life.[17] Ironically, the loss of his priesthood had allowed him to pursue a military career, as the high priest of Jupiter was not permitted to touch a horse, sleep three nights outside his own bed or one night outside Rome, or look upon an army.[18] Hearing of Sulla's death in 78 BC, Caesar felt safe enough to return to Rome. Lacking means since his inheritance was confiscated, he acquired a modest house in Subura, a lower-class neighborhood of Rome.[19] He turned to legal advocacy, and became known for his exceptional oratory, accompanied by impassioned gestures and a high-pitched voice, and ruthless prosecution of former governors notorious for extortion and corruption. Dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla stripped Caesar of the priesthood. On the way across the Aegean Sea,[20] Caesar was kidnapped by pirates and held prisoner.[21][22] He maintained an attitude of superiority throughout his captivity. When the pirates thought to demand a ransom of 20 talents of silver, he insisted they ask for 50.[23][24] After the ransom was paid, Caesar raised a fleet, pursued and captured the pirates, and imprisoned them. He had them crucified on his own authority, as he had promised while in captivity[25]—a promise the pirates had taken as a joke. As a sign of leniency, he first had their throats cut. He was soon called back into military action in Asia, raising a band of auxiliaries to repel an incursion from the east.[26] On his return to Rome, he was elected military tribune, a first step in a political career. He was elected quaestor for 69 BC,[27] and during that year he delivered the funeral oration for his aunt Julia, and included images of her husband Marius, unseen since the days of Sulla, in the funeral procession. His wife, Cornelia, also died that year.[28] After her funeral, in the spring or early summer of 69 BC, Caesar went to serve his quaestorship in Spain.[29] While there he is said to have encountered a statue of Alexander the Great, and realized with dissatisfaction he was now at an age when Alexander had the world at his feet, while he had achieved comparatively little. On his return in 67 BC,[30] he married Pompeia, a granddaughter of Sulla, whom he later divorced.[31]

In 63 BC, he ran for election to the post of Pontifex Maximus, chief priest of the Roman state religion. He ran against two powerful senators. Accusations of bribery were made by all sides. Caesar won comfortably, despite his opponents' greater experience and standing.[32] When Cicero, who was consul that year, exposed Catiline's conspiracy to seize control of the republic, several senators accused Caesar of involvement in the plot.[33] After serving as praetor in 62 BC, Caesar was appointed to govern Hispania Ulterior (modern south-eastern Spain) as propraetor,[34][35][36] though some sources suggest he held proconsular powers.[37][38] He was still in considerable debt and needed to satisfy his creditors before he could leave. He turned to Marcus Licinius Crassus, one of Rome's richest men. In return for political support in his opposition to the interests of Pompey, Crassus paid some of Caesar's debts and acted as guarantor for others. Even so, to avoid becoming a private citizen and thus be open to prosecution for his debts, Caesar left for his province before his praetorship had ended. In Spain, he conquered two local tribes and was hailed as imperator by his troops, reformed the law regarding debts, and completed his governorship in high esteem.[39] Caesar was acclaimed Imperator in 60 and 45 BC. In the Roman Republic, this was an honorary title assumed by certain military commanders. After an especially great victory, army troops in the field would proclaim their commander imperator, an acclamation necessary for a general to apply to the Senate for a triumph. However, he also wanted to stand for consul, the most senior magistracy in the republic. If he were to celebrate a triumph, he would have to remain a soldier and stay outside the city until the ceremony, but to stand for election he would need to lay down his command and enter Rome as a private citizen. He could not do both in the time available. He asked the senate for permission to stand in absentia, but Cato blocked the proposal. Faced with the choice between a triumph and the consulship, Caesar chose the consulship.[40] Consulship and military campaigns Main articles: Military campaigns of Julius Caesar and First Triumvirate A denarius depicting Julius Caesar, dated February–March 44 BC; the goddess Venus is shown on the reverse, holding Victoria and a scepter. In 60 BC, Caesar sought election as consul for 59 BC, along with two other candidates. The election was sordid – even Cato, with his reputation for incorruptibility, is said to have resorted to bribery in favor of one of Caesar's opponents. Caesar won, along with conservative Marcus Bibulus.[41] Caesar was already in Crassus' political debt, but he also made overtures to Pompey. Pompey and Crassus had been at odds for a decade, so Caesar tried to reconcile them. The three of them had enough money and political influence to control public business. This informal alliance, known as the First Triumvirate ("rule of three men"), was cemented by the marriage of Pompey to Caesar's daughter Julia.[42] Caesar also married again, this time Calpurnia, who was the daughter of another powerful senator.[43] Caesar proposed a law for the redistribution of public lands to the poor, a proposal supported by Pompey, by force of arms if need be, and by Crassus, making the triumvirate public. Pompey filled the city with soldiers, a move which intimidated the triumvirate's opponents. Bibulus attempted to declare the omens unfavorable and thus void the new law, but was driven from the forum by Caesar's armed supporters. His bodyguards had their ceremonial axes broken, two high magistrates accompanying him were wounded, and he had a bucket of excrement thrown over him. In fear of his life, he retired to his house for the rest of the year, issuing occasional proclamations of bad omens. These attempts to obstruct Caesar's legislation proved ineffective. Roman satirists ever after referred to the year as "the consulship of Julius and Caesar."[44] When Caesar was first elected, the aristocracy tried to limit his future power by allotting the woods and pastures of Italy, rather than the governorship of a province, as his military command duty after his year in office was over.[45] With the help of political allies, Caesar later overturned this, and was instead appointed to govern Cisalpine Gaul (northern Italy) and Illyricum (southeastern Europe), with Transalpine Gaul (southern France) later added, giving him command of four legions. The term of his governorship, and thus his immunity from prosecution, was set at five years, rather than the usual one.[46] When his consulship ended, Caesar narrowly avoided prosecution for the irregularities of his year in office, and quickly left for his province.[47] Conquest of Gaul Main article: Gallic Wars The extent of the Roman Republic in 40 BC after Caesar's conquests. Caesar was still deeply in debt, but there was money to be made as a governor, whether by extortion[48] or by military adventurism. Caesar had four legions under his command, two of his provinces bordered on unconquered territory, and parts of Gaul were known to be unstable. Some of Rome's Gallic allies had been defeated by their rivals at the Battle of Magetobriga, with the help of a contingent of Germanic tribes. The Romans feared these tribes were preparing to migrate south, closer to Italy, and that they had warlike intent. Caesar raised two new legions and defeated these tribes.[49] In response to Caesar's earlier activities, the tribes in the north-east began to arm themselves. Caesar treated this as an aggressive move and, after an inconclusive engagement against the united tribes, he conquered the tribes piecemeal. Meanwhile, one of his legions began the conquest of the tribes in the far north, directly opposite Britain.[50] During the spring of 56 BC, the Triumvirs held a conference, as Rome was in turmoil and Caesar's political alliance was coming undone. The Lucca Conference renewed the First Triumvirate and extended Caesar's governorship for another five years.[51] The conquest of the north was soon completed, while a few pockets of resistance remained.[52] Caesar now had a secure base from which to launch an invasion of Britain. In 55 BC, Caesar repelled an incursion into Gaul by two Germanic tribes, and followed it up by building a bridge across the Rhine and making a show of force in Germanic territory, before returning and dismantling the bridge. Late that summer, having subdued two other tribes, he crossed into Britain, claiming that the Britons had aided one of his enemies the previous year, possibly the Veneti of Brittany.[53] His intelligence information was poor, and although he gained a beachhead on the coast, he could not advance further, and returned to Gaul for the winter.[54] He returned the following year, better prepared and with a larger force, and achieved more. He advanced inland, and established a few alliances. However, poor harvests led to widespread revolt in Gaul, which forced Caesar to leave Britain for the last time.[55] Vercingetorix throws down his arms at the feet of Julius Caesar. Painting by Lionel Royer. While Caesar was in Britain his daughter Julia, Pompey's wife, had died in childbirth. Caesar tried to re-secure Pompey's support by offering him his great-niece in marriage, but Pompey declined. In 53 BC Crassus was killed leading a failed invasion of the east. Rome was on the brink of civil war. Pompey was appointed sole consul as an emergency measure, and married the daughter of a political opponent of Caesar. The Triumvirate was dead.[56] While militarily just as strong as the Romans, the internal division between the Gallic tribes guaranteed an easy victory for Caesar, and Vercingetorix's attempt in 52 BC to unite the Gauls against Roman invasion came too late.[57][58] Vercingetorix managed to unite the Gallic tribes and proved an astute commander, defeating Caesar in several engagements, but Caesar's elaborate siege-works at the Battle of Alesia finally forced his surrender.[59] Despite scattered outbreaks of warfare the following year,[60] Gaul was effectively conquered. Plutarch claimed that the army had fought against three million men during the Gallic Wars, of whom one million died, and another million were enslaved. The Romans subjugated 300 tribes and destroyed 800 cities.[61] However, in view of the difficulty in finding accurate counts in the first place, Caesar's propagandistic purposes, and the common exaggeration of numbers in ancient texts,[citation needed] the stated totals of enemy combatants are likely to be too high.[citation needed]. Civil war Main article: Caesar's Civil War Caesar's soldiers In 50 BC, the Senate, led by Pompey, ordered Caesar to disband his army and return to Rome because his term as governor had finished.[62] Caesar thought he would be prosecuted if he entered Rome without the immunity enjoyed by a magistrate. Pompey accused Caesar of insubordination and treason. In January 49 BC, Caesar crossed the Rubicon river (the frontier boundary of Italy) with only one legion and ignited civil war. Upon crossing the Rubicon, Caesar, according to Plutarch and Suetonius, is supposed to have quoted the Athenian playwright Menander, in Greek, "the die is cast".[63] Erasmus, however, notes that the more accurate Latin translation of the Greek imperative mood would be "alea iacta esto", let the die be cast.[64] Pompey and many of the Senate fled to the south, having little confidence in his newly raised troops. Despite greatly outnumbering Caesar, who only had his Thirteenth Legion with him, Pompey did not intend to fight. Caesar pursued Pompey, hoping to capture him before his legions could escape.[65] Pompey managed to escape before Caesar could capture him. Heading for Spain, Caesar left Italy under the control of Mark Antony. After an astonishing 27-day route-march, Caesar defeated Pompey's lieutenants, then returned east, to challenge Pompey in Illyria, where, in July 48 BC in the battle of Dyrrhachium, Caesar barely avoided a catastrophic defeat. In an exceedingly short engagement later that year, he decisively defeated Pompey at Pharsalus, in Greece.[66] Cleopatra and Caesar, 1866 painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme In Rome, Caesar was appointed dictator,[67] with Mark Antony as his Master of the Horse (second in command); Caesar presided over his own election to a second consulship and then, after 11 days, resigned this dictatorship.[67][68] Caesar then pursued Pompey to Egypt, arriving soon after the murder of the general. There, Caesar was presented with Pompey's severed head and seal-ring, receiving these with tears.[69] He then had Pompey's assassins put to death.[70] Caesar then became involved with an Egyptian civil war between the child pharaoh and his sister, wife, and co-regent queen, Cleopatra. Perhaps as a result of the pharaoh's role in Pompey's murder, Caesar sided with Cleopatra. He withstood the Siege of Alexandria and later he defeated the pharaoh's forces at the Battle of the Nile in 47 BC and installed Cleopatra as ruler. Caesar and Cleopatra celebrated their victory with a triumphal procession on the Nile in the spring of 47 BC. The royal barge was accompanied by 400 additional ships, and Caesar was introduced to the luxurious lifestyle of the Egyptian pharaohs.[71] Caesar and Cleopatra never married, as Roman law recognized marriages only between two Roman citizens. Caesar continued his relationship with Cleopatra throughout his last marriage – in Roman eyes, this did not constitute adultery – and probably fathered a son called Caesarion. Cleopatra visited Rome on more than one occasion, residing in Caesar's villa just outside Rome across the Tiber.[71] Late in 48 BC, Caesar was again appointed Dictator, with a term of one year.[68] After spending the first months of 47 BC in Egypt, Caesar went to the Middle East, where he annihilated the king of Pontus; his victory was so swift and complete that he mocked Pompey's previous victories over such poor enemies.[72] On his way to Pontus, Caesar visited from 27 to 29 May 47 BC, (25–27 Maygreg.) Tarsus, where he met enthusiastic support, but where, according to Cicero, Cassius was planning to kill him at this point.[73][74][75] Thence, he proceeded to Africa to deal with the remnants of Pompey's senatorial supporters. He quickly gained a significant victory in 46 BC over Cato, who then committed suicide.[76] After this victory, he was appointed Dictator for 10 years.[77] Pompey's sons escaped to Spain; Caesar gave chase and defeated the last remnants of opposition in the Battle of Munda in March 45 BC.[78] During this time, Caesar was elected to his third and fourth terms as consul in 46 BC and 45 BC (this last time without a colleague). Dictatorship and assassination While he was still campaigning in Spain, the Senate began bestowing honors on Caesar. Caesar had not proscribed his enemies, instead pardoning almost all, and there was no serious public opposition to him. Great games and celebrations were held in April to honor Caesar’s victory at Munda. Plutarch writes that many Romans found the triumph held following Caesar's victory to be in poor taste, as those defeated in the civil war had not been foreigners, but instead fellow Romans.[79] On Caesar's return to Italy in September 45 BC, he filed his will, naming his grandnephew Gaius Octavius (Octavian, later known as Augustus Caesar) as his principal heir, leaving his vast estate and property including his name. Caesar also wrote that if Octavian died before Caesar did, Decimus Junius Brutus would be the next heir in succession.[80] In his will, he also left a substantial gift to the citizens of Rome. During his early career, Caesar had seen how chaotic and dysfunctional the Roman Republic had become. The republican machinery had broken down under the weight of imperialism, the central government had become powerless, the provinces had been transformed into independent principalities under the absolute control of their governors, and the army had replaced the constitution as the means of accomplishing political goals. With a weak central government, political corruption had spiraled out of control, and the status quo had been maintained by a corrupt aristocracy, which saw no need to change a system that had made its members rich.[citation needed] Between his crossing of the Rubicon in 49 BC, and his assassination in 44 BC, Caesar established a new constitution, which was intended to accomplish three separate goals.[81] First, he wanted to suppress all armed resistance out in the provinces, and thus bring order back to the empire. Second, he wanted to create a strong central government in Rome. Finally, he wanted to knit together the entire empire into a single cohesive unit.[81] The first goal was accomplished when Caesar defeated Pompey and his supporters.[81] To accomplish the other two goals, he needed to ensure that his control over the government was undisputed,[82] so he assumed these powers by increasing his own authority, and by decreasing the authority of Rome's other political institutions. Finally, he enacted a series of reforms that were meant to address several long-neglected issues, the most important of which was his reform of the calendar.[83] Dictatorship When Caesar returned to Rome, the Senate granted him triumphs for his victories, ostensibly those over Gaul, Egypt, Pharnaces, and Juba, rather than over his Roman opponents. Not everything went Caesar's way. When Arsinoe IV, Egypt's former queen, was paraded in chains, the spectators admired her dignified bearing and were moved to pity.[84] Triumphal games were held, with beast-hunts involving 400 lions, and gladiator contests. A naval battle was held on a flooded basin at the Field of Mars.[85] At the Circus Maximus, two armies of war captives, each of 2,000 people, 200 horses, and 20 elephants, fought to the death. Again, some bystanders complained, this time at Caesar's wasteful extravagance. A riot broke out, and only stopped when Caesar had two rioters sacrificed by the priests on the Field of Mars.[85] After the triumph, Caesar set out to pass an ambitious legislative agenda.[85] He ordered a census be taken, which forced a reduction in the grain dole, and that jurors could only come from the Senate or the equestrian ranks. He passed a sumptuary law that restricted the purchase of certain luxuries. After this, he passed a law that rewarded families for having many children, to speed up the repopulation of Italy. Then, he outlawed professional guilds, except those of ancient foundation, since many of these were subversive political clubs. He then passed a term-limit law applicable to governors. He passed a debt-restructuring law, which ultimately eliminated about a fourth of all debts owed.[85] The Forum of Caesar, with its Temple of Venus Genetrix, was then built, among many other public works.[86] Caesar also tightly regulated the purchase of state-subsidized grain and reduced the number of recipients to a fixed number, all of whom were entered into a special register.[87] From 47 to 44 BC, he made plans for the distribution of land to about 15,000 of his veterans.[88] The most important change, however, was his reform of the calendar. The calendar was then regulated by the movement of the moon, and this had left it in a mess. Caesar replaced this calendar with the Egyptian calendar, which was regulated by the sun. He set the length of the year to 365.25 days by adding an intercalary/leap day at the end of February every fourth year.[83] To bring the calendar into alignment with the seasons, he decreed that three extra months be inserted into 46 BC (the ordinary intercalary month at the end of February, and two extra months after November). Thus, the Julian calendar opened on 1 January 45 BC.[83][85] This calendar is almost identical to the current Western calendar. Shortly before his assassination, he passed a few more reforms.[85] He established a police force, appointed officials to carry out his land reforms, and ordered the rebuilding of Carthage and Corinth. He also extended Latin rights throughout the Roman world, and then abolished the tax system and reverted to the earlier version that allowed cities to collect tribute however they wanted, rather than needing Roman intermediaries. His assassination prevented further and larger schemes, which included the construction of an unprecedented temple to Mars, a huge theater, and a library on the scale of the Library of Alexandria.[85] He also wanted to convert Ostia to a major port, and cut a canal through the Isthmus of Corinth. Militarily, he wanted to conquer the Dacians and Parthians, and avenge the loss at Carrhae. Thus, he instituted a massive mobilization. Shortly before his assassination, the Senate named him censor for life and Father of the Fatherland, and the month of Quintilis was renamed July in his honor.[85] He was granted further honors, which were later used to justify his assassination as a would-be divine monarch: coins were issued bearing his image and his statue was placed next to those of the kings. He was granted a golden chair in the Senate, was allowed to wear triumphal dress whenever he chose, and was offered a form of semiofficial or popular cult, with Mark Antony as his high priest.[85] Political reforms Main article: Constitutional reforms of Julius Caesar The history of Caesar's political appointments is complex and uncertain. Caesar held both the dictatorship and the tribunate, but alternated between the consulship and the proconsulship.[82] His powers within the state seem to have rested upon these magistracies.[82] He was first appointed dictator in 49 BC, possibly to preside over elections, but resigned his dictatorship within 11 days. In 48 BC, he was reappointed dictator, only this time for an indefinite period, and in 46 BC, he was appointed dictator for 10 years.[89] In 48 BC, Caesar was given permanent tribunician powers,[90] which made his person sacrosanct and allowed him to veto the Senate,[90] although on at least one occasion, tribunes did attempt to obstruct him. The offending tribunes in this case were brought before the Senate and divested of their office.[90] This was not the first time Caesar had violated a tribune's sacrosanctity. After he had first marched on Rome in 49 BC, he forcibly opened the treasury, although a tribune had the seal placed on it. After the impeachment of the two obstructive tribunes, Caesar, perhaps unsurprisingly, faced no further opposition from other members of the Tribunician College.[90] When Caesar returned to Rome in 47 BC, the ranks of the Senate had been severely depleted, so he used his censorial powers to appoint many new senators, which eventually raised the Senate's membership to 900.[91] All the appointments were of his own partisans, which robbed the senatorial aristocracy of its prestige, and made the Senate increasingly subservient to him.[92] To minimize the risk that another general might attempt to challenge him,[89] Caesar passed a law that subjected governors to term limits.