Home About us Products Services Contact us Bookmark
:: wikimiki.org ::
April 10 (Orthodox Liturgics)

April 10 (Orthodox liturgics)

Apr. 9 - Eastern Orthodox Church calendar - Apr. 11 All fixed commemorations below celebrated on Apr. 23 by Old Calendarists

Saints


- Martyrs Terence, Pompeius, Africanus, Maximus, Zeno, Alexander, Theodore, Macarius, and 33 others beheaded at Carthage
- Martyrs James the Presbyter, Azadanes the Deacon, and Abdicus the Deacon, of Persia
- Prophetess Huldah (Olda) (2 Kings 22:14)
- 6,000 monk-martyrs in Georgia
- New martyr Demos of Smyrna
- Hieromartyr Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople
- Pope Miltiades of Rome Category:Eastern Orthodox liturgical days

April 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Apr. 8 - Eastern Orthodox Church calendar - Apr. 10 All fixed commemorations below celebrated on Apr. 22 by Old Calendarists

Saints


- Martyr Eupsychius of Cacsarca in Cappadocia
- Martyr Bademus (Vadim) of Persia
- Martyrs Desan, bishop; Mariabus, presbyter; Abdiesus; and 270 others in Persia
- Saint Woutruide, foundress of a monastery in the Netherlands
- Martyr Patience
- Newly revealed martyrs Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene of Lesbos Category:Eastern Orthodox liturgical days

April 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Apr. 10 - Eastern Orthodox Church calendar - Apr. 12 All fixed commemorations below celebrated on Apr. 24 by Old Calendarists

Saints


- Hieromartyr Antipas, Bishop of Pergamus, disciple of Saint John the Theologian
- Saint Pharmuthius, anchorite of Egypt
- Martyr Processus and Martyr Martinian of Rome
- Saint John, disciple of Saint Gregory of the Decapolis
- Saint James of Zheleznoborov, abbot, and his fellow ascetic also named James
- Saints Euthymius and Chariton of Syanzhemsk in Vologda, abbots
- Saint Barsanuphius of Tver, bishop
- Saint Callinicus of Cernica, Bishop of Rimnicului in Romania Category:Eastern Orthodox liturgical days

Martyrs

:Apart from the religious meaning, Martyr is also a metal band (see Martyr (band)). Historically, a martyr is a person who dies for his or her religious faith. Sometimes, it is for a different "noble cause", like patriotically dying for a nation's glory in a war (usually known under other names such as "fallen warriors"). Occurrences of such a death are known as martyrdom.

History

Martyr is from marty (earlier martys), the Greek word for "witness". During the early Roman Empire, the independent cities of Asia Minor made efforts to reward benefactors for their services, and to promote further civic generosity by means of public acclamations, eulogistic honorific decrees were addressed to the Roman authorities and read in public places before an audience. Such commendations are usually referred to in epigraphic sources as martyriai. Christians adopted the phrase for the "testimonies" of the acts and sufferings of the persecuted, who became "martyrs".

In Christianity

Eastern and western liturgical Christians revere Saint Stephen as the first martyr, or protomartyr. Christians in the first three centuries A.D. were crucified in the same manner as Roman political prisoners or eaten by lions as a circus spectacle. They are recognized as martyrs because they preferred dying for their faith to apostasy (renunciation of faith). The Christian writer Tertullian (200 AD) asserted that "the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church". With the Constantinian shift and the identification of the term Christianity with the Roman Empire, the tables were turned and pagans sometimes became martyrs if they refused the Roman Emperor when ordered to change their beliefs to the Roman Empire's version of Christianity. It didn't take long before Augustine of Hippo authorized the use of force against heretics and Christians who refused to fall in line with Roman orthodoxy. Persecution of heretics and the martyrdom that sometimes went with it became institutionalised in the office of the inquisition of the Roman Catholic Church, and in the political systems of the State, such as that of the English Queen Mary I (who became known as Bloody Mary), when she had nearly three hundred Christians tortured and killed (recorded in Foxe's Book of Martyrs) for refusing to denounce their reformist beliefs and for refusing to revert to Roman Catholicism. Some Christian sects such as Anabaptists as well as non-Christian sects, who began as Christians yet changed their beliefs, trace their origins to widespread persecution and martyrdom at the hands of the Catholic Church trying to suppress their break away sects. The Anabaptists have embraced this part of their heritage to such an extent that the book Martyrs Mirror, which describes the deaths of Anabaptist Martyrs in the 16th and 17th century, is still widely owned and read in Mennonite and Amish households (see Anabaptist persecution for more). The 20th century again saw large numbers of Christians martyred by non-Christians, in persecutions by political authorities that have antipathy directed towards particular faiths, or religion in general. Allegedly this has included the Soviet Union and early People's Republic of China. The Russian Orthodox Church in post-Soviet times termed many of those who died for this faith "New Martyrs", meaning that it was the 2nd greatest persecution of Christians since I-III AD. The Taliban regime has been known as well to mount another wave of persecutions, although this has received less international attention, given its scale. Many church historians believe that there were more Christian martyrs in the 20th century than in the first 19 centuries combined. This claim is, however, difficult to confirm for obvious reasons. See Persecution of Christians for more detail; also Passion bearer

In Islam

In Arabic, a martyr is termed "shaheed" (literally, "witness"). The concept of the shaheed is discussed in the Hadith, the sayings of Muhammad; the term does not appear in the Qur'an in the technical sense, but the later exegetical tradition has read it to mean martyr in the few passages that it does appear in. The first martyr in Islam was the old woman Sumayyah bint Khabbab[http://www.islam-qa.com/QA/6%7CIslamic_history_and_biography(Tareekh_wa_al-Seerah)/Mutafarraqaat_(Miscellaneous)/The_first_female_martyr_in_Islam.10061998.2223.shtml], the first Muslim to die at the hands of the polytheists of Mecca (specifically, Abu Jahl). A famous person widely regarded as a martyr - indeed, an archetypical martyr for the Shia - is Husayn bin Ali, who died at the hands of the forces of the second Umayyad caliph Yazid I at Karbala. The Shia commemorate this event each year at Aashurah. Muslims who die in a legitimate jihad bis saif (struggle with the sword, or Islamic holy war) are typically considered shahid. This usage became controversial in the late 20th century, when (due to the Islamic strictures against suicide) it began to be applied to suicide bombers, e.g. those belonging to Islamist and Palestinian nationalist groups, whose victims often included civilians. During the Iran-Iraq War, nuptial chambers were constructed to recognized unmarried male soliders killed in the war; according to tradition, this would allow them to attain carnal knowledge. (See also Persecution of Muslims for more detail.)

Martyrdom today

The term has since been used metaphorically for people killed in a historical struggle for some cause, or those whose deaths served to galvanize a particular movement. In this sense, for example, Martin Luther King Jr. can be regarded as a "civil rights martyr", but this designation is open to dispute as the motive for his assassination is hardly ascertainable. Other examples include (some disputed):
- John Brown
- Che Guevara
- Patrice Lumumba
- Harvey Milk Martyrdom in India: http://www.gfa.org/gfa/deaththreat

Hero or villain?

The term "martyr" is in some ways semantically interchangeable with "hero" — both are almost always controversial. The phrase "one man's hero is another's criminal" is a simple way of expressing this disparity. Warriors throughout history returning from battle, dead or alive, are typically revered for "heroism" and "bravery". In recent history, those that commit criminal acts during war run the risk of military courts martial. In all cultures, dying in a war is considered "martyrdom", although the word is usually applied to deaths specifically in a religious or moral cause. In the UK the summer of 2005 saw attempts by the Blair government to criminalize the use of the word "martyr" in reference to "Islamist" suicide bombers. This illustrates the polarization surrounding the issue and the need the government obviously felt to break the power of the word.

See also


- List of martyrs
- Category:Customary categories of people ja:殉教

Persian Empire

The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). Persia's earliest known kingdom was the proto-Elamite Empire, followed by the Medes; but it is the Achaemenid Empire that emerged under Cyrus the Great that is usually the earliest to be called "Persian." Successive states in Iran before 1935 are collectively called the Persian Empire by Western historians.

