title: Karen Horney

text: Horney's deviation from Freudian psychology led to her resigning from her post, and she soon took up teaching in the New York Medical College. She also founded a journal, the "American Journal of Psychoanalysis". She taught at the New York Medical College and continued practising as a psychiatrist until her death in 1952.


title: Karen Horney

text: Horney looked at neurosis in a different light from other psychoanalysts of the time. Her expansive interest in the subject led her to compile a detailed theory of neurosis, with data from her patients. Horney believed neurosis to be a continuous process—with neuroses commonly occurring sporadically in a person's lifetime. This was in contrast to the opinions of her contemporaries who believed neurosis was, like more severe mental conditions, a negative malfunction of the mind in response to external stimuli, such as bereavement, divorce or negative experiences during childhood and adolescence. This has been debated widely by contemporary psychologists.


title: Karen Horney

text: Horney believed these stimuli to be less important, except for influences during childhood. Rather, she placed significant emphasis on parental indifference towards the child, believing that a child's perception of events, as opposed to the parent's intentions, is the key to understanding a person's neurosis. For instance, a child might feel a lack of warmth and affection should a parent make fun of the child's feelings. The parent may also casually neglect to fulfill promises, which in turn could have a detrimental effect on the child's mental state.


title: Karen Horney

text: From her experiences as a psychiatrist, Horney named ten patterns of neurotic needs. These ten needs are based upon things which she thought all humans require to succeed in life. Horney modified these needs somewhat to correspond with what she believed were individuals' neuroses. A neurotic person could theoretically exhibit all of these needs, though in practice fewer than the ten here need to be present for a person to be considered a neurotic.


title: Karen Horney

text: The ten needs, as set out by Horney, (classified according to her so-called coping strategies) are as follows:


title: Karen Horney

text: Upon investigating the ten needs further, Horney found she was able to condense them into three broad categories:


title: Karen Horney

text: Horney delves into a detailed explanation of the above needs (and their corresponding neurotic solutions) in her book 'Neurosis and Human Growth'.


title: Karen Horney

text: Horney saw narcissism quite differently from Freud, Kohut, and other mainstream psychoanalytic theorists in that she did not posit a primary narcissism but saw the narcissistic personality as the product of a certain kind of early environment acting on a certain kind of temperament. For her, narcissistic needs and tendencies are not inherent in human nature.


title: Karen Horney

text: Narcissism is different from Horney's other major defensive strategies or solutions in that it is not compensatory. Self-idealization is compensatory in her theory, but it differs from narcissism. All the defensive strategies involve self-idealization, but in the narcissistic solution, it tends to be the product of indulgence rather than deprivation. The narcissist's self-esteem is not strong, however, because it is not based on genuine accomplishments.


title: Karen Horney

text: While Horney acknowledged and agreed with Freud on many issues, she was also critical of him on several key beliefs.


title: Karen Horney

text: Like others whose views differed from that of Freud, Horney felt that sex and aggression were not the primary factors that shape personality. Horney, along with Adler, believed there were greater influences on personality, including social relationship factors during childhood, rather than just repressed sexual passions. The two focused more on how the conscious mind plays a role in human personality, not just subconscious repression. Freud's notion of "penis envy" was particularly subject to criticism, as well. She thought Freud had merely stumbled upon women's jealousy of men's generic power in the world. Horney accepted that penis envy might occur occasionally in neurotic women, but stated that "womb envy" occurs just as much in men: Horney felt that men were envious of a woman's ability to bear children. The degree to which men are driven to success may be merely a substitute for the fact that they cannot carry, bear, and nurture children. Horney also thought that men were envious of women because they fulfill their position in society by simply "being", whereas men achieve their manhood according to their ability to provide and succeed.


title: Karen Horney

text: Horney was bewildered by psychiatrists' tendency to place so much emphasis on the male sexual organ. Horney also reworked the Freudian Oedipal complex of the sexual elements, claiming that the clinging to one parent and jealousy of the other was simply the result of anxiety, caused by a disturbance in the parent-child relationship.


title: Karen Horney

text: Despite these variances with the prevalent Freudian view, Horney strove to reformulate Freudian thought, presenting a holistic, humanistic view of the individual psyche which placed much emphasis on cultural and social differences worldwide.


title: Karen Horney

text: Horney was also a pioneer in the discipline of feminine psychiatry. As one of the first female psychiatrists, she was the first known woman to present a paper regarding feminine psychiatry. Fourteen of the papers she wrote between 1922 and 1937 were amalgamated into a single volume titled "Feminine Psychology" (1967). As a woman, she felt that the mapping out of trends in female behaviour was a neglected issue. Women were regarded as objects of charm and beauty—at variance with every human being's ultimate purpose of self-actualization.


title: Karen Horney

text: Women, according to Horney, traditionally gain value only through their children and the wider family. She de-romanticized the Victorian concept of how a marriage bond should be. Horney explained that the "monogamous demand represents the fulfillment of narcissistic and sadistic impulses far more than it indicates the wishes of genuine love” Most notably, her work ""The Problem of the Monogamous Ideal"" was fixed upon marriage, as were six other of Horney's papers. Her essay ""Maternal Conflicts"" attempted to shed new light on the problems women experience when raising adolescents.


title: Karen Horney

text: Horney believed that both men and women have a drive to be ingenious and productive. Women are able to satisfy this need normally and internally—to do this they become pregnant and give birth. Men satisfy this need only through external ways; Horney proposed that the striking accomplishments of men in work or some other field can be viewed as compensation for their inability to give birth to children.


title: Karen Horney

text: Horney developed her ideas to the extent that she released one of the first "self-help" books in 1946, entitled "Are You Considering Psychoanalysis?". The book asserted that those, both male and female, with relatively minor neurotic problems could, in effect, be their own psychiatrists. She continually stressed that self-awareness was a part of becoming a better, stronger, richer human being.


title: Karen Horney

text: In the mid-1930s, Horney stopped writing on the topic of feminine psychology and never resumed. Her biographer B.J. Paris writes:


title: Karen Horney

text: Instead, she became increasingly interested in the subject of neurosis. Horney's mature theory of neurosis, according to Paris, "makes a major contribution to psychological thought—particularly the study of personality—that deserves to be more widely known and applied than it is."


title: Karen Horney

text: Near the end of her career, Karen Horney summarized her ideas in "Neurosis and Human Growth: The Struggle Toward Self-Realization", her major work published in 1950. It is in this book that she summarizes her ideas regarding neurosis, clarifying her three neurotic "solutions" to the stresses of life. The expansive solution became a tripartite combination of narcissistic, perfectionistic and arrogant-vindictive approaches to life. (Horney had previously focused on the psychiatric concept of narcissism in a book published in 1939, "New Ways in Psychoanalysis".) Her other two neurotic "solutions" were also a refinement of her previous views: self-effacement, or submission to others, and resignation, or detachment from others. She described case studies of symbiotic relationships between arrogant-vindictive and self-effacing individuals, labeling such a relationship bordering on sadomasochism as a "morbid dependency". She believed that individuals in the neurotic categories of narcissism and resignation were much less susceptible to such relationships of co-dependency with an arrogant-vindictive neurotic.


title: Karen Horney

text: While non-neurotic individuals may strive for these needs, neurotics exhibit a much deeper, more willful and concentrated desire to fulfill the said needs.


title: Karen Horney

text: Horney also shared Abraham Maslow's view that self-actualization is something that all people strive for. By "self" she understood the core of one's own being and potential. Horney believed that if we have an accurate conception of our own self, then we are free to realize our potential and achieve what we wish, within reasonable boundaries. Thus, she believed that self-actualization is the healthy person's aim through life—as opposed to the neurotic's clinging to a set of key needs.


title: Karen Horney

text: According to Horney we can have two views of our self: the "real self" and the "ideal self". The real self is who and what we actually are. The ideal self is the type of person we feel that we should be. The real self has the potential for growth, happiness, will power, realization of gifts, etc., but it also has deficiencies. The ideal self is used as a model to assist the real self in developing its potential and achieving self-actualization. (Engler 125) But it is important to know the differences between our ideal and real self.


title: Karen Horney

text: The neurotic person's self is split between an idealized self and a real self. As a result, neurotic individuals feel that they somehow do not live up to the ideal self. They feel that there is a flaw somewhere in comparison to what they "should" be. The goals set out by the neurotic are not realistic, or indeed possible. The real self then degenerates into a "despised self", and the neurotic person assumes that this is the "true" self. Thus, the neurotic is like a clock's pendulum, oscillating between a fallacious "perfection" and a manifestation of self-hate. Horney referred to this phenomenon as the "tyranny of the shoulds" and the neurotic's hopeless "search for glory". She concluded that these ingrained traits of the psyche forever prevent an individual's potential from being actualized unless the cycle of neurosis is somehow broken, through treatment or, in less severe cases, life lesson.


