his Arab opponents. In 830 AD the Arabs returned to Sicily and, after a year-long siege, took Palermo. For the next 200 years they were to remain there to complete their conquest, which was never short of Christian counters. Al-Ma'mun meanwhile launched an invasion of Anatolia in 830 AD, taking a number of Byzantine forts; he spared the surrendering Byzantines. Theophilos, for his part, captured Tarsus in 831. The next year, learning the Byzantines had killed some sixteen hundred people, al-Ma'mun returned. This time some thirty forts fell to the Caliphate's forces, with two Byzantine defeats in Cappadocia.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Theophilos wrote to al-Ma'mun. The Caliph replied that he carefully considered the Byzantine ruler's letter, noticed it blended suggestions of peace and trade with threats of war and offered Theophilos the options of accepting the shahada, paying tax or fighting. Al-Ma'mun made preparations for a major campaign, but died on the way while leading an expedition in Tyana.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Al-Ma'mun's relations with the Byzantines are marked by his efforts in the translation of Greek philosophy and science. Al-Ma'mun gathered scholars of many religions at Baghdad, whom he treated magnificently. He sent an emissary to the Byzantine Empire to collect the most famous manuscripts there, and had them translated into Arabic. As part of his peace treaty with the Byzantine Emperor, Al-Ma'mun was to receive a number of Greek manuscripts annually, one of these being Ptolemy's astronomical work, the "Almagest".


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Al-Ma'mun conducted, in the plains of Mesopotamia, two astronomical operations intended to achieve a degree measurement (al-Ma'mun's arc measurement). The crater Almanon on the moon is named in recognition of his contributions to astronomy.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Al-Ma'mun's record as an administrator is also marked by his efforts toward the centralization of power and the certainty of succession. The "Bayt al-Hikma", or House of Wisdom, was established during his reign. The "ulama" emerged as a real force in Islamic politics during al-Ma'mun's reign for opposing the "mihna", which was initiated in 833, four months before he died.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Michael Hamilton Morgan in his book "Lost History" describes al-Ma'mun as a man who 'Loves Learning.' al-Ma'mun once defeated a Byzantine Emperor in a battle and as a tribute, he asked for a copy of "Almagest," Ptolemy's Hellenistic compendium of thoughts on astronomy written around A.D. 150