The name Persia

Persia has long been used by the West to describe the nation of Iran, its people, or its ancient empire. It derives from the ancient Greek name for Iran, Persis. This in turn comes from the name of Cyrus's main clan "Pars" or "Parsa" which has given its name also to a province in southern Iran, called Fars in the modern Persian language and Pars in Middle Persian. Persis is the Hellenized form of Pars, based on which other European nations termed the area Persia. This province was the core of the original Persian Empire. Westerners referred to the state as Persia until March 21, 1935, when Reza Shah Pahlavi formally asked the international community to call the country by its native name. Some Persian scholars protested this decision because changing the name separated the country from its past. It also caused some Westerners to confuse Iran with Iraq; so in 1959 his son Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi announced that both Persia and Iran can be used interchangeably. (See Iran/Persia naming controversy) According to the ancient Greek historian, Herodotus, the name "Persian" comes from the Aryan claim of descent from the mythological hero, Perseus.

The rise and fall of empires in Persia

The first Persian state: Achaemenid Persia (648 BC-330 BC)

330 BC] :Main article: Achaemenid dynasty The first record of the Persians comes from an Assyrian inscription from c. 844 BC that calls them the Parsu (Parsuash, Parsumash) and mentions them in the region of Lake Urmia alongside another group, the Madai (Medes). For the next two centuries, the Persians and Medes were at times tributary to the Assyrians. The region of Parsuash was annexed by Sargon of Assyria around 719 BC. Eventually the Medes came to rule an independent Median Empire, and the Persians were subject to them. The Achaemenids were the first line of Persian rulers, founded by Achaemenes (Hakaimanish), chieftain of the Persians around 700 BC. Around 653 BC, the Medes came under the domination of the Scythians, and the son of Achaemenes, a certain Teispes, seems to have led the nomadic Persians to settle in southern Iran around this time -- eventually establishing the first organized Persian state in the important region of Anshan as the Elamite kingdom was permanently destroyed by the Assyrian ruler Ashurbanipal (640 BC). The kingdom of Anshan and its successors continued to use Elamite as an official language for quite some time after this, although the new dynasts spoke Persian, an Indo-Iranian tongue. Teispes' descendants branched off into two lines, one line ruling in Anshan, while the other ruled the rest of Persia. Cyrus II the Great united the separate kingdoms around 559 BC. At this time, the Persians were still tributary to the Median Empire ruled by Astyages. Cyrus rallied the Persians together, and in 550 BC defeated the forces of Astyages, who was then captured by his own nobles and turned over to the triumphant Cyrus, now Shah of a unified Persian kingdom. As Persia assumed control over the rest of Media and their large Middle Eastern empire, Cyrus led the united Medes and Persians to still more conquest. He took Lydia in Asia Minor, and carried his arms eastward into central Asia. Finally in 539 BC, Cyrus marched triumphantly into the ancient city of Babylon. After this victory, he set the standard of the benevolent conqueror by issuing the Cyrus Cylinder. In this declaration, the king promised not to terrorize Babylon nor destroy its institutions and culture. Cyrus was killed during a battle against the Massagetae or Sakas. Sakas Cyrus' son, Cambyses II, annexed Egypt to the Persian Empire. The empire then reached its greatest extent under Darius I. He led conquering armies into the Indus River valley and into Thrace in Europe. His invasion of Greece was halted at the Battle of Marathon. His son Xerxes I also tried to conquer Greece, but was defeated at the Battle of Plataea 479 BC. The Achaemenid Persian Empire was the largest and most powerful empire the world had yet seen. More importantly, it was well managed and organized. Darius divided his realm into about twenty satrapies (provinces) supervised by satraps, or governors, many of whom had personal ties to the Shah. He instituted a systematic tribute to tax each province. He took the advanced postal system of the Assyrians and expanded it. Also taken from the Assyrians was the usage of secret agents of the king, known as the King's Eyes and Ears, keeping him informed. He built the famous Royal Road by improving ancient trade routes, thereby connecting far reaches of the empire. He moved the administration center from Persia itself to Susa, near Babylon and closer to the center of the realm. The Persians allowed local cultures to survive, following the precedent set by Cyrus the Great. This was not only good for the empire's subjects, but ultimately benefited the Achaemenids, since the conquered peoples felt no need to revolt. During the Achaemenid period, Zoroastrianism became the religion of the rulers and most of the people of Persia. Its founder Zoroaster had lived around 600 BC. The new religion was a new look at the traditional Aryan gods; it emphasized a dualist struggle between good and evil gods and a final battle yet to come. Zoroastrianism and its mystic leaders, called Magi, would become a defining element of Persian culture. Achaemenid Persia united people and kingdoms from every major civilization of a vast region. For the first time, people from very different cultures were in contact with each other under one ruler.

Hellenistic Persia (330 BC-170 BC)

170 BC).]] The later years of the Achaemenid dynasty were marked by decay and decadence. The mightiest empire in the world collapsed in only eight years, when it fell under the attack of a young Macedonian king, Alexander the Great. Persia's weakness was exposed to the Greeks in 401 BC, when the Satrap of Sardis hired ten thousand Greek mercenaries to help secure his claim to the imperial throne (see Xenophon). This exposed both the political instability and the military weakness of late Achaemenid Persia. Philip II of Macedon, leader of most of Greece, and his son Alexander decided to take advantage of this weakness. After Philip's death, Alexander looked toward Persia. Alexander's army landed in Asia Minor in 334 BC. His armies quickly swept through Lydia, Phoenicia, and Egypt, before defeating all the troops of Darius III at Issus and capturing the capital at Susa. The last Achaemenid resistance was at the "Persian Gates" near the royal palace at Persepolis. The Persian Empire was now in Greek hands. Along his route of conquest, Alexander founded many colony cities, all named "Alexandria". For the next several centuries, these cities served to greatly extend Greek, or Hellenistic, culture in Persia. Alexander's empire broke up shortly after his death, but Persia remained in Greek hands. Alexander's general, Seleucus, took control of Persia, Mesopotamia, and later Syria and Asia Minor. His ruling family is known as the Seleucid Dynasty. Seleucid Dynasty Greek colonization continued until around 250 BC; Greek language, philosophy, and art came with the colonists. Throughout Alexander's former empire, Greek became the common tongue of diplomacy and literature. Trade with China had begun in Achaemenid times along the so-called Silk Road; but during the Hellenistic period it began in earnest. The overland trade brought about some fascinating cultural exchanges. Buddhism came in from India, while Zoroastrianism traveled west to influence Judaism. Incredible statues of the Buddha in classical Greek styles have been found in Persia and Afghanistan, illustrating the mix of cultures that occurred around this time (See Greco-Buddhism), although it is possible that Greco-Buddhist art dates from Achaemenid times when Greek artists worked for the Persians. The Seleucid kingdom began to decline rather quickly. Even during Seleucus' lifetime, the capital was moved from Seleucia on the Tigris in Mesopotamia to the more Mediterranean-oriented Antioch in Syria. The eastern provinces of Bactria and Parthia broke off from the Seleucid Kingdom in 238 BC. King Antiochus III's military leadership kept Parthia from overrunning Persia itself, but his successes alarmed the burgeoning Roman Empire. Roman legions began to attack the kingdom. At the same time, the Seleucids had to contend with the revolt of the Maccabees in Judea and the expansion of the Kushan Empire to the east. The empire fell apart and was conquered by Parthia and Rome.

Parthian Persia (170 BC-AD 226)

226), AD 100, kept at The National Museum of Iran, Tehran.]] :Main article: Parthian Empire Parthia was a region north of Persia in what is today northeastern Iran. Its rulers, the Arsacid dynasty, belonged to an Iranian tribe that had settled there during the time of Alexander. They declared their independence from the Seleucids in 238 BC, but their attempts to expand into Persia were thwarted until c. 170 BC under Mithridates I. The Parthian Empire shared a border with Rome along the upper Euphrates River. The two empires became major rivals. Parthian mounted archers proved a match for Roman legions, as in the Battle of Carrhae in which the Parthian General Surena defeated Crassus of Rome. Wars were very frequent, with Mesopotamia serving as the battleground. During the Parthian period, Hellenistic customs partially gave way to a resurgence of Persian culture. However, the empire lacked political unity. By the first century BC, Parthia was decentralized, ruled by feudal nobles. Wars with Rome to the west and the Kushan Empire to the northeast drained the country's resources. Parthia, now impoverished and without any hope to recover the lost territories, was demoralized. The kings had to give more concessions to the nobility, and the vassal kings sometimes refused to obey. In AD 224, the Persian vassal king Ardashir revolted. Two years later, he took Ctesiphon, and this time, it meant the end of Parthia. It also meant the beginning of the second Persian Empire, ruled by the Sassanid kings.