title: Karen Horney

text: The Karen Horney Clinic opened on May 6, 1955 in New York City, in honor of Horney's achievements. The institution seeks to research and train medical professionals, particularly in the psychiatric fields, as well as serving as a low-cost treatment center. Some patients are not suitable for psychoanalysis and are treated with psychotherapeutic modalities such as supportive psychotherapy, and psychoanalytic psychotherapy, all based on Horney's ideas.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: The Prince's Palace of Monaco (French: "Palais princier de Monaco") is the official residence of the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. Built in 1191 as a Genoese fortress, during its long and often dramatic history it has been bombarded and besieged by many foreign powers. Since the end of the 13th century, it has been the stronghold and home of the Grimaldi family who first captured it in 1297. The Grimaldi ruled the area first as feudal lords, and from the 17th century as sovereign princes, but their power was often derived from fragile agreements with their larger and stronger neighbours.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Thus while other European sovereigns were building luxurious, modern Renaissance and Baroque palaces, politics and common sense demanded that the palace of the Monegasque rulers be fortified. This unique requirement, at such a late stage in history, has made the palace at Monaco one of the most unusual in Europe. Indeed, when its fortifications were finally relaxed during the late 18th century, it was seized by the French and stripped of its treasures, and fell into decline, while the Grimaldi were exiled for over 20 years.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: The Grimaldis' occupation of their palace is also unusual because, unlike other European ruling families, the absence of alternative palaces and land shortages have resulted in their use of the same residence for more than seven centuries. Thus, their fortunes and politics are directly reflected in the evolution of the palace. Whereas the Romanovs, Bourbons, and Habsburgs could, and frequently did, build completely new palaces, the most the Grimaldi could achieve when enjoying good fortune, or desirous of change, was to build a new tower or wing, or, as they did more frequently, rebuild an existing part of the palace. Thus, the Prince's Palace reflects the history not only of Monaco, but of the family which in 1997 celebrated 700 years of rule from the same palace.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the palace and its owners became symbols of the slightly risqué glamour and decadence that were associated with Monte Carlo and the French Riviera. Glamour and theatricality became reality when the American film star Grace Kelly became the chatelaine of the palace in 1956. In the 21st century, the palace remains the residence of the current Prince of Monaco.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: The palace is a blend of architectural styles; its ancient origins are indicated by a lack of symmetry. Thus to evaluate the architecture, wings and blocks have to be observed separately. The principal façade appears as a terrace of Renaissance style palazzi from differing periods of the Renaissance era ("Illustrations 1 and 12") which—even though they form only one palace—is exactly what they are. These wings are however united by their common rusticated ground floor. This Renaissance architecture seems to mask earlier fortifications, the towers of which rise behind the differing classical façades. These towers—many complete with crenellations and machicolations—were actually mostly rebuilt during the 19th century. At the rear of the palace the original medieval fortifications seem untouched by time. ("Illustration 4"). A greater architectural harmony has been achieved within the court of honour around which the palace is built, where two tiers of frescoed open arcades serve as both a ceremonial balcony for the prince's appearances and a state entrance and corridor linking the formal state rooms of the palace.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: The most notable of the many rooms are the state apartments. These were laid out from the 16th century onwards, and were enhanced in the style of those at Versailles during the 18th century. In the 19th century and again during the late 20th century, large-scale restoration of the state rooms consolidated the 18th-century style which prevails today. Designed as an enfilade and a ceremonial route to the throne room, the processional route begins with an external horseshoe-shaped staircase which leads from the court of honour to the open gallery known as the Gallery of Hercules. From here guests enter the Mirror Gallery, a long hall inspired by the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. This gallery leads to the first of the state rooms, the Officer's Room, where guests are greeted by court officials before an audience with the prince in the Throne Room. From the Officer's Hall the enfilade continues to the Blue Room. This large drawing room, decorated with blue brocade, is hung with Grimaldi family portraits and has chandeliers of Murano glass. The following room, the largest of the state apartments, is the Throne Room. Its ceiling and frescoes were executed by Orazio de Ferrari and depict the surrender of Alexander the Great. The throne, in the Empire style, is positioned on a dais, beneath a red silk canopy of estate surmounted by a gilt crown. The floors are of Carrara marble. All state ceremonies have been held in this room since the 16th century.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Other rooms in the state suite include the Red Room — so called because its walls are covered in red brocade — a large drawing room containing paintings by Jan Brueghel and Charles Le Brun. Like much of the palace the room contains ornate 18th-century French-style furniture. From the Red Room leads the York Room. Furnished as a state bedchamber, this room is frescoed with illustrations of the four seasons by Gregorio de Ferrari. The following room, known as the Yellow Room (or sometimes as the Louis XV Bedchamber), is another state bedroom.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: The most remarkable room in the suite is the Mazarin Room. This drawing room is lined with Italian gilded and painted polychrome boiseries by craftsmen brought to France by Cardinal Mazarin, who was related by marriage to the Grimaldi. Cardinal Mazarin's portrait hangs above the fireplace.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: While the overriding atmosphere of the interior and exterior of the palace is of the 18th century, the palace itself is not. Much of its appearance is a result of a long evolution dating from the 12th century, overshadowed by heavy restoration and refurnishing during the 19th and 20th centuries.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Monaco's history predates the Roman occupation of AD 122. Its large natural harbour ensured a steady stream of visitors from Byblos, Tyre, and Sidon. Later the Phoenicians came to trade silk, oil, and spices with the natives. It was the Phoenicians who introduced to this area of the Mediterranean their god Melkart, later known by the Romans as "Hercules Monoikos". It was after this god that the Romans renamed the area "Portus Hercules Moneici", which has evolved to the present name of Monaco.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: The seat of the Prince of Monaco was established on the Rocher de Monaco ("Illustration 5") as a fortress in 1191 when the harbour, that is today lined by Monte Carlo, was acquired by the Republic of Genoa. The harbour and its immediate area were given to the Genoese by the Emperor Henry IV with the proviso that the Genoese protect the coastline from piracy. Further territory was ceded to the new owners by the Council of Peille and the Abbaye de Saint Pons. In 1215 work began on a new fortress, comprising four towers connected by ramparts protected by a curtain wall. This forms the core of the present palace.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Genoa was important in the politics of 12th-century Europe. The Genoese were a nation of merchants, and such was their wealth that they frequently fulfilled a role as bankers to the other nation states. However, the Genoese became divided following the rift caused when the Emperor Frederick II challenged the power of Pope Innocent IV. Two distinct camps formed: the Guelphs who supported the pope and the Ghibellines who were loyal to the imperial crown. Siding with the Guelphs were one of the patrician families of Genoa—the Grimaldi. Throughout the 13th century these two groups fought. Finally at the end of the century the Ghibellines were victorious and banished their opponents, including the Grimaldi, from Genoa. The Grimaldi settled in the area today known as the French Riviera. Several castles in the area are still known as Chateau Grimaldi, and testify to the strong presence of various branches of the family in the vicinity.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Legend relates that in January 1297 François Grimaldi, disguised as a monk, sought shelter at the castle. On obtaining entry he murdered the guard, whereupon his men appeared and captured the castle. Thus the fortress became the stronghold of the Grimaldi. This event is commemorated by a statue of François Grimaldi in the precincts of the palace ("Illustration 6") and in the arms of the House of Grimaldi where François is depicted wielding a sword while in the garb of a monk ("Illustration 2").


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Charles I, who ruled from 1331 to 1357, and was the son of François Grimaldi's cousin Rainier I, significantly enlarged the fortress by adding two large buildings: one against the eastern ramparts and the second looking out over the sea. This changed the appearance of the fortress, making it appear more of a fortified house than a fortress. The fortifications remained very necessary, for during the next three decades the fortress was alternately lost and regained by the Grimaldi to the Genoese. In 1341 the Grimaldi took Menton and then Roquebrune, thus consolidating their power and strength in the area. Subsequently, they strengthened not only the defences of the harbour but also their fortress on the Rocher. The Grimaldi's stronghold was now a power base from which the family ruled a large but very vulnerable area of land.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: For the next hundred years the Grimaldi defended their territory from attacks by other states which included Genoa, Pisa, Venice, Naples, France, Spain, Germany, England and Provence. The fortress was frequently bombarded, damaged, and restored. Gradually the Grimaldi began to make an alliance with France which strengthened their position. Now more secure, the Grimaldi lords of Monaco now began to recognise the need not only to defend their territory, but also to have a home reflecting their power and prestige.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Throughout the 15th century, both the fortress and the Rocher continued to be extended and further defended until it became a garrison accommodating some 400 troops. The slow transformation from fortified house to palace ("Illustration 7") began during this era, first with building by Lamberto Grimaldi, Lord of Monaco (who between 1458 and 1494 was "a noteworthy ruler who handled diplomacy and the sword with equal talent"), and then by his son Jean II. This period saw the extension of the east side of the fortress with a three–floored wing, guarded by high scalloped walls connecting the bastion towers—St Mary (M in "Illustration 7"), Middle (K) and South (H). This large new wing contained the palace's principal room, the State Hall (today known as the Guard Room). Here the princes carried out their official business and held court. Further, more luxurious, rooms complete with balconies and loggias were designed for the private use of the Grimaldi family. In 1505 Jean II was killed by his brother Lucien.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Jean II was succeeded by his brother Lucien I. Peace did not reign in Monaco for long; in December 1506 14,000 Genoese troops besieged Monaco and its castle, and for five months 1,500 Monégasques and mercenaries defended the Rocher before achieving victory in March 1507. This left Lucien I to walk a diplomatic tightrope between France and Spain in order to preserve the fragile independence of the tiny state which was in truth subject to Spain. Lucien immediately set about repairing the ravages of war to the fortified palace which had been damaged by heavy bombardment. To the main wing (see "Illustrations 3 & 7" – H to M ), built by Prince Lambert and extended during the reign of Jean II, he now added a large wing (H to C) which today houses the state apartments.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: During the reign of Honoré I the internal transformation from fortress to palace was continued. The Treaty of Tordesillas at the beginning of Honoré's rule clarified Monaco's position as a protectorate of Spain, and thus later of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. This provided the security to allow the Lord of Monaco to concentrate on the more comfortable side of his residence rather than the constant need to defend it.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: The courtyard was rebuilt, the architect Dominique Gallo designing two arcades, stretching between points H and C. The arcades, fronting the earlier wing by Lucien I, each have twelve arches, decorated by white marble balustrading on the upper level. Today the upper arcades are known as the "Galerie d'Hercule" (gallery of Hercules) because their ceilings were painted with scenes depicting the Labours of Hercules by Orazio de Ferrari during the later reign of Honoré II. These arcades or loggias provide corridors to the state rooms in the south wing (today known as the State Rooms Wings). On the other side of the courtyard a new wing was constructed and the Genoese artist Luca Cambiasi was charged with painting its external walls with frescoes. It is thought that the galleries (B) to the north wing overlooking the harbour were built at this time.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Further enlargements were carried out in order to entertain the Emperor Charles V in 1529, when he stayed four nights at the palace during his journey in state to Bologna for his coronation by Pope Clement VII.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Architecturally this was an exciting period, but Honoré I was unable to remodel the fortress in the grand style of a Renaissance palazzo. In spite of the Spanish protection, the risk of attack from France was high and defence remained Honoré's main priority. With this in mind he added two new features: All Saints Tower (F) and the Serravalle Bastion (G). All Saints Tower was semi-circular and guarded the end of the rock promontory. Complete with gun platforms and cannon, it was connected to man-made caves in the rock itself. Subterranean passages also linked it to the Serravalle Bastion, which was in essence a three-storey gun tower bristling with cannon. Underneath the courtyard a cistern was installed, providing sufficient water for 1000 troops for a 20-month siege, with a huge vaulted ceiling supported by nine columns. Monaco was to remain politically vulnerable for another century and little building work took place from 1581 until 1604, during the reigns of Prince Charles II and Prince Hercule.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Monaco's vulnerability was further brought home in 1605 when the Spanish installed a garrison there. In 1633 Honoré II ("Illustration 8"), was officially addressed as "Serene Prince" by the Spanish king, thus recognizing Monaco as a principality for the first time. However, as Spanish troops were currently in occupation, this recognition was seen as little more than a gesture to keep Honoré happy.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Honoré II was a francophile. Following his education in Milan, he had been cultivated by the intellectual salons of Paris. Thus, having close affinities with France both culturally and politically, he rebelled against the Spanish presence in Monaco. While he realised that Monaco needed the protection of another power, France was Honoré II's favoured choice. In 1641, heavily supported by the French, he attacked the Spanish garrison and expelled the Spanish, declaring "the glorious liberty of Monaco". The liberty mentioned was entirely dependent on France, as Monaco now entered a period as a protectorate of France which would last until 1814. As a result of this action Honoré II is today regarded as the hero of Monaco.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Highly educated and a patron of the arts, Honoré II, secure on his throne, began collecting works by Titian, Dürer, Raphael, Rubens and Michelangelo which formed the basis of the art collection that furnished the palace slowly evolving from the Monaco fortress. Over the following 30-year period he transformed it into a palace suitable for a prince ("Illustration 9").