[89] In 46 BC, Caesar gave himself the title of "Prefect of the Morals", which was an office that was new only in name, as its powers were identical to those of the censors.[90] Thus, he could hold censorial powers, while technically not subjecting himself to the same checks to which the ordinary censors were subject, and he used these powers to fill the Senate with his own partisans. He also set the precedent, which his imperial successors followed, of requiring the Senate to bestow various titles and honors upon him. He was, for example, given the title of "Father of the Fatherland" and "imperator".[89] Coins bore his likeness, and he was given the right to speak first during Senate meetings.[89] Caesar then increased the number of magistrates who were elected each year, which created a large pool of experienced magistrates, and allowed Caesar to reward his supporters.[91] Caesar even took steps to transform Italy into a province, and to link more tightly the other provinces of the empire into a single cohesive unit. This addressed the underlying problem that had caused the Social War decades earlier, where individuals outside Rome and Italy were not considered "Roman", thus were not given full citizenship rights. This process, of fusing the entire Roman Empire into a single unit, rather than maintaining it as a network of unequal principalities, would ultimately be completed by Caesar's successor, the emperor Augustus. In February 44 BC, one month before his assassination, he was appointed dictator for life. Under Caesar, a significant amount of authority was vested in his lieutenants,[89] mostly because Caesar was frequently out of Italy.[89] In October 45 BC, Caesar resigned his position as sole consul, and facilitated the election of two successors for the remainder of the year, which theoretically restored the ordinary consulship, since the constitution did not recognize a single consul without a colleague.[91] Denarius (42 BC) issued by Cassius Longinus and Lentulus Spinther, depicting the crowned head of Liberty and on the reverse a sacrificial jug and lituus, from the military mint in Smyrna Near the end of his life, Caesar began to prepare for a war against the Parthian Empire. Since his absence from Rome might limit his ability to install his own consuls, he passed a law which allowed him to appoint all magistrates in 43 BC, and all consuls and tribunes in 42 BC.[91] This, in effect, transformed the magistrates from being representatives of the people to being representatives of the dictator.[91] Assassination See also: Assassination of Julius Caesar On the Ides of March (15 March; see Roman calendar) of 44 BC, Caesar was due to appear at a session of the Senate. Mark Antony, having vaguely learned of the plot the night before from a terrified liberator named Servilius Casca, and fearing the worst, went to head Caesar off. The plotters, however, had anticipated this and, fearing that Antony would come to Caesar's aid, had arranged for Trebonius to intercept him just as he approached the portico of the Theatre of Pompey, where the session was to be held, and detain him outside. (Plutarch, however, assigns this action to delay Antony to Brutus Albinus.) When he heard the commotion from the Senate chamber, Antony fled.[93] According to Plutarch, as Caesar arrived at the Senate, Tillius Cimber presented him with a petition to recall his exiled brother.[94] The other conspirators crowded round to offer support. Both Plutarch and Suetonius say that Caesar waved him away, but Cimber grabbed his shoulders and pulled down Caesar's tunic. Caesar then cried to Cimber, "Why, this is violence!" ("Ista quidem vis est!").[95] The senators encircle Caesar, a 19th-century interpretation of the event by Carl Theodor von Piloty At the same time, Casca produced his dagger and made a glancing thrust at the dictator's neck. Caesar turned around quickly and caught Casca by the arm. According to Plutarch, he said in Latin, "Casca, you villain, what are you doing?"[96] Casca, frightened, shouted, "Help, brother!" in Greek ("?de?f?, ß???e?", "adelphe, boethei"). Within moments, the entire group, including Brutus, was striking out at the dictator. Caesar attempted to get away, but, blinded by blood, he tripped and fell; the men continued stabbing him as he lay defenceless on the lower steps of the portico. According to Eutropius, around 60 or more men participated in the assassination. He was stabbed 23 times.[97] According to Suetonius, a physician later established that only one wound, the second one to his chest, had been lethal.[98] The dictator's last words are not known with certainty, and are a contested subject among scholars and historians alike. Suetonius reports that others have said Caesar's last words were the Greek phrase "?a? s?, t?????;"[99] (transliterated as "Kai su, teknon?": "You too, child?" in English). However, for himself, Suetonius says Caesar said nothing.[100] Plutarch also reports that Caesar said nothing, pulling his toga over his head when he saw Brutus among the conspirators.[101] The version best known in the English-speaking world is the Latin phrase "Et tu, Brute?" ("And you, Brutus?", commonly rendered as "You too, Brutus?");[102][103] this derives from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, where it actually forms the first half of a macaronic line: "Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Caesar." It has no basis in historical fact and Shakespeare's use of Latin here is not from any assertion that Caesar would have been using the language, rather than the Greek reported by Suetonius, but because the phrase was already popular when the play was written.[104] According to Plutarch, after the assassination, Brutus stepped forward as if to say something to his fellow senators; they, however, fled the building.[105] Brutus and his companions then marched to the Capitol while crying out to their beloved city: "People of Rome, we are once again free!" They were met with silence, as the citizens of Rome had locked themselves inside their houses as soon as the rumor of what had taken place had begun to spread. Caesar's dead body lay where it fell on the Senate floor for nearly three hours before other officials arrived to remove it. Caesar's body was cremated, and on the site of his cremation, the Temple of Caesar was erected a few years later (at the east side of the main square of the Roman Forum). Only its altar now remains.[106][107] A lifesize wax statue of Caesar was later erected in the forum displaying the 23 stab wounds. A crowd who had gathered there started a fire, which badly damaged the forum and neighboring buildings. In the ensuing chaos, Mark Antony, Octavian (later Augustus Caesar), and others fought a series of five civil wars, which would end in the formation of the Roman Empire. Aftermath of the assassination The result unforeseen by the assassins was that Caesar's death precipitated the end of the Roman Republic.[108] The Roman middle and lower classes, with whom Caesar was immensely popular and had been since before Gaul, became enraged that a small group of aristocrats had killed their champion. Antony, who had been drifting apart from Caesar, capitalised on the grief of the Roman mob and threatened to unleash them on the Optimates, perhaps with the intent of taking control of Rome himself. To his surprise and chagrin, Caesar had named his grandnephew Gaius Octavian his sole heir, bequeathing him the immensely potent Caesar name and making him one of the wealthiest citizens in the Republic.[109] Mark Antony The crowd at the funeral boiled over, throwing dry branches, furniture, and even clothing on to Caesar's funeral pyre, causing the flames to spin out of control, seriously damaging the Forum. The mob then attacked the houses of Brutus and Cassius, where they were repelled only with considerable difficulty, ultimately providing the spark for the Liberators' civil war, fulfilling at least in part Antony's threat against the aristocrats.[110] Antony did not foresee the ultimate outcome of the next series of civil wars, particularly with regard to Caesar's adopted heir. Octavian, aged only 18 when Caesar died, proved to have considerable political skills, and while Antony dealt with Decimus Brutus in the first round of the new civil wars, Octavian consolidated his tenuous position. To combat Brutus and Cassius, who were massing an enormous army in Greece, Antony needed soldiers, the cash from Caesar's war chests, and the legitimacy that Caesar's name would provide for any action he took against them. With the passage of the lex Titia on 27 November 43 BC,[111] the Second Triumvirate was officially formed, composed of Antony, Octavian, and Caesar's loyal cavalry commander Lepidus.[112] It formally deified Caesar as Divus Iulius in 42 BC, and Caesar Octavian henceforth became Divi filius ("Son of a god").[113] Because Caesar's clemency had resulted in his murder, the Second Triumvirate reinstated the practice of proscription, abandoned since Sulla.[114] It engaged in the legally sanctioned murder of a large number of its opponents to secure funding for its 45 legions in the second civil war against Brutus and Cassius.[115] Antony and Octavius defeated them at Philippi.[116] Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, Caesar's adopted heir Afterward, Mark Antony formed an alliance with Caesar's lover, Cleopatra, intending to use the fabulously wealthy Egypt as a base to dominate Rome. A third civil war broke out between Octavian on one hand and Antony and Cleopatra on the other. This final civil war, culminating in the latter's defeat at Actium, resulted in the permanent ascendancy of Octavian, who became the first Roman emperor, under the name Caesar Augustus, a name that raised him to the status of a deity.[117] Julius Caesar had been preparing to invade Parthia, the Caucasus, and Scythia, and then march back to Germania through Eastern Europe. These plans were thwarted by his assassination.[118] His successors did attempt the conquests of Parthia and Germania, but without lasting results. Deification See also: Divus Julius and Caesar's Comet Julius Caesar was the first historical Roman to be officially deified. He was posthumously granted the title Divus Iulius or Divus Julius (the divine Julius or the deified Julius) by decree of the Roman Senate on 1 January 42 BC. The appearance of a comet during games in his honour was taken as confirmation of his divinity. Though his temple was not dedicated until after his death, he may have received divine honors during his lifetime:[119] and shortly before his assassination, Mark Antony had been appointed as his flamen (priest).[120] Both Octavian and Mark Antony promoted the cult of Divus Iulius. After the death of Antony, Octavian, as the adoptive son of Caesar, assumed the title of Divi Filius (son of a god). Personal life Health and physical appearance Based on remarks by Plutarch,[121] Caesar is sometimes thought to have suffered from epilepsy. Modern scholarship is "sharply divided" on the subject, and some scholars believe that he was plagued by malaria, particularly during the Sullan proscriptions of the 80s.[122] Several specialists in headache medicine believe that instead of epilepsy, a more accurate diagnosis would be migraine headache.[123] Other scholars contend his epileptic seizures were due to a parasitic infection in the brain by a tapeworm.[124][125] Caesar had four documented episodes of what may have been complex partial seizures. He may additionally have had absence seizures in his youth. The earliest accounts of these seizures were made by the biographer Suetonius, who was born after Caesar died. The claim of epilepsy is countered among some medical historians by a claim of hypoglycemia, which can cause epileptoid seizures.[126][127][128] In 2003, psychiatrist Harbour F. Hodder published what he termed as the "Caesar Complex" theory, arguing that Caesar was a sufferer of temporal lobe epilepsy and the debilitating symptoms of the condition were a factor in Caesar's conscious decision to forgo personal safety in the days leading up to his assassination.[129] A line from Shakespeare has sometimes been taken to mean that he was deaf in one ear: Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf.[130] No classical source mentions hearing impairment in connection with Caesar. The playwright may have been making metaphorical use of a passage in Plutarch that does not refer to deafness at all, but rather to a gesture Alexander of Macedon customarily made. By covering his ear, Alexander indicated that he had turned his attention from an accusation in order to hear the defense.[131] The Roman historian Suetonius describes Caesar as "tall of stature with a fair complexion, shapely limbs, a somewhat full face, and keen black eyes."[132] Name and family Main articles: Etymology of the name of Julius Caesar and Julio-Claudian family tree Using the Latin alphabet of the period, which lacked the letters J and U, Caesar's name would be rendered GAIVS IVLIVS CAESAR; the form CAIVS is also attested, using the older Roman representation of G by C. The standard abbreviation was C. IVLIVS CÆSAR, reflecting the older spelling. (The letterform Æ is a ligature of the letters A and E, and is often used in Latin inscriptions to save space.) In Classical Latin, it was pronounced ['ga?jus 'ju?ljus 'kajsar]. In the days of the late Roman Republic, many historical writings were done in Greek, a language most educated Romans studied. Young wealthy Roman boys were often taught by Greek slaves and sometimes sent to Athens for advanced training, as was Caesar's principal assassin, Brutus. In Greek, during Caesar's time, his family name was written ?a?sa?, reflecting its contemporary pronunciation. Thus, his name is pronounced in a similar way to the pronunciation of the German Kaiser. In Vulgar Latin, the plosive /k/ before front vowels began, due to palatalization, to be pronounced as an affricate, hence renderings like ['t?e?sar] in Italian and ['tse?sar] in German regional pronunciations of Latin, as well as the title of Tsar. With the evolution of the Romance languages, the affricate [ts] became a fricative [s] (thus, ['se?sar]) in many regional pronunciations, including the French one, from which the modern English pronunciation is derived. The original /k/ is preserved in Norse mythology, where he is manifested as the legendary king Kjárr.[133] Caesar's cognomen itself became a title; it was promulgated by the Bible, which contains the famous verse "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's". The title became Kaiser in German and Tsar or Czar in the Slavic languages. The last tsar in nominal power was Simeon II of Bulgaria, whose reign ended in 1946. This means that for two thousand years after Julius Caesar's assassination, there was at least one head of state bearing his name. Julio-Claudian family tree Parents Father Gaius Julius Caesar the Elder (proconsul of Asia in 90s BC) Mother Aurelia (related to the Aurelii Cottae) Sisters Julia Caesaris "Major" (the elder) Julia Caesaris "Minor" (the younger) Wives First marriage to Cornelia Cinnilla, from 83 BC until her death in 69 or 68 BC Second marriage to Pompeia, from 67 BC until he divorced her around 61 BC Third marriage to Calpurnia Pisonis, from 59 BC until Caesar's death Children Cleopatra and her son by Julius Caesar, Caesarion at the Temple of Dendera. Julia, with Cornelia Cinnilla, born in 83 or 82 BC Caesarion, with Cleopatra VII, born 47 BC, and killed at age 17 by Caesar's adopted son Octavianus. adopted: Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, his great-nephew by blood (grandson of Julia, his sister), who later became Emperor Augustus. Marcus Junius Brutus: The historian Plutarch notes that Caesar believed Brutus to have been his illegitimate son, as his mother Servilia had been Caesar's lover during their youth.[134] Junia Tertia, the daughter of Caesar's lover Servilia Caepionis was believed by Cicero among other contemporaries, to be Caesar's natural daughter. Grandchildren Grandson from Julia and Pompey, dead at several days, unnamed. Lovers Cleopatra VII, mother of Caesarion Servilia Caepionis, mother of Brutus Eunoë, queen of Mauretania and wife of Bogudes Notable relatives Gaius Marius (married to his paternal aunt Julia) Mark Antony (his relative through Antony's mother Julia) Lucius Julius Caesar (his third-cousin) Julius Sabinus, a Gaul of the Lingones at the time of the Batavian rebellion of AD 69, claimed to be the great-grandson of Caesar on the grounds that his great-grandmother had been Caesar's lover during the Gallic Wars.[135] Rumors of homosexual practices Roman society viewed the passive role during sexual activity, regardless of gender, to be a sign of submission or inferiority. Indeed, Suetonius says that in Caesar's Gallic triumph, his soldiers sang that, "Caesar may have conquered the Gauls, but Nicomedes conquered Caesar."[136] According to Cicero, Bibulus, Gaius Memmius, and others (mainly Caesar's enemies), he had an affair with Nicomedes IV of Bithynia early in his career. The tales were repeated, referring to Caesar as the Queen of Bithynia, by some Roman politicians as a way to humiliate him. Caesar himself denied the accusations repeatedly throughout his lifetime, and according to Cassius Dio, even under oath on one occasion.[137] This form of slander was popular during this time in the Roman Republic to demean and discredit political opponents. A favorite tactic used by the opposition was to accuse a popular political rival as living a Hellenistic lifestyle based on Greek and Eastern culture, where homosexuality and a lavish lifestyle were more acceptable than in Roman tradition.[citation needed] Catullus wrote two poems suggesting that Caesar and his engineer Mamurra were lovers,[138] but later apologised.[139] Mark Antony charged that Octavian had earned his adoption by Caesar through sexual favors. Suetonius described Antony's accusation of an affair with Octavian as political slander. Octavian eventually became the first Roman Emperor.[140] Literary works During his lifetime, Caesar was regarded as one of the best orators and prose authors in Latin — even Cicero spoke highly of Caesar's rhetoric and style.[141] Only Caesar's war commentaries have survived. A few sentences from other works are quoted by other authors. Among his lost works are his funeral oration for his paternal aunt Julia and his Anticato, a document written to defame Cato in response to Cicero's published praise. Poems by Julius Caesar are also mentioned in ancient sources.[142] Memoirs A 1783 edition of The Gallic Wars The Commentarii de Bello Gallico, usually known in English as The Gallic Wars, seven books each covering one year of his campaigns in Gaul and southern Britain in the 50s BC, with the eighth book written by Aulus Hirtius on the last two years. The Commentarii de Bello Civili (The Civil War), events of the Civil War from Caesar's perspective, until immediately after Pompey's death in Egypt. Other works historically have been attributed to Caesar, but their authorship is in doubt: De Bello Alexandrino (On the Alexandrine War), campaign in Alexandria; De Bello Africo (On the African War), campaigns in North Africa; and De Bello Hispaniensi (On the Hispanic War), campaigns in the Iberian Peninsula. These narratives were written and published annually during or just after the actual campaigns, as a sort of "dispatches from the front." They were important in shaping Caesar's public image and enhancing his reputation when he was away from Rome for long periods. They may have been presented as public readings.[143] As a model of clear and direct Latin style, The Gallic Wars traditionally has been studied by first- or second-year Latin students. Chronology of his life The British Museum is a museum dedicated to human history, art, and culture, located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection, numbering some 8 million works,[3] is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence[3] and originates from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present.[a] The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane. The museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759 in Montagu House in Bloomsbury, on the site of the current museum building. Its expansion over the following two and a half centuries was largely a result of an expanding British colonial footprint and has resulted in the creation of several branch institutions, the first being the British Museum (Natural History) in South Kensington in 1881. Some objects in the collection, most notably the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon, are the objects of controversy and of calls for restitution to their countries of origin. Until 1997, when the British Library (previously centred on the Round Reading Room) moved to a new site, the British Museum housed both a national museum of antiquities and a national library in the same building. The museum is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and as with all other national museums in the United Kingdom it charges no admission fee, except for loan exhibitions.[4] Since 2002 the director of the museum has been Neil MacGregor.[5] In April 2015, MacGregor announced that he will step down as Director of the British Museum on 15 December 2015.[6] Contents [hide] 1 History 1.1 Hans Sloane, founder of the British Museum 1.2 Foundation (1753) 1.3 Cabinet of curiosities (1753–78) 1.4 Indolence and energy (1778–1800) 1.5 Growth and change (1800–25) 1.6 The largest building site in Europe (1825–50) 1.7 Collecting from the wider world (1850–75) 1.8 Scholarship and legacies (1875–1900) 1.9 New century, new building (1900–25) 1.10 Disruption and reconstruction (1925–50) 1.11 A new public face (1950–75) 1.12 The Great Court emerges (1975–2000) 1.13 The British Museum today 2 Governance 3 Building 4 Departments 4.1 Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan 4.2 Department of Greece and Rome 4.3 Department of the Middle East 4.4 Department of Prints and Drawings 4.5 Department of Prehistory and Europe 4.6 Department of Asia 4.7 Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas Department of Coins and Medals Department of Conservation and Scientific Research Libraries and Archives British Museum Press Controversy Disputed items in the collection Galleries See also Notes References Further reading External links History[edit] Hans Sloane, founder of the British Museum[edit] Sir Hans Sloane Although today principally a museum of cultural art objects and antiquities, the British Museum was founded as a "universal museum". Its foundations lie in the will of the Irish-born British physician and naturalist Sir Hans Sloane (1660–1753). During the course of his lifetime Sloane gathered an enviable collection of curiosities and, not wishing to see his collection broken up after death, he bequeathed it to King George II, for the nation, for the princely sum of £20,000.[7] At that time, Sloane's collection consisted of around 71,000 objects of all kinds[8] including some 40,000 printed books, 7,000 manuscripts, extensive natural history specimens including 337 volumes of dried plants, prints and drawings including those by Albrecht Dürer and antiquities from Sudan, Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Ancient Near and Far East and the Americas.