title: Buddhism and Jainism

text: Indian Buddhist tradition categorized all non-Buddhist schools of thought as "pāsaṇḍa" "heresy" ("pasanda" means to throw a noose or "pasha"—stemming from the doctrine that schools labelled as "Pasanda" foster views perceived as wrong because they are seen as having a tendency towards binding and ensnaring rather than freeing the mind). The difference between the schools of thought are outlined.


title: Buddhism and Jainism

text: The ancient text "Divyavadana" ("Ashokavadana" is one of its sections) mention that in one instance, a non-Buddhist in Pundravardhana drew a picture showing the Buddha bowing at the feet of Mahavira. On complaint from a Buddhist devotee, Ashoka, the Maurya Emperor, issued an order to arrest him, and subsequently, another order to kill all the Ājīvikas in Pundravardhana. Around 18,000 Ājīvikas were executed as a result of this order. Sometime later, another ascetic in Pataliputra drew a similar picture. Ashoka burnt him and his entire family alive in their house. He also announced an award of one dinara (silver coin) to anyone who brought him the head of a Jain. According to "Ashokavadana", as a result of this order, his own brother, Vitashoka, was mistaken for a heretic and killed by a cowherd. Their ministers advised that "this is an example of the suffering that is being inflicted even on those who are free from desire" and that he "should guarantee the security of all beings". After this, Ashoka stopped giving orders for executions.


title: Buddhism and Jainism

text: According to K. T. S. Sarao and Benimadhab Barua, stories of persecutions of rival sects by Ashoka appear to be a clear fabrication arising out of sectarian propaganda.


title: Buddhism and Jainism

text: According to Padmanabh Jaini, Vasudhara Dharani, a Buddhist work was among the Jainas of Gujarat in 1960s, and a manuscript was copied in 1638 CE. The Dharani was recited by non-Jain Brahmin priests in private Jain homes.


title: Buddhism and Jainism

text: The shared terms include Sangha, Shramana (monk), Shravaka (Householder in Jainism, Buddha's disciple in Buddhism), Jina (Tirthankara in Jainism, Buddha in Buddhism), Chaitya, Stupa, Pudgala (Matter in Jainism, soul in Buddhism) etc. Early Jainism used stupas, although the practice mostly (but not completely) was abandoned later.


title: Buddhism and Jainism

text: In Jainism, the way of liberation is the ford (tirtha), and Tirthankaras "those making the ford" (from "samsara" to "moksha") are supreme teachers. The same concept is found in Buddhism, which says that through enlightenment (bodhi) an individual crosses the river of "samsara" to attain liberation. Both religions deny the existence of a creator god. Buddhism and Jainism evince a shared belief in the existence of geographical regions beyond the parameters of "Bharatavarsha", access to which could not be gained by ordinary human beings.


title: Buddhism and Jainism

text: Karakandu, a Pratyekabuddha in both Jainism and Buddhism, is a rare personality that is shared between Jainism and Buddhism. The Jain text Isibhasiyam mentions Vajjiyaputra, Mahakashyap and Sariputra among the rishis.


title: Buddhism and Jainism

text: The Jain community (or Jain "sangha") consists of monastics, "muni"s (male ascetics) and "aryika"s (female ascetics) and householders, "śhrāvak"s (laymen) and "śrāvakī"s (laywomen). Buddhism has a similar organization: the community consists of renunciate bhikkhus and bhikkhunis and male and female laypersons, or "śrāvaka"s and "śrāvika"s, who take limited vows.


title: Buddhism and Jainism

text: Jain and Buddhist iconography can be similar. In north India, the sitting Jain and Buddhist images are in padmasana, whereas in South India both Jain and Buddhist images are in ardha-padmasana (also termed virasana in Sri Lanka). However the Jain images are always samadhi mudra, whereas the Buddha images can also be in bhumi-sparsha, dharam-chakra-pravartana and other mudras. The standing Jain images are always in khadgasana or kayotsarga asana.


title: Buddhism and Jainism

text: Jainism has refined the non-violence ("'Ahimsa") doctrine to an extraordinary degree where it is an integral part of the Jain culture. Jain vegetarianism, for example, is driven by the principle of not harming any animals and both lay and mendicants are predominantly vegetarian. In Buddhism, Mahayana monks in China, Japan (see Shojin-ryori), Korea and Vietnam are vegetarian; however, vegetarianism is not required for lay Buddhists. In Theravada monastic tradition, a monk should eat whatever is placed in his bowl when receiving food.


title: Buddhism and Jainism

text: Although both Buddhists and Jain had orders of nuns, Buddhist Pali texts record the Buddha saying that a woman has the ability to obtain nirvana in the dharma and Vinaya. According to Digambara Jains, women are capable of spiritual progress but must be reborn as a man in order to attain final spiritual liberation, this being due to the fact that Jain nuns cannot be nude and so still have some attachments. The religious texts of the Śvētāmbaras mention that liberation is attainable by both men and women.


title: Buddhism and Jainism

text: Jains believe in the existence of an eternal Jiva (soul), whereas Buddhism denies the concept of self (jiva) or soul (atman), proposing the concept of no-self (anatta) instead.


title: Buddhism and Jainism

text: The "Anekantavada" doctrine is another key difference between Jainism and Buddhism. The Buddha taught the Middle Way, rejecting extremes of the answer "it is" or "it is not" to metaphysical questions. The Mahavira, in contrast, accepted both "it is" and "it is not", with "perhaps" qualification and with reconciliation.


title: Buddhism and Jainism

text: Jainism discourages monks and nuns from staying in one place for long, except for 4 months in the rainy season (chaturmas). Thus, most Jain monks and nuns keep wandering, staying in a place for only a few days. Some Theravada Buddhist monks also observe vassa rules, but often they stay in one monastery.


title: Kang Hye-won

text: Kang Hye-won (; born July 5, 1999), known mononymously as Hyewon, is a South Korean singer, rapper and actress. She is a former member of the South Korean–Japanese girl group Iz*One, formed by CJ E&M through the 2018 reality competition television show "Produce 48".


title: Kang Hye-won

text: Kang was born in Yangsan,South Gyeongsang, South Korea, on July 5, 1999. She attended Bokwang High School in Yangsan, then she transferred to Hanlim Multi Art School.


title: Kang Hye-won

text: Kang was announced to be a part of Produce 48 in 2018. She finished in 8th place with 248,432 votes securing her place in Iz*One. The group made their official debut on October 29, 2018, with the song titled "La Vie en Rose", from their debut extended play "Color*Iz".


title: Kang Hye-won

text: After Iz*One officially concluded activities on April 29, 2021, Kang returned to being a trainee under 8D Creative. On July 21, it was announced that Kang would be making her debut as an actress in the upcoming third season of web series "Best Mistake", portraying character Jin Se-hee. On July 27, she made an appearance in Parc Jae-jung's "Hobby" music video. In August, Kang was confirmed as a cast member of MBC's variety show "How A Family is Made".


title: Kang Hye-won

text: On December 8, a teaser video was revealed on her YouTube channel, announcing the upcoming release of a winter special album, "W". On December 22, she released the album with "Winter Poem" as the lead single.


title: Kang Hye-won

text: On July 6, 2022, PLAYLIST announced Kang as one of the casts in "Seasons of Blossom" a webdrama adaptation of webtoon of the same name. Kang will be portraying the role "Yoon Bo-mi".


title: Kang Hye-won

text: On November 12, 2021, Kang landed her first CF deal with the camera app SODA, it was revealed through a video advertisement uploaded on SODA's official YouTube Channel. Kang starred as international face phishing criminal who pretended to be a detective and used the SODA app to altered her image.


title: Kang Hye-won

text: On December 24, 2021, through atstar1 magazine, the global sports brand New Balance announced Kang as their pictorial model for their new Backpack with the theme "MBTI Concept New Semester Backpack."


title: Kang Hye-won

text: On January 13, 2022, through her own YouTube channel, Kang announced collaboration with a skincare line, Uriid, where Kang is in charge of the promotional design to promote their new product, Uriid Neroli Garden Ampoule Stick. According to Uriid, after the promotional video with Kang was released on her YouTube channel, the product is selling high on social media and online store, particularly in Hyundai Home Shopping.


title: Kang Hye-won

text: On May 30, 2022, Kang was chosen by the British premium bag brand, Radley London, to promote their new 2022 Spring/Summer Collection, Forest Way-Smoking (medium zip-top multi-way bag espresso), and Duke Place (medium open-top multi-way bag dark blue) bags by releasing pictorial through atstar1 magazine with the theme 'Fun-Loving London'


title: Kang Hye-won

text: On June 8, 2022, a South Korean clothing brand, General Idea, announced Kang as their new muse and fashion brand model for their 2022 Summer Collection with the theme 'BLOOMY SUNDAY'.


title: Kang Hye-won

text: On July 18, 2022 Kang announced collaboration with LEGO to promote their three-dimensional reproduction of Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night by releasing pictorial with the piece through ELLE Korea.


title: Kang Hye-won

text: On October 6, 2022, ma:nyo, a Korean cosmetic brand, announced Kang Hyewon as their new brand ambassador.


title: Kang Hye-won

text: All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database unless stated otherwise.


title: Bard the Bowman

text: Bard the Bowman is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit". A Man of Laketown and a descendant of the ancient Lords of Dale, Bard manages to kill Smaug, the dragon, after which he becomes king of Dale. Tolkien created the character specifically to kill Smaug, since none of the other protagonists of the story were able to fulfill this role. Bard the Bowman may have been inspired by the warrior Wiglaf in the Old English poem "Beowulf".


title: Bard the Bowman

text: Bard is a descendant of Girion, the last lord of the city of Dale, which had been destroyed by the dragon Smaug two centuries before the events of "The Hobbit", which takes place in year 2941 of the Third Age. He is the captain of a company of archers in Esgaroth (also known as Lake-town). His friends accused him of prophesying floods and poisoned fish, but they knew his worth and courage. He is described as tall and grim with black hair. When Smaug attacks Lake-town, Bard is the last of the archers to stand his post, but the dragon is immune to arrows. However, a thrush speaks to Bard, showing him the weak spot in the dragon's armour in the hollow under Smaug's left breast, which Bilbo had discovered in his conversation with Smaug. He fires his favourite shaft, the family heirloom "Black Arrow", and kills Smaug, who falls onto Lake-town, destroying it.


