Category Archives: Reference

“Assur-bani-pal (or Ashurbanipal, d 626? BC) King of Assyria. The son of Essar-Haddon, Assur-bani-pal ruled Assyria, while his twin brother Samus-sum-yumin ruled Babylonia. Against great odds, Assur-bani-pal maintained his supremacy over Egypt and put down a Tyrian revolt. The most powerful of Assyria’s rulers, he either subjugated or dominated the Manna, the Elamites, and the Cilicians. He also quelled a revolt by his brother in Babylonia and harassed the northern Arabians. However, Assur-bani-pal had overreached himself and exhausted the resources of his own country, to the extent that it collapsed completely not long after his death. He left behind him, however, a legacy of enormous importance for modern times: he had caused to be prepared for his royal library a large number of the most important literary works of the Near East; preserved on tablets, these were excavated in the middle of the 19^th century in the ruins of Nineveh, his capital. Some characteristics of Assur-bani-pal are recognizable in the legendary Sardanapalus.”

Excerpted from: Murphy, Bruce, ed. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Fourth Edition. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.

“Showa period: (1926-1989) Period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Hirohito, the Showa emperor. The Showa period saw the militarism of the 1930s and Japan’s disastrous participation in World War II, resulting in the nations complete collapse and ultimate surrender. The postwar era was one of rehabilitation, marked by such successes as its joining the U.N. in 1956, hosting the 1964 Olympics, and holding the Osaka World Exposition in 1970. Japan experienced a so-called ‘economic miracle,’ with growth averaging 10% in 1955-60 and higher in the years following. In the 1980s, the Japanese economy became one of the world’s largest and most sophisticated, with per capita income surpassing that of the U.S. Japanese society became increasingly urban, with one-tenth of the population living in Tokyo by the mid-1980s. U.S. influence on popular culture was very strong, and young Japanese emulated their U.S. counterparts in every way possible. The Showa period also saw more people living in nuclear families than in extended families, love marriage rather than arranged marriages, fewer children, and more opportunities for women. See also Hesei period, Occupation (of Japan).”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

“Sikkim: Eastern Himalayas, northeastern India, Mt. Kanchenjunga, third-highest peak in the world, forms its western border. It has an area of 2,744 square miles (7,107 square kilometers); the capital, Gangtok, is the only urban center. As an independent country, it fought prolonged wars in the 18^th and 19^th centuries with Bhutan and Nepal. It first came under British influence in 1817, though it remained an independent buffer between British India and Tibet. In 1950 it became an Indian protectorate, and in 1975, a state of India. One of India’s smallest states, it exports agricultural products and is one of the world’s main producers of cardamom. Its mineral resources include copper, lead, zinc, coal, iron ore, and garnets.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.