[9] Foundation (1753)[edit] On 7 June 1753, King George II gave his formal assent to the Act of Parliament which established the British Museum.[b] The British Museum Act 1753 also added two other libraries to the Sloane collection, namely the Cottonian Library, assembled by Sir Robert Cotton, dated back to Elizabethan times and the Harleian library, the collection of the Earls of Oxford. They were joined in 1757 by the Royal Library, assembled by various British monarchs. Together these four "foundation collections" included many of the most treasured books now in the British Library[10] including the Lindisfarne Gospels and the sole surviving copy of Beowulf.[c] Montagu House, c. 1715 The British Museum was the first of a new kind of museum – national, belonging to neither church nor king, freely open to the public and aiming to collect everything. Sloane's collection, while including a vast miscellany of objects, tended to reflect his scientific interests.[11] The addition of the Cotton and Harley manuscripts introduced a literary and antiquarian element and meant that the British Museum now became both national museum and library.[12] Cabinet of curiosities (1753–78)[edit] The Rosetta Stone on display in the British Museum in 1874 The body of trustees decided on a converted 17th-century mansion, Montagu House, as a location for the museum, which it bought from the Montagu family for £20,000. The Trustees rejected Buckingham House, on the site now occupied by Buckingham Palace, on the grounds of cost and the unsuitability of its location.[13][d] al Jazari Ali ibn al Athir Ali Taramakhi Amir Hassanpour Assad Sheikholeslami Sanandaji Azad Bonni Aziz Sancar Baba Mardoukh Rohanee Baha ad Din ibn Shaddad Bahram Resul Bakhtiar Sajjadi Caucher Birkar Celadet Bedir Khan Celîlê Celîl Dlawer Ala Aldeen Edip Yuksel Fereidoun Biglari Hamid Hassani Hashim Ahmadzadeh Hussein Khaliqi Ibn al Jazari Ibn Al Mustawfi Ibn al Nadim Ibn al Salah Ibn Khallikan Ibn Qutaybah Idris Bitlisi Jalile Jalil Jamal Nebez Karim Yassen Kendal Nezan Khalil Rashow Mahmud Bayazidi Maruf Khaznadar Massoud Azarnoush Mehrdad Izady Muhamed Amin Zaki Mulla Effendi Nadir Nadirov Nur Ali Elahi Ordîxanê Celîl Qanate Kurdo Rostam K Saeed Saad Eskander Said Nursî Shamil Asgarov Sharafkhan Bidlisi Sheikh Ghiathadeen Naqshabandi Tofy Mussivand Yektan Turkyilmaz Yona Sabar Zaradachet Hajo Zeynelabidin Zinar Ziryab Musicians edit Adnan Karim Ahmet Kaya Ali Akbar Moradi Ali Merdan Ali Serhat Baran Ardavan Kamkar Ardeshir Kamkar Arjang Kamkar Arsalan Kamkar Aynur Dogan Ayse San Azad Blend Saleh Burhan G Chopy Fatah Ciwan Haco Darin Zanyar Dashni Murad Dilbahar Demirbag Dilshad Said Fazil Khalid Gani Mirzo Ghader Abdollahzadeh Ghashang Kamkar Haftbefehl Hassan Zirak Hooshang Kamkar Hozan Canê Ibrahim Al Mausili Ibrahim Tatlises Issa Hassan The Kamkars Kayhan Kalhor Koma Dengê Azadî Kurd Maverick Mazhar Khaleqi Merziye Feriqi Mohammad Mamle Mojtaba Mirzadeh Nasser Razazi Nizamettin Ariç Pashang Kamkar Qale Mere Rojan Rojda Aykoç Rojhan Beken Saeed Farajpouri Sehrîbana Kurdî Seyed Khalil Alinezhad Shahram Nazeri Sivan Perwer Sohrab Pournazeri Tahir Tewfiq Tara Jaff Xalîd Resîd Yildiz Tilbe Zakaria Abdulla Zara Zara Mgoyan Religious figures edit Ahmad Moftizadeh Asenath Barzani Firuz Shah Zarrin Kolah Hadhrat Mawlânâ Khâlid i Baghdâdî Hajj Nematollah Jaban Sahabi Safi ad din Ardabili Zahed Gilani Sheikh Ghiathadeen Naqshabandi Politicians and leaders edit See also Category Kurdish rulers Abderrahman Sadik Karim Abdolqader Zahedi Abdul Karim Qassim Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou Abdul Rahman Haji Ahmadi Abdul Rahman Mustafa Abdulbaset Sieda Abdullah Beg Benari Abdullah Demirbas Abdullah Öcalan Ahmad Moftizadeh Ahmed Barzani Ahmed Uthman Ahmet Dagtekin Ahmet Türk Akin Birdal Al Adil I Al Adil II Al Afdal Muhammad Al Afdal ibn Salah ad Din Al Ashraf Al Fadhl ibn Muhammad Al Kamil Ali Askari Ali Bapir Ali Mardan Khan Amineh Kakabaveh Amir Khan Lepzerin An Nasir Yusuf Bahaedin Adab Bahoz Erdal Bakhtiar Amin Barham Salih Bedirhan Bey Bedr Khan Beg Bengi Yildiz Celadet Ali Bedirxan Cemil Bayik Daham Miro Daisam Dana Ahmed Majid Dayfa Khatun Derwich Ferho Efat Ghazi Ehsan Fattahian Farzad Kamangar Fatma Kurtulan Feleknas Uca Ferzende Foad Mostafa Soltani Gulan Avci Haji Baba Sheikh Haji Mala Saeed Kirkukli Zada Halis Öztürk Han Mahmud Hatip Dicle Hazim Beg Hero Ibrahim Ahmed Herro Mustafa Hikmet Fidan Houzan Mahmoud Howar Ziad Hushang Hamidi Husni al Za im Hüseyin Velioglu Ibrahim Heski Idris Barzani Ihsan Nuri Imad Ahmad Sayfour Ismail I Ismet Inönü Jalal Dabagh Jalal Jalalizadeh Jalal Talabani Kamal Jumblatt Kamran Hedayati Karim Khan Zand Karim Mohammedzadeh Karim Sanjabi Khalid Bakdash Latif Rashid Leyla Güven Leyla Qasim Leyla Zana Mahmoud Othman Mahmud Barzanji Mahsum Korkmaz Majid Kavian Mashaal Tammo Massoud Barzani Medet Serhat Mehdi Zana Mela Baxtiar Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf Mohammad Seddigh Kaboudvand Mohammad Tofiq Rahim Morteza Zarringol Moshe Barazani Muhammed Emin Zeki Bey Mustafa Barzani Mustafa Karasu Mustafa Yamulki Murat Karayilan Nadhim Zahawi Nado Makhmudov Najm ad Din Ayyub Najmadin Shukr Rauf Najmiddin Karim Nalin Pekgul Narmin Othman Nawshirwan Mustafa Nechervan Idris Barzani Nizamettin Tas Nursel Aydogan Nusrat Bhutto Orhan Dogan Orhan Miroglu Osman Baydemir Osman Öcalan Özlem Cekic Pervin Buldan Qazi Muhammad Rassul Mamand Rowsch Shaways Riya Qahtan Roya Toloui Sadegh Sharafkandi Sadet Karabulut Saladin Saleh Yousefi Salih Muslim Muhammad Sedigh Kamangar Selim Sadak Sevahir Bayindir Shahab Sheikh Nuri Sharaf Khan Bidlisi Shaikh Mahmood Barzenji Sheikh Ubeydullah Shibal Ibrahim Shirkuh Simko Shikak Soraya Serajeddini Sulaiman Shah Tamar Fattah Ramadhan Kuchar Taha Muhie eldin Marouf Taha Yassin Ramadan Theophobos Walid Jumblatt Widad Akrawi Yitzhak Mordechai Zübeyir Aydar Film directors and actors edit Bahman Ghobadi Behrouz Gharibpour Dilsa Demirbag Sten Dilshad Meriwani Ghotbeddin Sadeghi Hisham Zaman Huner Saleem Jamil Rostami Jano Rosebiani Kadir Talabani Mahmoud el Meliguy Mano Khalil Nisti Stêrk Shahram Alidi Shero Rauf Yilmaz Güney Yilmaz Erdogan Yüksel Yavuz Zeynel Dogan Hulya Avsar Rojda Demirer Belçim Bilgin Sport edit Aziz Yildirim Ahmad Al Salih Ahmad Karzan Amar Suloev Aram Khalili Avar Raza Aziz Shavershian Bovar Karim Celal Ibrahim Dara Mohammed Deniz Naki Ahmad Meshari Al Adwani Dr Abdul Razzak Al Adwani Thuraya Al Baqsami Abdullah Al Buloushi Jaber Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah Abdulaziz Al Anberi Fahad AlSharekh Abdul Rahman Al Sumait Faisal Al Dakhil Fehaid Al Deehani Mohammed al Ghareeb Wael Sulaiman Al Habashi Zaid Al Harb Jassem Al Houwaidi Ibrahim Khraibut Faiza Al Kharafi Jassem Al Kharafi Nasser Al Kharafi Abdullah III Al Salim Al Sabah Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah Nasser Al Mohammed Al Ahmed Al Sabah Bader Al Nashi Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah Saad Al Abdullah Al Salim Al Sabah Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah Abdallah Saleh Ali Al Ajmi Jamal Mubarak Ibrahim Al Mudhaf Bader Al Mutwa Abu Obeida Tawari al Obeidi Abdullah Abdul Latif Al Othman Abdullah Al Refai Ahmed al Rubei Sabah III Al Salim Al Sabah Salem Al Ali A Sabah Salem Sabah Al Salem Al Sabah Salim Al Mubarak Al Sabah Nawaf Al Mutairi Fahad Al Rashidi Ahmed Al Sadoun Fawzi Al Shammari Anouvong Boua Bounkhong Bouasone Bouphavanh Laasaenthai Bouvanaat General Cheng Fa Khai Fa Ngum Fay Na Huy of Champasak Sisavath Keobounphanh Kham Nai Kham Souk of Champasak Kham Oun I Khamphoui Khamtum Khun Lo Lan Kham Deng Somsavat Lengsavad Manoi Meunsai Nang Keo Phimpha Nark of Champasak No Muong Nokasad Ong Keo Ong Kommandam Chamleunesouk Ao Oudomphonh Boun Oum Oun Kham Mam Manivan Phanivong Phia Sing Phommathat Kaysone Phomvihane Photisarath Souvanna Phouma Nouhak Phoumsavanh Phetsarath Rattanavongsa Ouane Rattikone Ratsadanay Samsenethai Thayavong Savang Vong Savang A edit Augusts Vilis Abakuks – – a leader of the British Latvian community in exile Valerians Abakovskis – – inventor of a propeller powered railcar the aerowagon Rutanya Alda Rutanya Alda Skrastina born – actress Mommy Dearest Deer Hunter Viktors Alksnis born – Soviet military officer and Russian communist politician known as "the Black Colonel" Juris Alunans writer and philologist Ingrida Andrina – actress Iveta Apkalna born – organist Fricis Apšenieks – – chess player Vija Artmane – – actress Aspazija pen name of Elza Pliekšane poet and playwright Gunars Astra – – dissident fighter for human rights Auseklis see Mikelis Krogzems B edit Ainars Bagatskis born – basketball player Helmuts Balderis born – ice hockey player forward Janis Balodis – – army officer and politician Janis Balodis born – Latvian Australian playwright Karlis Balodis – – notable economist financist statistician and demographist Krišjanis Barons – – "the father of Latvian folk songs" who compiled and edited the first publication of Latvian folk song texts "Latvju Dainas" – Mihails Barišnikovs born – ballet dancer Karlis Baumanis – – composer author of the national anthem of the Republic of Latvia "Dievs sveti Latviju " God bless Latvia Vizma Belševica – – author candidate for Nobel Prize in Literature Eduards Berklavs – – politician leader of Latvian national communists Krišjanis Berkis – – general Dairis Bertans born – basketball player Isaiah Berlin Jesaja Berlins – – philosopher Eduards Berzinš – – soldier in the Red Army later Head of Dalstroy the Kolyma forced labour camps in North Eastern Siberia Kaspars Berzinš born – basketball player Karlis Betinš – – chess player Andris Biedrinš born – basketball player Gunars Birkerts born – architect Miervaldis Birze – – writer Ernests Blanks – – Latvian publicist writer historian the first to publicly advocate for Latvia s independence Rudolfs Blaumanis – – writer and playwright Himans Blums – – painter Janis Blums born – basketball player Arons Bogolubovs born – Olympic medalist judoka Baiba Broka born – actress Inguna Butane – fashion model C edit Valters Caps – – designed first Minox x photocameras Aleksandrs Cauna born – footballer Gustavs Celminš – – fascist politician leader of Perkonkrusts movement Vija Celmins born – American painter born in Latvia C edit Maris Caklais – poet Aleksandrs Caks – – poet Janis Cakste – – first Latvian president Tanhum Cohen Mintz Latvian born Israeli basketball player D edit Roberts Dambitis – – general and politician Janis Dalinš – – athlete race walker Emils Darzinš – – composer Kaspars Daugavinš born – ice hockey player Jacob Davis – – inventor of denim Johans Aleksandrs Heinrihs Klapje de Kolongs – – naval engineer Eliass Eliezers Desslers – – Orthodox rabbi Talmudic scholar and Jewish philosopher Leor Dimant born – the DJ for the rap metal group Limp Bizkit Anatols Dinbergs – – diplomat Aleksis Dreimanis born – geologist Inga Drozdova born – model and actress Olgerts Dunkers – – actor and film director E edit Mihails Eizenšteins – – architect Sergejs Eizenšteins – – film director Modris Eksteins born – Canadian historian and writer Andrievs Ezergailis born – historian of the Holocaust F edit Movša Feigins – – chess player Gregors Fitelbergs – – conductor composer and violinist Vesels fon Freitags Loringhofens – – colonel and member of the German resistance against German dictator Adolf Hitler Laila Freivalds born – former Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs G edit Inese Galante born – opera singer soprano Gints Gabrans born – artist Elina Garanca born – opera singer mezzo soprano Karlis Goppers – – general founder of Latvian Boy Scouts Andrejs Grants born – photographer Ernests Gulbis born – tennis player Natalija Gulbis born – Latvian descent LPGA golfer G edit Uldis Germanis – – historian under the alias of Ulafs Jansons a social commentator Aivars Gipslis – – chess player H edit Moriss Halle born – linguist Filips Halsmans – – Latvian American photographer Juris Hartmanis born – computer scientist Turing Award winner Uvis Helmanis – basketball player I edit Arturs Irbe born – ice hockey player goalkeeper Karlis Irbitis – – aviation inventor engineer designer J edit Gatis Jahovics – basketball player Mariss Jansons born – conductor Inese Jaunzeme born – athlete Rashida Jones born Latvian American actress K edit Aivars Kalejs born organist composer Sandra Kalniete born – politician diplomat former Latvia s EU commissioner Bruno Kalninš – – Saeima member Red Army General Imants Kalninš born – composer politician Oskars Kalpaks – – colonel first Commander of Latvian National Armed Forces Kaspars Kambala born – basketball player Martinš Karsums born – ice hockey player Reinis Kaudzite writer and journalist Renars Kaupers – musician Jekabs Ketlers – – Duke of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia Gustavs Klucis – – painter and graphic designer Aleksandrs Koblencs – – chess player Abrams Izaks Kuks – – chief rabbi Jewish thinker statesman diplomat mediator and a renowned scholar Aleksandrs Kovalevskis – – zoologist Gidons Kremers born – violinist and conductor Mikelis Krogzems – – poet author and translator of German poets Juris Kronbergs born – poet writer free lance journalist translator Atis Kronvalds – – teacher and journalist reformed the Latvian language organized the first Latvian Song and Dance Festival Dainis Kula born – athlete Olympic gold medal in javelin Alberts Kviesis – – president of Latvia L edit Aleksandrs Laime – – explorer Vilis Lacis – – author and politician Ginta Lapina born – fashion model Natalija Lašenova – gymnastics Olympic champion team Ed Leedskalnin Edvards Liedskalninš – – builder of Coral Castle in Florida claimed to have discovered the ancient magnetic levitation secrets used to construct the Egyptian pyramids Jekabs Mihaels Reinholds Lencs – – author Marija Leiko – – actress Aleksandrs Liepa – – inventor artist Maris Liepa – – ballet dancer Maksims Lihacovs born – professional football player Peggy Lipton born Latvian American actress Nikolajs Loskis – – philosopher Janis Lusis born – athlete Olympic champion L edit Jevgenija Lisicina born – organist M edit Maris Martinsons born film director producer screenwriter and film editor Hermanis Matisons – – chess player Zenta Maurina – – writer literary scholar culture philosopher Juris Maters – – author lawyer and journalist translated laws to Latvian and created the foundation for Latvian law Janis Medenis poet Arnis Mednis singer Zigfrids Anna Meierovics – – first Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Leo Mihelsons – – artist Arnolds Mikelsons – – artist Jevgenijs Millers – – czarist Russian general Karlis Milenbahs – – linguist N edit Arkadijs Naidics born – chess player now resident in Germany Andris Nelsons born – conductor of The Boston Symphony Orchestra Andrievs Niedra – – pastor writer prime minister of German puppet government Arons Nimcovics – – influential chess player Reinis Nitišs born World Rallycross driver Fred Norris born – Radio personality The Howard Stern Show O edit Stanislavs Olijars born – athlete European champion in m Hurdles Vilhelms Ostvalds – – received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in for his work on catalysis chemical equilibria and reaction velocities Elvira Ozolina born – athlete Olympic gold medal in javelin Sandis Ozolinš born – ice hockey player defense Valdemars Ozolinš – – composer conductor P edit Artis Pabriks born – Minister of Foreign Affairs – Karlis Padegs – – Graphic artist painter Marians Pahars born – soccer player Raimonds Pauls born – popular composer widely known in Russia Lucija Peka – – Artist of the Latvian Diaspora Jekabs Peterss – – revolutionary and Soviet Cheka leader Brita Petersone – American model Kaspars Petrovs born – serial killer Vladimirs Petrovs – – chess player Oskars Perro – Latvian soldier and writer Andris Piebalgs born – politician diplomat European Commissioner for Energy Janis Pliekšans – – distinguished Latvian writer author of a number of poetry collections Juris Podnieks – – film director producer Nikolajs Polakovs – – Coco the Clown Janis Poruks writer Rosa von Praunheim born – film director author painter and gay rights activist Sandis Prusis born – athlete bobsleigh Uldis Pucitis actor director Janis Pujats born – Roman Catholic cardinal Andrejs Pumpurs – – poet author of Latvian national epic Lacplesis R edit Rainis pseudonym of Janis Pliekšans poet and playwright Dans Rapoports American financier and philanthropist Lauris Reiniks – singer songwriter actor and TV personality Einars Repše born – politician Lolita Ritmanis born – orchestrator composer Ilja Ripss born inventor of the Bible Code Fricis Rokpelnis – – author Marks Rotko – – abstract expressionist painter Elza Rozenberga – – poet playwright married to Janis Pliekšans Juris Rubenis born – famous Lutheran pastor Martinš Rubenis born – athlete bronze medalist at the Winter Olympics in Turin Brunis Rubess born – businessman Inta Ruka born – photographer Tana Rusova born – pornographic actress S edit Rudolfs Saule born ballet master performer with the Latvian National Ballet Uljana Semjonova born – basketball player Haralds Silovs – short track and long track speed skater Karlis Skalbe – – poet Karlis Skrastinš – – ice hockey player Baiba Skride born – violinist Konstantins Sokolskis – – romance and tango singer Ksenia Solo born Latvian Canadian actress Serge Sorokko born art dealer and publisher Raimonds Staprans born – Latvian American painter Janis Šteinhauers – – Latvian industrialist entrepreneur and civil rights activist Gotthard Friedrich Stender – the first Latvian grammarian Lina Šterna – – biologist and social activist Roze Stiebra born animator Henrijs Stolovs – – stamp dealer Janis Streics born – film director screenwriter actor Janis Strelnieks born – basketball player Peteris Stucka – – author translator editor jurist and educator Janis Sudrabkalns poet and journalist Jevgenijs Svešnikovs born – prominent chess player Stanislavs Svjanevics – – economist and historian Š edit Viktors Šcerbatihs born – athlete weightlifter Pauls Šimanis – – Baltic German journalist politician activist defending and preserving European minority cultures Vestards Šimkus born – pianist Aleksejs Širovs born – chess player Andris Škele born – politician Prime Minister of Latvia Armands Škele – basketball player Ksenia Solo born – actress Ernests Štalbergs – – architect ensemble of the Freedom Monument Izaks Nahmans Šteinbergs – – politician lawyer and author Maris Štrombergs – BMX cyclist gold medal winner at and Olympics T edit Esther Takeuchi born – materials scientist and chemical engineer Mihails Tals – – the th World Chess Champion Janis Roberts Tilbergs – – painter sculptor U edit Guntis Ulmanis born – president of Latvia Karlis Ulmanis – – prime minister and president of Latvia


abby-lane abby-rode abigail-clayton ada-tauler addie-juniper addison-cain adele-wiesenthal adeline-lange adeline-pollicina adriana-amante adrianna-laurenti adrianna-russo agnes agnes-ardant agnes-zalontai aimee-addison aisha-sun aja aleena-ferari alessandra-schiavo aletta-ocean alexandra-nice alexandria-cass alexa-parks alex-dane alex-foxe alexia-knight alexis-devell alexis-firestone alexis-greco alexis-payne alexis-x alex-storm alex-white aliana-love alice-springs alicia-alighatti alicia-monet alicia-rio alicyn-sterling alighiera-olena ali-moore aline-santos alissa-ashley allysin-chaynes alysin-embers alyssa-love alyssa-reece amanda-addams amanda-blake amanda-blue amanda-jane-adams amanda-rae amanda-stone amanda-tyler amber-hunt amberlina-lynn amber-lynn amber-michaels amber-peach amber-wild amber-woods ambrosia-fox amia-miley ami-rodgers amy-allison amy-brooke amy-rose amy-starz anastasia-christ anastasia-sands andrea-adams andrea-brittian andrea-lange andrea-true andy angel angela-baron angela-summers angel-barrett angel-cash angel-cruz angel-cummings angel-ducharme angelica-sin angelika-reschner angelina-brasini angelina-korrs angelina-valentine angel-kelly angel-long angel-west angie-knight anita-andic anita-blond anita-cannibal anita-dark anna-belle anna-malle anna-nikova anna-pierce anna-ventura anna-veruska anne-bie-warburg anne-libert anne-magle anne-sand annette-haven annie-sprinkle ann-kiray ann-marie-michelle antonia-dorian april-flowers april-may april-west arcadia-lake ariana-bali ariana-jollee arlana-blue ashley-anne ashley-brooks ashley-coda ashley-fires ashley-lauren ashley-long ashley-marie ashley-nicole ashley-perk ashley-renee ashley-robbins ashley-welles ashley-wells ashley-winger ashlyn-gere astrid-bone athena-star aubrey-nichols aurora aurora-snow autumn-bliss autumn-rayne ava-devine ava-lauren avalon ava-marteens avy-lee-roth bailey-monroe bambi-allen barbara-bourbon barbara-boutet barbara-dare barbara-doll barbara-moose barbarella barbie-angel barbie-doll barett-moore bea-fiedler beata beatrice-poggi beatrice-valle becky-savage becky-sunshine belinda-butterfield bella-donna bethany-sweet beverly-bliss beverly-glen biggi-stenzhorn bionca black-widow blond-cat blondi blue-angel bobbi-bliss bobbi-dean bobbie-burns bonnie-holiday brandee brandi-edwards brandy-alexandre brandy-dean brandy-lee brandy-smile brandy-wine bree-anthony breezy-lane brenda-basse briana-blair bridgette-belle bridgette-monet bridgette-monroe bridget-waters brigitte-lahaie brigitte-monnin brigitte-verbecq brittany brittany-stryker britt-corvin britt-morgan bronze brooke-bennett brooke-fields brooke-haven brooke-west brook-van-buuren buffy-davis bunnie-blake bunny-bleu bunny-hatton busty-belle cali-caramel calisyn-heart cameo cameron-love camila-sampaio camilla-rhodes camille-morgan camrie-foxxx candace-daley candi candida-royalle candie-evens candi-summers candy-apples candy-barr candy-hill candy-samples candy-stanton cara-lott caressa-savage carmel-nougat carmen-blonde carmen-de-la-torre carmen-moore carmen-rose carol-connors carol-cross carol-cummings carole-dubois carole-gire carole-pierac carol-titian carolyn-connoly carolyn-monroe carrie-cruise cassandra-leigh cassidy cassie-courtland cataline-bullock catherine-count catherine-crystal catherine-ringer catherine-tailleferre cathy-delorme cathy-menard cathy-stewart celeste-fox celine-gallone chanel-preston chanel-price chantal-virapin chanta-rose chantelle-stevens charisma charisma-cole charlie-latour charlie-waters charlotte-de-castille charmane-star chasey-lain chayse-manhattan chaz-vincent chelsea-sinclaire chennin-blanc cheri-janvier cheri-taylor cherry-hill chessie-moore cheyenne-hunter cheyenne-silver china-lee china-leigh china-moon chloe-cruize chloe-dior chloe-kez chloe-stevens chris-collins chris-jordan chris-petersen chrissie-beauchamp christa-abel christa-ludwig christie-ford christi-lake christina-berg christina-blond christina-evol christina-skye christine-black christine-chavert christine-neona christine-rigoler christy-canyon cicciolina cindi-stephens cindy-carver cindy-crawford cindy-more cindy-shepard cindy-wong cinthya-marinho clair-dia claire-robbins claude-janna claudia-jackson claudia-jamsson claudia-mehringer claudia-nero claudia-van-statt claudia-zante claudine-beccarie clea-carson cleo-nichole cleo-patra cody-lane cody-love cody-nicole coffee-brown colleen-brennan connie-bennett connie-peterson