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Jewish scriptures

Posted May 30th, 2012 at 01:34am

Jewish scriptures

King Solomon is one of the central Biblical figures in Jewish heritage that have lasting religious, national and political aspects. As the constructor of theFirst Temple in Jerusalem and last ruler of the united Kingdom of Israel before its division into the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah, Sony VAIO VPCS11V9E/B Battery

Solomon is associated with the peak "golden age" of the independent Kingdom of Israel as well as a source of judicial and religious wisdom. According to Jewish tradition, King Solomon wrote three books of the Bible:

Mishlei (Book of Proverbs), a collection of fables and wisdom of lifeSony VAIO VPCS11X9E/B Battery

Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), a book of contemplation and his self reflection.
Shir ha-Shirim (Song of Songs), a chronicle of erotic love (there are contrasting opinions whether its subject is a woman or Yahweh).

The Hebrew word "To Solomon" (which can also be translated as "by Solomon") appears in the title of two hymns in the book of Psalms (Tehillim), Sony VAIO VPCS123FGB Battery suggesting to some that Solomon wrote them.

Judaism

King Solomon sinned by acquiring too many wives and horses because he thought he knew the reason for the Biblical prohibition and thought it did not apply to him. Sony VAIO VPCS125EC Battery

When King Solomon married the daughter of the Egyptian Pharaoh, a sandbank formed which eventually formed the "great nation of Rome" - the nation that destroyed the Second Temple (Herod's Temple). Solomon gradually lost more and more prestige until he became like a commoner. Some say he regained his status while others say he did not.^[17] Sony VAIO VPCS128EC Battery

Christianity

Christianity has traditionally accepted the historical existence of Solomon, though some modern Christian scholars have also questioned at least his authorship of those biblical texts ascribed to him. Sony VAIO VPCS129GC Battery

Such disputes tend to divide Christians into traditionalist and modernist camps.

Of the two genealogies of Jesus given in the Gospels, Matthew mentions Solomon, but Luke does not. Some commentators see this as an issue that can be reconciled while others disagree. Sony VAIO VPCS12C7E/B Battery

For instance, it has been suggested that Luke is using Mary's genealogy and Matthew is using Joseph's, but Darrell Bock states that this would be unprecedented, "especially when no other single woman appears in the line". Other suggestions include the use by one of the royal and the other of the natural line, one using the legal line and the other the physical line, Sony VAIO VPCS12L9E/B Battery

or that Joseph was adopted^[36], mentions Solomon's construction of the Temple (Acts 7:47).

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Solomon is commemorated as a saint, with the title of "Righteous Prophet and King". His feast day is celebrated on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (two Sundays before the Great Feast of the Nativity of the Lord). Sony VAIO VPCS12V9E/B Battery

The staunchly Catholic King Philip II of Spain sought to model himself after King Solomon. Statues of King David and Solomon stand on either side of the entrance to the basilica of El Escorial, Philip's palace, and Solomon is also depicted in a great fresco at the center of El Escorial's library. Sony VAIO VPCY115FGS Battery

Philip identified the warrior-king David with his own father Charles V, and himself sought to emulate the thoughtful and logical character which he perceived in Solomon. Moreover, Escorial's structure was inspired by that of Solomon's Temple.^[37]

Islam

Solomon also appears in the Qur'an, where he is called in Arabic, Sony VAIO VPCY115FX/BI Battery

which is transliterated in English as Sulayman, Suleiman, Sulaimaan etc. The Qur'an refers to Sulayman as the son of David (Arabic: Dawud, Dawood, or Dawoud), a prophet and a great ruler with tremendous wisdom, favor, and special powers (like his father). Sony VAIO VPCY115FXBI Battery

Sulayman ruled not only people, but also hosts of Jinn, understood the language of the birds and ants, and was some of the hidden glory in the world that was not accessible to most other human beings. He ruled a large kingdom that extended south into Yemen, via the queen of Sheba who accepted Solomon's prophethood and religion. Sony VAIO VPCY118EC Battery

He was famed throughout the lands for his wisdom. The Qur'an denies that Solomon ever turned away from Allah.

And they followed what the Shayatin (devils) chanted of sorcery in the reign of Sulaiman, and Sulaiman was not an unbeliever,Sony VAIO VPCY118GX/BI Battery

but the Shayatin (devils) disbelieved, they teach people sorcery and such things that came down to the two angels at Babel, Harut and Marut, yet they (the two Angels) taught no person until they had said to them, "Surely, we are only a trial, therefore do not be a disbeliever. Sony VAIO VPCY119FJ/S Battery

" So they learn from them (the two Angels) that by which they might cause a separation between a man and his wife; and they cannot hurt with it any one except with Allah's permission, and they learned what harmed them and did not profit them, and certainly they know that he who bought it should have no share of good in the hereafter and evil was the price for which they sold their souls, had they but known this. Sony VAIO VPCY11AFJ Battery

Solomon was also given control over various things, such as the wind, and transportation:

And to Solomon (We subjected) the wind, its morning (stride from sunrise till midnoon) was a month's (journey), and its afternoon (stride from the midday decline of the sun to sunset) was a month's (journey i. e. in one day he could travel two months' journey).Sony VAIO VPCY11AGJ Battery

And We caused a fount of (molten) brass to flow for him, and there were jinn that worked in front of him, by the Leave of his Lord, And whosoever of them turned aside from Our Command, We shall cause him to taste of the torment of the blazing Fire.

And before Sulayman were marshaled his hosts, of Jinns and men and birds, and they were all kept in order and ranks. Sony VAIO VPCY11AHJ Battery

And Solomon, accordingly grateful of Allah, says:

"O ye people! We have been taught the speech of birds, and on us has been bestowed from everything: this is indeed the Grace manifest (from God). "

According to Muslim tradition, when Solomon died he was standing watching the work of his Jinn, while leaning on his cane. Sony VAIO VPCY11AVJ Battery

There he silently died, but did not fall. He remained in this position, and the Jinn, thinking he was still alive watching them work, kept working. But termites were eating the cane, the body fell after 40 days. Thereafter, the Jinn and all humans wished they could know more than Allah had allotted them to know: Sony VAIO VPCY11M1E/S Battery

Then, when We decreed (Solomon's) death, nothing showed them his death except a little worm of the earth, which kept (slowly) gnawing away at his staff: so when he fell down, the Jinns saw plainly that if they had known the unseen, they would not have tarried in the humiliating Penalty (of their Task). Sony VAIO VPCY11S1E Battery

One Thousand and One Nights

A well-known story in the collection One Thousand and One Nights describes a genie who had displeased King Solomon and was punished by being locked in a bottle and thrown into the sea. Since the bottle was sealed with Solomon's seal, the genie was helpless to free himself, until freed many centuries later by a fisherman who discovered the bottle. Sony VAIO VPCY11V9E/S Battery

In other stories which are found in One Thousand and One Nights, protagonists who had to leave their homeland and travel to the unknown places of the world saw signs which proved that Solomon had already been there. Sometimes, protagonists discovered Solomon's words which aimed to help those who were lost and unluckily reached those forbidden and deserted places. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/BI Battery

Angels and magic

According to the Rabbinical literature, on account of his modest request for wisdom only, Solomon was rewarded with riches and an unprecedentedly glorious realm, which extended over the upper world inhabited by the angels and over the whole of the terrestrial globe with all its inhabitants, including all the beasts, fowl, and reptiles, as well as the demons and spirits. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/G Battery

His control over the demons, spirits, and animals augmented his splendor, the demons bringing him precious stones, besides water from distant countries to irrigate his exotic plants. The beasts and fowl of their own accord entered the kitchen of Solomon's palace, so that they might be used as food for him, Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/L Battery

and extravagant meals for him were prepared daily by each of his 700 wives and 300 concubines, with the thought that perhaps the king would feast that day in her house.

Seal of Solomon

A magic ring called the "Seal of Solomon" was supposedly given to Solomon and gave him power over demons. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/P Battery

The magical symbol said to have been on the Seal of Solomon which made it work is now better known as the Star of David. Asmodeus, king of demons, was one day, according to the classical Rabbis, captured byBenaiah using the ring, and was forced to remain in Solomon's service. Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/L Battery

In one tale, Asmodeus brought a man with two heads from under the earth to show Solomon; the man, unable to return, married a woman from Jerusalem and had seven sons, six of whom resembled the mother, while one resembled the father in having two heads. After their father's death, the son with two heads claimed two shares of the inheritance, Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/P Battery

arguing that he was two men; Solomon decided that the son with two heads was only one man. The Seal of Solomon, in some legends known as the Ring of Aandaleeb, was a highly sought after symbol of power. In several legends, different groups or individuals attempted to steal it or attain it in some manner. Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/SI Battery

Solomon and Asmodeus

One legend concerning Asmodeus goes on to state that Solomon one day asked Asmodeus what could make demons powerful over man, and Asmodeus asked to be freed and given the ring so that he could demonstrate; Sony VAIO VPCCW2S5C CN1 Battery

Solomon agreed but Asmodeus threw the ring into the sea and it was swallowed by a fish. Asmodeus then swallowed the king, stood up fully with one wing touching heaven and the other earth, and spat out Solomon to a distance of 400 miles. Sony VAIO VPCEA20 Battery

The Rabbis claim this was a divine punishment for Solomon having failed to follow three divine commands, and Solomon was forced to wander from city to city, until he eventually arrived in an Ammonite city where he was forced to work in the king's kitchens. Solomon gained a chance to prepare a meal for the Ammonite king, Sony VAIO VPCEB10 Battery

which the king found so impressive that the previous cook was sacked and Solomon put in his place; the king's daughter, Naamah, subsequently fell in love with Solomon, but the family (thinking Solomon a commoner) disapproved, so the king decided to kill them both by sending them into the desert. Sony VAIO VPCEB11FM Battery

Solomon and the king’s daughter wandered the desert until they reached a coastal city, where they bought a fish to eat, which just happened to be the one which had swallowed the magic ring. Solomon was then able to regain his throne and expel Asmodeus.Sony VAIO VPCEB11FM/BI Battery

(The element of a ring thrown into the sea and found back in a fish's belly later appeared in Herodotus' account of Polycrates, the tyrant of Samos from c. 538 BC to 522 BC).

In another familiar version of the legend of the Seal of Solomon, Asmodeus disguises himself. Sony VAIO VPCEB11FM/T Battery

In some myths, he's disguised as King Solomon himself, while in more frequently heard versions he's disguised as a falcon, calling himself Gavyn (Gavinn or Gavin), one of King Solomon’s trusted friends. The concealed Asmodeus tells travelers who have ventured up to King Solomon's grand lofty palace that the Seal of Solomon was thrown into the sea. Sony VAIO VPCEB11FM/WI Battery

He then convinces them to plunge in and attempt to retrieve it, for if they do they would take the throne as king.

Artifacts

Other magical items attributed to Solomon are his key and his Table. The latter was said to be held in Toledo, Sony VAIO VPCEB11FX Battery

Spain during Visigoth rule and was part of the loot taken by Tarik ibn Ziyad during the Umayyad Conquest of Iberia, according to Ibn Abd-el-Hakem's History of the Conquest of Spain. The former appears in the title of the Lesser Key of Solomon, a grimoire whose framing tale is Solomon capturing demons using his ring, and forcing them to explain themselves to him. Sony VAIO VPCEB11FX/BI Battery

Other forms of legend describe Solomon as having had a flying carpet that was 60 miles square, and could travel so fast that it could get from Damascus toMedina within a day. One day, due to Solomon exhibiting pride, the wind shook the carpet and caused 40,000 men to fall from it; Sony VAIO VPCEB11FX/T Battery

Solomon on being told by the wind why this had happened, felt ashamed. Another day Solomon was flying over an ant-infested valley and overheard an ant warning its fellow ants to hide lest Solomon destroy them; Solomon desired to ask the ant a question, but was told it was not becoming for the interrogator to be above and the interrogated below. Sony VAIO VPCEB11FX/WI Battery

Solomon then lifted the ant above the valley, but the ant said it was not fitting that Solomon should sit on a throne while the ant remained on the ground, so Solomon placed the ant upon his hand, and asked it whether there was any one in the world greater than he. Sony VAIO VPCEB11GX Battery

The ant replied that she was much greater as otherwise Yahweh would not have sent him there to place it upon his hand; this offended Solomon and he threw the ant down reminding it who he was, but the ant told him that it knew Solomon was created from a corrupted drop, causing Solomon to feel ashamed. Sony VAIO VPCEB11GX/BI Battery

Angels

Angels also help out Solomon in building the Temple; though not by choice. The edifice was, according to rabbinical legend, throughout miraculously constructed, the large, heavy stones rising to and settling in their respective places of themselves. Sony VAIO VPCEB11GX/T Battery

The general opinion of the Rabbis is that Solomon hewed the stones by means of a shamir, a mythical worm whose mere touch cleft rocks. According to Midrash Tehillim, the shamir was brought from paradise by Solomon's eagle; but most of the rabbis state that Solomon was informed of the worm's haunts by Asmodeus. Sony VAIO VPCEB11GX/WI Battery

The shamir had been entrusted by the prince of the sea to the mountain cock alone, and the cock had sworn to guard it well, but Solomon's men found the bird's nest, and covered it with glass. When the bird returned, it used the shamir to break the glass, whereupon the men scared the bird, causing it to drop the worm, which the men could then bring to Solomon. Sony VAIO VPCEB12FX Battery

In the Kabbalah

Early adherents of the Kabbalah portray Solomon as having sailed through the air on a throne of light placed on an eagle, which brought him near the heavenly gates as well as to the dark mountains behind which the fallen angels Uzza and Azzazel were chained; Sony VAIO VPCEB12FX/BI Battery

the eagle would rest on the chains, and Solomon, using the magic ring, would compel the two angels to reveal every mystery he desired to know. Solomon is also portrayed as forcing demons to take Solomon's friends, including Hiram, on day return trips to hell. Sony VAIO VPCEB12FX/BIC Battery

The palace without entrance

According to one legend, while traveling magically, Solomon noticed a magnificent palace to which there appeared to be no entrance. He ordered the demons to climb to the roof and see if they could discover any living being within the building but the demons only found an eagle, Sony VAIO VPCEB12FX/T Battery

which said that it was 700 years old, but that it had never seen an entrance. An elder brother of the eagle, 900 years old, was then found, but it also did not know the entrance. The eldest brother of these two birds, which was 1,300 years old, then declared it had been informed by its father that the door was on the west side, Sony VAIO VPCEB14FX Battery

but that it had become hidden by sand drifted by the wind. Having discovered the entrance, Solomon found an idol inside that had in its mouth a silver tablet saying in Greek (a language not thought by modern scholars to have existed 1000 years before the time of Solomon) that the statue was of Shaddad, Sony VAIO VPCEB14FX/BI Battery

the son of 'Ad, and that it hadreigned over a million cities, rode on a million horses, had under it a million vassals and slew a million warriors, yet it could not resist the angel of death.

Throne

Solomon's throne is described at length in Targum Sheni, which is compiled from three different sources, and in two laterMidrash.Sony VAIO VPCEB14FX/T Battery

According to these, there were on the steps of the throne twelve golden lions, each facing a golden eagle. There were six steps to the throne, on which animals, all of gold, were arranged in the following order: on the first step a lion opposite an ox; on the second, a wolf opposite a sheep; on the third, a tiger opposite a camel; Sony VAIO VPCEB14FX/WI Battery

on the fourth, an eagle opposite a peacock, on the fifth, a cat opposite a cock; on the sixth, a sparrow-hawk opposite a dove. On the top of the throne was a dove holding a sparrow-hawk in its claws, symbolizing the dominion of Israel over the Gentiles. Sony VAIO VPCEB15FM Battery

The first midrash claims that six steps were constructed because Solomon foresaw that six kings would sit on the throne, namely, Solomon, Rehoboam, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, and Josiah. There was also on the top of the throne a golden candelabrum, on the seven branches of the one side of which were engraved the names of the seven patriarchs Adam, Sony VAIO VPCEB15FM/BI Battery

Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Job, and on the seven of the other the names of Levi, Kohath, Amram, Moses, Aaron, Eldad, Medad, and, in addition, Hur (another version has Haggai). Above the candelabrum was a golden jar filled with olive-oil and beneath it a golden basin which supplied the jar with oil and on which the names of Nadab, Abihu, Sony VAIO VPCEB15FM/T Battery

and Eli and his two sons were engraved. Over the throne, twenty-four vines were fixed to cast a shadow on the king's head.