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: He commissioned the architect Jacques Catone not only to enlarge the palace, but also to soften its grim fortified appearance. The main façade facing the square, the "front" of the palace, was given decorative embellishments. The upper loggias (B) to the right of the entrance were glazed. Inside the palace the State Rooms Wing was restyled and the enfilade of state apartments created. A new chapel adorned by a cupola (built on the site marked D) was dedicated to St John the Baptist. This new work helped conceal the forbidding Serravalle Bastion from the courtyard, to create the lighter atmosphere of a Renaissance palazzo.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: During the late 17th century and early 18th century, while Monaco was officially an independent state, it was in reality a province of France. Its rulers spent much of their time at the French court, in this way resembling the absentee landlords so prevalent at the time amongst the French aristocracy. The lure of Versailles was greater than that of their own country.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Honoré II was succeeded by his grandson, Prince Louis I. The new prince had an urbane personality and spent much time with his wife at the French court, where he enjoyed the unusual distinction of being both a foreign head of state and a peer of France. Impressed by the palaces of the French king, who had employed the architect Jean du Cerceau to carry out alterations to the palace at Fontainebleau, Louis I used Fontainebleau as the inspiration for enhancements to his palace at Monaco. Thus he was responsible for two of the palace's most notable features: the entrance—a huge Baroque arch surmounted by a broken pediment bearing the Grimaldi Arms ("Illustration 10")—and more memorable still, a double horseshoe staircase modelled on that at Fontainebleau. The thirty steps which compose the staircase are said to have been sculpted from a single block of Carrara marble. Both the architrave of the new entrance and the horseshoe stairs were designed by Antoine Grigho, an architect from Como.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: A prince noted for the permissiveness of his private life, Louis I's prodigality was notorious. While visiting England in 1677 he incurred the ire of King Charles II by showering expensive gifts on Hortense Mancini, the king's mistress. The English and Prince Louis later became political enemies when Louis took part in the Anglo-Dutch Wars against England, leading his own Monaco Cavalry into battles in Flanders and Franche-Comté. These acts earned Louis the gratitude of Louis XIV who made him ambassador to the Holy See, charged with securing the Spanish Succession. However, the cost of upholding his position at the papal court caused him to sell most of his grandfather Honoré II's art collection, denuding the palace he had earlier so spectacularly enhanced. Louis died before securing the Spanish throne for France, an act which would have earned the Grimaldi huge rewards. Instead Europe was immediately plunged into turmoil as the War of the Spanish Succession began.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: In 1701, Prince Antoine succeeded Louis I and inherited an almost bankrupt Monaco, though he did further embellish the Royal Room. On its ceiling, Gregorio de Ferrari and Alexandre Haffner depicted a figure of Fame surrounded by lunettes illustrating the four seasons.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Antoine's marriage to Marie of Lorraine was unhappy and yielded only two daughters. Monaco's constitution confined the throne to members of the Grimaldi family alone, and Antoine was thus keen for his daughter Princess Louise-Hippolyte ("Illustration 11") to wed a Grimaldi cousin. However, the state of the Grimaldi fortunes, and the lack of (the politically necessary) approval from King Louis XIV, dictated otherwise. Louise-Hippolyte was married to Jacques de Goyon Matignon, a wealthy aristocrat from Normandy. Louise-Hippolyte succeeded her father as sovereign of Monaco in 1731 but died just months later. The King of France, confirming Monaco's subservient state to France, ignored the protests of other branches of the Grimaldi family, overthrew the Monégasque constitution, and approved the succession of Jacques de Goyon Matignon as Prince Jacques I.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Jacques I assumed the name and arms of the Grimaldi, but the French aristocracy showed scant respect towards the new prince who had risen from their ranks and chose to spend his time absent from Monaco. He died in 1751 and was succeeded by his and Louise-Hippolyte's son Prince Honoré III.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Honoré III married Catherine Brignole in 1757 and later divorced her. Before his marriage, Honoré III had been conducting an affair with his future mother-in-law. After her divorce Marie Brignole married Louis Joseph de Bourbon, prince de Condé, a member of the fallen French royal house, in 1798.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: The Grimaldi fortunes were restored when descendants of both Hortense Mancini and Louis I married: Louise d'Aumont Mazarin married Honoré III's son and heir, the future Honoré IV. This marriage in 1776 was extremely advantageous to the Grimaldi, as Louise's ancestress Hortense Mancini had been the heiress of Cardinal Mazarin. Thus Monaco's ruling family acquired all the estates bequeathed by Cardinal Mazarin, including the Duchy of Rethel, and the Principality of Château-Porcien.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Honoré III was a soldier who fought at both Fontenoy and Rocourt. He was happy to leave Monaco to be governed by others, most notably a former tutor. It was on one of Honoré III's rare visits to the palace in 1767 that illness forced Edward, Duke of York, to land at Monaco. The sick duke was allocated the state bedchamber where he promptly died. Since that date the room has been known as the York Room.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Despite its lack of continuous occupancy, by the final quarter of the 18th century the palace was once again a "splendid place" ("Illustration 12"). However revolution was afoot, and in the late 1780s Honoré III had to make concessions to his people who had caught the revolutionary ideas from their French neighbours. This was only the beginning of the Grimaldi's problems. In 1793 the leaders of the French Revolution annexed Monaco. The prince was imprisoned in France and his property and estates, including the palace, were forfeited to France.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: The palace was looted by the prince's subjects, and what remained of the furnishings and art collection was auctioned by the French government. Further changes were heaped on both the country and palace. Monaco was renamed "Fort d'Hercule" and became a canton of France while the palace became a military hospital and poorhouse. In Paris, the prince's daughter-in-law Francoise-Thérèse de Choiseul-Stainville (1766–1794) was executed, one of the last to be guillotined during the Reign of Terror. Honoré III died in 1795 in Paris, where he had spent most of his life, without regaining his throne.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Honoré III was succeeded by his son Honoré IV (1758–1819) whose marriage to Louise d'Aumont Mazarin had done so much to restore the Grimaldi fortunes. Much of this fortune had been depleted by the hardships of the revolution. On 17 June 1814 under the Treaty of Paris, the Principality of Monaco was restored to Honoré IV.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: The fabric of the palace had been completely neglected during the years in which the Grimaldi had been exiled from Monaco. Such was the state of disrepair that part of the east wing had to be demolished along with Honoré II's bathing pavilion, which stood on the site occupied today by the palace's former Napoleon Museum, which closed in 2014, and the building housing the palace archives.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Honoré IV died shortly after his throne was restored to him, and structural restoration of the palace began under Honoré V and was continued after his death in 1841 by his brother Prince Florestan. However, by the time of Florestan's accession, Monaco was once again experiencing political tensions caused by financial problems. These resulted from its position as a protectorate of Sardinia, the country to which it had been ceded by France following the end of the Napoleonic wars. Florestan, an eccentric (he had been a professional actor), left the running of Monaco to his wife, Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz. Despite her attempts to rule, her husband's people were once again in revolt. In an attempt to ease the volatile situation Florestan ceded power to his son Charles, but this came too late to appease the Monégasques. Menton and Roquebrune broke away from Monaco, leaving the Grimaldi's already small country hugely diminished—little more than Monte Carlo.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Florestan died in 1856 and his son, Charles, who had already been ruling what remained of Monaco, succeeded him as Charles III ("Illustration 15"). Menton and Roquebrune officially became part of France in 1861, reducing Monaco's size at a stroke by 80%. With time on his hands, Charles III now devoted his time to completing the restoration of his palace begun by his uncle Honoré V. He rebuilt St Mary's Tower ("Illustration 14") and completely restored the chapel, adding a new altar, and having its vaulted ceiling painted with frescoes, while outside the façade was painted by Jacob Froëschle and Deschler with murals illustrating various heroic deeds performed by the Grimaldi. The Guard Room, the former great hall of the fortress (now known as the State Hall), was transformed by new Renaissance decorations and the addition of a monumental chimneypiece.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Charles III also made serious attempts to find the various works of art and furniture looted, sold and dispersed during the revolution. Together with new purchases, a fine art collection once again adorned the palace which included not only family portraits such as that of Lucien I by de Predis; Honoré II by Philippe de Champaigne; the head of Antoine I by Hyacinthe Rigaud, and van Loo's portrait of Louise-Hyppolyte ("Illustration 11") but also such masterpieces as "The Music Lesson" by Titian.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Charles III was also responsible for another palace in Monte Carlo, one which would fund his restorations, and turn around his country's faltering economy. This new palace was Charles Garnier's Second Empire casino, completed in 1878 ("Illustration 16"). The first Monaco casino had opened the previous decade. Through the casino Monaco became self-supporting.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: By the time of Charles III's death in 1889, Monaco and Monte Carlo were synonymous as one and the same place, and had acquired, through gambling, a reputation as a louche and decadent playground of the rich. It attracted everyone from Russian grand dukes and railway magnates, often with their mistresses, to adventurers, causing the small country to be derided by many including Queen Victoria. In fact so decadent was Monaco considered that from 1882, when she first began visiting the French Riviera, Queen Victoria refused to make a courtesy social call at the palace. The contemporary writer Sabine Baring-Gould described the habituées of Monaco as "the moral cesspool of Europe."