title: Bard the Bowman

text: After the dragon's death, Bard joins the survivors of the attack on Lake-town and discovers that they had thought him dead. The survivors receive assistance from the elves of Mirkwood, and together Thranduil and the able-bodied men of Lake-town travel to the Lonely Mountain to claim a share of the dragon hoard. In the absence of Thorin Oakenshield and his company, all believed to have been killed by the dragon, Bard has a rightful claim to the treasure as the heir of Girion, and also a charitable claim to alleviate the suffering of the people of Lake-town.


title: Bard the Bowman

text: However, at the Lonely Mountain, Bard discovers that Thorin Oakenshield, King under the Mountain, is very much alive, along with all his companions. Their response to Bard's claim is to barricade themselves inside the mountain, refusing to surrender any of the treasure under threat of war.


title: Bard the Bowman

text: To break the stalemate, Bilbo Baggins slips out of the mountain at night and offers the Arkenstone to Bard in order to put pressure on Thorin to make peace with the Elves and Men. However, Thorin is unwilling to share any of Smaug's treasure with an armed host at his gates, which causes the elves and men to prepare to attack the mountain. To make matters worse, Thorin's cousin Dáin II Ironfoot arrives to reinforce Thorin's claim to their family home under the mountain. However, a large army of Goblins and Wargs arrives on the scene, forcing the three armies to unite to fight against them. Bard leads the men into battle, reinforced by the arrival of Beorn and the Eagles.


title: Bard the Bowman

text: After the death of Thorin in the Battle of Five Armies, Dain becomes King under the Mountain. He redeems the Arkenstone from Bard with a fourteenth of the treasure, which is used to re-establish Dale. Over the next three years, Bard rebuilds the city of Dale and becomes its ruler. The city begins to prosper again.


title: Bard the Bowman

text: Bard's reign lasts for thirty-three years. He is succeeded by his son Bain in 2977, and furthermore by his grandson Brand in 3007. In the War of the Ring, an emissary from Sauron, the lord of Mordor, twice came to Erebor and spoke to Dáin Ironfoot, who was still King under the Mountain. The messenger asked for assistance in finding Bilbo Baggins and retrieving a stolen ring, and in return offered Moria and three of the seven Dwarf rings to Dáin, but he said neither Yea or Nay.[T 9] Sauron's northern army, which included many Easterlings, then attacked; Dale was overrun, and many Dwarves and Men took refuge in Erebor, which was promptly surrounded. Dáin was killed before the gates of Erebor defending the body of his fallen ally King Brand of Dale. Dáin's son Thorin III Stonehelm and King Bard II withstood the siege and routed Sauron's forces


title: Bard the Bowman

text: During the drafting of "The Hobbit", Tolkien considered how Smaug should die and who would kill him. Tolkien's notes for chapter nine show him considering the option of Bilbo killing the dragon in his sleep, piercing his weak point with a lance, similar to the events in Jack the Giant Killer. This idea remained in his notes after the writing of chapter eleven, but once chapter twelve was complete, Tolkien penned "Dragon killed in the Battle of the Lake" in the margin of his notes.


title: Bard the Bowman

text: Bard appears during the drafting for chapter thirteen, when it is said that he kills the dragon with his ancestor Girion's favourite Black Arrow. Tolkien's keeping Bard alive for the rest of the story significantly complicates it since, as the heir of Girion, Bard gives the inhabitants of Lake-town a legitimate claim to Smaug's treasure.


title: Bard the Bowman

text: According to John D. Rateliff, Bard may have been inspired by Wiglaf in the Old English poem "Beowulf", which inspired Tolkien with many elements in the final chapters of "The Hobbit". Like Bard, Wiglaf is introduced late into the story, is not named until late in the story, is the only one with enough courage to face a dragon and is of royal lineage. Rateliff believes that Bard is the first character in Tolkien's work to experience a happy fate, unlike Beren, Húrin and Túrin Turambar. Rateliff sees Bard as a precursor and foreshadower of Aragorn: both restore their ancestor's kingdoms in all their glory.


title: Bard the Bowman

text: Marjorie Burns believes that Bard is a humble hero like Aragorn, Faramir and Gandalf, all brought into Tolkien's legendarium to replace the powerful unworthy, such as the mayor of Lake-town, Denethor, Boromir and Saruman. In his initial appearance, Bard is shown as a negative character who always sees the worst side of situations, but Sumner G. Hunnewell believes that Bard shows happiness and generosity after the destruction of Lake-town.


title: Bard the Bowman

text: In the 1977 Rankin/Bass animated television musical, Bard was voiced by John Stephenson. Stephenson also voiced the Dwarf Dori and The Great Goblin.


title: Bard the Bowman

text: In Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" film series, Welsh actor Luke Evans portrays Bard, appearing in the latter two films of the trilogy, "" (2013) and "" (2014). Evans was cast in June 2011. Bob Strauss of "Los Angeles Daily News" felt that Evans' portrayal managed to expand on the character, while Erik Kain of "Forbes" felt that his portrayal was "solid", but was "never given quite enough breathing room".


title: Bard the Bowman

text: Bard is one of the cards in Iron Crown Enterprises's 1995 Middle-earth Collectible Card Game, which is illustrated by Angelo Montanini.


title: Bard the Bowman

text: In Inevitable Entertainment's 2003 "Hobbit" video game, André Sogliuzzo plays Bard. He also played the part of Ugslap.


title: Bard the Bowman

text: In Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment's 2014 "Lego The Hobbit", Luke Evans reprises his role from the live-action film series.


title: Charlotte Ross

text: Charlotte Ross (born January 21, 1968) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Eve Donovan on the NBC soap opera "Days of Our Lives" from 1987 to 1991, and as Det. Connie McDowell on the ABC police procedural drama series "NYPD Blue" from 2001 to 2004.


title: Charlotte Ross

text: Ross was born in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka, Illinois, on January 21, 1968 and grew up there. Her parents are Debbie Ross Kullby, and Peter Ross (died 2009), who was a financial advisor. She has one sibling, a younger brother named George. Her first on-screen performance was in "My First Mouthpiece" when she was eight years old. She moved on to performing in various theater productions around metropolitan Chicago.


title: Charlotte Ross

text: After graduating from New Trier High School, Ross moved to Los Angeles, which her father opposed. She auditioned for the role of Kelly Bundy in the Fox comedy series "Married... with Children", but was the producers' second choice behind Christina Applegate to whom she lost the role, before being cast as Eve Donovan on "Days of Our Lives". Four years later, Ross co-starred with Katey Sagal in the television film "Violation of Trust" (aka "She Says She's Innocent"). The year after that, she guest starred on "Married... with Children" as one of Bud Bundy's sexier classmates.


title: Charlotte Ross

text: Ross's run on "Days of Our Lives" lasted from 1987 to 1991, earning her two Emmy Award nominations. Her other television credits include the musical drama series "The Heights" (where she sang on the "Billboard" Number One hit "How Do You Talk to an Angel"), "The 5 Mrs. Buchanans", "Drexell's Class", "Pauly", "Law & Order", "Trinity", "Beggars and Choosers", "Frasier", "Savage Land", "Jake in Progress", "Fall Into Darkness", and "A Kiss So Deadly" (which reunited with her "Days" co-star Charles Shaughnessy). She also co-starred in the Lifetime original films "Montana Sky" and "Christmas in Paradise" (both 2007). She earned a Gold record in 1992 for her work as a singer on the soundtrack album to "The Heights".


title: Charlotte Ross

text: Ross also played Connie McDowell in the ABC police procedural drama series "NYPD Blue" from 2001 to 2004. On February 25, 2003, Ross appeared in an "NYPD Blue" episode entitled "Nude Awakening", which featured shots of her buttocks as she prepared to step into the shower. As a result, the FCC fined each of the 52 ABC stations with a $27,500 fine (a combined $1,430,000) for broadcasting "indecent material" between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. However, on January 4, 2011, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously revoked the fine, stating that the FCC's enforcement of its indecency rules was "unconstitutionally vague and chilling." "ABC, Inc., et al. v. Federal Communications Commission", No. 08-0841-ag(L) (2nd Cir.).


title: Charlotte Ross

text: In 2006, Ross joined Billy Blanks to co-host a series of Tae-Bo infomercials. In 2011, Ross appeared as Candy in Summit's 3D film "Drive Angry", alongside Nicolas Cage and Amber Heard. From 2009 to 2012, Ross began a recurring role on the Fox comedy-drama series "Glee" as Judy Fabray, the mother of Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron). She appeared in four episodes. In 2013, Ross began starring in the VH1 sports drama series "Hit the Floor". In 2014, Ross passed on an offer to return to "Days of Our Lives" as Eve Donovan, and her role was recast with Kassie DePaiva because she was too busy with other acting projects. Ross made a guest appearance in the ABC musical drama series "Nashville". Later in the same year, she was cast as Felicity Smoak's mother in The CW superhero series, "Arrow".


title: Charlotte Ross

text: On October 18, 2003, Ross married Michael Goldman and gave birth to a son, Maxwell Ross Goldman. She and Goldman separated in 2008. She resides in Los Angeles.


title: Charlotte Ross

text: In 2002, Ross supported PETA's anti-fur campaign by appearing naked in advertisements captioned "I'd Rather Show My Buns Than Wear Fur".


title: Charlotte Ross

text: In 2014, Ross signaled her support to the Animal Legal Defense Fund campaign "National Justice for Animals Week" by filming a video.


title: Face the Music (Electric Light Orchestra album)

text: Face the Music is the fifth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in September 1975 by United Artists Records and on 14 November 1975 in the United Kingdom by Jet Records. The album moves away from the large-scale classical orchestrated sound from the previous album, "Eldorado", in favour of more "radio-friendly" pop/rock songs, though the string sections are still very prominent. The new sound proved successful for the group as "Face the Music" was the first ELO album to go platinum.


text: By January 1975, bass player Mike de Albuquerque and cellist Mike Edwards had left the band during the "Eldorado" recording sessions and subsequent tour, respectively. Bass player Kelly Groucutt and classically trained cellist Melvyn Gale both joined the band as their replacements. Following the conclusion of the Eldorado's European leg of the tour, the band began recording the new album at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany. ELO had frequently opened for Deep Purple for the initial North American leg of the Eldorado Tour, and Deep Purple had recommended Musicland to ELO. This was the first time ELO recorded at Musicland and the band would later return to record most of the future albums here due to frontman Jeff Lynne's great fondness for it and his working relationship with sound engineer Mack.