By a mechanical contrivance the throne followed Solomon wherever he wished to go. Supposedly, due to another mechanical trick, when the king reached the first step, Sony VAIO VPCEB15FM/WI Battery

the ox stretched forth its leg, on which Solomon leaned, a similar action taking place in the case of the animals on each of the six steps. From the sixth step the eagles raised the king and placed him in his seat, near which a golden serpent lay coiled. When the king was seated the large eagle placed the crown on his head, Sony VAIO VPCEB15FX Battery

the serpent uncoiled itself, and the lions and eagles moved upward to form a shade over him. The dove then descended, took the scroll of the Law from the Ark, and placed it on Solomon's knees. When the king sat, surrounded by the Sanhedrin, to judge the people, the wheels began to turn, and the beasts and fowls began to utter their respective cries, Sony VAIO VPCEB15FX/BI Battery

which frightened those who had intended to bear false testimony. Moreover, while Solomon was ascending the throne, the lions scattered all kinds of fragrant spices. After Solomon's death, Pharaoh Shishak, when taking away the treasures of the Temple (I Kings xiv. 26), Sony VAIO VPCEB15FX/T Battery

carried off the throne, which remained in Egypt till Sennacherib conquered that country. After Sennacherib's fall Hezekiah gained possession of it, but when Josiah was slain by Pharaoh Necho, the latter took it away. However, according to rabbinical accounts,Sony VAIO VPCEB15FX/WI Battery

Necho did not know how the mechanism worked and so accidentally struck himself with one of the lions causing him to become lame; Nebuchadnezzar, into whose possession the throne subsequently came, shared a similar fate. The throne then passed to the Persians, who their king Darius was the first to sit successfully on Solomon's throne since his death, Sony VAIO VPCEB16FX Battery

and after that the throne passed into the possession of the Greeks and Ahasuerus.

Literature

In H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines the protagonists discover multiple settings said to belong to, or having been built at the request of King Solomon, such as 'Solomon's Great Road' and the mines themselves. Sony VAIO VPCEB16FX/B Battery

Also, the two mountains which form the entrance to Kukuana Land (where the mines are located in the novel) are referred to as 'Sheba's Breasts' which could well be an allusion to the Queen of Sheba, who King Solomon had a relationship with, or alternatively Solomon's mother, who was named Bathsheba. Sony VAIO VPCEB16FX/G Battery

When in the mines the characters also contemplate what must have occurred to prevent King Solomon from ever returning to retrieve the massive amounts of diamonds, gold and ivory tusks that were found buried in his great 'Treasure Chamber'. Sony VAIO VPCEB16FX/L Battery

In The Divine Comedy the spirit of Solomon appears to Dante Alighieri in the Heaven of the Sun with other exemplars of inspired wisdom.

In Friedrich Dürrenmatt's Die Physiker, the physicist Möbius claims that Solomon appears to him and dictates the "theory of all possible inventions" (based on Unified Field Theory). Sony VAIO VPCEB16FX/P Battery

Solomon appears in Kipling's Just So Stories.

In Neal Stephenson's three-volume The Baroque Cycle, 17th century alchemists like Isaac Newton believe that Solomon created a kind of "heavier" gold with mystical properties and that it was cached in the Solomon Islands where it was accidentally discovered by the crew of a wayward Spanish galleon. Sony VAIO VPCEB16FX/W Battery

In the third volume of The Baroque Cycle, The System of the World, a mysterious member of the entourage of Czar Peter I of Russia, named "Solomon Kohan" appears in early 18th century London. The czar, traveling incognito to purchase English-made ships for his navy, explains that he added him to his court after the Sack of Azov, Sony VAIO VPCEB17FX Battery

where Kohan had been a guest of the Pasha. Solomon Kohan is later revealed as one of the extremely long-lived "Wise" (like Enoch Root), and compares a courtyard full of inventors' workstations to "an operation I used to have in Jerusalem a long time ago," denominating either facility as "a temple." Sony VAIO VPCEB17FX/B Battery

In Bartimaeus: The Ring of Solomon, both King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba are featured prominently.

Solomon and Marcolf is a medieval tale, or romance, describing the adventures and conversations of Solomon and Marcolf, or Marolf. Sony VAIO VPCEB17FX/G Battery

The adventures have some connection with those of Ashmedai, while the conversations consist chiefly of riddles similar to those put to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba. The exact extent of its indebtedness to the Haggadah is somewhat doubtful, though it is practically certain that the various versions are derived from an Eastern original. Sony VAIO VPCEB17FX/L Battery

The earliest known versions of the tale are two Anglo-Saxon versions in dialog form published under the title "Solomon and Saturnus" by J. N. Kemble in 1848, for the Ælfric Society. ^[1] The tale was popular in Germany, where Marcolf, or Marolf, became a sort of type of the "wise fool." Sony VAIO VPCEB17FX/P Battery

It was first printed under the title Dis buch seit von kunig salomon vnd siner huß frouwen Salome wie sy der künig fore nam vnd wie sy Morolff künig salomon brüder wider brocht in Strasbourg by printer Matthias Hupfuff in 1499, with woodcut illustrations. ^[2] Latin versions of it were often appended to the "Epistolæ Obscurorum Virorum. Sony VAIO VPCEB17FX/W Battery

" BothHans Folz and Hans Sachs made use of the legend. A French version was made by Pierre Mauclerc, Count of Brittany, in the thirteenth century.

In Italian, Julio Cæsare Croce adopted it in his "Bertholdo," another name for Marcolf. This was developed into a book atBologna in 1736. Sony VAIO VPCEB190X Battery

Other versions occur in the Bolognese and Venetian dialects, and in Dutch, Greek, Polish, Icelandic, and Welsh. There are two editions in English, one published by Gerard Leeu (Antwerp, 1492), and another, Sayings or Proverbes of King Solomon, with the Answers of Marcolfus, printed by Richard Pynson in 1530, a version of the French Dictionnaire de Salomon. Sony VAIO VPCEB19FX Battery

The Solomonic column, also called Barley-sugar column, is a helical column, characterized by a spiraling twisting shaft like a corkscrew. It is not signified by a specific capital style and may be crowned with any design, for example, a Roman Doric solomonic, Corinthian solomonic or Ionic solomonic column. Sony VAIO VPCEB19GX Battery

Unlike the classical example of Trajan's Column of ancient Rome, which has a turned shaft decorated with a single continuous helical band of low-reliefs depicting Trajan’s military might in battle, the twisted column is known to be an eastern motif taken into Byzantine architecture and decoration. Sony VAIO VPCEB1AFX Battery

Twist-fluted columns were a feature of some eastern architecture of Late Antiquity.

In the 4th century, Constantine the Great brought a set of columns to Rome and gave them to the original St. Peter's Basilicafor reuse in the high altar and presbytery; Sony VAIO VPCEB1AFX/B Battery

The Donation of Constantine, a painting from Raphael's workshop, shows these columns in their original location. According to tradition, these columns came from the "Temple of Solomon", even though Solomon's temple was the First Temple, built in the 10th century BCE and destroyed in 586 BCE, not the Second Temple, destroyed in 70 CE. Sony VAIO VPCEB1AGX Battery

These columns, now considered to have been made in the 2nd century CE,^[1] became known as "Solomonic". In actuality, the columns probably came from neither temple. Constantine is recorded as having brought them de Grecias i.e., from Greece, and they are archaeologically documented as having been cut from Greek marble.
Sony VAIO VPCEB1AGX/BI Battery

A small number of Roman examples of similar columns are known. All that can firmly be said is that they are early and, because they have no Christian iconography in the carving and their early date (before the construction of elaborate churches), are presumably reused from some non-church building. Sony VAIO VPCEB1BGX Battery

The columns have distinct sections that alternate from ridged to smooth with sculpted grape leaves.

Some of these columns remained on the altar until the old structure of St. Peter's was torn down in the 16th century. Sony VAIO VPCEB1BGX/BI Battery

While removed from the altar, eight of these columns remain part of the structure of St. Peter's. Two columns were placed below thependentives on each of the four piers beneath the dome. Another column can now be observed up close in the St. Peter's Treasury Museum. Other columns from this set of twelve have been lost over the course of time. Sony VAIO VPCEB1CGX Battery

If these columns really were from one of the Temples in Jerusalem, the spiral pattern may have represented the oak tree which was the first Ark of the Covenant, mentioned in Joshua 24:26 . These columns have sections of twist-fluting alternating with wide bands of foliated reliefs. Sony VAIO VPCEB1CGX/BI Battery

From Byzantine examples, the Solomonic column passed to Western Romanesque architecture. InRomanesque architecture some columns also featured spiraling elements twisted round each other like hawser. Such variety adding life to an arcade is combined with Cosmatesque spiralling inlays in the cloister of St. John Lateran. Sony VAIO VPCEB1DGX Battery

These arcades were prominent in Rome and may have influenced the baroque Solomonic column.

In the 16th century Raphael depicted these columns in his tapestry cartoon The Healing of the Lame at the Beautiful Gate(illustration, above right), Sony VAIO VPCEB1DGX/BI Battery

and Anthony Blunt noticed them in Bagnocavallo's Circumcision at the Louvre and in some Roman altars, such as one in Santo Spirito in Sassia, but their full-scale use in actual architecture was rare: Giulio Romano employed a version as half-columns decoratively^[2] superimposed against a wall in the Cortile della Cavallerizza of the Palazzo Ducale, Mantua (1538-39).^[3] Sony VAIO VPCEB1EGX Battery

In Baroque architecture

The Solomonic column was revived as a feature of Baroque architecture. The twisted S-curve shaft gives energy and dynamism to the traditional column form which fits these qualities that are characteristically Baroque. Sony VAIO VPCEB1EGX/BI Battery

Easily the best-known Solomonic columns are the colossal bronze Composite columns by Bernini in his Baldacchino at St. Peter's Basilica. The construction of the baldachin, actually a ciborium, which was finished in 1633, required that the original ones of Constantine be moved. Sony VAIO VPCEB1FGX Battery

During the succeeding century, Solomonic columns were commonly used in altars, furniture, and other parts of design. Sculpted vines were sometimes carved into the spiralling cavetto of the twisting columns, or made of metal, such as gilt bronze. In an ecclesiastical context such ornament may be read as symbolic of the wine used in the Eucharist. Sony VAIO VPCEB1FGX/BI Battery

Peter Paul Rubens employed Solomonic columns in tapestry designs, ca 1626 [2], where he provided a variant of an Ionic capitalfor the columns as Raphael had done, and rusticated and Solomonic columns appear in the architecture of his paintings with such consistency and in such variety that Anthony Blunt thought is would be pointless to give a complete list.^[4] Sony VAIO VPCEB1GGX Battery

The columns became popular in Catholic Europe including southern Germany. The Solomonic column spread to Spain at about the same time as Bernini was making his new columns, and from Spain to Spanish colonies in the Americas, where the salomónica was often used in churches as an indispensable element of the Churrigueresque style. Sony VAIO VPCEB1GGX/BI Battery

The design was most infrequently used in Britain, the south porch of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford, being the only exterior example found by Robert Durman (Durman 2002), and was still rare in English interior design, an example noted by Durman is the funerary monument for Helena, Lady Gorges (died 1635) atSalisbury perhaps the sole use. Sony VAIO VPCEB1HGX Battery

After 1660, such twist-turned columns became a familiar feature in the legs of French, Dutch and English furniture, and on the glazed doors that protected the dials of late 17th- and early 18th-century bracket and longcase clocks. English collectors and dealers sometimes call these twist-turned members "barley sugar twists"Sony VAIO VPCEB1HGX/BI Battery

after the type of sweet traditionally sold in this shape.

The pools consist of three open cisterns, each rectilinear pool with a 6 metres (20 ft) drop to the next, fed from an underground spring. With each pool being over 100 metres (330 ft) long, 65 metres (213 ft) wide and 10 metres (33 ft) deep, Sony VAIO VPCEB1JFX Battery

the total water capacity is approximately 200,000,000 litres (53,000,000 USgal). Consequently the pools have played a significant role in the area's water supply for centuries.

They are named after the Biblical Solomon, stemming from a legend of Solomon using the waters and gardens as in Ecclesiastes 2.6, Sony VAIO VPCEB1JFX/B Battery

where Solomon is recorded as saying "I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees".^[1] However, recent evidence suggests that the lowest pool was probably the constructed during the Maccabeanperiod at the time of the reconstruction of the temple at Jerusalem (circa 2 BCE). Sony VAIO VPCEB1JFX/G Battery

A second phase occurred when ancient Roman Pontius Pilate built 39 kilometres (24 mi) of aqueduct from the collection pools at Arrub. Roman engineering under Herod the Great in connection with his improvements to the Second Temple created the underground tunnel feeding the upper pool. Sony VAIO VPCEB1JFX/L Battery

The pools provide water for an aqueduct system supplying Bethlehem and for the population of Jerusalem where the aqueduct terminated under the Temple Mount and separated from its neighbour by 50 metres (160 ft) and each pool is 6 metres (20 ft) lower than that above it, the conduits being so arranged that the lowest, Sony VAIO VPCEB1JFX/P Battery

which is the largest and finest of the three, is filled first, and then in succession the others. It has been estimated that these pools cover about 7 acres (28,000 m²).

The pools are fed by four different springs; the most prominent is Ein-Atan or Etam at the head of the Wadi Urtas, called "the sealed fountain," Sony VAIO VPCEB1JFX/W Battery

about 200 metres (660 ft) to the north-west of the upper pool. The spring water is transferred to the upper pool by a large subterranean passage.^[3]

The water system as a whole shows a high degree of sophistication. Five different aqueducts, totalling nearly 60 kilometres in length, were linked to Solomon's Pools. Sony VAIO VPCEB1KGX Battery

From the lower pool an aqueduct has been traced carrying the water through Bethlehem and across the valley of Gihon, and along the west slope of the Tyropoeon valley, till it finds its way into the great cisterns underneath the temple hill in Jerusalem.

Present day

The water, however, from the pools now reaches only to Bethlehem. Sony VAIO VPCEB1KGX/B Battery

The aqueduct beyond this has been destroyed. Two of the aqueducts connected to additional water sources from the south; another, from the upper pool, carried water east to the Herodium where Herod had constructed a large recreational pool, lined with columns; and two aqueducts brought water to Jerusalem. Sony VAIO VPCEB1KGX/W Battery

The area around Solomon's Pools has provided a pleasant atmosphere for picnics and relaxation over the centuries. On the north side at the entry to the park is an old Ottoman fort structure, built in 1620, which is known as Qal'at el-Burak or the castle of the pools. This has served at times as a caravansery (or khan - a resting place for caravans), Sony VAIO VPCEB1LFX Battery

and now has a restaurant with a garden area inside.

The Judgment of Solomon refers to a story from the Hebrew Bible in which King Solomon of Israel ruled between two women both claiming to be the mother of a child. It has become a metaphor referring to a wise judge who uses a stratagem to determine the truth, Sony VAIO VPCEB1LFX/BI Battery

tricking the parties into revealing their true feelings. Specifically, the judge pretends that he will destroy the subject matter of a dispute, rather than allowing either disputing party to win at the expense of the other.

Biblical narrative

The story is recounted in 1Kings 3:16-28. Sony VAIO VPCEB1LFX/WI Battery

Two young women who lived in the same house and who both had an infant son came to Solomon for a judgement. One of the women claimed that the other, after accidentally smothering her own son while sleeping, had exchanged the two children to make it appear that the living child was hers. Sony VAIO VPCEB1MFX Battery

The other woman denied this and so both women claimed to be the mother of the living son and said that the dead boy belonged to the other.

