The trucking industry serves the American economy by transporting large quantities of raw materials, works in process, and finished goods over land—typically from manufacturing plants to retail distribution centers. Trucks are also used in the construction industry, as dump trucks and portable concrete mixers move the large amounts of rocks, dirt, concrete, and other building materials used in construction. Trucks in America are responsible for the majority of freight movement over land and are tools in the manufacturing, transportation, and warehousing industries.
Driving large trucks and buses require a commercial driver's license (CDL) to operate. Obtaining a CDL requires extra education and training dealing with the special knowledge requirements and handling characteristics of such a large vehicle. Drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) must adhere to the hours of service, which are regulations governing the driving hours of commercial drivers. These and all other rules regarding the safety of interstate commercial driving are issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The FMCSA is a division of the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), which governs all transportation-related industries such as trucking, shipping, railroads, and airlines. Some other issues are handled by another branch of the USDOT, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
Developments in technology, such as computers, satellite communication, and the Internet, have contributed to many improvements within the industry. These developments have increased the productivity of company operations, saved the time and effort of drivers, and provided new, more accessible forms of entertainment to men and women who often spend long periods of time away from home. In 2006, the United States Environmental Protection Agency implemented revised emission standards for diesel trucks (reducing airborne pollutants emitted by diesel engines) which promises to improve air quality and public health.
History

The trucking industry[1] has affected the political and economic history of the United States in the 20th century. Before the invention of automobiles, most freight was moved by train or horse-drawn vehicle.
Trucks were first used extensively by the military during World War I. With the increase in construction of paved roads, trucking began to achieve a significant foothold in the 1930s. Public safety concerns made it necessary to implement various government regulations (such as the 1965 hours of service rule; recently revised with a compliance date of July 1, 2012) of how long drivers were allowed to work and drive each day/week. In 1956, Taxpayers provided funds to build the Interstate Highway System, an extensive network of highways and freeways that linked major cities across the continent.[2] The addition of Interstate Highway System also made it possible for the trucking industry to grow substantially in the late 1950s and early 1960s and trucking has come to dominate the freight industry in the latter portion of the 20th century.
Trucking achieved national attention during the 1960s and 70s, when songs and movies about truck driving were major hits. Truck drivers participated in widespread strikes against the rising cost of fuel, during the energy crises of 1973 and 1979. Congress deregulated the trucking industry with the passage of the Motor Carrier Act of 1980.[3]
1990s-present
Advances in modern technology have enabled significant improvements within the trucking industry. Trucks are commonly equipped with satellite communication features, automatic transmissions are gaining in popularity, and truck stops featuring WiFi Internet access are now commonplace.[4]
Exhaust emissions

Components of diesel exhaust were confirmed as an animal carcinogen in 1988 by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and by 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considered it "likely to be carcinogenic to humans".[5] The particulate matter of diesel exhaust has been linked to (among other health effects) lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, and aggravated asthma; it has also been identified as a greenhouse gas. "[6] For these and other reasons, alternatives and improvements to standard diesel fuel have been developed.
Biodiesel (in its pure form) is a non-toxic, biodegradable form of diesel fuel made from vegetable oil, usually soybean oil or recycled restaurant grease. Biodiesel promises a reduction in some exhaust emissions,[7] as well as reduced dependence on foreign petroleum supplies.[8]
Starting in June 2006, petroleum refiners were required by the EPA to begin producing ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel, which has 97% less sulfur than the previous low sulfur diesel fuel.[9] When fuel containing sulfur is burned, sulfur dioxide is produced, a main component of acid rain.[10] ULSD, together with new air pollution control technologies required in trucks (starting with model year 2007), will reduce harmful emissions by 90%.[9]
By the time the action is fully implemented, the EPA estimates that 2.6million tons of smog-causing nitrogen oxide emissions will be eliminated each year. Soot or particulate matter will be reduced by an estimated 110,000tons a year. The reduction in sulfur will also prevent an estimated 8,300premature deaths, 5,500cases of chronic bronchitis and 17,600cases of acute bronchitis in children. In addition, an estimated 360,000asthma attacks and 386,000cases of respiratory symptoms in asthmatic children will also be avoided every year.[11]
When not driving, truck drivers need to idle their engines to maintain climate control within the truck cab (interior), as well as provide electricity for appliances. Engine idling is inefficient and only adds to the problem of air pollution.[12] This unnecessary idling can be remedied with shore power (which is a term and idea borrowed from the shipping industry), or Truck Stop Electrification.[13] When ships are docked in a port, they connect to a land-based power supply to provide electricity and eliminate the need to idle their engines. The idea of shore power was transferred to the trucking industry, and now there are companies such as IdleAire[14] and Shorepower[15] which provide electricity to diesel trucks, which eliminates the need for the driver to idle the engine. IdleAire also provides access to the Internet, cable television, and land line phone services. IdleAire promises to eliminate one-eighth of nitrogen oxide pollution through "electrified parking", however, particulate pollution may increase in those areas where the electricity is provided by coal burning power plants.[16] Some drivers are also experimenting with hydrogen fuel cells, which provide clean and silent power for appliances when trucks are not running.
Fuel efficiency
With the fuel price increases of the 2000s, the EPA and many companies have sought to increase diesel truck fuel economy. One such example is the hydraulic hybrid vehicle, which stores energy in hydraulic tanks and hydraulic motors (as opposed to the electric hybrid vehicle which uses batteries and regenerative brakes).[17] Electric hybrid vehicles are another option, with savings of 35 to 60 percent over traditional vehicles.[18] Drivers themselves may improve fuel efficiency by using a method called progressive shifting, in which the driver shifts through the gears (typical trucks may have between 10 and 18 gears) in such a manner as to optimize the power range of the engine.
Fuel consumption
According to research from a survey conducted by students from the University of Michigan, and in cooperation by ATRI (American Transportation Research Institute) as of 2015 "54 billion gallons of fuel were consumed by trucks for business purposes—39 billion gallons of diesel fuel and 16 billion gallons of gasoline. Combination vehicles, which are powered nearly exclusively by diesel fuel, accounted for 75 percent of this diesel fuel consumption" [19]
Technology
Like many other industries, the trucking industry has benefited from the use of computers and the Internet. The Internet helps firms explore new opportunities by aggressive sales and marketing. The incremental cost of conducting business transactions on the Internet is as little as one-fifteenth as expensive as paper transactions.[20]
Given the limitations on truck weight and size, increased productivity in the industry comes from two sources: fewer empty miles and less time waiting between loads.[20] U.S. Department of Transportation figures indicate that empty routes have continued to account for 29% of single-unit truck traffic;[21][22] this has been equated to an annualized 15 billion gallons of gasoline, $30 billion cost, or 149 million tons of excess carbon emissions.[23][24] Traditional freight brokers acted as intermediaries to manage the coordination of freight, helping independent drivers or companies match loads with available empty trucks. Increasingly, computerized brokers are threatening the future of traditional human brokers by offering increased efficiency. In addition, shipper-driven brokerage over the Internet enables shippers to post loads and solicit bids directly from carriers. Instead of relying upon traditional freight brokers, shippers function as their own brokers, dealing directly with freight companies.[20]

Developments in satellite technology have fostered increased communication and productivity within the trucking industry.[25] Drivers may input the information from a bill of lading into a simple text-only dot matrix display screen (commonly called a "Qualcomm", for their ubiquitous OmniTRACS system).[26][27] This allows the driver to communicate with their dispatcher, who is normally responsible for determining and informing the driver of their pick-up and drop-off locations. Drivers are no longer required to find the nearest public phone in order to relay information regarding their load status, it can be done without leaving the truck cab.[25]
The driver inputs the information, using a keyboard, into an automated system of pre-formatted messages known as macros. There are macros for each stage of the loading and unloading process, such as "loaded and leaving shipper" and "arrived at final destination". This system also allows the company to track the driver's fuel usage, speed, gear optimization, engine idle time, location, direction of travel, and amount of time spent driving.[25]
Trucks equipped with GPS satellite navigation units have enabled drivers to forgo a traditional paper-based map, saving time and effort.[4] Drivers willing to pay for satellite radio  or who work for a company that pays for it[28] can listen to commercial-free music, sports, news, and talk radio coast-to-coast without interruption of signals between cities (as terrestrial radio signals are limited to a certain radius from the broadcasting tower). Digital satellite television allows smaller dish sizes, which means truck drivers are not limited to free terrestrial broadcast television and have more options about what they watch during their off-duty periods.[29]
Automatic transmissions
Increasingly, companies have been equipping their trucks with automatic transmissions for a variety of reasons. Operating a manual transmission requires more skill and attention on the part of the driver, partly due to the unsynchronized transmission found in heavy-duty trucks. Companies have found that switching from manual to automatic transmissions has many benefits, including increased fuel efficiency, increased driver retention, reduced wear and tear on the internal gears of transmissions (inexperienced drivers may frequently grind the gears if proper shifting techniques are not followed), reduced driver fatigue, and reduced accidents (manuals require more attention from the driver, thus increasing the chances for an accident).  All of these factors together add up to benefit the company by reducing costs incurred from transmission repairs, accidents, and driver turnover (a driver frustrated by a manual transmission may decide to quit his/her job).[30]
Top US trucking firms
As of May 2015, over 90.0% of players in the United States long-distance freight trucking industry are owner-operators. Therefore, even the top corporate operators only hold a small share of the total market. According to the industry market research firm IBISWorld, J.B. Hunt Transport Services holds an estimated 2.5% market share, YRC Worldwide  holds 1.8%, FedEx holds 1.6%, United Parcel Service of America owns 1.5%, and Con-way holds 1.4%.[31]
Top 10 trucking companies by revenue in 2015.[32]

Economic impact
The importance of trucking is communicated by the industry adage: "If you bought it, a truck brought it."[4][33] Retail stores, hospitals, gas stations, garbage disposal, construction sites, banks, and even a clean water supply depends entirely upon trucks to distribute vital cargo.[34] Even before a product reaches store shelves, the raw materials and other stages of production materials that go into manufacturing any given product are moved by trucks.[20]

