Who is who?

Ok here I start it:

Amir (King) Ghazi Amanullah Khan

Afghan patriot King Ghazi Amanullah Khan


Ghazi Amanullah Khan 1919


Ghazi Amanullah Khan 1920


Ghazi Amanullah Khan 1921


Ghazi Amanullah Khan 1922


Ghazi Amanullah Khan in Moscow - 1928


King Ghazi Amanullah Khan with Mustafa Kemal Atat�rk in Turkey - 1928


King Ghazi Amanullah Khan with Mustafa Kemal Atat�rk in Turkey - 1928


Ghazi Amanullah Khan during his exile in Italy - 1952

His biography:
(with reference to answers.com)

Ghazi Amir Amanullah Khan (June 1, 1892 - April 25, 1960) was the ruler of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929. He led Afghanistan to independence from the United Kingdom, and his rule was marked by dramatic political and social change.

Amanullah Khan was the son of the Amir Habibullah Khan. When Habibullah was assassinated on February 20, 1919, Amanullah was already the governor of Kabul and was in control of the army and the treasury. He quickly seized power, imprisoned any relatives with competing claims to the Amirship, and gained the allegiance of most of the tribal leaders.

 

Russia had recently undergone its Communist revolution, leading to strained relations between the country and the United Kingdom. Amanullah Khan recognized the opportunity to use the situation to gain Afghani independence. He led a surprise attack against the British on May 3, 1919, beginning the third Anglo-Afghan war, after which Afghanistan�s foreign affairs got its independence. After initial successes, the war quickly became a stalemate as the United Kingdom was still dealing with the costs of World War I. An armistice was reached in 1921, and Afghanistan formally became an independent nation.

 

Amanullah enjoyed popularity within Afghanistan and he used his influence to modernize the country. Amanullah created new cosmopolitan schools for both boys and girls in the region and overturned centuries-old traditions such a strict dress codes for women. He created a new capital city and increased trade with Europe and Asia. He also advanced a modernist constitution that incorporated equal rights and individual freedoms. Unfortunately, this rapid modernization created a backlash, and a reactionary uprising known as the Khost rebellion was suppressed in 1924.

 

At the time, Afghanistan's foreign policy was primarily concerned with the rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom. Each attempted to gain the favor of Afghanistan and foil attempts by the other power to gain influence in the region. This effect was inconsistent, but generally favorable for Afghanistan; Amanullah Khan took the opportunity and got several amount of funds and was even able to establish an air force consisting of donated Soviet planes.

 

After Amanullah traveled to Europe in late 1927, opposition to his rule increased. An uprising in Jalalabad culminated in a march to the capital, and much of the army deserted rather than resist. The air force asked the King to give orders so that they could bombard the rebellions and stop the ongoing uprisings. But the honest King ignored it and said;

 

�These planes are for resistance against foreign incursions and may never be used to kill our own people and destroy our own country; I don�t want to be known as the king who sacrificed the country for his rule and government.�

 

Therefore, in early 1929, Amanullah abdicated and went into temporary exile to India. From India the ex-king traveled to Europe and settled in Italy, and later to Switzerland.

Amanullah Khan died in Zurich, Switzerland in 1960. Very few of his many reforms were continued once he was no longer in power.

Abu Ali Al Hussain Ibn Abdullah Ibn Sina
(Avicenna)
(981 - 1037 C.E.)

Ibn Sina, known in the West by the name of Avicenna, was the most famous physician, philosopher, encyclopedist, mathematician and astronomer of his time. His major contribution to medical science was his famous book al-Qanun fi al-Tibb, known as the 'Canon' in the West. No deliberation on the science of medicine can be complete without a reference to Ibn Sina. Abu Ali al-Hussain Ibn Abdallah Ibn Sina was born in 981C.E. at Afshana near Bukhara (Central Asia). By the age of ten he had become well versed in the study of the Qur'an and basic sciences. He studied logic from Abu Abdallah Natili, a famous philosopher of the time and his study of philosophy included various Greek and Muslim books. In his youth he showed remarkable expertise in medicine and was well known in the region. At the age of seventeen, he was successful in curing Nooh Ibn Mansoor, the King of Bukhara, of an illness in which all the well-known physicians had given up hope. On his recovery, King Mansoor wished to reward him, but the young physician only desired permission to use his uniquely stocked library.