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: The successive rulers of Monaco tended to live elsewhere and visit their palace only occasionally. Charles III was succeeded in 1889 by Albert I. Albert married Lady Mary Victoria Douglas-Hamilton, a daughter of Scotland's 11th duke of Hamilton, and his German wife, a princess of Baden. The couple had one son, Louis, before their marriage was annulled in 1880. Albert was a keen scientist and founded the Oceanographic Institute in 1906; as a pacifist he then founded the International Institute of Peace in Monaco. Albert's second wife, Alice Heine, an American banking heiress who was the widow of a French duke, did much to turn Monte Carlo into a cultural centre, establishing both ballet and the opera in the city. Having brought a large dowry into the family she contemplated turning the casino into a convalescent home for the poor who would benefit from recuperation in warm climes. The couple, however, separated before Alice was able to put her plan into action.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: In 1910, the palace was stormed during the Monegasque Revolution. The prince pronounced an end to absolute monarchy by promulgating a constitution with an elected parliament the following year.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Albert was succeeded in 1922 by his son Louis II. Louis II had been brought up by his mother and stepfather, Prince Tasziló Festetics de Tolna, in Germany, and did not know Monaco at all until he was 11. He had a distant relationship with his father and served in the French Army. While posted abroad, he met his mistress Marie Juliette Louvet, by whom he had a daughter, Charlotte Louise Juliette, born in Algeria in 1898. As Prince of Monaco, Louis II spent much time elsewhere, preferring to live at the Château de Marchais, the family's French estates, about a hundred miles northeast of Paris.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: In 1911 Prince Louis had a law passed legitimising his daughter so that she could inherit the throne, in order to prevent its passing to a distant German branch of the family. The law was challenged and developed into what became known as Monaco succession crisis. Finally in 1919 the prince formally adopted his illegitimate daughter Charlotte, who became known as Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois. Louis II's collection of artefacts belonging to Napoleon I form the foundation of the Napoleon Museum at the palace, which is open to the public.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: During World War II, Louis attempted to keep Monaco neutral, although his sympathies were with the Vichy French Government. This caused a rift with his grandson Rainier, his daughter's son, and the heir to Louis's throne, who strongly supported the Allies against the Nazis.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Following the liberation of Monaco by the Allied forces, By 1946 he was spending most of his time in Paris, and on 27 July of that year, he married a French actress, Ghislaine Dommanget, who became Princess of Monaco. Absent from Monaco during most of the final years of his reign, he and his wife lived on their estate in France. Prince Louis died in 1949 and was succeeded by his grandson, Prince Rainier III.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Prince Rainier III was responsible for not only turning around the fortune and reputation of Monaco but also for overseeing the restoration of the palace. Upon his accession in 1949 Prince Rainier III immediately began a program of renovation and restoration. Many of the external frescoes on the courtyard were restored, while the southern wing, destroyed following the French revolution, was rebuilt. This is the part of the palace where the ruling family have their private apartments. The wing also houses the Napoleon Museum and the archives.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: The frescoes decorating the open arcade known as the Gallery of Hercules were altered by Rainier III, who imported works by Pier Francesco Mazzucchelli depicting mythological and legendary heroes. In addition many of the rooms were refurnished and redecorated. Many of the marble floors have been restored in the staterooms and decorated with intarsia designs which include the double R monogram of Prince Rainier III.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Together with his wife, the late Grace Kelly, Prince Rainier not only restored the palace, but from the 1970s also made it the headquarters of a large and thriving business, which encouraged light industry to Monaco, the aim of which was to lessen Monaco's dependence on the income from gambling. This involved land reclamation, the development of new beaches, and high rise luxury housing. As a result of Monaco's increase in prestige, in 1993 it joined the United Nations, with Rainier's heir Prince Albert as head of the Monaco delegation.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Princess Grace predeceased her husband, dying in 1982 as the result of a car accident. When Rainier III died in 2005, he left both his palace and his country stronger and more stable, financially and structurally, than they had been for centuries.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: Today the palace is home to Prince Rainier's son and successor, Prince Albert II. The state rooms are open to the public during the summer, and since 1960, the palace's courtyard has been the setting for open-air concerts given by Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra (formerly known as the Orchestra of the National Opera).


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: However, the palace is far more than a tourist attraction and museum: it remains a fully working palace and headquarters of the Monégasque ruler, a fact emphasised by the sentries on constant guard duty at the entrance ("Illustration 17"). The sovereign princes, although bound by constitution, are involved with the day-to-day running of Monaco as both a country and a business. Today Monaco covers an area of of which have been reclaimed from the sea since 1980.


title: Prince's Palace of Monaco

text: For important Monégasque events—such as Grimaldi weddings and births—the palace courtyard is opened and the assembled citizens of Monaco are addressed by the prince from the Gallery of Hercules overlooking the courtyard. The courtyard is also used to host the annual children's Christmas party. Through such events, the palace continues to play a central role in the lives of the prince and his subjects, as it has done for over 700 years.


title: Addicted (web series)

text: Addicted (), also known as Heroin, is a 2016 streaming television series based on the boys' love novel "Are You Addicted?" (你丫上瘾了) by Chai Jidan. The series is about two sixteen-year-old boys, Gu Hai and Bai Luo Yin, who despite their social differences and personal history forge a close love relationship. Starring Huang Jingyu and Xu Weizhou in their television debut, it premiered on January 29, 2016, and aired for three episodes weekly until February 23, 2016 when it was banned by Chinese authorities. The series' groundbreaking success and its subsequent ban brought the attention to the taboo topic of homosexuality in mainland China. The series has since developed a cult following.


title: Addicted (web series)

text: Filming of the drama began on November 30, 2015 in Beijing, China and ended on December 23, 2015. Featuring a first-time director and new actors, the drama had a production budget of only 5 million yuan (around US$741,300). Due to the low-budget, the cast did their own make-up most of the time and supplied some of their own clothes for the filming.


title: Addicted (web series)

text: Prior to "Addicted", boys' love dramas were understood to belong in a very specific genre with a very specific audience base, hence the series wasn't expected to reach mainstream success.


title: Addicted (web series)

text: Ever since he was young, Bai Luo Yin (Xu Weizhou) has been living with his careless but loving father, Bai Han Qi, and his sick grandmother. When he turned 16 years old, his biological mother Jiang Yuan remarried. Her new husband is a high-ranking military official, Gu Wei Ting.


title: Addicted (web series)

text: Because of his mother's death, Gu Wei Ting's son, Gu Hai (Huang Jingyu), has been harboring a deep grudge towards his father. By the random hand of fate, the two step-brothers with wildly conflicting emotional backgrounds were placed in the same class at a Beijing high school, without knowing each other's background at first. With time, they slowly developed a special feeling toward one another. Their classmates, You Qi and Yang Meng, had been instrumental in the relationship.


title: Addicted (web series)

text: At times, over the course of the series some friends mention that an abbreviated combination of the boys names Hai and Luo Yin sound like “Heroin”.


title: Addicted (web series)

text: On January 29, 2016, the series' first episode premiered on Tencent Video, iQiyi, and other video sites and garnered 10 million views in the span of 24 hours after its initial online release, setting the record of the highest number of views on the first day in China's streaming television history. In less than a month, the series reached over 100 million views, and it became the second most-watched show on iQiyi and the most-watched show on other video sites.


title: Addicted (web series)

text: The series became a viral topic on Weibo and other social platforms. The word 上瘾 ("Shàngyǐn)" was mentioned more than 3.9 million times on Weibo in the week of 21 – 27 February 2016, and the hashtag #上阴网络剧# ("Shàngyǐn web drama)" has been viewed over 840 million times. A Weibo user wrote about how the series was a phenomenal success:


title: Addicted (web series)

text: "You have no idea how crazy it was. [...] The whole of weibo was talking about it. Everyone was watching it; everyone was talking about it."


title: Addicted (web series)

text: The four main actors, particularly Huang and Xu, achieved overnight stardom. Their on-screen chemistry and off-screen interactions in backstage clips gained them a large number of fans who "shipped" them as a real life romantic couple.


title: Addicted (web series)

text: Despite the groundbreaking success, on February 23, 2016, all episodes of the drama were abruptly removed from all Chinese video streaming websites (three episodes before the season finale) by the order of SAPPRFT (now NRTA) due to "the gay and explicit content" and are no longer accessible to Chinese viewers, much to the series viewers outrage. The last three episodes of the first season were uploaded a few days later to the official YouTube channel of Huace Film & TV, accessible to viewers outside of mainland China.


title: Addicted (web series)

text: The censorship of the series sparked criticisms, questions, and discussions about the taboo topic of homosexuality and the acceptance of LGBT community in authoritarian mainland China. Online discussions on Weibo with the hashtag "removal of "Addiction"" received more than 110 million views within a day of its cancellation. American news media "The Wall Street Journal" and "Time" also published articles about the censorship.