Commercial Freight Activity in the US by Mode of TransportationTransportation modeEstimates in millionsRelative shares in percentsValueTonsValueTonsTruck$9,075,00011,71269.560.1Rail$392,0001,9793.010.2Water$673,0001,6685.28.6Pipeline$896,0003,5296.918.1Other modes (incl. air, intermodal)$2,015,00060015.43.0Total$13,052,00019,847100.0100.0Source: 2002 estimate by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics[35]
Note: Weights listed are measured in short tons.
Today, railroads are primarily used to haul bulk quantities of cargo over long distances.[36] Unless a manufacturing or distribution facility has a direct connection to the railroad, the remainder of the trip must be handled by truck.[4] Recent implementation of "just in time" strategies have resulted in the increased use of trucks to help satisfy businesses' fluid inventory needs. Using this strategy, businesses gain the ability to reduce the costs associated with excess inventory and larger warehousing facilities by requiring more frequent deliveries.[37][38][39] According to an industry group, many retail, commercial, and government services require daily or weekly deliveries to keep supplies or merchandise on hand. Many hospitals have also moved to "just in time" inventory systems. The nation's busiest gas stations require deliveries of fuel several times per day, while the average station receives fuel every two to three days. Grocery stores require deliveries of perishable food items every two to three days.[34]
Trucks are vitally important to U.S. industry, however, measuring the impact of trucking on the economy is more difficult, because trucking services are so intertwined with all sectors of the economy. According to the measurable share of the economy that trucking represents, the industry directly contributes about 5 percent to the gross domestic product annually. In addition, the industry plays a critical support role for other transportation modes and for other sectors of the economy such as the resource, manufacturing, construction, and wholesale and retail trade industries.[20]
Within the energy industry, approximately 4 percent of crude oil and petroleum products were shipped by truck in 2012.[40] These shipments are handled by oil and gas logistics firms, which are midstream service providers that also handle transport by pipeline, rail, and barge. Dominant companies in this space include Aux Sable, Bridger Group, DCP Midstream, Enbridge Energy Partners, Enterprise Products Partners, Genesis Energy, Gibson Energy, Inergy Midstream, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, Oneok Partners, Sunoco Logistics, Targa Midstream Services, TransCanada, and Williams Companies.
Agricultural products totaling $118,832,000, or 82.7 percent, were shipped by truck in 2007 (excluding animal feed, cereal grains, and forage products).[41][42] About half of that agricultural freight was shipped by for-hire trucks and half by private trucks.[41] More than 92 percent of prepared foods, including dairy products and prepared fruit, vegetable, and nut products, were moved by truck in 2007.[41][42]
Within the health care industry, trucking moved $501,445,000 worth, or 65 percent of the total value, of pharmaceutical products in 2007.[41]
Lumber and other wood products totaling $168,913,000 were shipped by truck in 2007, accounting for 91.9 percent of this class of product.[41]
Over 80 percent of all communities in the US rely exclusively on trucks to deliver all of their fuel, clothing, medicine, and other consumer goods. The trucking industry employs 10million people (out of a total national population of 300million)[43] in jobs that relate directly to trucking. The trucking industry is the industry of small business, considering 93 percent of interstate motor carriers (over 500,000) operate 20 or fewer trucks.[44]
Rules and regulations
A division of the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulates nearly all aspects of the trucking industry.[45] Truck drivers are limited by the number of daily and weekly hours they may drive, the roads and highways they may drive upon, and a lower legal definition of drunkenness. The Federal Highway Administration has established 0.04 percent as the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level at or above which a CMV driver is deemed to be driving under the influence of alcohol.[46] States maintain a BAC level between 0.08 and 0.10 percent for non-CMV drivers. In some states, trucks also have special speed limits, in addition to restrictions on driving in certain lanes (normally the far right lanes of multi-lane highways).[47]
Commercial driver's license

Trucks come in many different sizes, creating the need for a truck classification system. Truck drivers are required to have a commercial driver's license (CDL) to operate a CMV carrying more than 16 passengers, carrying a certain amount of hazardous materials, or weighing in excess of 26,000 pounds (12,000kg).[48] Acquiring a CDL requires a skills test (driving test), and knowledge test (written test) covering the unique handling qualities of driving a large, heavily loaded 18-wheeler (e.g., backing maneuvers), and the mechanical systems required to operate such a vehicle (e.g., air brakes and vehicle inspection procedures).[49]
Hours of service

The FMCSA defines a CMV as a single or combination (truck and trailer) vehicle with a gross weight of 10,001 pounds (4,536kg) or more, or a vehicle used to transport hazardous materials in quantities requiring the vehicle to be marked or placarded under the hazardous materials regulations.[50] The length of time a driver may spend operating a CMV is limited by a set of rules known as the hours of service (HOS). These laws are designed to protect the general motoring public by reducing accidents caused by driver fatigue.
The first version of the HOS was enacted in 1938, and four revisions have been made since.[51] The more recent revisions have relied on research into the human circadian rhythm (the tendency for humans to follow a natural 24-hour cycle with 8hours of uninterrupted sleep).[51] As of July 1, 2013, a driver is limited to 11hours of actual driving within a 14-hour period, and requires a 30-minute break during the first 8 hours of on duty time. After which he/she must rest for 10hours.[52] The rules do not explicitly require that a driver must sleep, only that a driver must take a period of "rest" within the sleeper berth or off duty (i.e., at home).
Keeping track of a driver's HOS requires the use of a log book.[53] A truck driver's log book is a legally defined form containing a grid outlining the 24-hour day into 15-minute increments. The driver must specify where and when he/she stopped between driving shifts, what duties were performed (if any), along with the driver's name, truck number, company info, and other information. The driver must also present his or her log book to authorities upon request, for inspection. In lieu of a log book, a motor carrier may substitute an electronic on-board recorder to record the driver's hours.[54]
Weight, size, and route restrictions

The FMCSA regulates the length, width, and weight limits of CMVs for interstate commercial traffic. Interstate commercial traffic is generally limited to a network of interstate freeways, U.S. highways and state highways known as the National Network (NN). Provided the truck remains on the NN, they are not subject to the state limits. State limits (which can be lower or higher than federal limits) come into effect for intrastate commercial traffic, provided the vehicle is not on the NN.[55]
There is no federal height limit, and states may set their own limits which range from 13feet 6inches (4.11m) (mostly on the east coast) to 14 feet (4.3m) (west coast).,[55] As a result, the majority of trucks are somewhere between 13feet 6inches (4.11m) and 14 feet (4.3m) high. Truck drivers are responsible for checking bridge height clearances (usually indicated by a warning sign) before passing underneath an overpass or entering a tunnel. Not having enough vertical clearance can result in a "top out" or "bridge hit," causing considerable traffic delays and costly repairs for the bridge or tunnel involved.[56][57]
The federal gross weight limit for a Class 8 truck is 80,000 pounds (36,000kg) (combined weight of truck, trailer, and cargo) with axle weights limited to 12,000 pounds (5,400kg) (steering axle) and 34,000 pounds (15,000kg) (tandem axles). Truck drivers are responsible for checking their own vehicle's weight, usually by paying to be weighed at a truck stop scale. CMVs are subject to various state and federal laws regarding limitations on truck length (measured from bumper to bumper), and truck axle length (measured from axle to axle, or fifth wheel kingpin to axle for trailers). The relationship between axle weight and spacing, known as the Federal Bridge Gross Weight Formula, is designed to protect bridges.[58] Truck weights and sizes are checked by state authorities at a weigh station or port-of-entry.
Types of vehicles used in trucking
Tractor
The cab and drive axle portion of a large capacity truck and trailer. Since the primary purpose of the Cab is to pull the trailer, it is rightly referred to as a tractor. The various kinds of tractors are Yard, Day, and Sleepers.
Bobtail
The bobtail is essentially the front of a tractor-trailer combo. The Bobtail has all the equipment typically seen on the truck of a tractor/trailer set up.
Flatbed
The flatbed is essentially a trailer without the enclosed portion on the back. The back or bed is flat and open. These are often referred to as Stake Beds.
Dry van
An enclosed trailer 53’ long although they can be shorter.
Reefer
An enclosed trailer typically 53’ in length. They are insulated and have a stand-alone engine (usually ThermoKing or Carrier) unit mounted at the front or underside of the trailer. They also have their own fuel tank as to not rely on a tractor for power. They can keep frozen down to negative 40F to 45F.
Panel van
The panel van does come in various sizes. As small as a mini-van and up to having a fairly large box on the bed of a truck. These are seen as box trucks.
HotShot
The Hotshot vehicle or truck is essentially a pick-up with a larger load capacity than a personal truck. Hotshots are typically single axle 1-ton to 3-ton trucks, which can be either a dual or single tire.
Truck drivers