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: The 'mihna', is comparable to Medieval European inquisitions in the sense that it involved imprisonment, a religious test, and a loyalty oath. The people subject to the mihna were traditionalist scholars whose social influence was uncommonly high. Al-Ma'mun introduced the mihna with the intention to centralize religious power in the caliphal institution and test the loyalty of his subjects. The mihna had to be undergone by elites, scholars, judges and other government officials, and consisted of a series of questions relating to theology and faith. The central question was about the createdness of the Qur'an, if the interrogatee stated he believed the Qur'an to be created, rather than coeternal with God, he was free to leave and continue his profession.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: The controversy over the "mihna" was exacerbated by al-Ma'mun's sympathy for Mu'tazili theology and other controversial views. Mu'tazili theology was deeply influenced by Aristotelian thought and Greek rationalism, and stated that matters of belief and practice should be decided by reasoning. This opposed the traditionalist and literalist position of Ahmad ibn Hanbal and others, according to which everything a believer needed to know about faith and practice was spelled out literally in the Qur'an and the Hadith. Moreover, the Mu'tazilis stated that the Qur'an was created rather than coeternal with God, a belief that was shared by the Jahmites and parts of Shi'a, among others, but contradicted the traditionalist-Sunni opinion that the Qur'an and the Divine were coeternal.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: During his reign, alchemy greatly developed. Pioneers of the science were Jabir Ibn Hayyan and his student Yusuf Lukwa, who was patronized by Al-Ma'mun. Although he was unsuccessful in transmuting gold, his methods greatly led to the patronization of pharmaceutical compounds.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Caliph Al-Ma'mun was a pioneer of cartography having commissioned a world map from a large group of astronomers and geographers. The map is presently in an encyclopedia in Topkapi Sarai, a Museum in Istanbul. The map shows large parts of the Eurasian and African continents with recognizable coastlines and major seas. It depicts the world as it was known to the captains of the Arab sailing dhows which used the monsoon wind cycles to trade over vast distances (by the 9th century, Arab sea traders had reached Guangzhou, in China). The maps of the Greeks and Romans reveal a good knowledge of closed seas like the Mediterranean but little knowledge of the vast ocean expanses beyond.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Although al-Mahdi had proclaimed that the caliph was the protector of Islam against heresy, and had also claimed the ability to declare orthodoxy, religious scholars in the Islamic world believed that al-Ma'mun was overstepping his bounds in the "mihna". The penalties of the "mihna" became increasingly difficult to enforce as the "ulema" became firmer and more united in their opposition. Although the "mihna" persisted through the reigns of two more caliphs, al-Mutawakkil abandoned it in 851.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: The "ulema" and the major Islamic law schools became truly defined in the period of al-Ma'mun, and Sunnism—as a religion of legalism—became defined in parallel. Doctrinal differences between Sunni and Shi'a Islam began to become more pronounced. Ibn Hanbal, the founder of the Hanbali legal school, became famous for his opposition to the "mihna". Al-Ma'mun's simultaneous opposition and patronage of intellectuals led to the emergence of important dialogues on both secular and religious affairs, and the "Bayt al-Hikma" became an important center of translation for Greek and other ancient texts into Arabic. This Islamic renaissance spurred the rediscovery of Hellenism and ensured the survival of these texts into the European renaissance.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Al-Ma'mun had been named governor of Khurasan by Harun, and after his ascension to power, the caliph named Tahir as governor for his military services in order to assure his loyalty. It was a move that al-Ma'mun soon regretted, as Tahir and his family became entrenched in Iranian politics and became increasingly powerful in the state, contrary to al-Ma'mun's desire to centralize and strengthen Caliphal power. The rising power of the Tahirid family became a threat as al-Ma'mun's own policies alienated them and his other opponents.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Al-Ma'mun also attempted to divorce his wife during his reign, who had not borne him any children. His wife hired a Syrian judge of her own before al-Ma'mun was able to select one himself; the judge, who sympathized with the caliph's wife, refused the divorce. Following al-Ma'mun's experience, no further Abbasid caliphs were to marry, preferring to find their heirs in the harem.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Al-Ma'mun, in an attempt to win over the Shi'a Muslims to his camp, named the eighth Imam, Ali ar-Rida, his successor, if he should outlive al-Ma'mun. Most Shi'ites realized, however, that ar-Rida was too old to survive him and saw al-Ma'mun's gesture as empty; indeed, Al-Ma'mun poisoned Ali ar-Rida who then died in 818. The incident served to further alienate the Shi'ites from the Abbasids, who had already been promised and denied the Caliphate by Abu al-'Abbas.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: The Abbasid empire grew somewhat during the reign of al-Ma'mun. Hindu rebellions in Sindh were put down, and most of Afghanistan was absorbed with the surrender of the leader of Kabul. Mountainous regions of Iran were brought under a tighter grip of the central Abbasid government, as were areas of Turkestan.