constance-money copper-penny coreena corey-everson corinne-lemoine corneliah cory-everson cory-wolf courtney courtney-cummz courtney-james cris-cassidy crissy-moran cris-taliana crystal-breeze crystal-dawn crystal-holland crystal-knight crystal-lake crystal-lovin crystal-sync csilla-kalnay cuban-bee cynara-fox cyndee-summers cynthia-black cynthia-brooks cynthia-hammers cynthia-lavigne dagmar-lost daisy-layne dallas-miko dana-dylan dana-lynn danica-rhea daniela-nanou daniela-schiffer daniele-troeger daniella daniella-schiffer danielle danielle-foxxx danielle-rodgers danny-ricci danyel-cheeks daphne daphne-rosen darby-lloyd-rains darla-crane darla-delovely davia-ardell dayton-rain debbie-northrup debbie-revenge debbie-van-gils debi-diamond debi-jointed debra-lynn deidra-hopkins deidre-holland delania-raffino delia-moore delphine-thail delta-force delta-white demi-moor denice-klarskov denise-derringer denise-dior denise-sloan desiree-cousteau desiree-foxx desiree-lane desiree-west deva-station devin-devasquez devinn-lane devon-shire dia diana-holt diana-kisabonyi diana-siefert diana-stevenson diane-dubois diane-richards diane-sloan diane-suresne dido-angel dillan-lauren dina-deville dina-jewel dina-pearl ditty-blue diva divinity-love djiana dolly-darkley dominique dominique-dewitt dominique-saint-claire donna-hart donna-marie dorle-buchner dorothy-lemay dorothy-onan drea drimla dru-berrymore dusty-rose dyanna-lauren ebony-ayes edina-blond edita-ungerova edwige-faillel eileen-wells elaine-southern elena-berkova elena-maria-ricci eleonore-melzer elisabeth-bure elis-black elise elise-di-medici elle-devyne elle-rio elodie-delage elsa-maroussia elza-brown emili-doll emily-evermoore emily-george emily-jewel emmanuelle-pareze envy-mi erica-boyer erica-eaton erica-havens erica-idol erica-lauren erika-bella erika-cool erika-heaven erika-lockett esme-monroe eva-allen eva-angel eva-dionisio eva-gross eva-kleber eva-lux eva-uettori eve-laurence evelyne-lang evie-delatosso fabiana-venturi faith-stevens fallon fanny-garreau fanny-steel faye-runaway flame flick-shagwell flore-soller flower france-lomay france-quenie francoise frankie-leigh gabriella gabriella-mirelba gabriella-vincze gail-force gail-palmer gail-sterling georgette-saunders georgia-peach georgina-spelvin gia-givanna gianna-lynn gili-sky gina-carrera gina-gianetti gina-janssen gina-lee gina-martell gina-valentino ginger-jay ginger-lee ginger-lynn ginny-noack giovanna gisela-schwarz giselle-monet gladys-laroche gloria-leonard gloria-todd golden-jade greta-carlson greta-milos guia-lauri-filzi gwenda-farnel hare-krane harley-raine hayley-jade hazel-young heather-deeley heather-ellis heather-hart heather-lere heather-lyn heather-manfield heather-thomas heather-torrance heather-wayne heather-young helen-madigan helen-thomas helga-sven helga-wild hillary-summers holly-hollywood holly-joy holly-page holly-ryder honey-winter hottie-hollie hyapatia-lee ida-fabry ildiko-smits illana-moor ines-ridere ingrid-choray isabella-dior isabella-soprano isabelle-allay isabelle-brell isabelle-marchall isobel-wren iveta ivette-blanche jackie-right jacqueline-lorians jacy-allen jada-stevens jade-east jade-hsu jade-marcela jade-summers jade-wong jahn-gold jamie-brooks jamie-james jamie-summers jana-irrova jana-mrazkova jane-baker jane-darling jane-iwanoff jane-lindsay jane-lixx janet-jacme janey-robbins jasmine-delatori jayden-simone jaylyn-rose jayna-woods jazella-moore jazmin-luna-gold jean-afrique jeanette-littledove jeanie-marie-sullivan jean-jennings jeanna-fine jeannie-pepper jenna-jameson jenna-jane jenna-presley jenna-wells jennifer-haussmann jennifer-janes jennifer-jordan jennifer-morante jennifer-noxt jennifer-stewart jennifer-welles jennifer-west jenny jenny-feeling jenny-fields jenny-wings jersey-jaxin jesie-st-james jesse-capelli jessica-bangkok jessica-bogart jessica-darlin jessica-fiorentino jessica-gabriel jessica-laine jessica-may jessica-road jessica-wylde jessi-foster jill-ferari jill-kelly joana-redgrave joan-devlon joanna-storm joanna-sweet jody-maxwell joelle-lequement joelle-petinot johnni-black jordana-james jordan-green jordan-nevaeh jordan-star josephine-carrington joslyn-james julia-chanel julia-dal-fuoco juliana-grandi julia-paes julia-parton julia-perrin julia-swen julia-thomas julie-meadows julie-rage julie-simone juliet-anderson juliet-graham juliette-carelton kacey-jordan kagney-linn-karter kaitlyn-ashley kalena-rios kami-andrews kamila-smith kandee-licks kandi-barbour kapri-styles kara-nox karen-summer kari-foxx karine-gambier karin-schubert karli-sweet karmen-kennedy karol-castro kascha kassi-nova kat kate-frost kate-jones kathia-nobili kathleen-gentry kathleen-white kathy-divan kathy-harcourt kathy-heart kathy-kash katie-cummings katja-love kat-langer katrina-isis katrina-kraven katy-borman katy-caro kaycee-dean kayla-kupcakes kay-parker k-c-valentine keama-kim keira-moon keisha keli-richards kelli-tyler kelly-adams kelly-blue kelly-broox kelly-hearn kelly-kay kelly-kline kelly-nichols kelly-royce kelly-skyline kendra-kay kenzi-marie keri-windsor ketthy-divan kianna-dior kiley-heart kim-alexis kimber-blake kimberly-carson kimberly-kane kimberly-kyle kim-de-place kim-holland kimi-gee kimkim-de kim-kitaine kimmie-lee kimmy-nipples kina-kara kira-eggers kira-red kirsty-waay kitty-langdon kitty-lynxxx kitty-marie kitty-shayne kitty-yung kora-cummings kris-lara krista-lane krista-maze kristara-barrington kristarah-knight kristi-klenot kristina-blonde kristina-king kristina-klevits kristina-soderszk kristine-heller kristin-steen krisztina-ventura krystal-de-boor krystal-steal kylee-karr kylee-nash kylie-brooks kylie-channel kylie-haze kylie-wylde kym-wilde kyoto-sun lachelle-marie lacy-rose lady-amanda-wyldefyre lady-stephanie laetitia-bisset lana-burner lana-cox lana-wood lara-amour lara-roxx lara-stevens lataya-roxx latoya laura-clair laura-lazare laura-lion laura-may laura-orsolya laura-paouck laura-zanzibar lauren-black laurence-boutin lauren-montgomery laurien-dominique laurien-wilde laurie-smith lauryl-canyon lauryn-may leah-wilde lea-magic lea-martini leanna-foxxx lee-caroll leigh-livingston leilani lenora-bruce leslie-winston lesllie-bovee letizia-bruni lexi-lane lexi-matthews lezley-zen lia-fire liliane-gray liliane-lemieuvre lili-marlene lily-gilder lily-labeau lily-rodgers lily-valentine linda-shaw linda-vale linda-wong linnea-quigley lisa-bright lisa-de-leeuw lisa-k-loring lisa-lake lisa-melendez lisa-sue-corey lise-pinson little-oral-annie liza-dwyer liza-harper lizzy-borden logan-labrent lois-ayres lola-cait long-jean-silver loni-bunny loni-sanders loona-luxx lorelei-lee lorelei-rand lorena-sanchez lori-alexia lori-blue lorrie-lovett luci-diamond lucie-doll lucie-theodorova lucy-van-dam lydia-baum lynn-franciss lynn-lemay lynn-ray lynn-stevens lynx-canon lysa-thatcher madelina-ray madison-parker magdalena-lynn maggie-randall mai-lin mandi-wine mandy-bright mandy-malone mandy-may mandy-mistery mandy-starr marcia-minor maren margit-ojetz margitta-hofer margo-stevens margot-mahler mariah-cherry marianne-aubert maria-tortuga marie-anne marie-christine-chireix marie-christine-veroda marie-claude-moreau marie-dominique-cabannes marie-france-morel marie-luise-lusewitz marie-sharp marilyn-chambers marilyne-leroy marilyn-gee marilyn-jess marilyn-martyn marilyn-star marina-hedman marion-webb marita-ekberg marita-kemper marlena marlene-willoughby marry-queen martine-grimaud martine-schultz maryanne-fisher mary-hubay mary-ramunno mary-stuart mascha-mouton maud-kennedy mauvais-denoir maxine-tyler maya-black maya-france megan-leigh megan-martinez megan-reece mei-ling melanie-hotlips melanie-scott melba-cruz melinda-russell melissa-bonsardo melissa-del-prado melissa-golden melissa-martinez melissa-melendez melissa-monet mercedes-dragon mercedes-lynn merle-michaels mesha-lynn mia-beck mia-lina mia-smiles michele-raven michelle-aston michelle-ferrari michelle-greco michelle-maren michelle-maylene michelle-monroe micki-lynn mika-barthel mika-tan mikki-taylor mimi-morgan mindy-rae ming-toy miranda-stevens miss-bunny miss-meadow miss-pomodoro missy missy-graham missy-stone missy-vega misti-jane mistress-candice misty-anderson misty-dawn misty-rain misty-regan mona-lisa mona-page moni monica-baal monica-swinn monika-peta monika-sandmayr monika-unco monique-bruno monique-cardin monique-charell monique-demoan monique-gabrielle monique-la-belle morgan-fairlane morrigan-hel moxxie-maddron mulani-rivera mysti-may nadege-arnaud nadia-styles nadine-bronx nadine-proutnal nadine-roussial nadi-phuket nanci-suiter nancy-hoffman nancy-vee natacha-delyro natalia-wood natalli-diangelo natascha-throat natasha-skyler naudia-nyce nessa-devil nessy-grant nesty nicki-hunter nicky-reed nicole-berg nicole-bernard nicole-black nicole-grey nicole-london nicole-parks nicole-scott nicole-taylor nicolette-fauludi nicole-west nika-blond nika-mamic niki-cole nikita-love nikita-rush nikki-charm nikki-grand nikki-king nikki-knight nikki-randall nikki-rhodes nikki-santana nikki-steele nikki-wilde niko nina-cherry nina-deponca nina-hartley nina-preta oana-efria obaya-roberts olesja-derevko olga-cabaeva olga-conti olga-pechova olga-petrova olivia-alize olivia-del-rio olivia-flores olivia-la-roche olivia-outre ophelia-tozzi orchidea-keresztes orsolya-blonde paige-turner paisley-hunter pamela-bocchi pamela-jennings pamela-mann pamela-stanford pamela-stealt pandora paola-albini pascale-vital pat-manning pat-rhea patricia-dale patricia-diamond patricia-kennedy patricia-rhomberg patrizia-predan patti-cakes patti-petite paula-brasile paula-harlow paula-morton paula-price paula-winters pauline-teutscher penelope-pumpkins penelope-valentin petra-hermanova petra-lamas peyton-lafferty phaedra-grant pia-snow piper-fawn pipi-anderson porsche-lynn porsha-carrera precious-silver priscillia-lenn purple-passion queeny-love rachel-ashley rachel-love rachel-luv rachel-roxxx rachel-ryan rachel-ryder racquel-darrian rane-revere raven reagan-maddux rebecca-bardoux regan-anthony regine-bardot regula-mertens reina-leone reka-gabor renae-cruz renee-foxx renee-lovins renee-morgan renee-perez renee-summers renee-tiffany rhonda-jo-petty rikki-blake riley-ray rio-mariah rita-ricardo roberta-gemma roberta-pedon robin-byrd robin-cannes robin-everett robin-sane rochell-starr rosa-lee-kimball rosemarie roxanne-blaze roxanne-hall roxanne-rollan ruby-richards sabina-k sabre sabrina-chimaera sabrina-dawn sabrina-jade sabrina-johnson sabrina-love-cox sabrina-mastrolorenzi sabrina-rose sabrina-scott sabrina-summers sacha-davril sahara sahara-sands sai-tai-tiger samantha-fox samantha-ryan samantha-sterlyng samantha-strong samueline-de-la-rosa sandra-cardinale sandra-de-marco sandra-kalermen sandra-russo sandy-lee sandy-pinney sandy-reed sandy-samuel sandy-style sandy-summers sara-brandy-canyon sara-faye sarah-bernard sarah-cabrera sarah-hevyn sarah-mills sarah-shine sara-sloane sasha sasha-hollander sasha-ligaya sasha-rose satine-phoenix satin-summer savannah-stern savanna-jane scarlet-scarleau scarlet-windsor seka selena serena serena-south severine-amoux shana-evans shanna-mccullough shannon-kelly shannon-rush shantell-day sharon-da-vale sharon-kane sharon-mitchell shaun-michelle shawna-sexton shawnee-cates shay-hendrix shayne-ryder sheena-horne sheer-delight shelby-star shelby-stevens shelly-berlin shelly-lyons sheri-st-clair sheyla-cats shonna-lynn shyla-foxxx shy-love sierra-sinn sierra-skye sigrun-theil silver-starr silvia-bella silvia-saint silvie-de-lux silvy-taylor simone-west sindee-coxx sindy-lange sindy-shy siobhan-hunter skylar-knight skylar-price skyler-dupree smokie-flame smoking-mary-jane solange-shannon sonya-summers sophia-santi sophie-call sophie-duflot sophie-evans sophie-guers stacey-donovan stacy-lords stacy-moran stacy-nichols stacy-silver stacy-thorn starla-fox starr-wood stefania-bruni stella-virgin stephanie-duvalle stephanie-rage stephanie-renee stevie-taylor summer-knight summer-rose sunny-day sunset-thomas sunshine-seiber susan-hart susanne-brend susan-nero susi-hotkiss suzanne-mcbain suzan-nielsen suzie-bartlett suzie-carina suzi-sparks sweet-nice sweety-pie sybille-rossani sylvia-benedict sylvia-bourdon sylvia-brand sylvia-engelmann syreeta-taylor syren-de-mer syvette szabina-black szilvia-lauren tai-ellis taija-rae taisa-banx talia-james tamara-lee tamara-longley tamara-n-joy tamara-west tami-white tammy tammy-lee tammy-reynolds tania-lorenzo tantala-ray tanya-danielle tanya-fox tanya-foxx tanya-lawson tanya-valis tara-aire tasha-voux tatjana-belousova tatjana-skomorokhova tawnee-lee tawny-pearl tayla-rox taylor-wane teddi-austin teddi-barrett tera-bond tera-heart tera-joy teresa-may teresa-orlowski teri-diver teri-weigel terri-dolan terri-hall tess-ferre tess-newheart thais-vieira tia-cherry tianna tiara tiffany-blake tiffany-clark tiffany-duponte tiffany-rayne tiffany-rousso tiffany-storm tiffany-towers tiffany-tyler tiger-lily tigr timea-vagvoelgyi tina-blair tina-burner tina-evil tina-gabriel tina-loren tina-marie tina-russell tish-ambrose tommi-rose tonisha-mills topsy-curvey tori-secrets tori-sinclair tori-welles tracey-adams traci-lords traci-topps traci-winn tracy-duzit tracy-love tracy-williams tricia-devereaux tricia-yen trinity-loren trisha-rey trista-post trixie-tyler ultramax ursula-gaussmann ursula-moore uschi-karnat valentina valerie-leveau valery-hilton vanessa-chase vanessa-del-rio vanessa-michaels vanessa-ozdanic vanilla-deville velvet-summers veri-knotty veronica-dol veronica-hart veronica-hill veronica-rayne veronica-sage veronika-vanoza via-paxton vicky-lindsay vicky-vicci victoria-evans victoria-gold victoria-knight victoria-luna victoria-paris victoria-slick victoria-zdrok viper virginie-caprice vivian-valentine vivien-martines wendi-white wendy-divine whitney-banks whitney-fears whitney-wonders wonder-tracey wow-nikki xanthia-berstein yasmine-fitzgerald yelena-shieffer yvonne-green zara-whites zsanett-egerhazi zuzie-boobies

With the acquisition of Montagu House the first exhibition galleries and reading room for scholars opened on 15 January 1759.[14] In 1757 King George II gave the Old Royal Library and with it the right to a copy of every book published in the country, thereby ensuring that the Museum's library would expand indefinitely. During the few years after its foundation the British Museum received several further gifts, including the Thomason Collection of Civil War Tracts and David Garrick's library of 1,000 printed plays. The predominance of natural history, books and manuscripts began to lessen when in 1772 the Museum acquired for £8,400 its first significant antiquities in Sir William Hamilton's "first" collection of Greek vases.[15] Indolence and energy (1778–1800)[edit] From 1778 a display of objects from the South Seas brought back from the round-the-world voyages of Captain James Cook and the travels of other explorers fascinated visitors with a glimpse of previously unknown lands. The bequest of a collection of books, engraved gems, coins, prints and drawings by Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode in 1800 did much to raise the Museum's reputation; but Montagu House became increasingly crowded and decrepit and it was apparent that it would be unable to cope with further expansion.[16] The museum’s first notable addition towards its collection of antiquities, since its foundation, was by Sir William Hamilton (1730–1803), British Ambassador to Naples, who sold his collection of Greek and Roman artefacts to the museum in 1784 together with a number of other antiquities and natural history specimens. A list of donations to the Museum, dated 31 January 1784 refers to the Hamilton bequest of a "Colossal Foot of an Apollo in Marble". It was one of two antiquities of Hamilton's collection drawn for him by Francesco Progenie, a pupil of Pietro Fabris, who also contributed a number of drawings of Mount Vesuvius sent by Hamilton to the Royal Society in London. Growth and change (1800–25)[edit] The Elgin Room, 1937 Left to Right: Montagu House, Townley Gallery and Sir Robert Smirke's west wing under construction, July 1828 The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus Room, 1920s In the early 19th century the foundations for the extensive collection of sculpture began to be laid and Greek, Roman and Egyptian artefacts dominated the antiquities displays. After the defeat of the French campaign in the Battle of the Nile, in 1801, the British Museum acquired more Egyptian sculptures and in 1802 King George III presented the Rosetta Stone – key to the deciphering of hieroglyphs.[17] Gifts and purchases from Henry Salt, British consul general in Egypt, beginning with the Colossal bust of Ramesses II in 1818, laid the foundations of the collection of Egyptian Monumental Sculpture.[18] Many Greek sculptures followed, notably the first purpose-built exhibition space, the Charles Towneley collection, much of it Roman Sculpture, in 1805. In 1806, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1799 to 1803 removed the large collection of marble sculptures from the Parthenon, on the Acropolis in Athens and transferred them to the UK. In 1816 these masterpieces of western art, were acquired by The British Museum by Act of Parliament and deposited in the museum thereafter.[19] The collections were supplemented by the Bassae frieze from Phigaleia, Greece in 1815. The Ancient Near Eastern collection also had its beginnings in 1825 with the purchase of Assyrian and Babylonian antiquities from the widow of Claudius James Rich.[20] In 1802 a Buildings Committee was set up to plan for expansion of the museum, and further highlighted by the donation in 1822 of the King's Library, personal library of King George III's, comprising 65,000 volumes, 19,000 pamphlets, maps, charts and topographical drawings.[21] The neoclassical architect, Sir Robert Smirke, was asked to draw up plans for an eastern extension to the Museum "... for the reception of the Royal Library, and a Picture Gallery over it ..."[22] and put forward plans for today's quadrangular building, much of which can be seen today. The dilapidated Old Montagu House was demolished and work on the King's Library Gallery began in 1823. The extension, the East Wing, was completed by 1831. However, following the founding of the National Gallery, London in 1824,[e] the proposed Picture Gallery was no longer needed, and the space on the upper floor was given over to the Natural history collections.[23] The largest building site in Europe (1825–50)[edit] The Grenville Library, 1875 The Museum became a construction site as Sir Robert Smirke's grand neo-classical building gradually arose. The King's Library, on the ground floor of the East Wing, was handed over in 1827, and was described as one of the finest rooms in London. Although it was not fully open to the general public until 1857, special openings were arranged during The Great Exhibition of 1851. In spite of dirt and disruption the collections grew, outpacing the new building.[citation needed] In 1840 the Museum became involved in its first overseas excavations, Charles Fellows's expedition to Xanthos, in Asia Minor, whence came remains of the tombs of the rulers of ancient Lycia, among them the Nereid and Payava monuments. In 1857 Charles Newton was to discover the 4th-century BC Mausoleum of Halikarnassos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. In the 1840s and 1850s the Museum supported excavations in Assyria by A.H. Layard and others at sites such as Nimrud and Nineveh. Of particular interest to curators was the eventual discovery of Ashurbanipal's great library of cuneiform tablets, which helped to make the Museum a focus for Assyrian studies.[24] Sir Thomas Grenville (1755–1846), a Trustee of The British Museum from 1830, assembled a fine library of 20,240 volumes, which he left to the Museum in his will. The books arrived in January 1847 in twenty-one horse-drawn vans. The only vacant space for this large library was a room originally intended for manuscripts, between the Front Entrance Hall and the Manuscript Saloon. The books remained here until the British Library moved to St Pancras in 1998. Collecting from the wider world (1850–75)[edit] The opening of the forecourt in 1852 marked the completion of Robert Smirke's 1823 plan, but already adjustments were having to be made to cope with the unforeseen growth of the collections. Infill galleries were constructed for Assyrian sculptures and Sydney Smirke's Round Reading Room, with space for a million books, opened in 1857. Because of continued pressure on space the decision was taken to move natural history to a new building in South Kensington, which would later become the British Museum (Natural History). Roughly contemporary with the construction of the new building was the career of a man sometimes called the "second founder" of the British Museum, the Italian librarian Anthony Panizzi. Under his supervision, the British Museum Library (now part of the British Library) quintupled in size and became a well-organised institution worthy of being called a national library, the largest library in the world after the National Library of Paris.[12] The quadrangle at the centre of Smirke's design proved to be a waste of valuable space and was filled at Panizzi's request by a circular Reading Room of cast iron, designed by Smirke's brother, Sydney Smirke.[25] Until the mid-19th century, the Museum's collections were relatively circumscribed but, in 1851, with the appointment to the staff of Augustus Wollaston Franks to curate the collections, the Museum began for the first time to collect British and European medieval antiquities, prehistory, branching out into Asia and diversifying its holdings of ethnography. A real coup for the museum was the purchase in 1867, over French objections, of the Duke of Blacas's wide-ranging and valuable collection of antiquities. Overseas excavations continued and John Turtle Wood discovered the remains of the 4th century BC Temple of Artemis at Ephesos, another Wonder of the Ancient World.[26] Scholarship and legacies (1875–1900)[edit] Display case of Renaissance metalware from the Waddesdon Bequest, 2014 The natural history collections were an integral part of the British Museum until their removal to the new British Museum (Natural History), now the Natural History Museum, in 1887. With the departure and the completion of the new White Wing (fronting Montague Street) in 1884, more space was available for antiquities and ethnography and the library could further expand. This was a time of innovation as electric lighting was introduced in the Reading Room and exhibition galleries.[27] The William Burges collection of armoury was bequeathed to the museum in 1881. In 1882 the Museum was involved in the establishment of the independent Egypt Exploration Fund (now Society) the first British body to carry out research in Egypt. A bequest from Miss Emma Turner in 1892 financed excavations in Cyprus. In 1897 the death of the great collector and curator, A.W. Franks, was followed by an immense bequest of 3,300 finger rings, 153 drinking vessels, 512 pieces of continental porcelain, 1,500 netsuke, 850 inro, over 30,000 bookplates and miscellaneous items of jewellery and plate, among them the Oxus Treasure.