 

Ibn Sina traveled to Jurjan after his father's death where he met his famous contemporary Abu Raihan al-Biruni. Later he moved to Rayy and then to Hamadan, where he wrote his famous book Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb. Here, he treated Shams al-Daulah, the King of Hamadan, for severe colic. From Hamadan he moved to Isphahan (present Iran), where he completed many of his monumental writings. Nevertheless, he continued travelling and the excessive mental exertion as well as political turmoil spoilt his health. Finally, he returned to Hamadan where he died in 1037 C.E.

 

His major contribution to medical science was his famous book al-Qanun, known as the "Canon" in the West. The Qanun fi al-Tibb (the Canons of Medicine) is an immense encyclopedia of medicine extending over a million words. It reviewed the medical knowledge available from ancient and Muslim sources. Due to its systematic approach, formal perfection as well as its intrinsic value, the Qanun superceded Razi's (Rhazes') Hawi, Ali ibn Abbas's Maliki, and even the works of Galen, and remained supreme for six centuries. Ibn Sina not only synthesized the available knowledge, but he also made many original contributions. The Qanun (pronounced Qanoon) deals with general medicines, drugs (seven hundred sixty), diseases affecting all parts of the body from head to foot, specially pathology and pharmacopoia. It was recognized as the most authentic materia medica.

 

Among his original contributions are such advances as recognition of the contagious nature of phthisis and tuberculosis, distribution of diseases by water and soil, and interaction between psychology and health. He was the first to describe meningitis and made rich contributions to anatomy, gynecology and child health. Also, he was the first physician who suggested the treatment for lachrymal fistula and introduced medical probe for the channel.

 

Ibn Sina's Qanun contains many of his anatomical findings which are accepted even today. Ibn Sina was the first scientist to describe the minute and graphic description of different parts of the eye, such as conjuctive sclera, cornea, choroid, iris, retina, layer lens, aqueous humour, optic nerve and optic chiasma.

 

Ibn Sina condemned conjectures and presumptions in anatomy and called upon physicians and surgeons to base their knowledge on a close study of human body. He observed that Aorta at its origin contains three valves which open when the blood rushes into it from the heart during contraction and closes during relaxation of the heart so that the blood may not be poured back into the heart. He asserts that muscular movements are possible because of the nerves supplied to them, and the perception of pain in the muscles is also due to the nerves. Further, he observes that liver spleen and kidney do not contain any nerves but the nerves are embedded in the covering of these organs.

 

The Qanun (Canon) was translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona in the twelfth century. It became the text book for medical education in the schools of Europe. The demand for it may be appreciated from the fact that in the last thirty years of the fifteenth century it was issued sixteen times - fifteen editions being in Latin and one in Hebrew, and that it was reissued more than twenty times during the sixteenth century. In 1930 Cameron Gruner partly translated this book into English entitled "A Treatise on the Canons of Medicine of Avicenna." From the twelfth to seventeenth centuries the Qanun served as the chief guide to medical science in the West. Dr. William Osler, author of the Evolution of Modern Science, writes: "The Qanun has remained a medical bible for a longer period than any other work."

 

Ibn Sina's Kitab al-Shifa (Book of Healing) was a philosophical encyclopedia, covering a vast area of knowledge from philosophy to science. His philosophy synthesizes Aristotelian tradition, Neoplatonic influences and Muslim theology. Kitab al-Shifa was known as 'Sanatio' in its Latin translation. Besides Shifa his well-known treatises in philosophy are al-Najat and Isharat. He classified the entire field into two major categories: the theoretical knowledge and the practical knowledge. The former included physics, mathematics and metaphysics, and the latter ethics, economics and politics.

 

Ibn Sina also contributed to mathematics, physics, music and other fields. He made several astronomical observations, and devised a device similar to the vernier, to increase the precision of instrumental readings. In Physics, he contributed to the study of different forms of energy, heat, light and mechanical, and such concepts as force, vacuum and infinity. He made the important observation that if the perception of light is due to the emission of some sort of particles by the luminous source, the speed of light must be finite. He propounded on an interconnection between time and motion, and also made investigations on specific gravity and used an air thermometer.

 

In the field of Chemistry, he did not believe in the possibility of chemical transmutation in metals. These views were radically opposed to those prevailing at his time. His treatise on minerals was one of the main sources of geology of Christian encyclopedist of the thirteenth century.

 

In the field of Music, his contribution was an improvement over Farabi's (al-Pharabius) work and was far ahead of knowledge prevailing elsewhere on the subject. Doubling with the fourth and fifth was a 'great' step toward the harmonic system. Ibn Sina observed that in the series of consonances represented by (n+1)/n, the ear is unable to distinguish them when n = 45.