title: Addicted (web series)

text: Matthew Baren of Shanghai Pride told "Time" that while its “disappointing” that "Addiction" has gone offline, “it’s very encouraging to see shows about homosexuality being made in China, by Chinese talents and for Chinese audiences.” A Weibo user was quoted by the "South China Morning Post:" “Why did they take away this drama? [...] There are millions of reasons to cover their move, but the truth is that they are afraid of gay [issues]." Chinese activist Li Maizi argued regarding the series' censorship: "The recent hit gay-themed Web dramas show that the LGBT market is broad. [...] SAPPRFT had better face up to it rather than implementing unspoken rules or using traditional values as a shield."


title: Addicted (web series)

text: Despite the series' cancellation, the two main actors continued to skyrocket in popularity both individually and as a screen couple, doing interviews and magazine photoshoots together, and also continued to publicly interacting and "teasing" each other on Weibo to fans' delight.


title: Addicted (web series)

text: However on April 17, 2016, it was revealed that its planned second season was permanently shelved, and China has unofficially banned the two actors from appearing on television or any event together. Their filmed appearances on Chinese television variety shows such as Happy Camp, Run for Time, and Avenue of Stars subsequently never aired. On April 17, 2016, during a fan meeting in Thailand, in a brief moment when they did come together, they were quickly pulled apart by security guards. It was their last public appearance together. There was no official announcement to the banning of the actors (contrary to the previous official announcement ordering the series to immediately be pulled off-air) to the puzzlement and disappointment of fans. Xu stopped receiving work offers for a period of time as a repercussion of the ban.


title: Addicted (web series)

text: , the series' episodes on Huace Film & TV YouTube channel has a total of 28 million views. The series remains to be the most popular boys' love series ever made from mainland China.


title: Addicted (web series)

text: The series developed an active cult following in boys' love genre fandom and casual fans since its cancellation, both locally and internationally. As of October 2020, the Weibo forum for fans of the series (especially fans of Huang and Xu as a couple) known as 双超 ("shuangchao") has over 360,000 followers, most of them still being active.


title: Addicted (web series)

text: The term "eight-year promise" is used by the series' fans to wait for the day Huang and Xu are "able to share the stage together, to be photographed together, once more." The fans chose eight years because the couple is separated for eight years in the original novel.


title: Addicted (web series)

text: On June 21, 2019, Jidan posted pictures on Weibo and responded to user's questions by saying that filming for season two has started in Taiwan. It is rumored that the cast has been changed.


title: Ashdod

text: Ashdod ( "ʾašdōḏ"; "ʾisdūd" or "ʾasdūd" ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *"ʾašdūd") is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterranean coast south of Tel Aviv and north of Ashkelon.


title: Ashdod

text: The first documented urban settlement at Ashdod dates to the 17th century BCE, when it was a fortified Canaanite city. It was destroyed at the end of the Late Bronze Age. During the Iron Age, Ashdod was a prominent Philistine city, one of the five Philistine city-states. It is mentioned 13 times in the Hebrew Bible. After being captured by Uzziah, it was briefly ruled by the Kingdom of Judah before it was taken by the Assyrians. During the Persian period, Nehemiah condemned the returning Jews for intermarrying Ashdod's residents. Under Hellenistic rule, the city was known as "Azotus". It was later incorporated into the Hasmonean kingdom. During the 1st century BCE, Pompey removed the city from Judean rule and annexed it to the Roman province of Syria. Ashdod was a bishopric under Byzantine rule, but its importance gradually slipped and by the Middle Ages it was a village. The nearby site of Ashdod-Yam, today also part of the modern city, was a separate city for most of its history.


title: Ashdod

text: Modern Ashdod was established in 1956 on the sand hills near the site of the ancient town, and incorporated as a city in 1968, with a land-area of approximately . Being a planned city, expansion followed a main development plan, which facilitated traffic and prevented air pollution in the residential areas, despite population growth. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, Ashdod had a population of in , with an area of .


title: Ashdod

text: Ashdod is today a major Israeli city, and contains the largest port in Israel accounting for 60% of the country's imported goods. Ashdod today is home to the largest Moroccan and Karaite Jewish communities in Israel, and to the largest Georgian Jewish community in the world. It is also an important regional industrial center.


title: Ashdod

text: Three stone tools dating from the Neolithic era were discovered, but no other evidence of a Stone Age settlement in Ashdod was found, suggesting that the tools were deposited there in a later period.


title: Ashdod

text: The site of Ashdod in the Bronze Age was at a tell () just south of the modern city. It was excavated by archaeologists in nine seasons between 1962 and 1972. The effort was led during the first few years by David Noel Freedman of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and Moshe Dothan. The remaining seasons were headed by Dothan for the Israel Antiquities Authority.


title: Ashdod

text: The earliest major habitation in Ashdod dates to the 17th century BCE. Ashdod was fortified in MBIIC with a two-entryway city gate (similar to Shechem).


title: Ashdod

text: Ashdod is first mentioned in written documents from Late Bronze Age Ugarit, which indicate that the city was a center of export for dyed woolen purple fabric and garments. At the end of the 13th century BCE the Sea Peoples conquered and destroyed Ashdod. By the beginning of the 12th century BCE, the Philistines, generally thought to have been one of the Sea Peoples, ruled the city. During their reign, the city prospered and was a member of the Philistine Pentapolis (i.e. five cities), which included Ashkelon and Gaza on the coast and Ekron and Gath farther inland, in addition to Ashdod.


title: Ashdod

text: In 950 BCE Ashdod was destroyed during Pharaoh Siamun's conquest of the region. The city was not rebuilt until at least 815 BCE.


title: Ashdod

text: "Asdûdu" led the revolt of Philistines, Judeans, Edomites, and Moabites against Assyria after expulsion of king Ahimiti, whom Sargon had installed instead of his brother Azuri. Gath ("Gimtu") belonged to the kingdom of Ashdod at that time. Assyrian king Sargon II's commander-in-chief ("turtanu"), whom the King James Bible calls simply "Tartan" (), regained control of Ashdod in 712/711 BCE and forced the usurper Yamani to flee. Sargon's general destroyed the city and exiled its residents, including some Israelites who were subsequently settled in Media and Elam.


title: Ashdod

text: Mitinti (Akkadian: 𒈪𒋾𒅔𒋾 "mi-ti-in-ti"; Philistine: 𐤌𐤕𐤕 *"Mītīt" or *"Matīt") was king at the time of Sargon's son Sennacherib (r. 705–681 BCE), and Akhimilki in the reign of Sennacherib's son Esarhaddon (r. 681–669 BCE).


title: Ashdod

text: Psamtik I of Egypt (r. 664 – 610 BCE) is reported to have besieged the great city Azotus for twenty-nine years (Herodotus, ii. 157); the biblical references to "the remnant of Ashdod" (; cf. ) are interpreted as allusions to this event.


title: Ashdod

text: In 539 BCE the city was rebuilt by the Persians. In 332 BCE it was conquered in the wars of Alexander the Great.


title: Ashdod

text: The Book of Nehemiah, referring to events in the 5th century BCE, mentions the "Ashdodites" and the "speech of Ashdod", which half of the children from mixed families are described as adopting. Hugo Winckler explains the use of that name by the fact that Ashdod was the nearest of the Philistine cities to Jerusalem.


title: Ashdod

text: There are Biblical episodes referencing Ashdod but they remain uncorroborated by archaeological finds:


title: Ashdod

text: Once Hellenised, the city changed its name to the more Greek-sounding "Αzotus" ( and prospered until the Hasmonean Revolt. During the rebellion Judas Maccabeus "took it, and laid it waste" ("Antiquities of the Jews" Book 12, 8:6) His brother Jonathan conquered it again in 147 BCE and destroyed the temple of Dagon of biblical fame ("Antiquities" Book 13, 4:4; ). During the rule of Alexander Jannæus, Ashdod was part of his territory ("Antiquities" Book 13, 15:4).


title: Ashdod

text: After the destruction wreaked during the succession wars between Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, Pompey restored the independence of Azotus, as he did with all Hellenising coastal cities ("Antiquities" Book 14, 4:4). A few years later, in 55 BCE, after more fighting, Roman general Gabinius helped rebuild Ashdod and several other cities left without protective walls ("Antiquities" Book 14, 5:2). In 30 BCE Ashdod came under the rule of King Herod, who then bequeathed it to his sister Salome ("Antiquities" Book 17, 8:1). By the time of the First Jewish–Roman War (66-70), there must have been a large enough Jewish presence in Ashdod for Vespasian to feel compelled to place a garrison in the city.


title: Ashdod

text: Despite its location four miles (6 km) from the coast, Ptolemy (c. 90 – c. 168 CE) described it as a maritime city, as did Josephus in "Antiquities" Book 13, 15:4. The same Josephus though describes Ashdod as "in the inland parts" ("Antiquities" Book 14, 4:4). This curious contradiction may refer to Ashdod's control of a separate harbor, called Azotus Paralios, or Ashdod-on-the-Sea (παράλιος - "paralios", Greek for "on the coast"). The landlocked city was called by the Romans Hippinos, "of the horsemen", and by the Greeks until late in the medieval period, Azotus mesogaios or "inland Azotus".


title: Ashdod

text: The 1st century CE Book of Acts refers to Azotus as the place in which Philip the Evangelist reappeared after he converted the Ethiopian eunuch to Christianity. Philip preached the gospel throughout the area until he reached Caesarea, about 90 km to the north.


title: Ashdod

text: During the Byzantine period, the port city overshadowed its inland counterpart in size and importance. The 6th-century Madaba Map shows both under their respective names.


title: Ashdod

text: The prominence of Hellenised, then Christian Azotus continued until the 7th century, when it came under Muslim rule. The city was represented at the Council of Chalcedon by Heraclius of Azotus.


title: Ashdod

text: In November 2017, archaeologists discovered a church, later fully excavated and called “Church of the Deaconesses.” An inscription was discovered between two modern houses, about a mile from the coast. According to a medieval Christian Georgian calendar, a four-line Greek mosaic inscription dated back to "the 3rd indiction, year 292", which corresponds to the 6th century AD on the Gregorian calendar. Archaeologists thought they could have found the remains of the Roman-Byzantine city of Ashdod-Yam.