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: In 832, al-Ma'mun led a large army into Egypt to put down the last great Bashmurite revolt. While there he ordered the breaching of the Great Pyramid of Giza looking for knowledge and treasure. He entered the pyramid by tunneling into the Great Pyramid near where tradition located the original entrance. The resulting passage, which was later named the "Robbers' Tunnel" is the path along which tourists enter the pyramid today.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Al-Tabari (v. 32, p. 231) describes al-Ma'mun as of average height, light complexion, handsome and having a long beard losing its dark colour as he aged. He relates anecdotes concerning the caliph's ability to speak concisely and eloquently without preparation, his generosity, his respect for Muhammad and religion, his sense of moderation, justice and his love of poetry and his insatiable passion for physical intimacy.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Ibn Abd Rabbih in his "Unique Necklace" (al-'iqd al-Farid), probably drawing on earlier sources, makes a similar description of al-Ma'mun, whom he described as of light complexion and having slightly blond hair, a long thin beard, and a narrow forehead.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Al-Ma'mun's first wife was Umm Isa, a daughter of his uncle al-Hadi (), whom he married when he was eighteen years old. They had two sons, Muhammad al-Asghar, and Abdallah. Another wife was Buran, the daughter of al-Ma'mun's vizier, al-Hasan ibn Sahl. She was born as Khadija on 6 December 807. Al-Ma'mun married her in 817, and consummated marriage with her in December 825-January 826 in the town of Fam al-Silh. She died on 21 September 884.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Al-Ma'mun had also numerous concubines. One of them, Sundus, bore him five sons, among whom was al-Abbas, who rose to become a senior military commander at the end of al-Ma'mun's reign and a contender for the throne. Another wife or concubine was Arib. Born in 797, she claimed to be the daughter of Ja'far ibn Yahya, the Barmakid, stolen and sold as a child when the Barmakids fell from power. She was brought by al-Amin, who then sold her to his brother. She was a noted poetess, songstress, and a mucisian. She died at Samarra in July–August 890, aged ninety-six. Another concubine was Bi'dah al-Kabirah. She was also a songstress, and had been a slave of Arib. She died on 10 July 915. Abu Bakr, the son of Caliph al-Muhtadi, led the funeral prayers. Another concubine was Mu'nisah, a Greek.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Al-Ma'mun had two daughters. One was Umm Habib, who married Ali ibn Musa al-Rida, and the other was Umm al-Fadl, who married Muhammad ibn Ali bin Musa.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Al-Tabari recounts how al-Ma'mun was sitting on the river bank telling those with him how splendid the water was. He asked what would go best with this water and was told a specific kind of fresh dates. Noticing supplies arriving, he asked someone to check whether such dates were included. As they were, he invited those with him to enjoy the water with these dates. All who did this fell ill. Others recovered, but al-Ma'mun died. He encouraged his successor to continue his policies and not burden the people with more than they could bear. This was on 9 August 833.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Al-Ma'mun died near Tarsus. The city's major mosque (Tarsus Grand Mosque), contains a tomb reported to be his. He was not succeeded by his son, al-Abbas ibn al-Ma'mun, but by his half-brother, al-Mu'tasim.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Almanon, a lunar impact crater that lies in the rugged highlands in the south-central region of the Moon, was named after Al-Ma'mun.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: Al-Maʾmūn's religious beliefs are a subject of controversy, to the point where other Abbasids, as well as later Islamic scholars, called him a Shia Muslim. For instance, Sunni scholars al-Dhahabi, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Khaldun and al-Suyuti explicitly held the belief that al-Ma'mun was a Shi'a. The arguments for his alleged Shi’ism include that, in 816/817, when Ali al-Ridha, the Prophet's descendant, refused designation as sole Caliph, Al-Ma'mun officially designated him as his appointed successor. The official Abbasid coins were minted showing Al-Ma'mun as a Caliph and al-Ridha as his successor. Other arguments were that: the Caliphate's official black colour was changed to the Prophetic green; in 210 AH/825 CE, he wrote to Qutham b. Ja'far, the ruler of Medina, to return Fadak to the descendants of Muhammad through his daughter, Fatima; he restored nikah mut'ah, previously banned by Umar ibn al-Khattab, but practiced under Muhammad and Abu Bakr; in 211 AH/826 CE, al-Ma'mun reportedly expressed his antipathy to those who praised Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, and reportedly punished such people; this later view of Al-Suyuti however is questionable since it contradicts the fact that Al-Ma’mun promoted scholars who openly defended Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, such as the Mu’tazilite scholar Hisham bin Amr al-Fuwati, who was a well-respected judge in the court of Al-Ma’mun in Baghdad; in 212 AH/827 CE, al-Ma'mun announced the superiority of Ali ibn Abu Talib over Abu Bakr and 'Umar b. al-Khattab; in 833 CE, under the influence of Muʿtazila rationalist thought, he initiated the mihna ordeal, where he accepted the argument that the Quran was created at some point over the orthodox Sunni belief that the Book was coeternal with God.