Definition
Truck drivers are persons employed as the operator of a CMV. CMVs can be of varying shapes and sizes, from 10,000-pound (4,500kg) pickup trucks assigned to haul specialized or small quantities of freight, all the way up to 105,500-pound (47,900kg) semi-trailer trucks. Trucks are assigned a class rating based upon the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR). The facts in this section refer to drivers of "heavy duty" trucks (with a GVWR of at least 26,000 pounds (12,000kg), which require a commercial driver's license to operate).[48]
Working environment
Truck drivers spend up to 11hours a day driving, and up to 14hours a day engaged in various duties (including driving time) such as fueling, filling out paperwork, obtaining vehicle repairs, and conducting mandatory vehicle inspections. Long-haul drivers often spend weeks away from home, spending their time off and sleeping at truck stops or rest areas. Driving is relatively dangerous work, as truck drivers account for 12 percent and the highest total number of all work-related deaths, and are five times more likely to die on the job than the average worker.[59] Smoking, lack of exercise, unhealthy eating habits, and work-related injuries also contribute to the driver's generally risk-prone lifestyle.[60] A survey by the National Institutes of Health found 67 percent of long-haul drivers were smokers or had quit smoking.[61]
Turnover
In 2006, the U.S. trucking industry employed 1.8million drivers of heavy trucks.[62] A major problem for the long-haul trucking industry is that a large percentage of these drivers are aging, and are expected to retire. Very few new hires are expected in the near future, resulting in a driver shortage. As of 2005, within the long-haul sector, there is an estimated shortage of 20,000 drivers. That shortage was projected to increase to 111,000 by 2014,[63] however the actual shortage of truck drivers in 2014 was around 38,000.[64] The trucking industry (especially the long-haul sector) is also facing an image crisis due to the long working hours, long periods of time away from home, the dangerous nature of the work, and the average earnings compared to other forms of labor (such as construction, which was 1 percent higher than trucking in 2004).[63]
Employee turnover within the long-haul trucking industry is notorious for being extremely high. In the 4th quarter of 2005, turnover within the largest carriers in the industry reached a record 136 percent,[65] which means for every 100 new employees hired, 136 quit their jobs. This has resulted in a "revolving door" within most long-haul trucking companies, as drivers are constantly switching jobs or quitting the industry altogether. Driver turnover within the short-haul and less-than-truckload (LTL) industries is considerably less (around 15 percent),[66] mainly due to the better working conditions, higher pay, and unionized workers. One study suggests that larger companies with irregular routes, longer average lengths of hauls, and older equipment experience much higher rates of driver turnover.[66]
Serial killings controversy
In 2009, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released the results of a five-year-long study (the Highway Serial Killings Initiative) investigating the unsolved murders of prostitutes, hitchhikers, and stranded motorists. Over 500 female victims have been compiled in a database, most of whom were killed or discarded at truck stops, hotels, and roadsides. The FBI has speculated that many of these victims were murdered by long-haul truck drivers, some of whom may be serial killers. Investigators speculate that the easy access to potential victims, mobility, and lack of supervision enjoyed by long-haul truck drivers have contributed to this phenomenon. The head of the initiative, Michael Harrigan, says most of the victims lead high-risk lifestyles (e.g., prostitution) which left them particularly vulnerable. In 2004, the FBI began investigating a string of murders in which the victims were found along the Interstate 40 corridor in Oklahoma and several other states, which sparked the creation of the Highway Serial Killings Initiative.[67]
In response to the investigation, the executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Todd Spencer, said "Truckers are just absolutely outraged that various media sources or the FBI would draw the conclusion that truckers are over-represented in the ranks of serial killers".[68]
Trucking organizations
Teamsters Union
National Motor Freight Traffic Association
Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association
American Trucking Associations
Commercial Vehicle Training Association
See also

Glossary of trucking industry terms
Truck manufacturers in the United States
Long combination vehicle
Semi-trailer truck
Semi trailer
Commercial driver's license
DAT Solutions (a.k.a. Dial-a-truck)
Oversize load

What is America's largest trucking company?


The sultans of the Ottoman Empire (Turkish: Osmanlı padişahları), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its height, the Ottoman Empire spanned an area from Hungary in the north to Yemen in the south, and from Algeria in the west to Iraq in the east. Administered at first from the city of Bursa, the empire's capital was moved to Edirne in 1363 following its conquest by Murad I, and then to Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) in 1453 following its conquest by Mehmed II.[1]

The Ottoman Empire's early years have been the subject of varying narratives due to the difficulty of discerning fact from legend. The empire came into existence at the end of the thirteenth century, and its first ruler (and the namesake of the Empire) was Osman I. According to later, often unreliable Ottoman tradition, Osman was a descendant of the Kayı tribe of the Oghuz Turks.[2] The eponymous Ottoman dynasty he founded endured for six centuries through the reigns of 36 sultans. The Ottoman Empire disappeared as a result of the defeat of the Central Powers with whom it had allied itself during World War I. The partitioning of the Empire by the victorious Allies and the ensuing Turkish War of Independence led to the abolition of the sultanate in 1922 and the birth of the modern Republic of Turkey in 1922.[3]
State organisation of the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire was an absolute monarchy during much of its existence. By the second half of the fifteenth century, the sultan sat at the apex of a hierarchical system and acted in political, military, judicial, social, and religious capacities under a variety of titles.[a] He was theoretically responsible only to God and God's law (the Islamic شریعت şeriat, known in Arabic as شريعة sharia), of which he was the chief executor. His heavenly mandate was reflected in Islamic titles such as "shadow of God on Earth" (ظل الله في العالم ẓıll Allāh fī'l-ʿalem) and "caliph of the face of the earth" (خلیفه روی زمین Ḫalife-i rū-yi zemīn).[4] All offices were filled by his authority, and every law was issued by him in the form of a decree called firman (فرمان). He was the supreme military commander and had the official title to all land.[5] Osman (died 1323/4) son of Ertuğrul was the first ruler of the Ottoman state, which during his reign constituted a small principality (beylik) in the region of Bithynia on the frontier of the Byzantine Empire.
After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmed II, Ottoman sultans came to regard themselves as the successors of the Roman Empire, hence their occasional use of the titles Caesar (قیصر Qayser) of Rûm, and emperor,[4][6][7] as well as the caliph of Islam.[b] Newly enthroned Ottoman rulers were girded with the Sword of Osman, an important ceremony that served as the equivalent of European monarchs' coronation.[8] A non-girded sultan was not eligible to have his children included in the line of succession.[9]
Although absolute in theory and in principle, the sultan's powers were limited in practice. Political decisions had to take into account the opinions and attitudes of important members of the dynasty, the bureaucratic and military establishments, as well as religious leaders.[5] Beginning in the last decades of the sixteenth century, the role of the Ottoman sultans in the government of the empire began to decrease, in a period known as the Transformation of the Ottoman Empire. Despite being barred from inheriting the throne,[10] women of the Imperial Harem—especially the reigning sultan's mother, known as the Valide Sultan—also played an important behind-the-scenes political role, effectively ruling the empire during the period known as the Sultanate of Women.[11]
Constitutionalism was only established during the reign Abdul Hamid II, who thus became the empire's last absolute ruler and its reluctant first constitutional monarch.[12] Although Abdul Hamid II abolished the parliament and the constitution to return to personal rule in 1878, he was again forced in 1908 to reinstall constitutionalism and was deposed. Since 2017, the head of the House of Osman and pretender to the defunct Ottoman throne has been Dündar Ali Osman, a great-grandson of Abdulhamid II.[13]
List of sultans
The table below lists Ottoman sultans, as well as the last Ottoman caliph, in chronological order. The tughras were the calligraphic seals or signatures used by Ottoman sultans. They were displayed on all official documents as well as on coins, and were far more important in identifying a sultan than his portrait. The "Notes" column contains information on each sultan's parentage and fate. For earlier rulers, there is usually a time gap between the moment a sultan's reign ended and the moment his successor was enthroned. This is because the Ottomans in that era practiced what historian Quataert has described as "survival of the fittest, not eldest, son": when a sultan died, his sons had to fight each other for the throne until a victor emerged. Because of the infighting and numerous fratricides that occurred, a sultan's death date therefore did not always coincide with the accession date of his successor.[14] In 1617, the law of succession changed from survival of the fittest to a system based on agnatic seniority (اکبریت ekberiyet), whereby the throne went to the oldest male of the family. This in turn explains why from the 17th century onwards a deceased sultan was rarely succeeded by his own son, but usually by an uncle or brother.[15] Agnatic seniority was retained until the abolition of the sultanate, despite unsuccessful attempts in the 19th century to replace it with primogeniture.[16]

See also

Line of succession to the Ottoman throne
Ottoman Emperors family tree
Ottoman family tree (more detailed)
List of Valide Sultans
List of Ottoman Grand Viziers
List of admirals in the Ottoman Empire
List of Ottoman Kaptan Pashas
Notes