title: Ashdod

text: A coastal fort was erected by the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik, the builder of the Dome of the Rock, at or near the former Azotus Paralios, which was later reconstructed by the Fatimids and Crusaders.


title: Ashdod

text: The medieval Arabic name of the port town was Mahuz Azdud, "harbour of Azdud", a very interesting combination between the by then already ancient Aramaic word for harbour, "mahuz", and "Azdud", a return to a form much closer to the old Semitic name "Ashdod".


title: Ashdod

text: The geographer Ibn Khordadbeh (c. 820 – 912) referred to the inland city as "Azdud" and described it as a postal station between al-Ramla and Gaza.


title: Ashdod

text: Documents from the Crusader period indicate that Ashdod belonged to the lordship of Ramla, and it appears probable that in 1169 the old Arab sea fort was given by Hugh, lord of Ramla, to his knight Nicolas de Beroard. From this period the fort is known as Castellum Beroart.


title: Ashdod

text: The port stops being mentioned during the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods, making it likely that it was destroyed by the Muslims along with the other port cities, due to fears that they might again be used by Crusader invasions from the sea. With the destruction of the port city, its inland counterpart regains its importance.


title: Ashdod

text: The location of the village on Via Maris enhanced the city's importance during the Ottoman rule. In 1596 CE, administrated by "nahiya" ("subdistrict") of Gaza under the "liwa'" ("district") of Gaza, the population of Ashdod (named "Sdud") numbered 75 households, about 413 persons, all Muslims. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on wheat, barley, sesame and fruit crops, as well as goats and beehives; a total of 14,000 Akçe.


title: Ashdod

text: In the late nineteenth century, Isdud was described as a village spread across the eastern slope of a low hill, covered with gardens. A ruined khan stood southwest of the village. Its houses were one-storey high with walls and enclosures built of adobe brick. There were two main sources of water: a pond and a masonry well. Both were surrounded by groves of date-palm and fig-trees.


title: Ashdod

text: In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Isdud had a population of 2,566 inhabitants; 2,555 Muslims and 11 Christians, where the Christians were all Catholics. The population increased in the 1931 census to 3,240; 3,238 Muslims and 2 Christians, in a total of 764 houses.


title: Ashdod

text: During the Mandatory period, Isdud had two elementary schools; one for boys which was opened in 1922, and one for girls which started in 1942. By the mid-1940s the boy-school had 371 students, while the girl-school had 74.


title: Ashdod

text: The official Village Statistics, 1945 for "Isdûd" gave a population of 4,620 Arabs and 290 Jews in a total land area of 47,871 dunams []. Of this, 3,277 dunams were used citrus and bananas, 8,327 for plantations and irrigable land, 23,762 for cereals, while 131 dunams were built-on land.


title: Ashdod

text: The village of Isdud was occupied by the Egyptian army on May 29, 1948, and became the Egyptians' northernmost position during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. While the Israelis failed to capture territory, and suffered heavy casualties, Egypt changed its strategy from offensive to defensive, thus halting their advance northwards. Egyptian and Israeli forces clashed in the surrounding area, with the Egyptians being unable to hold the Ad Halom bridge over the Lachish River. Israeli forces surrounded the town during Operation Pleshet, and shelled and bombed it from the air. For three nights from 18 October the Israeli Air Force bombed Isdud and several other locations. Fearing encirclement, Egyptian forces retreated on October 28, 1948, and the majority of the residents fled. The 300 townspeople who remained were driven southwards by the Israel Defense Forces. The village was part of territory that was granted to Israel in the 1949 Armistice Agreements following the end of the war.


title: Ashdod

text: In 1950, the moshavim of Sde Uziyahu and Shtulim were established to the east of Isdud, and in 1949 and 1953, Bnei Darom and Gan HaDarom were established north of Isdud. According to Khalidi, they were established on the village lands.


title: Ashdod

text: The modern city of Ashdod was founded in 1956. On May 1, 1956, then finance minister Levi Eshkol approved the establishment of the city of Ashdod. "Ashdod Company Ltd.", a daughter company of City-Builders Company Ltd., was created for that purpose by Oved Ben-Ami and Philip Klutznick.


title: Ashdod

text: The first settlers, 22 families from Morocco, arrived in November 1956, followed by a small influx of immigrants from Egypt. In July 1957, the government granted a , approximately from Tel Aviv, to the Ashdod Company Ltd., for building the modern city of Ashdod. The building of the Eshkol A power station in Ashdod was completed in 1958 and included 3 units: 2 units of 50 megawatt, and one unit of 45 megawatt (with sea water desalination capabilities).


title: Ashdod

text: The city's development was made possible by the large investment of industrialist Israel Rogosin who opened his main Israeli factory in the city of Ashdod on August 9, 1960. Three of the high schools he funded were also built in Ashdod. The Main boulevard in Ashdod is named in his honour as a founder of the city.


title: Ashdod

text: The first local council was appointed in October 1959. Dov Gur was appointed the first local council head on behalf of the Israeli Ministry of Interior. In 1961, Ashdod was a town of 4,600. The Magistrates' Court in the city was inaugurated in 1963. The building of the port of Ashdod began in April 1961. The port was inaugurated in November 1963, and was first utilized in November 1965, with the coming of the Swedish ship "Wiengelgad". The city expanded gradually, with the construction of two quarters in the 1960s, followed by four more in the 1970s and two more in the 1980s. In 1972, the population was 40,300, and this grew to 65,700 by 1983.


title: Ashdod

text: Large-scale growth of the city began in 1991, with the massive arrival of immigrants from the Soviet Union and Ethiopia and infrastructure development. From 1990 to 2001 the city accepted more than 100,000 new inhabitants, a 150% growth. Five more quarters of the city were completed, and a business district was built. In the 2000s, three more quarters and the marina districts were completed.


title: Ashdod

text: Ashdod was one of six cities that won the 2012 Education Prize awarded by the Israel Ministry of Education.


title: Ashdod

text: The modern city of Ashdod city was built outside the historic settlement site, on virgin sands. The development followed a main development plan. The planners divided the city into seventeen neighborhoods of ten to fifteen thousand people. Wide avenues between the neighborhoods make traffic flow relatively freely inside the city. Each neighborhood has access to its own commercial center, urban park, and health and education infrastructure. The original plan also called for a business and administrative center, built in the mid-1990s, when the city population grew rapidly more than doubling in ten years.


title: Ashdod

text: Three industrial zones were placed adjacent to the port in the northern part of the city, taking into account the prevailing southern winds which take air pollution away from the city. The plan had its problems, however, including asymmetric growth of upscale and poorer neighborhoods and the long-time lack of a main business and administrative center.


title: Ashdod

text: The city was planned for a maximum of 250,000 inhabitants, and an additional area in the south was reserved for further development.


title: Ashdod

text: In 2012, a plan to build an industrial zone on part of the Ashdod Sand Dune was approved. The plan calls for a hi-tech industrial park, events halls, and coffee shops to be built adjacent to the train station. It will cover , including 130 dunams of built-up space, with the rest of the area being preserved as a nature reserve. In addition, the Port of Ashdod is undergoing a massive expansion program.


title: Ashdod

text: The Ashdod-Nitzanim sand dune nature reserve is a stretch of sand dunes on the southern outskirts of Ashdod.


title: Ashdod

text: Ashdod has a Mediterranean climate with hot summers, pleasant spring and fall, and cool, rainy winters. As a seaside town, the humidity tends to be high many times year round, and rain occurs mainly from November to March. In winter, temperatures seldom drop below and are more likely to be in the range of , while in summer the average is . The average annual rainfall is .


title: Ashdod

text: Ashdod is one of the most important industrial centers in Israel. All industrial activities in the city are located in northern areas such as the port area, the northern industrial zone, and around the Lachish River. The port of Ashdod is the largest port in Israel, handling about 60% of Israel's port cargo. It was mainly upgraded in recent years and will be able to provide berths for Panamax ships. Various shipping companies offices are also located in the port area which also is home to an Eshkol A power station and coal terminal.


title: Ashdod

text: The Northern industrial zone is located on Highway 41 and includes various industry including an oil refinery, which is one of only two in the country. The heavy industry zone located south of the Lachish River was once the main industrial center in Ashdod. Recently, however, leisure facilities have moved into the area. There is still some industry here, however, such as a Teva Pharmaceutical Industries plant, construction components producer Ashtrom, and Solbar a soybean oil producer. Ashdod is also home to Elta, a part of Israel Aircraft Industries where radar equipment, electronic warfare systems, and ELINT are developed.


title: Ashdod

text: Historically each neighborhood of Ashdod had its own commercial center. In 1990, however, when the mall shopping culture developed in Israel, the main commercial activity in Ashdod moved to malls. The first mall to open in Ashdod was the Forum Center in the industrial zone. Restaurants, bars and night clubs were opened in the area. Today, the Forum center is mainly used for offices. Lev Ashdod Mall, which opened in 1993, has been enlarged and upgraded since then. Ashdod Mall, billed at the time as the city's largest shopping mall, has also been redesigned since its opening in 1995. City Mall, Ashdod was opened in a combined building with the central bus station in 1996, following the examples of the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station and the Jerusalem Central Bus Station. The Sea Mall, a three-story mall near the government offices, has a climbing wall and movie theater. Star Center doubled in size in 2007.


title: Ashdod

text: In 2013, Ashdod had 500 schools employing 3,500 teachers. The student population was 55,000. The city's education budget was NIS 418 million shekels.


title: Ashdod

text: Lycée français Guivat-Washington, a French international high school, is in Givat Washington, in proximity to Ashdod.


title: Ashdod

text: Assuta Ashdod Medical Center, Ashdod's only general hospital, serves the city and the surrounding area. It is a 300-bed hospital, and its "bomb shelter" design with thick concrete walls offers sufficient protection so as to keep operating without having to transfer patients during a time of war. It is also a university hospital affiliated with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The hospital opened in 2017. Prior to the opening of the hospital, Ashdod did not have a general hospital, and residents in need of hospitalization had to travel to Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot or Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon.