text: Lynne, also the band's sole songwriter, wanted to move towards more tunes that would be memorable rather than the usual progressive-rock style of the group's first three albums and straight symphonic sound of the "Eldorado". New measures were taken to ensure a more-complex but satisfying sound, such as backing female vocalists of Ellie Greenwich, Susan Collins, Nancy O'Neill and Marge Raymond, a choir, and the band's string trio of Mik Kaminski, Hugh McDowell and Melvyn Gale mixed into the backing 30-piece string section and also allowing them to perform some of the solos on the records. While Lynne was the lead vocalist for a vast majority of the band's songs, Kelly Groucutt sang lead vocals on "Poker" and (alternating with Lynne) on "Nightrider", giving the tracks a dynamic sound. The backing orchestra was recorded separately from the band's initial sessions, being recorded instead at De Lane Lea Studios in London, England.


text: The back cover of the record sleeve shows the members of the band with their faces pressed against a glass panel, supposedly watching the "electrocution" depicted on the front cover. Richard Tandy is looking away, because he didn't like the idea and didn't want to participate.


text: The new lineup introduced for this album became a stabilized and iconic one for the band's next 5 years and has been called by ELO fans the "classic line-up".


text: It begins with a haunting synthesizer (provided by Richard Tandy) playing a repeating broken chord of E♭, A, C, A along with a backing choir. The backing orchestration is minimal, featuring small bits here and there during which a "knocking" sound suddenly appears and fades out before a baritone voice fades in speaking a back-masked message. Drummer, Bev Bevan provided the voice and when the record is played backwards, he exclaims "The music is reversible but time is not. Turn back, turn back, turn back, turn back". This inclusion was a joke by Jeff Lynne, who faced mild controversy from a Christian fundamentalist group, accusing him of including backwards Satanic messages on the track "Eldorado" from their previous album of the same name. The orchestration grows as a choir chants "Hallelujah" similar to the fashion of Handel's "Messiah". The haunting opening concludes with the backing orchestra repeating the same broken chord as the synthesizer before transitioning into a more symphonic-rock bridge accompanied by the drums. The synthesizer plays an arpeggio during which the strings play riffs. Following this, Lynne provides a guitar-solo and the strings follow after. The song suddenly shifts to a rock sound with a prominent acoustic guitar riff where Kelly Groucutt joins on the bass guitar. Kaminski, McDowell and Gale all solo together on this rock-section. The rock section is followed by another symphonic-rock bridge with another guitar solo which, again, leads into a rock section. The choir at the end of the track chants "Fire on high" several times, providing the song the only set of true lyrics.


text: Jeff Lynne later remarked the entire concept of the song started with the idea of classical symphonic sound would collide with a rock and roll sound.


text: "Fire on High" was released as the b-side to the U.S.'s "Sweet Talkin' Woman" single and the U.K.'s "Livin' Thing" single.


text: Opening with an orchestra intro and guitar solo, "Waterfall" is a slower and softer song in contrast to its predecessor. Lynne sings the lead vocals while Groucutt sings harmony vocals on the chorus. Kaminski, McDowell and Gale all play together mixed with the backing orchestra in the song's entirety, adding an extra layer of orchestration. The guitar and orchestral outro fade into the orchestra opening to "Evil Woman". The song is written in D Major.


text: The song was not released as a single anywhere with the exception of France and Australia where it became a minor hit.


text: Jeff Lynne has gone on record saying that "Waterfall" is one of his favorite songs in the ELO catalogue.


text: The full instrumental (save for the guitar and string fade in) of this song was released as a bonus track for the 2006 "Face the Music" reissue. It includes a small section of in-studio banter and Lynne doing a count-in and also includes a slightly extended studio ending.


text: The song was written by Lynne in a matter of just a few minutes near the end of the "Face the Music" studio sessions in June 1975. Originally supposed to be a filler track to give the album a longer runtime, it quickly became a worldwide hit and was released as a single only a month after the album's release. The main song features a more disco-like rhythm (aside from the short orchestral interlude on the album version) with Tandy's piano riff and Lynne's acoustic guitar playing the chords Am, Em7 and Dm7. The female backing vocalists sang on the track during the "ha ha" pieces, the "hey hey hey" in the middle section of the song and the chorus, alongside Lynne and Groucutt. The chorus featured an iconic riff of the clavinet (played by Tandy). The second verse includes the ELO string players playing the string rhythm section behind Lynne's vocals. The lyrics "There's a hole in my head where the rain comes in" is a reference to The Beatles' song "Fixing a Hole". The final chord of the opening section (You made a fool of me) is actually mixed into "Fire on High" during the back-masked message.


text: The middle section features a piano solo by Tandy and a string ascending melody together before cutting an unusual string break. This break is actually a reversed cut of a string crescendo from the next track "Nightrider" put onto the track merely because, as Lynne described it, "[the two songs] were in the same key." Lynne later remarked how amazed he was on how well the transition fit into place.


text: An additional verse was written for the song but was cut from the final mix as proven in the stripped mix of the song which is found as a bonus track on the reissue of the album.


text: "Nightrider" is the fourth and final song on side one of the album. It was released as a single but did not chart unlike the other two album singles.


text: The track is unique for featuring both Lynne and Groucutt (though alternating) singing the lead vocals. It starts with a moog chord progression and string backing. The first verse has the ELO string trio playing the solo bits. The drums, guitar and bass all join on the pre-chorus ("Hold on, nightrider") along with backing harmonies from Greenwich, Collins, O'Neill and Raymond. Just before each chorus, there is a small orchestral and choir break, the third of which is extended and includes a string crescendo which was later reversed and used on "Evil Woman". Raymond later revealed on an ELO Facebook fan page that Lynne instructed the backing vocalists to emulate the sounds of the strings on the final verse for a specific sound, saying:"On the part where he sings 'desolation degradation row, etc.' listen in the background... You hear string, but its also our voices emulating the string parts... I thought that was simply genius on Jeff Lynne's part to come up with that. Vocals that emulate string parts." — Marge Raymond


text: "Poker" is the opening track to (and shortest track on) side two of the album and the fifth track overall.


text: The song is a fast-tempo guitar-rocker featuring Kelly Groucutt on both lead and harmony vocals, one of few times where Jeff Lynne does not sing the lead. Bev Bevan plays fast, bombastic drum fills in between verses and Richard Tandy provides a moog synthesizer arpeggio rhythm section. The middle section of the song slows down into a slow, bluesy bridge ("Play me another hand") with Tandy adding in some synthesizer fillers. Lynne's harmony vocals come in on the final verse of the song.


text: "Strange Magic" is the sixth track on the album and second on side two. It was the second single lifted from "Face the Music", being released in February 1976, though was not as successful as "Evil Woman".


text: The track opens with a 21-second orchestra intro before cutting to a guitar lick with a soft piano. The choruses feature Lynne solely singing "Strange magic" three times, before jumping an octave higher singing "Got a strange magic" along with Groucutt, Greenwich, Collins, O'Neill and Raymond on harmony vocals. Each chorus features more instrumentation than the previous: the first being just a guitar with a phaser effect, piano and mild percussion, the second having drums and an ascending string orchestration added and the third having more layers of strings. The bridge following the third chorus features some of the female singers singing "It's magic, it's magic, it's magic" and the final choruses include an additional different "Strange magic" melody done by the women. The album version fades into a back-masked reprise of the chorus of "Waterfall", ultimately leading into the next track "Down Home Town".


text: An oddity of the song is the fact that the guitar solo is played by Tandy rather than Lynne, the latter recalled:"I just couldn't work it out. It was such a long run with two fingers." — Jeff Lynne, interview with Uncle Joe BensonLynne also admitted in the "Flashback" liner notes that he wrote the song on various pianos in separate places while on tour in England with the band, presumably during the "Eldorado" tour.


text: Though drums are a feature used in the studio recording of the song, drummer Bev Bevan would leave his drum set and join Lynne and Groucutt on the front of the stage, playing tambourine and singing the baritone parts of the song during live performances.


text: The song opens with a backmasked reprise of chorus of the track "Waterfall" but contrasts into an American folk-rock based sound. The ELO string trio has a greater influence on sound of this track, playing independently from the backing orchestra in a more fiddle-like fashion. Lynne sings the lead with a nasally, "Nashville hoedown" style. While the four female singers usually sang in unison, this track features four part harmonies during the "Look away" section and, according to Raymond, the four were also allowed to add small bits with Lynne's approval such as Raymond's line "Ooh, I feel you comin' down now." The song makes direct references to the "Land of Dixie". During the final verse, there is a lyrical reference to The Beatles' song "She Loves You" in "She loves you, no, no, no. Down home town."


text: "Down Home Town" was released as the b-side to U.S. "Last Train to London" single and the U.K.'s "The Diary of Horace Wimp" single.


text: The song features an orchestral opening with Lynne singing with a soft tenor voice; the main verses and chorus feature Lynne on acoustic guitar with a phaser effect on it. Only Marge Raymond was featured on the track and sang the female chorus parts. The song includes a long fade of the lyrics "One summer dream", concluding the album.


text: Lynne's father, who had been vocally critical about Lynne's early albums admired the song and Lynne recalled that his father would hum the song.


text: Though a peaceful, easy-listening ballad, Lynne remarked on the Flashback notes that it was a "protest" song.


text: The singles "Evil Woman" and "Strange Magic" were the most commercial songs they had recorded up to that point. "Evil Woman" was a big hit in the UK and the US, embracing disco rhythms while still embodying ELO's classic sound. Lynne wrote the chords and melody of this song in only six minutes, making it his fastest feat of composition.


text: "Nightrider" became the third single from the album; despite an appearance on the UK chart television program "Top of the Pops", it failed to chart.


text: Notwithstanding the success of the singles, the LP failed to chart in the UK. The album was remastered and released in September 2006 with bonus tracks.


text: "Face the Music" is generally seen by Lynne as the turning point for ELO as the success of the album and the singles "Evil Woman" and "Strange Magic" led to the band's popularity changed from minor popularity in America to major success (though it wouldn't be until their follow-up album "A New World Record" that launched them into global success).