[28] In 1898 Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild bequeathed the Waddesdon Bequest, the glittering contents from his New Smoking Room at Waddesdon Manor. This consisted of almost 300 pieces of objets d'art et de vertu which included exquisite examples of jewellery, plate, enamel, carvings, glass and maiolica, among them the Holy Thorn Reliquary, probably created in the 1390s in Paris for John, Duke of Berry. The collection was in the tradition of a schatzkammer or treasure house such as those formed by the Renaissance princes of Europe.[29] Baron Ferdinand's will was most specific, and failure to observe the terms would make it void, the collection should be placed in a special room to be called the Waddesdon Bequest Room separate and apart from the other contents of the Museum and thenceforth for ever thereafter, keep the same in such room or in some other room to be substituted for it.[29] These terms are still observed, and the collection occupies room 45, although it will move to new quarters in 2015. New century, new building (1900–25)[edit] Opening of The North Wing, King Edward VII's Galleries, 1914 Sir Leonard Woolley holding the noted excavated Sumerian Queen's Lyre, 1922 By the last years of the 19th century, The British Museum's collections had increased so much that the Museum building was no longer big enough for them. In 1895 the trustees purchased the 69 houses surrounding the Museum with the intention of demolishing them and building around the West, North and East sides of the Museum. The first stage was the construction of the northern wing beginning 1906. All the while, the collections kept growing. Emil Torday collected in Central Africa, Aurel Stein in Central Asia, D.G. Hogarth, Leonard Woolley and T. E. Lawrence excavated at Carchemish. Around this time, the American collector and philanthropist J Pierpont Morgan donated a substantial number of objects to the museum,[30] including William Greenwell's collection of prehistoric artefacts from across Europe which he had purchased for £10,000 in 1908. Morgan had also acquired a major part of Sir John Evans's coin collection, which was later sold to the museum by his son John Pierpont Morgan Junior in 1915. In 1918, because of the threat of wartime bombing, some objects were evacuated to a Postal Tube Railway at Holborn, the National Library of Wales (Aberystwyth) and a country house near Malvern. On the return of antiquities from wartime storage in 1919 some objects were found to have deteriorated. A temporary conservation laboratory was set up in May 1920 and became a permanent department in 1931. It is today the oldest in continuous existence.[31] In 1923 the British Museum welcomed over one million visitors. Disruption and reconstruction (1925–50)[edit] New mezzanine floors were constructed and book stacks rebuilt in an attempt to cope with the flood of books. In 1931 the art dealer Sir Joseph Duveen offered funds to build a gallery for the Parthenon sculptures. Designed by the American architect John Russell Pope, it was completed in 1938. The appearance of the exhibition galleries began to change as dark Victorian reds gave way to modern pastel shades.[f] However, in August 1939, due to the imminence of war and the likelihood of air-raids the Parthenon Sculptures along with Museum's most valued collections were dispersed to secure basements, country house, Aldwych tube station, the National Library of Wales and a quarry. The evacuation was timely, for in 1940 the Duveen Gallery was severely damaged by bombing.[32] The Museum continued to collect from all countries and all centuries: among the most spectacular additions were the 2600 BC Mesopotamian treasure from Ur, discovered during Leonard Woolley's 1922–34 excavations. Gold, silver and garnet grave goods from the Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo (1939) and late Roman silver tableware from Mildenhall, Suffolk (1946). The immediate post-war years were taken up with the return of the collections from protection and the restoration of the museum after the Blitz. Work also began on restoring the damaged Duveen Gallery. A new public face (1950–75)[edit] The re-opened Duveen Gallery, 1980 In 1953 the Museum celebrated its bicentenary. Many changes followed: the first full-time in house designer and publications officer were appointed in 1964, A Friends organisation was set up in 1968, an Education Service established in 1970 and publishing house in 1973. In 1963 a new Act of Parliament introduced administrative reforms. It became easier to lend objects, the constitution of the Board of Trustees changed and the Natural History Museum became fully independent. By 1959 the Coins and Medals office suite, completely destroyed during the war, was rebuilt and re-opened, attention turned towards the gallery work with new tastes in design leading to the remodelling of Robert Smirke's Classical and Near Eastern galleries.[33] In 1962 the Duveen Gallery was finally restored and the Parthenon Sculptures were moved back into it, once again at the heart of the museum.[g] By the 1970s the Museum was again expanding. More services for the public were introduced; visitor numbers soared, with the temporary exhibition "Treasures of Tutankhamun" in 1972, attracting 1,694,117 visitors, the most successful in British history. In the same year the Act of Parliament establishing the British Library was passed, separating the collection of manuscripts and printed books from the British Museum. This left the Museum with antiquities; coins, medals and paper money; prints & drawings; and ethnography. A pressing problem was finding space for additions to the library which now required an extra 11/4 miles of shelving each year. The Government suggested a site at St Pancras for the new British Library but the books did not leave the museum until 1997. The Great Court emerges (1975–2000)[edit] The departure of the British Library to a new site at St Pancras, finally achieved in 1998, provided the space needed for the books. It also created the opportunity to redevelop the vacant space in Robert Smirke's 19th-century central quadrangle into the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court – the largest covered square in Europe – which opened in 2000. The ethnography collections, which had been housed in the short-lived Museum of Mankind at 6 Burlington Gardens from 1970, were returned to new purpose-built galleries in the museum in 2000. The Museum again readjusted its collecting policies as interest in "modern" objects: prints, drawings, medals and the decorative arts reawakened. Ethnographical fieldwork was carried out in places as diverse as New Guinea, Madagascar, Romania, Guatemala and Indonesia and there were excavations in the Near East, Egypt, Sudan and the UK. The Weston Gallery of Roman Britain, opened in 1997, displayed a number of recently discovered hoards which demonstrated the richness of what had been considered an unimportant part of the Roman Empire. The Museum turned increasingly towards private funds for buildings, acquisitions and other purposes.[34] The British Museum today[edit] The BP Lecture Theatre at the museum, part of the Clore Centre for Education, 2013 Today the museum no longer houses collections of natural history, and the books and manuscripts it once held now form part of the independent British Library. The Museum nevertheless preserves its universality in its collections of artefacts representing the cultures of the world, ancient and modern. The original 1753 collection has grown to over thirteen million objects at the British Museum, 70 million at the Natural History Museum and 150 million at the British Library. The Round Reading Room, which was designed by the architect Sydney Smirke, opened in 1857. For almost 150 years researchers came here to consult the Museum's vast library. The Reading Room closed in 1997 when the national library (the British Library) moved to a new building at St Pancras. Today it has been transformed into the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Centre. With the bookstacks in the central courtyard of the museum empty, the process of demolition for Lord Foster's glass-roofed Great Court could begin. The Great Court, opened in 2000, while undoubtedly improving circulation around the museum, was criticised for having a lack of exhibition space at a time when the museum was in serious financial difficulties and many galleries were closed to the public. At the same time the African collections that had been temporarily housed in 6 Burlington Gardens were given a new gallery in the North Wing funded by the Sainsbury family – with the donation valued at £25 million.[35] As part of its very large website, the museum has the largest online database of objects in the collection of any museum in the world, with 2,000,000 individual object entries, 650,000 of them illustrated, online at the start of 2012.[36] There is also a "Highlights" database with longer entries on over 4,000 objects, and several specialised online research catalogues and online journals (all free to access).[37] In 2013 the museum's website received 19.5 millions visits, an increase of 47% from the previous year.[38] In 2013 the museum received a record 6.7 million visitors, an increase of 20% from the previous year.[38] Popular exhibitions including "Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum" and "Ice Age Art" are credited with helping fuel the increase in visitors.[39] Plans were announced in September 2014 to recreate the entire building along with all exhibits in the video game Minecraft in conjunction with members of the public.[40] Governance[edit] The British Museum is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport through a three-year funding agreement. Its head is the Director. The British Museum was run from its inception by a 'Principal Librarian' (when the book collections were still part of the Museum), a role that was renamed 'Director and Principal Librarian' in 1898, and 'Director' in 1973 (on the separation of the British Library).[41] A board of 25 trustees (with the Director as their accounting officer for the purposes of reporting to Government) is responsible for the general management and control of the Museum, in accordance with the British Museum Act 1963 and the Museums and Galleries Act 1992.[42] Prior to the 1963 Act, it was chaired by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Chancellor and the Speaker of the House of Commons. The board was formed on the Museum's inception to hold its collections in trust for the nation without actually owning them themselves, and now fulfil a mainly advisory role. Trustee appointments are governed by the regulatory framework set out in the code of practice on public appointments issued by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.[43] Building[edit] The main entrance to the museum, with Greek temple style portico, 2007 The Greek Revival façade facing Great Russell Street is a characteristic building of Sir Robert Smirke, with 44 columns in the Ionic order 45 ft (14 m) high, closely based on those of the temple of Athena Polias at Priene in Asia Minor. The pediment over the main entrance is decorated by sculptures by Sir Richard Westmacott depicting The Progress of Civilisation, consisting of fifteen allegorical figures, installed in 1852. The construction commenced around the courtyard with the East Wing (The King's Library) in 1823–1828, followed by the North Wing in 1833–1838, which originally housed among other galleries a reading room, now the Wellcome Gallery. Work was also progressing on the northern half of the West Wing (The Egyptian Sculpture Gallery) 1826–1831, with Montagu House demolished in 1842 to make room for the final part of the West Wing, completed in 1846, and the South Wing with its great colonnade, initiated in 1843 and completed in 1847, when the Front Hall and Great Staircase were opened to the public.[44] The Museum is faced with Portland stone, but the perimeter walls and other parts of the building were built using Haytor granite from Dartmoor in South Devon, transported via the unique Haytor Granite Tramway.[45] The Enlightenment Gallery at museum, which formerly held the King's Library, 2007 In 1846 Robert Smirke was replaced as the Museum's architect by his brother Sydney Smirke, whose major addition was the Round Reading Room 1854–1857; at 140 feet (43 m) in diameter it was then the second widest dome in the world, the Pantheon in Rome being slightly wider. The next major addition was the White Wing 1882–1884 added behind the eastern end of the South Front, the architect being Sir John Taylor. In 1895, Parliament gave the Museum Trustees a loan of £200,000 to purchase from the Duke of Bedford all 69 houses which backed onto the Museum building in the five surrounding streets – Great Russell Street, Montague Street, Montague Place, Bedford Square and Bloomsbury Street.[46] The Trustees planned to demolish these houses and to build around the West, North and East sides of the Museum new galleries that would completely fill the block on which the Museum stands. The architect Sir John James Burnet was petitioned to put forward ambitious long-term plans to extend the building on all three sides. Most of the houses in Montague Place were knocked down a few years after the sale. Of this grand plan only the Edward VII galleries in the centre of the North Front were ever constructed, these were built 1906–14 to the design by J.J. Burnet, and opened by King George V and Queen Mary in 1914. They now house the Museum's collections of Prints and Drawings and Oriental Antiquities. There was not enough money to put up more new buildings, and so the houses in the other streets are nearly all still standing. Proposed British Museum Extension, 1906 The Reading Room and Great Court roof, 2005 The Duveen Gallery, sited to the west of the Egyptian, Greek & Assyrian sculpture galleries, was designed to house the Elgin Marbles by the American Beaux-Arts architect John Russell Pope. Although completed in 1938, it was hit by a bomb in 1940 and remained semi-derelict for 22 years, before reopening in 1962. Other areas damaged during World War II bombing included: in September 1940 two unexploded bombs hit the Edward VII galleries, the King's Library received a direct hit from a high explosive bomb, incendiaries fell on the dome of the Round Reading Room but did little damage; on the night of 10 to 11 May 1941 several incendiaries fell on the south west corner of the Museum, destroying the book stack and 150,000 books in the courtyard and the galleries around the top of the Great Staircase – this damage was not fully repaired until the early 1960s.[47] The Queen Elizabeth II Great Court is a covered square at the centre of the British Museum designed by the engineers Buro Happold and the architects Foster and Partners.[48] The Great Court opened in December 2000 and is the largest covered square in Europe. The roof is a glass and steel construction, built by an Austrian steelwork company,[49] with 1,656 uniquely shaped panes of glass. At the centre of the Great Court is the Reading Room vacated by the British Library, its functions now moved to St Pancras. The Reading Room is open to any member of the public who wishes to read there. External view of the World Conservation and Exhibition Centre at the museum, 2015 Today, the British Museum has grown to become one of the largest museums in the world, covering an area of over 92,000 m2 (990,000 sq. ft).[3][50] In addition to 21,600 m2 (232,000 sq. ft)[51] of on-site storage space, and 9,400 m2 (101,000 sq. ft)[51] of external storage space. Altogether the British Museum showcases on public display less than 1%[51] of its entire collection, approximately 50,000 items.[52] There are nearly one hundred galleries open to the public, representing 2 miles (3.2 km) of exhibition space, although the less popular ones have restricted opening times. However, the lack of a large temporary exhibition space has led to the £135 million World Conservation and Exhibition Centre to provide one and to concentrate all the Museum's conservation facilities into one Conservation Centre. This project was announced in July 2007, with the architects Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners. It was granted planning permission in December 2009 and was completed in time for the Viking exhibition in March 2014.[53][54] Blythe House in West Kensington is used by the Museum for off-site storage of small and medium-sized artefacts, and Franks House in East London is used for storage and work on the "Early Prehistory" – Palaeolithic and Mesolithic – and some other collections.[55] Departments[edit] Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan[edit] It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article. (Discuss) (September 2015) Room 4 – Colossal red granite statue of Amenhotep III, 1350 BC The British Museum houses the world's largest[h] and most comprehensive collection of Egyptian antiquities (with over 100,000[56] pieces) outside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. A collection of immense importance for its range and quality, it includes objects of all periods from virtually every site of importance in Egypt and the Sudan. Together, they illustrate every aspect of the cultures of the Nile Valley (including Nubia), from the Predynastic Neolithic period (c. 10,000 BC) through to the Coptic (Christian) times (12th century AD), a time-span over 11,000 years. Egyptian antiquities have formed part of the British Museum collection ever since its foundation in 1753 after receiving 160 Egyptian objects[57] from Sir Hans Sloane. After the defeat of the French forces under Napoleon at the Battle of the Nile in 1801, the Egyptian antiquities collected were confiscated by the British army and presented to the British Museum in 1803. These works, which included the famed Rosetta Stone, were the first important group of large sculptures to be acquired by the Museum. Thereafter, the UK appointed Henry Salt as consul in Egypt who amassed a huge collection of antiquities, some of which were assembled and transported with great ingenuity by the famous Italian explorer Giovanni Belzoni. Most of the antiquities Salt collected were purchased by the British Museum and the Musée du Louvre. By 1866 the collection consisted of some 10,000 objects. Antiquities from excavations started to come to the museum in the latter part of the 19th century as a result of the work of the Egypt Exploration Fund under the efforts of E.A. Wallis Budge. Over the years more than 11,000 objects came from this source, including pieces from Amarna, Bubastis and Deir el-Bahari. Other organisations and individuals also excavated and donated objects to the British Museum, including Flinders Petrie's Egypt Research Account and the British School of Archaeology in Egypt, as well as the Oxford University Expedition to Kawa and Faras in Sudan. Room 4 – Colossal bust of Ramesses II, the 'Younger Memnon', 1250 BC Room 63 – Mummies on display in the Egyptian Death and Afterlife Galleries Active support by the museum for excavations in Egypt continued to result in important acquisitions throughout the 20th century until changes in antiquities laws in Egypt led to the suspension of policies allowing finds to be exported, although divisions still continue in Sudan. The British Museum conducted its own excavations in Egypt where it received divisions of finds, including Asyut (1907), Mostagedda and Matmar (1920s), Ashmunein (1980s) and sites in Sudan such as Soba, Kawa and the Northern Dongola Reach (1990s). The size of the Egyptian collections now stand at over 110,000 objects.[58] In autumn 2001 the eight million objects forming the Museum's permanent collection were further expanded by the addition of six million objects from the Wendorf Collection of Egyptian and Sudanese Prehistory.