After some deliberation, King Solomon called for a sword to be brought before him. He declared that there is only one fair solution: Sony VAIO VPCEB1MFX/BI Battery

the live son must be split in two, each woman receiving half of the child. Upon hearing this terrible verdict, the boy's true mother cried out, "Please, My Lord, give her the live child—do not kill him!" However, the liar, in her bitter jealousy, exclaimed, "It shall be neither mine nor yours—divide it!" Sony VAIO VPCEB1NFX Battery

Solomon instantly gave the live baby to the real mother, realizing that the true mother's instincts were to protect her child, while the liar revealed that she did not truly love the child. The reputation of the king greatly increased when all the people of Israel heard of this wise judgment. Sony VAIO VPCEB1NFX/B Battery

Jewish interpretation

According to the Midrash, the two women were sisters-in-law, both of whom had borne sons, and whose husbands had died. The baby was actually the lying woman's nephew. Therefore, when Solomon suggested that the infant be split in half, the lying woman, jealous of her nephew and sister-in-law, agreed. Sony VAIO VPCEB1NFX/L Battery

Thus was Solomon able to know who the real mother was.^[1]

"Splitting the baby"

The expressions "splitting the baby" or "cutting the baby in half" are sometimes used in the legal profession for a form of simple compromise solutions which "split the difference" in terms of damage awards or other remedies Sony VAIO VPCEB1NFX/P Battery

(e.g. a judge dividing fault between the two parties in a comparative negligence case).^[2]. This usage is the opposite of that of the original metaphor and is often employed humorously. Sony VAIO VPCEB1NFX/W Battery,Sony VAIO VPCEB1PFX Battery,Sony VAIO VPCEB1PFX/B Battery

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Jewish scriptures

Posted May 30th, 2012 at 01:34am

Jewish scriptures

Mishlei (Book of Proverbs), a collection of fables and wisdom of lifeSony VAIO VPCS11X9E/B Battery

Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), a book of contemplation and his self reflection.
Shir ha-Shirim (Song of Songs), a chronicle of erotic love (there are contrasting opinions whether its subject is a woman or Yahweh).

Judaism

King Solomon sinned by acquiring too many wives and horses because he thought he knew the reason for the Biblical prohibition and thought it did not apply to him. Sony VAIO VPCS125EC Battery

Christianity

Such disputes tend to divide Christians into traditionalist and modernist camps.

or that Joseph was adopted^[36], mentions Solomon's construction of the Temple (Acts 7:47).

Islam

Solomon also appears in the Qur'an, where he is called in Arabic, Sony VAIO VPCY115FX/BI Battery

He was famed throughout the lands for his wisdom. The Qur'an denies that Solomon ever turned away from Allah.

And they followed what the Shayatin (devils) chanted of sorcery in the reign of Sulaiman, and Sulaiman was not an unbeliever,Sony VAIO VPCY118GX/BI Battery

Solomon was also given control over various things, such as the wind, and transportation:

And before Sulayman were marshaled his hosts, of Jinns and men and birds, and they were all kept in order and ranks. Sony VAIO VPCY11AHJ Battery

And Solomon, accordingly grateful of Allah, says:

"O ye people! We have been taught the speech of birds, and on us has been bestowed from everything: this is indeed the Grace manifest (from God). "

According to Muslim tradition, when Solomon died he was standing watching the work of his Jinn, while leaning on his cane. Sony VAIO VPCY11AVJ Battery

One Thousand and One Nights

Angels and magic

and extravagant meals for him were prepared daily by each of his 700 wives and 300 concubines, with the thought that perhaps the king would feast that day in her house.

Seal of Solomon

A magic ring called the "Seal of Solomon" was supposedly given to Solomon and gave him power over demons. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/P Battery

Solomon and Asmodeus

(The element of a ring thrown into the sea and found back in a fish's belly later appeared in Herodotus' account of Polycrates, the tyrant of Samos from c. 538 BC to 522 BC).

In another familiar version of the legend of the Seal of Solomon, Asmodeus disguises himself. Sony VAIO VPCEB11FM/T Battery

He then convinces them to plunge in and attempt to retrieve it, for if they do they would take the throne as king.

Artifacts

Other magical items attributed to Solomon are his key and his Table. The latter was said to be held in Toledo, Sony VAIO VPCEB11FX Battery

Angels

In the Kabbalah

The palace without entrance

the son of 'Ad, and that it hadreigned over a million cities, rode on a million horses, had under it a million vassals and slew a million warriors, yet it could not resist the angel of death.

Throne

Solomon's throne is described at length

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Solomon:the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles

Posted May 30th, 2012 at 01:28am

Solomon (Hebrew: , Modern Shlomo Tiberian Š l m ISO 259-3 Šlomo; Arabic: ‎ Sulaym n, also colloquially: Silim n;Greek: Σολομ ν Solom n), according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles,^[1] a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets,^[2] is identified as the son of David,^[3] also called Jedidiah (Hebrew ) in 2 Samuel 12:25, Sony VAIO VPC CW2MFX/PU Battery

and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah split; following the split his patrilineal descendants ruled over Judah alone. In the Qur'an, he is considered as a major Prophet, known as Sulaiman, son of David. Sony VAIO VPC S11V9E/B Battery

The Hebrew Bible credits Solomon as the builder of the First Temple in Jerusalem,^[3] and portrays him as great in wisdom, wealth, and power, but ultimately as a king whose sin, including idolatry and turning away from Yahweh, leads to the kingdom being torn in two during the reign of his son Rehoboam. Sony VAIO VPCB119GJ/B Battery

Solomon is the subject of many other later references and legends.

Succession

Solomon became king during the reign of his father King David, and ruled together with him for 3 years. According to the biblical First Book of Kings, when David was old, "he could not get warm." Sony VAIO VPCB11AGJ Battery

"So they sought for a beautiful young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. The young woman was very beautiful, and she was of service to the king and attended to him, but the king knew her not." Sony VAIO VPCB11AVJ Battery

While David was in this state, Adonijah, David's fourth son, acted to have himself declared king, he being heir-apparent to the throne after the death of his elder brothers Amnon and Absalom. But Bathsheba, a wife of David and Solomon's mother, along with the prophet Nathan convinced David to proclaim Solomon king. Sony VAIO VPCB11V9E Battery

Adonijah fled and took refuge at the altar, and received pardon for his conduct from Solomon on the condition that he show himself "a worthy man." (1 Kings 1:5-53)

Adonijah asked to marry Abishag the Shunammite, but Solomon disallowed that, although Bathsheba now pleaded on Adonijah's behalf. Sony VAIO VPCB11X9E Battery

He was then seized and put to death (1 Kings 2:13-25). As made clear in the earlier story of Absalom's rebellion, to possess the royal harem was in this society tantamount to claiming the throne;^[6] this applied even to a woman who had shared the bed of a king advanced in age, though she had no intimate relations with King David. Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/P Battery

David's general Joab was killed, in accord with David's deathbed request to Solomon, because he had killed generals Abner and Amasa during a peace (2 Samuel 20:8-13; 1 Kings 2:5). David's priest Abiathar was exiled by Solomon because he had sided with Adonijah. Abiathar is a descendent of Eli, which has important prophetic significance. Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/R Battery

(1 Kings 2:27)^[7] Shimei was confined to Jerusalem and killed three years later, when he went to Gath to retrieve some runaway servants, in part because he had cursed David when David's son Absalomrebelled against David. (1 Kings 2:1-46).

Wisdom

One of the qualities most ascribed to Solomon is his wisdom. The book of 1 Kings recounts how Solomon prays for wisdom: Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/W Battery

"And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, Sony VAIO VPCCW19FJ/W Battery

according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: Sony VAIO VPCCW1AFJ Battery

I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?"(1 Kings 3:4-9)^[9] Sony VAIO VPCCW1AHJ Battery

"So God said to him, 'Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked...'" (1 Kings 3:11-12)^[9]The Hebrew Bible also states that: "The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart." Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E Battery

In one account, known as the Judgment of Solomon, two women came before Solomon to resolve a quarrel over which was the true mother of a baby. When Solomon suggested they should divide the living child in two with a sword, one woman said she would rather give up the child rather than see it killed. Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/B Battery

Solomon then declares the woman who shows compassion to be the true mother, and gives the baby to her.

Solomon is also noted as one of many authors of Wisdom literature. The apocryphal/deuterocanonical Wisdom of Solomon, along with the Book of Sirach, Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/L Battery

"are the familiar personalities and the events of Israel's history combined with the wisdom tradition. Much of this literature, however, is attributed to Solomon."^[11]Solomon became a favorite author and contributor of different kinds of wisdom literature, "including not only the collections of Proverbs, Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/P Battery

but also ofEcclesiastes and the Song of Solomon and the later apocryphal book the Wisdom of Solomon."^[12]

Wives

According to the Bible, Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. The wives are described as foreign princesses, including Pharaoh's daughter and women of Moab,Ammon, Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/R Battery

Sidon and of the Hittites. These wives are depicted as leading Solomon away from the God of Israel toward idolatry.^[13] The only wife mentioned by name isNaamah, who is described as the Ammonite.^[14] She was the mother of Solomon's successor, Rehoboam. Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/W Battery

Relationship with Queen of Sheba

In a brief, unelaborated, and enigmatic passage, the Hebrew Bible describes how the fame of Solomon's wisdom and wealth spread far and wide, so much so that the queen of Sheba decided that she should meet him. Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/B Battery

The queen is described as visiting with a number of gifts including gold, spices and precious stones. When Solomon gave her "all her desire, whatsoever she asked," she left satisfied (1 Kings 10:10).

Whether the passage is simply to provide a brief token, foreign witness of Solomon's wealth and wisdom, Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/L Battery

or whether there is meant to be something more significant to the queen's visit is unknown; nevertheless the visit of the Queen of Sheba has become the subject of numerous stories.

Sheba is typically identified as Saba, a nation once spanning the Red Sea on the coasts of what are now Eritrea, Somalia,Ethiopia and Yemen, in Arabia Felix. Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/R Battery

In a Rabbinical account (e.g. Targum Sheni), Solomon was accustomed to ordering the living creatures of the world to dance before him (Rabbinical accounts say that Solomon had been given control over all living things by Yahweh), but one day upon discovering that the mountain-cock or hoopoe (the Hebrew name for the creature is Shade) was absent, Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/W Battery

he summoned it to him, and the bird told him that it had been searching for somewhere new.

The bird had discovered a land in the east, exceedingly rich in gold, silver, and plants, whose capital was called Kitor and whose ruler was the Queen of Sheba, and the bird, on its own advice, was sent by Solomon to request the queen's immediate attendance at Solomon's court. Sony VAIO VPCCW26EC Battery

An Ethiopian account (Kebra Nagast) maintains that the Queen of Sheba had sexual relations with King Solomon (of which the Biblical and Quranic accounts give no hint) and gave birth by the Mai Bella stream in the province of Hamasien, Eritrea. The Ethiopian tradition has a detailed account of the affair. (See Queen of Sheba) Sony VAIO VPCCW26FX/B Battery

The child was a son who went on to become Menelik I, King of Axum, and founded a dynasty that would reign what became the Christian Empire of Ethiopia for 2900+ years (less one usurpation episode and interval of ca. 133 years until a legitimate male heir regained the crown) until Haile Selassie was overthrown in 1974. Sony VAIO VPCCW28EC Battery

Menelik was said to be a practising Jew who was given a replica Ark of the Covenant by King Solomon, but moreover, the original was switched and went to Axum with him and his mother, and is still there, guarded by a single priest charged with caring for the artifact as his life's task. Sony VAIO VPCCW28FJ/P Battery

The claim of such a lineage and of possession of the Ark has been an important source of legitimacy and prestige for the Ethiopian monarchy throughout the many centuries of its existence, and had important and lasting effects on Ethiopian culture as a whole. The Ethiopian government and church deny all requests to view the alleged ark. Sony VAIO VPCCW28FJ/R Battery

Some classical-era Rabbis, attacking Solomon's moral character, have claimed instead that the child was an ancestor ofNebuchadnezzar II, who destroyed Solomon's temple some 300 years later.^[16]

Sins and punishment

According to 1 Kings 11:4 Solomon's "wives turned his heart after other gods",Sony VAIO VPCCW28FJ/W Battery

their own national deities, to whom Solomon built temples, thus incurring divine anger and retribution in the form of the division of the kingdom after Solomon's death. (1 Kings 11:9-13)

1 Kings 11 describes Solomon's descent into idolatry, particularly his turning after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites.
Sony VAIO VPCCW29FJ/W Battery

In Deuteronomy 17:16-17, a king is commanded not to multiply horses or wives, neither greatly multiply to himself gold or silver. Solomon sins in all three of these areas. Solomon collects 666 talents of gold each year, (1 Kings 10:14) a huge amount of money for a small nation like Israel. Sony VAIO VPCCW2AFJ Battery

Solomon gathers a large number of horses and chariots and even brings in horses from Egypt. Just as Deuteronomy 17 warns, collecting horses and chariots takes Israel back to Egypt. Finally, Solomon marries foreign women, and these women turn Solomon to other gods.

According to 1 Kings 11:9-13, it was because of these sins that "the Lord punishes Solomon by tearing the kingdom in two":Sony VAIO VPCCW2AHJ Battery

And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E Battery

Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, "Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/B Battery

However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen.

Jewish tradition

In Jewish tradition, King Solomon sinned by acquiring too many wives and horses because he thought he knew why the Bible prohibited this and thought it did not apply to him. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/L Battery

When King Solomon married the daughter of the Egyptian Pharaoh, a sandbank formed which eventually formed the "great nation of Rome" - the nation that destroyed the Second Temple (Herod's Temple). Solomon gradually lost prestige until he became like a commoner. Some say he regained his status, while others deny this.^[17] Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/P Battery

Islam

In Islamic tradition, Solomon was a prophet and a messenger from Allah (God). As in Jewish tradition, he was the youngest son of King David (Dawud), who is also considered a prophet by Islam. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/R Battery

Solomon had diverse talents, wisdom and spiritual insight, so his father had made him his heir. The Qur'an says: "And We verily gave knowledge to Dawud and Sulayman and they said: praise be to God (Allah) Who has preferred us above many of his believing servants". (27:15) Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/W Battery

Unlike Jewish and Christian traditions, Islam denies that Solomon fell into idolatry or turned away from Allah in any way, and views him as famed throughout the lands for his wisdom and fair judgments.

"And when there came to them a Messenger from Allah confirming what was with them, Sony VAIO VPCCW2S5C CN1 Battery

a party of those who were given the scripture threw away the book of Allah behind their backs as if they did not know. And they followed what the devils gave out falsely of magic of the reign of Solomon; for Solomon did not disbelieve but the devils disbelieved, teaching men magic and such things that came down at Babylon to the two angels Harut and Marut, Sony VAIO VPCF112FX/B Battery

but neither of these two (angels) taught anyone (such things) until they had said: we are only for trial, so don't disbelieve. And from them (magicians) people learn that through which they would cause separation between a person and his spouse, but they could not thus harm anyone except by Allah's leave; Sony VAIO VPCF115FG/B Battery

and they learn that which harms them rather than profits them. And indeed they knew that its practitioner would have no share in the Hereafter. And how bad indeed was that for which they sold their own selves if they but knew" (2:101-2). Sony VAIO VPCF116FGBI Battery

Enemies

Near the end of his life Solomon was forced to contend with several enemies including Hadad of Edom, Rezon of Zobah, and one of his officials named Jeroboam who was from the tribe of Ephraim.^[4] Sony VAIO VPCF117FJ/W Battery

Death, succession of Rehoboam, and kingdom division

According to the Hebrew Bible, Solomon died of natural causes^[18] at around 80 years of age. Upon Solomon's death, his son, Rehoboam, succeeded him as king. However, ten of the Tribes of Israel refused to accept him as king, Sony VAIO VPCF117HG/BI Battery

causing theUnited Monarchy to split and form the northern Kingdom of Israel ruled by Jeroboam, while Rehoboam continued to reign in the southern Kingdom of Judah.

Building and other works

During Solomon's long reign of 40 years, the Israelite monarchy, according to the Bible, gained its highest splendour and wealth.Sony VAIO VPCF118FJ/W Battery

In a single year, according to 1 Kings 10:14, Solomon collected tribute amounting to 666 talents of gold (39,960 pounds).