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: The 1989–1992 Afghan Civil War took place between the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan on 15 February 1989 until 27 April 1992, the day after the proclamation of the Peshawar Accords proclaiming a new interim Afghan government which was supposed to start serving on 28 April 1992.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: Mujahideen groups, some of them more or less united in the Islamic Unity of Afghanistan Mujahideen, in the years 1989–1992 proclaimed as their conviction that they were battling the hostile "puppet regime" of the Republic of Afghanistan in Kabul. In March 1989, the mujahideen groups Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin and Ittehad-e Islami in cooperation with the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) attacked Jalalabad but they were defeated by June.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: In March 1991, a mujahideen coalition quickly conquered the city of Khost. In March 1992, having lost the last remnants of Soviet support, President Mohammad Najibullah agreed to step aside and make way for a mujahideen coalition government. One mujahideen group, Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin, refused to confer and discuss a coalition government under the Pakistani sponsored Peshawar Peace Accords and invaded Kabul. This kicked off a civil war, starting 25 April 1992, between initially three, but within weeks five or six mujahideen groups or armies.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: In October 1978, opponents of the reforms of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) government, including modernizing traditional Islamic civil and marriage laws, changing the national flag to a Soviet-style red flag, and forcing land reform, started a revolt, and called themselves 'mujahideen'.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: The Soviet Union, that had been supporting Afghanistan economically and militarily since 1919 (see Soviet–Afghan War#Soviet–Afghan relations post-1920s) and early 1979 had sent hundreds of military and civilian advisers into Afghanistan after a request from President Nur Muhammad Taraki, in December 1979 invaded Afghanistan with its 40th Army, around 75,000 strong, killed the new President Hafizullah Amin, and installed Soviet loyalist Babrak Karmal as president of a Soviet-organised and –backed PDPA-regime.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: In spite of a UN General Assembly resolution condemning the 1979 USSR invasion and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation demanding immediate Soviet withdrawal, the Russians stayed until early 1989. They managed to take control of major cities and strategic installations, thus acerbating nationalistic feelings among rebels who drew Soviet troops into war with urban uprisings and tribal armies. The Soviets leveled villages, destroyed irrigation ditches and laid millions of mines in an attempt to root out the mujahideen rebels. In those nine years, between and 2 million Afghans were killed and millions were displaced, and in large numbers fled into neighboring countries.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: The new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, taking charge in 1985, pressured by the People's Republic of China, in 1987 announced his intention to withdraw from Afghanistan, which withdrawal took place between May 1988 and February 1989.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: The mujahideen resistance movement had started chaotically in 1978 and had always stayed highly segmented along regional, ethnic, tribal and religious lines: after four years the mujahideen operated from an estimated 4,000 bases, a typical commander leading a few hundred men. In 1985, seven larger Sunni Islamic rebel groups had coordinated their fight against the Soviets, who were also known as the Pakistani backed Peshawar 7 Mujahideen Alliance. After the Soviets had left Afghanistan in February 1989, the still segmented mujahideen continued their fight against the PDPA-government of President Mohammad Najibullah, who was still massively supported by the Soviet Union and therefore still considered to lead a hostile "puppet regime".


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: According to published reports during the 1980s, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin developed a reputation for attacking other resistance forces, especially those of Ahmad Shah Massoud, and raiding or blocking their food and arms supplies as well as caravans of relief organizations. According to author Steve Coll, Hekmatyar attacked Ahmad Shah Massoud so often that Washington (who was supporting him through Pakistan) "feared he might be a secret KGB plant whose mission was to sow disruption within the anti-communist resistance." Reports suggest that Hekmatyar's commanders were saving their men and weapons to establish Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin as the dominant organization once the Soviets departed.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: In 1989, Hekmatyar's forces once again conducted an attack on forces of Ahmad Shah Massoud, this time targeting Massoud and the senior leadership of Shura-e Nazar – Massoud's military and political alliance of 130 northern commanders. While they were not able to kill or injure Massoud, Hekmatyar's forces tortured to death 30 of Massoud's men, some of whom were close friends of Massoud. Survivors describe the torture as pulling their eyes out, cutting their ears and noses off, and cutting their stomachs open. Massoud consequently ordered an operation to hunt down the murderers. Shura-e Nazar were able to capture the assassins, but instead of revenge killings, Massoud sent them to Peshawar to have them tried before a court. The courts sentenced them to death.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: Ahmad Shah Massoud for the sake of Afghan unity declared: "My message to Hekmatyar's people is that without a united front we cannot succeed, we cannot achieve anything in Afghanistan." Roy Gutman of the United States Institute of Peace considered Massoud "the only Afghan leader with an integrated vision".


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: Through this period (1987–89) both Massoud and Hekmatyar had been frequently fighting each other and killing each other's officers, and Massoud's rhetoric was rarely matched by action. In 1988, for instance, Massoud's forces attacked Hekmatyar loyalists in Badakhshan Province. In 1989 Massoud arrested and executed one of Hekmatyar's local officers, Jamal Agha, whom he accused of having murdered a number of Jamiat-e-Islami commandants: Mohammad Izzatullah, Mohammad Islamuddin, Mulla Abdul-Wadoud, and Payinda Mohammad.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: However, Hekmatyar's supporters accused Massoud of having killed these commandants to centralize his authority in Jamaat's ranks and framed Jamal, whom they claimed had good relations with the victims. This was stated by Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin supporter Mohammad Tanwir Halim in his book published in 2013. However, this version of the story is uncorroborated and Hekmatyar was widely unpopular in any case for his vicious murders, though this was not necessarily true of his commanders some of whom like Abdul-Rauf Safi, Abdul-Sabour Farid and perhaps Jamal enjoyed decent relations with other groups. Massoud later appointed Abdul-Rauf Safi as Kabul commandant. Hekmatyar's supporters also accused Massoud of treachery because of his ceasefires with Russian forces and in this they had the support of Jamaat leader Mohammad Eshaq who also criticized Massoud for his ceasefire with the Russians during the second half of the occupation. It appears that Massoud was trying to form a base independent of Pakistan, and in this endeavour he did make deals with governments traditionally hostile to the mujahideen, including India and Russia. During the 1990s Massoud would corroborate with Russia in his conflict against Taliban forces. Hekmatyar exploited this to attack Massoud, whom he called the "ruler of the Panjshir" and a traitor.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: However, accusations of treachery by both sides seem far-fetched. The Pakistani coordinator, Mohammed Yousaf, does not challenge Massoud's version of Jamal story despite Pakistan's hostility towards Massoud, and in any case it has become a fait accompli. Similarly, Palestinian mujahideen leader Abdullah Azzam claimed that Massoud was a legendary fighter, though Azzam notably rarely criticized any mujahideen leaders to avoid friction.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: After the Soviet withdrawal on 15 February 1989, the government of President Mohammad Najibullah and his People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) was on its own. The U.S. intelligence agencies expected the regime to collapse within three to six months.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: However, this estimation did not take into account several assets available to the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) government. The first of these was the large quantities of military hardware donated by the Soviet Union. In 1989, the army and pro-government militias still had 1568 tanks, 828 armoured personnel carriers, 4880 artillery pieces, 126 modern fighter-bombers and 14 attack helicopters. Also, the DRA continued to receive massive aid from the Soviet Union, valued between two and six billion dollars a year, and Soviet military advisors were still present in Afghanistan. The government forces also came to rely on the use of large quantities of Scud missiles: between 1988 and 1992 more than 2000 of these were fired inside Afghanistan, the largest amount of ballistic missiles used since World War II. This considerable amount of firepower was sufficient to keep the mujahideen at bay.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: Abdul Rashid Dostum's Jowzjani militia, officially called the 53rd Infantry Division, was the most effective pro-government (DRA) militia. Numbering 40,000 men drawn from the Uzbek minority, it took its orders directly from Najibullah, who used it as a strategic reserve. After 1989, this force was the only one capable of carrying out offensive operations.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: The U.S. provided Ahmad Shah Massoud with close to no support despite The Wall Street Journal calling him "the Afghan who won the cold war" and was primarily responsible for the mujahideen victory. Massoud instead did get support from the United Kingdom specifically MI6 and direct support with the SAS. Part of the reason why he still got only minor support was that the U.S. permitted its funding and arms distribution to be administered by Pakistan which favored Gulbuddin Hekmatyar who considered himself the archenemy of Massoud. Massoud was also seen as "too independent". Primary advocates for still supporting Massoud instead were State Department's Edmund McWilliams and Peter Tomsen, who were on the ground in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Others included two Heritage Foundation neoconservative foreign policy analysts, Michael Johns and James A. Phillips, both of whom championed Massoud as the Afghan resistance leader most worthy of U.S. support under the Reagan Doctrine.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: During the anti-Soviet war (1979–89), the United States had allowed Pakistan to funnel much American military aid to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's party Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: The U.S. permitted its funding and arms distribution to be administered by Pakistan, which favored Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: According to the U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan in 1989–1992, Peter Tomsen, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was hired in 1990 by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to conquer and rule Afghanistan in the benefit of Pakistani interests, which plan was delayed until 1992 as a result of US pressure to cancel it.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: One of the beneficiaries of Saudi Arabian support, especially financial, was Abdul Rasul Sayyaf and his army Islamic Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan, also called Ittehad-e Islami.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: Another beneficiary of Saudi Arabian support, especially financial, was Jalaluddin Haqqani who had had strong contacts to Arab fighters in the war against the Soviets.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: In the spring of 1989, the Seven-Party (Afghanistan mujahideen) Union in Peshawar supported by the Pakistani intelligence agency "ISI" attacked Jalalabad. The ISI's Director Gul wanted to see a mujahideen government over Afghanistan, led by Hekmatyar.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: Analysts disagree as to whether Pakistan's Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was totally kept in the dark about the ISI's plan to overturn Afghanistan or was one of the instigators of this attack. One analyst stated that also United States Ambassador to Pakistan Robert B. Oakley was exhortating this mujahideen attack. The Americans reportedly were motivated by their wish to humiliate the Marxists and send them out of Afghanistan "clinging to their helicopters", thus avenge the fall of South Vietnam; Pakistan wished to retaliate against the Soviet Union as the latter had long unconditionally supported Pakistan's regional rival, India.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: Involved in the operation were forces of Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin, Abdul Rasul Sayyaf's Ittehad-e Islami and Arab fighters, totalling 10,000 men. The attack began on March 5, 1989, and went well at first for the mujahideen, who captured the Jalalabad airfield before being counterattacked. When government troops started to surrender, however, they, along with unarmed civilians, were tortured and executed by Hekmatyar's and Sayyaf's forces, making the option of surrender impossible for the communists who then fought harder. Consequently, the attacking forces were soon blocked by the main Afghan army positions held by the 11th Division, that were protected by bunkers, barbed wire and minefields. The government troops could count on intensive air support, as the Afghan air force flew 20 sorties a day over the battlefield. An-12 transport aircraft, modified to carry bombs, flew at high altitude out of range of the Stinger missiles used by the mujahideen; cluster bombs were used intensively.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: Three Scud firing batteries, deployed around Kabul, fired more than 400 missiles in support of the Jalalabad garrison. Despite their imprecision, these weapons had a severe effect on the morale of the mujahideen, who could do nothing to prevent them.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: By the middle of May, they had made no headway against the defences of Jalalabad, and were running low on ammunition. In July, they were unable to prevent the Afghan Army from recapturing Samarkhel, and Jalalabad was still firmly in the hands of Najibullah's government. The mujahideen suffered an estimated 3,000 casualties during this battle. An estimated 12,000–15,000 civilians were killed, while 10,000 had fled the fighting.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: Contrary to American and Pakistani expectations, this battle proved that the Afghan Army could fight without Soviet help, and greatly increased the confidence of government supporters. Conversely, the morale of the mujahideen involved in the attack slumped and many local commanders of Hekmatyar and Sayyaf concluded truces with the government. In the words of Brigadier-General Mohammed Yousaf, an officer of the ISI, "the jihad never recovered from Jalalabad". In particular of course Pakistan's plans to promote Hekmatyar were also harmed. Both the Pakistani and the American governments were frustrated with the outcome. As a result of this failure, General Hamid Gul was immediately sacked by Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and replaced with General Shamsur Rahman Kallu as the Director-General of the "ISI". Kallu pursued a more classical policy of support to the Afghan guerillas. In this respect he cut off the barrier that his predecessors, Akhtar Abdur Rahman and Gul had placed between the mujahideen and the American secret service, which for the first time had direct access to the mujahedeen. The former Pakistani spies, such as Gul, had argued that this gave the United States an opportunity to both undercut Pakistan's interests as well as to weave discord among the mujahideen (something which Pakistan's promotion of Hekmatyar had of course done as well).