a  : The full style of the Ottoman ruler was complex, as it was composed of several titles and evolved over the centuries. The title of sultan was used continuously by all rulers almost from the beginning. However, because it was widespread in the Muslim world, the Ottomans quickly adopted variations of it to dissociate themselves from other Muslim rulers of lesser status. Murad I, the third Ottoman monarch, styled himself sultan-i azam (سلطان اعظم, the most exalted sultan) and hüdavendigar (خداوندگار, emperor), titles used by the Anatolian Seljuqs and the Mongol Ilkhanids respectively. His son Bayezid I adopted the style Sultan of Rûm, Rûm being an old Islamic name for the Roman Empire. The combining of the Islamic and Central Asian heritages of the Ottomans led to the adoption of the title that became the standard designation of the Ottoman ruler: Sultan [Name] Khan.[64] Ironically, although the title of sultan is most often associated in the Western world with the Ottomans, people within Turkey generally use the title of padishah far more frequently when referring to rulers of the Ottoman Dynasty.[65]
b   : The Ottoman Caliphate was one of the most important positions held by rulers of the Ottoman Dynasty. The caliphate symbolized their spiritual power, whereas the sultanate represented their temporal power. According to Ottoman historiography, Murad I adopted the title of caliph during his reign (1362 to 1389), and Selim I later strengthened the caliphal authority during his conquest of Egypt in 1516-1517. However, the general consensus among modern scholars is that Ottoman rulers had used the title of caliph before the conquest of Egypt, as early as during the reign of Murad I (1362–1389), who brought most of the Balkans under Ottoman rule and established the title of sultan in 1383. It is currently agreed that the caliphate "disappeared" for two-and-a-half centuries, before being revived with the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, signed between the Ottoman Empire and Catherine II of Russia in 1774. The treaty was highly symbolic, since it marked the first international recognition of the Ottomans' claim to the caliphate. Although the treaty made official the Ottoman Empire's loss of the Crimean Khanate, it acknowledged the Ottoman caliph's continuing religious authority over Muslims in Russia.[66] From the 18th century onwards, Ottoman sultans increasingly emphasized their status as caliphs in order to stir Pan-Islamist sentiments among the empire's Muslims in the face of encroaching European imperialism. When World War I broke out, the sultan/caliph issued a call for jihad in 1914 against the Ottoman Empire's Allied enemies, unsuccessfully attempting to incite the subjects of the French, British and Russian empires to revolt. Abdülhamid II was by far the Ottoman sultan who made the most use of his caliphal position, and was recognized as caliph by many Muslim heads of state, even as far away as Sumatra.[67] He had his claim to the title inserted into the 1876 Constitution (Article 4).[68]
c  : Tughras were used by 35 out of 36 Ottoman sultans, starting with Orhan in the 14th century, whose tughra has been found on two different documents. No tughra bearing the name of Osman I, the founder of the empire, has ever been discovered,[69] although a coin with the inscription "Osman bin Ertuğrul" has been identified.[17] Abdülmecid II, the last Ottoman caliph, also lacked a tughra of his own, since he did not serve as head of state (that position being held by Mustafa Kemal, President of the newly founded Republic of Turkey) but as a religious and royal figurehead.
d : The Ottoman Interregnum, also known as the Ottoman Triumvirate (Turkish: Fetret Devri), was a period of chaos in the Ottoman Empire which lasted from 1402 to 1413. It started following the defeat and capture of Bayezid I by the Turco-Mongol warlord Tamerlane at the Battle of Ankara, which was fought on 20 July 1402. Bayezid's sons fought each other for over a decade, until Mehmed I emerged as the undisputed victor in 1413.[70]
e : The dissolution of the Ottoman Empire was a gradual process which started with the abolition of the sultanate and ended with that of the caliphate 16 months later. The sultanate was formally abolished on 1November1922. Sultan Mehmed VI fled to Malta on 17November aboard the British warship Malaya.[60] This event marked the end of the Ottoman Dynasty, not of the Ottoman State nor of the Ottoman Caliphate. On 18November, the Grand National Assembly (TBMM) elected Mehmed VI's cousin Abdülmecid II, the then crown prince, as caliph.[71] The official end of the Ottoman State was declared through the Treaty of Lausanne (24July1923), which recognized the new "Ankara government," and not the old Istanbul-based Ottoman government, as representing the rightful owner and successor state. The Republic of Turkey was proclaimed by the TBMM on 29October1923, with Mustafa Kemal as its first President.[72] Although Abdülmecid II was a figurehead lacking any political power, he remained in his position of caliph until the office of the caliphate was abolished by the TBMM on 3March1924.[68] Mehmed VI later tried unsuccessfully to reinstall himself as caliph in the Hejaz.[73]

Bibliography

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Who was the last leader of the Ottoman Empire?


Porcelain (/ˈpɔːrsəlɪn/) is a ceramic material made by heating materials, generally including kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between 1,200 and 1,400°C (2,200 and 2,600°F). The toughness, strength, and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainly from vitrification and the formation of the mineral mullite within the body at these high temperatures.  Though definitions vary, porcelain can be divided into three main categories: hard-paste, soft-paste and bone china. The category that an object belongs to depends on the composition of the paste used to make the body of the porcelain object and the firing conditions.
Porcelain slowly evolved in China and was finally achieved (depending on the definition used) at some point about 2,000 to 1,200 years ago, then slowly spread to other East Asian countries, and finally Europe and the rest of the world. Its manufacturing process is more demanding than that for earthenware and stoneware, the two other main types of pottery, and it has usually been regarded as the most prestigious type of pottery for its delicacy, strength, and its white colour.  It combines well with both glazes and paint, and can be modelled very well, allowing a huge range of decorative treatments in tablewares, vessels and figurines.  It also has many uses in technology and industry.
The European name, porcelain in English, come from the old Italian porcellana (cowrie shell) because of its resemblance to the surface of the shell.[1] Porcelain is also referred to as china or fine china in some English-speaking countries, as it was first seen in imports from China.[2] Properties associated with porcelain include low permeability and elasticity; considerable strength, hardness, toughness, whiteness, translucency and resonance; and a high resistance to chemical attack and thermal shock.

Porcelain has been described as being "completely vitrified, hard, impermeable (even before glazing), white or artificially coloured, translucent (except when of considerable thickness), and resonant".[3] However, the term "porcelain" lacks a universal definition and has "been applied in an unsystematic fashion to substances of diverse kinds which have only certain surface-qualities in common".[4]
Traditionally, East Asia only classifies pottery into low-fired wares (earthenware) and high-fired wares (often translated as porcelain), without the European concept of stoneware, which is high-fired but not generally white or translucent.  Terms such as "proto-porcelain", "porcellaneous" or "near-porcelain" may be used in cases where the ceramic body approaches whiteness and translucency.[5]
Materials

Kaolin is the primary material from which porcelain is made, even though clay minerals might account for only a small proportion of the whole. The word paste is an old term for both the unfired and fired materials. A more common terminology for the unfired material is "body"; for example, when buying materials a potter might order an amount of porcelain body from a vendor.
The composition of porcelain is highly variable, but the clay mineral kaolinite is often a raw material. Other raw materials can include feldspar, ball clay, glass, bone ash, steatite, quartz, petuntse and alabaster.
The clays used are often described as being long or short, depending on their plasticity. Long clays are cohesive (sticky) and have high plasticity; short clays are less cohesive and have lower plasticity. In soil mechanics, plasticity is determined by measuring the increase in content of water required to change a clay from a solid state bordering on the plastic, to a plastic state bordering on the liquid, though the term is also used less formally to describe the ease with which a clay may be worked.
Clays used for porcelain are generally of lower plasticity and are shorter than many other pottery clays. They wet very quickly, meaning that small changes in the content of water can produce large changes in workability. Thus, the range of water content within which these clays can be worked is very narrow and consequently must be carefully controlled.
Methods
The following section provides background information on the methods used to form, decorate, finish, glaze, and fire ceramic wares.
Forming

Glazing
Unlike their lower-fired counterparts, porcelain wares do not need glazing to render them impermeable to liquids and for the most part are glazed for decorative purposes and to make them resistant to dirt and staining. Many types of glaze, such as the iron-containing glaze used on the celadon wares of Longquan, were designed specifically for their striking effects on porcelain. Biscuit porcelain is unglazed.
Decoration

Porcelain wares may be decorated under the glaze using pigments that include cobalt and copper or over the glaze using coloured enamels. Like many earlier wares, modern porcelains are often biscuit-fired at around 1,000°C (1,830°F), coated with glaze and then sent for a second glaze-firing at a temperature of about 1,300°C (2,370°F) or greater. Another early method is "once-fired", where the glaze is applied to the unfired body and the two fired together in a single operation.
Firing
In this process, "green" (unfired) ceramic wares are heated to high temperatures in a kiln to permanently set their shapes.  Porcelain is fired at a higher temperature than earthenware so that the body can vitrify and become non-porous.
History
Chinese porcelain

Porcelain originated in China, and it took a long time to reach the modern material. Until recent times, almost all East Asian porcelain was of the hard-paste type. There is no precise date to separate the production of proto-porcelain from that of porcelain.  Although proto-porcelain wares exist dating from the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC), by the time of the Eastern Han dynasty period (206 BC–220 AD), glazed ceramic wares had developed into porcelain, which Chinese defined as high-fired ware.[6][7]  By the late Sui dynasty (581–618 AD) and early Tang dynasty (618–907 AD) the additional Western requirements of whiteness and translucency had been achieved,[8] in types such as Ding ware.  The wares were already exported to the Islamic world, where they were highly prized.[7][9]

Eventually, porcelain and the expertise required to create it began to spread into other areas of East Asia. During the Song dynasty (960–1279 AD), artistry and production had reached new heights. The manufacture of porcelain became highly organised, and the kiln sites excavated from this period could fire as many as 25,000 wares.[10]  While Xing ware is regarded as among the greatest of the Tang dynasty porcelain, Ding ware became the premier porcelain of the Song dynasty.[11]
By the time of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644 AD), porcelain wares were being exported to Europe. Some of the most well-known Chinese porcelain art styles arrived in Europe during this era, such as the coveted "blue-and-white" wares.[12] The Ming dynasty controlled much of the porcelain trade, which was expanded to Asia, Africa and Europe via the Silk Road. In 1517, Portuguese merchants began direct trade by sea with the Ming dynasty, and in 1598, Dutch merchants followed.[9]
Some porcelains were more highly valued than others in imperial China. The most valued types can be identified by their association with the court, either as tribute offerings, or as products of kilns under imperial supervision.[13] Since the Yuan dynasty, the largest and best centre of production has made Jingdezhen porcelain.  During the Ming dynasty, Jingdezhen porcelain become a source of imperial pride.  The Yongle emperor erected a white porcelain brick-faced pagoda at Nanjing, and an exceptionally smoothly glazed type of white porcelain is peculiar to his reign. Jingdezhen porcelain's fame came to a peak during the Qing dynasty.
Japanese porcelain

Although the Japanese elite were keen importers of Chinese porcelain from early on, they were not able to make their own until the arrival of Korean potters that were taken captive during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598).  They brought an improved type of kiln, and one of them spotted a source of porcelain clay near Arita, and before long several kilns had started in the region. At first their wares were similar to the cheaper and cruder Chinese porcelains with underglaze blue decoration that were already widely sold in Japan; this style was to continue for cheaper everyday wares until the 20th century.[14]
Exports to Europe began around 1660, through the Chinese and the Dutch East India Company, the only Europeans allowed a trading presence. Chinese exports had been seriously disrupted by civil wars as the Ming dynasty fell apart, and the Japanese exports increased rapidly to fill the gap. At first the wares used European shapes and mostly Chinese decoration, as the Chinese had done, but gradually original Japanese styles developed.
Nabeshima ware was produced in kilns owned by the families of feudal lords, and were decorated in the Japanese tradition, much of it related to textile design.  This was not initially exported, but used for gifts to other aristocratic families. Imari ware and Kakiemon are broad terms for styles of export porcelain with overglaze "enamelled" decoration begun in the early period, both with many sub-types.[15]
A great range of styles and manufacturing centres were in use by the start of the 19th century, and as Japan opened to trade in the second half, exports expanded hugely and quality generally declined. Much traditional porcelain continues to replicate older methods of production and styles, and there are several modern industrial manufacturers.[16]
European porcelain