Solomon is described as surrounding himself with all the luxuries and the external grandeur of an Eastern monarch, and his government prospered. Sony VAIO VPCF119FC Battery

He entered into an alliance with Hiram I, king of Tyre, who in many ways greatly assisted him in his numerous undertakings. For some years before his death, David was engaged in collecting materials for building a temple in Jerusalem as a permanent abode for the Ark of the Covenant. Sony VAIO VPCF119FC/BI Battery

Solomon is described as completing its construction, with the help of an architect, also named Hiram, and other materials, sent from King Hiram of Tyre.

After the completion of the temple, Solomon is described as erecting many other buildings of importance in Jerusalem; Sony VAIO VPCF119FJ/BI Battery

for the long period of 13 years he was engaged in the building of a royal palace on Ophel (a hilly promontory in central Jerusalem); Solomon also constructed great works for the purpose of securing a plentiful supply of water for the city, and theMillo (Septuagint, Acra) for the defense of the city. Sony VAIO VPCF11AFJ Battery

However, excavations of Jerusalem have shown a distinct lack of monumental architecture from the era, and remains of neither the Temple nor Solomon's palace have been found. However, a number of significant but politically sensitive areas have not been extensively excavated, Sony VAIO VPCF11AGJ Battery

including Temple mount, the site where the Temple is traditionally said to have been located.

Solomon is also described as rebuilding cities elsewhere in Israel, creating the port of Ezion-Geber, and constructing Tadmorin the wilderness as a commercial depot and military outpost. Sony VAIO VPCF11AHJ Battery

Solomon is additionally described as having amassed 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen. Though the location of Solomon's port of Ezion-Geber is known, no remains have ever been found. More archaeological success has been achieved with the major cities Solomon is said to have strengthened or rebuilt (for example, Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer — 1 Kings 9:15); Sony VAIO VPCF11JFX/B Battery

these all have substantial ancient remains, including impressive six-chambered gates, and ashlar palaces, as well as trough-like structures outside buildings that early archaeologists have identified as the stables for Solomon's horses.

According to the Bible, during Solomon's reign Israel enjoyed great commercial prosperity, Sony VAIO VPCF11M1E Battery

with extensive traffic being carried on by land with Tyre, Egypt, and Arabia, and by sea with Tarshish, Ophir, and South India.

Apocryphal texts

Rabbinical tradition attributes the Wisdom of Solomon to Solomon although this book was probably written in the 2nd century BC. In this work Solomon is portrayed as an astronomer. Sony VAIO VPCF11M1E/H Battery

Other books of wisdom poetry such as the Odes of Solomon and thePsalms of Solomon also bear his name. The Jewish historian Eupolemus, who wrote about 157 BC, included copies of apocryphalletters exchanged between Solomon and the kings of Egypt and Tyre.

The Gnostic Apocalypse of Adam, which may date to the 1st or 2nd century, Sony VAIO VPCF11MFX/B Battery

refers to a legend in which Solomon sends out an army of demons to seek a virgin who had fled from him, perhaps the earliest surviving mention of the later common tale that Solomon controlled demons and made them his slaves. This tradition of Solomon's control over demons appears fully elaborated in the early pseudographical work called the Testament of Solomon with its elaborate and grotesquedemonology.^[19] Sony VAIO VPCF11S1E Battery

Historical figure

Historical evidence of King Solomon other than the biblical accounts is minimal. Josephus, citing Tyrian court records and Menander in Against Apion, gives a specific year during which Hiram I of Tyre sent materials to Solomon for the construction of the temple.^[20] Sony VAIO VPCF11S1E/B Battery

However, no material evidence indisputably of Solomon's reign has been found. Yigael Yadin's excavations at Hazor, Megiddo, Beit Shean and Gezer uncovered structures that he and others have argued date from his reign,^[21] but others, such as Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silberman, argue that they should be dated to the Omride period, more than a century after Solomon.^[22] Sony VAIO VPCF11Z1E Battery

Chronology

The conventional dates of Solomon's reign are from circa 970 to 931 BC. They derive from biblical chronology, mostly from the ancient genealogies in the books, Genesis to Second Kings, Sony VAIO VPCF11Z1E/BI Battery

spanning the creation of the universe as the ancients understood it to the fall of Jerusalem with the destruction of its Temple in year 586 BC. Regarding the Davidic Dynasty to which King Solomon belongs, its chronology can be checked against datable Babylonian and Assyrian records at a few points, Sony VAIO VPCF11ZHJ Battery

and these correspondences have allowed archeologists to date its kings in a modern framework. According to the most widely-used chronology, based on that by Edwin R. Thiele, the death of Solomon and the division of his kingdom occurred in the spring of 931 BC. Sony VAIO VPCF127HGBI Battery

Thiele does not explicitly date the beginning of Solomon's reign, but according to the First Book of Kings he ruled for 40 years, thus corresponding to 970 BC according to the Thiele system.

Criticism

According to Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silberman, authors of The Bible Unearthed: Sony VAIO VPCF137HG/BI Battery

Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts,^[24] at the time of the kingdoms of David and Solomon, Jerusalem was populated by only few hundred residents or less, which is insufficient for an empire stretching from the Euphrates to Eilath. Sony VAIO VPCS111FM/S Battery

According to The Bible Unearthed, archaeological evidence suggests that the kingdom of Israel at the time of Solomon was little more than a small city state, and so it is implausible that Solomon received tribute as large as 666 talents of gold per year. Sony VAIO VPCS115EC Battery

Although both Finkelstein and Silberman accept that David and Solomon were real kings of Judah about the 10th century BC,^[25] they claim that the earliest independent reference to the Kingdom of Israel is about 890 BC, and for Judah about 750 BC.Sony VAIO VPCS115FG Battery

They suggest that due to religious prejudice, the authors of the Bible suppressed the achievements of the Omrides (whom the Hebrew Bible describes as being polytheist), and instead pushed them back to a supposed golden age of Judaism and monotheists, and devotees of YHWH. Sony VAIO VPCS117GG Battery

Some Biblical minimalists like Thomas L. Thompson go further, arguing that Jerusalem only became a city and capable of being a state capital in the mid-seventh century.^[26]Likewise, Finkelstein and others consider the claimed size of Solomon's temple implausible. Sony VAIO VPCS117GGB Battery

These views are criticized by William G. Dever,Helga Weippert, André Lemaireand Amnon Ben-Tor. Lemaire states in Ancient Israel: From Abraham to the Roman Destruction of the Temple^[28] that the principal points of the biblical tradition of Solomon are generally trustworthy. Sony VAIO VPCS118EC Battery

So does Kenneth Kitchen, who argues that Solomon ruled over a comparatively wealthy "mini-empire", rather than a small city-state, and considers 666 gold talents a modest amount of money. Mr. Kitchen calculates that over 30 years, such a kingdom might have accumulated up to 500 tons of gold,
Sony VAIO VPCS119FJ/B Battery

which is small compared to other examples, such as the 1,180 tons of gold that Alexander the Great took from Susa.^[29] Similarly, Mr. Kitchen,^[30] and others consider the temple of Solomon a reasonable and typically sized structure for the region at the time. William G. Sony VAIO VPCS119GC Battery

Dever states "that we now have direct Bronze and Iron Age parallels for every feature of the 'Solomonic temple' as described in the Hebrew Bible".^[31]

The archaeological remains that are considered to date from the time of Solomon are notable for the fact that Canaanite material culture appears to have continued unabated; Sony VAIO VPCS11AFJ Battery

there is a distinct lack of magnificent empire, or cultural development - indeed comparing pottery from areas traditionally assigned to Israel with that of the Philistines points to the Philistines having been significantly more sophisticated. However there is a lack of physical evidence of its existence, despite some archaeological work in the area. Sony VAIO VPCS11AGJ Battery

This is not unexpected because the area was devastated by the Babylonians, then rebuilt and destroyed several times.^[30] Little archaeological excavation has been done around the area known as the Temple Mount, in what is thought to be the foundation of Solomon's Temple, because attempts to do so are met with protest by Muslims.^[32] Sony VAIO VPCS11AHJ Battery

From a critical point of view, Solomon's building of a temple for YHWH should not be considered an act of particular devotion to YHWH, because Solomon is also described as building places of worship for a number of other deities^[16] (1 Kings 11:4). Sony VAIO VPCS11AVJ Battery

Some scholars historians argue that Solomon's apparent initial devotion to YHWH, described in passages such as his dedication prayer(1 Kings 8:14-66), were written much later, after Jerusalem had become the religious centre of the kingdom, replacing locations such as Shiloh and Bethel. Sony VAIO VPCS11J7E/B Battery

Some scholars believe that passages such as these in the Books of Kings were not written by the same authors who wrote the rest of the text, instead probably by the Deuteronomist.^[31] Sony VAIO VPCS11M1E/W Battery

Such views have been challenged by other historians who maintain that there is evidence that these passages in Kings are derived from official court records at the time of Solomon and from other writings of that time that were incorporated into the canonical books of Kings.Sony VAIO VPCS11V9E Battery

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Environmental issues in Bhutan

Posted May 29th, 2012 at 05:09am

There are a number of environmental issues in Bhutan. Among Bhutan's most pressing issues are traditional firewood collection, crop and flock protection, and waste disposal, as well as modern concerns such as industrial pollution, wildlife conservation, and climate change that threatens Bhutan's population andbiodiversity. Sony VAIO VPC-P116KX/G Battery

Land and water use have also become matters of environmental concern in both rural and urban settings. In addition to these general issues, others such as landfill availability and air and noise pollution are particularly prevalent in relatively urbanized and industrialized areas of Bhutan. Sony VAIO VPC-P116KX/P Battery

In many cases, the least financially and politically empowered find themselves the most affected by environmental issues.^[1]

Through 2011, Bhutan experienced accelerated economic activities pressured natural resources such as land, air, and water.Sony VAIO VPC-P116KX/W Battery

Development activities increased urbanization, industrialization, mining and quarrying, agriculture, and solid waste management projects. Land degradation, biodiversity and habitat loss, high fuel-wood consumption, and human-wildlife conflicts are some of Bhutan's environmental challenges. Sony VAIO VPCP118JC Battery

Notwithstanding these problems, Bhutan remains overallcarbon-neutral, and a net sink for greenhouse gases.^[1][2]

Within the Bhutanese government, the independent National Environment Commission (NEC)^[3] and Bhutan Trust Fund, Sony VAIO VPCP118JC/B Battery

as well as the executive Ministries of Health (for chemical and radioactive waste),^[6] Economic Affairs,^[7] and Agriculture and Forests (Department of Forestry Services)^[8] are tasked with addressing environmental issues. Waste disposal issues often fall to local governments, Bhutan's dzongkhags and thromdes. Sony VAIO VPCP118JC/P Battery

Non-governmental agencies active in addressing environmental issues in Bhutan are the Royal Society for the Protection of Nature (RSPN), the only domestic environmental NGO, and the World Wildlife Fund(WWF).

National issues

To address environmental issues, the government of Bhutan has banned certain practices with varying success. Sony VAIO VPCP118JC/W Battery

Tsheri agriculture, especially prevalent amongSharchops and Lhotshampa, is a practice by which land is cleared and farmed intensively until it becomes unproductive and is thereafter let fallow. Because it is particularly environmentally harmful, the practice has been banned by the government since 1969,^[9][10] however it continues today. Sony VAIO VPC-P118KX/B Battery

In the mid-1980s, it accounted for 32 percent of the agricultural land use and about 3 percent of the total land use.^[9] In the early 1990s, Bhutan imposed a ban on timber exports, though domestic timber harvesting remains heavily regulated under a network of foresters and road checkpoints. Sony VAIO VPC-P118KX/D Battery

In April 1999, Bhutan also prohibited plastic bags nationwide.^[12] The ban on plastic bags, however, has proven a daunting challenge in implementation and enforcement because of the practicality of lightweight airtight storage and a lack of feasible alternatives.

Besides tsheri agriculture, other traditional practices have drawn concern for the environment. Sony VAIO VPC-P118KX/G Battery

Throughout Bhutan, dependence on firewood as a fuel source has been historically prevalent. Before hydroelectric power and other modern energy sources became available, the source of fuel for heating, cooking, and lighting was nearly exclusively firewood. The provision of electricity, Sony VAIO VPC-P118KX/P Battery

as well as better regulation of fuelwood collectors and more aggressive reforestation projects, was seen in the 1980s as a key factor in forest conservation. Because affordable electricity was not available throughout the country, the government established fuelwood plantations near villages to accommodate daily needs and to promote forest conservation. Sony VAIO VPC-P118KX/W Battery

Firewood harvesting and management remains one of Bhutan's leading environmental challenges; the kingdom is one of the world's leaders in firewood consumption at a rate of 2.8 cubic metres (99 cu ft) per annum and accounts for 80 percent of the kingdom's energy consumption.^[11] Sony VAIO VPCP119JC Battery

Across Bhutan, traditional farmers and grazers have continued to face human-wildlife conflicts such as crop and livestock depredation.^[11] These conflicts are complicated by problems of overgrazing and wildlife protection. Protected wildlife have entered agricultural areas, trampling crops and killing livestock. Sony VAIO VPCP119JC/BI Battery

In response, the government has implemented an insurance scheme, begun constructing solar powered alarm fences, watch towers, search lights, and has providedfodder and salt licks outside human settlement areas to encourage animals to stay away.^[17] Some local farmers have begun planting crops of molasses grass in an effort to repel primates naturally. Sony VAIO VPCP11S1E/B Battery

Bhutan has also sought assistance from the United Nations Development Programme in combatting crop and livestock losses.^[19]

Industrialization in particular has been cited as an environmental hurdle and foil to Gross National Happiness, the guiding principle of the government andConstitution of Bhutan. Sony VAIO VPC-P11S1E/B Battery

As Bhutan industrializes, ordinary citizens have faced increased competition for essential resources and amenities – from water to roads – with the industries that benefit from Bhutan's nearby development projects. While residents express frustration at the diminution in health and lifestyle, Sony VAIO VPCP11S1E/D Battery

industrial operators point out that in Bhutan the provision of health benefits is the role of the government.^[20]

Pasakha, in Phuentsholing, is a major industrial center and has been the focus of many industry-related environmental issues brought since Bhutan began its development programs in the 1960s. Sony VAIO VPC-P11S1E/D Battery

Bhutan has planned an industrial waste repository in Pasakha, Phuentsholing, to receive slag, microsilica powder, and gases emitted by steel, ferroalloy and carbide industries. The repository at Bhutan's largest industrial site was initially slated for completion in July 2011. Sony VAIO VPCF137HG/BI Battery

Air pollution

Since 2006, significant air pollution, largely attributed to external sources in India, has manifested in a brown haze in the atmosphere above Bhutan. This air pollution resulted in decreased crop output and increased concerns about public health. Sony VAIO VPC-P111KX/B Battery

Bhutan's four cement plants have been cited as some of the most prevalent causes of domestic air pollution, with three out of four running without modern emission controls. Semiannual NEC site visits check for compliance with existing regulation and may impose relatively trivial fines, however living conditions remained poor due to dust. Sony VAIO VPC-P111KX/D Battery

Enforcement has been portrayed as lax in Bhutanese media, and complaints by some residents around the Pasakha industrial center went unaddressed.^[21]

Through 2011, many thromdes and smaller villages in Bhutan had pits or areas for burning refuse due to a lack of designated landfills or disposal sites. Sony VAIO VPC-P111KX/G Battery

The practice increases ambient air pollution as well as air and ground toxicity.^[26][27]

In 2011, the NEC began setting up stations to monitor air quality in Thimphu, Kanglung, Pasakha and Rinchending.^[28]

Biodiversity

Biodiversity, a hallmark of Bhutan, is threatened by human activity and climate change. Sony VAIO VPC-P111KX/P Battery

To address these problems, the Royal Government began setting asideprotected areas in the 1960s. Since 1992, protected areas of Bhutan have been managed by the Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation under the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry Services Division. Sony VAIO VPC-P111KX/W Battery

In 1993, the Fund revised and reduced its extensive parks system for better ecological representation and management. Through 2008, however, protected areas expanded significantly with the establishment of Wangchuck Centennial Park, spanning a 4,914 square kilometres (1,897 sq mi) swath in northern Bhutan. Sony VAIO VPC-P112KX/B Battery

The parks and sanctuaries are all connected either directly or by "biological corridors." As of 2011, the Fund had recruited 189 field staff, had trained 24 post-graduate specialists, and had provided over 300 short scientific courses. The Fund alone manages a total protected area of 16,396.43 square kilometres (6,330.70 sq mi) –Sony VAIO VPC-P112KX/D Battery

nearly the size of Swaziland and more than 42 percent of Bhutan's total 38,394 square kilometres (14,824 sq mi). With the exception of Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary and Torsa Strict Nature Reserve, these protected areas are inhabited or are located within populated areas. Sony VAIO VPC-P112KX/G Battery

By 2011, human development and illegal activities such as habitat destruction and poaching threaten to wipe out endangered species, including the white bellied heron, one of the country's rarest birds.^[30]

Poaching in Bhutan is an environmental issue both within the kingdom and at its borders. Sony VAIO VPC-P112KX/P Battery

Many species are poached for their alleged medicinal properties. Though protected within Bhutan, wildlife products including rhinoceros horn, tiger bones, musk, and cordyceps sinensis command high prices outside the kingdom.^[11]Although porous borders are blamed for trafficking in poached wildlife, Sony VAIO VPC-P112KX/W Battery

some protected species such as cordyceps have their own markets within Bhutan.