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: Indeed, with direct American access to the mujahideen – in particular that of the envoy Peter Tomsen, whose attitude towards independent Afghans was arrogant and arguably hostile in that he deemed them dangerous extremists without direct US supervision – any segment of mujahideen unity crumbled. Traditionally independent mujahideen leaders, such as Yunus Khalis, Jalaluddin Haqqani, who had tried to unite the mujahideen rivals Massoud and Hekmatyar, now moved closer towards Pakistan because of their suspicion of the United States' intentions. (See also Haqqani network). Others, like Abdul Haq and Massoud, instead favoured the United States because of their tense relations with Pakistan. While Abdul Haq remained hostile towards the communist government and its militias, Massoud would go on to make controversial alliances with former communist figures. Massoud claimed that this was an attempt to unite Afghanistan, but his enemies such as Hekmatyar attacked him for this. Hekmatyar's push were also supported by Pakistan, so that by 1990 there was a definite (if loose) pair of competing axes – one promoted by Pakistan and including Hekmatyar, but also other mujahidin leaders such as Khalis, Jalaluddin Haqqani and other mujahideen leaders who were unsympathetic to Hekmatyar – and the other promoted by the United States and led by Massoud, but also including other leaders such as Abdul Haq who were unsympathetic to Massoud.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: The government forces further proved their worth in April 1990, during an offensive against a fortified complex at Paghman. After a heavy bombardment and an assault that lasted until the end of June, the Afghan Army, spearheaded by Dostum's militia, was able to clear the mujahideen entrenchments.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: The Jalalabad operation was seen as a grave mistake by some mujahideen leaders such as Ahmad Shah Massoud and Abdul Haq, who did not believe the mujahideen had the capacity to capture a major city in conventional warfare. Neither Massoud nor Haq had participated in the attack on Jalalabad. Massoud even said it was by BBC radio that he learned about the operation. Haq advocated the pursuit of coordinated guerilla warfare, that would gradually weaken the communist regime and cause its collapse through internal divisions. Abdul Haq was also quoted as asking: "How is that we Afghans, who never lost a war, must take military instructions from the Pakistanis, who never won one?" Ahmad Shah Massoud criticized the go-it-alone attitude of Pakistan and their Afghan followers stating: "The damage caused by our (Mujahideen forces) lack of a unified command is obvious. There is a total lack of coordination, which means we are not launching simultaneous offensives on different fronts. As a result, the government can concentrate its resources and pick us off one by one. And that is what has happened at Jalalabad."


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: In June 1990, battles between Ahmad Shah Massoud's Jamiat-e Islami and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin in Logar and Parwan caused hundreds of casualties on each side.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: In two weeks' time (14–31 March 1991), mujahideen forces conquered the city of Khost in eastern Afghanistan on the Kabul DRA Government. The battle was organized by the National Commanders' Shura (NCS) led by Jalaluddin Haqqani and with representatives from all parties of the Seven-Party (mujahideen) Union, including Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Abdul Rasul Sayyaf. One reason why the mujahideen succeeded here, was that once the Soviet Army had left the country, supplying the Government forces in Khost through the air had become too difficult. When the Government's garrison had run out of supplies, the DRA troops massively surrendered to the mujahidin.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: After an eleven-year siege, Khost fell to Jalaluddin Haqqani's troops, that were in east Afghanistan, on April 11, 1991, following a negotiated surrender of the communist garrison. This was a coordinated effort where the final push came in an assault with Ibrahim Haqqani acting as stand-in for Jalaluddin, who had been abroad at the time to raise funds and links. The commandant Gul Aqa was captured. It was claimed that much of the garrison had switched sides because the mujahidin fighters were offering amnesty and lenient treatment, partly an indication of Haqqani's skilful diplomacy. There was considerable irritation by Haqqani's forces when some Pakistani outlets claimed that Hekmatyar had acted as leader, in spite of the similarly close relationship between Haqqani and Pakistani soldiers. At this time Pakistan were strongly in favour of Hekmatyar, who would be their primary proxy until 1994 when they switched to Taliban movement. However, the veteran Pakistani reporter Rahimulah Yusufzai confirmed that it had been a coordinated effort with Jalaluddin Haqqani as overall leader. Haqqani also offered to mediate between the bitter opponents Massoud and Hekmatyar, though this came to nought.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: Despite its military successes, the communist regime of President Mohammad Najibullah was still plagued by its traditional internal divisions, namely the opposition between the Khalq and Parcham factions.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: The DRA defense minister, Shahnawaz Tanai, disagreed with Najibullah's policy of National Reconciliation with the mujahideen. Also he had become convinced that his Khalq faction was losing its share of power in favour of Najibullah's Parcham. For these reasons he entered in secret negotiations with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and plotted against Najibullah. Launched on 6 March 1990, his coup failed, despite almost killing Najibullah, and Tanai was forced to flee to Pakistan, where he joined Hekmatyar. A severe repression followed, as Najibullah ordered the army to be purged of Tanai's supporters. In the ensuing fighting, several airports were bombarded, damaging 46 military aircraft. This episode reinforced Najibullah's suspicions and led him to govern through his personal allies rather than the government apparatus, further deepening the rift between Khalqis and Parchamis.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: By 1992, Afghanistan was in dire straits. Reserves of natural gas, Afghanistan's only export, had dried out since 1989, rendering the country completely dependent on Soviet aid. This amounted to 230,000 tons of food per year, but by 1991, the Soviet economy was itself faltering, preventing the Soviets from fulfilling their commitments.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: In August 1991, following his arrival in power, Boris Yeltsin announced that all direct assistance to Najibullah's regime would be curtailed. In January 1992, the Afghan Air Force, which had proved vital to the survival of the regime, could no longer fly any aircraft for lack of fuel. The army was debilitated by food shortages, causing the desertion rate to rise by 60 percent between 1990 and 1991.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: The pro-government militias that had grown to replace the army in many of its assignments, were faithful to the regime only so long as it could deliver enough weapons to enable them to conserve their power. With the end of the Soviet aid, the government could no longer satisfy these demands, and the loyalty of the militias began to waver.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: Finally, after negotiations between communist General Abdul Rashid Dostum and Ahmad Shah Massoud, the Junbish militia defected to the mujahideen. This reversal of fortunes effectively turned the tables in favor of the resistance, and forced Najibullah to resign.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: The Soviet Union having dissolved in late 1991 and Russia having decided to end fuel shipments to Afghanistan, by 1992 the Afghan regime of President Mohammad Najibullah began to collapse.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: On 18 March 1992, Najibullah announced his willingness to resign in order to make way for a neutral interim government. This step made him lose internal control; his government broke into several factions.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: General Abdul Rashid Dostum of the Afghan National Army defected the next day, allied with Hezb-i Wahdat and Jamiat-e Islami mujahideen forces, and took control of Mazar-i-Sharif.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: At some point, the UN and senior leaders of several Afghan mujahideen (= Islamic resistance) parties decided to meet in Peshawar, Pakistan, to try to form a new national Afghan coalition government. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, another mujahideen warlord in Afghanistan, supported by the United States and Pakistan during the Soviet–Afghan War (1979–89) and presumably hired by Pakistan's ISI to conquer Afghanistan (see section Participants civil war 1989–92), soon opposed to such an endeavour, planning to capture Kabul alone. In a recorded radio conversation, mujahideen leader Ahmad Shah Massoud invited Hekmatyar to come to the negotiations, but Hekmatyar replied: ""We will march into Kabul with our naked sword. No one can stop us. ... Why should we meet the leaders?" "