Ibn Sina's portrait adorns the great hall of the Faculty of Medicine in the University of Paris.

 

ASASHORYU: SUMO GRAND CHAMPION!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unlike his Hawaiian predecessors Akebono and Musashimaru, Asashoryu was relatively lightweight at 129 kg in 2001, he began bulking up to 131 kg in 2002, 140 kg by 2004, and is now about 145 kg, just below the average. He has successfully relied on speed and technique to compete against his, often much heavier, opponents, though lately he has begun confronting those opponents head on with the intention of out-muscling them. His lightning speed has suffered somewhat with the extra weight though he is still a lot faster than most of his opponents. He famously dumped the 158 kg Kotomitsuki with a "lifting body slam" (tsuriotoshi), a feat of tremendous strength, normally accomplished on much smaller and weaker opponents. After his debut in 1999, it took Asashoryu only 24 tournaments to win his first top division championship, the quickest achievement of this since the sport adopted its current format of six championships a year in 1958.

Because Asashoryu is known to be a dedicated and serious trainer who goes all out, some other high-profile wrestlers avoid training with him for fear of injury. Takamisakari (shoulder) and Kotooshu have both suffered notable injuries at the hands of some intense practice (keiko) with Asashoryu. In fact, on May 18, 2005, Asashoryu's left shoulder met Kotooshu's face at the tachi-ai (initial charge) with such ferocity that it stunned the Bulgarian and he teetered and wobbled out of the dohyo (sumo ring) with little effort from the Yokozuna. In training, he is reported to do multiple repetitions of biceps curls with 30 kg dumb-bells.

On January 30, 2003 Asashoryu was granted the title of yokozuna, the highest rank in sumo. While his first championship as yokozuna ended in a disappointing 10-5 record, he has since won a total of fourteen tournaments. Combined with his two yusho as an Ozeki, he has sixteen career championships.

The highlights of his career to date include two consecutive perfect 15-0 wins (zensho yusho) in January and March of 2004 with a streak of 35 unbeaten bouts in total (nobody had won 15-0 since 1996). On November 27, 2004, Asashoryu became the first wrestler to win five tournaments in a year since Chiyonofuji achieved the feat 18 years ago, and won his ninth Emperor's Cup. It has been speculated that one reason for Asashoryu's relatively disappointing performance in the Autumn basho of 2004, the only one he did not win, was his marriage to his Mongolian fianc�e for which the official ceremony was later held in August 2004 (although he actually married her in December 2002). The hectic social round that inevitably follows Japanese weddings may well have affected his pre-tournament preparations.

He continued to dominate Sumo in 2005, winning all six honbasho (sumo tournaments) and losing only six bouts all year (0-1-0-2-2-1). One of those rare losses came on September 11, 2005 at the start of the Aki Basho when he dropped his first Shonichi (Day 1) bout during his tenure as Yokozuna. On November 26, 2005 a visibly emotional Asashoryu wept after winning his eighty-third bout of the year (a new record) and clinching the tournament at the same time. The six victories of 2005 combined with his victory from the final tournament of 2004 has set a new record run of seven consecutive tournament victories, including two more 15-0 wins in January and May of 2005. The great Yokozuna Taiho achieved the feat of six consecutive tournament victories twice, but never in a calendar year. Asashoryu now stands alone with seven, cementing his place as one of the best ever.

Some are calling the Kyushu November 2005 Basho the "Triple Crown" of sumo, for the three records set.

• Seven straight tournaments entered, seven tournaments won.
• 90 regulation bouts contested in one year, 84 won.
• Grand Slam - winning all six tournaments in a calendar year.

Asashoryu's consecutive basho streak came to an end in January 2006, when Ozeki Tochiazuma took the first tournament championship of the year. Asashoryu's performance in January was a surprisingly poor 11-4 but he successfully rebounded by winning the March tournament. However, he has already lost six bouts in 2006, matching his loss total for all of last year.

Asashoryu has been criticized for infractions of the strict code of conduct expected of top sumo wrestlers. The most severe of his transgressions was his disqualification in the July tournament in 2003. He pulled on Kyokushuzan's mage (traditional Japanese top knot) during their bout on Day 5 of the tournament, resulting in an immediate hansoku-make, or disqualification. This caused a furor among Japanese fans, who already had a distaste for the foreign yokozuna. Some irate fans even called him a cheat ("hansoku") during the weeks and months following this act. His other divergences from the norm include being photographed in a suit (instead of a traditional Japanese costume) and refusing to adopt Japanese citizenship.