These exported Chinese porcelains were held in such great esteem in Europe that in English china became a commonly–used synonym for the Italian term porcelain. The first mention of porcelain in Europe is in Il Milione by Marco Polo in XII sec.[17] Apart from copying Chinese porcelain in faience (tin glazed earthenware), the soft-paste Medici porcelain in 16th-century Florence was the first real European attempt to reproduce it, with little success.
Early in the 16th century, Portuguese traders returned home with samples of kaolin, which they discovered in China to be essential in the production of porcelain wares. However, the Chinese techniques and composition used to manufacture porcelain were not yet fully understood.[10] Countless experiments to produce porcelain had unpredictable results and met with failure.[10] In the German state of Saxony, the search concluded in 1708 when Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus produced a hard, white, translucent type of porcelain specimen with a combination of ingredients, including kaolin and alabaster, mined from a Saxon mine in Colditz.[18][19] It was a closely guarded trade secret of the Saxon enterprise.[19][20]
In 1712, many of the elaborate Chinese porcelain manufacturing secrets were revealed throughout Europe by the French Jesuit father Francois Xavier d'Entrecolles and soon published in the Lettres édifiantes et curieuses de Chine par des missionnaires jésuites.[21] The secrets, which d'Entrecolles read about and witnessed in China, were now known and began seeing use in Europe.[21]
Meissen

Von Tschirnhaus and Johann Friedrich Böttger were employed by Augustus II the Strong and worked at Dresden and Meissen in the German state of Saxony. Tschirnhaus had a wide knowledge of science and had been involved in the European quest to perfect porcelain manufacture when, in 1705, Böttger was appointed to assist him in this task. Böttger had originally been trained as a pharmacist; after he turned to alchemical research, he claimed to have known the secret of transmuting dross into gold, which attracted the attention of Augustus. Imprisoned by Augustus as an incentive to hasten his research, Böttger was obliged to work with other alchemists in the futile search for transmutation and was eventually assigned to assist Tschirnhaus.[18] One of the first results of the collaboration between the two was the development of a red stoneware that resembled that of Yixing.
A workshop note records that the first specimen of hard, white and vitrified European porcelain was produced in 1708. At the time, the research was still being supervised by Tschirnhaus; however, he died in October of that year. It was left to Böttger to report to Augustus in March 1709 that he could make porcelain. For this reason, credit for the European discovery of porcelain is traditionally ascribed to him rather than Tschirnhaus.[22]
The Meissen factory was established in 1710 after the development of a kiln and a glaze suitable for use with Böttger's porcelain, which required firing at temperatures of up to 1,400°C (2,552°F) to achieve translucence. Meissen porcelain was once-fired, or green-fired. It was noted for its great resistance to thermal shock; a visitor to the factory in Böttger's time reported having seen a white-hot teapot being removed from the kiln and dropped into cold water without damage. Although widely disbelieved this has been replicated in modern times.[23]
Soft paste porcelain

The pastes produced by combining clay and powdered glass (frit) were called Frittenporzellan in Germany and frita in Spain.  In France they were known as pâte tendre and in England as "soft-paste".[24] They appear to have been given this name because they do not easily retain their shape in the wet state, or because they tend to slump in the kiln under high temperature, or because the body and the glaze can be easily scratched.
France
Experiments at Rouen produced the earliest soft-paste in France, but the first important French soft-paste porcelain was made at the Saint-Cloud factory before 1702. Soft-paste factories were established with the Chantilly manufactory in 1730 and at Mennecy in 1750. The Vincennes porcelain factory was established in 1740, moving to larger premises at [25] in 1756. Vincennes soft-paste was whiter and freer of imperfections than any of its French rivals, which put Vincennes/Sèvres porcelain in the leading position in France and throughout the whole of Europe in the second half of the 18th century.[26]
Italy
Doccia porcelain of Florence was founded in 1735 and remains in production, unlike Capodimonte porcelain which was moved from Naples to Madrid by its royal owner, after producing from 1743-1759.  After a gap of 15 years Naples porcelain was produced from 1771 to 1806, specializing in Neoclassical styles. All these were very successful, with large outputs of high-quality wares.  In and around Venice, Francesco Vezzi was producing from around 1720 to 1735; survivals are very rare, but less so than from the Hewelke factory, which only lasted from 1758 to 1763. The Cozzi factory fared better, lasting from 1764 to 1812. The Le Nove factory produced from about 1752 to 1773, then was revived from 1781 to 1802.[27]
England
The first soft-paste in England was demonstrated by Thomas Briand to the Royal Society in 1742 and is believed to have been based on the Saint-Cloud formula. In 1749, Thomas Frye took out a patent on a porcelain containing bone ash.  This was the first bone china, subsequently perfected by Josiah Spode.
In the twenty-five years after Briand's demonstration, a number of factories were founded in England to make soft-paste table-wares and figures:
Chelsea (1743)[28][29]
Bow (1745)[30][31][32]
St James's (1748)[32][33]
Bristol porcelain (1748)
Longton Hall (1750)[34]
Royal Crown Derby (1750 or 1757)[35][36]
Royal Worcester (1751)
Lowestoft porcelain (1757)[37]
Wedgwood (1759)
Spode (1767)
Other developments
William Cookworthy discovered deposits of kaolin in Cornwall, making a considerable contribution to the development of porcelain and other whiteware ceramics in the United Kingdom. Cookworthy's factory at Plymouth, established in 1768, used kaolin and china stone to make porcelain with a body composition similar to that of the Chinese porcelains of the early 18th century.
Types

Hard paste

Hard-paste porcelain came from East Asia, specifically China, and some of the finest quality porcelain wares are from this category. The earliest European porcelains were produced at the Meissen factory in the early 18th century; they were formed from a paste composed of kaolin and alabaster and fired at temperatures up to 1,400°C (2,552°F) in a wood-fired kiln, producing a porcelain of great hardness, translucency, and strength.[19] Later, the composition of the Meissen hard paste was changed and the alabaster was replaced by feldspar and quartz, allowing the pieces to be fired at lower temperatures. Kaolinite, feldspar and quartz (or other forms of silica) continue to constitute the basic ingredients for most continental European hard-paste porcelains.
Soft paste

Soft-paste porcelains date back from the early attempts by European potters to replicate Chinese porcelain by using mixtures of clay and frit. Soapstone and lime were known to have been included in these compositions. These wares were not yet actual porcelain wares as they were not hard nor vitrified by firing kaolin clay at high temperatures. As these early formulations suffered from high pyroplastic deformation, or slumping in the kiln at high temperatures, they were uneconomic to produce and of low quality.
Formulations were later developed based on kaolin with quartz, feldspars, nepheline syenite or other feldspathic rocks. These were technically superior, and continue to be produced. Soft-paste porcelains are fired at lower temperatures than hard-paste porcelain, therefore these wares are generally less hard than hard-paste porcelains.[38][39]
Bone china

Although originally developed in England in 1748[40] in order to compete with imported porcelain, bone china is now made worldwide. The English had read the letters of Jesuit missionary Francois Xavier d'Entrecolles, which described Chinese porcelain manufacturing secrets in detail.[41] One writer has speculated that a misunderstanding of the text could possibly have been responsible for the first attempts to use bone-ash as an ingredient of English porcelain,[41] although this is not supported by researchers and historians.[42][43][44][45][46]
In China, kaolin was sometimes described as forming the 'bones' of the paste, while the 'flesh' was provided by the refined rocks suitable for the porcelain body.[38][41] Traditionally, English bone china was made from two parts of bone-ash, one part of kaolin and one part china stone, although this has largely been replaced by feldspars from non-UK sources.[47]
Other uses
Electric insulating material

Porcelain and other ceramic materials have many applications in engineering, especially ceramic engineering. Porcelain is an excellent insulator for use at high voltage, especially in outdoor applications, see Insulator (electricity)#Material. Examples include: terminals for high-voltage cables, bushings of power transformers, insulation of high frequency antennas and many other components.
Building material

Porcelain can be used as a building material, usually in the form of tiles or large rectangular panels. Modern porcelain tiles are generally produced by a number of recognised international standards and definitions.[48][49] Manufacturers are found across the world[50] with Italy being the global leader, producing over 380 million square metres in 2006.[51] Historic examples of rooms decorated entirely in porcelain tiles can be found in several European palaces including ones at Galleria Sabauda in Turin, Museo di Doccia in Sesto Fiorentino, Museo di Capodimonte in Naples, the Royal Palace of Madrid and the nearby Royal Palace of Aranjuez.[52] and the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing.
More recent noteworthy examples include the Dakin Building in Brisbane, California, and the Gulf Building in Houston, Texas, which when constructed in 1929 had a 21-metre-long (69ft) porcelain logo on its exterior.[53] A more detailed description of the history, manufacture and properties of porcelain tiles is given in the article “Porcelain Tile: The Revolution Is Only Beginning.”[53]
Bathroom fittings

Because of its durability, inability to rust and impermeability, glazed porcelain has been in use for personal hygiene since at least the third quarter of the 17th century. During this period, porcelain chamber pots were commonly found in higher-class European households, and the term "bourdaloue" was used as the name for the pot.[54]
However bath tubs are not made of porcelain, but of porcelain enamel on a metal base, usually of cast iron. Porcelain enamel is a marketing term used in the US, and is not porcelain but vitreous enamel.[55]
Manufacturers