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: On 10 April 1992, the UN presented a plan to the mujahideen parties—of which they approved—to form a pre-interim council on 15 April to accept formal sovereignty from President Mohammad Najibullah. The plan was for the UN to fly that pre-interim council of community and tribal leaders into Kabul on 15 April and then fly Najibullah out of Kabul and out of Afghanistan. Throughout the process, mujahideen forces would remain outside Kabul.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: But on 14 April, Ahmad Shah Massoud with his Jamiat-e Islami forces had conquered parts of Parwan Province just north of Kabul and had approximately 20,000 troops stationed around Kabul.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: By mid-April, Massoud's forces (Jamiat) along with forces of Abdul Rashid Dostum (Junbish-e Melli-ye Islami), Harakat, and some Ismaili troops led by Sayyid Mansor took control of Bagram airbase, 70 km north of Kabul.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: Gulbuddin Hekmatyar with his Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin troops moved up to the southern limits of Kabul. Defecting government forces chose sides with those three mujahideen parties: Jamiat-e Islami, Junbish-e Melli-ye Islami and Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin, offering them their support in case they'd decide to enter Kabul.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: On 15 April 1992, President Mohammad Najibullah was ready to fulfill his role in the plan of 10 April (see above), but the mujahideen parties weren't any longer: some of them now objected against that 10 April agreement. The UN on 15 April did not, as scheduled, fly a pre-interim council into Kabul; apparently, negotiations in Pakistan over such a council were still dragging.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: On 16 April, Najibullah was toppled by a coalition of four top generals, who expressed their support for a UN mediated peace plan but also invited mujahideen leader Ahmad Shah Massoud to enter Kabul as new head of state right away, a proposal which Massoud, committed and faithful to those UN and mujahideen coalition negotiations in Peshawar (see above), declined. One of the putschists, Deputy Defense Minister Mohammad Nabi Azimi, appeared on Afghanistan National Television, saying: "I assure my countrymen that we will have peace in the very near future. There is no need for war anymore". By 17 April 1992, troops of Abdul Rashid Dostum controlled Kabul International Airport.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: Gulbuddin Hekmatyar on 17 April had moved close to Kabul and threatened to attack the city "if the present administration fails to transfer power to the mujahideen".


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: Not much later, Pashtun government officials started to allow Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin forces into Kabul.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: By 24 April 1992, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin, seemed on the verge of taking control of Kabul, which prompted Ahmad Shah Massoud's and Abdul Rashid Dostum's forces to also enter the town, to prevent the establishment of a Hekmatyar dictatorship.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: On 25 April, Hekmatyar with Khalqi allies attempted to overtake Kabul. But Massoud's and Dostum's forces were stronger and forced Hekmatyar with hard fighting out of Kabul by 27 April. Hastily now, the mujahideen parties discussing in Peshawar (Pakistan) -- which did not include Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin—agreed on their Peshawar Accords which they announced on 26 April, proclaiming a leadership council assuring residual powers for the party leaders under an interim President Sibghatullah Mojaddedi or Mujaddidi (a religious leader) serving from 28 April to 28 June 1992. Jamiat's leader Burhanuddin Rabbani would then succeed him as interim President until 28 October, and also in 1992 a national shura was to ratify a provisional constitution and choose an interim government for eighteen months, followed by elections. In these Peshawar Accords, Ahmad Shah Massoud was appointed as interim minister of defense for the Mujaddidi government.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: By 27 April 1992, Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin forces had been pushed south outside Kabul, but new mujahideen groups entered Kabul (Ittehad-e Islami, Hezb-i Wahdat, Harakat), rivalling Jamiat and Junbish, all dividing among them the city which was still largely undamaged. The interim Mujaddidi government was paralyzed right from the beginning which was 28 April 1992, due to rivalling groups contending for total power over Kabul and Afghanistan.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: The rest of April, and May–June 1992, civil war flared up over the control of Kabul, between at least five armies, most of them mujahideen (Islamic resistance parties), most of them sponsored by foreign states or intelligence agency: Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin, Jamiat-e Islami, Junbish-i Milli, Ittehad-e Islami and Hezb-i Wahdat. By the end of 1992, thousands had been killed, half a million residents had fled Kabul, the town badly damaged. Groups would form alliances and break them, peace accords were attempted and failed. War expanded over all Afghanistan. In November 1994, a new Islamic-inspired group and army, the Taliban, entered the scene. They gradually gained the upper hand, and in September 1996 conquered Kabul. The only group that was left to oppose the Taliban, was Jamiat-e Islami, who was involved in a conflict with the Taliban between 1996–2001. They defended from the north-east of the country and the Taliban were never able to control all of Afghanistan.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: The Taliban ruled most of Afghanistan until October 2001 when they were dethroned by a coalition of the United States of America with the Northern Alliance consisting of Jamiat-e Islami, Shura-e Nazar, Junbish-i Milli, the Eastern Shura, Harakat-e Islami and Hezb-e Wahdat. The UN and US fostered a new government led by Hamid Karzai, who was succeeded in 2014 by Ashraf Ghani. Nevertheless, by August 2021 the Taliban had retaken control of Afghanistan again and re-established their Islamic Emirate.


title: Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)

text: (from 1992, one month after the collapse of the communist regime, after Hekmatyar was repelled to the southern outskirts of Kabul before he started the heavy bombardment of Kabul with the support of Pakistan)