Climate change

Bhutan has faced ongoing and immediate climate change since the late twentieth century. Tangible climate change has resulted in the warming and recession of many of Bhutan's glaciers, increasing the frequency and severity of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). Sony VAIO VPCP113KX/B Battery

Bhutan has also seen a shift in agriculture patterns due to climate change, prompting concern over the stability of agriculture in Bhutan.

Glacier retreat and GLOFs

Where glacial movement temporary blocks riverflows, downstream areas may be threatened by GLOFs. Sony VAIO VPC-P113KX/B Battery

Although GLOFs are not a new phenomenon in Bhutan, their frequency has risen in the past three decades.Significant GLOFs occurred in 1957, 1960, 1968 and 1994, devastating lives and property downstream.^[39]According to the Bhutan Department of Energy however, Sony VAIO VPCP113KX/D Battery

the majority of rivers in Bhutan are more susceptible to fluctuation with changing rainfall patterns than to flooding directly attributable to glacier or snow melt.^[40]

Because the state of glaciers in Bhutan involves questions of climate change, the topic is somewhat controversial. Sony VAIO VPC-P113KX/D Battery

A 2008 United Nations report suggested that due to rising temperatures, glaciers in Bhutan were retreating at a rate of 30–40 meters per year, poised to make many lakes burst their banks and send millions of gallons of floodwater downstream. Sony VAIO VPCP113KX/G Battery

This among many other climate-related issues identified in the report prompted the regional association of government ministers to establish the Southeast Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund in Thimphu in September 2007.Similarly, the member nations of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) adopted bilateral agreements including measures on climate change and glaciers at its summit in April 2010.^[41] Sony VAIO VPC-P113KX/G Battery

The 2008 UN report also indicated Himalayan glaciers would melt within 25 years,^[42] however Prime Minister Jigme Thinley expressed a more dim outlook in a press conference in late March 2010, stating, "Our glaciers are withdrawing very fast and we have reasons to worry that they may in fact disappear not in 2035, but even earlier." Sony VAIO VPCP113KX/P Battery

Further studies in 2009 indicated the rate of glacial melt in Bhutan was three times the world average, and that over the previous three decades regional temperatures had risen by 2.7 °C (36.9 °F). Satellite imaging also confirmed changes in glaciers and snow peaks, indicating increased runoff and decreased coverage. Sony VAIO VPC-P113KX/P Battery

However, opinions varied on the effect of global warming in the Himalaya.^[43] According to US geological survey report, 66 glaciers in Bhutan have decreased by 8.1 percent in the last 30 years.^[44] On the other hand, a study whose results were published in 2011 indicated glacial melt depended on several factors including debris cover, and that more than half of the glaciers in the Himalaya were stable or were in fact growing. Sony VAIO VPCP113KX/W Battery

Debris cover, such as rocks and mud, set apart the relatively stable glaciers of the Himalaya from the pristine glaciers of the Tibetan Plateau, currently in fast retreat. The study, conducted by the Universities of California and Potsdam and published in the journal Nature Geoscience, Sony VAIO VPC-P113KX/W Battery

was based on 286 glaciers along the Himalaya and Hindu Kush from Bhutan to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Another preliminary survey conducted by a team of Japanese and Bhutanese scientists, including a glacio-microbiologist, glacio-ecologist and geologist, indicated that the presence of a peculiar microorganism on the surfaces of glaciers could accelerate glacial melting and eventually lead to a glacial outburst.Sony VAIO VPC-P114KX/B Battery

Agriculture

In the early 21st century, Bhutanese farmers first experienced agricultural fluctuations due to climate change, including higher temperatures, prolonged seasons, and increased erosion due to retreating glaciers in Bhutan. Sony VAIO VPC-P114KX/D Battery

Double harvests in late autumn prevent production of a single mature crop and raise the specter of reduced yields in the following summer. Similar patterns in neighboring Indian regions project yield losses between 10 and 40 percent due to these changes. Some Bhutanese had changed crops as a result of these environmental changes. Sony VAIO VPC-P114KX/G Battery

Forestry

Through the late 20th century, Bhutan's low population and the general absence of overdevelopment contributed to its forest preservation. Because of terrain, more accessible forests had been overcut whereas remote forests remained largely in their natural state through the early 1990s. Sony VAIO VPCEE20 Battery

A progressive government-sponsored forestry conservation policy strove to balance revenue needs with ecological considerations, water management, and soil preservation. Success in managing its forest resources had long been critical to the local environment and economy and also affected downstream floodplains in India and Bangladesh. Sony VAIO VPCEF20 Battery

The Department of Forestry was established in 1952 to oversee conservation and exploitation of the country's significant forestry resources.^[16]

Forestry resource exploitation increased with the start of the First Development Plan in 1961. Sony VAIO VPCF112FX/B Battery

Uncontrolled felling of trees in the 1970s by private companies in logging areas and by rural populations along roads and in main valleys stripped hillsides and caused serious erosion. Tsheri cultivation, forest fires, and overgrazing also contributed to the degradation of Bhutan's forestry resource. Sony VAIO VPCF115FG/B Battery

In 1981 some 3.3 million hectares, or between 70 and 74 percent of the land, were forested, but in 1991 foreign estimates indicated a shrinking forest of only 60 to 64 percent of the land. Even more conservative estimates indicated that closer to 50 percent of Bhutan's territory still was forested in the late 1980s, and about 15 percent of GDP was produced through the nation's important forest industry. Sony VAIO VPCF116FGBI Battery

Recognizing the potential value of its forestry resource, Bhutan became increasingly conscientious about forestry management in the 1970s. Starting in 1977, the World Wildlife Fund began supporting Bhutan's forest management through organizing forest ranger training programs, supplying funds for forest boundary demarcation, building guard posts, Sony VAIO VPCF117FJ/W Battery

and constructing a patrol road for what was later to be designated the Royal Manas National Park. Bhutan rejected World Bank aid to build a major dam on the Manas Chhu in 1986 that would have flooded this major conservation area on the southern Bhutan-India border. By 1989 Bhutan had developed nine other forest and wildlife preserves, Sony VAIO VPCF117HG/BI Battery

also mostly along the southern border with India. In the face of increasing denuded hillsides, private logging was banned, and strict standards for public-sector logging operations were established in 1979. Farmers were warned against burning off forests to clear land for tsheri cultivation, Sony VAIO VPCF118FJ/W Battery

and Forest Guards were trained in increasing numbers to help preserve the valuable resources. Surveying, demarcation, conservation, and management plans for harvesting forest products were part of the Fifth Development Plan's focus on forestry preservation. Wildlife sanctuaries also were developed. Sony VAIO VPCF119FC Battery

One of the immediate results of forestry sector regulation, however, was a sharp decrease in revenues since the late 1970s. In 1991 the government, with assistance from UNDP and the World Wildlife Fund, established a trust fund for environmental conservation. Initially in the amount of US$20 million, Sony VAIO VPCF119FC/BI Battery

the UNDP-administered fund was aimed at producing up to US$1 million per year for training in forestry and ecology, surveying forests, reviewing and implementing management plans for protected areas, and supporting government environmental offices, public awareness programs, and integrated conservation and development programs. Sony VAIO VPCF119FJ/BI Battery

Modernly, domestic timber harvesting remains legal though subject to strict regulation and inspection.^[11]

Urban environments

Bhutan faces challenges in its urban environments due to increased urbanization, industrialization, and economic development.Sony VAIO VPCF11AFJ Battery

Through 2011, many relatively urban areas lacked designated landfills and effective waste disposal systems, prompting residents to burn garbage, dump it, or simply throw it off a cliff.^[26][47]

Though passed in 2009, regulation under the Waste Prevention and Management Act was finalized in 2011. Sony VAIO VPCF11AGJ Battery

The regulations aimed to cover refuse segregation, including industrial, chemical, radioactive, and electronic waste, which theretofore were mixed with general refuse. The 2011 regulation also prohibitedlandfills and dumping within national parks, protected areas, biological corridors, and human settlements.^[ Sony VAIO VPCF11AHJ Battery

With its relatively high population and powerful local government, the urban thromde of Thimphu has often been at the forefront of urban environmental issues in Bhutan.

Urban waste

As of 2011, Thimphu alone produced some 51 tonnes (8,000 st) of waste daily, at an average household output of 0.96 kilograms (2.1 lb); Sony VAIO VPCF11JFX/B Battery

this represented a nearly threefold increase over the three prior years.^[49] Thimphu thromde authorities estimated 49 percent of Thimphu's total refuse was biodegradable organic waste; 25.3 percent was paper; 13.7 percent was plastics; and 3.6 percent was glass. Sony VAIO VPCF11M1E Battery

The capital's only designated dumping site, Memelakha Landfill,^[27]met its capacity in 2002, leading to overflowing^[22] and illegal dumping there and at other sites around Thimphu. Through 2009, the government reaction was a "polluters pay" policy that failed to achieve its desired results. Sony VAIO VPCF11M1E/H Battery

To more effectively approach refuse issues and to address different varieties of waste,Thimphu began a subsidized pilot project for sorting between biodegradable and non-biodegradable refuse.^[50][51] Thimphu municipal authorities also addressed the ubiquitous plastic in its refuse with a shredder for PET bottles to facilitate transport to recycling in India. Sony VAIO VPCF11MFX/B Battery

Still, compliance with proper waste disposal remained a challenge within all segments, from street vendors^[52] to ordinary citizens.^[15]

In the late 2000s, Thimphu experienced steady growth despite water shortages.^[53] Areas downstream from Thimphu along the Wangchu River deteriorated significantly because of human waste and refuse. Sony VAIO VPCF11S1E Battery

In a November 2011 effort to combat downstream degradation, waste outlets were converted into collection chambers, and refuse collection programs were instituted in the area.^[54]

In some areas with designated dumping sites, the distance to landfills makes them less practical than illegally dumping by the wayside or into rivers. Sony VAIO VPCF11S1E/B Battery

As a result, communities outside urban areas suffer consequences of discarding refuse into the common water supply, increasing the demand for alternative water sources.^[47] Villages near designated open air landfills and burning sites likewise report pollution and toxicity from runoff, as well as excess scavengeractivity, posing health hazards.^[55] Sony VAIO VPCF11Z1E Battery

Noise pollution

With the advent of loudspeakers, headphones, and rumbling engines, noise pollution has been identified in Bhutanese media as an environmental concern, citing negative potentials ranging from distraction to deafness.^[ Sony VAIO VPCF11Z1E/BI Battery

Water use

Competition for water use between residents and industry,as well as drying water sources,are actual and imminent environmental issues facing residents in Bhutan. Water shortages have become a widespread phenomenon in rural settlements, Sony VAIO VPCF11ZHJ Battery

and as internal resettlement produces new villages, many there also face water shortages. In addition, urbanization and shifts in land ownership, including land pooling, have complicated matters of water access inThimphu. Sony VAIO VPCF127HGBI Battery

In smaller settlements, infrastructure including water and waste management remained underdeveloped through 2011. Sony VAIO VPCEB1RGX/BI Battery,Sony VAIO VPCEB20 Battery,Sony VAIO VPCEC20 Battery

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The national language is Bhutanese

Posted May 29th, 2012 at 05:09am

Languages

The national language is Bhutanese, or Dzongkha, one of 53 languages in theTibetan language family. Sony VAIO VPCW115XG Battery

The script, here called Chhokey ("Dharma Language"), is identical to classical Tibetan. In the schools English is the medium of instruction and Dzongkha is taught as the national language. Ethnologue lists 24 languages currently spoken in Bhutan, all of them in the Tibeto-Burmanfamily, except Nepali, an Indo-Aryan language. Sony VAIO VPCW115XGP Battery

Until the 1980s, the government sponsored the teaching of Nepali in schools in Southern Bhutan. However, after the armed uprising in the south, Nepali was dropped from the curriculum. The languages of Bhutan are still not well-characterized, and several have yet to be recorded in an in-depth academic grammar. Sony VAIO VPCW115XW/P Battery

Before the 1980s, the Lhotshampa(Nepali-speaking community), mainly based in southern Bhutan, constituted approximately 30% of the population.^[70] However, during the 1980s, after the Bhutanese government instituted a policy of one language and one culture, these Lhotshampas were forced to wear the national costume of Bhutan, Sony VAIO VPCW115XW/T Battery

which is not well-suited to the high temperatures of the southern region.^[70] This cultural discrimination led to protests which eventually resulted in the eviction of more than 100,000 Lhotshampas throughout the 1990s.^[35] These Lhotshampas took refuge in Nepal via India. Sony VAIO VPCW115XW/W Battery

Because the bilateral talks between Nepal and Bhutan to repatriate Bhutanese refugees (Lhotshampas) have been proven futile, the UNHCR is now helping the refugees to settle in various developed countries such as Norway, USA, Canada and many others.^[32][35]

Dzongkha is partially intelligible with Sikkimese and spoken natively by 25% of the population. Sony VAIO VPCW117XC/P Battery

Tshangla, the language of the Sharchop and the principal pre-Tibetan language of Bhutan, is spoken by a greater number of people. It is not easily classified and may constitute an independent branch of Tibeto-Burman.Nepali speakers constituted some 40% of the population as of 2006. Sony VAIO VPCW117XC/T Battery

The larger minority languages are Dzala (11%), Limbu (10%, immigrant), and Kheng (8%). There are no reliable sources for the ethnic or linguistic composition of Bhutan, so these numbers do not add up to 100%.

Culture

Bhutan has a rich and unique cultural heritage that has largely remained intact because of its isolation from the rest of the world until the early 1960s. Sony VAIO VPCW117XC/W Battery

One of the main attractions for tourists is the country's culture and traditions. Bhutanese tradition is deeply steeped in its Buddhist heritage.^[71][72]Hinduism is the second dominant religion in Bhutan, being most prevalent in the southern regions.^[73] The government is increasingly making efforts to preserve and sustain the current culture and traditions of the country. Sony VAIO VPCW119XJ Battery

Because of its largely unspoiled natural environment and cultural heritage, Bhutan has been referred to as The Last Shangri-la.^[74]

While Bhutanese citizens are free to travel abroad, Bhutan is viewed as inaccessible by many foreigners. Sony VAIO VPCW119XJ/P Battery

Another reason for it being an unpopular destination is the cost, which is high for tourists on tighter budgets. Entry is free for citizens of India and Bangladesh, but all other foreigners are required to sign up with a Bhutanese tour operator and pay around US$250 per day that they stay in the country.^[75] Sony VAIO VPCW119XJ/W Battery

The national dress for Bhutanese men is the gho, a knee-length robe tied at the waist by a cloth belt known as the kera. Women wear an ankle-length dress, the kira, which is clipped at one shoulder and tied at the waist. An accompaniment to the kira is a long-sleeved blouse, the toego, which is worn underneath the outer layer. Sony VAIO VPCW11AXJ Battery

Social status and class determine the texture, colours, and decorations that embellish the garments. Differently coloured scarves and shawls are important indicators of social standing, as Bhutan has traditionally been a feudal society. Jewellery is mostly worn by women, especially during religious festivals (tsechus) and public gatherings. Sony VAIO VPCW11S1E/P Battery

To strengthen Bhutan's identity as an independent country, Bhutanese law requires all Bhutanese citizens to wear the national dress in public areas and as formal wear.