title: Al-Ma'mun

text: However, Shi’ites condemn al-Ma'mun as well due to the belief that he was responsible for Ali al-Ridha’s poisoning and eventual death in 818 CE. In the ensuing power struggle, other Abbasids sought to depose Ma'mun in favor of Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi, Ma'mun's uncle; therefore, getting rid of al-Ridha was the only realistic way of retaining united, absolute, unopposed rule. Al-Ma'mūn ordered that al-Ridha be buried next to the tomb of his own father, Harun al-Rashid, and showed extreme sorrow in the funeral ritual and stayed for three days at the place. Muhammad al-Jawad, Ali al-Ridha’s son and successor, lived unopposed and free during the rest of Al-Ma'mūn’s reign (till 833 CE). The Caliph summoned al-Jawad to Baghdad in order to marry his daughter, Ummul Fadhl. This apparently provoked strenuous objections by the Abbasids. According to Ya'qubi, al-Ma'mun gave al-Jawad one hundred thousand "dirham" and said, "Surely I would like to be a grandfather in the line of the Apostle of God and of Ali ibn Abu Talib."


title: Rivers of London (novel)

text: Rivers of London (Midnight Riot in the US) is the first novel in the "Peter Grant series" by English author Ben Aaronovitch. The novel was released on 10 January 2011 through Gollancz and was well received by critics, earning a Galaxy National Book Awards nomination for Aaronovitch in the New Writer of the Year award. The author Ben Aaronovitch has subsequently written nine books in the Peter Grant Series, plus accompanying novellas, short stories, comics and graphic novels.


title: Rivers of London (novel)

text: The novel centres on the adventures of Peter Grant, a young officer in the Metropolitan Police; who, following an unexpected encounter with a ghost, is recruited into the small branch of the Met that deals with magic and the supernatural.


title: Rivers of London (novel)

text: Peter Grant, having become the first English apprentice wizard in over seventy years, must immediately deal with two different but ultimately related cases. In one he must find what is possessing ordinary people and turning them into vicious killers, and in the second he must broker a peace between the two warring gods of the River Thames and their respective families.


title: Rivers of London (novel)

text: The American edition of the book shows a figure in silhouette carrying a gun in one hand, with a ball of fire floating in the other. Earlier editions of the cover showed the character's face in photographic detail, but a later version reduced this to a silhouette. This change drew criticism for appearing to intentionally disguise the fact that the book's protagonist was black, and Del Rey later changed their cover policy. Having adopted the UK style "Walters" covers for the release of "Whispers Under Ground", they announced that new editions of "Midnight Riot" will match the British cover.


title: Rivers of London (novel)

text: The novel draws a great deal on the historical and mythological background of London and the Thames Valley.


title: Rivers of London (novel)

text: Some of the characters are strongly associated with the River Thames and its tributaries. Most prominent after the Thames itself include Beverley Brook, Lady Ty, Oxley, Lea and mentions are given to the Effra, Ash, Brent and Crane.


title: Rivers of London (novel)

text: The novel was well received, with reviewers citing Aaronovitch's juxtaposition of the magical and the mundane and his storytelling prowess as the novel's main attractors.