Sassanid Persia (AD 226-650)

650 :Main article: Sassanid Empire During Parthian rule, Persia was only one province in a large, loosely controlled empire. The local king of Persia at this time, Ardashir I, led a revolt against the imperial government of Parthia. In two years he was the shah of a new Persian Empire. The Sassanid (or Sassanian) dynasty (named for Ardashir's grandfather) was the first native Persian ruling dynasty since the Achaemenids; thus they saw themselves as the successors of Darius and Cyrus. They pursued an aggressive expansionist policy. They recovered much of the eastern lands that the Kushans had taken in the Parthian period. The Sassanids continued to make war against Rome; a Persian army even captured the Emperor Valerian in 260. Sassanid Persia, unlike Parthia, was a highly centralized state. The people were rigidly organized into a caste system: Priests, Soldiers, Scribes, and Commoners. Zoroastrianism was finally made the official state religion, and spread outside Persia proper and out into the provinces. There was sporadic persecution of other religions. The Catholic (Orthodox) Christian church was particularly persecuted, but this was in part due to its ties to the Roman Empire. The Nestorian Christian church was tolerated and sometimes even favored by the Sassanids. The wars and religious control that had fueled Sassanid Persia's early successes eventually contributed to its decline. The eastern regions were conquered by the White Huns in the late 400s. Adherents of a radical religious sect, the Mazdakites, revolted around the same time. Khosrau I was able to recover his empire and expand into the Christian countries of Antioch and Yemen. Between 605 and 629, Sassanids successfully annexed Levant and Egypt and pushed into Anatolia. However, a subsequent war with the Romans utterly destroyed the empire. In the course of the protracted conflict, Sassinid armies reached Constantinople, but could not defeat the Byzantines there. Meanwhile, the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius had successfully outflanked the Persian armies in Asia Minor and handed them a crushing defeat in Northern Mesopotamia. The Sassanids had to give up all their conquered lands and retreat. This defeat was mentioned in Qur'an as a "victory for believers," referring to the Romans, who were monotheists, in contrast to the pagan Sassinids. (Note: The official religion of the Sassanid empire was Zoroastrianism. While not an Abrahamic/Semitic religion like Christianity or Islam, it is not strictly speaking "Pagan" (Polytheistic)). Heavy taxes caused by the very long war caused rebellions across the empire, and the Emperor Khosro II (Parviz) was assassinated in 629. This incident was allegedly fortold by Muhammed as a punishment from God because Khosro humiliated Muhammed's messangers and tore a message from the Prophet which contained a chapter of Qur'an. After a defeat at Nineveh in 642, Khosro's successor Kavdah II was also assassinated. Civil war broke out across the Empire and the country descended into anarchy.

Islam and Persia (650-1219)

:Main article: Islamic conquest of Iran Islamic conquest of Iran, Iran, is a reminder of the blossoming of art and architecture in medieval Persia.]] The explosive growth of the Arab Caliphate coincided with the chaos caused by the end of Sassanid rule. Conquest came easily; most of the country was overrun in 643-650. The last resistance from the remnants of the Sassanid dynasty ended two years later. Persia's conquest by Islamic Arab armies marks the transition into "medieval" Persia. Yazdegerd III, the last Sasanian King, died ten years after he lost his empire to the newly-formed Muslim Caliphate. He tried to recover some of what he lost with the help of the Turks and the Tatars but they were easily defeated by Muslim armies. Then he sought the aid of the Chinese but they refused to help him. He is believed to have lived on the borders of the Islamic Persia. Some historians say that he lived inside the Islamic Persia. The Arab empire, ruled by the Umayyad Dynasty, was the largest state in history up to that point. It stretched from Spain to the Indus, from the Aral Sea to the southern tip of Arabia. Yet the Umayyads borrowed heavily from Persian and Byzantine administrative systems and moved their capital to Damascus, in the center of their empire. The Umayyads would rule Persia for a hundred years. The Arab conquest dramatically changed life in Persia. Arabic became the new lingua franca and Islam quickly replaced Zoroastrianism; and mosques were built. A new language, religion, and culture were added to the Persian cultural milieu. In 750 the Umayyads were ousted from power by the Abbasid family. By that time, Iranians had come to dominate not only the bureacracy of the empire, but all branches of the government [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1842120115/002-3364650-7768069]. The unrivaled dominance of the Persians on all affairs of the administration of the Caliphate led to the spread and blossoming of Persian culture, science, mathematics, and medicine, throughout the Arab world. The caliph Al-Ma'mun, whose mother was an Iranian, moved his capital away from Arab lands into Merv in eastern Persia. It was he who later founded the Baghdad House of Wisdom, based on the Persian Jondishapour. The scientific movement that resulted from this was to have a direct impact on the European Renaissance centuries later: the Iranian Khwarazmi contributed heavily to the mathematical field of algebra, earning himself the title of [http://www.math.umd.edu/~czorn/hist_algebra.pdf Father of Algebra]. He, along with hundreds of other prominent scholars, carried the torch of the world's most advanced civilizations for hundreds of years. (See full list here). But political unrest continued. In 819, East-Persia was conquered by the Persian Samanids, the first native rulers after the Arabic conquest. They made Samarqand, Bukhara and Herat their capitals and revived the Persian language and culture. It was approximately during this age, when the poet Firdawsi finished the Shah Nama, an epic poem retelling the history of the Persian kings; Firdawsi completing the poem in 1008. In 913, West-Persia was conquered by the Buwayhid, a native Persian tribal confederation from the shores of the Caspian Sea. They made the Persian city of Shiraz their capital. The Buwayids destroyed Islam's former territorial unity. Rather than a province of a united Muslim empire, Persia became one nation in an increasingly diverse and cultured Islamic world.

Persia under the Turkic rule (1037-1219)

:See also: Ghaznavid Empire :Main article: Seljuk Turkish empire The Muslim world was shaken again in 1037 with the invasion of the Seljuk Turks from the northeast. The Seljuks created a very large Middle Eastern empire and continued in the flowering of medieval Islamic culture. The Seljuks built the fabulous Friday Mosque in the city of Isfahan. The most famous Persian writer of all time, Omar Khayyám, wrote his Rubayat of love poetry during Seljuk times. In the early 1200s the Seljuks lost control of Persia to another group of Turks from Khwarezmia, near the Aral Sea. The shahs of the Khwarezmid Empire ruled for only a short while, however, because they had to face the most feared conqueror in history: Genghis Khan. Genghis Khan illustrate just how far east Persian culture extended due to their conquests.]]

Persia under the Mongols and their successors (1219-1500)

:Main article: Ilkhanate :See also: Timurid dynasty In 1218, Genghis Khan sent ambassadors and merchants to the city of Otrar, on the northeastern confines of the Khwarizm shahdom. The governor of Otrar had these envoys executed. Genghis, out for revenge, sacked Otrar in 1219 and continued on to Samarkand and other cities of the northeast. Genghis' grandson, Hulagu Khan, finished what Genghis had begun when he conquered Persia, Baghdad, and much of the rest of the Middle East in 1255-1258. Persia became the Ilkhanate, a division of the vast Mongol Empire. In 1295, after Ilkhan Ghazan converted to Islam, he renounced all allegiance to the Great Khan. The Ilkhans patronized the arts and learning in the fine tradition of Persian Islam; indeed, they helped to repair much of the damage of the Mongol conquests. In 1335, the last Ilkhan's death spelled the end of the Ilkhanate. It splintered into a number of small states. This left Persia open to still more conquest at the hands of another conqueror connected with the Mongol Empire: Timur the Lame or Tamerlane. He invaded Persia beginning around 1370 and plundered the country until his death in 1405. Timur was an even bloodier conqueror than Genghis had been. In Isfahan, for instance, he slaughtered 70,000 people so that he could build towers with their skulls. He conquered a wide area and made his own city of Samarkand rich, but he made no effort to forge a lasting empire. Persia was essentially left in ruins. For the next hundred years Persia was not a unified state. It was ruled for a while by descendants of Timur, called the Timurid emirs. Toward the end of the 1400s, Persia was taken over by the Emirate of the White Sheep Turkmen (Ak Koyunlu). But there was little unity and none of the sophistication that had defined Persia during the glory days of Islam.