[59] These were donated by Professor Fred Wendorf of Southern Methodist University in Texas, and comprise the entire collection of artefacts and environmental remains from his excavations at Prehistoric sites in the Sahara Desert between 1963 and 1997. Other fieldwork collections have recently come from Dietrich and Rosemarie Klemm (University of Munich) and William Adams (University of Kentucky). The seven permanent Egyptian galleries at the British Museum, which include its largest exhibition space (Room 4, for monumental sculpture), can display only 4% of its Egyptian holdings. The second-floor galleries have a selection of the museum's collection of 140 mummies and coffins, the largest outside Cairo. A high proportion of the collection comes from tombs or contexts associated with the cult of the dead, and it is these pieces, in particular the mummies, that remain among the most eagerly sought after exhibits by visitors to the museum. Key highlights of the collections include: Predynastic and Early Dynastic period (c. 6000 BC – c. 2690 BC) Mummy of Ginger from Gebelein, (c. 3400 BC) Flint knife with an ivory handle (known as the Pit-Rivers Knife), Sheikh Hamada, Egypt, (c. 3100 BC) The Battlefield Palette and Hunters Palette, two cosmetic palettes with complex decorative schemes, (c. 3100 BC) Ivory statuette of a king, from the early temple at Abydos, Egypt, (c. 3000 BC) King Den's sandal label from Abydos, mid-1st Dynasty, (c. 2985 BC) Stela of King Peribsen, Abydos, (c. 2720–2710 BC) Old Kingdom (2690–2181 BC) Gediminas Girdvainis – lt Gediminas Girdvainis prolific theatre and movie actor Rolandas Kazlas – well known comedy actor Oskaras Koršunovas – best known modern theater director Jurgis Maciunas – initiator of Fluxus movement Vaiva Mainelyte – lt Vaiva Mainelyte popular actress remembered for the leading role in Bride of the Devil Lithuanian Velnio nuotaka Arunas Matelis – acclaimed documentary director Adolfas Mekas film director writer editor actor educator Jonas Mekas – filmmaker the godfather of American avant garde cinema Aurelija Mikušauskaite – television and theatre actress Juozas Miltinis – theater director from Panevežys Nijole Narmontaite – lt Nijole Narmontaite actress Eimuntas Nekrošius – theater director Algimantas Puipa – lt Algimantas Puipa film director Kostas Smoriginas – lt Kostas Smoriginas popular actor and singer Jonas Vaitkus – theater director director of Utterly Alone Adolfas Vecerskis – theatre and film actor director of theatre Arunas Žebriunas – lt Arunas Žebriunas one of the most prominent film directors during the Soviet rule Vytautas Šapranauskas – lt Vytautas Šapranauskas theater and film actor television presenter humorist Žilvinas Tratas actor and model Džiugas Siaurusaitis lt Džiugas Siaurusaitis actor television presenter humorist Sakalas Uždavinys lt Sakalas Uždavinys theater and film actor director Marius Jampolskis actor and TV host Ballet and Dance edit Egle Špokaite soloist of Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre – Actress art director Edita Daniute Professional Ballroom Dancer and World DanceSport Champion Iveta Lukosiute Professional Ballroom Dancer and World Dance Champion Music edit Soprano vocalist Violeta Urmanaviciute Urmana Pop singer Violeta RiaubiškyteSee also List of Lithuanian singers Linas Adomaitis – pop singer participant in the Eurovision Song Contest Ilja Aksionovas lt Ilja Aksionovas pop and opera singer boy soprano Osvaldas Balakauskas – ambassador and classical composer Alanas Chošnau – singer member of former music group Naktines Personos Egidijus Dragunas – lt Egidijus Dragunas leader of Sel one of the first hip hop bands in Lithuania Justas Dvarionas – lt Justas Dvarionas pianist educator Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis – painter and composer Balys Dvarionas – composer conductor pianist professor Gintare Jautakaite pop artist signed with EMI and Sony Music Entertainment in Gintaras Januševicius internationally acclaimed pianist Algirdas Kaušpedas architect and lead singer of Antis Nomeda Kazlauskaite Kazlaus opera singer dramatic soprano appearing internationally Vytautas Kernagis – one of the most popular bards Algis Kizys – long time bass player of post punk no wave band Swans Andrius Mamontovas – rock singer co founder of Foje and LT United Marijonas Mikutavicius – singer author of Trys Milijonai the unofficial sports anthem in Lithuania Vincas Niekus – lt Vincas Niekus composer Virgilijus Noreika – one of the most successful opera singers tenor Mykolas Kleopas Oginskis – one of the best composer of the late th century Kipras Petrauskas – lt Kipras Petrauskas popular early opera singer tenor Stasys Povilaitis – one of the popular singers during the Soviet period Violeta Riaubiškyte – pop singer TV show host Mindaugas Rojus opera singer tenor baritone Ceslovas Sasnauskas – composer Rasa Serra – lt Rasa Serra real name Rasa Veretenceviene singer Traditional folk A cappella jazz POP Audrone Simonaityte Gaižiuniene – lt Audrone Gaižiuniene Simonaityte one of the more popular female opera singers soprano Virgis Stakenas – lt Virgis Stakenas singer of country folk music Antanas Šabaniauskas – lt Antanas Šabaniauskas singer tenor Jurga Šeduikyte – art rock musician won the Best Female Act and the Best Album of in the Lithuanian Bravo Awards and the Best Baltic Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards Jonas Švedas – composer Michael Tchaban composer singer and songwriter Violeta Urmanaviciute Urmana opera singer soprano mezzosoprano appearing internationally Painters and graphic artists edit See also List of Lithuanian artists Robertas Antinis – sculptor Vytautas Ciplijauskas lt Vytautas Ciplijauskas painter Jonas Ceponis – lt Jonas Ceponis painter Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis – painter and composer Asteroid Ciurlionis is named for him Kostas Dereškevicius lt Kostas Dereškevicius painter Vladimiras Dubeneckis painter architect Stasys Eidrigevicius graphic artist Pranas Gailius lt Pranas Gailius painter Paulius Galaune Petronele Gerlikiene – self taught Lithuanian American artist Algirdas Griškevicius lt Algirdas Griškevicius Vincas Grybas – sculptor Leonardas Gutauskas lt Leonardas Gutauskas painter writer Vytautas Kairiukštis – lt Vytautas Kairiukštis painter art critic Vytautas Kasiulis – lt Vytautas Kasiulis painter graphic artist stage designer Petras Kalpokas painter Rimtas Kalpokas – lt Rimtas Kalpokas painter graphic artist Leonas Katinas – lt Leonas Katinas painter Povilas Kaupas – lt Povilas Kaupas Algimantas Kezys Lithuanian American photographer Vincas Kisarauskas – lt Vincas Kisarauskas painter graphic artist stage designer Saulute Stanislava Kisarauskiene – lt Saulute Stanislava Kisarauskiene graphic artist painter Stasys Krasauskas – lt Stasys Krasauskas graphic artist Stanislovas Kuzma – lt Stanislovas Kuzma sculptor Antanas Martinaitis – lt Antanas Martinaitis painter Jonas Rimša – lt Jonas Rimša painter Jan Rustem painter Antanas Samuolis – lt Antanas Samuolis painter Šarunas Sauka painter Boris Schatz – sculptor and founder of the Bezalel Academy Irena Sibley née Pauliukonis – Children s book author and illustrator Algis Skackauskas – painter Antanas Žmuidzinavicius – painter Franciszek Smuglewicz – painter Yehezkel Streichman Israeli painter Kazys Šimonis – painter Algimantas Švegžda – lt Algimantas Švegžda painter Otis Tamašauskas Lithographer Print Maker Graphic Artist Adolfas Valeška – painter and graphic artist Adomas Varnas – painter Kazys Varnelis – artist Vladas Vildžiunas lt Vladas Vildžiunas sculptor Mikalojus Povilas Vilutis lt Mikalojus Povilas Vilutis graphic artist Viktoras Vizgirda – painter William Zorach – Modern artist who died in Bath Maine Antanas Žmuidzinavicius – painter Kazimieras Leonardas Žoromskis – painter Politics edit President Valdas Adamkus right chatting with Vice President Dick Cheney left See also List of Lithuanian rulers Mindaugas – the first and only King of Lithuania – Gediminas – the ruler of Lithuania – Algirdas – the ruler together with Kestutis of Lithuania – Kestutis – the ruler together with Algirdas of Lithuania – Vytautas – the ruler of Lithuania – together with Jogaila Jogaila – the ruler of Lithuania – from to together with Vytautas the king of Poland – Jonušas Radvila – the field hetman of Grand Duchy of Lithuania – Dalia Grybauskaite – current President of Lithuania since Valdas Adamkus – President of Lithuania till Jonas Basanavicius – "father" of the Act of Independence of Algirdas Brazauskas – the former First secretary of Central Committee of Communist Party of Lithuanian SSR the former president of Lithuania after and former Prime Minister of Lithuania Joe Fine – mayor of Marquette Michigan – Kazys Grinius – politician third President of Lithuania Mykolas Krupavicius – priest behind the land reform in interwar Lithuania Vytautas Landsbergis – politician professor leader of Sajudis the independence movement former speaker of Seimas member of European Parliament Stasys Lozoraitis – diplomat and leader of Lithuanian government in exile – Stasys Lozoraitis junior – politician diplomat succeeded his father as leader of Lithuanian government in exile – Antanas Merkys – the last Prime Minister of interwar Lithuania Rolandas Paksas – former President removed from the office after impeachment Justas Paleckis – journalist and politician puppet Prime Minister after Soviet occupation Kazimiera Prunskiene – the first female Prime Minister Mykolas Sleževicius – three times Prime Minister organized

Artefacts from the tomb of King Khasekhemwy from the 2nd dynasty, (2690 BC) Granite statue of Ankhwa, the shipbuilder, Saqqara, Egypt, 3rd Dynasty, (around 2650 BC) Several of the original casing stones from the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, (c. 2570 BC) Statue of Nenkheftka from Deshasha, 4th Dynasty, (2500 BC) Limestone false door of Ptahshepses, (2380 BC) Wooden tomb statue of Tjeti, Fifth to Sixth Dynasty, (about 2345–2181 BC) Middle Kingdom (2134–1690 BC) Inner and outer coffin of Sebekhetepi, Beni Hasan, (about 2125–1795 BC) Limestone stela of Heqaib, Abydos, Egypt, 12th Dynasty, (1990–1750 BC) Quartzite statue of Ankhrekhu, 12th Dynasty, (1985–1795 BC) Granite statue of Senwosret III, (1850 BC) Block statue and stela of Sahathor,12th Dynasty, reign of Amenemhat II, (about 1922–1878 BC) Limestone statue and stelae from the offering chapel of Inyotef, Abydos, 12th Dynasty, (about 1920 BC) New Kingdom (1549–1069 BC) Schist head of Queen Hatshepsut or her successor Tuthmosis III, (1480 BC) Fragment of the beard of the Great Sphinx of Giza, (14th century BC) Colossal head from a statue of Amenhotep III, (1350 BC) Colossal limestone bust of Amenhotep III, (1350 BC) Amarna Tablets, 99 out of 382 tablets found, second greatest collection in the world after the Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin (203 tablets), (1350 BC) List of the kings of Egypt from the Temple of Ramesses II, (1250 BC) Third Intermediate Period (1069–664 BC) Statue of the Nile god Hapy, Karnak, (c.900 BC) Mummy case and coffin of Nesperennub, Thebes, (c.800 BC) Shabaka Stone from Memphis, Egypt 25th Dynasty, (around 700 BC) Statue of Amun in the form of a ram protecting King Taharqa, (683 BC) Inner and outer coffins of the priest Hor, Deir el-Bahari, Thebes, 25th Dynasty, (about 680 BC) Granite statue of the Sphinx of Taharqo, (680 BC) Late Period (664–332 BC) Saite Sarcophagus of Satsobek, the vizier (prime minister) of the northern part of Egypt in the reign of Psammetichus I, (664–610 BC) Bronze figure of Isis and Horus, North Saqqara, Egypt, (600 BC) Sarcophagus of Hapmen, Cairo, 26th Dynasty or later, (600–300 BC) Kneeling statue of Wahibre, from near Lake Mariout, (530 BC) Sarcophagus of Ankhnesneferibre, (525 BC) Obelisks and sarcophagus of Pharaoh Nectanebo II, (360–343 BC) Ptolemaic dynasty (305–30 BC) The Rosetta Stone, (196 BC) Giant sculpture of a scarab beetle, (32–30 BC) Fragment of a basalt Egyptian-style statue of Ptolemy, (305–283 BC) Mummy of Hornedjitef (inner coffin), Thebes, (3rd century BC) Wall from a chapel of Queen Shanakdakhete, Meroë, (c. 150 BC) Naos of Ptolemy VII, Philae, (c. 150 BC) Roman Period (30 BC-641 AD) Schist head of a young man, Alexandria, (after 30 BC) The Meriotic Hamadab Stela from the Kingdom of Kush found near the ancient site of Meroë in Sudan, 24 BC Lid of the coffin of Soter and Cleopatra from Qurna, Thebes, (early 2nd century AD) Mummy of a youth with portrait of the deceased, Hawara, (100–200 AD) Bronze lamp and patera from the X-group tombs, Qasr Ibrim, (1st–6th centuries AD) Coptic wall painting of the martyrdom of saints, Wadi Sarga, (6th century AD) Room 64 - Egyptian grave containing the naturally-preserved body, late predynastic, 3400 BC Room 64 - Fragmentary ceremonial palette known as the Hunters Palette, from the late predynastic period, Naqada III, c. 3250-3100 BC Room 4 – Three black granite statues of the pharaoh Senusret III, c. 1850 BC Room 68 - Part of the el-Amarna hoard, Egypt, c. 1850-1800 BC (18th dynasty) Room 63 - Wooden coffin of pharaoh Nubkheperre Intef of Egypt's 17th dynasty, 1600 BC Room 4 – Three black granite statues of the goddess Sakhmet, c. 1400 BC Room 4 – Colossal statue of Amenhotep III, c. 1370 BC Great Court – Colossal quartzite statue of Amenhotep III, c. 1350 BC Room 61 – The famous false fresco 'Pond in a Garden' from the Tomb of Nebamun, c. 1350 BC Room 4 - Limestone statue of a husband and wife, 1300-1250 BC Room 63 - Gilded outer coffins from the tomb of Henutmehyt, Thebes, Egypt, 19th Dynasty, 1250 BC Book of the Dead of Hunefer, sheet 5, 19th Dynasty, 1250 BC Room 4 - Ancient Egyptian bronze statue of a cat from the Late Period, about 664–332 BC Room 4 - Green siltstone head of a Pharaoh, 26th-30th Dynasty, 600-340 BC Room 4 - Sarcophagus of Ankhnesneferibre, 26th dynasty, about 530 BC Great Court - Black siltstone obelisk of King Nectanebo II of Egypt, Thirtieth dynasty, about 350 BC Room 4 – The Rosetta Stone, key to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, 196 BC Room 62 - Detail from the mummy case of Artemidorus the Younger, a Greek who had settled in Thebes, Egypt, during Roman times, 100-200 AD Department of Greece and Rome[edit] It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article. (Discuss) (July 2015) Room 17 – Reconstruction of the Nereid Monument, c. 390 BC Room 18 – Parthenon marbles from the Acropolis of Athens, 447 BC Room 21 – Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, mid-4th century BC The British Museum has one of the world's largest and most comprehensive collections of antiquities from the Classical world, with over 100,000 objects. These mostly range in date from the beginning of the Greek Bronze Age (about 3200 BC) to the establishment of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, with the Edict of Milan under the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 313 AD. Archaeology was in its infancy during the nineteenth century and many pioneering individuals began excavating sites across the Classical world, chief among them for the museum were Charles Newton, John Turtle Wood, Robert Murdoch Smith and Charles Fellows. The Greek objects originate from across the Ancient Greek world, from the mainland of Greece and the Aegean Islands, to neighbouring lands in Asia Minor and Egypt in the eastern Mediterranean and as far as the western lands of Magna Graecia that include Sicily and southern Italy. The Cycladic, Minoan and Mycenaean cultures are represented, and the Greek collection includes important sculpture from the Parthenon in Athens, as well as elements of two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the Temple of Artemis at Ephesos. Beginning from the early Bronze Age, the department also houses one of the widest-ranging collections of Italic and Etruscan antiquities outside Italy, as well as extensive groups of material from Cyprus and non-Greek colonies in Lycia and Caria on Asia Minor. There is some material from the Roman Republic, but the collection's strength is in its comprehensive array of objects from across the Roman Empire, with the exception of Britain (which is the mainstay of the Department of Prehistory and Europe). The collections of ancient jewellery and bronzes, Greek vases (many from graves in southern Italy that were once part of Sir William Hamilton's and Chevalier Durand's collections), Roman glass including the famous Cameo glass Portland Vase, Roman mosaics from Carthage and Utica in North Africa that were excavated by Nathan Davis, and silver hoards from Roman Gaul (some of which were bequeathed by the philanthropist and museum trustee Richard Payne Knight), are particularly important. Cypriot antiquities are strong too and have benefited from the purchase of Sir Robert Hamilton Lang's collection as well as the bequest of Emma Turner in 1892, which funded many excavations on the island. Roman sculptures (many of which are copies of Greek originals) are particularly well represented by the Townley collection as well as residual sculptures from the famous Farnese collection. Objects from the Department of Greece and Rome are located throughout the museum, although many of the architectural monuments are to be found on the ground floor, with connecting galleries from Gallery 5 to Gallery 23. On the upper floor, there are galleries devoted to smaller material from ancient Italy, Greece, Cyprus and the Roman Empire. Key highlights of the collections include: Parthenon The Parthenon Marbles (Elgin Marbles), (447–438 BC) Erechtheion A surviving column, (420–415 BC) One of six remaining Caryatids, (415 BC) Temple of Athena Nike Surviving Frieze Slabs, (427–424 BC) Temple of Bassae Twenty three surviving blocks of the frieze from the interior of the temple are exhibited on an upper level, (420–400 BC) Mausoleum at Halicarnassus One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World Two colossal free-standing figures identified as Maussollos and his wife Artemisia, (c. 350 BC) Part of an impressive horse from the chariot group adorning the summit of the Mausoleum, (c. 350 BC) The Amazonomachy frieze – A long section of relief frieze showing the battle between Greeks and Amazons, (c. 350 BC) Temple of Artemis in Ephesus One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World One of the sculptured column bases, (340–320 BC) Part of the Ionic frieze situated above the colonnade, (330–300 BC) Knidos in Asia Minor Demeter of Knidos, (350 BC) Lion of Knidos, (350–200 BC) Xanthos in Asia Minor Lion Tomb, (550–500 BC) Harpy Tomb, (480–470 BC) Nereid Monument, partial reconstruction of a large and elaborate Lykian tomb, (390–380 BC) Tomb of Merehi, (390–350 BC) Tomb of Payava, (375–350 BC) Wider Collection Prehistoric Greece and Italy (3300 BC – 8th century BC) Over thirty Cycladic figures from islands in the Aegean Sea, many collected by James Theodore Bent, Greece, (3300–2000 BC) Group of copper tools from the island of Naxos known as the Kythnos Hoard, Cyclades, Greece, (2700–2200 BC) Hoard of a silver torc and four bracelets from Antiparos, Cyclades, Greece, (2700–2200 BC) Material from the Palace of Knossos including a huge pottery storage jar, some donated by Sir Arthur Evans, Crete, Greece, (1900–1100 BC) The Minoan gold treasure from Aegina, northern Aegean, Greece, (1850–1550 BC) Minoan objects from the Psychro Cave, including an ornate serpentine libation table, Crete, Greece, (1700–1450 BC) Minoan Bull-leaper from Rethymnon, Crete, Greece, (1600-1450BC) A silver Mycenaean cup from tomb 92 at Enkomi, Cyprus, (1500–1450 BC) Segments of the columns and architraves from the Treasury of Atreus, Peloponnese, Greece, (1350–1250 BC) Nuragic bronze hoard of rings, weapons, tripods and other objects from Santa Maria in Paulis, Sardinia, Italy (1100–900 BC) Group of bronze votive figures that inspired the Swiss sculptor Giacometti, Nuragic civilization, Sardinia, Italy (1000–900 BC) Proto-Etruscan gold fibula with chevron and zigzag designs, central Italy, (825–775 BC) Elgin Amphora, highly decorated pottery vase attributed to the Dipylon Master, Athens, Greece, (8th century BC) Orientalizing gold jewellery and plaques from Kameiros excavated by Alfred Biliotti and Auguste Salzmann, Rhodes, Greece, (8th century BC) Large number of votive offerings found at the Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia, Sparta, Peloponnese, Greece, (c. 700 BC) Etruscan (8th century BC – 1st century BC) Some of the artefacts from the Castellani Tomb in Palestrina, central Italy, (8th–6th century BC) Gold jewellery from the Galeassi Tomb, Palestrina, Lazio, (700–650 BC) An exquisite gold brooch adorned with granulated pairs of lions, Vulci, Etruria, (675–650 BC) Various objects including two small seated terracotta statues from the Tomb of the Five Chairs in Cerveteri, (625–600 BC) Contents of the Isis Tomb, Vulci, (570–560 BC) Painted terracotta plaques (the so-called Boccanera Plaques) from a tomb in Cerveteri, (560–550 BC) Silver panels with repoussé reliefs from Castel San Marino, near Perugia, (540–520 BC) Bronze votive statuette of a young man from Pizzirimonte, near Prato, (500–480 BC) Bronze helmet of a general captured at the Battle of Cumae and deposited at Olympia (c. 480 BC) Hoard of votive bronze figures from Lake Falterona, (420–350 BC) Bronze funerary equipment from a tomb near Bolsena, (350–300 BC) Pottery vessels from the François Tomb, Vulci, (340–300 BC) One of a pair of elaborate gold earrings decorated with bosses and a pendant female head, Perugia (300–200 BC) Oscan Tablet, one of the most important inscriptions in the Oscan language, (300–100 BC) Sarcophagus of Seianti Hanunia Tlesnasa from Chiusi, (150–140 BC) Ancient Greece (8th century BC – 4th century AD) Gold bowl engraved with 6 striding bulls found in a tomb near Sant'Angelo Muxaro, Sicily, Italy, (650–600 BC) Group of life-size archaic statues from the Sacred Way at Didyma, western Turkey, (600–580 BC) Armento Rider and San Sosti Axe-Head from southern Italy, (560–520 BC) Chatsworth Head from Tamassos, Cyprus, (460 BC) Dedicatory Inscription by Alexander the Great from Priene in Turkey (330 BC) Head from the colossal statue of the Asclepius of Milos, Greece, (325–300 BC) Hoard of three silver phialae from Èze, southern France, (300 BC) Gold Braganza Brooch that reflects Celtic and Greek influences, Iberia, (3rd century BC) Statue of Dionysos from the Choragic Monument of Thrasyllus, Athens, (3rd–2nd centuries BC) Petelia Gold Tablet from an Orphic sanctuary in southern Italy, (3rd–2nd centuries BC) Bronze sculpture of a Greek poet known as the Arundel Head, western Turkey, (2nd–1st centuries BC) Remains of the Scylla monument at Bargylia, south west Anatolia, Turkey, (200–150 BC) Bronze head and hand from the Satala Aphrodite, eastern Turkey, (1st century BC) Guilford Puteal from Corinth, Greece, (30–10 BC) Hoard of bronze statuettes from Paramythia, north west Greece, (2nd century AD) Ancient Rome (1st century BC – 4th century AD) Bronze head of Augustus from Meroë in northern Sudan, (27–25 centuries BC) Cameo glass Portland Vase, the most famous glass vessel from ancient Rome, (1–25 AD) Silver Warren Cup with homoerotic scenes, found near Jerusalem, (5–15 AD) Mainz Gladius and Blacas Cameo, depicting triumphant Roman emperors, southern Germany and Italy, (15 AD) Choiseul-Gouffier Apollo, a life-size marble statue of a naked youth, Imperial Roman copy, Italy, (1st century AD) Silvered bronze horse trappings from Xanten in Germany, (1st century AD) The rare fluorite-made Barber Cup and Crawford Cup, southern Turkey, (100 AD) Vaison Diadumenos from an ancient Roman city in southern France, (118–138 AD) Discus-thrower (Discobolos)[60] and Bronze Head of Hypnos from Civitella d'Arna, Italy, (1st–2nd centuries AD) Capitals from some of the pilasters of the Pantheon, Rome, (126 AD) A number of Roman hoards including the treasures of Bursa, Chaourse, Mâcon, Arcisate, Boscoreale, Caubiac, Beaurains and Chatuzange, (1st–3rd centuries AD) Cult statue of the Apollo of Cyrene from Libya, (2nd century AD) Jennings Dog, a statue of a Molossian guard dog, central Italy, (2nd century AD) A number of large stelae from the Roman port city of Tomis, Romania, (2nd–3rd centuries AD) Uerdingen grave group of Roman artefacts found near Düsseldorf in Germany, (2nd–3rd centuries AD) Room 12 – A gold earring from the Aegina Treasure, Greece, 1700-1500 BC Room 72 - Necklace with gold beads in the shape of double figure-of-eight shields, spiral gold beads and cornelian beads, from Enkomi Cyprus, c. 1400-1200 BC Room 71 - Silver panels with repoussé reliefs overlaid with electrum foil, Etruscan artwork, Castel San Marino, near Perugia, central Italy, 540–520 BC Room 18 – Parthenon statuary from the east pediment and Metopes from the south wall, Athens, Greece, 447-438 BC Room 19 – Caryatid and Corinthian column from the Erechtheion, Acropolis of Athens, Greece, 420-415 BC Room 20 – Tomb of Payava, Lycia, Turkey, 360 BC Room 21 – Fragmentary horse from the colossal chariot group which topped the podium of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Turkey, c. 350 BC Room 22 - Gold oak wreath with a bee and two cicadas, western Turkey, c. 350-300 BC Room 22 - Bronze repoussé relief from a hydria, from Chalki, near Rhodes, Greece, c. 325–300 BC Room 22 – Column from the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Turkey, early 4th century BC Room 22 - Colossal head of Asclepius wearing a metal crown (now lost), from a cult statue on Melos, Greece, 325-300 BC Room 1 - Farnese Hermes in the Enlightenment Gallery, Italy, 1st century AD Room 69 - Roman gladiator helmet from Pompeii, Italy, 1st century AD Room 23 - The famous version of the 'Crouching Venus', Roman, c. 1st century AD Room 22 – Roman marble copy of the famous 'Spinario (Boy with Thorn)', Italy, c. 1st century AD Room 70 - Silver patera from Syria, c. 2nd century AD Room 22 – Apollo of Cyrene (holding a lyre), Libya, c. 2nd century AD Room 70 - Gold bracelet set with pearls emeralds and sapphires, from Tunis, Tunisia, 3rd century AD Department of the Middle East[edit] It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article. (Discuss) (July 2015) Room 9 – Nineveh Palace Reliefs, 701–681 BC With a collection numbering some 330,000 works,[61] the British Museum possesses the world's largest and most important collection of Mesopotamian antiquities outside Iraq. The collections represent the civilisations of the ancient Near East and its adjacent areas. These cover Mesopotamia, Persia, the Arabian Peninsula, Anatolia, the Caucasus, parts of Central Asia, Syria, the Holy Land and Phoenician settlements in the western Mediterranean from the prehistoric period and include objects from