title: Rivers of London (novel)

text: Writing for "The Morning Star" Mat Coward stated, of Aaronovitch himself, "he can really write, with a light touch to his humour and characters that really stand out." and followed this with "This novel is a pure delight and I can't wait for the next in the series." Fellow writer Sam Downing praised the novel's humour and characters and found it "one of those 'Aww, I’m at the office already? I wanna keep reading nooooow'-style books." The novel was also well reviewed by Saxon Bullock of "SFX" who awarded it five out of five stars and stated the novel was "Witty, imaginative and gripping, "Rivers of London" is a great example of how it's not always about having an astoundingly new idea.", praising Aaronovitch's knowledge of London and his fresh and "clever" approach. "Rivers of London" was also well reviewed by "Fantasy Book Review", with reviewer Joshua Hill stating "Ben Aaronovitch has written a book that never left me disappointed in the choices he made as author, nor in the choices of his characters.", referring partly to the characters subdued reaction to the supernatural, which is uncommon in this genre. He further states that "All in all, you have to read this book. Whether you like good writing, good fantasy or urban fantasy, good characters, or simply a breath-taking story set in a breath-taking world, this book is for you."


title: Rivers of London (novel)

text: The novel did not, however, receive universal praise. Writing for "SF Reviews", Thomas Wagner awarded the novel three out of a possible five stars, stating that "the more frenzied and harrowing the action becomes, the more it feels exhausting and excessive rather than thrilling." and citing the novel's inconsistent tone as another detractor. Tempering this, however, he does describe the novel's plot as "surprising and imaginative" and the novel as a whole "highly energized". In a review for "Londonist", Matt Brown found the plot to be unbelievable, stating that "Emotion is almost entirely absent." and quipping "If you’re looking for a deep novel, this is more trickling Walbrook than mighty Thames." He does, however, also praise the book's "pace, ingenuity and creativity".


title: Rivers of London (novel)

text: The unabridged audio recording of the novel, read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, was well received and was shortlisted for the Crimefest Award 2012.


title: Rivers of London (novel)

text: As well as the American edition, "Rivers of London" has been translated into 14 languages including French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Hungarian, Portuguese, Japanese and Czech.


title: Pancreaticoduodenectomy

text: A pancreaticoduodenectomy, also known as a Whipple procedure, is a major surgical operation most often performed to remove cancerous tumours from the head of the pancreas. It is also used for the treatment of pancreatic or duodenal trauma, or chronic pancreatitis. Due to the shared blood supply of organs in the proximal gastrointestinal system, surgical removal of the head of the pancreas also necessitates removal of the duodenum, proximal jejunum, gallbladder, and, occasionally, part of the stomach.


title: Pancreaticoduodenectomy

text: The most common technique of a pancreaticoduodenectomy consists of the en bloc removal of the distal segment (antrum) of the stomach, the first and second portions of the duodenum, the head of the pancreas, the common bile duct, and the gallbladder. Lymph nodes in the area are often removed during the operation as well (lymphadenectomy). However, not all lymph nodes are removed in the most common type of pancreaticoduodenectomy because studies showed that patients did not benefit from the more extensive surgery.


title: Pancreaticoduodenectomy

text: At the very beginning of the procedure, after the surgeons have gained access to the abdomen, the surfaces of the peritoneum and the liver are inspected for disease that has metastasized. This is an important first step as the presence of active metastatic disease is a contraindication to performing the operation.


title: Pancreaticoduodenectomy

text: The vascular supply of the pancreas is from the celiac artery via the superior pancreaticoduodenal artery and the superior mesenteric artery from the inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery. There are additional smaller branches given off by the right gastric artery which is also derived from the celiac artery. The reason for the removal of the duodenum along with the head of the pancreas is that they share the same arterial blood supply (the superior pancreaticoduodenal artery and inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery). These arteries run through the head of the pancreas, so that both organs must be removed if the single blood supply is severed. If only the head of the pancreas were removed it would compromise blood flow to the duodenum, resulting in tissue necrosis.


title: Pancreaticoduodenectomy

text: While blood supply to the liver is left intact, the common bile duct is removed. This means that while the liver remains with a good blood supply the surgeon must make a new connection to drain bile produced in the liver. This is done at the end of the surgery. The surgeon will make a new attachment between the pancreatic duct and the jejunum or stomach. During the surgery a cholecystectomy is performed to remove the gallbladder. This portion is not done en bloc, as the gallbladder is removed separately.