Rice, buckwheat, and increasingly maize, are the staples of Bhutanese cuisine. The local diet also includes pork, beef, yakmeat, chicken, and mutton. Sony VAIO VPCW11S1E/T Battery

Soups and stews of meat and dried vegetables spiced with chillies and cheese are prepared. Ema datshi, made very spicy with cheese and chilies, might be called the national dish for its ubiquity and the pride that Bhutanese have for it. Dairy foods, particularly butter and cheese from yaks and cows, are also popular, and indeed almost all milk is turned to butter and cheese.Sony VAIO VPCW11S1E/W Battery

Popular beverages include butter tea, tea, locally brewed ara (rice wine) and beer. Bhutan is the first country in the world to have banned the sale of tobacco under its Tobacco Act of 2010.^[28]

Bhutanese architecture remains distinctively traditional, Sony VAIO VPCW121AX Battery

employing rammed earth and wattle and daub construction methods, stone masonry, and intricate woodwork around windows and roofs. Traditional architecture uses no nails or iron bars in construction.Characteristic of the region is a type of castle fortress known as the dzong. Sony VAIO VPCW126AG Battery

Since ancient times, the dzongs have served as the religious and secular administration centres for their respective districts.^[78] The University of Texas at El Paso in the United States has adopted Bhutanese architecture for its buildings on campus, as have the nearby Hilton Garden Inn and other buildings in the city of El Paso.^[79] Sony VAIO VPCW127JC/P Battery

Bhutan has numerous public holidays, most of which centre around traditional seasonal, secular and religious festivals. They include the winter solstice (around January 1, depending on the lunar calendar), the lunar New Year (February or March), the King's birthday and the anniversary of his coronation, Sony VAIO VPCW127JC/T Battery

the official end of monsoon season (September 22), National Day (December 17), and various Buddhist and Hindu celebrations.

Masked dances and dance dramas are common traditional features at festivals, usually accompanied by traditional music. Sony VAIO VPCW127JC/W Battery

Energetic dancers, wearing colourful wooden or composition face masks and stylized costumes, depict heroes, demons, dæmons, death heads, animals, gods, and caricatures of common people. The dancers enjoy royal patronage, and preserve ancient folk and religious customs and perpetuate the ancient lore and art of mask-making. Sony VAIO VPCW127JC/WZ Battery

The music of Bhutan can generally be divided into traditional and modern varieties; traditional music comprises religious and folk genres, the latter includingzhungdra and boedra.^[80] The modern rigsar is played on a mix of traditional instruments and electronic keyboards, and dates back to the early 1990s; Sony VAIO VPCW12AAJ Battery

it shows the influence of Indian popular music, a hybrid form of traditional and Western popular influences.^[81][82]

In Bhutanese families, inheritance generally passes through the female rather than the male line. Daughters will inherit their parents' house. Sony VAIO VPCW12AKJ Battery

A man is expected to make his own way in the world and often moves to his wife's home. Love marriages are common in urban areas, but the tradition of arranged marriages is still common in the villages. Although uncommon, polygamy is accepted, often being a device to keep property in a contained family unit rather than dispersing it.Sony VAIO VPCP11S1E/G Battery

The previous king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who abdicated in 2006, had four queens, all of whom are sisters. The current king, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, wed Jetsun Pema, 21, a commoner and daughter of a pilot, on 13 October 2011.

Sports

Bhutan's national sport is archery, and competitions are held regularly in most villages. Sony VAIO VPC-P11S1E/G Battery

It differs from Olympicstandards in technical details such as the placement of the targets and atmosphere. There are two targets placed over 100 meters apart and teams shoot from one end of the field to the other. Each member of the team shoots two arrows per round. Sony VAIO VPCP11S1E/P Battery

Traditional Bhutanese archery is a social event and competitions are organized between villages, towns, and amateur teams. There are usually plenty of food and drink complete with singing and dancing. Attempts to distract an opponent include standing around the target and making fun of the shooter's ability. Sony VAIO VPCP11S1E/W Battery

Darts (khuru) is an equally popular outdoor team sport, in which heavy wooden darts pointed with a 10 cm nail are thrown at a paperback-sized target 10 to 20 meters away.

Another traditional sport is the Digor, which resembles the shot put and horseshoe throwing. Sony VAIO VPC-P11S1E/W Battery

Cricket has gained popularity in Bhutan, particularly since the introduction of television channels from India. The Bhutan national cricket team is one of the more successful affiliate nations in the region. Football is also an increasingly popular sport. In 2002, Bhutan's national football team played Montserrat, in what was billed as The Other Final; Sony VAIO VPCP11Z9E/B Battery

the match took place on the same day Brazil played Germany in the World Cup final, but at the time Bhutan and Montserrat were the world's two lowest ranked teams. The match was held in Thimphu's Changlimithang National Stadium, and Bhutan won 4–0. A documentary of the match was made by the Dutch filmmaker Johan Kramer. Sony VAIO VPCS111FM/S Battery

The economy of Bhutan, one of the world's smallest and least developed, is based on agriculture and forestry, which provide the main livelihood for more than 60% of the population. Agriculture consists largely of subsistence farming and animal husbandry.Sony VAIO VPCS115EC Battery

Rugged mountains dominate the terrain and make the building of roads and other infrastructure difficult and expensive. The economy is closely aligned with India's through strong trade and monetary links and dependence on India's financial assistance. The industrial sector is technologically backward, with most production of the cottage industry type. Sony VAIO VPCS115FG Battery

Most development projects, such as road construction, rely on Indian migrant labor. Model education, social, and environment programs are underway with support from multilateral development organizations. Each economic program takes into account the government's desire to protect the country's environment and cultural traditions. Sony VAIO VPCS117GG Battery

For example, the government, in its cautious expansion of the tourist sector, encourages visits by upscale, environmentally conscientious tourists. Detailed controls and uncertain policies in areas such as industrial licensing, trade, labor, and finance continue to hamper foreign investment. Sony VAIO VPCS117GGB Battery

Hydropower exports to India have boosted Bhutan's overall growth, even though GDP fell in 2008 as a result of a slowdown in India, its predominant export market.

Bhutan's hydropower potential and its attraction for tourists are key resources. Sony VAIO VPCS118EC Battery

The Bhutanese Government has made some progress in expanding the nation's productive base and improving social welfare. Model education, social, and environment programs in Bhutan are underway with support from multilateral development organizations. Sony VAIO VPCS119FJ/B Battery

Each economic program takes into account the government's desire to protect the country's environment and cultural traditions. For example, the government, in its cautious expansion of the tourist sector, encourages visits by upscale, environmentally conscientious tourists. Sony VAIO VPCS119GC Battery

Detailed controls and uncertain policies in such areas as industrial licensing, trade, labor, and finance continue to hamper foreign investment.

In 2004, Bhutan became the first country in the world to ban smoking and the selling of tobacco. Sony VAIO VPCS11AFJ Battery

The Government of Bhutan is a constitutional monarchy; between 1907 and the 1950s however, Bhutan was an absolute monarchy. The peaceful march to democracy has been a steady one.^[1] The King of Bhutan is head of state. Executive poweris exercised by the Lhengye Zhungtshog, or council of ministers, headed by the Prime Minister. Sony VAIO VPCS11AGJ Battery

Legislative power is vested in the bicameral Parliament, both the upper National Council and the lower National Assembly. A royal edict issued on April 22, 2007 lifted the previous ban on political parties, ordering that they be created, in anticipation of National Assembly elections to be held the following year. Sony VAIO VPCS11AHJ Battery

In 2008, Bhutan adopted its first modern Constitution, codifying the institutions of government and the legal framework for a democratic multi-party system.

Sovereignty

The Bhutanese people have historically never had doubts about their nation's sovereignty. Bhutan in fact has never been colonized. Sony VAIO VPCS11AVJ Battery

However, to the outside world, namely India and before that the British Raj, Bhutan was viewed as less than sovereign for their own geopolitical interests. Bhutan was treated as a suzerainty by the British Raj, during which time the present monarchy was established. Sony VAIO VPCS11J7E/B Battery

Foreign and defence policy was to be decided by the British according to the 1910Treaty of Punakha. This did not mean so much to the Bhutanese however due to their policy of self-imposed isolation. In 1949, after Indian independence, Bhutan and India agreed to a ten-article, perpetual treaty which effectively continued the relationship, Sony VAIO VPCS11M1E/W Battery

but with India taking the place of the United Kingdom. That is, India agreed not to interfere in Bhutan's internal relations, while Bhutan agreed "to be guided by the advice of the Government of India in regard to its external relations" (Article 2). The treaty also established free trade and full extradition between the two countries.^[3] Sony VAIO VPCS11V9E Battery

While Bhutan sees its destiny as being closely linked with that of India, for which reason it strives to promote excellent relations with it, it has also quietly striven to assert its sovereignty at the same time.

Article 2 of the 1949 treaty has mostly been ignored by both countries as Bhutan confidently handles all of its foreign affairs, Sony VAIO VPCS11V9E/B Battery

including the sensitive border demarcation talks with China.

In February 2007, the Indo-Bhutan Friendship Treaty was substantially revised with all references to phrases such as "will be guided" deleted, thus eliminating the last lingering doubts about the sovereign and independent status of Bhutan.^[4] Sony VAIO VPCS11X9E/B Battery

Branches of government

The Constitution of Bhutan provides for a government consisting of three main branches – executive, legislative, and judicial – plus the officially apoliticalDratshang Lhentshog (Monastic Affairs Commission) of the Drukpa Kagyu state religion. Sony VAIO VPCS123FGB Battery

The secular and religious branches of government are unified in the person of the Druk Gyalpo (King of Bhutan).^[5]

The trichotomy of secular government is not absolute. There are many independent commissions, agencies, and institutions that operate outside this general framework, such as the Royal Monetary Authority and Election Commission. Sony VAIO VPCS125EC Battery

There are also agencies whose members are drawn from more than one branch of government, such as the Judicial Commission. In addition, there are several ministries within the cabinet executive branch, such as the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, which in turn delegate powers to subsidiary departments according to legislation by the legislative branch. Sony VAIO VPCS128EC Battery

The legislative branch itself oversees devolved local governments.^[6]

Executive branch

Bhutan's head of state is the Druk Gyalpo ("Dragon King"). Although his title is hereditary, he must retire by age 65, and he can be removed by a two-thirds majority vote by the parliament followed by a national referendum, which must pass by a simple majority in all twenty districts of the country. Sony VAIO VPCS129GC Battery

Prior to 2008, a similar abdication process existed under which the unicameral National Assembly, or Tshogdu could force the king to abdicate.

The Je Khenpo is the highest religious official of Bhutan and head of the Dratshang Lhentshog (Monastic Affairs Commission). Sony VAIO VPCS12C7E/B Battery

He is typically viewed as the closest and most powerful advisor to the King of Bhutan. The 71st and present Je Khenpo is Trulku Jigme Chhoeda.

Bhutan's head of government is its Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is nominated by the party that wins the most seats in the National Assembly and heads the executive cabinet, called the Lhengye Zhungtshog (Council of Ministers). Sony VAIO VPCS12L9E/B Battery

In 1998, the monarch's executive powers were transferred to the Council of Ministers, or Lhengye Zhungtshog (cabinet). Candidates for the Council of Ministers are elected by the National Assembly for a fixed five-year term and must be a part of the legislative assembly. The cabinet is headed by the Prime Minister, who is the head of government. Sony VAIO VPCS12V9E/B Battery

The post of Prime Minister rotates each year between the five candidates who secures the highest number of votes. The 2005 draftConstitution of Bhutan included provision for a two-party democratic system that was unveiled after four years of preparation.^[7] Previously, the candidates to the cabinet Council of Ministers (Lhengye Zhungtshog) were nominated by the monarch, elected by the National Assembly. Sony VAIO VPCW111XX/P Battery

The members served fixed, five-year terms. There was also a Royal Advisory Council (Lodoi Tsokde), members nominated by the monarch.

Legislative branch

Bhutan elects its legislative branch through universal suffrage under the Constitution of 2008. Sony VAIO VPCW111XX/PC Battery

The Bhutanese parliament is bicameral, consisting of a National Council (upper house) and a National Assembly (lower house).

Prior to 2008, the legislative branch was the unicameral Tshogdu. The Tshogdu had 150 members, Sony VAIO VPCW111XX/T Battery

106 members elected at various dates for a three year term in single-seat constituencies, 34 appointed members and 10 representatives of the monastic body.Suffrage in Bhutan at that time was unique in that each family unit, rather than individual, had one vote.

Political parties and elections

In Bhutan, political parties, elections, and referenda are overseen by the Election Commission, an independent government regulatory agency. Sony VAIO VPCW111XX/W Battery

Candidates for most elections and appointments in Bhutan must be non-partisan, however political parties may slate candidates for seats in the National Assembly. The party that wins the most seats nominates the Prime Minister.^[5] The first and current Prime Minister, Lyonchen Jigme Thinley, is a member of theBhutan Peace and Prosperity Party. Sony VAIO VPCW111XXP Battery

Political pressure groups include the Buddhist clergy; ethnic Nepalese organizations leading militant anti-government campaign; Indian merchant community and the exiled United Front for Democracy.

Judicial branch

Bhutan's legal system is based on codes established by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in 17th century and influenced by Anglo-Indian common law. Sony VAIO VPCW111XXT Battery

Under theConstitution of 2008, the Judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court, the High Court, and twenty Dzongkhag Courts. For thirteen dungkhag jurisdictions in sixDzongkhags, Dungkhag Courts are the courts of first instance. In all jurisdictions outside dungkhags, the Dzongkhag Courts are the civil and criminal courts of first instance. Sony VAIO VPC-P114KX/P Battery

The High Court is the first court of appeal, and the Supreme Court is the court of final appeal. The Supreme Court also has original jurisdiction over Constitutional questions and matters of national importance referred by the King. Judges of the Supreme and High courts are appointed by the King.^[5] Sony VAIO VPC-P114KX/W Battery

Before 2008 in the Bhutanese judicial system, the monarch was the final court of appeal (the "Supreme Court of Appeal"), and local government officials adjudicated minor crimes.^[9] The Royal High Court of Bhutan was the highest court in the country and had original jurisdiction over the twenty districts of the nation. Sony VAIO VPCP115JC Battery

Judicial appointments were made by the monarch, and could be recalled by him at any time.

Legal system

The criminal justice system is based on trial before a panel of judges, and therefore resembles more the Napoleonic than the British or American adversarial systems. Sony VAIO VPCP115JC/B Battery

The prosecutor, a government employee, seeks to obtain an acknowledgement of culpability from the accused. If this happens quickly, the sentencing may be lenient. If culpability is obvious but the accused refuses to admit to it, the sentence may be correspondingly severe. Sony VAIO VPCP115JC/D Battery

Judges may dismiss the case for lack of proof at any time. Recent legislation defines required proof of guilt more closely, providing increased protection against trivial or mistaken charges. Minor criminal offences may be tried by the dzongkhag Drangpon (District Judge).

Bhutan has not accepted compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction. Sony VAIO VPCP115JC/G Battery

The codification of Bhutanese culture traces its roots directly back to Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel, the Tibetan lama and military leader who unified Bhutan as a nation state in the 17th century. The Shabdrung sought to unify the country not only politically but culturally as well. He established the Driglam Namzha, Sony VAIO VPCP115JC/P Battery

guidelines for architecture, festivals, and public dress and behavior. These guidelines were intentionally codified to encourage the emergence of a distinctive Bhutanese identity.