A new Persian empire: the Safavids (1500-1722)

1722 The Safavid Dynasty hailed from Azerbaijan, at that time considered a part of the greater Persia region. The Safavid Shah Ismail I overthrew the White Sheep Turkish rulers of Persia to found a new native Persian empire. Ismail expanded Persia to include all of present-day Azerbaijan, Iran, and Iraq, plus much of Afghanistan. Ismail's expansion was halted by the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Chaldiran in 1514, and war with the Ottomans became a fact of life in Safavid Persia. Safavid Persia was a violent and chaotic state for the next seventy years, but in 1588 Shah Abbas the Great ascended to the throne and instituted a cultural and political renaissance. He moved his capital to Isfahan, which quickly became one of the most important cultural centers in the Islamic world. He made peace with the Ottomans. He reformed the army, drove the Uzbeks out of Persia and into modern-day Uzbekistan, and captured a Portuguese base on the island of Ormus. The Safavids were followers of Shi'a Islam, and under them Persia became the largest Shi'ite country in the Muslim world, a position Iran still holds today. Under the Safavids Persia enjoyed its last period as a major imperial power. In the early 1600s, a final border was agreed upon with Ottoman Turkey; it still forms the border between Turkey and Iran today. Turkey. Throughout the Middle Ages, the natural philosophy and mathematics of ancient Greeks were furthered and preserved within the Muslim world. During this period, Persia became a centre for the manufacture of scientific instruments, retaining its reputation for quality well into the 19th century.]]

Persia and Europe (1722-1914)

In 1722, Safavid Persia collapsed. That year saw the first European invasion of Persia since the time of Alexander: Peter the Great, Czar of Russia, invaded from the northwest as part of a bid to dominate central Asia. To make the situation truly hopeless, Ottoman forces accompanied the Russians, successfully laying siege to Isfahan. The country was able to weather the invasions; neither the Russians nor the Turks gained any territory. However, the Safavids were severely weakened, and that same year (1722), the empire's Afghani subjects launched a bloody revolt in response to the Safavids' attempts to convert them from Sunni to Shi'a Islam by force. The last Safavid shah was executed, and the dynasty came to an end. The Persian empire experienced a temporary revival under Nadir Shah in the 1730s and '40s. Nadir drove out the Russians and confined the Afghans to their present home in Afghanistan. He launched many successful campaigns against Persia's old enemies, the nomadic khanates of Central Asia; most of them were destroyed or absorbed into Persia. However, his empire declined after his death. His rule was followed by the weak and short-lived Zand dynasty. Persia was left unprepared for the worldwide expansion of European empires in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Persia found relative stability in the Qajar dynasty, ruling from 1779 to 1925, but lost hope to compete with the new industrial powers of Europe; Persia found itself sandwiched between the growing Russian Empire in Central Asia and the expanding British Empire in India. Each carved out pieces from Persia that became Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenia, Tajikestan, Uzbekistan, and parts of Afghanistan. Although Persia was never directly invaded, it gradually became economically dependent on Europe. The Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 formalised Russian and British spheres of influence over the north and south of the country, respectively, where Britain and Russia each created a "sphere of influence", where the colonial power had the final "say" on economic matters. At the same time the young Shah had granted a concession to William Knox D'Arcy, later the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, to explore and work the newly-discovered oil fields at Masjid-al-Salaman in southwest Persia, which started production in 1914. Winston Churchill, as First Sea Lord to the British Admiralty, oversaw the conversion of the Royal Navy to oil-fired battleships and partially nationalized it prior to the start of war. A small Anglo-Persian force was garrisoned there to protect the field from some hostile tribal factions.

Persia in World War One (1914-1918)

Persia was drawn into the periphery of WWI because of its strategic position between Afghanistan and the warring Ottoman, Russian, and British Empires. In 1914 Britain sent a military force to Mesopotamia to deny access to the Persian oilfields from the Ottomans. Germany retaliated on behalf of its ally by spreading a rumour that the Kaiser had converted to Islam, and sent agents through Persia to attack the oil fields and raise a Jihad against British rule in India. Most of those German agents were captured by Persian, British and Russian troops who were sent to patrol the Afghan border, and the rebellion faded away. This was followed by a German attempt to abduct and control the young Shah, with the assistance of his mainly-Swedish bodyguard, which was foiled at the last moment. In 1916 the fighting between Russian and Ottoman forces to the north of the country had spilt down into Persia; Russia gained the advantage until most of her armies collapsed in the wake of the Russian Revolution of 1917. This left the Caucasus unprotected, and the Caucasian and Persian civilians starving after years of war and depravation. In 1918 a small force of 400 British troops under General Dunsterville moved into the Trans-Caucasus from Persia in a bid to encourage local resistance to German and Ottoman armies who were about to invade the Baku oilfields. Although they later withdrew back into Persia, they did succeed in delaying the Turks access to the oil almost until the Armistice. In addition, the expedition’s supplies were used to avert a major famine in the region, and a camp for 30,000 displaced refugees was created near the Persian-Mesopotamian border.

Persia after World War One (1919-1935)

By WW1 Persia was not the world power it had once been; it had become a tool in the political battles of other empires. In 1919 northern Persia was occupied by the British General Edmund Ironside to enforce the Turkish Armistice conditions and assist General Malleson contain Boshevik influences in the north. Britain also took tighter control over the increasingly lucrative oilfields. In 1925, Reza Shah Pahlavi seized power from the Qajars and established the new Pahlavi dynasty. However, Britain and the Soviet Union remained the influential powers in Persia into the early years of the Cold War. The second-to-last Shah, Reza Pahlavi, asked the world to call the country Iran in 1935, but in 1959 his subsequent successor and son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, announced that both Persia and Iran can be used interchangeably.

List of Kings and Emperors of Persia

This comprehensive list covers 5000 years, even though Persia is much older than that.

See also


- Iran
- History of Iran
- Geography of Iran
- Aryan
- Persians
- List of Iranian scientists
- Persian culture

External links


- [http://www.chn.ir/en Iran’s Cultural Heritage News Agency (CHN)]
- [http://www.cais-soas.com/Essays.htm Articles about Ancient Iranian World & Iranian Peoples (CAIS)]
- [http://ancientneareast.tripod.com/Persia.html The History of the Ancient Near East]
- [http://fax.libs.uga.edu/DS272xB4/ PERSIA], by S.G.W. Benjamin, 1891
- [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook05.html] Persian Ancient History
- [http://www.ichodoc.ir/ Iran Cultural Heritage Organization Documentation Center] (Persian)
- [http://www.to-miras.ir/ Iran Cultural Heritage Organization Technical Office for Preservation and Restoration] (Persian)
- [http://www.rcccr.org/ Iran Research Center for Conservation of Cultural Relics]
- [http://www.chn.ir/ Iran Cultural Heritage News Agency] (Recommended)
- [http://www.persepolis.ir/ Persepolis Official website]
- [http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/PA/IRAN/PAAI/PAAI.html Oriental Institute Photographic Archives] (Nearly 1,000 archaeological photographs of Persepolis and Ancient Iran) Category:Ancient Roman enemies and allies Category:Ancient peoples Category:Former monarchies Category:Battles of Persia Pers Category:History of Iran ja:ペルシア ko:페르시아 제국

Prophetess

A prophet is a person who is believed to communicate with God, or with a deity. Prophets claim to speak for God (or the gods), with the purpose of delivering a divinely inspired message. A prophet often operates through some means of divination or channeling. The process of receiving a message from God (or the gods) is known either as prophecy or as revelation. (In this sense, the terms are synonyms.) In popular usage, especially among Christians, a prophet is believed to be someone foretelling the future. While the Bible certainly does contain examples of this sort of prophecy, the majority of messages from Biblical prophets in the Hebrew Bible were social or religious messages that contained no such predictions. As Greek poets were inspired, Thomas Paine argued in The Age of Reason that "prophet" among the Jews hadsimply meant poet or musician: :"There is not, throughout the whole book called the Bible, any word that describes to us what we call a poet, nor any word that describes what we call poetry. The case is, that the word prophet, to which a later times have affixed a new idea, was the Bible word for poet, and the word 'prophesying' meant the art of making poetry. It also meant the art of playing poetry to a tune upon any instrument of music." The prophets of the Hebrew Bible were speakers for God rather than "seer-priests" and were absolutely against divination and the like (Allen, 1971). Some prophecies that seem to foretell the future are now widely believed as having been made some time after the event; these propheices are sometimes given the technical name vaticinia ex eventu. The concept of a prophet is an old one, and is important in numerous religions. The Greek oracles were inherited from autochthonous sacred sites that preceded the Greeks' arrival in the Aegean. The Bible refers to prophets of Yahweh, Baal, and other regional deities (see Bible prophecy). Christians refer to John the Baptist as a prophet of the Christian God, and Muslims refer to Muhammad as the Prophet, the last and greatest of the prophets of Allah, or God. Latter Day Saints also commonly refer to Joseph Smith, Jr. and his successors as prophets.