title: Ashdod

text: There are public and private clinics operating in the city. A special clinic run by Hatzalah operates at times when all other clinics in the city are closed.


title: Ashdod

text: Ashdod is located on the historic Via Maris. Highway 4 was developed following this route along the southern sea shore of Israel; it serves as the main connection to the north, towards the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, and to the south, towards Ashkelon. Ad Halom junction was planned as the main entrance to the city from the east.


title: Ashdod

text: The interchange continues the freeway section of Highway 4 further south, by removing the traffic light at this junction, and also added grade separation with the railway. The other main road in the area is Highway 41 which served the city from the start of its modern history. This road runs from west to east towards Gedera and it is the main transport link to the port of Ashdod and the industrial zones, and connects to Highway 4 with an interchange.


title: Ashdod

text: In late 2012, Ashdod won a NIS 220 million grant from the Israeli Transport Ministry to improve public transportation and decrease private car use. According to the municipality's plans, a 20-kilometer ring of road arteries will be given priority in public transportation. These arteries will carry four bus rapid transit lines. In the city's more crowded areas, such as Herzl Boulevard or the western part of Menachem Begin Boulevard, a public transportation lane will be paved in the center of the road. In other areas, the right-hand lane will be reserved for public transportation. Buses will also be given priority at traffic lights; electronic devices will allow a bus to signal its approach, causing the light to turn green. In addition, an electric-powered bicycle rental network will be set up, and of bicycle paths will be paved in the city.


title: Ashdod

text: The passenger railway connection to Ashdod opened in 1992 after the renovation of the historical railway to Egypt. Ashdod railway station is on Israel Railways' Binyamina/Netanya – Tel Aviv – Ashkelon line and it is located near Ad Halom Junction. The station was upgraded in 2003 when a new terminal building was built. The station building is modern, but proper road access to it was only organized on September 23, 2008, when a new road to the station was opened.


title: Ashdod

text: There is also heavy freight traffic in the area. Port of Ashdod has its own railway spur line as well as a special terminal for potash brought from the Sodom area and exported abroad.


title: Ashdod

text: A new central bus station opened in 1996. It serves as the terminus both for inter- and intracity lines. The central bus station is attached to the City Mall. Intercity bus lines connect the city with most population centers in central and southern Israel. Following is the list of bus companies serving routes at the central bus station:


title: Ashdod

text: The Egged Ta'avura company has been operating urban buses in Ashdod since 2007. In addition, a share taxi service exists in Ashdod, operated by Moniyot HaIr. Most share taxi lines coincide with intracity bus lines.


title: Ashdod

text: There is a passenger pier in the Port of Ashdod. The traffic at this gateway is constantly growing, especially due to cruise ship activities. The other sea gateway is Blue Marina.


title: Ashdod

text: According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, Ashdod had a population of about at the end of , making it the sixth largest city in Israel. The annual population growth rate is 2.6% and the ratio of women to men is 1,046 to 1,000. The population age distribution was recorded as 19.7% under the age of 10, 15.7% from age 10 to 19, 14.9% from 20 to 29, 19.1% from 30 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% were 65 or older. The population of Ashdod is significantly younger than the Israeli average because of the large number of young couples living in the city. The city is ranked medium-low in socio-economic grading, with a rating of 4 out of 10. 56.1% of 12th grade students in Ashdod were eligible for matriculation certificates in 2000. The average salary in 2000 was NIS 4,821 compared to the national average of NIS 6,835.


title: Ashdod

text: Ashdod has seen much of its growth as the result of absorption of immigrants. The first settlers were Jewish immigrants from Morocco and Egypt. In the 1960s Ashdod accepted a large number of immigrants from Romania, followed by a large number from Georgia (then part of the Soviet Union) in the 1970s. More than 60,000 Russian Jews from the former Soviet Union who immigrated to Israel in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union settled in Ashdod. Recent demographic figures suggest that about 32% of the city's population are new immigrants, 85% of whom are originally from the former Soviet Union. During the 1990s the city absorbed a large number of Beta Israel immigrants from Ethiopia, and in more recent years Ashdod absorbed a large number of immigrants from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Argentina, and South Africa. Many of the 60,000 Marathi-speaking Bene Israel from Maharashtra, India who moved to Israel also settled there. Ashdod also receives a significant amount of internal migration, especially from the Gush Dan region.


title: Ashdod

text: Over 95% of Ashdod's population is Jewish, over 30% of whom are religiously observant. Despite this, the city is generally secular, although most of the non-Jewish population is a result of mixed marriages. About 100 families are affiliated with the Pittsburg Hasidic group, established there in 1969 by Grand Rabbi Avraham Abba Leifer and continued today by his son, Grand Rabbi Mordechai Yissachar Ber Leifer. Ashdod has many synagogues serving different streams of Judaism. The city is also home to the world's largest Karaite community, about five thousand strong. There is also a Scandinavian Seamen Protestant church, established by Norwegian Righteous Among the Nations pastor Per Faye-Hansen.


title: Ashdod

text: Ashdod was declared a city in 1968. The Ashdod City Council has twenty-five elected members, one of whom is the mayor. The mayor serves a five-year term and appoints six deputies. The current mayor of Ashdod, Yehiel Lasri, was last elected in 2008 after Zvi Zilker


title: Ashdod

text: has been in office continuously since 1989. Within the city council there are various factions representing different population groups. The headquarters of the Ashdod Municipality and the mayor's office are at city hall. This new municipal building is located in the main culture and business area.


title: Ashdod

text: Ashdod is home to the Israeli Andalusian Orchestra, which performs Andalusian classical music. It is an Arabic music style that originates from Moorish Iberia or Al-Andalus, has been jealously preserved in its original form by Arab and Jewish musicians of the Maghreb over the centuries, and has left its mark on the "cante flamenco", the flamenco singing style, perhaps better known in the West. The orchestra was awarded the Israel Prize in 2006.


title: Ashdod

text: Ashdod also has one of the biggest open theaters in Israel - Amphi Ashdod that can hosts more than 6,400 guests. The Amphi hosts Ashdod's international art festival "Méditerranée".


title: Ashdod

text: The MonArt Centre for the Arts, which includes a ballet school, a music center and the Ashdod Museum of Art, is a performing arts center which comprises different galleries, art schools, studios and events. The ambitious architectural complex has been inaugurated in 2003. Theatre and concerts are hosted in several cultural venues; the most important are performed at the Ashdod Performing Arts Center, a new 938-seat concert hall of distinct elegance and originality designed by Israeli architect Haim Dotan and inaugurated in 2012 in the city's cultural center. Ashdod plays host to many national and international music festivals, including the annual Super Jazz Ashdod Festival managed by Leonid Ptashka.


title: Ashdod

text: The ACADMA conservatory is a professional educational institute for music and performance studies based in Ashdod. Operated under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, the institute was established in 1966, and serves as a home for 600 young musicians in different fields.


title: Ashdod

text: The Corinne Mamane Museum of Philistine Culture is worldwide the only museum dedicated to this topic. It reopened in 2014 with a new interactive exhibition. The Museum displays significant Philistine artifacts form each of the five cities in the Philistine pentapolis.


title: Ashdod

text: The Ashdod Museum of Art, located in the MonArt center (see above at "Music and performing arts"), has 12 galleries and two exhibition halls. In an architectural echo of the Louvre, the entrance to the museum is through a glass pyramid. In 2003 the internal spaces of the museum were redesigned by the architects Eyal Weizman, Rafi Segal and Manuel Herz.


title: Ashdod

text: Ashdod's football team, F.C. Ironi Ashdod represents the city in the Israeli Premier League. The club is known for its successful football school. It is also home to Hapoel Ashdod F.C., which plays in Liga Alef. The city's top basketball team is Maccabi Ashdod. The men squad plays in First League, Israel's First tier league, and the women squad Maccabi Bnot Ashdod plays in top division.


title: Ashdod

text: Ashdod plays host to many national and international sporting tournaments, including the annual Ashdod International Chess Festival. The city has a cricket team, a rarity in Israel. It is run and organized by citizens of Indian descent. Ashdod's beaches are a venue for water sports, like as windsurfing and Scuba diving. The Ashdod Marina offers yachting services.


title: Sprain

text: A sprain, also known as a torn ligament, is an acute soft tissue injury of the ligaments within a joint, often caused by a sudden movement abruptly forcing the joint to exceed its functional range of motion. Ligaments are tough, inelastic fibers made of collagen that connect two or more bones to form a joint and are important for joint stability and proprioception, which is the body's sense of limb position and movement. Sprains can occur at any joint but most commonly occur in the ankle, knee, or wrist. An equivalent injury to a muscle or tendon is known as a strain.


title: Sprain

text: The majority of sprains are mild, causing minor swelling and bruising that can be resolved with conservative treatment, typically summarized as RICE: rest, ice, compression, elevation. However, severe sprains involve complete tears, ruptures, or fractures, often leading to joint instability, severe pain, and decreased functional ability. These sprains require surgical fixation, prolonged immobilization, and physical therapy.


title: Sprain

text: Knowing the signs and symptoms of a sprain can be helpful in differentiating the injury from a strain or fracture. Strains typically present with pain, cramping, muscle spasm, and muscle weakness, and fractures typically present with bone tenderness, especially when bearing weight.


title: Sprain

text: Acute sprains typically occur when the joint is abruptly forced beyond its functional range of motion, often in the setting of trauma or sports injuries. Chronic sprains are caused by repetitive movements leading to overuse.


title: Sprain

text: Ligaments are collagen fibers that connect bones together, providing passive stabilization to a joint. These fibers can be found in various organizational patterns (parallel, oblique, spiral, etc.) depending on the function of the joint involved. Ligaments can be extra-capsular (located outside the joint capsule), capsular (continuation of the joint capsule), or intra-articular (located within a joint capsule). The location has important implications for healing as blood flow to intra-articular ligaments is diminished compared to extra-capsular or capsular ligaments.