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: Bryant–Denny Stadium is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States, on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. It is the home field of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: Opened in 1929, it was originally named Denny Stadium in honor of George H. Denny, the school's president from 1912 to 1932. In 1975, the state legislature added longtime head coach and alumnus Paul "Bear" Bryant to the stadium's name. Bryant led the Tide for seven more seasons, through 1982, and is one of the few in Division I to have coached in a venue bearing his name.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: With a seating capacity of 100,077, it is the fourth-largest stadium in the Southeastern Conference, the eighth-largest stadium in the United States, and the tenth-largest stadium in the world.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: The replacement for Denny Field, Denny Stadium opened in 1929, with 6,000 in attendance for a 55–0 victory over Mississippi College on September 28. It was officially dedicated the following week at homecoming ceremonies against Ole Miss, a 22–7 Crimson Tide victory. Originally, the stadium had a capacity of 12,000—the lower half of the current stadium's east grandstand. However, President Denny initially envisioned a full bowl stadium capable of seating 66,000.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: Before the 1937 season, permanent seats were built along the east sideline, increasing the capacity to 24,000.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: Further expansions in 1946 (bleachers in both end zones), 1961 (new seats in west grandstand), and 1966 (both end zones fully enclosed, new seats in east grandstand) raised capacity to 31,000, 43,000, and 60,210, respectively. An upper deck was added to the west side in 1988 and raised the seating by nearly 10,000 to 70,123. During the construction, the Crimson Tide played its entire 1987 home schedule at Legion Field in Birmingham, northeast of Bryant–Denny.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: In September 1995, the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees approved the construction of the east upper deck. Designed by the architectural firm of Heery-Chambless-Adams, the construction was financed by the university and $4.65 million from the city of Tuscaloosa, the city of Northport, and Tuscaloosa County. The localities contributed to construction costs in return for the university pledging to move all Crimson Tide home games to Bryant–Denny and not play any at Legion Field.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: The new upper deck provided 10,000 additional bleacher seats and 81 skyboxes on two levels—63 16-seat and 18 24-seat capacity boxes. In 1999, four additional skyboxes were built to bring the total number of skyboxes to 85. A JumboTron scoreboard with video display capabilities was erected in the south end zone and was at the time the largest in collegiate sports. Additionally, a new east side entrance tower, a brick facade and reception areas for the Scholarship and A-Club level patrons was also added during the 1998 expansion.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: The stadium's eastern upper deck was opened in 1998 and raised its official seating capacity to 83,818 at a final cost of $35 million for the addition. The newly expanded venue debuted on September 5, and Alabama defeated BYU 38–31 as running back Shaun Alexander set a Tide single-game record with five touchdowns.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: Following the 2004 season, the university spent approximately $47 million on an expansion to the north end zone, which was completed days before the 2006 opener against Hawaii. It added a new upper deck to the North end zone area, complete with three different levels of skyboxes, which collectively are known as "The Zone", which brought the number of skyboxes in the stadium to 123. Two large display screens by Daktronics were placed in each corner of the north end zone, and LCD ribbon screens, tall by wide, were placed along the front edge of the east and west upper decks.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: Massive changes were made to the grounds of the north side of the stadium with the addition of a of Champions. Building the Walk of Champions required the demolition of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity house and the grading of the hill it sat upon. The Walk of Champions comprises a brick plaza leading from University Boulevard to the north end zone entrances. The plaza features 16 granite monuments set into the walkway commemorating the Crimson Tide's SEC and national championship teams throughout the years. Along the west side of the plaza are five roughly , tall bronze statues, one for each Alabama football coach who has led the Crimson Tide to a national championship. Each statue has a semicircular wall behind it bearing the coach's name and the year(s) that he led the team to a national championship. The first four statues, unveiled during the opening in 2006, included Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, Paul "Bear" Bryant, and Gene Stallings. The fifth statue, that of Nick Saban, was unveiled prior to the A-Day game on April 16, 2011. It commemorates Saban guiding Alabama to its 13th National Championship with a 37–21 win over the Texas Longhorns.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: Finally, there is a bronze statuary group of two anonymous Alabama football players at the entrance to the north end zone, with the one on the left holding a large Alabama Crimson Tide flag upright on a flagpole. This player is wearing the number 18 and a helmet, with the player on the right wearing the number 92 and pointing into the distance. The jersey numbers represent 1892, the first season of Crimson Tide football.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: The north end zone was opened for the 2006 season opener versus Hawaii, which set a new record attendance of 92,138. The Crimson Tide was victorious, 25–17.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved a study for further expansion of Bryant–Denny on September 19, 2008. The Physical Properties Committee of the University of Alabama Board of Trustees heard a presentation from the UA athletic department on November 13, 2008 regarding the proposed $80.6 million expansion of the south end zone upper deck and suite level of Bryant–Denny Stadium. The proposed expansion would bring the stadium's capacity to approximately 101,600, therefore making it the second largest stadium in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and the fifth largest stadium in college football. The committee unanimously approved the project to move into the third of four stages, the fourth being final approval to begin construction.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: On February 6, 2009, the university's Board of Trustees voted unanimously and without discussion to give the final approval for construction to commence on the south end zone expansion. With the approval of the Board of Trustees, construction began in the Spring of 2009 and continued throughout the 2009 football season. The expansion was finished in time for the first game of the team's 2010 season.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: "The Tuscaloosa News" reported on April 17, 2009 that due to the economic climate and resultant lowered construction costs, the stadium expansion cost $15 million less than expected, coming in around $65.6 million.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: The expanded south end zone now includes a two level South Zone club with a total of 1,700 seats and 36 skyboxes to bring the total number of skyboxes in Bryant–Denny Stadium to 159, as well as an 8,500 seat upper deck. The entire stadium's audio/visual system was upgraded to include two new video boards in both corners of the south end zone.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: Prior to the 2009 season, the large south scoreboard was disassembled to make way for the construction of the new stadium expansion. During this process, some welding equipment started a fire that burned the inside of the scoreboard. Also, during this time, four new play clocks and down/distance indicators were installed (one behind each corner of the end zones) and a new LED game clock was placed behind the south goalpost.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: The expansion was completed in mid-summer 2010 and held an official capacity of 101,821 making it the fifth largest college football stadium in the country. The new seats were all sold out quickly for the entire 2010 football season. Subsequent expansions included stores and other extra amenities on the bottom of the end zone.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: As part of a larger, 10-year $600 million plan to upgrade campus athletic facilities, the University is planning $92.5 million in upgrades to the stadium, including new social spaces, improved circulation, additional premium seating and upgraded spaces for athletes and recruits. The Walk of Champions will be extended into a new game day locker room via a new tunnel clad with video boards. The project will be funded with $48.4 million in bonds and $35 million from the Crimson Tide Foundation, the fundraising arm of UA athletics. Construction began shortly after the 2019 season.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: New LED lights for the stadium were unveiled on the night of August 12, 2019, including a crimson-hued light display by the new installations.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: Since its opening in 1929 through 2021, the Crimson Tide owns a record at Bryant–Denny Stadium. Nick Saban is the leader in wins at the stadium, with an all-time record of since 2007, as 3 home game wins were vacated by the NCAA that year.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: Despite its success at Bryant–Denny, most of Alabama's "home" football history from the 1920s through the 1980s occurred at Birmingham's Legion Field. Well into the 1980s, Legion Field seated almost 20,000 more people than Bryant-Denny. As such, until the late 1990s, Legion Field hosted most of Alabama's important home games. The most notable of these games was the Iron Bowl with rival Auburn. Legion Field was considered a neutral site from 1948 through 1987. When the Iron Bowl became a home-and-home series in 1988, Alabama continued to host its home games in the series at Legion Field in even-numbered years through 1998. The Crimson Tide hosted Tennessee in odd-numbered years in Birmingham until 1999, and LSU in even-numbered years from 1964 through 1986, except for 1980. Usually, Bryant–Denny hosted three or four games per season, mostly non-conference games, although the Tide always played Mississippi State in Tuscaloosa, save for 1987, due to the close distance between Tuscaloosa and Starkville. However, in 1998, when Bryant–Denny was expanded to a capacity exceeding Legion Field, the more important home games started to move to Bryant–Denny, culminating with the move of the Tennessee series to Tuscaloosa in 1999 and the Iron Bowl a year later. From 1998 to 2003, Alabama continued to play two or three minor games in Birmingham. Finally, in 2003, Alabama played its final game at Legion Field against the South Florida Bulls, and now Bryant–Denny is the sole home of Alabama football.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: However, despite the majority of past big games being played at Legion Field, Bryant–Denny Stadium has hosted many memorable games, such as the 1994 shootout between Alabama's Jay Barker and Georgia's Eric Zeier, Marvin Constant's goal-line stop against LSU quarterback Josh Booty as time expired in 1999, Tyrone Prothro's reception over the back of Southern Miss defensive back Jasper Faulk in 2005, a 31–3 victory over No. 5 Florida in 2005, the Roman Harper-forced fumble against Tennessee in 2005 that helped the Crimson Tide to victory, Alabama's 36–0 shutout victory against Auburn in 2008 thus breaking the six-game losing streak and first ever Iron Bowl victory in Bryant–Denny Stadium, and Terrence Cody's field goal block against Tennessee as time expired in 2009. In recent years, Bryant–Denny Stadium has become a feared place to play again. Also Bryant-Denny has been put on many lists ranking it one of the best places to watch football. NCAA Football 11 ranked Alabama's Bryant–Denny as the fourth toughest place to play in the nation and third in the SEC behind Florida and LSU. "Sporting News" ranks it first while Bleacher Report has it ranked as the 5th toughest and the 2nd best stadium in the country.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: Until the turn of the millennium, the field at Bryant–Denny Stadium had only the necessary markings required for play. As more and more stadiums began to add other designs to the field, such as logos, Alabama chose to remain traditional with the field design. In fact, even into the 2002 season, Bryant–Denny still had no logo at midfield and no logos at the 25-yard lines, which are now commonplace in many stadiums. The end zone design simply consisted of "ALABAMA" in a white, block-style font. During the 1992 season, however, a special logo was used at midfield to commemorate the centennial season of Alabama football.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: During the 2002 season, however, a large white script “A” was added to midfield. The field design underwent full-scale changes beginning with the 2004 season. At midfield, the large white script “A” was replaced with the crimson script “A” logo, encircled by a crimson ring which has "Alabama Crimson Tide" written around it. In addition, the end zone designs were changed to a crimson block-style font outlined in white.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: For the 2006 season, two identical logos commemorating the 175th anniversary of the university were also added to the field on the 25-yard lines. One was added on the south end of the stadium, on the west side of the playing field, while the other was on the north end of the stadium, on the east side of the playing field.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: For the 2007 season, two identical logos commemorating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) were added to home field of every SEC team. These were in the same places as the 175th logos were during the 2006 season.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: For the 2008 season, two identical SEC logos were added to the home field of every SEC team. Alabama's crimson was used as the primary color for the logos at Bryant–Denny. These logos were located in the same places as the previous logos and remain there today.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: For the 2009 A-day game, the end zones were changed back to the original white block-style font that was used prior to the 2004 season, except that the background was shaded crimson. The north end zone displayed "ALABAMA", while the south end zone displayed "CRIMSON TIDE". This design layout has remained in use since the 2009 season.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: For the 2011 season, two identical houndstooth awareness ribbons recognizing the ongoing relief efforts following the April 27, 2011 tornado were added to the field on the 25 yard lines.


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: In 2008, the visitors' locker room was officially named "The Fail Room" after alumnus and donor James M. Fail. He commented, "Earlier this year, when I saw the visitors' locker room as a potential naming right, I figured it was the most appropriate opportunity I would ever have to use my name."


title: Bryant–Denny Stadium

text: Beginning in 2009, Bryant–Denny Stadium and Auburn University's Jordan–Hare Stadium became the homes of the Alabama High School Athletic Association state football championship games, known as the Super 7 (named for the number of AHSAA enrollment classes in football). The newly opened Protective Stadium in Birmingham was added to the Super 7 rotation in 2021. Under the current cycle, which ends in 2032, Birmingham hosts the event every third year from 2021 to 2030, with Bryant–Denny and Jordan–Hare alternating hosting duties in other years. Previously, the Super 6, reflecting the former AHSAA football classification structure, was held at Legion Field in Birmingham.


title: Palais-Royal

text: The Palais-Royal () is a former royal palace located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Cardinal, it was built for Cardinal Richelieu from about 1633 to 1639 by the architect Jacques Lemercier. Richelieu bequeathed it to Louis XIII, and Louis XIV gave it to his younger brother, the Duke of Orléans. As the succeeding dukes of Orléans made such extensive alterations over the years, almost nothing remains of Lemercier's original design.


title: Palais-Royal

text: The Palais-Royal now serves as the seat of the Ministry of Culture, the Conseil d'État and the Constitutional Council. The central Palais-Royal Garden (Jardin du Palais-Royal) serves as a public park, and the arcade houses shops.


title: Palais-Royal

text: The architect Jacques Lemercier began his design in 1629; construction commenced in 1633 and was completed in 1639. The gardens were begun in 1629 by Jean Le Nôtre (father of André Le Nôtre), Simon Bouchard, and Pierre I Desgots, to a design created by Jacques Boyceau. Upon Richelieu's death in 1642 the palace became the property of the King and acquired the new name "Palais-Royal".


title: Palais-Royal

text: After Louis XIII died the following year, it became the home of the Queen Mother Anne of Austria and her young sons Louis XIV and Philippe, duc d'Anjou, along with her advisor Cardinal Mazarin.


title: Palais-Royal

text: From 1649, the palace was the residence of the exiled Henrietta Maria and Henrietta Anne Stuart, wife and daughter of the deposed King Charles I of England. The two had escaped England in the midst of the English Civil War and were sheltered by Henrietta Maria's nephew, King Louis XIV.


title: Palais-Royal

text: The Palais Brion, a separate section near the rue de Richelieu to the west of the Palais-Royal, was purchased by Louis XIV from the heirs of Cardinal Richelieu. Louis had it connected to the Palais-Royal. It was at the Palais Brion that Louis had his mistress Louise de La Vallière stay while his affair with Madame de Montespan was still an "official" secret.


title: Palais-Royal

text: Henrietta Anne was married to Louis' younger brother, Philippe de France, duc d'Orléans in the palace chapel on 31 March 1661. After their marriage, Louis XIV allowed his brother and wife to use the Palais-Royal as their main Paris residence. The following year the new duchess gave birth to a daughter, Marie Louise d'Orléans, inside the palace. She created the ornamental gardens of the palace, which were said to be among the most beautiful in Paris. Under the new ducal couple, the Palais-Royal would become the social center of the capital.


title: Palais-Royal

text: The palace was redecorated and new apartments were created for the Duchess's maids and staff. Several of the women who later came to be favourites to King Louis XIV were from her household: Louise de La Vallière, who gave birth there to two sons of the king, in 1663 and 1665; Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan, who supplanted Louise; and Angélique de Fontanges, who was in service to the second Duchess of Orléans.


title: Palais-Royal

text: The court gatherings at the Palais-Royal were famed all around the capital as well as all of France. It was at these parties that the "crème de la crème" of French society came to see and be seen. Guests included the main members of the royal family like the Queen Mother, Anne of Austria; the duchesse de Montpensier, the Princes de Condé and de Conti. Philippe's favourites were also frequent visitors.