Sociological taxonomy of prophets

The sociologist Max Weber distinguished two types of prophets, the emissary type and the exemplary. The emissary type believes that s/he has received an important message that must be communicated to others. The exemplary type bases his religious authority on experience that serves as an example to others.

Pagan Greek and Roman oracles

The role of spokesperson for the gods is an archaic one in the Hellenic world. However, the word prophet itself derives from the Greeks, who used the word προφήτης to refer to an interpreter or spokesperson of a deity, who "utters forth." In Greek religion the interpreters of Zeus, Apollo, and other gods were the oracles, at numerous ancient sites, where the god or goddess spoke through women, sometimes identified as sibyls and the utterances, in classical times, were interpreted by men. In various Greek legends, oracles (particularly Apollo's at Delphi) spoke cryptically of the future, and their meaning was frequently misunderstood. In The Iliad the Trojan princess Cassandra warns of upcoming events, but has been cursed such that no one believes her prophecies.

Prophets in the Bible

In Hebrew, the word traditionally translated as prophet is נְבִיא (nevi), which likely means "proclaimer". The meaning of nevi is perhaps described in Deuteronomy 18:18, where God said, "I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them all that I command him." Thus, the navi was thought to be the "mouth" of God. The root nun-bet-alef ("navi") is based on the two-letter root nun-bet which denotes hollowness or openness; to receive transcendental wisdom, one must make oneself “open”. Cf. Rashbam's comment to Genesis 20:7. According to I Samuel 9:9, the old nave for navi is ro'eh, ראה, which literally means "Seer". That could document an ancient shift, from viewing prophets as seers for hire to viewing them as moral teachers. Allen (1971) comments that in the First Temple Era, there were essentially seer-priests, who formed a guild, divined, performed rituals and sacrifices, and were scribes, and then there were canonical prophets, who did none of these (and were against devination) and had instead a message to deliver. The seer-priests were usually attached to a local shrine or temple, such as Shiloh, and initiated others as priests in that priesthood: it was a mystical craft-guild with apprentices and recruitment. Canonical prohets were not organised this way. The similar term "ben-navi" ("son of the prophet") means "member of a seer-priest guild". Some examples of prophets in the Tanakh (the Jewish scripture, which Christians refer to as the Old Testament) include Abraham, Sarah, Isaiah, Samuel, Ezekiel, and Job. In Jewish tradition, Daniel is not counted in the list of prophets. The Tanakh states that prophecy is not limited to Jews, and is remarkable for the many accounts of prophets it contains. It specifically mentions the prophecy of Bilam, a gentile. The accounts include details of men, women and even animals receiving prophecy in various ways. (This section needs to be greatly expanded)

Prophets in Jewish thought

Classical Jewish texts teach that the most direct forms of prophecy ended with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. However, various rabbinic Jewish works, including the midrash, state that other less direct forms of communication between man and God still exist, and have never ended. Many Jewish works, including the Talmud and Maimonides's Guide for the Perplexed states that gentiles may receive prophecy. However, Judaism generally does not accept that any of the specific people well known in other religions are genuine prophets. Jews have not recognized any specific gentile leader as a prophet, as most people who claim to be prophets in other religions have done so in such a way as to delegitimize or supersede Judaism itself. Judaism (based on Deuteronomy Ch. 13 and 18:20) holds that no true prophet will create a new faith or religion as a successor to Judaism. Thus, the Qur'an's claims that Jews have deliberately falsified the Bible and that only Muslims know the true word of God is rejected. The Talmud states that minor forms of prophecy still occur. One example of this is the 'bat kol'. (e.g. Tosefta Sota 13:3, Yerushalmi Sota 24b, and Bavli Sota 48b). The Talmud states that each time a Jew studies the Torah or its rabbinic commentaries, God is revealed anew; there is still a link between the God and the Jewish people. Reference: Abraham Joshua Heschel's Prophetic Inspiration After the Prophets: Maimonides and Others (Ktav) A Jewish tradition holds that there were 600,000 male and 600,000 female prophets. Judaism recognizes the existence of 48 male prophets who bequeathed permanent messages to mankind. [http://www.shamash.org/lists/scj-faq/HTML/faq/12-11.html Jewish prophets] According to the Talmud there were also seven women who are counted as prophets whose message bears relevance for all generations: Sarah, Miriam, Devorah, Hannah (mother of the prophet Samuel), Abigail (a wife of King David), Huldah (from the time of Jeremiah), and Esther. There were, of course, other women who functioned as prophets, and the last prophet mentioned in the Bible, Noahdiah (Nehemiah 6:14) was a woman. Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote one of the 20th century's classic commentaries on the prophets, entitled "The Prophets" which has received acclaim in most of the Jewish community, and in part of the Catholic and Protestant Christian community. Also see: False Prophet for detailed definition of prophet and false prophet in Judaism.

Christian concepts of a prophet

Christians believe a prophet is a person who speaks for God, in the name of God, and who carries God's message to others. Some Christian denominations teach that a person who receives a personal message not intended for the body of believers (where such an event is credited at all) should not be termed a prophet. The reception of a message is termed revelation; the delivery of the message is termed prophecy. For Christians the authenticity of a prophet is judged by their fruits as Jesus said that one should judge a prophet by his fruits, (Gospel of Matthew 7) and by checking whether his predictions come true. Deuteronomy 18:21-22 contains several warnings about false prophets and is very specific about the test of whether a prophet is true or false. A false prophet is considered to be someone who is purposely trying to deceive, or is delusional, or is under the influence of Satan (for detail, see main article False prophet). Biblical prophecies were often conditional, even if the conditions were not explicitly stated; repentance and faithfulness, as well as their opposite (sin), were common reasons why prophecies were rescinded (Jeremiah 18:7-10). Examples of such prophesies that were not fulfilled as anticipated include Jonah's prophesy concerning the destruction of Ninevah (Jonah 3:4), Ezekial's prophesy concerning the destruction of Tyre (Ezekial ch. 26-29), Jeremiah's prophecy concerning the death of Zedekiah (Jeremiah 34:4-5), Nathan's prophesy concerning Israel's future (2 Samuel 7:5-17), the angel's prophecy concerning Samson (Judges 13:5), Elijah's prophecy of Ahab's destruction (1 Kings 21:17-29), and Isaiah's prophecy of Hezekiah's death (Isaiah 38:1-5). Christians recognize that anyone they consider prophetic is still human and fallible, and may make wrong decisions, have incorrect personal beliefs or opinions, and sin from time to time; the human characteristics of a prophet are independent of the message God has given him and do not negate the validity of his prophecies. Nevertheless, most Christians believe the minumum requirements of a true prophet can be summarized as follows:
- clear (not vague) prophecies,
- 100% accuracy in prophecying (i.e. one false prophecy is all it takes to disqualify them as a prophet), and
- must not contradict the Bible. Most Christians believe these standards create a conundrum for the many other Christians who actively support high profile ministers who have large followings who claim to have received prophecies that have later turned out to be false. Some of these ministers are Benny Hinn, Oral Roberts, and Kenneth Copeland. See Timeline of unfulfilled Christian Prophecy. Most Christians would also use these guidelines to disqualify, as true prophets of God, these people for the specified reasons:
- Jehovah's Witnesses: Always wrong when they have tried to predict the end of the world.
- Mohammed: Contradicted the Bible regardining divinity of Jesus Christ.
- Nostradamus: Vague prophesies.
- Astrologists: Low accuracy, vague prophesies. Some Christians, including many who believe in dispensationalism, believe prophecy ended with the coming of Jesus, who delivered the "fullness of the law." Within this group, many Protestants believe that prophecy ended with the last of the Hebrew prophets of the Old Testament of the Bible, leaving a gap of about 400 years between then and the coming of Jesus Christ. The majority, including the Eastern Orthodox, allow an exception for John the Baptist as a prophet contemporary with Jesus. New Testament passages that explicity discuss prophets existing after the death of Christ include Joel 2:28-31, Revelation 11:10, Matthew 10:40-41 & 23:34, John 13:20 & 15:20, and Acts 11:25-30, 13:1 & 15:32. Most of Christianity, including Roman Catholicism and the majority of Protestant denominations, reject dispensationalism, while some, such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, teach a form of dispensationalism yet reject, with the non-dispensationalists, the notion that prophecy was to end with Christ.