Europe
Austria
Vienna Porcelain Manufactory, 1718–1864
Vienna Porcelain Manufactory Augarten, 1923 - present
Czech Republic
Haas & Czjzek, Horní Slavkov, (1792–2011)
Thun 1794, Klášterec nad Ohří, (1794–present)
Český porcelán a.s., Dubí, Eichwelder Porzellan und Ofenfabriken Bloch & Co. Böhmen, (1864–present)
Rudolf Kämpf, Nové Sedlo (Sokolov District), (1907–present)
Denmark
Aluminia
Bing & Grøndahl
Danmark porcelain
P. Ipsens Enke
Kastrup Vaerk
Kronjyden
Porcelænshaven
Royal Copenhagen (1775–present)
Finland
Arabia
France
Rouen porcelain, (1673–1696), faience
Nevers porcelain, (1600–1789), faience
Saint-Cloud porcelain, (1693–1766)
Strasbourg faience, (1721–1784)
Chantilly porcelain, (1730–1800)
Vincennes porcelain, (1740–1756)
Mennecy-Villeroy porcelain, (1745–1765)
Sèvres porcelain, (1756–present)
Revol porcelain, (1789–present)
Limoges porcelain
Haviland porcelain
Germany
Current porcelain manufacturers in Germany
Hungary
Hollóháza Porcelain Manufactory, (1777-present)
Herend Porcelain Manufacture, (1826–present)
Zsolnay Porcelain Manufacture, (1853–present)
Italy
Richard-Ginori 1735 Manifattura di Doccia, (1735–present)[56]
Capodimonte porcelain, (1743–1759)
Naples porcelain, 1771-1806
Manifattura Italiana Porcellane Artistiche Fabris, (1922–1972)
Mangani SRL, Porcellane d'Arte (Florence)
Lithuania

Netherlands
Boerenbont
Gouda
Koninklijke Porcelyne Fles
Loodsrechts Porselein
Regina
Royal Tichelaar
Weesp Porselein
Norway
Egersund porcelain
Figgjo (1941–present)
Herrebøe porcelain
Porsgrund
Stavangerflint
Poland
Polskie Fabryki Porcelany “Ćmielów” i "Chodzież" S.A.[57]
Kristoff Porcelana[58]
Lubiana S.A.[59]
Portugal
Vista Alegre
Sociedade Porcelanas de Alcobaça
Costa Verde (company), located in the district of Aveiro
Russia
Imperial Porcelain Factory, Saint Petersburg (1744-present)
Verbilki Porcelain (1766–present), Verbilki near Taldom
Gzhel ceramics (1802-present), Gzhel
Dulevo Farfor (1832–present), Likino-Dulyovo
Spain
Buen Retiro Royal Porcelain Factory (1760–1812)
Real Fábrica de Sargadelos (1808-Present, intermitently)
Switzerland
Suisse Langenthal
Sweden
Rörstrand
Gustavsberg porcelain
Gefle porcelain
Göteborgs porcelain
Hackefors porcelain
Karlskrona porcelain
Lidköpings porcelain
Mariebergs porcelain
Stralsunds porcelain
Upsala-Ekeby AB
United Kingdom
Aynsley China, (1775–present)
Belleek, (1884–present)
Bow porcelain factory, (1747-1776)
Caughley porcelain
Chelsea porcelain factory, (c. 1745, merged with Derby in 1770)
Coalport porcelain
Davenport
Goss crested china
Liverpool porcelain
Longton Hall porcelain
Lowestoft Porcelain Factory
Mintons Ltd, (1793–1968, merged with Royal Doulton)
Nantgarw Pottery
New Hall porcelain
Plymouth Porcelain
Rockingham Pottery
Royal Crown Derby, (1750/57–present)
Royal Doulton, (1815–2009 acquired by Fiskars)
Royal Worcester, (1751–2008 acquired by Portmeirion Pottery)
Spode, (1767–2008 acquired by Portmeirion Pottery)
Saint James's Factory (or "Girl-in-a-Swing", 1750s)
Swansea porcelain
Vauxhall porcelain
Wedgwood, (factory 1759–present, porcelain 1812-1829, and modern. Acquired by Fiskars)
Brazil
Germer Porcelanas Finas
pt:Porcelana Schmidt
Iran
Maghsoud Factories Group, (1993–present)[60]
Zarin Iran porcelain Industries, (1881–present)[61]
Japan
Hirado ware
Kakiemon
Nabeshima ware
Narumi
Noritake
Taiwan
Franz Collection
Malaysia
Royal Selangor
South Korea
Haengnam Chinaware
Hankook Chinaware
Sri Lanka
Dankotuwa Porcelain
Noritake Lanka Porcelain
Royal Fernwood Porcelain
Turkey
Yildiz Porselen (1890- 1936 / 1994–present)
Kütahya Porselen (1970–present)
Güral Porselen (1989–present)
Porland Porselen (1976–present)
Istanbul Porselen (1963- early 1990's)
Sümerbank Porselen (1957-1994)
United Arab Emirates
RAK Porcelain
United States
Blue Ridge
CoorsTek, Inc.
Franciscan
Lenox
Lotus Ware
Pickard China
Vietnam
Minh Long I porcelain, (1970–present)[62]

See also
Blue and white porcelain (Qinghua, 青花)
Lithophane
Sea pottery
Faience
Notes

Battie, David, ed., Sotheby's Concise Encyclopedia of Porcelain, 1990, Conran Octopus. ISBN1850292515
Le Corbellier, Clare, , 1985, Metropolitan Museum of Art, (fully available online as PDF)
Smith, Lawrence, Harris, Victor and Clark, Timothy, Japanese Art: Masterpieces in the British Museum, 1990, British Museum Publications, ISBN0714114464
Vainker, S.J., Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, 1991, British Museum Press, 9780714114705
Watson, William ed., The Great Japan Exhibition: Art of the Edo Period 1600–1868, 1981, Royal Academy of Arts/Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Further reading
Combined Nomenclature of the European Communities– EC Commission in Luxembourg, 1987 .
Burton, William (1906). . Batsford, London

Valenstein, S. (1998). , Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. ISBN978-0-87099-514-9


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Tajikistan harkens to the Samanid Empire (875–999). The Tajik people came under Russian rule in the 1860s. The Basmachi revolt broke out in the wake of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and was quelled in the early 1920s during the Russian Civil War. In 1924 Tajikistan became an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union, the Tajik ASSR, within Uzbekistan. In 1929 Tajikistan was made one of the component republics of the Soviet Union – Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (Tajik SSR) – and it kept that status until gaining independence 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.[1]
It has since experienced three changes in government and the Tajik civil war. A peace agreement among rival factions was signed in 1997.
Antiquity (600 BC – 651 AD)

Tajikistan was part of Scythia in Classical Antiquity. Sogdiana, Bactria, Merv and Khorezm were the four principal divisions of Ancient Central Asia inhabited by the ancestors of the present-day Tajikistani Tajiks. Tajiks are now found only in historic Bactria and Sogdiana. Merv is inhabited by the Turkoman and Khorezm by Uzbeks and Kazakhs. Sogdiana was made up of the Zeravshan and Kashka-Darya river valleys. Currently, two of the surviving peoples of Sogdiana who speak a dialect of the Sogdian language are the Yaghnobis and Shugnanis.
Tajikistan was part of the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex in the Bronze Age, candidate for Proto-Indo-Iranian or Proto-Iranian culture. Bactria was located in northern Afghanistan (present-day Afghan Turkestan) between the mountain range of the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya (Oxus) River and some areas of current south Tajikistan. During different periods, Bactria was a center of various Kingdoms or Empires, and is probably where Zoroastrianism originated. The "Avesta"—the holy book of Zoroastrianism—was written in the old-Bactrian dialect; it is also thought that Zoroaster was most likely born in Bactria.
Some authors have also suggested that in the 7th and 6th century BCE parts of modern Tajikistan, including territories in the Zeravshan valley, formed part of Kambojas, which were referenced in the Mahabharata epic as the Parama Kamboja, before it became part of the Achaemenid Empire.[2]Linguistic evidence, combined with ancient literary and inscriptional evidence suggest the Kambojas originally emigrated from Central Asia.[3]
Achaemenid Period (550 BC – 329 BC)

During the Achaemenid period, Sogdiana and Bactria were part of the Persian empire. Sogdians and Bactrians occupied important positions in the administration and military of the Achaemenid Empire
Hellenistic Period (329 BC – 90 BC)

After the Persian Empire was defeated by Alexander the Great, Bactria, Sogdiana and Merv, being part of Persian Empire, had to defend themselves from new invaders. In fact, the Macedonians faced very stiff resistance under the leadership of Sogdian ruler Spitamenes. Alexander the Great managed to marry Roxana, the daughter of a local ruler, and inherited his land. Following Alexander's brief occupation, the Hellenistic successor states of the Seleucids and Greco-Bactrians controlled the area for another 200 years in what is known as the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. During the time period from 90 BC to 30 BC, Yuezhi destroyed the last Hellenistic successor states and, together with the Tokhari, (to whom they were closely related) created a Kushan Empire around 30 AD.
Kushan Empire (30 BC – 410 AD)

For another 400 years, until 410 AD, the Kushan Empire was a major power in the region along with the Roman Empire, the Parthian Empire and the Han Empire (China). Notable contact was made with local peoples when the envoys of the Han Dynasty journeyed to this area in the 2nd century BC. At the end of the Kushan period, the Empire became much smaller and would have to defend itself from the powerful Sassanid Empire that replaced the Parthian Empire. The famous Kushan king Kanishka promoted Buddhism and during this time Buddhism was exported from Central Asia to China.
The Sassanids, Hephthalites, and Gokturks (224–710)

