The Rashtrakuta dynasty ruled large parts of the Indian subcontinent
between the sixth and tenth centuries. Early Rashtrakuta inscriptions
show their clans ruling from Manapura, a city somewhere in Central or
West India, and from modern-day Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh and Elichpur in
Maharashtra. This third clan overthrew Kirtivarman II and built an
empire as the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta, rising to power in South India
in 753. At the same time the Pala dynasty of Bengal (in eastern India)
and the Prathihara dynasty of Malwa (in the northwest) were gaining
force. Each of these three empires annexed the seat of power at Kannauj
for short periods of time while struggling for the resources of the rich
Gangetic plains. At their peak the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta ruled a
domain stretching from the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in
the north to Cape Comorin in the south. The early kings of this dynasty
were Hindu, while the later kings were strongly influenced by Jainism.
The empire was known for its literary and architectural achievements,
including the Kailasanath Temple at Ellora (pictured) and the Jain
Narayana temple at Pattadakal, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashtrakuta_dynasty>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1702:
Carolina colonial governor James Moore abandoned the siege
against the Castillo de San Marcos at St. Augustine, Spanish Florida,
and retreated to Charles Town in disgrace.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_St._Augustine_(1702)>
1853:
The United States purchased approximately 29,600 sq mi
(77,000 km2) of land south of the Gila River and west of the Rio Grande
from Mexico for $10 million.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden_Purchase>
1906:
The All-India Muslim League, a political party in British India
that developed into the driving force behind the creation of Pakistan as
a Muslim state on the Indian subcontinent, was founded in Dhaka.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-India_Muslim_League>
1965:
Ferdinand Marcos, who went on to rule the Philippines for 21
years, took office, beginning his first term as President.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Marcos>
2005:
Tropical Storm Zeta was declared a tropical depression, making
it the record-breaking thirtieth tropical cyclone of the 2005 Atlantic
hurricane season, the most active in recorded history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Zeta>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
arbuscle:
1. (botany) A plant midway in height between a shrub and a tree; a dwarf
tree.
2. (mycology) A branched hypha in some fungi.
3. (mycology) The site at which a symbiotic fungus attaches to the roots of
a plant and exchanges nutrients, etc., with it.
4. (zoology) A clump of feather-like cilia (hairlike structures).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/arbuscle>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Every man who is truly a man must learn to be alone in the midst
of all others, and if need be against all others.
--Romain Rolland
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Romain_Rolland>