Latter-day Saint concept of prophets

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes that God has never ceased to communicate with his children. While anyone may receive revelation for themselves or their own families (through prayer, faith, repentance, etc.), special people have been called throughout history to proclaim God's message to the world. This message, since the time of Adam and Eve, has consistenly been a call for people to repent and exercise faith in God and in the Savior's Atonement. The Book of Mormon describes in detail the supposed ministry of prophets among the ancient inhabitants of the Americas, and it alludes to other prophets who would be raised up among God's children in other nations, not just those recorded in the Bible. Latter-day Saints believe a prophet is called to lead the Lord's true Church any time it is organized on the earth. Jesus did this during his mortal ministry, and Peter acted in Christ's place after His ascension, but because of persecution the church eventually fell into apostasy. With the latter-day Restoration of the Gospel in 1830 through the Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., Latter-day Saints claim Christ's Church was, for the last time, organized and established upon the earth. The Lord directs his saints through the current President and senior Apostle of the Church; he is called "the Prophet" because he is the only man on earth at any given time who is authorized to receive revelation for the whole world. The prophet:
- Speaks for God, with divine power and authority
- Communicates God’s will to all people
- Is a special witness of Jesus Christ, testifying of His divinity
- Teaches the gospel and interprets the word of God
- Calls the unrighteous to repentance
- Receives revelations and directions from the Lord
- May see into the future in order to warn the world of coming events Joseph Smith (1805–44) is called the "Prophet of the Restoration" and was the first in the latter-days. As of September 2005, the current Prophet and leader of the church is Gordon B. Hinckley (1910-). Between these two, in chronological order, were Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, Joseph F. Smith, Heber J. Grant, George Albert Smith, David O. McKay, Joseph Fielding Smith, Harold B. Lee, Spencer W. Kimball, Ezra Taft Benson and Howard W. Hunter.

Jehovah's Witnesses concepts of a prophet

Jehovah's Witnesses do not consider any single person in their modern-day organization to be [http://www.bibletopics.com/biblestudy/images/88f.gif a prophet]. Their literature refers to their organization collectively as [http://quotes.watchtower.ca/prophet.htm God's prophet on earth]; this is understood however in the sense of declaring their interpretation of God's judgments from the Bible by God's guidance of His Holy Spirit. One issue of The Watchtower their magazine 1 Jan 1969, said: "Ever since 'The Watchtower' began to be published in July of 1879 it has looked ahead into the future... No, 'The Watchtower' is no inspired prophet, but it follows and explains a Book of prophecy the predictions in which have proved to be unerring and unfailing till now. 'The Watchtower' is therefore under safe guidance. It may be read with confidence, for its statements may be checked against that prophetic Book." They also claim that they are God's one and only true [http://www.eaec.org/cults/jw/jw5.htm channel to mankind], and used by God for this purpose [http://quotes.watchtower.ca/channel.htm 2]. They have made [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%27s_Witnesses#Jehovah.27s_Witnesses_and_eschatology many eschatological predictions] stating that there were "God's interpretations, not those of men". David Berg, the founder of the Children of God (now The Family), declared himself a prophet in 1972. 1 The Unification Church regards its founder, Sun Myung Moon as a living prophet.

The Islamic concept of prophet

Islam holds that Allah (Islamic proper name of God), sent messengers to all nations on earth, at various stages of their histories. These messengers, who are also considered prophets, had the task of conveying religious guidance to the people of the world. Certain messengers were sent to guide certain people and they all held the same basic message of Islam. The Qur'an is held by most Muslims to be the uncreated speech of God and revealed via the angel Gabriel to the prophet Muhammad, who is regarded as the final prophet. The Qur'an specifically mentions the names of 25 prophets, and indicates that there have been many others sent to humanity throughout time. These 25 include Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. These individuals were mortal humans; Islam demands that a believer accept all of the prophets, making no distinction between them. It is Muhammad who is held to be the last prophet, ending a long line of messengers. Also believed, according to tradition, is the return of prophet Isa (Jesus) before the Last Day to complete his interrupted duty and establish one Islamic community of all the people on the whole surface of the earth. A sect of the Ahmadiyya movement consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian to be a prophet. However as he comes after the prophet Muhammad, their teachings are considered heretical and non-Islamic by most Muslims. Some historical figures who claimed to be a prophet in a more or less Islamic sense of the word include Musaylimah of Yamamah, Ha-Mim of the Ghomara, Salih of the Berghouata, and (possibly less than seriously) the great Arab poet al-Mutanabbi; no groups maintain their prophethood today. Most Muslims, according to certain schools, distinguish between prophets per se (نبي nabi) and messengers (رسول rasul), the latter being those prophets who have brought a holy book rasila (such as the Qur'an or Bible).

The Bahá'í concept of prophet

The Bahá'í Faith teaches that there have been other great prophets besides the seven cited by Islam, and that God will send more prophets in the future, when necessary. The founder of the Bahá'í faith, Bahá'u'lláh, who came after Muhammad, is one such prophet. In addition, there were other prophets who spoke to the followers of other faiths in other parts of the world. Thus the founders of great non-Western religions, such as Buddha, are also considered prophets of God. The faith teaches that religion is an unfolding process in world history, and the various prophets participated in this process in different times and cultures. This explains the differences in the world's great religions, which are ultimately one and come from God. The Bahá'í Faith regards not only the prophetic messages as divine, but also the messengers themselves. This disagrees with the Jewish and Sunni Muslim conceptions of prophethood, but is similar to the Shi'i (esp. ghulat) view, and also resembles the Christian view of Christ. To avoid confusion, Bahá'ís will often refer to major prophets as "Manifestations" (mazhar); e.g. "the Manifestation of God for this Age".

The Direct Worship concept of prophet

Direct Worship teaches that God is equally accessible to all mankind, and that God has ordained only one universally common mode of worship for all mankind to follow. As such, any follower of Direct Worship can obtain enlightenment from God provided a certain level of sacrifices is met and that these sacrifices are performed directly in honor of God only. Consequently, prophets in Direct Worship are accorded a normal human status, but are recognised to have received divine revelation as a reward for performing significant prayers and sacrifices.

Tenrikyo concept of prophet

Tenrikyo's prophet, Miki Nakayama or Oyasama [http://www.tenrikyo.or.jp/en/teaching/teachings/oyasama.html], is believed by Tenrikyoans to have been a kind of microphone of God, as God spoke through Oyasama, directly, to whomever was in the vicinity. She had three aspects: the Shrine of Tsukihi (the body of the woman was occupied by the mind of God), The Parent of the Divine Model (Oyasama taught the people by instructions and examples), and The Truth of the Everliving Oyasama (she continues to watch humanity develop, even after shedding her body).

Other prophets

Other people throughout history have been described as prophets in the sense of foretelling the future (as opposed to forthtelling the message of the Deity). Examples of such prophets include:
- Nostradamus
- Shirdi Sai Baba
- Sathya Sai Baba
- Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (Madame Blavatsky)
- Deganawidah
- Dan Evehema, Hopi Elder
- Mitar Tarabich
- John Titor
- Jeane Dixon
- Hal Lindsey
- Edgar Cayce
- William Miller
- Merlin the wizard
- Mother Shipton
- St Malachy - see Prophecy of the Popes
- Bobby Henderson

Assessment of the prophet's authenticity and false prophets

Jewish views

According to Deuteronomy 18:21-22, one should judge a prophet by checking whether his predictions come true. The book contains several warnings about false prophets and is very specific about the test of whether a prophet is true or false. (For detail, see main article False prophet)

Christian views

According to the Bible, Jesus said that one should judge a prophet by his fruits. (Gospel of Matthew 7). In addition Christianity recognizes the divine nature of the Old Testament, and inherited the same text in Deutoronomy (although as with much of the Old Testament, the degree to which it is considered applicable varies)

Muslim views

According to Islam, Muhammed was the last prophet so any prophet after Muhammed is regarded as false. The basic reasons for the initiation, continuation and the ultimate termination of the institute of prophethood, are derived by Muslims from various references of the Qur'an, are:
- To guide people to the correct path at such a level that they are left with no excuse for rejecting the basic truths taught by the prophets of God (Al-Nisaa 4: 165). For this particular purpose, God did not only send a few messengers at a particular place and time, but continued sending his messengers for a long period of time and in various nations and peoples.
- To guide people, according to their general socio-cultural and other collective circumstances to the laws of God; with the evolution in these socio-cultural and other collective circumstances, the laws were amended and sequentially brought closer to the ultimate likings of God (Al-Baqarah 2: 106 and Al-Maaidah 5: 3). For this particular purpose, teachings relating to the socio-cultural and other collective aspects of human life were not given in their final shape in the beginning; on the contrary, the final teachings were deferred till the time when man, in his collective capacity, was in a position to bear and follow them. With the advent of the Muhammad, both these targets of the institute of prophethood were accomplished, and the institute of prophethood was terminated.