the beginning of Islam in the 7th century. A collection of immense importance, the holdings of Assyrian, Babylonian and Sumerian antiquities are among the most comprehensive in the world with entire suites of rooms panelled in alabaster bas-reliefs from Assyrian palaces at Nimrud, Nineveh and Khorsabad. Only the Middle East collections of the Louvre and the Pergamon Museum rival it in the range and quality of artefacts. The first significant addition of Mesopotamian objects was from the collection of Claudius James Rich in 1825. The collection was later dramatically enlarged by the excavations of A. H. Layard at the Assyrian sites of Nimrud and Nineveh between 1845 and 1851. At Nimrud, Layard discovered the North-West Palace of Ashurnasirpal II, as well as three other palaces and various temples. He later uncovered the Palace of Sennacherib at Nineveh with 'no less than seventy-one halls'. As a result, a large numbers of Lamassu's, bas-reliefs, stelae, including the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, were brought to the British Museum. Room 6 – Pair of Human Headed Winged Lions and reliefs from Nimrud with the Balawat Gates, c. 860 BC Room 52 – Ancient Iran with the Cyrus Cylinder, considered to be the world's first charter of human rights, 559–530 BC Layard's work was continued by his assistant, Hormuzd Rassam and in 1852–1854 he went on to discover the North Palace of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh with many magnificent reliefs, including the famous Royal Lion Hunt scenes. He also discovered the Royal Library of Ashurbanipal, a large collection of cuneiform tablets of enormous importance that today number around 130,000 pieces. W. K. Loftus excavated in Nimrud between 1850 and 1855 and found a remarkable hoard of ivories in the Burnt Palace. Between 1878 and 1882 Rassam greatly improved the Museum's holdings with exquisite objects including the Cyrus Cylinder from Babylon, the bronze gates from Balawat, important objects from Sippar, and a fine collection of Urartian bronzes from Toprakkale. In the early 20th century excavations were carried out at Carchemish, Turkey by D. G. Hogarth and Leonard Woolley, the latter assisted by T. E. Lawrence. The Mesopotamian collections were greatly augmented by excavations in southern Iraq after the First World War. From Tell al-Ubaid came the bronze furnishings of a Sumerian temple, including life-sized lions and a panel featuring the lion-headed eagle Indugud found by H. R. Hall in 1919–24 . Woolley went onto to excavate Ur between 1922 and 1934, discovering the 'Royal Cemeteries' of the 3rd millennium BC. Some of the masterpieces include the 'Standard of Ur', the 'Ram in a Thicket', the 'Royal Game of Ur', and two bull-headed lyres. The department also has three diorite statues of the ruler Gudea from the ancient state of Lagash and a series of limestone kudurru or boundary stones from different locations across ancient Mesopotamia. Although the collections centre on Mesopotamia, most of the surrounding areas are well represented. The Achaemenid collection was enhanced with the addition of the Oxus Treasure in 1897 and objects excavated by the German scholar Ernst Herzfeld and the Hungarian-British explorer Sir Aurel Stein. Reliefs and sculptures from the site of Persepolis were donated by Sir Gore Ouseley in 1825 and the 5th Earl of Aberdeen in 1861. Moreover, the museum has been able to acquire one of the greatest assemblages of Achaemenid silverware in the world. The later Sasanian Empire is also well represented by ornate silver plates and cups, many representing ruling monarchs hunting lions and deer. Phoenician antiquities come from across the region, but the Tharros collection from Sardinia and the large number of Phoenician stelae from Carthage are outstanding. Another often overlooked highlight is Yemeni antiquities, the finest collection outside that country. Furthermore, the museum has a representative collection of Dilmun and Parthian material excavated from various burial mounds at the ancient sites of A'ali and Shakhura in Bahrain. From the modern state of Syria come almost forty funerary busts from Palmyra and a group of stone reliefs from the excavations of Max von Oppenheim at Tell Halaf that was purchased in 1920. More material followed from the excavations of Max Mallowan at Chagar Bazar and Tell Brak in 1935–1938 and from Woolley at Alalakh in the years just before and after the Second World War. Mallowan returned with his wife Agatha Christie to carry out further digs at Nimrud in the postwar period which secured many important artefacts for the museum. The collection of Palestinian material was strengthened by the work of Kathleen Kenyon at Jericho in the 1950s and the acquisition in 1980 of around 17,000 objects found at Lachish by the Wellcome-Marston expedition of 1932–1938. Archaeological digs are still taking place where permitted in the Middle East, and, depending on the country, the museum continues to receive a share of the finds from sites such as Tell es Sa'idiyeh in Jordan. The museum's collection of Islamic art, including archaeological material, numbers about 40,000 objects,[62] one of the largest of its kind in the world. As such, it contains a broad range of pottery, paintings, tiles, metalwork, glass, seals, and inscriptions from across the Islamic world, from Spain in the west to India in the east. It is particularly famous for its collection of Iznik ceramics (the largest in the world), a highlight of which is the mosque lamp from the Dome of the Rock, mediaeval metalwork such as the Vaso Vescovali with its depictions of the Zodiac, a fine selection of astrolabes, and Mughal paintings and precious artwork including a large jade terrapin made for the Emperor Jahangir. Thousands of objects were excavated after the war by professional archaeologists at Iranian sites such as Siraf by David Whitehouse and Alamut Castle by Peter Willey. The collection was augmented in 1983 by the Godman bequest of Iznik, Hispano-Moresque and early Iranian pottery. Artefacts from the Islamic world are on display in Gallery 34 of the museum. A representative selection from the Department of Middle East, including the most important pieces, are on display in 13 galleries throughout the museum and total some 4,500 objects. A whole suite of rooms on the ground floor display the sculptured reliefs from the Assyrian palaces at Nineveh, Nimrud and Khorsabad, while 8 galleries on the upper floor hold smaller material from ancient sites across the Middle East. The remainder form the study collection which ranges in size from beads to large sculptures. They include approximately 130,000 cuneiform tablets from Mesopotamia.[63] Key highlights of the collections include: Nimrud: Alabaster bas-reliefs from: The North-West Palace of Ashurnasirpal II, (883–859 BC) Palace of Adad-nirari III, (811–783 BC) The Sharrat-Niphi Temple, (c. 9th century BC) Temple of Ninurta, (c. 9th century BC) South-East Palace ('Burnt Palace'), (8th–7th century BC) Central- Palace of Tiglath-Pileser III, (745–727 BC) South-West Palace of Esarhaddon, (681–669 BC) The Nabu Temple (Ezida), (c. 7th century BC) Sculptures: Pair of Human Headed Lamassu Lions, (883–859 BC) Human Headed Lamassu Bull, sister piece in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, (883–859 BC) Human Headed Lamassu Lion, sister piece in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, (883–859 BC) Colossal Statue of a Lion, (883–859 BC) Stela and Statue of King Ashurnasirpal II, (883–859 BC) The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, (858–824 BC) Stela of Shamshi-Adad V, (824–811 BC) Rare Head of Human Headed 'Lamassu', recovered from the South-West Palace of Esarhaddon, (811–783 BC) Bilingual Assyrian lion weights with both cuneiform and Phoenician inscriptions, (800–700 BC) Nineveh: Alabaster bas-reliefs and sculptures from: South-West Palace of Sennacherib, (705–681 BC) North-Palace of Ashurbanipal, (c. 645 BC) The Dying Lion relief, long acclaimed as a masterpiece, (645 BC) The famous Garden Party Relief, (645 BC) Royal Lion Hunt Scenes, (645–635 BC) White Obelisk of Ashurnasirpal I, (1050–1031 BC) Royal Library of Ashurbanipal: A large collection of cuneiform tablets of enormous importance, approximately 22,000 inscribed clay tablets, (7th century BC) The Flood Tablet, relating part of the famous Epic of Gilgamesh, (7th century BC) Taylor Prism, hexagonal clay foundation record, (691 BC) Khorsabad and Balawat: Alabaster bas-reliefs from the Palace of Sargon II, (710–705 BC) Pair of Human Headed Winged Lamassu Bulls, (710–705 BC) The Balawat Gates of Shalmaneser III, (860 BC) Ur: The Standard of Ur with depictions of war and peace, (2600 BC) Queen's Lyre and gold drinking cup from Queen Puabi's tomb, (2600 BC) The Ram in a Thicket, one of pair, the other is in Philadelphia, (2600–2400 BC) The Royal Game of Ur, an ancient game board, (2600–2400 BC) Wider Collection: Plastered human skull from Jericho, a very early form of portraiture, Palestine, (7000–6000 BC) Tell Brak Head, one of the oldest portrait busts from the Middle East, north east Syria, (3500–3300 BC) Uruk Trough, one of the earliest surviving works of narrative relief sculpture from the Middle East, southern Iraq, (3300–3000 BC) Statue of Idrimi from the ancient city of Alalakh, southern Turkey, (1600 BC) A fine collection of Urartian bronzes, which now form the core of the Anatolian collection, eastern Turkey, (9th–6th centuries BC) Tablet of Shamash, depicting the sun-god Shamash, from Sippar, Iraq, (early 9th century BC) Two large Assyrian stelae from Kurkh, southern Turkey, (850 BC) Shebna Inscription from Siloam near Jerusalem, Israel, (7th century BC) East India House Inscription from Babylon, Iraq, (604–562 BC) Lachish Letters, group of ostraka written in alphabetic Hebrew from Lachish, Israel, (586 BC) Cylinder of Nabonidus, foundation cylinder of King Nabonidus, Sippar, Iraq, (555–540 BC) The famous Oxus Treasure, the largest ancient Persian hoard of gold artefacts, (550–330 BC) The Punic-Libyan Inscription from the Mausoleum of Ateban, Dougga, Tunisia, (146 BC) Amran Tablets found near Sana'a, Yemen, (1st century BC) Two limestone ossuaries from caves in Jerusalem, (1st century AD) Room 56 – The 'Ram in a Thicket' figure, one of a pair, from Ur, Southern Iraq, c. 2600 BC Room 56 – The famous 'Standard of Ur', a hollow wooden box with scenes of war and peace, from Ur, c. 2600 BC Room 56 - Gold cup from Queen Puabi's tomb in the Royal Cemetery at Ur, Mesopotamian artwork, c. 2600-2400 BC Room 56 - Sculpture of the god Imdugud, lion-headed eagle surmounting a lintel made from sheets of copper, Temple of Ninhursag at Tell al-`Ubaid, Iraq, c. 2500 BC Room 56 - Statue of Kurlil, from the Temple of Ninhursag in Tell al-`Ubaid, southern Iraq, c. 2500 BC Room 56 – The famous Babylonian 'Queen of the Night relief' of the goddess Ishtar, Iraq, c. 1790 BC Room 57 - Gold jewellery from the Tall al-Ajjul hoard, Canaanite, Palestine, about 1750-1550 BC Room 57 - Ivory hand from the Fosse Temple at Lachish (modern Tell ed-Duweir), Canaanite, Israel, about 1400-1200 BC Room 57 - Carved ivory object from the Nimrud Ivories, Phoenician, Nimrud, Iraq, 9th–8th century BC Room 6 – Depiction of the hypocrite, Jehu, King of Israel on the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, Nimrud, c. 827 BC Room 10 – Human Headed Winged Bulls from Khorsabad, companion pieces in the Musée du Louvre , Iraq, 710-705 BC Room 55 – Cuneiform Collection, including the Epic of Gilgamesh, Iraq, c. 669-631 BC Room 55 – The Dying Lion, Nineveh, Neo-Assyrian, Iraq, c. 645 BC Room 55 - Panel with striding lion made from glazed bricks, Neo-Babylonian, Nebuchadnezzar II, Southern Iraq, 604-562 BC Great Court – Decorated column base from the Hundred Column Hall, Persepolis, Iran, 470-450 BC Room 52 – A chariot from the Oxus Treasure, the most important surviving collection of Achaemenid Persian metalwork, c. 5th to 4th centuries BC Room 53 - Stela said to come from Tamma' cemetery, Yemen, 1st century AD Room 53 - Calcite-alabaster statue of a standing female figure, Yemen, 1st-2nd centuries AD Department of Prints and Drawings[edit] Room 90 – The prints and drawings exhibition gallery The Department of Prints and Drawings holds the national collection of Western prints and drawings. It ranks as one of the largest and best print room collections in existence alongside the Albertina in Vienna, the Paris collections and the Hermitage. The holdings are easily accessible to the general public in the Study Room, unlike many such collections.[64] The department also has its own exhibition gallery in Room 90, where the displays and exhibitions change several times a year.[65] Since its foundation in 1808 the prints and drawings collection has grown to international renown as one of the richest and most representative collections in the world. There are approximately 50,000 drawings and over two million prints.[65] The collection of drawings covers the period from the 14th century to the present, and includes many works of the highest quality by the leading artists of the European schools. The collection of prints covers the tradition of fine printmaking from its beginnings in the 15th century up to the present, with near complete holdings of most of the great names before the 19th century. Key benefactors to the department have been Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode, Richard Payne Knight, John Malcolm, Campbell Dodgson, César Mange de Hauke and Tomás Harris. There are groups of drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, (including his only surviving full-scale cartoon), Dürer (a collection of 138 drawings is one of the finest in existence), Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt, Claude and Watteau, and largely complete collections of the works of all the great printmakers including Dürer (99 engravings, 6 etchings and most of his 346 woodcuts), Rembrandt and Goya. More than 30,000 British drawings and watercolours include important examples of work by Hogarth, Sandby, Turner, Girtin, Constable, Cotman, Cox, Gillray, Rowlandson and Cruikshank, as well as all the great Victorians. There are about a million British prints including more than 20,000 satires and outstanding collections of works by William Blake and Thomas Bewick.[citation needed]. The great eleven volume Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires Preserved in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum compiled between 1870 and 1954 is the definitive reference work for the study of British Satirical prints. Over 500,000 objects from the department are now on the online collection database, many with high quality images.[66] A 2011 donation of £1 million enabled the museum to acquire a complete set of Pablo Picasso's Vollard Suite.[67] Rogier van der Weyden - Portrait of a Young Woman, c. 1440 Hieronymus Bosch - A comical barber scene, c. 1477-1516 Sandro Botticelli - Allegory of Abundance, 1480-1485 Leonardo da Vinci – The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and the Infant Saint John the Baptist (prep for 'The Burlington House Cartoon'), c. 1499–1500 Michelangelo – Studies of a reclining male nude: Adam in the fresco 'The Creation of Man' on the vault of the Sistine Chapel, c. 1511 Raphael – Study of Heads, Mother and Child, c. 1509-11 Titian – Drowning of the Pharaoh's Host in the Red Sea, 1515–17 Albrecht Dürer - Drawing of a walrus, 1521 Hans Holbein the Younger - Portrait of Anne Boleyn, 1536 Peter Paul Rubens - Drawing of a lioness, c. 1614-1615 Claude Lorrain - Drawing of mules, including one full-length, 1630-1640 Rembrandt – The Lamentation at the Foot of the Cross, 1634–35 Thomas Gainsborough - Drawing of a woman with a rose, 1763-1765 JMW Turner - Watercolour of Newport Castle, 1796 Isaac Cruikshank - 'The happy effects of that grand system of shutting ports against the English!!', 1808 John Constable - London from Hampstead Heath in a Storm, (watercolour), 1831 James McNeill Whistler - View of the Battersea side of Chelsea Reach, London, (lithograph), 1878 Vincent Van Gogh - Man Digging in the Orchard (print), 1883 Department of Prehistory and Europe[edit] Room 49 – Roman Britain with the Mildenhall Treasure in the foreground Room 51 – Prehistoric Europe and the Middle East Room 39 – Clocks and watches exhibition space The Department of Prehistory and Europe was established in 1969 and is responsible for collections that cover a vast expanse of time and geography. It includes some of the earliest objects made by humans in east Africa over 2 million years ago, as well as Prehistoric and neolithic objects from other parts of the world; and the art and archaeology of Europe from the earliest times to the present day. Archeological excavation of prehistoric material took off and expanded considerably in the twentieth century and the department now has literally millions of objects from the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods throughout the world, as well as from the Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron age in Europe. Stone Age material from Africa has been donated by famous archaeologists such as Louis and Mary Leakey, and Gertrude Caton–Thompson. Paleolithic objects from the Sturge, Christy and Lartet collections include some of the earliest works of art from Europe. Many Bronze Age objects from across Europe were added during the nineteenth century, often from large collections built up by excavators and scholars such as Greenwell in Britain, Tobin and Cooke in Ireland, Lukis and de la Grancière in Brittany, Worsaae in Denmark, Siret at El Argar in Spain, and Klemm and Edelmann in Germany. A representative selection of Iron Age artefacts from Hallstatt were acquired as a result of the Evans/Lubbock excavations and from Giubiasco in Ticino through the Swiss National Museum. In addition, the British Museum's collections covering the period AD 300 to 1100 are among the largest and most comprehensive in the world, extending from Spain to the Black Sea and from North Africa to Scandinavia; a representative selection of these has recently been redisplayed in a newly refurbished gallery. Important collections include Latvian, Norwegian, Gotlandic and Merovingian material from Johann Karl Bähr, Alfred Heneage Cocks, Sir James Curle and Philippe Delamain respectively. However, the undoubted highlight from the early mediaeval period are the magnificent items from the Sutton Hoo royal grave, generously donated to the nation by the landowner Edith Pretty. The department includes the national collection of horology with one of the most wide ranging assemblage of clocks, watches and other timepieces in Europe, with masterpieces from every period in the development of time-keeping. Choice horological pieces came from the Morgan and Ilbert collections. The department is also responsible for the curation of Romano-British objects – the museum has by far the most extensive such collection in Britain and one of the most representative regional collections in Europe outside Italy. It is particularly famous for the large number of late Roman silver treasures, many of which were found in East Anglia, the most important of which is the Mildenhall Treasure. Many Roman-British objects were purchased from the antiquarian Charles Roach Smith in 1856, which early on formed the nucleus of the collection. Objects from the Department of Prehistory and Europe are mostly found on the upper floor of the museum, with a suite of galleries from Gallery 38 to Gallery 51. Most of the collection is stored in its archive facilities, where it is available for research and study. Key highlights of the collections include: Stone Age (c. 3.4 million years BC – c. 2000 BC) Palaeolithic material from across Africa, particularly Olduvai, Kalambo Falls, Olorgesailie and Cape Flats, (1.8 million BC onwards) One of the 11 leaf-shaped points found near Volgu, Saône-et-Loire, France and estimated to be 16,000 years old[68] Ice Age art from France including the Wolverine pendant of Les Eyzies, Montastruc decorated stone and Baton fragment, (c. 12–11,000 BC) Ice Age art from Britain including the decorated jaw from Kendrick and Robin Hood Cave Horse, (11,500–10,000 BC) Rare mesolithic artefacts from the site of Star Carr in Yorkshire, northern England, (8770–8460 BC) Terracotta figurine from Vinca, Serbia, (5200–4900 BC) Callaïs bead jewellery from Lannec-er-Ro'h and triangular pendant from Mané-er-Hroëk, Morbihan, Brittany, western France, (4700–4300 BC) Section of the Sweet Track, an ancient timber causeway from the Somerset Levels, England, (3807/6 BC) A number of Carved Stone Balls from Scotland, Ireland and northern England, (3200–2500 BC) The three Folkton Drums, made from chalk and found in Yorkshire, northern England, (2600–2100 BC) Bronze Age (c. 3300 BC – c. 600 BC) Jet beaded necklace from Melfort in Argyll, Scotland, (c.3000 BC) Gold lunula from Blessington, Ireland, one of nine from Ireland, Wales and Cornwall, (2400–2000 BC) Early Bronze Age hoards excavated from burials at Snowshill, Driffield and Barnack, England, (2280–1500 BC) Contents of the Rillaton Barrow including a gold cup, and the related Ringlemere Cup, England, (1700–1500 BC) Bronze Age hoards from Zsujta, Forró and Paks-Dunaföldvár in Hungary, (1600–1000 BC) Large ceremonial swords or dirks from Oxborough and Beaune, western Europe, (1450–1300 BC) Bronze shields from Moel Hebog and Rhyd-y-gors, Wales, (12th–10th centuries BC) Gold hoards from Morvah and Towednack in Cornwall, Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire and Mooghaun in Ireland, (1150–750 BC) Dunaverney flesh-hook found near Ballymoney, Northern Ireland and part of the Dowris Hoard from County Offaly, Ireland, (1050–900 BC & 900–600 BC) Sintra Collar from Portugal, one of the most sophisticated items of jewellery from the late Bronze Age, (10th–8th centuries BC) Iron Age (c. 600 BC – c. 1st century AD) Basse Yutz Flagons, a pair of bronze drinking vessels from Moselle, eastern France, (5th century BC) Morel collection of La Tène material from eastern France, including the Somme-Bionne chariot burial and the Prunay Vase, (450-300BC) Important finds from the River Thames including the Wandsworth Shield, Battersea Shield and Waterloo Helmet, as well as the Witham Shield from Lincolnshire, eastern England, (350–50 BC) Pair of gold collars called the Orense Torcs from northwest Spain, (300–150 BC) Other gold neck collars including the Ipswich Hoard and the Sedgeford Torc, England, (200–50 BC) Abba Kovner – poet writer and partisan leader Benediktas Mikulis – Lithuanian freedom fighter Vytautas Putna also known as ru ????? ?????? ??????????? – – comcor general lieutenant of Red Army Soviet military diplomat Darius Radzius Television news reporter at News Long Island Radio news reporter at WINS in New York City Jokubas Smuškevicius also known as Yakov Smushkevich ????????? ???? ???????????? – – general lieutenant of Soviet Army Commander in Chief of Soviet Air Force twice Hero of Soviet Union Aleksandras Štromas also referred as Alexander Shtromas – – professor of Bradford University dissident Tony G real name Antanas Guoga World poker star born in Kaunas Jeronimas Uborevicius also known as ru ???????? ??????? ???????? or Ieronim Uborevich – – comandarm st rank General of the Army of the Red Army commander of Armament of Red Army later commander of military district Feliksas Vaitkus – Sixth pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Edita Vilkeviciute – model Gintautas Dumcius – Editor of the Dorchester MA Reporter Fictional edit Hannibal Lecter – fictional cannibalistic genius appearing in four novels by author Thomas Harris and their film adaptations Marko Ramius nicknamed the Vilnius Schoolmaster – fictional captain of the submarine Red October in the novel The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy Portrayed by Sean Connery in the film version Jurgis Rudkus – the protagonist of Upton Sinclair s novel The Jungle Notable international people of Lithuanian descent edit Tim Abromaitis NCAA basketball player Giorgio Amendola – Italian prominent politician Mother was Lithuanian Saul Anuzis – Chairman of the Michigan Republican State Committee –present Rick Barry – Hall of Fame basketball player Aras Baskauskas – is the winner of Survivor Panama He is of Lithuanian descent holding Lithuanian and American citizenship Bernard Berenson American art historian specializing in the Renaissance born in Butrimonys Alytus district Lithuania Kevin Bieksa – Canadian hockey player Sydney Brenner – biologist winner of Nobel Prize in Physiology Robert Briscoe – Lord Mayor of Dublin – The original family name in Lithuania is believed have been Cherrick Charles Bronson actor born to Lithuanian emigrants Matt Busby Scottish football manager Dick Butkus – NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Abraham Cahan – Lithuanian born American socialist activist editor and journalist of socialist and Jewish periodicals including The Jewish Daily Forward and author of a number of fiction pieces concerning Yiddish life in New York Romain Gary Roman Kacew – Lithuanian born naturalized French diplomat novelist film director World War II aviator He is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt twice under his own name and under a pseudonym Leonard Cohen – singer songwriter poet novelist and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Dick Durbin – Illinois senator mother was Lithuanian Bob Dylan – American folk rock musician Brian Epstein – a former Beatles manager Paternal grandparents are Lithuanian Jews Brandon Flowers – vocalist and keyboardist of the Las Vegas based rock band The Killers Is under both Scottish and Lithuanian ancestry Genie Francis – American actress Mother is of Lithuanian descent Philip Glass born composer grandchild of Lithuanian Jewish migrants Emma Goldman – anarchist feminist activist aka Red Emma Lithuania born anarchist known for her writings and speeches Nadine Gordimer – novelist and writer winner of the Nobel Prize in literature and Booker Prize Albin Gurklis – Lithuanian American priest mathematician Laurence Harvey – Lithuanian born actor who achieved fame in British and American films Jascha Heifetz – – Lithuanian born famous violinist Ann Jillian – American television actress and breast cancer activist born to immigrant parents Phill Jupitus British comedian family emigrated from Lithuania in Joe Jurevicius – American football NFL wide receiver Natas Kaupas professional Skateboarder Anthony Kiedis – frontman and vocalist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers paternal grandfather of Lithuanian descent John Kiedis – also known as Spider or Blackie Dammett father of Lithuanian descent father of Anthony Kiedis Stanley Kunitz – a noted American poet mother was Lithuanian James Laurinaitis NFL linebacker for the St Louis Rams David Lee – physicist winner of Nobel Prize in for physics Ruta Lee born Ruta Kilmonis Kilmonyte Canadian and American cinema and television actress Emmanuel Levinas – Lithuanian born French philosopher and Talmudic commentator Jacques Lipchitz – Lithuanian born cubist sculptor Billy McNeill – Scottish soccer legend Lithuanian mother Hermann Minkowski – Lithuanian born German mathematician one of Einstein s teachers Antanas Mockus – Colombian mathematician philosopher and politician Former mayor of Bogotá Simonas Morkunas – – priest Lithuanian American humanitarian Alecia Beth Moore Pink performer Ed Palubinskas – former basketball player Sean Penn – American actor Father was of mixed Russian and Lithuanian descent Vlado Perlemuter – French pianist born in Kaunas Maury Povich – Paternal grandparents emigrated from Lithuania Johnny Ramensky Legendary Scottish criminal and folk hero Leo Rautins – Canadian basketball player national team coach broadcaster John C Reilly – American actor Mother is of Lithuanian descent Phil Rudd real name Phillip Hugh Norman Witschke Rudzevecuis drummer of band AC DC Vyto Ruginis American actor son of Lithuanian immigrants Joanna Shimkus – actress born in Canada to Lithuanian emigres John Shimkus – Illinois politician Jerry Siegel – – co creator of Superman Son of Lithuanian Jewish immigrants Antanas Sileika – Canadian author Elijah ben Solomon known as the Vilna Gaon – Lithuanian born talmudist halachist kabbalist and the foremost leader of non hasidic Jewry of the past few centuriesthe Annis Stukus – Canadian sports personality Jason Sudeikis – US actor and comedian member of Saturday Night Live cast paternal grandfather of Lithuanian descent Olegas Truchanas – – Lithuanian born Australian conservationist and nature photographer Johnny Unitas – Football player with the Baltimore Colts member of NFL Hall of Fame parents were Lithuanian Louis Vezelis Lithuanian American sedevacantist Franciscan bishop Eddie Waitkus – Baseball player Uriel Weinreich – Lithuanian born linguist at Columbia University Mariel Zagunis – Olympic USA sabre fencing champion gold medals in and Robert Zemeckis – American film director Annette Zilinskas original bassist with the early Bangles William Zorach – Lithuanian born American sculptor painter printmaker and writer Robert Z Dar – American actor Salem Ibrahim Al Rewani Alejandro Ruben Hesham Shaban Younes Al Shibani Politics edit See also Grand Duke of Luxembourg List of Prime Ministers of Luxembourg Jean of Luxembourg born former Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg born current Grand Duke Victor Bodson – justice minister Righteous Among the Nations Jean Claude Juncker born Luxembourg prime minister Jacques Santer born Luxembourg prime minister EC president Robert Schuman – French prime minister EU co founder Gaston Thorn Luxembourg politician EC president Pierre Werner – Luxembourg prime minister EEC figure Arts and culture edit Pol Albrecht – composer Louis Beicht – composer Charles Bernhoeft – photographer Emile Boeres – composer Pierre Brandebourg – painter and photographer Josy Braun born writer Sandrine Cantoreggi born violinist Claus Cito – sculptor Jim Clemes born architect Michel Engels – illustrator painter Tatiana Fabeck born architect Batty Fischer – amateur photographer Jean Baptiste Fresez – artist Patrick Galbats born photographer Hugo Gernsback – writer editor publisher Gust Graas born artist and businessman Françoise Groben born cellist Ernie Hammes born trumpeter Georges Hausemer born writer Guy Helminger born writer Nico Helminger born writer Max Jacoby born filmmaker Pierre Joris born poet Gustave Kahnt – composer Jean Pierre Kemmer – composer conductor choir master Mariette Kemmer born opera singer Théo Kerg – artist Camille Kerger born composer opera singer Will Kesseler – painter Emile Kirscht – painter Nico Klopp – painter Anise Koltz born poet Jean Krier born poet Leon Krier born architect Edouard Kutter – photographer Edouard Kutter born photographer Joseph Kutter – painter Paul Kutter – photographer Yvon Lambert born photographer Dominique Lang – painter Claude Lenners born composer Georges Lentz born composer Michel Lentz – poet Nicolas Liez – lithographer painter Marianne Majerus born photographer Michel Majerus born – artist Laurent Menager – composer Antoine Meyer – poet and mathematician Bady Minck born artist & filmmaker Alexander Mullenbach born composer Jean Muller born pianist Joseph Alexandre Müller – composer Désirée Nosbusch born actress Joseph Probst – artist Harry Rabinger – painter Pierre Joseph Redouté – painter Michel Reis born jazz pianist Business edit George Atanasoski John Bitove John Bitove Sr Andy Peykoff Mike Ilitch Founder of Little Caesars and owner of Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Tigers Mike Zafirovski President and C E O of Nortel Networks Steve Stavro Sport edit Soccer players edit Zoran Baldovaliev ????? ??????????? Boško Gjurovski ????? ???????? Mario Gjurovski ????? ???????? Milko Gjurovski ????? ???????? Dragi Setinov ????? ??????? ?or?i Hristov ????? ??????? Cedomir Janevski ??????? ???????? Marek Jankulovski ????? ??????????? Jovan Kirovski Goran Maznov ????? ?????? Igor Mitreski ???? ???????? Ilco Naumoski ???? ???????? Oka Nikolov ??? ??????? Jane Nikolovski J??? ?????????? Darko Pancev ????? ?????? Goran Pandev ????? ?????? Saško P?ndev ????? ?????? Robert Petrov ?????? ?????? Goran Popov ????? ????? Robert Popov ?????? ????? Stevica Ristic ??????? ?????? Goce Sedloski ???? ???????? Goran Slavkovski ????? ?????????? Vujadin Stanojkovic ??????? ??????????? Mile Šterjovski ???? ?????????? Velice Šumulikoski ?????? ??????????? Goce Toleski ???? ??????? Vanco Trajanov ????? ???????? Jovica Trajcev ?????? ??????? Ivan Trickovski ???? ?????????? Aleksandar Vasoski ?????????? ??????? Blagoja Vidinic ??????? ??????? Peter Daicos Handball edit Kiril Lazarov ????? ??????? Swimming edit Atina Bojadži Hockey edit Steve Staios Ed Jovanovski Dan Jancevski Steven Stamkos José Théodore Christopher Tanev Boxing edit Ace Rusevski ??? ???????? Redžep Redžepovski ????? ?????????? Basketball edit Petar Naumoski ????? ???????? Todor Gecevski ????? ???????? Vrbica Stefanov ?????? ???????? Vlado Ilievski ????? ???????? Pero Antic ???? ????? Baseball edit Kevin Kouzmanoff Football edit Pete Stoyanovich Art edit Architects edit Miroslav Grcev ???????? ????? Painters edit Dimitar Avramovski–Pandilov ??????? ?????????? ???????? Nikola Martinovski ?????? ??????????? Dimitar Kondovski ??????? ????????? Lazar Licenoski ????? ????????? Petar Mazev ????? ????? Tomo Vladimirski ???? ??????????? Vangel Kodžoman ?????? ??????? Rahim Blak Gavril Atanasov ?????? ???????? Maja Hill Sculptors edit Gligor Stefanov ?????? ???????? Film edit Actors edit Touriya Haoud Meto Jovanovski ???? ?????????? Labina Mitevska ?????? ???????? Tony Naumovski ???? ????????? Naum Panovski ???? ???????? Igor Džambazov ???? ???????? Petre Prlicko ????? ??????? Vlado Jovanovski ????? ?????????? ?or?i Kolozov ????? ??????? Toni Mihajlovski ???? ??????????? Editors edit Filmmakers edit Petar Gligorovski ????? ??????????? Milco Mancevski ????? ????????? Apostol Trpeski ??????? ??????? Stole Popov ????? ????? Showbiz edit Ziya Tong television producer TV host Academia edit Scientists edit Georgi Efremov ?????? ??????? Ratko Janev ????? ????? Zoran T Popovski ????? ? ???????? Social academics edit Dimitrija Cupovski ????????? ???????? Gjorgji Pulevski ????? ???????? Mihail Petruševski ?????? ??????????? State edit Politicians edit Metodija Andonov Cento ???????? ??????? ????? Stojan Andov ?????? ????? Strašo Angelovski ?????? ?????????? Ljupco Arsov ????? ????? Ljube Boškoski ???? ???????? Vlado Buckovski ????? ????????? Branko Crvenkovski ?????? ??????????? Ljubco Georgievski ????? ??????????? Kiro Gligorov ???? ???????? Nikola Gruevski ?????? ???????? Gjorge Ivanov ????? ?????? Gordana Jankuloska ??????? ?????????? Zoran Jolevski ????? ???????? Srgjan Kerim ????? ????? Lazar Koliševski ????? ?????????? Hari Kostov ???? ?????? Trifun Kostovski ?????? ????????? Ilinka Mitreva ?????? ??????? Lazar Mojsov ????? ?????? Tito Petkovski ???? ????????? Lui Temelkovski ??? ??????????? Boris Trajkovski ????? ?????????? Vasil Tupurkovski ????? ??????????? Zoran Zaev ????? ???? Partisans World War II freedom fighters edit Mirce Acev ????? ???? Mihajlo Apostolski ????j?? ?????????? Cede Filipovski Dame ???? ?????????? ???? Blagoj Jankov Muceto ?????? ?????? ?????? Orce Nikolov ???? ??????? Strašo Pindžur ?????? ?????? Hristijan Todorovski Karpoš ????????? ?????????? ?????? Revolutionaries edit Yordan Piperkata ?????? ???????? ????????? Goce Delcev ???? ????? Petar Pop Arsov ????? ??? ????? Dame Gruev ???? ????? Jane Sandanski ???? ????????? Dimitar Pop Georgiev Berovski ??????? ??? ???????? ???????? Ilyo Voyvoda ???? ??? ?????????? Pere Tošev ???? ????? Pitu Guli ???? ???? Dimo Hadži Dimov ???? ???? ????? Hristo Uzunov ?????? ?????? Literature edit Gjorgji Abadžiev ????? ??????? Petre M Andreevski ????? ? ?????????? Maja Apostoloska ???? ??????????? Dimitrija Cupovski ????????? ???????? Jordan Hadži Konstantinov Džinot ?????? ???? ???????????? ????? Vasil Iljoski ????? ?????? Slavko Janevski ?????? ???????? Blaže Koneski ????? ??????? Risto Krle ????? ???? Vlado Maleski ????? ??????? Mateja Matevski ?????? ???????? Krste Misirkov ????? ????????? Kole Nedelkovski ???? ??????????? Olivera Nikolova Anton Panov ????? ????? Gjorche Petrov ????? ?????? Vidoe Podgorec ????? ???????? Aleksandar Prokopiev ?????????? ????????? Koco Racin ???? ????? Jovica Tasevski Eternijan ?????? ???????? ????????? Gane Todorovski ???? ?????????? Stevan Ognenovski ?????? ?????????? Music edit Classical music edit Composers edit Atanas Badev ?????? ????? Dimitrije Bužarovski ????????? ?????????? Kiril Makedonski ????? ?????????? Toma Prošev ???? ?????? Todor Skalovski ????? ????????? Stojan Stojkov ?????? ??????? Aleksandar Džambazov ?????????? ???????? Conductors edit Borjan Canev ?????? ????? Instrumentalists edit Pianists Simon Trpceski ????? ???????? Opera singers edit Blagoj Nacoski ?????? ??????? Boris Trajanov ????? ???????? Popular and folk music edit Composers edit Darko Dimitrov ????? ???????? Slave Dimitrov ????? ???????? Jovan Jovanov ????? ??????? Ilija Pejovski ????? ???????? Musicians edit Bodan Arsovski ????? ???????? Goran Trajkoski ????? ????????? Ratko Dautovski ????? ????????? Kiril Džajkovski ????? ????????? Tale Ognenovski ???? ?????????? Vlatko Stefanovski ?????? ??????????? Stevo Teodosievski ????? ???????????? Aleksandra Popovska ?????????? ???????? Singers and Bands edit Lambe Alabakoski ????? ?????????? Anastasia ????????? Arhangel ???????? Kristina Arnaudova ???????? ????????? Kaliopi Bukle ??????? Dani Dimitrovska ???? ??????????? Riste Tevdoski ????? ???????? Karolina Goceva ???????? ?????? Vaska Ilieva ????? ?????? Andrijana Janevska ????????? ???????? Vlado Janevski ????? ???????? Jovan Jovanov ????? ??????? Leb i sol ??? ? ??? Aleksandar Makedonski ?????????? ?????????? Elvir Mekic ????? ????? Mizar ????? Jasmina Mukaetova ??????? ????e???? The Malagasy French Malgache are the ethnic group that forms nearly the entire population of Madagascar They are divided into two subgroups the "Highlander" Merina Sihanaka and Betsileo of the central plateau around Antananarivo Alaotra Ambatondrazaka and Fianarantsoa and the "coastal dwellers" elsewhere in the country This division has its roots in historical patterns of settlement The original Austronesian settlers from Borneo arrived between the third and tenth centuries and established a network of principalities in the Central Highlands region conducive to growing the rice they had carried with them on their outrigger canoes Sometime later a large number of settlers arrived from East Africa and established kingdoms along the relatively unpopulated coastlines The difference in ethnic origins remains somewhat evident between the highland and coastal regions In addition to the ethnic distinction between highland and coastal Malagasy one may speak of a political distinction as well Merina monarchs in the late th and early th century united the Merina principalities and brought the neighboring Betsileo people under their administration first They later extended Merina control over the majority of the coastal areas as well The military resistance and eventual defeat of most of the coastal communities assured their subordinate position vis à vis the Merina Betsileo alliance During the th and th centuries the French colonial administration capitalized on and further exacerbated these political inequities by appropriating existing Merina governmental infrastructure to run their colony This legacy of political inequity dogged the people of Madagascar after gaining independence in candidates ethnic and regional identities have often served to help or hinder their success in democratic elections Within these two broad ethnic and political groupings the Malagasy were historically subdivided into specifically named ethnic groups who were primarily distinguished from one another on the basis of cultural practices These were namely agricultural hunting or fishing practices construction style of dwellings music hair and clothing styles and local customs or taboos the latter known in the Malagasy language as fady citation needed The number of such ethnic groups in Madagascar has been debated The practices that distinguished many of these groups are less prevalent in the st century than they were in the past But many Malagasy are proud to proclaim their association with one or several of these groups as part of their own cultural identity "Highlander" ethnic groups Merina Sihanaka Betsileo Zafimaniry Coastal ethnic groups Antaifasy or Antefasy Antaimoro or Temoro or Antemoro Antaisaka or Antesaka Antambahoaka Antandroy or Tandroy Antankarana Antanosy or Tanosy Academia edit Afifi al Akiti Khasnor Johan historian Khoo Kay Kim Jomo Kwame Sundaram Danny Quah Harith Ahmad Architects edit Main article List of Malaysian architects Artists edit Main article List of Malaysian artists Business edit Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al Bukhary born Tan Sri Dato Loh Boon Siew – Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah Tan Sri William Cheng Dato Choong Chin Liang born Tan Sri Dato Tony Fernandes born Lim Goh Tong – Tan Sri Tiong Hiew King Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow born Chung Keng Quee – Tan Sri Ananda Krishnan born Robert Kuok born Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan born Shoba Purushothaman Shah Hakim Zain Halim Saad Tan Sri Mohd Saleh Sulong Tan Sri Vincent Tan born Lillian Too born Tan Sri Dr Francis Yeoh Tun Daim Zainuddin born Tan Sri Kong Hon Kong Designers edit Bernard Chandran fashion designer Jimmy Choo born shoe designer Poesy Liang born artist writer philanthropist jewellery designer industrial designer interior architect music composer Inventors edit Yi Ren Ng inventor of the Lytro Entertainers edit Yasmin Ahmad – film director Stacy Angie Francissca Peter born Jamal Abdillah born Sudirman Arshad – Loganathan Arumugam died Datuk David Arumugam Alleycats Awal Ashaari Alvin Anthons born Asmawi bin Ani born Ahmad Azhar born Ning Baizura born Kasma Booty died Marion Caunter host of One In A Million and the TV Quickie Ella born Erra Fazira born Sean Ghazi born Fauziah Latiff born Angelica Lee born Daniel Lee Chee Hun born Fish Leong born Sheila Majid born Amy Mastura born Mohamad Nasir Mohamad born Shathiyah Kristian born Meor Aziddin Yusof born Ah Niu born Dayang Nurfaizah born Shanon Shah born Siti Nurhaliza born Misha Omar born Hani Mohsin – Aziz M Osman born Azmyl Yunor born P Ramlee born Aziz Sattar born Fasha Sandha born Ku Nazhatul Shima Ku Kamarazzaman born Nicholas Teo born Pete Teo Penny Tai born Hannah Tan born Jaclyn Victor born Chef Wan Adira Suhaimi Michael Wong born Victor Wong born Dato Michelle Yeoh Hollywood actress born James Wan director of Hollywood films like several Saw films Insidious The Conjuring Fast and Furious born Ziana Zain born Zee Avi Shila Amzah Yunalis Zarai Zamil Idris born Military edit Leftenan Adnan – Warrior from mainland Malaya Antanum Warrior from Sabah Borneo Rentap Warrior from Sarawak Syarif Masahor Warrior from Sarawak Monsopiad Warrior from Sabah Borneo Haji Abdul Rahman Limbong Warrior from Telemong Terengganu Mat Salleh Warrior from Sabah Borneo Rosli Dhobi Warrior from Sarawak Politicians edit Parameswara founder of Sultanate of Malacca Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al Haj st Prime Minister of independent Malaya Tun Abdul Razak nd Prime Minister V T Sambanthan Founding Fathers of Malaysia along with Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tan Cheng Lock Tun Dato Sir Tan Cheng Lock Founder of MCA Tun Hussein Onn rd Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad th Prime Minister Father of Modernisation Abdullah Ahmad Badawi th Prime Minister since Najib Tun Razak Current Prime Minister since Dato Seri Ong Ka Ting Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim Dato Wan Hisham Wan Salleh Nik Aziz Nik Mat Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin Federal Territory and Urban Wellbeing Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail Karpal Singh Lim Kit Siang Lim Guan Eng Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah Religious edit Antony Selvanayagam Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Penang Anthony Soter Fernandez Archbishop Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur and Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Penang Gregory Yong – Second Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore Tan Sri Datuk Murphy Nicholas Xavier Pakiam Metropolitan archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Malaysia Singapore and Brunei and publisher of the Catholic weekly newspaper The Herald Datuk Ng Moon Hing the fourth and current Anglican Bishop of West Malaysia Sportspeople edit Squash edit Datuk Nicol Ann David Ong Beng Hee Azlan Iskandar Low Wee Wern Badminton edit Chan Chong Ming men s doubles Dato Lee Chong Wei Chew Choon Eng men s doubles Wong Choong Hann Chin Eei Hui women s doubles Hafiz Hashim Roslin Hashim Wong Pei Tty women s doubles Choong Tan Fook men s doubles Lee Wan Wah men s doubles Koo Kien Keat men s doubles Tan Boon Heong men s doubles Retired edit Tan Aik Huang Eddy Choong Punch Gunalan Yap Kim Hock Foo Kok Keong Jalani Sidek Misbun Sidek Rashid Sidek Razif Sidek Cheah Soon Kit Lee Wan Wah Football soccer edit Brendan Gan Sydney FC Shaun Maloney Wigan Athletic Akmal Rizal Perak FA Kedah FA RC Strasbourg FCSR Haguenau Norshahrul Idlan Talaha Kelantan FA Khairul Fahmi Che Mat Kelantan FA Mohd Safiq Rahim Selangor FA Mohd Fadzli Saari Selangor FA PBDKT T Team FC SV Wehen Rudie Ramli Selangor FA PKNS F C SV Wehen Mohd Safee Mohd Sali Selangor FA Pelita Jaya Baddrol Bakhtiar Kedah FA Mohd Khyril Muhymeen Zambri Kedah FA Mohd Azmi Muslim Kedah FA Mohd Fadhli Mohd Shas Harimau Muda A FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce Mohd Irfan Fazail Harimau Muda A FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce Wan Zack Haikal Wan Noor Harimau Muda A FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce F C Ryukyu Nazirul Naim Che Hashim Harimau Muda A F C Ryukyu Khairul Izuan Abdullah Sarawak FA Persibo Bojonegoro PDRM FA Stanley Bernard Stephen Samuel Sabah FA Sporting Clube de Goa Nazmi Faiz Harimau Muda A SC Beira Mar Ahmad Fakri Saarani Perlis FA Atlético S C Chun Keng Hong Penang FA Chanthaburi F C Retired edit Serbegeth Singh owner founder of MyTeam Blackburn Rovers F C Global dvisor Mokhtar Dahari former Selangor FA and Malaysian player Lim Teong Kim former Hertha BSC player