title: Palais-Royal

text: After Henrietta Anne died in 1670 the Duke took a second wife, the Princess Palatine, who preferred to live in the Château de Saint-Cloud. Saint-Cloud thus became the main residence of her eldest son and the heir to the House of Orléans, Philippe Charles d'Orléans known as the "duc de Chartres".


title: Palais-Royal

text: The Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture occupied the Palais Brion from 1661 to 1691 and shared it with the Académie Royale d'Architecture from 1672. The royal collection of antiquities was installed there under the care of the art critic and official court historian André Félibien, who was appointed in 1673.


title: Palais-Royal

text: After the dismissal of Madame de Montespan and the arrival of her successor, Madame de Maintenon, who forbade any lavish entertainment at Versailles, the Palais-Royal was again a social highlight.


title: Palais-Royal

text: In 1692, on the occasion of the marriage of the "duc de Chartres" to Françoise Marie de Bourbon, "Mademoiselle de Blois", a legitimised daughter of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan, the King deeded the Palais-Royal to his brother. The new couple did not occupy the northeast wing, where Anne of Austria had originally lived, but instead chose to reside in the Palais Brion. For the convenience of the bride, new apartments were built and furnished in the wing facing east on the rue de Richelieu.


title: Palais-Royal

text: It was at this time that Philippe commissioned a Grande Galerie along the rue de Richelieu for his famous Orleans Collection of paintings, which was easily accessible to the public. Designed by the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart, it was constructed around 1698–1700 and painted with Virgilian subjects by Coypel. The cost of this reconstruction totaled about 400,000 "livres". Hardouin-Mansart's assistant, François d'Orbay, prepared a general site plan, showing the Palais-Royal before these alterations were made.


title: Palais-Royal

text: When the Duke of Orléans died in 1701, his son became the head of the House of Orléans. The new Duke and Duchess of Orléans took up residence at the Palais-Royal. Two of their daughters, Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans, later the "Duchess of Modena", and Louise Diane d'Orléans, later the Princess of Conti, were born there.


title: Palais-Royal

text: At the death of Louis XIV in 1715, his five-year-old great-grandson succeeded him. The Duke of Orléans became Regent for the young Louis XV, setting up the country's government at the Palais-Royal, while the young king lived at the nearby Tuileries Palace. The Palais-Royal housed the magnificent Orléans art collection of some 500 paintings, which was arranged for public viewing until it was sold abroad in 1791.


title: Palais-Royal

text: He commissioned Gilles-Marie Oppenord to redesign the apartments of the Duchess on the ground floor in 1716 and to decorate the Grand Appartement of the Palais Brion in the light and lively "style Régence" that foreshadowed the Rococo, as well as the Regent's more intimate "petits appartements". Oppenord also made changes to the Grande Galerie of the Palais Brion and created a distinctive Salon d'Angle, which connected the Grand Appartement to the Grande Galerie along the rue de Richelieu (1719–20; visible on the 1739 Turgot map of Paris). All of this work was lost, when the Palais Brion was demolished in 1784 for the installation of the Théâtre-Français, now the Comédie-Française.


title: Palais-Royal

text: After the Regency, the social life of the palace became much more subdued. Louis XV moved the court back to Versailles and Paris was again ignored. The same happened with the Palais-Royal. Louis d'Orléans succeeded his father as the new Duke of Orléans in 1723. He and his son Louis Philippe lived at the other family residence in Saint-Cloud, which had been empty since the death of the Princess Palatine in 1722.


title: Palais-Royal

text: In 1752 Louis Philippe I succeeded his father as the Duke of Orléans. The Palais-Royal was soon the scene of the notorious debaucheries of Louise Henriette de Bourbon who had married to Louis Philippe in 1743. New apartments (located in what is now the northern section of the Rue-de-Valois wing) were added for her in the early 1750s by the architect Pierre Contant d'Ivry. She died at the age of thirty-two in 1759. She was the mother of Louis Philippe II d'Orléans, later known as "Philippe Égalité". A few years after the death of Louise Henriette, her husband secretly married his mistress, the witty marquise de Montesson, and the couple lived at the Château de Sainte-Assise where he died in 1785. Just before his death, he completed the sale of the Château de Saint-Cloud to Queen Marie Antoinette.


title: Palais-Royal

text: Louis Philippe II d'Orléans was born at Saint-Cloud and later moved to the Palais-Royal and lived there with his wife, the wealthy Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon whom he had married in 1769. The duke controlled the Palais-Royal from 1780 onward. The couple's eldest son, Louis-Philippe III d'Orléans, was born there in 1773. Louis Philippe II succeeded his father as the head of the House of Orléans in 1785.


title: Palais-Royal

text: The Palais-Royal had contained one of the most important public theatres in Paris, in the east wing on the rue Saint-Honoré (on a site just to the west of what is now the rue de Valois). It was built from 1637 to 1641 to designs by Lemercier and was initially known as the Great Hall of the Palais-Cardinal. This theatre was later used by the troupe of Molière beginning in 1660, by which time it had become known as the Théâtre du Palais-Royal. After Molière's death in 1673 the theatre was taken over by Jean-Baptiste Lully, who used it for his Académie Royale de Musique (the official name of the Paris Opera at that time).


title: Palais-Royal

text: The Opera's theatre was destroyed by fire in 1763, but was rebuilt to the designs of architect Pierre-Louis Moreau Desproux on a site slightly further to the east (where the rue de Valois is located today) and reopened in 1770. This second theatre continued to be used by the Opera until 1781, when it was also destroyed by fire, but this time it was not rebuilt. Moreau Desproux also designed the adjacent surviving entrance facades of the Palais-Royal.


title: Palais-Royal

text: At the request of Louis Philippe II two new theatres were constructed in the Palais-Royal complex shortly after the fire. Both of these new theatres were designed by Victor Louis, the architect who also designed the shopping galleries facing the garden (see below). The first theatre, which opened on 23 October 1784, was a small puppet theatre in the northwest corner of the gardens at the intersection of the Galerie de Montpensier and the Galerie de Beaujolais.


title: Palais-Royal

text: Initially it was known as the Théâtre des Beaujolais, then as the Théâtre Montansier, after which Victor Louis enlarged it for the performance of plays and operas. Later, beginning with the political turmoil of the Revolution, this theatre was known by a variety of other names. It was converted to a café with shows in 1812, but reopened as a theatre in 1831, when it acquired the name Théâtre du Palais-Royal, by which it is still known today.


title: Palais-Royal

text: Louis Philippe II's second theatre was larger and located near the southwest corner of the complex, on the rue de Richelieu. He originally intended it for the Opera, but that company refused to move into it. Instead he offered it to the Théâtre des Variétés-Amusantes, formerly on the boulevard du Temple but since 1 January 1785 playing in a temporary theatre in the gardens of the Palais-Royal. This company changed its name to Théâtre du Palais-Royal on 15 December 1789, and later moved into the new theatre upon its completion, where they opened on 15 May 1790. On 25 April 1791 the anti-royalist faction of the Comédie-Française, led by Talma, left that company's theatre on the left bank (at that time known as the Théâtre de la Nation, but today as the Odéon), and joined the company on the rue de Richelieu, which promptly changed its name to Théâtre Français de la rue de Richelieu. With the founding of the French Republic in September 1792 the theatre's name was changed again, to Théâtre de la République. In 1799 the players of the split company reunited at the Palais-Royal, and the theatre officially became the Comédie-Française, also commonly known as the Théâtre-Français, names which it retains to this day.


title: Palais-Royal

text: Louis Philippe II also had Victor Louis build six-story apartment buildings with ground-floor colonnades facing the three sides of the palace garden between 1781 and 1784. On the outside of these wings three new streets were constructed in front of the houses that had formerly overlooked the garden: the rue de Montpensier on the west, rue de Beaujolais to the north, and rue de Valois on the east. He commercialised the new complex by letting out the area under the colonnades to retailers and service-providers and in 1784 the shopping and entertainment complex opened to the public. Over a decade or so, sections of the Palais were transformed into shopping arcades that became the centre of 18th-century Parisian economic and social life.


title: Palais-Royal

text: Though the main part of the palace ("corps de logis") remained the private Orléans seat, the arcades surrounding its public gardens had 145 boutiques, cafés, salons, hair salons, bookshops, museums, and countless refreshment kiosks. These retail outlets sold luxury goods such as fine jewelry, furs, paintings and furniture to the wealthy elite. Stores were fitted with long glass windows which allowed the emerging middle-classes to window shop and indulge in fantasies. Thus, the Palais-Royal became one of the first of the new style of shopping arcades and became a popular venue for the wealthy to congregate, socialise and enjoy their leisure time. The redesigned palace complex became one of the most important marketplaces in Paris. It was frequented by the aristocracy, the middle classes, and the lower orders. It had a reputation as being a site of sophisticated conversation (revolving around the salons, cafés, and bookshops), shameless debauchery (it was a favorite haunt of local prostitutes), as well as a hotbed of Freemasonic activity.


title: Palais-Royal

text: Designed to attract the genteel middle class, the Palais-Royal sold luxury goods at relatively high prices. However, prices were never a deterrent, as these new arcades came to be the place to shop and to be seen. Arcades offered shoppers the promise of an enclosed space away from the chaos that characterised the noisy, dirty streets; a warm, dry space away from the elements; and a safe-haven where people could socialise and spend their leisure time. Promenading in the arcades became a popular eighteenth century pastime for the emerging middle classes.


title: Palais-Royal

text: From the 1780s to 1837, the palace was once again the centre of Parisian political and social intrigue and the site of the most popular cafés. The historic restaurant "Le Grand Véfour", which opened in 1784, is still there. In 1786, a noon cannon was set up by a philosophical amateur, set on the prime meridian of Paris, in which the sun's noon rays, passing through a lens, lit the cannon's fuse. The noon cannon is still fired at the Palais-Royal, though most of the ladies for sale have disappeared, those who inspired the Abbé Delille's lines:


title: Palais-Royal

text: The Cirque du Palais-Royal, constructed in the center of the garden, has been described as "a huge half-subterranean spectacle space of food, entertainments, boutiques, and gaming that ran the length of the park and was the talk of the capital." It was destroyed by fire on 15 December 1798.