Prophets in science-fiction and fantasy

Prophets in fantasy include:
- The seers & druids of Shanara
- The wizards of Middle-earth
- The prophets of Kirthanin
- The Bajoran Prophets from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
- The Prophecies of the Dragon in Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" book series
- Paul of Dune

See also


- seer
  - Rishi
  - Vates
- fortune teller
- "Les Nabis" (the "prophets") an avant-garde group of late 19th century French artists.
- portent
- charisma

References


-
- Category:Divination
- Prophet Category:Prophecy Category:Aqidah Category:Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity ja:預言者

2 Kings

The Books of Kings (also known as [The Book of] Kings in Hebrew: Sefer Melachim מלכים) is a part of Judaism's Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. It was originally written in Hebrew, and it was later included by Christianity as part of the Old Testament.

Contents

It contains accounts of the kings of the ancient Kingdom of Israel and Kingdom of Judah. They contain the annals of the Jewish commonwealth from the accession of Solomon till the subjugation of the kingdom by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians (apparently a period of about four hundred and fifty-three years). The books of Chronicles are more comprehensive in their contents than those of Kings. The latter synchronize with 1 Chronicles 28 - 2 Chronicles 36:21. While in the Chronicles greater prominence is given to the priestly or Levitical office, in the Kings greater prominence is given to the royal office. Kings appears to have been written considerably earlier than Chronicles, and as such is generally considered a more reliable historical source.

Authorship

The authorship, or rather compilation, of these books is uncertain. The sources of the narrative are explicitly given as: #The "book of the acts of Solomon" (1 Kings 11:41) #The "book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah" (14:29; 15:7, 23, etc.) #The "book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel" (14:19; 15:31; 16:14, 20, 27, etc.). The date of its composition was perhaps some time between 561 BC, the date of the last chapter (2 Kings 25), when Jehoiachin was released from captivity by Evil-merodach, and 538 BC, the date of the decree of deliverance by Cyrus the Great.

Similarities with other Biblical books

There are some portions that are almost identical to the Book of Jeremiah, e.g., 2 Kings 24:18-25 and Jeremiah 52; 39:1-10; 40:7-41:10. There are also many undesigned coincidences between Jeremiah and Kings (2 Kings 21-23 and Jer. 7:15; 15:4; 19:3, etc.), and events recorded in Kings of which Jeremiah had personal knowledge. Because of this, traditionally Jeremiah was credited the author of the books of Kings. An alternative supposition is that Ezra, after the Babylonian captivity, compiled them from official court chronicles of David, Solomon, Nathan, Gad, and Iddo, and that he arranged them in the order in which they now exist. It is more usually said that Ezra was the compiler of the Books of Chronicles, an alternate history of the period of the kings. Recent scholars have pointed to similarities of the Books of Kings with the majority of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and Samuel, and posited their joint compilation by a single author, the Deuteronomist, or Deuteronomic historian. Followers of this theory generally see the Books of Kings as a compilation, in which the Deuteronomic Historian has edited together various other texts, and interpolated his own comments, to form a single narrative.

Organization

The two books of Kings comprise the fourth book in the second canonical division of Hebrew Scriptures: in the threefold division of the Tanach, these books are ranked among the Prophets. The present division into two books was first made by the Septuagint, which numbers them as the third and fourth books of "Kingdoms", the two books of Samuel being considered the first and second books of Kingdoms; this numbering was also followed in the Vulgate with 1-4 Kings, but most modern Christian Bibles have two books of Samuel and two of Kings.

In Christianity

The Books of Kings are frequently quoted or alluded to by (Matthew 6:29; 12:42; Luke 4:25, 26; 10:4; comp. 2 Kings 4:29; Mark 1:6; comp. 2 Kings 1:8; and Matthew 3:4, etc.).

External links

Online translations of the Books of Kings:
- Original text:
  - [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt09a01.htm מלכים א Melachim Aleph - Kings A] (Hebrew - English at Mechon-Mamre.org)
  - [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt09b01.htm מלכים ב Melachim Bet - Kings B] (Hebrew - English at Mechon-Mamre.org)
- Jewish translations:
  - [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/e/et/et09a01.htm 1 Kings at Mechon-Mamre] (Jewish Publication Society translation)
  - [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/e/et/et09b01.htm 2 Kings at Mechon-Mamre] (Jewish Publication Society translation)
  - [http://www.chabad.org/library/archive/LibraryArchive2.asp?AID=15753 Melachim I - Kings I (Judaica Press)] translation with Rashi's commentary at Chabad.org
  - [http://www.chabad.org/library/archive/LibraryArchive2.asp?AID=15754 Melachim II - Kings II (Judaica Press)] translation with Rashi's commentary at Chabad.org
- Christian translations:
  -
  - Related article:
- [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=226&letter=K&search=Kings Books of Kings article] (Jewish Encyclopedia) Kings, Books of Kings zh-min-nan:Lia̍t-ông-kí ko:열왕기 상 ja:列王記

Monk

A monk is a person who practices monasticism, adopting a strict religious and ascetic lifestyle, usually in community with others following the same path. The word comes from the Greek monachos (μοναχός), commonly translated as a solitary person, and by convention almost always refers to men (while the term nun is more commonly used to refer to female monastics), although it may be applied to women as well. Monachos was a word invented in the late 3rd century to name the phenomenon of men living solitary and ascetic lives in the Egyptian desert—the word literally translates as "the lonely one"—where thousands of Egyptians, mostly men, set out to the deserts of Nitria, southwest of the city of Alexandria, in order to imitate the life of St. Anthony, the first Christian monachos, or monk. Prior to St. Anthony the Egyptian desert had already been the area of ascetic retreat for the Therapeutae. Monks usually live in a monastery following a single rule and governed by an abbot. Monasteries can be organized as Cenobiums, where all live together, pray together, and share everything; or they can be more disjointed with the monks only coming together for Sunday services. A monk who lives alone, away from society and sometimes also from all other monks, is called an Anchorite or Hesicaste (also called a hermit). The female ascetic is usually called a nun and her residence, a convent. In the West, the word nunk has been coined by Catholic theologian Raimundo Panikkar to refer to a female renunciate leading the contemplative life of a monk. In the Fourth Way teaching of G. I. Gurdjieff the word monk is used to denote the specifically emotional path of development, compared with the word yogi (which Gurdjieff used for a path of mental development) and fakir (which he used for the path of physical development).

Roman Catholic monks

In the Roman Catholic Church the process of becoming a monk is marked by several distinct stages, which may vary depending on the particular tradition, order, or monastery. A person requesting admission is known as a postulant. After a period of examination, during which they may live in the monastery without actually taking vows, they may be admitted as a novice. The novitiate may last for a number of years and include instruction in prayer and other subjects. After the novitiate, a monastic may pass through a series of temporary vows of increasing length (typically three to five years). Catholic monks call each other Brother unless ordained to the priesthood. Female monastics (nuns) in the Catholic church are called Sister, except for their superior, who is called Mother. The duties of a nun usually lie in the areas of religious education, nursing or charitable service. For Roman Catholics, Monasticism is essentially a lay vocation, and monks and nuns are not generally members of the clergy. However, since worship is a major part of the monastic life, there is a need for some monastics to be ordained. In several Western orders, there is a distinction between the choir monks (those who are or may become priests) and the lay brothers (who are occupied solely with manual labour and with the secular affairs of the monastery). secular