During the six 5-year plans for Bhutan's planned developing starting from the 1960s, authorities seemed to take the survival for Bhutan's tradition and culture for granted. Sony VAIO VPCP115JC/W Battery

During that period of rapid development a significant part of Bhutan's population, principally the youth, were exposed overnight to outside ideas, cultures, and influences. This period also saw a marked increase in immigrants from Nepal and India, most of whom settled in the south among the Lhotshampa. Sony VAIO VPCP115KG Battery

By the 1980s, the government felt it necessary to safeguard the dominant Ngalop culture. In 1989 the government elevated the status of the Driglam Namzha dress code from recommended to mandatory. Afterward, all citizens were required to observe the dress code (the gho and kira) in public during business hours.Sony VAIO VPCP116KG Battery

This decree was resented by the Hindu Lhotshampa in the southern lowlands who voiced complaints about being forced to wear the clothing of the Ngalop.^[10][11] This was accompanied by regulations restricting employment and educational opportunities for residents who were not of full Bhutanese descent. Sony VAIO VPC-P116KX/B Battery

However, the government finds it difficult to relent because it perceives a threat to tradition demographically and culturally. As a result of ethnic tensions, there were an estimated 107,000^[12] refugees and asylum seekers, mostly Lhotshampa, in refugee camps in Nepal in 2008. By January 2010, an estimated 90,078^[13]remained persons of concern. Sony VAIO VPC-P116KX/D Battery

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The Kingdom of Bhutan

Posted May 29th, 2012 at 05:05am

Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China. Sony VAIO VPCZ119GC/X Battery

Bhutan is separated from the nearby country of Nepal to the west by the Indian state of Sikkim, and from Bangladesh to the south by the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal.

Bhutan existed as a patchwork of minor warring fiefdoms until the early 17th century, when the area was unified by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, Sony VAIO VPCZ119L Battery

who fled religious persecution in Tibet and cultivated a separate Bhutanese identity. In the early 20th century, Bhutan came into contact with the British Empire, after which Bhutan continued strong bilateral relations with India upon its independence. In 2006, Business Week rated Bhutan the happiest country in Asia and the eighth-happiest in the world, based on a global survey.^[9]Sony VAIO VPCZ119R/B Battery

Bhutan’s landscape ranges from subtropical plains in the south to the sub-alpine Himalayan heights in the north, with some peaks exceeding 7,000 metres (23,000 ft). The state religion is Vajrayana Buddhism, and the population of 691,141 is predominantly Buddhist, with Hinduism the second-largest religion.^[10] Sony VAIO VPCZ119R/S Battery

The capital and largest city is Thimphu. In 2007, Bhutan made the transition from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy, holding its first general election. Bhutan is a member of the United Nations and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC); it hosted the sixteenth SAARC summit in April 2010. Sony VAIO VPCZ11AFJ Battery

The total area of the country has been reported as 38,394 square kilometres (14,824 sq mi) since 2002.^[1][2] The area had previously been reported as approximately 46,500 km² (18,000 sq mi) in 1997.

Names similar to Bhutan — including Bottanthis, Bottan, Bottanter — began to appear in Europe around the 1580s. Sony VAIO VPCZ11AGJ Battery

Jean-Baptiste Tavernier's 1676 Six Voyages is the first to record the name Boutan. However, in every case, these seem to have been describing not modern Bhutan but the Kingdom of Tibet. The modern distinction between the two did not begin until well into Bogle's 1774 expedition — realizing the differences between the two regions, cultures, and states, Sony VAIO VPCZ11AVJ Battery

his final report to the East India Company formally proposed labeling theDruk Desi's kingdom as "Boutan" and the Panchen Lama's as "Tibet". The EIC's surveyor general James Rennellfirst anglicized the French name as Bootan and then popularized the distinction between it and greater Tibet. Sony VAIO VPCZ11CGX/X Battery

The precise etymology of Bhutan is unknown, although it quite probably derives from the Tibetan endonym Bod, used for Greater Tibet. It is traditionally taken to be a transcription of the Sanskrit Bho a-anta ( - , "end of Tibet"), in reference to Bhutan's position as the southern extremity of the Tibetan plateau and culture.^[13][14] Sony VAIO VPCZ11DGX/SJ Battery

Locally, Bhutan has been known by many names. The earliest western records of Bhutan, the 1627 Relacao of the Portuguese Jesuits Estêvão Cacella and João Cabral, records its name variously as Cambirasi (among the Koch Biharis^[15]), Potente, and Mon (an endonym for southern Tibet).^[12] Sony VAIO VPCZ11FHX/XQ Battery

The first time a separate Kingdom of Bhutan did appear on a western map, it did so under its local name as "Broukpa".^[12] Others including Lho Mon ("Dark Southland"), Lho Tsendenjong("Southland of the Cypress"), Lhomen Khazhi ("Southland of the Four Approaches") and Lho Men Jong ("Southland of the Herbs). Sony VAIO VPCZ11V9R/B Battery

Stone tools, weapons, elephants, and remnants of large stone structures provide evidence that Bhutan was inhabited as early as 2000 BC, although there are no existing records from that time. Historians have theorized that the state of Lhomon (literally, "southern darkness"), or Monyul ("Dark Land", a reference to theMonpa, the aboriginal peoples of Bhutan) may have existed between 500 BC and AD 600. Sony VAIO VPCZ11X9E/B Battery

The names Lhomon Tsendenjong (Sandalwood Country), and Lhomon Khashi, or Southern Mon (country of four approaches), have been found in ancient Bhutanese and Tibetan chronicles.

Buddhism was first introduced to Bhutan in the 7th century AD. Sony VAIO VPCZ11Z9E/B Battery

Tibetan king Songtsän Gampo^[20] (reigned 627–49), a convert to Buddhism, ordered the construction of two Buddhist temples, at Bumthang in central Bhutan and at Kyichu (near Paro) in theParo Valley.^[21] Buddhism was propagated in earnest^[20] in 746^[22] under King Sindhu R ja (also Künjom;^[23] Sony VAIO VPCZ125GX/S Battery

Sendha Gyab; Chakhar Gyalpo), an exiled Indian king who had established a government in Bumthang at Chakhar Gutho Palace.

Buddhist saint Padma Sambhava (also known as Guru Rinpoche) came to Bhutan in in 747. Sony VAIO VPCZ127FC Battery

Much of early Bhutanese history is unclear because most of the records were destroyed when fire ravaged the ancient capital, Punakha, in 1827. By the 10th century, Bhutan's political development was heavily influenced by its religious history. Various sub-sects of Buddhism emerged which were patronized by the various Mongol warlords. Sony VAIO VPCZ128GC Battery

After the decline of the Yuan Dynasty in the 14th century, these sub-sects vied with each other for supremacy in the political and religious landscape, eventually leading to the ascendancy of the Drukpa sub-sect by the 16th century.

Until the early 17th century, Bhutan existed as a patchwork of minor warring fiefdoms, Sony VAIO VPCZ12M9E/B Battery

when the area was unified by the Tibetan lama and military leader Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal who had fled religious persecution in Tibet. To defend the country against intermittent Tibetan forays, Namgyal built a network of impregnable dzong (fortresses), and promulgated the Tsa Yig, a code of law that helped to bring local lords under centralized control. Sony VAIO VPCZ13M9E/B Battery

Many such dzong still exist and are active centers of religion and district administration. Portuguese Jesuits Estêvão Cacella and João Cabral were the first recorded Europeans to visit Bhutan, on their way to Tibet. They met Ngawang Namgyal, presented him with firearms,gunpowder and a telescope, and offered him their services in the war against Tibet, but the Shabdrung declined the offer. Sony VAIO VPCZ13V9E/X Battery

After a stay of nearly eight months Cacella wrote a long letter from the Chagri Monastery reporting on his travels. This is a rare extant report of the Shabdrung.^[28][29] After Ngawang Namgyal's death in 1651, his passing was kept secret for 54 years; after a period of consolidation, Bhutan lapsed into internal conflict. Sony VAIO VPCZ13Z9E/X Battery

In the year 1711 Bhutan went to war against the Mughal Empire and its Subedars, who restored Koch Bihar in the south. During the chaos that followed, the Tibetans unsuccessfully attacked Bhutan in 1714.^[30]

In the 18th century, the Bhutanese invaded and occupied the kingdom of Cooch Behar to the south. Sony VAIO VPCZZZHJ Battery

In 1772, Cooch Behar appealed to the British East India Company which assisted them in ousting the Bhutanese and later in attacking Bhutan itself in 1774. A peace treaty was signed in which Bhutan agreed to retreat to its pre-1730 borders. However, the peace was tenuous, and border skirmishes with the British were to continue for the next hundred years. Sony VAIO VPZ117 Battery

The skirmishes eventually led to the Duar War (1864–65), a confrontation for control of the Bengal Duars. After Bhutan lost the war, the Treaty of Sinchula was signed between British India and Bhutan. As part of the war reparations, the Duars were ceded to the United Kingdom in exchange for a rent of Rs. 50,000. Sony VAIO VPZ118 Battery

The treaty ended all hostilities between British India and Bhutan.

During the 1870s, power struggles between the rival valleys of Paro and Tongsa led to civil war in Bhutan, eventually leading to the ascendancy of Ugyen Wangchuck, the ponlop (governor) of Tongsa. Sony VAIO VPZ119 Battery

From his power base in central Bhutan, Ugyen Wangchuck defeated his political enemies and united the country following several civil wars and rebellions during 1882–85.^[31]

In 1907, an epochal year for the country, Ugyen Wangchuck was unanimously chosen as the hereditary king of the country by an assembly of leading Buddhist monks, Sony VPCM11M1E/B Battery

government officials, and heads of important families. The British government promptly recognized the new monarchy, and in 1910 Bhutan signed the Treaty of Punakha, a subsidiary alliance which gave the British control of Bhutan's foreign affairs and meant that Bhutan was treated as an Indian princely state. Sony VPCM11M1E/W Battery

This had little real effect, given Bhutan's historical reticence, and also did not appear to affect Bhutan's traditional relations with Tibet. After the new Union of India gained independence from the United Kingdom on 15 August 1947, Bhutan became one of the first countries to recognize India's independence. Sony VPCM12M1E/L Battery

On 8 August 1949, a treaty similar to that of 1910, in which Britain had gained power over Bhutan's foreign relations, was signed with the newly independent India.^[18]

In 1953, King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck established the country's legislature – a 130-member National Assembly – to promote a more democratic form of governance. Sony VPCM12M1E/P Battery

In 1965, he set up a Royal Advisory Council, and in 1968 he formed a Cabinet. In 1971, Bhutan was admitted to the United Nations, having held observer status for three years. In July 1972, Jigme Singye Wangchuck ascended to the throne at the age of sixteen after the death of his father, Dorji Wangchuck. Sony VPCM12M1E/W Battery

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the country expelled or forced to leave nearly one fifth of its population in the name of preserving its Tibetan Mahayana Buddhist culture and identity.^[32] The Lhotshampas, the ethnic group persecuted by the Bhutanese government, were subject to "harassment, arrests and the burning of ethnic Nepali homes."^[33] Sony VPCM13M1E/L Battery

The government enacted discriminatory citizenship laws against the Lhotshampas, stripping about one-fifth of its population of citizenship. A harassment campaign escalating in the early 1990s ensued, and afterwards Bhutanese security forces began expelling people after making them renounce claims to their homes and homeland. Sony VPCM13M1E/P Battery

A refugee recounted, “The army took all the people from their houses. As we left Bhutan, we were forced to sign the document. They snapped our photos. The man told me to smile, to show my teeth. He wanted to show that I was leaving my country willingly, happily, that I was not forced to leave.”^[34] Sony VPCM13M1E/W Battery

Due to the violence, Bhutanese of Nepali origin, mainly Hindu, fled their homeland. According to the UNHCR, more than 107,000 Bhutanese refugees living in seven camps in eastern Nepal have been documented as of 2008.^[35] After many years in refugee camps, many are now moving to host nations such as Norway, Sony VAIO VPCY115FXBI Battery

the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States as refugees. The United States has admitted 30,870 refugees from fiscal years 2008 through 2010.^[36] Still, in July 2010, the Bhutanese prime minister, Jigme Y Thinley, called the Bhutanese refugees illegal immigrants.^[37] Sony VAIO VPCY118EC Battery

Political reform and modernization

King Jigme Singye Wangchuck introduced significant political reforms, transferring most of his administrative powers to the Council of Cabinet Ministers and allowing for impeachment of the King by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly.^[38]Sony VAIO VPCY118GX/BI Battery

In 1999, the government lifted a ban on television and the Internet, making Bhutan one of the last countries to introduce television. In his speech, the King said that television was a critical step to the modernisation of Bhutan as well as a major contributor to the country's Gross National Happiness (Bhutan is the only country to measure happiness),Sony VAIO VPCY119FJ/S Battery

but warned that the "misuse" of television could erode traditional Bhutanese values.^[40]

A new constitution was presented in early 2005. In December 2005, Jigme Singye Wangchuck announced that he would abdicate the throne in his son's favor in 2008. On 14 December 2006, he announced that he would be abdicating immediately. Sony VAIO VPCY11AFJ Battery

This was followed by the first national parliamentary elections in December 2007 andMarch 2008.

On November 6, 2008, 28-year old Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, eldest son of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, was crowned King.^[41] Sony VAIO VPCY11AGJ Battery

Government and politics

Bhutan's political system has developed from an absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy. In 1999, the fourth king of Bhutan created a body called the Lhengye Zhungtshog (Council of Ministers). Sony VAIO VPCY11AHJ Battery

The Druk Gyalpo (King of Druk Yul) ishead of state. Executive power is exercised by the Lhengye Zhungtshog, the council of ministers. Legislative power was vested in both the government and the former Grand National Assembly.

On the 17th of December 2005, the 4th King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, Sony VAIO VPCY11AVJ Battery

announced to a stunned nation that the first general elections would be held in 2008, and that he would abdicate the throne in favor of his eldest son, the crown prince.^[42]King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck took the throne on December 14, 2006 upon his father's abdication. Sony VAIO VPCY11M1E/S Battery

Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck was adorned with Bhutan's Raven Crown at an ornate coronation ceremony in Thimphu on Thursday, November 6, 2008, becoming the world's youngest reigning monarch and head of the newest democracy.^[43]

The new political system comprises an upper and lower house, the latter based on political party affiliations. Sony VAIO VPCY11S1E Battery

Electionsfor the upper house (National Council) were held on December 31, 2007, while elections for the lower house, the 47-seatNational Assembly, were held on March 24, 2008. Two political parties, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) headed bySangay Ngedup, and the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) headed by Jigmi Thinley, Sony VAIO VPCY11V9E/S Battery

competed in the National Assembly election. The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa won the elections taking 45 out of 47 seats in the parliament.^[44]

Judicial power is vested in the courts of Bhutan. The Chief Justice is the administrative head of the Judiciary. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/BI Battery

Military and foreign affairs

The Royal Bhutan Army is Bhutan's military service. It includes the Royal Bodyguard and the Royal Bhutan Police. Membership is voluntary, and the minimum age for recruitment is 18. The standing army numbers about 16,000 and is trained by the Indian Army.^[45] Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/G Battery

It has an annual budget of about $13.7 million — 1.8 percent of the GDP. Being a landlocked country, Bhutan has no navy. It also has no air force or army aviation corps. The Army relies on Eastern Air Command of the Indian Air Force for air assistance.

In 2007, Bhutan and India signed a new treaty that clarified that Bhutan was master of its own foreign relations, superseding the treaty signed in 1949. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/L Battery

The superseded treaty is still sometimes misinterpreted to mean that India controls Bhutan's foreign affairs, but the government of Bhutan handles all of its own foreign affairs, including the sensitive (to India) border demarcation issue with China.

Bhutan has diplomatic relations with 21 countries, and with the European Union, with missions in India, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Kuwait. Sony VAIO VPCY218EC/P Battery

It has two UNmissions, one in New York and one in Geneva. Only India and Bangladesh have residential embassies in Bhutan, while Thailand has a consulate office in Bhutan.