The Sassanids once controlled much of what is now Tajikistan, but lost the territory to the Hephthalites (possibly also of Iranian descent) during the time of Peroz I.
They created a powerful empire that succeeded in making Iran a tributary state around 483–485. Shah of Persia Peroz fought three wars with Hephthalites. During the first war he was captured by Hephthalite army and later was released after Byzantine emperor paid a ransom for him. During the second war Peroz was captured again and was released after paying a huge contribution to the Hephthalite king. During the third war Peroz was killed. The Hephthalites were subjugated in 565 by a combination of Sassanid and Kök-Turk forces. Subsequently, present Tajikistan was ruled by Göktürks and Sassanids, however when the Sassanid Empire fell the Turks kept control of Tajikistan but they later lost it to the Chinese people, however, they later managed to take control of Tajikistan once again, only to lose it to the Arabs in 710.
Medieval history (710–1506)
Arab Caliphate (710–867)

The Transoxiana principalities never formed a viable confederacy. Beginning in 651, the Arabs organized periodic marauding raids deep into the territory of Transoxania, but it was not until the appointment of Ibn Qutaiba as Governor of Khorasan in 705, during the reign of Walid I, that the Caliphate adopted the policy of annexing the lands beyond the Oxus. In 715, the task of annexation was accomplished. The entire region thus came under the control of the Caliph and of Islam, but the Arabs continued to rule through local Soghdian Kings and dihqans. The ascension of the Abbasids to rule the Caliphate (750 - 1258) opened a new era in the history of Central Asia. While their predecessors the Umayyads (661 - 750) were little more than leaders of a loose confederation of Arab tribes, the Abbasids set out to build a huge multi-ethnic centralized state that would emulate and perfect the Sassanian government machine. They gave the Near East and Transoxiana a unity, which they had been lacking since the time of Alexander the Great.
Samanid Empire (819–999)

The Samanid dynasty ruled (819–1005) in Khorasan (including Eastern Iran and Transoxiana) and was founded by Saman Khuda. The Samanids were one of the first purely indigenous dynasties to rule in Persia after the Muslim Arab conquest. During the reign (892–907) of Saman Khuda's great-grandson, Ismail I (known as Ismail Samani), Samanids expanded in Khorasan. In 900, Ismail defeated the Saffarids in Khorasan (area of current Northwest Afghanistan and northeastern Iran), while his brother was the governor of Transoxiana. Thus, Samanid rule was acclaimed over the combined regions. The cities of Bukhara (the Samanid capital) and Samarkand became centres of art, science, and literature; industries included pottery making and bronze casting. After 950, Samanid power weakened, but was briefly revitalized under Nuh II, who ruled from 976 to 997. However, with the oncoming encroachment of Muslim Turks, the Samanids lost their domains south of the Oxus river which were taken by Ghaznavids.  In 999, Bukhara was taken by the Qarakhanids.  The Samanid Isma'il Muntasir (died 1005) tried to restore the dynasty (1000–1005), until he was assassinated by an Arab bedouin chieftain.[4]
The attack of the Qarakhanid Turks ended the Samanid dynasty in 999 and dominance in Transoxiana passed on to Turkic rulers.
Qarakhanids (999–1211) and Khwarezmshahs (1211–1218)
After the collapse of Samanid Dynasty, Central Asia became the battleground of many Asian invaders who came from the north-east.
Mongol rule (1218–1370)
The Mongol Empire swept through Central Asia, invaded Khwarezmian Empire and sacked the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand, looting and massacring people everywhere.
Timurid Empire (1370–1506)
Timur, founder of the Timurid Empire, was born on 8 April 1336 in Kesh near Samarkand. He was a member of the Turkicized Barlas tribe, a Mongol subgroup that had settled in Transoxiana after taking part in Genghis Khan's son Chagatai's campaigns in that region. Timur began his life as a bandit leader. During this period, he received an arrow-wound in the leg, as a result of which he was nicknamed Timur-e Lang (in Dari) or Timur the Lame. Although the last Timurid ruler of Herat, Badi az Zaman finally fell to the armies of the Uzbek Muhammad Shaibani Khan in 1506, the Timurid ruler of Ferghana, Zahir-ud-Din Babur, survived the collapse of the dynasty and re-established the Timurid dynasty in India in 1526 where they became known as the Mughals.
Early modern history (1506–1868)
Turkic rule (1506–1598)
The Shaybanid state was divided into appanages between all male members (sultans) of the dynasty, who would designate the supreme ruler (Khan), the oldest member of clan. The seat of Khan was first Samarkand, the capital of the Timurids, but some of the Khans preferred to remain in their former appanages. Thus Bukhara became the seat of the khan for the first time under Ubaid Allah Khan (r. 1533–1539).
The period of political expansion and economical prosperity was short-lived. Soon after the death of Abd Allah Khan the Shaibanid dynasty died out and was replaced by the Janid or Astrakhanid (Ashtarkhanid) dynasty, another branch of the descendants of Jöchi, whose founder Jani Khan was related to Abd Allah Khan Through his marriage to Abdullah Khan's Sister. The Astrakhanids are also said to be connected to The Hashemites Due to Imam Quli Khan's status as a Sayyid. Their Descendents today live in India. In 1709, eastern part of Khanate of Bukhara seceded and formed Khanate of Kokand. Thus, eastern part of present Tajikistan passed to Khanate of Kokand, while western one remained part of Khanate of Bukhara.
Persian and Bukharan rule (1740–1868)
In 1740, the Janid khanate was conquered by Nader Shah, the Afsharid ruler of Persia. The Janid khan Abu al Faiz retained his throne, becoming Nadir's vassal.
After the death of Nader Shah in 1747, the chief of the Manghit tribe, Muhammad Rahim Biy Azaliq, overcame his rivals from other tribes and consolidated his rule in the Khanate of Bukhara. His successor, however, ruled in the name of puppet khans of Janid origin. In 1785 Shah Murad formalized the family's dynastic rule (Manghit dynasty), and the khanate became the Emirate of Bukhara [5]
Modern History (1868—1991)
Russian Vassalage (1868–1920)

Russian Imperialism led to the Russian Empire's conquest of Central Asia during the late 19th century's Imperial Era.  Between 1864 and 1885 Russia gradually took control of the entire territory of Russian Turkestan, the Tajikistan portion of which had been controlled by the Emirate of Bukhara and Khanate of Kokand ( from today's border with Kazakhstan in the north to the Caspian Sea in the west and the border with Afghanistan in the south). Tashkent was conquered in 1865 and in 1867 the Turkestan Governor-Generalship was created with Konstantin Petrovich Von Kaufman as the first Governor-General.[1][6]

The expansion was motivated by Russia's economic interests and was connected with the American Civil War in the early 1860s, which severely interrupted the supply of cotton fiber to the Russian industry and forced Russia to turn to Central Asia as an alternative source of cotton supply as well as a market for Russian made goods. The Russian regime in the 1870s attempted to switch cultivation in the region from grain to cotton (a strategy later copied and expanded by the Soviets).[7] By 1885 Tajikistan's territory was either ruled by the Russian Empire or its vassal state, the Emirate of Bukhara, nevertheless Tajiks felt little Russian influence.[7]
Russian Empire, being a much bigger state with a huge population and having an advanced military, had little difficulty in conquering the regions inhabited by Tajiks, meeting fierce resistance only at Jizzakh, Ura-Tyube, and when their garrison in Samarkand was besieged in 1868 by forces from Shahr-e Sabz and the inhabitants of the city. The army of the Emirate of Bukhara was utterly defeated in three battles, and on 18 June 1868 Emir Mozaffar al-Din (r. 1860–1885) signed a peace treaty with the Governor-General of Russian Turkestan Von Kaufman. Samarkand and the Upper Zeravshan were annexed by Russia and the country was opened to Russian merchants. The emir retained his throne as a vassal of Russia and with Russian help he established control over Shahr-e Sabz, the mountainous regions in the upper Zeravshan Valley(1870) and the principalities of the western Pamir (1895).
During the late 19th century the Jadidists established themselves as an Islamic social movement throughout the region. Although the Jadidists were pro-modernization and not necessarily anti-Russian the Russians viewed the movement as a threat.[8] Russian troops were required to restore order during uprisings against the Khanate of Kokand between 1910 and 1913. Further violence occurred in July 1916 when demonstrators attacked Russian soldiers in Khujand over the threat of forced conscription during World War I. Despite Russian troops quickly bringing Khujand back under control, clashes continued throughout the year in various locations in Tajikistan.[7]
At the end of August 1920 the last emir, Sayyid Alim Khan, was overthrown by Soviet troops. On 6 October 1920 the emirate was abolished and the Bukharan People's Soviet Republic was proclaimed.
Basmachi movement (1916-1924)

The Basmachi movement or Basmachi Revolt was an uprising against Russian Imperial and Soviet rule that arose after the Russian Revolution of 1917 guerrillas throughout Central Asia.
The movement's roots lay in the anti-conscription violence of 1916 that erupted when the Russian Empire began to draft Muslims for army service during World War I.[9] In the months following the October 1917 Revolution the Bolsheviks seized power in many parts of the Russian Empire and the Russian Civil War began. Turkestani Muslim political movements attempted to form an autonomous government in the city of Kokand, in the Ferghana Valley. The Bolsheviks launched an assault on Kokand in February 1918 and carried out a general massacre of up to 25,000 people.[10][11] The massacre rallied support to the Basmachi movements who waged  a guerrilla war and a conventional war that seized control of large parts of the Ferghana Valley and much of Turkestan.
The fortunes of the decentralized movement fluctuated throughout the early 1920s but by 1923 the Red Army's extensive campaigns dealt the Basmachis many defeats. After major Red Army campaigns and concessions regarding economic and Islamic practices in the mid-1920s, the military fortunes and popular support of the Basmachi declined.[12] Resistance to Soviet/Russian rule did flare up again to a lesser extent in response to collectivization campaigns in the pre-WWII Era.[13]
A consequence of the conflict and Soviet agriculture policies was that Central Asia suffered a famine that claimed many lives.[14]
Soviet Rule (1920–1991)