Asashoryu's brothers are also active in combat sports: Dolgolsren Sumiyabazar is a mixed martial arts fighter, and Dolgolsren Seljibdee, a professional wrestler, competes in New Japan Pro Wrestling under the name Blue Wolf (after the Mongolian Blue Wolf legend). All Dolgolsren brothers have strong backgrounds in Mongolian wrestling.

Link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asashoryu

Edited by Erdene

Tsakhiagiyn Elbegdorj (or Elbegdorj Tsakhia) (mong. Цахиагий 85; Элбэгдор 78;, usually just Elbegdorj) (born March 30, 1963) is one of the 13 leaders of the peaceful revolution that ended nearly 75 years of communist rule in 1989 and created an open democratic society in Mongolia. Elbegdorj has been the Prime Minister of Mongolia twice, the Vice Speaker of Parliament once, the Majority Leader of the Parliament once, and the Member of Parliament three times. He is known as a pro-democracy, libertarian politician.

Elbegdorj Tsakhia is one of the first pro-democracy activists who risked their lives and who organized rallies, demonstrations, led people, protested, and helped to bring about an end to the communist government of Mongolia in a non-violent way in 1989. Elbegdorj�s main criticisms of the communist government were that a democratic society, freedom of speech and a free market economy would be better for Mongolia, and the communist government was not supportive of these concepts. Because of Elbegdorj and the other leaders of the Mongolian anticommunist revolution, Mongolia became the first democratic country in Central Asia. International intellectuals and mass media acclaim and refer to Elbegdorj as "Mongolia's Thomas Jefferson. "[1]

When giving a speech at Mongolian Youth Organization's Congress, in the end of his speech, Elbegdorj said that Mongolia needed democracy and appealed youth to collaborate together for establishing democracy in Mongolia. The chairman of the congress stopped Elbegdorj's speech and warned him that Elbegdorj could not say such things. It was 1989 and Mongolia was already a communist country for one generation - 68 years and it is alleged that one out of two people were unofficial spy of communist party Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) that would oppress people who express different opinions than socialism and communism. During the break of the congress, two young people met Elbegdorj and the three agreed to establish democratic movement and to spread the word secretly to young people. The three with other ten later became known as the thirteen leaders of Mongolia's democratic revolution.

At that time, Elbegdorj was a correspondent of Ulaan Od (Red Star) military newspaper and when he came back to work after the youth congress, the word of the Youth Congress' chairman about Elbegdorj's "wrongdoing" at the congress already reached the newspaper. The director of the newspaper warned Elbegdorj that he would fire Elbegdorj if he would participate in any activities out of work and to do anything out of communist and socialist ideological lines. Mongolian Youth Organization, the only youth organization of that time in Mongolia was a sister organization of MPRP. Despite the warning, Elbegdorj and his friends began to secretly meet with other young people in the circle auditorium of Mongolian National University and discussed about democracy, free market economy and what they knew about the prohibited subjects of that time and began to draft a plan to organize democratic movement. They met many times and brought new friends and new supporters to join them secretly. One night they put ads of their open demonstration in streets.

On the morning of December 10, 1989, the first open pro-democracy demonstration met in front of the Youth Palace in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. As the crowd gathered, Elbegdorj Tsakhia, one of the organizers, took the microphone and publicly announced the establishment of a Mongolian democratic movement. The democratic movement created Democratic Union - Mongolia's first democratic non-governmental organization that Elbegdorj co-founded. The democracy activists organized more and more demonstrations in the face of highly possible personal persecution and oppression from MPRP's Politburo - the executive organization of Mongolia at that time. Mongolians supported the democratic movement to change Mongolia into a democratic society and it became a nationwide wave with branches in every provinces of Mongolia. Democratic movement organized demonstrations, hunger strikes, and teachers and workers organized work strikes in support of democratic movements in many provinces. Eventually with the pressure from all these, the nine member MPRP Politburo agreed to meet democratic movement leaders and to negotiate. Elbegdorj was one of the negotiators and after the negotiation MPRP Politburo chairman Jambyn Batmonh made the decision to relinquish the Politburo and announced it on TV and radio. With the resignation of the Politburo, Mongolia became able to establish a People's Congress and then to adopt its Constitution[2] that guaranteed human rights, democracy and liberty.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsakhiagiyn_Elbegdorj





Edited by Erdene