From the Past : Karim Khan Zand

Kharim Khan Zand was a "Vakil", a ruler and founder of a short lived dynasty in Iran in the 18th century (1751 - 1794). His rule was not marked by glorious military conquests but by the stability and equilibrium he gave to the state, whose capital was in Shiraz. His time was a transition towards the modernity attributed to the Qajars. 

From the Past : Rain gods and spirits

Qu Yuan by Chen Hongshou

     The Chinese have the Yu Shi, the Master of Rain 1 . This spirit is mentioned in the Chuci (songs of Chu) in the poem "Yuan You" traditionally considered to have been written by Qu Yuan. The name means "distant journey". The Chuci collection of texts was composed during the Han period by Liu Xiang and brings together many other authors.
    Of slightly more renown is the Middle Eastern "super"-god Baal who is also mentioned in the Old Testament and in the Quran after which he received attention in various types of books from theological to esoteric to fiction.

    The term "ba'al" is actually semitic and means "lord" or "master", in Akkadian it would be "Belu" and can be applied to various gods and even to humans. In order to be more specific, the actual god of thunderstorms was called by his priests "Hadad" and also received the designation of lord of Heaven. The Cannanites had a Baal-Hadad deity. Somewhere along the way Baal became for Abrahamic religions Beelzebub, "lord of the flies".
    Greek mythology is more straightforward and less cryptic. The Nephelae, beautiful young women, nymphs, bring rain to the Earth and feed the rivers.
  
   

From the Past: Moscow Metro

In July 1931 the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR voted for the construction of a metropolitan underground rail system in the soviet capital. This project was overseen by Lazar Kaganovici and because of this fact the underground system was named after him till 1955. Apart from its utilitarian purpose as a means of transportation and as a system of defense, the project was also designed to show a powerful and elegant face of the country to its citizens but also to be a statement for the West. On January 1932 the plan of the first lines was approved. The first 11.6 km route was from Sokolniki to Krymskaya Square branching from Okhotny Ryad to Smolenskaya Square.

[ to be continued ]

Sokolniki station

Late-1930s. Garden Ring, tramlines near Metro station "Smolenskaya" on the Smolensk Squar

Komsomolskaya metro station, Moscow
Designed by DN Chechulin & AF Tarkhov
1935 / Photo © МУАР

From the Past: Queen Marie of Romania

Queen consort Marie of Romania was a fundamental figure in the history of Romania remaining close to her people in the times of great struggle and despair of World War One and also making a reality the centuries long dream of the Greater Romania. 

Daughter of Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, she was born on 29 October 1875 as a member of the British royal family and titled Princess Marie of Edinburgh. In order to secure the succession to the throne of Crown Prince Ferdinand, King Carol I of Romania accepted the proposal of Grand Duchess Maria (her mother) to arrange a meeting between the two. They eventually got married in Sigmaringen Castle on 10 January 1893 in three ceremonies, one civil, one Catholic and one Anglican with Karl von Wendel, the German Emperor, being the first of the witnesses to sign the marriage act. On 11 October 1914 she and Ferdinand were proclaimed king and queen, their coronation had to wait till 15 October 1922 due to the war.

From the Past: Five Races of Mankind

Published in 1911 by a German magazine, this poster is a sad, yet artistically interesting, example of European exceptionalism and racism. Originating in the Age of Discovery, this Eurocentric mentality flourished in the Age of Reason and imposed itself on the world with the start of the Industrial Revolution. The Chinese Empire and the Muslim world have witnessed both their own periods of growth, development, stagnation and regress. The illustration was made by G. Ellka.

From the Past: Tzar Nicholas II at two factories

On 20 April 1915, Tzar Nicholas II visited as factory in Bryansk which was making explosives. What began as a sawmill grew with time into a factory specialized in metals and minerals, then railways and now locomotives. At present it is called BMZ.

This image could prove more interesting. I don't know when it was taken but it shows Tzar Nicholas II in a visit at Putilov Works in Petrograd, back then it was one of the largest factories in the world. During the war it was awarded a state order for artillery of around 113 million ruble (60 million dollars at the 1914 exchange rate), The factory could not keep with the huge demands and its owner supposedly benefited from part of the money. This meant that in 1917 the factory was bankrupt, on 18 February 20 000 workers went on strike, the following day the total number of strikers went up to 90 000 with over 850 factories closed. Such events were not isolated they escalated in intensity and spread like a wildfire, ultimately marking the start of the February Revolution that preceded the October Revolution.

From the Past: Battle scenes and Aspras from Angkor Wat

Photo by

Jason Eppink

More about the Angkor Wat bas-reliefs can be read here.

Photo by Sunny Merindo, Apsara depicted on the Angkor Wat.

In Hindu and Buddhist mythology an Apsara is a female spirit of the clouds and water. Sometimes they are compared to Ancient Greek muses because these too are associated with the arts. Beautiful and elegant they are also thought of being sent to ascetics in order to seduce them.