In 1924, the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created as a part of Uzbekistan, but when national borders were drawn in 1928 (during the administrative delimitation) the ancient Tajik cities of Bukhara and Samarkand were placed outside the Tajikistan SSR. As citizens of the newly established Uzbek SSR, many Tajiks came under pressure to conform to their newly ascribed "Uzbek" identity, and under threat of exile, many were forced to change their identity and sign in passports as "Uzbeks".  Tajik schools were closed and Tajiks were not appointed to leadership positions simply because of their ethnicity.
Between 1927 and 1934 collectivization of agriculture and a rapid expansion of cotton production took place, especially in the southern region.[15] Soviet collectivization policy brought violence against peasants and forced resettlement occurred throughout Tajikistan. Consequently, some peasants fought collectivization and revived the Basmachi movement. Some small scale industrial development also occurred during this time along with the expansion of irrigation infrastructure.[15]
Two rounds of Soviet purges directed by Moscow (1927–1934 and 1937–1938) resulted in the expulsion of nearly 10,000 people, from all levels of the Communist Party of Tajikistan.[16] Ethnic Russians were sent in to replace those expelled and subsequently Russians dominated party positions at all levels, including the top position of first secretary.[16] Between 1926 and 1959 the proportion of Russians among Tajikistan's population grew from less than 1% to 13%.[17] Bobojon Ghafurov, Tajikistan's First Secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikistan from 1946–1956 was the only Tajikistani politician of significance outside the country during the Soviet Era.[11] He was followed in office by Tursun Uljabayev (1956–61), Jabbor Rasulov (1961–1982), and Rahmon Nabiyev (1982–1985, 1991–1992).
Tajiks began to be conscripted into the Soviet Army in 1939 and during World War II around 260,000 Tajik citizens fought against Germany, Finland and Japan. Between 60,000(4%)[18] and 120,000(8%)[19] of Tajikistan's 1,530,000 citizens were killed during World War II.[20] Following the war and Stalin's reign attempts were made to further expand the agriculture and industry of Tajikistan.[11] During 1957–58 Nikita Khrushchev's Virgin Lands Campaign focused attention on Tajikistan, where living conditions, education and industry lagged behind the other Soviet Republics.[11]
In the 1980s, Tajikistan had the lowest household saving rate in the USSR,[21] the lowest percentage of households in the two top per capita income groups,[22] and the lowest rate of university graduates per 1000 people.[23]

Living standards were undermined during the tenure of Kahar Mahkamov as first secretary of the Communist Party of Tajikistan from 1985. Mahkamov's attempted marketisation of the Tajik economy aggravated the poor living conditions and unemployment. On the eve of the Soviet collapse Tajikistan was suffering from a declining economy and dim prospects for recovery. The glasnost policy of openness initiated by Mikhil Gorbachev offered disgruntled Tajiks a chance to voice their grievances. In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed, and Tajikistan declared its independence.
Republic of Tajikistan (1991 to present)

The Tajikistan Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) was among the last republics of the Soviet Union to declare its independence. On September 9 (1991), following the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Tajikistan declared its independence. During this time, use of the Tajik language, an official language of the Tajikistan SSR next to Russian, was increasingly promoted. Ethnic Russians, who had held many governing posts, lost much of their influence and more Tajiks became politically active.
The nation almost immediately fell into a civil war that involved various factions fighting one another; these factions were often distinguished by clan loyalties.  The non-Muslim population, particularly Russians and Jews, fled the country during this time because of persecution, increased poverty and better economic opportunities in the West or in other former Soviet republics.
Emomalii Rahmon came to power in 1994, and continues to rule to this day. Ethnic cleansing was controversial during the civil war in Tajikistan. By the end of the war Tajikistan was in a state of complete devastation. The estimated dead numbered over 100,000. Around 1.2 million people were refugees inside and outside the country.[24] In 1997, a ceasefire was reached between Rahmon and opposition parties (United Tajik Opposition).
Peaceful elections were held in 1999, but they were reported by the opposition as unfair, and Rahmon was re-elected by almost unanimous vote. Russian troops were stationed in southern Tajikistan, in order to guard the border with Afghanistan, until summer 2005. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, American, Indian and French troops have also been stationed in the country.
See also
Guzel Maitdinova
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
History of Central Asia
Politics of Tajikistan
Soviet Central Asia

Footnotes

Sources and further reading

Asimov, M.S. Tadzhikskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika(The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic). (Dushanbe: Akademiya Nauk Tadzhikskoy SSR) 1974.
Barthold, V.V. Работы по Исторической Географии (Moscow) 2002.
Barthold, V.V. Turkestan Down to the Mongol Invasion (London: Luzacs & Co) 1968.
Becker, Seymour. Russia’s Protectorates in Central Asia: Bukhara and Khiva, 1865-1924  (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press) 1968.
Burton, Audrey. The Bukharans: A Dynastic, Diplomatic and Commercial History, 1550-1702 (London: Curzon Press) 1997.
Carrère D’Encausse, Hélène. Islam and the Russian Empire: Reform and Revolution in Central Asia (London: I.B. Tauris) 1988.
Christian, David.  A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia (Oxford: Blackwell) 1998.
Hiro, Dilip. Between Marx and Muhammad (London:HarperCollins) 1995.
Kapur, Harish.  Soviet Russia and Asia, 1917–1927, a study of Soviet policy towards Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan (London: Joseph for the Geneva Graduate Institute of International Studies) 1966.
Luknitsky, Pavel. Soviet Tajikistan (Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House) 1954.
Masov, Rahim. The History of a National Catastrophe (Minneapolis) 1996. Available on-line
Pipes, Richard. The Formation of the Soviet Union, Communism and Nationalism 1917-1923 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press) 1964.
Rashid, Ahmed. Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia (Hyderabad: Orient Longman) 2002.
Rawlinson, H.G.  Bactria: The History of a Forgotten Empire (New Delhi: Asian Educational Services) 2002.
Wheeler, Geoffrey. The Modern History of Soviet Central Asia (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson) 1964.
Soucek, Svat.  A History of Inner Asia (Cambridge University Press) 2000.
Zenkovsky, Serge A. Pan-Turkism & Islam in Russia (Harvard University Press) 1960.


Kim's Convenience may refer to:
Kim's Convenience (play), a 2011 play by Ins Choi
Kim's Convenience (TV series), a 2016 Canadian sitcom based on the play


Coordinates:

The Battle of Bloody Ridge was a ground combat battle that took place during the Korean War from August 18 to September 5, 1951.
Located in hills north of the 38th parallel north in the central Korean mountain range, the battle was fought between the communist North Korean forces of the Korean People's Army (KPA) and capitalist United Nations forces consisting of Republic of Korea Army (ROK) units and the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division.
Background
By the summer of 1951, the Korean War had reached a stalemate as peace negotiations began at Kaesong. The opposing armies faced each other across a line which ran (with many twists and turns along the way) from east to west, through the middle of the Korean peninsula, a few miles north of the 38th parallel. UN and NK/PRC forces jockeyed for position along this line, clashing in several relatively small but intense and bloody battles.
Bloody Ridge began as an attempt by UN forces to seize a ridge of hills which they believed were being used as observation posts to call in artillery fire on a UN supply road.
Battle
The 36th ROK Regiment made the initial attack. It succeeded in capturing most, but not all, of the ridge after a week of fierce fighting that at times was hand to hand. It was a short-lived triumph, for the following day the North Koreans recaptured the mountain in a fierce counterattack.
The next UN assault was made by the 9th Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Division. The battle raged for ten days, as the North Koreans repulsed one assault after another by the increasingly exhausted and depleted U.S. forces. After repeatedly being driven back, the 9th succeeded in capturing one of the hill objectives after two days of heavy fighting. The weather then turned to almost constant rain, greatly slowing the attacks and making operations almost impossible because of the difficulty in bringing supplies through "rivers of mud" and up steep, slippery slopes.
Fighting continued, however, and casualties mounted.  The 2nd Division's 23rd Infantry Regiment joined the attack on the main ridge while the division's other infantry regiment, the 38th Infantry Regiment, occupied positions immediately behind the main ridge which threatened to cut off any North Korean retreat. The combination of frontal attacks, flanking movements and incessant bombardment by artillery, tanks and airstrikes ultimately decided the battle. Over 14,000 artillery rounds were fired in a 24-hour period. Finally, on September 5, the North Koreans abandoned the ridge after UN forces succeeded in outflanking it.
After withdrawing from Bloody Ridge, the North Koreans set up new positions just 1,500 yards (1,400m) away on a seven-mile (11km) long (11km) hill mass that was soon to earn the name Heartbreak Ridge.
Aftermath
The American soldiers called the piece of terrain they had taken "Bloody Ridge", which indeed it was: 2,700 UN and perhaps as many as 15,000 NK and PRC military members were casualties, almost all of them killed or wounded with few prisoners being taken by either side.  The much higher NK and PRC casualties were probably caused by:
Discipline in the KPA was poor, and constraining orders so strict to the point where subordinate leaders were often not allowed to withdraw under any conditions, in which case the entire unit would be blooded. Even when permission was granted for a withdrawal, it often came only after the large majority of troops in the unit had been killed.
In most battles, UN forces had an overwhelming advantage in artillery and air support; indeed, the North Korean and Chinese forces had no air support.  An enormously destructive "rain of fire" could be brought by UN units against North Korean and Chinese forces which they could not answer in kind.

Blair, Clay (1987). The Forgotten War. New York: Times Books. ISBN5-550-68614-7.
T. R. Fehrenbach (1964). This Kind of War: The Classic Korean War History. New York: Macmillan. ISBN0-02-881113-5.
(2002). Spencer C. Tucker (Ed.), Encyclopedia of the Korean War: A Political, Social, and Military History. New York: Checkmark Books. ISBN0-8160-4682-4.

: Heartbreak Ridge, Mungdung-ni Valley and Hill 1179
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