The region was combined togerther twice – during the Russian Civil War (Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic) from 9 April 1918 to 26 May 1918, and under the Soviet rule (Transcaucasian SFSR) from 12 March 1922 to 5 December 1936.
The area of Transcaucasia, which is where modern day Azerbaijan,Georgia and Armenia are located, is one of areas where the wine producing vines "vitis vinifera" grow. Some experts think that this may be where wine was produced for the first time. Archeological excavation and carbon dating of grape pips from the area have dated back to 7000-5000BC.
Mongols
The name Mongols (Mongolian: "Mongol") explains one or more ethnic groups. A hard definition includes the Mongols proper (self-designation "Monggol"), which can be split into eastern and western Mongols. In a bigger sense, the Mongol peoples also people who speak a Mongolic language but use other self-designations, such as the Kalmyks of eastern Europe.
The name "Monggol" has its meaning in the Tungusic languages and usually means "the invincible ones". At first it was applied to a small and still insignificant tribe in the area of the Onon river. In the 13th century it grew into an umbrella term for a large group of tribes united under the rule of Genghis Khan.
The polytheistic (believing in many gods) Mongols thought that good and evil spirits controlled the world. They also believed in a sky god, who ruled all the spirits. They called him "Tengri" (TENG gree), which means, "the great god of heaven". The Mongols lived in fear of the spirits and hoped for blessings from them.
Every yurt had small idols made of felt. The wives and daughters of the nobles made these idols at sewing parties. The Mongols believed that these idols protected their families and animals. Before every meal they put food and drink on the idols' lips. They also prayed to them.
The Mongols believed that some men, called "shamans" (SHAH muns), had power over the spirits. The shamans were the priests of the traditional Mongol religion, called "shamanism" (SHAH muh NIZ um). The shamans were medicine men and witch doctors who used a special language when doing their magical . The Mongols talked to their shamans before making big choices and followed their advice.
The later empire of the Mongols had many people with many religions, including Christians. The most important Christian group in the Mongol Empire was the Nestorian Church, sometimes called the Church of the East. These Christians were named for Nestorius, bishop of Constantinople.
La Liga
La Liga, commonly known La Liga Santander for sponsor reasons, is a football league which is the top division in Spain.
Stanley Marcus
Stanley Marcus (April 20, 1905 – January 22, 2002) was the president of the Neiman-Marcus company, a store in the United States that sells expensive clothing and . He became famous for inventing many new ways to sell products and new ways to tell people about his store.
Mr. Marcus created an award for people who designed clothing. He also began art shows in his store, to make people want to visit the store to see the art. In 1939, the company started a catalog, which is a book that shows all the products that people can buy from the store. In 1951, the catalog listed unusual gifts for people to buy. Many people started to read the catalog every year to see the unusual gifts.
In the 1940s, at the time of the Second World War, the government of the United States asked Mr. Marcus for help. The government wanted to make sure there would be enough fabric to make clothes for the military, so they asked Mr. Marcus to make rules about clothes for ordinary people. He made rules for companies that made clothes so that popular styles for women and men would not change every year. With these rules, people would not need new clothes so often. Also, he said that men's socks should not use rubber to make elastic to hold the socks in place. This rule made sure the government could use rubber for military products that were needed for the war.
Mr. Marcus married Mary "Billie" Cantrell in 1932. When he met her, Billie was working in the Neiman-Marcus store. She continued to work for four years. She retired in 1936 after she gave birth to a baby; they named the baby Jerrie. In 1938, she gave birth to twins, Richard and Wendy.
Mr. Marcus collected art and books. His favorite artists from Mexico were Rufino Tamayo, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Diego Rivera, and Antonio Ruíz. He became friends with Rivera and Tamayo. Mr. Marcus also liked American artists, such as Alexander Calder, who made sculptures, and Georgia O'Keeffe, who was a painter. He gave large amounts of money to a museum that showed O'Keeffe paintings.
The Degolyer Library at Southern Methodist University has a collection of things related to Mr. Marcus. The collection includes photographs, letters, and newspaper articles. Mr. Marcus also gave the library a collection of more than 5,000 miniature books. (Miniature books are very small books, small enough for a doll.)
Collectivity of Saint Martin
Saint Martin (French: "Saint-Martin"), officially the Collectivity of Saint Martin (French: "Collectivité de Saint-Martin"), is a new overseas collectivity of France. It was created on 22 February 2007. It is in the northern parts of the island of Saint Martin and nearby small islands. The southern half of the island is a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The French part of the island has a land area of . At the 2011 census, the population in the French part of the island was 36,286 (up from only 8,072 inhabitants at the 1982 census), which means a population density of in 2011.
Saint Martin was for many years a French commune. It was part of Guadeloupe, which is an overseas "région" and overseas "département" of France. Because of this, it is in the European Union. In 2003 the population of the French part voted for a split from Guadeloupe. They wanted to make a separate overseas collectivity (COM) of France. On February 9, 2007, the French Parliament passed a bill granting COM status to both the French part of Saint Martin and neighbouring Saint-Barthélemy. The new took effect when the law was published in the Official Journal.
Saint Martin remains governed as it was when a commune within Guadeloupe—by a mayor and a municipal council elected by the European citizens living on the French side of the island. As is the case in metropolitan France since the promulgation of the Maastricht Treaty, nationals of any member state of the European Union are allowed to vote at the municipal elections. Nationals from countries not part of the European Union, which represent a large part of the population on the French side of the island, are not allowed to vote in the elections. In 2003, the people of the French part of the island voted to seperate from Guadeloupe. In 2007, the French Parliament voted to make Saint Martin a overseas collectivity (COM) of France. The new status took effect on 15 July 2007, once the local assemblies were elected,
Saint Martin remains part of the European Union. The official currency in Saint Martin is the euro (though the United States dollar is also widely accepted).
Sint Maarten
Sint Maarten (or Saint Martin) is a country that is part of the Netherlands. It is on the southern half of the island of St. Martin in the Caribbean.
The "Island area of St. Martin" () was part of the Netherlands Antilles, until the Antilles was dissolved in October 2010, when Sint Maarten became a "country" ("land") within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Government of the Netherlands is responsible for defence, foreign affairs and nationality law. Although part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the territory of Sint Maarten is not part of the European Union; however, its people are citizens of the European Union.
French overseas collectivities