input: Please answer the following: What is the answer for the question: What kingdom reached its peak during the 9th12th centuries when records show that it exceeded its northern neighbor? from the following article ? Alodia, also known as Alwa (Greek: A, Aroua; Arabic: , Alwa), was a medieval Nubian kingdom in what is now central and southern Sudan. Its capital was the city of Soba, located near modern-day Khartoum at the confluence of the Blue and White Nile rivers. Founded sometime after the ancient kingdom of Kush fell, in around 350 AD, Alodia is first mentioned in historical records in 569. It was the last of the three Nubian kingdoms to convert to Christianity in 580 following Nobadia and Makuria. It possibly reached its peak during the 9th12th centuries when records show that it exceeded its northern neighbor, Makuria, with which it maintained close dynastic ties, in size, military power and economic prosperity. Being a large, multicultural state, Alodia was administered by a powerful king and provincial governors appointed by him. The capital Soba, described as a town of "extensive dwellings and churches full of gold and gardens", prospered as a trading hub. Goods arrived from Makuria, the Middle East, western Africa, India and even China. Literacy in both Nubian and Greek flourished. From the 12th, and especially the 13th century, Alodia was declining, possibly because of invasions from the south, droughts and a shift of trade routes. In the 14th century, the country might have been ravaged by the plague, while Arab tribes began to migrate into the Upper Nile valley. By around 1500 Soba had fallen to either Arabs or the Funj. This likely marked the end of Alodia, although some Sudanese oral traditions claimed that it survived in the form of the kingdom of Fazughli within the Ethiopian-Sudanese borderlands. After the destruction of Soba, the Funj established the Sultanate of Sennar, ushering in a period of Islamization and Arabization.
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output: Alodia
Please answer this: What is the answer for the question: Who called a group "one prominent example of a group that has gotten hung up on trying to catch The Beatles"? from the following article ? In July, two singles were issued on the Brother imprint: "Heroes and Villains" and "Gettin' Hungry". The former peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The latter was not credited to the Beach Boys, but instead to Brian Wilson and Mike Love. On September 18, 1967, Smiley Smile was released in the US. The LP peaked at number 41 on the Billboard charts, making it their worst-selling album to that date. It spent most of its 21-week chart time bubbling under 100 and 197. When released in the UK in November, it performed better, reaching number 9 of the UK Albums Chart.Critics and fans were generally underwhelmed by the album and controversy involving whether the band was to be taken as a serious rock group ensued. A review in Hit Parader praised the album for "probably [having] more a cappella harmony than on any album since the fall of the singing-group era in the late 1950s", but that they "still like Pet Sounds better". NME wrote of the album: "By the standards which this group has set itself, it's more than a grade disappointing." Hi Fidelity said: "... they are making the psychedelic route ... perhaps in the unforgettable city of Fresno. Until they reach the San Francisco Bay Bridge or return to the shores of Malibu ... their work can only receive partial approval." Rolling Stone referred to it as a "disaster" and an "abortive attempt to match the talents of Lennon and McCartney." On December 14, 1967, the magazine's editor and co-founder Jann Wenner printed an influential article that denounced Wilson's "genius" label, which he called a "promotional shuck", and the Beach Boys themselves, which he called "one prominent example of a group that has gotten hung up on trying to catch The Beatles". He wrote that "for some reason, [Smiley Smile] just doesn't make it ... [the songs] just don't move you. Other than displaying Brian Wilson's virtuosity for production, they are pointless."The Milwaukee Sentinel praised the LP as "probably the most valuable contribution to rock since the Beatles Revolver" and...
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Answer: Jann Wenner
input question: What is the answer for the question: Who get half of Wes Merritt's prize money? from the following article ? When longtime professional rodeo competitor Jeff McCloud is injured by a Brahma bull he was trying to ride, he decides to quit. He hitchhikes to his childhood home, a decrepit place now owned by Jeremiah. Run down as it is, it is the dream home for Wes Merritt and his wife Louise. They are painstakingly saving up the money to buy it from Wes's meager wages as a cowhand. Wes recognizes Jeff as a once-prominent rodeo rider, and introduces himself, then helps Jeff gets a job at the same ranch. Wes has competed in some local rodeos, but has the ambition to do more, and wants Jeff to help him improve his skills. Wes enters a local rodeo behind his wife's back. When he does well, he decides to join the rodeo circuit, with Jeff as his partner and trainer. Louise is wholeheartedly against the idea, but goes along. She makes her husband promise to quit once they have saved enough for the house. As Louise becomes acquainted with rodeo life, she becomes more and more disenchanted. Jeff's friend Booker Davis, once a champion competitor himself, is now a crippled old man with little to show for his efforts. When Buster Burgess is gored and killed by a bull, leaving a bitter widow, Louise can no longer bear to watch her husband compete. However, Wes is seduced by his great success and the money he is winning. He refuses to quit when they have enough for the house. Matters come to a head when Babs invites Wes to a party she is throwing and makes a play for him. Louise fights back by putting on her only good dress and going to the party with Jeff. She pours a drink on her rival's head before leaving. In the hallway, Jeff asks her if she could love another man, but she is true to Wes. Coming on the tail end of the conversation, Wes tells Jeff that he is tired of taking all the risks and giving him half the prize money.???
output answer:
Jeff McCloud