title: Sprain

text: Collagen fibers have about a 4% elastic zone where fibers stretch out with increased load on the joint. However, exceeding this elastic limit causes a rupture of fibers, leading to a sprain. It is important to recognize that ligaments adapt to training by increasing the cross-sectional area of fibers. When a ligament is immobilized, the ligament has been shown to rapidly weaken. Normal daily activity is important for maintaining about 80–90% of the mechanical properties of a ligament.


title: Sprain

text: Sprains can often be diagnosed clinically based on the patient's signs and symptoms, mechanism of injury, and physical examination. However, x-rays can be obtained to help identify fractures, especially in cases of tenderness or bone pain at the injured site. In some instances, particularly if the healing process is prolonged or a more serious injury is suspected, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is performed to look at the surrounding soft tissue and ligaments.


title: Sprain

text: Treatment of sprains usually involves incorporating conservative measures to reduce the signs and symptoms of sprains, surgery to repair severe tears or ruptures, and rehabilitation to restore function to the injured joint. Although most sprains can be managed without surgery, severe injuries may require tendon grafting or ligament repair based on the individual's circumstances. The amount of rehabilitation and time needed for recovery will depend on the severity of the sprain.


title: Sprain

text: Depending on the mechanism of injury, joint involvement, and severity, most sprains can be treated using conservative measures following the acronym RICE within the first 24 hours of sustaining an injury. However, it is important to recognize that treatments should be individualized depending on the patient's particular injury and symptoms. Over-the-counter medications such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can help relieve pain, and topical NSAIDs can be as effective as medications taken by mouth.


title: Sprain

text: Other non-operative therapies including the continuous passive motion machine (moves joint without patient exertion) and cryocuff (type of cold compress that is activated similarly to a blood pressure cuff) have been effective in reducing swelling and improving range of motion. Recent studies have shown that traction is just as effective as the RICE technique in treating ankle sprains in pediatric patients.


title: Sprain

text: The components of an effective rehabilitation program for all sprain injuries include increasing the range of motion of the affected joint and progressive muscle strengthening exercises. After implementing conservative measures to reduce swelling and pain, mobilizing the limb within 48–72 hours following injury has been shown to promote healing by stimulating growth factors in musculoskeletal tissues linked to cellular division and matrix remodeling.


title: Sprain

text: Prolonged immobilization can delay the healing of a sprain, as it usually leads to muscle atrophy and weakness. Although prolonged immobilization can have a negative effect on recovery, a study in 1996 suggest that the use of bracing can improve healing by alleviating pain and stabilizing the injury to prevent further damage to the ligament or re-injury. When using a brace, it is necessary to ensure adequate blood flow to the extremity. Ultimately, the goal of functional rehabilitation is to return the patient to full daily activities while minimizing the risk of re-injury.


title: 2023 IIHF World Championship

text: The 2023 IIHF World Championship will be co-hosted by Tampere, Finland and Riga, Latvia. The tournament is scheduled to be held from 12 to 28 May 2023, and will be organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).


title: 2023 IIHF World Championship

text: The event was originally planned to be held in Saint Petersburg, Russia, but in February 2022 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) called for Russia to be stripped of hosting rights to all international sporting events due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 26 April 2022, Russia lost their rights to host the World Championship.


title: 2023 IIHF World Championship

text: After being promoted to the top division, Slovenia and Hungary both bid to co-host the event in Ljubljana and Budapest. The bid was withdrawn due to Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation informing the IIHF that it did not receive the governmental guarantees to host. Finland and Latvia submitted a joint bid, with Nokia Arena in Tampere and Arena Riga in Riga as potential host venues. On 27 May 2022, the IIHF confirmed that Finland and Latvia will host the tournament.


title: 2023 IIHF World Championship

text: The seedings in the preliminary round are based on the 2022 IIHF World Ranking, as of the end of the 2022 IIHF World Championship, using the serpentine system while allowing the organizer, "to allocate a maximum of two teams to separate groups".


United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262 was adopted on 27 March 2014 by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly in response to the Russian annexation of Crimea and entitled "territorial integrity of Ukraine". The nonbinding resolution, which was supported by 100 United Nations member states, affirmed the General Assembly's commitment to the territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and underscored the invalidity of the 2014 Crimean referendum. Eleven nations voted against the resolution, while 58 abstained, and a further 24 states were absent when the vote took place.


title: United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262

text: The resolution was introduced by Canada, Costa Rica, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine. The adoption of the resolution was preceded by the unsuccessful attempts of the United Nations Security Council, which convened seven sessions to address the Crimean crisis, only to face a Russian veto of draft resolution S/2014/189, sponsored by 42 countries.


text: Nicos Emiliou, permanent representative of Cyprus to the United Nations, who favoured the resolution, said that "Cyprus underlines the importance of respecting the fundamental principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of all states, including Ukraine". Emiliou urged to conduct a probe on all acts of violence and encouraged Russia to engage in a diplomatic solution.


text: The permanent representative of China to the United Nations, Liu Jieyi, whose country abstained from voting, stated that "in the context of the ongoing diplomatic mediation efforts by the parties concerned, an attempt to push ahead with the UNGA vote on the draft resolution on the question of Ukraine will only further complicate the situation".


text: On 28 March 2014, the Russian Federation stated that the resolution was counterproductive and accused Western states of using blackmail and threats to drum up approval votes.


title: Cult of the Lamb

text: Cult of the Lamb is a roguelike video game developed by indie developer Massive Monster and published by Devolver Digital. The game was released on 11 August 2022 for macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The game follows a possessed lamb who is saved from death by a god-like stranger named "The One Who Waits", and must repay their debt by creating a loyal following in its name.


title: Cult of the Lamb

text: "Cult of the Lamb" received generally positive reviews from critics upon release, with praise directed towards its gameplay and replay value.


title: Cult of the Lamb

text: "Cult of the Lamb" is centred around a possessed lamb that is tasked with forming a cult to appease the ominous deity who saved the player character's life. The player must launch roguelike-style crusades and venture out into the game's five regions to defeat enemies and grow their following. The world, which is randomly generated and contains roguelike elements, contains resources to gather, perks and weapons to collect, enemies in the form of rival cultists and non-believers to fight, and other animals to rescue; these animals can be indoctrinated into the player's cult. They have appearances that can be changed and both positive and negative traits, which can affect how they act in the cult or how they react to the player's actions regarding the cult.


title: Cult of the Lamb

text: The player can manage their followers at their cult's village. Followers can be assigned tasks at the base such as gathering resources, building structures, worshipping, performing rituals, sending them to assist the player in battle, or sacrificing them, which can affect the player's abilities and the cult itself. The player must ensure their followers' needs are met by performing sermons and rituals to reinforce their faith, cooking food for them to survive, providing them with shelter, and ensuring the village is clean and sanitary. Otherwise, the followers can turn against the player, spread dissent, and eventually leave the cult with other followers; to prevent this, the player can provide for them, give them gifts, reeducate them, or detain them in a pillory until they stop dissenting.


title: Cult of the Lamb

text: The game integrates with the streaming website Twitch, via the "Companion of the Lamb" Twitch extension. Viewers can customize their follower by entering via a "Follower Raffle", which will have their username displayed above their character at all times. Other benefits is the "Twitch Totem Bar" where viewers can contribute channel points to, resulting in a random reward for the player, and a "Help or Hinder" event where they can vote on either help or hinder the player's progress.


title: Cult of the Lamb

text: In a land of false prophets, a Lamb, supposedly the last of their kind, is brought before The Four Bishops of the Old Faith, and is sacrificed before them. Upon dying, The Lamb is brought before "The One Who Waits,” a strange deity who is imprisoned in chains. The One Who Waits tasks The Lamb with starting a cult in its name, gives The Lamb a demonic crown, then resurrects them.


title: Cult of the Lamb

text: Assisted by Ratau, The Lamb's precursor, The Lamb then settles at the ruins of a temple and begins establishing a cult on behalf of The One Who Waits, in order to defeat the four other Bishops – Leshy, Heket, Kallamar, and Shamura – and free it. After settling down into their cult, The Lamb adventures off on crusades, defeating each of the Four Bishops while simultaneously expanding the cult with followers, increasing its influence and The Lamb’s powers. With the death of each Bishop, one of the four chains holding The One Who Waits breaks, ultimately freeing the deity. While crusading, the Four Bishops and The One Who Waits speak to The Lamb in different encounters.


title: Cult of the Lamb

text: As The Lamb progressively gets closer to their ultimate goal, The One Who Waits informs The Lamb that the Four Bishops had betrayed and imprisoned him, and that he intends to ultimately rule the cult and the world while remaking them in his image. However, during The Lamb’s crusade against Shamura, Shamura reveals the identity of The One Who Waits: “Narinder.” Shamura also informs The Lamb that not only was Narinder the Fifth Bishop of the Old Faith, but was also their brother and equal, having ruled over the realm of Death. Shamura laments to The Lamb, confessing that millennia before, Narinder had grown ambitious and was discontent with his role as a Bishop. Shamura, blinded by their love for Narinder, had tried to help him by teaching him ideas of change, although Shamura's teachings were "most unnatural" for Narinder, as Shamura stated. Ultimately, Narinder betrayed the Bishops, which forced Shamura and the others to imprison him. Before the final battle, Shamura warns The Lamb that Narinder will come for them when all of the Bishops are dead.


title: Cult of the Lamb

text: After Shamura is defeated, The One Who Waits instructs The Lamb to visit him in his realm to return the demonic crown and to be sacrificed in his name. With the help of their followers, The Lamb opens the final gateway and goes before The One Who Waits. The Lamb is then instructed to kneel and be sacrificed in front of their followers, so that The One Who Waits can retake his crown and obtain his place as god of the world. The player is then given the option to sacrifice themselves to fulfill the prophecy or reject doing so.


title: Cult of the Lamb

text: If the player accepts, The One Who Waits is freed, and subsequently tortures The Lamb before killing it, ending the game.