Eastern Orthodox monks

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, monasticism holds a very special and important place. Far more common than in the Roman Catholic Church, the spiritual health of the Orthodox Church can be measured by the quality of its monks and nuns. It has been said that it is for lay people to look up to monastics for the example of how to live their lives, while monastics look up to and emulate the Angels in obedience and humility. Orthodox monks lead very strict lives. It is their overriding purpose to pray for the world and the salvation of all mankind. Monks and nuns do not, in general, do social work or teach school, but leave this for lay people to work out their salvation. Monks are spiritual warriors using prayer and discipline in order to conquer their own shortcomings. It is for this reason that Bishops are almost always chosen from the ranks of monks.Eastern Orthodox Church In general, Orthodox monastics have little or no contact with the outside world, including their own families. Those wishing to join a monastery begin their lives as novices. Novices may or may not dress in the black inner robe (Isorassa or Ryassa) and wear the soft monastic hat (Skoufos), this being dependent on the abbot’s wishes. The isorassa and the skoufos are the first part of the Orthodox monastic "habit", of which there is only one general style (with a few slight regional variations over the centuries). If a novice chooses to leave during the novitiate period, no penalty is incurred. When the abbot deems the novice ready, the novice is asked to join the monastery. If he accepts, he is tonsured in a formal service. He is given the outer robe (Exorassa) and the klobuk (See Picture). He also wears a leather belt around his waist. His habit is usually black signifying that he is now dead to the world, and he receives a new name. He is now formally known as a Rassophor (or Ryassophor). klobuk The next level for monastics takes place some years after the first tonsure when the abbot feels the monk has reached a level of discipline, dedication, and humility. Once again, in a formal service, the monk is elevated to the Schema, which is signified by the addition of certain symbolic pieces to his habit, one of which is the Schema. Another piece added is the Polystavrion or "Many Crosses" which is a kind of cord which wraps around the monk and has sewn into it many small crosses. Because of this addition he is now called Stavrophor. In addition, the abbot increases the monk’s prayer rule, allows a more strict personal ascetic practice, and gives the monk more responsibility. Monks whose abbot feels they have reached a high level of excellence reach the final stage, called Megaloschemos or Great Schema. In some monastic traditions the Great Schema is only given to monks and nuns on their death bed, while in others they may be elevated after as little as 25 years of service. Eastern Orthodox monks (except novices) are always called Father even if they are not priests. Old monks are often called Gheronda or Elder out of respect for their dedication. Many (but not all) Orthodox seminaries are attached to monasteries, combining academic preparation for ordination with participation in the community's life of prayer. Bishops are often chosen from monastic clergy, whether from the monastery or from life in the world (see clerical celibacy). Monks who have been ordained to the priesthood are called hieromonk (priest-monk); monks who have been ordained to the deaconate are called hierodeacon (deacon-monk). For the Orthodox, Mother is the correct term for nuns who have been tonsured to the rank of Stavrophore or higher. Novices and Rassophores are addressed as " Sister". Nuns live identical ascetic lives to their male counterparts and are therefore also called monachai (the feminine plural of monachos), and their common living space, a monastery.

Anglican monks

A small but hugely influential aspect of Anglicanism is its religious orders of monks. Shortly after the beginning of the revival of the Catholic Movement in the Church of England, there was felt to be a need for a restoration of the contemplative life. In the 1840s, Anglican priest John Henry Newman established a community of men at Littlemore near Oxford. From then on, there have been (re-)established many communities of monks, friars and other religious communities for men in the Anglican Communion. There are Anglican Benedictines, Franciscans, Cistercians, Dominicans, as well as home grown orders such as the Society of Saint John the Evangelist, among many more in almost every Province of the Anglican Communion. Anglican religious life at one time boasted hundreds of orders and communities, and thousands of religious. An important aspect of Anglican religious life is that most communities of both men and women lived their lives consecrated to God under the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience (or in Benedictine communinities, Stability, Conversion of Life, and Obedience) by practicing a mixed life of reciting the full eight services of the Breviary in choir, along with a daily Eucharist, plus service to the poor. The mixed life, combing aspects of the contemplative orders and the active orders remains to this day a hallmark of Anglican religious life. Anglican monks proceed through their religious life first by responding to an inner call to the particular life. Then after councilling with his parish priest, the seeker makes a visit to a monastery and tests his vocation. Usually he must spend some time with the community as an aspirant, then he becomes a postulant, then novice, then come first profession, and usually life vows. Some communities are contemplative, some active, but a distinguish feature of the monastic life among Anglicans is the most practice the so-called "mixed life." The keep the full round of liturgical and private worship, but usually have an active ministry of some sort in their immediate community. This activity could be anything from parish work to working with the homeless or any number of good causes. Since the 1960s, there has been a sharp falling off in the numbers of religious in all parts of the Anglican Communion. Many once large and international communities have been reduced to a single convent or monastery comprised of elderly men or women. In the last few decades of the 20th century, novices have for most communities been few and far between. Some orders and communities have already become extinct. There are however, still several thousand Anglican religious working today in approximately 200 communities around the world. The most surprising growth has been in the Melanesian countries of the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. The Melanesian Brotherhood, founded at Tabalia, Guadalcanal, in 1925 by Ini Kopuria, is now the largest Anglican Community in the world with over 450 brothers in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and the United Kingdom. The Sisters of the Church, started by Mother Emily Ayckbown in England in 1870, has more sisters in the Solomons than all their other communities. The Community of the Sisters of Melanesia, started in 1980 by Sister Nesta Tiboe, is a growing community of women throughout the Solomon Islands. The Society of Saint Francis, founded as a union of various Franciscan orders in the 1920s, has experienced great growth in the Solomon Islands. Other communities of religious have been started by Anglicans in Papua New Guinea and in Vanuatu. Most Melanesian Anglican religious are in their early to mid 20s, making the average age 40 to 50 years younger than their brothers and sisters in other countries. This growth is especially surprising because celibacy was not regared as a Melanesian virtue. celibacy

Buddhist monks

:Main article at bhikkhu The western term is often applied to Buddhist monastics in all traditions of Buddhism, also known by the Sanskrit and Pali terms bhikshu and bhikkhu. Tibetan Buddhist monks are sometimes known as lamas.

Vaishnava monks

:Main article: Hare Krishna Similar in appearance to Buddhist monks, monks from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), or Hare Krishnas as they are popularly known, are the best known Vaishnava monks outside India. They are a common sight in many places around the world. Their appearance - simple saffron dhoti, shaved head with sikha, Tulasi neckbeads and tilaka markings - and social customs (sadhana) date back many thousands of years to the Vedic era with its varnasrama society. This social scheme includes both monastic and lay stages meant for various persons in various stages of life as per their characteristics (guna) and work (karma). ISKCON started as predominantly monastic group but nowadays majority of members live as lay persons. Many of them, however, spent some time as monks. New persons joining ISKCON as full-time members (living in its centers) first undergo a three-month Bhakta training, which includes learning the basics of brahmacari (monastic) life. After that they can decide if they prefer to continue as monks or as married Grihasthas. Brahmacari older than fifty years can become a sannyasi. Sannyasa, a life of full dedication to spiritual pursuits, is the highest stage of life in the varnasrama society. It is permanent and one cannot give it up. Sannyasi has a title Swami. Older grhastha with grown-up children is traditionally expected to accept vanaprastha (celibate retired) life. The role of monastic orders in Indian and now also Western society has been to some extent adapted over the years in accordance with ever-changing social structures.

See also


- Bhikkhu/Bhikshu— Buddhist monk
- Monasticism
- Religious order
- Buddhism
- Christianity
- Pachomius — early example of monastic organizer
- Rule of St Benedict
- Brother Cadfael — a famous recent fictional monk
- Lay brothers
- Bede
- Brahmacharya
- Sannyasi

External links


- [http://www.oca.org/OCchapter.asp?SID=2&ID=59 A synopsis of Orthodox monasticism] Category:Religious workers Category:Asceticism ja:修道士

Hieromartyr

In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, a hieromartyr is a martyr (one who dies for their beliefs) who was also one of the clergy (deacon, priest, or bishop). In like manner a priest-monk is often called a hieromonk. category:Eastern Orthodoxy Category:Christian martyrs

Pope Miltiades

Miltiades, or Melchiades (other forms of the name being Meltiades, Melciades, Milciades, and Miltides) was Pope from July 10, 310 or 311 to January 10 or 11, 314, and was subsequently made a saint. He appears to have been an African by birth, but of his personal history nothing is known. Even his race is unknown, though some documents say he was not dark skinned. He was elected after a period of sede vacante following the joint banishment of Pope Eusebius to Sicily and his opponent Heraclius to Sardinia. He became pope after the