By a long standing treaty, Indian and Bhutanese citizens may travel to each other's countries without a passport or visausing their national identity cards instead. Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/L Battery

Bhutanese citizens may also work in India without legal restriction. Bhutan does not have formal diplomatic ties with its northern neighbour, the People's Republic of China, although exchanges of visits at various levels between the two have significantly increased in recent times. Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/P Battery

The first bilateral agreement between China (PRC) and Bhutan was signed in 1998, and Bhutan has also set up honorary consulates in Macau and Hong Kong. Bhutan's border with China is largely not demarcated and thus disputed in some places. Approximately 269 square kilometers remain under discussion between China and Bhutan.^[46] Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/SI Battery

On 13 November 2005, Chinese soldiers crossed into the disputed territories between China and Bhutan, and began building roads and bridges.^[47] Bhutanese Foreign Minister Khandu Wangchuk took up the matter with Chinese authorities after the issue was raised in the Bhutanese parliament. Sony VAIO VPCZ110 Battery

In response, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang of the People's Republic of China has said that the border remains in dispute and that the two sides are continuing to work for a peaceful and cordial resolution of the dispute.^[48] An Indian intelligence officer has said that a Chinese delegation in Bhutan told the Bhutanese that they were "overreacting." Sony VAIO VPCZ110GB/BI Battery

The Bhutanese newspaper Kuensel has said that China might use the roads to further Chinese claims along the border.^[47]

On 8 February 2007, the Indo-Bhutan Friendship Treaty was substantially revised. The Treaty of 1949, Article 2 states: Sony VAIO VPCZ112GD/S Battery

"The Government of India undertakes to exercise no interference in the internal administration of Bhutan. On its part the Government of Bhutan agrees to be guided by the advice of the Government of India in regard to its external relations." In the revised treaty it now reads as Sony VAIO VPCZ112GX/S Battery

"In keeping with the abiding ties of close friendship and cooperation between Bhutan and India, the Government of the Kingdom of Bhutan and the Government of the Republic of India shall cooperate closely with each other on issues relating to their national interests. Sony VAIO VPCZ114GX/S Battery

Neither government shall allow the use of its territory for activities harmful to the national security and interest of the other." The revised treaty also includes this preamble: "Reaffirming their respect for each other's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity", an element that was absent in the earlier version. Sony VAIO VPCZ115 Battery

The Indo-Bhutan Friendship Treaty of 2007 clarifies Bhutan's status as an independent and sovereign nation.

Bhutan maintains formal diplomatic relations with several Asian and European nations, Canada, and Brazil. Sony VAIO VPCZ115FC/B Battery

Other countries, such as the United States and theUnited Kingdom, have no formal diplomatic relations with Bhutan, but maintain informal contact through their respective embassies in New Delhi and Bhutanese honorary consulates in London and Washington, D.C. Sony VAIO VPCZ115FC/S Battery

Geography

Bhutan is located on the southern slopes of the eastern Himalayas, landlocked between theTibet Autonomous Region to the north and the Indian states of Sikkim, West Bengal, Assamand Arunachal Pradesh to the west and south. Sony VAIO VPCZ116 Battery

It lies between latitudes 26° and 29°N, and longitudes 88° and 93°E. The land consists mostly of steep and high mountainscrisscrossed by a network of swift rivers, which form deep valleys before draining into the Indian plains. Elevation rises from 200 m (660 ft) in the southern foothills to more than 7,000 m (23,000 ft). Sony VAIO VPCZ116GX/S Battery

This great geographical diversity combined with equally diverse climate conditions contributes to Bhutan's outstanding range of biodiversity and ecosystems.^[2]

The northern region of the country consists of an arc of Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows reaching up to glaciated mountain peaks with an extremely cold climate at the highest elevations. Sony VAIO VPCZ117 Battery

Most peaks in the north are over 7,000 m (23,000 ft) above sea level; the highest point in Bhutan isGangkhar Puensum at 7,570 metres (24,840 ft), which has the distinction of being the highest unclimbed mountain in the world.^[3] The lowest point, at 98 m (322 ft), is in the valley of Drangme Chhu, where the river crosses the border with India.^[3] Sony VAIO VPCZ117FC/B Battery

Watered by snow-fed rivers, alpine valleys in this region provide pasture for livestock, tended by a sparse population of migratory shepherds.

The Black Mountains in the central region of Bhutan form a watershed between two major river systems: the Mo Chhu and theDrangme Chhu. Sony VAIO VPCZ118 Battery

Peaks in the Black Mountains range between 1,500 and 2,700 m (4,900 and 8,900 ft) above sea level, and fast-flowing rivers have carved out deep gorges in the lower mountain areas. The forests of the central Bhutan mountains consist of Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests in higher elevations and Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests in lower elevations. Sony VAIO VPCZ118GC/B Battery

Woodlands of the central region provide most of Bhutan's forest production. The Torsa, Raidak, Sankosh, and Manasare the main rivers of Bhutan, flowing through this region. Most of the population lives in the central highlands.

In the south, the Shiwalik Hills are covered with dense Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests, Sony VAIO VPCZ118GX/S Battery

alluvial lowland river valleys, and mountains up to around 1,500 m (4,900 ft) above sea level. The foothills descend into the subtropical Duars Plain. Most of the Duars is located in India, although a 10 to 15 km (6.2 to 9.3 mi) wide strip extends into Bhutan. The Bhutan Duars is divided into two parts: the northern and the southern Duars. Sony VAIO VPCZ119 Battery

The northern Duars, which abuts the Himalayan foothills, has rugged, sloping terrain and dry, porous soil with dense vegetation and abundant wildlife. The southern Duars has moderately fertile soil, heavy savannah grass, dense, mixed jungle, and freshwater springs. Sony VAIO VPCZ119FJ/S Battery

Mountain rivers, fed by either the melting snow or the monsoon rains, empty into the Brahmaputra River in India. Data released by the Ministry of Agriculture showed that the country had a forest cover of 64% as of October 2005.

The climate in Bhutan varies with elevation, from subtropical in the south to temperate in the highlands and polar-type climate, with year-round snow in the north. Sony VAIO VPCW12AVJ Battery

Bhutan experiences five distinct seasons: summer, monsoon, autumn, winter and spring. Western Bhutan has the heavier monsoon rains; southern Bhutan has hot humid summers and cool winters; central and eastern Bhutan is temperate and drier than the west with warm summers and cool winters. Sony VAIO VPCW12S1E/P Battery

More than 770 species of bird and 5,400 species of plants are known to occur throughout the kingdom. Bhutan has a rich primate life with rare species such as the golden langur.^[52][53] Recently, a variant Assamese macaque, which is also regarded by some authorities as a new species, Macaca munzala has also been recorded.^[54] Sony VAIO VPCW12S1E/T Battery

The Bengal tiger, Greater One-horned Rhinoceros, clouded leopard, hispid hare and the sloth bear live in the lush tropical lowland and hardwood forests in the south. In the temperate zone, grey langur, tiger, Indian leopard, goral and serow are found in mixed conifer, broadleaf and pine forests. Sony VAIO VPCW12S1E/W Battery

Fruit bearing trees and bamboo provide habitat for the Himalayan black bear, red panda, squirrel, sambar, wild pig and barking deer. The alpine habitats of the great Himalayan range in the north are home to the snow leopard, blue sheep, marmot, Tibetan wolf, antelope, Himalayan musk deer and the takin, Bhutan'snational animal. Sony VAIO VPCW213AG/L Battery

The endangered Wild Water Buffalo occurs in southern Bhutan although in small numbers.^[55]

Among birds, the globally endangered White-winged Wood Duck has been added recently to the list of Bhutan's avifauna.^[56] Sony VAIO VPCW213AG/P Battery

Conservation significance

The Eastern Himalayas have been identified as a global biodiversity hotspot and counted among the 234 globally outstanding ecoregions of the world in a comprehensive analysis of global biodiversity undertaken by WWF between 1995 and 1997. Sony VAIO VPCW213AG/T Battery

Bhutan is seen as a model for proactive conservation initiatives. The Kingdom has received international acclaim for its commitment to the maintenance of its biodiversity. This is reflected in the decision to maintain at least sixty percent of the land area under forest cover, to designate more than 40% of its territory as national parks, Sony VAIO VPCW213AG/W Battery

reserves and other protected areas, and most recently to identify a further nine percent of land area as biodiversity corridors linking the protected areas. Environmental conservation has been placed at the core of the nation's development strategy, the middle path. It is not treated as a sector but rather as a set of concerns that must be mainstreamed in Bhutan's overall approach to development planning and to be buttressed by the force of law. Sony VAIO VPCW215AG/L Battery

Conservation issues

Although Bhutan's natural heritage is still largely intact, the Government has said that it cannot be taken for granted and that conservation of the natural environment must be considered one of the challenges that will need to be addressed in the years ahead. Sony VAIO VPCW217JC Battery

Pressures on the natural environment are already evident and will be fuelled by a complex array of forces. They include population pressures, agricultural modernisation, poaching, hydro-power development, mineral extraction, industrialisation, urbanisation, sewage and waste disposal, tourism, Sony VAIO VPCW217JC/L Battery

competition for available land road construction and the provision of other physical infrastructure associated with social and economic development.

Policy implementation needs to be continually improved. Sustainable rural livelihoods that do not rely solely upon natural resource use need to be developed and supported, Sony VAIO VPCW217JC/P Battery

and there needs to be far wider understanding of the environmental threats that come hand in hand with development, to ensure the future of Bhutan's rich and diverse environment.

In practice, the overlap of these extensive protected lands with populated areas has led to mutual habitat encroachment. Sony VAIO VPCW217JC/T Battery

Protected wildlife has entered agricultural areas, trampling crops and killing livestock. In response, Bhutan has implemented an insurance scheme, begun constructing solar powered alarm fences, watch towers, and search lights, and has provided fodder and salt licks outside human settlement areas to encourage animals to stay away.^[59] Sony VAIO VPCW217JC/W Battery

Economy

The ngultrum is the currency of Bhutan and its value is fixed to the Indian rupee. The rupee is also accepted as legal tenderin the country.

Though Bhutan's economy is one of the world's smallest, it has grown rapidly in recent years, by eight percent in 2005 and 14 percent in 2006. Sony VAIO VPCW218JC Battery

In 2007, Bhutan had the second fastest growing economy in the world, with an annual economic growth rate of 22.4 percent. This was mainly due to the commissioning of the gigantic Tala Hydroelectricity project. As of March 2006, Bhutan's per capita income was US$1,321. Sony VAIO VPCW218JC/L Battery

Bhutan's economy is based on agriculture, forestry, tourism and the sale of hydroelectric power to India. Agriculture provides the main livelihood for more than 80 percent of the population. Agrarian practices consist largely of subsistence farming and animal husbandry. Sony VAIO VPCW218JC/P Battery

Handicrafts, particularly weaving and the manufacture of religious art for home altars, are a small cottage industry. A landscape that varies from hilly to ruggedly mountainous has made the building of roads and otherinfrastructure difficult and expensive. This, and a lack of access to the sea, Sony VAIO VPCW218JC/T Battery

has meant that Bhutan has not been able to benefit from significant trading of its produce. Bhutan does not have any railways, though Indian Railways plans to link southern Bhutan to its vast network under an agreement signed in January 2005.^[60] Bhutan and India signed a 'free trade' accord in 2008, Sony VAIO VPCW218JC/W Battery

which additionally allowed Bhutanese imports and exports from third markets to transit India withouttariffs.^[61] Bhutan had trade relations with the Tibet region until 1960, when it closed its border with China after an influx of refugees.^[62]

The industrial sector is in a nascent stage, and though most production comes from cottage industry, Sony VAIO VPCW219AJ/L Battery

larger industries are being encouraged and some industries such as cement, steel, and ferroalloy have been set up. Most development projects, such as road construction, rely on Indian contract labour. Agricultural produce includes rice, chilies, dairy (some yak, mostly cow) products, buckwheat, barley, root crops, apples, and citrus and maize at lower elevations. Sony VAIO VPCW219AJ/P Battery

Industries include cement,wood products, processed fruits, alcoholic beverages and calcium carbide.

Incomes of over Nu 100,000 per annum are taxed, but very few wage and salary earners qualify. Bhutan's inflation rate was estimated at about three percent in 2003. Sony VAIO VPCW219AJ/W Battery

Bhutan has a Gross Domestic Product of around USD 2.913 billion (adjusted to Purchasing Power Parity), making it the 162nd largest economy in the world. Per capita income is around $1,400,^[3] ranked 124th. Government revenues total $272 million, though expenditures amount to $350 million. Sony VAIO VPCW21AAJ Battery

60 percent of the budget expenditure, however, is financed by India's Ministry of External Affairs.^{[note 1][63]} Bhutan's exports, principally electricity, cardamom, gypsum, timber, handicrafts, cement, fruit, precious stones and spices, total €128 million (2000 est.). Imports, however, amount to €164 million, leading to a trade deficit. Sony VAIO VPCW21AKJ Battery

Main items imported include fuel and lubricants, grain, machinery, vehicles, fabrics and rice. Bhutan's main export partner is India, accounting for 58.6 percent of its export goods. Hong Kong (30.1 percent) and Bangladesh (7.3 percent) are the other two top export partners.^[3] As its border with Tibet is closed, trade between Bhutan and China is now almost non-existent. Sony VAIO VPCW21AVJ Battery

Bhutan's import partners include India (74.5 percent), Japan (7.4 percent) and Sweden (3.2 percent).

Administrative divisions

Bhutan is divided into twenty dzongkhags (districts), administered by a body called the Dzongkhag Tshogdu. Sony VAIO VPCY115FGS Battery

In certain thromdes (urban municipalities), a further municipal administration is directly subordinate to the Dzongkhag administration. In the vast majority of constituencies, rural gewogs (village blocks) are administered by bodies called the Gewog Tshogde.^[64]

Thromdes (municipalities) elect Thrompons to lead administration, who in turn represent the Thromde in the Dzongkhag Tshogdu. Sony VAIO VPCY115FX/BI Battery

Likewise, gewogs elect headmen called gups, vice-headmen called mangmis, who also sit on the Dzongkhag Thshogdu, as well as other members of the Gewog Tshogde. The basis of electoral constituencies in Bhutan is the chiwog, a subdivision of gewogs delineated by the Election Commission. Sony VAIO VPCW111XX/P Battery

Bhutanese people primarily consist of the Ngalops and Sharchops, called the Western Bhutanese and Eastern Bhutanese respectively. The Lhotshampa, meaning "southerners," are a heterogeneous group of mostly Nepalese descent. The Ngalops primarily consist of Bhutanese living in the western part of the country. Sony VAIO VPCW111XX/PC Battery

Their culture is closely related to that of Tibet. Much the same could be said of the Sharchops, the dominant group, who traditionally follow the Nyingmapa rather than the official Drukpa Kagyu form of Tibetan Buddhism. Sony VAIO VPCW111XX/T Battery

In modern times, with improved transportation infrastructure, there has been much intermarriage between these groups. In the early 1970s, intermarriage between the Lhotshampas and mainstream Bhutanese society was encouraged by the government, but after the late 1980s, the Bhutanese government forced about 108,000 Lhotshampas from their homes, seized their land, and expelled them to refugee camps.^[33] Sony VAIO VPCW111XX/W Battery

The literacy rate in Bhutan is 59.5 percent.^[66] The country has a median age of 24.8 years.^[67] Bhutan has a life expectancyof 62.2 years (61 for males and 64.5 for females) according to the latest data from the World Bank. There are 1,070 males to every 1,000 females in the country. Sony VAIO VPCW111XXP Battery

It is estimated that between two thirds and three quarters of the Bhutanese population follow Vajrayana Buddhism, which is also the state religion. About one quarter to one third are followers of Hinduism. Other religions account for less than 1% of the population.^[68] The current legal framework, Sony VAIO VPCW111XXT Battery

in principle guarantees freedom of religion;proselytism, however, is forbidden by a royal government decision^[68] and by judicial interpretation of theConstitution.^[69]

Buddhism was introduced to Bhutan in the 7th century AD. Tibetan king Songtsän Gampo (reigned 627–49), Sony VAIO VPCW111XXW Battery

a convert to Buddhism, ordered the construction of two Buddhist temples, at Bumthang in central Bhutan and at Kyichu (near Paro) in theParo Valley.^[21]

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