5th.....SINGAPORE

HISTORY OF SINGAPORE

Since its early beginnings that intertwine fact and folklore, Singapore has been engaged in the pomp of ancient Malay empires, the intrigues of medieval trade, the bartering of European colonial powers and the challenge of nation-building.

Here, we give you an account of the island's remarkable development throughout the centuries.

Legend has It ...

The beginnings of Singapore are steeped in local Malay legend. The island is said to have received its name from a visiting Sumatran prince in the 14th century, who saw a fearsome creature - later identified to him as a lion - on his arrival.

Taking this as a good omen, the prince founded a new city on the spot, changing the name of the island from Temasek to Singapura. In Sanskrit, "singa" means lion and "pura" means city. Thus the Lion City was born, and today the symbol of the merlion - a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish - is a reminder of Singapore's early connections to this legend and the seas.

The March of Empires

Traders travelling between China and India have been plowing the waters around Singapore since the 5th century AD. Later, Singapore became a trading outpost of the ancient Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya, which had its centre in Palembang, Sumatra, and influenced the region from the 7th to the 10th centuries.

In the 13th century, Srivijaya was overshadowed by the rise of Islam, and Singapore came under the influence of the Muslim empire of Malacca. Malacca, situated on the western coast of present-day Peninsula Malaysia, rapidly developed into a thriving free port and commercial centre.

Malacca's decline began in 1511, when it fell under the sway of the Portugese. The Muslim merchants and traders that had founded the commercial success of Malacca fled from the new Catholic rule, and another, smaller sultanate established itself in Johor, at the southern end of the Malaysian peninsula, across the causeway from Singapore.

In 1641, the Dutch wrested Malacca from the Portugese. They held power until 1875, when Holland's defeat in a war in Europe saw the British seizing Dutch colonies in Southeast Asia, including Malacca.

With the end of the Napoleonic wars in Europe, the British agreed to hand back Dutch possessions in 1818. Some British were disappointed by this anti-climax to their country's bid to expand its influence in Southeast Asia. One of them was Stamford Raffles, the Lieutenant Governor of Java.

Colonial Singapore

Stamford Raffles is often called the founder of modern Singapore, having given shape to many sections of Singapore's city centre, and having built its name as an important port and business centre in the region.

After the British secession of Dutch possessions in Southeast Asia, Raffles gained permission to establish a station in the region, to secure British trade interests there. He had initially set his heart on Riau, an island near Singapore, but the Dutch had already beat him to it. He then decided on Singapore, then under the empire of Johor.

When Raffles first landed in Singapore in 1819, there was division within the Johor Sultanate. The old Sultan had died in 1812, and his younger son had ascended to the throne when the eldest son and legitimate heir, Hussein, was away.

Raffles threw his support behind Hussein, proclaiming him Sultan and installing him in Singapore. He also signed a treaty with the Temenggong, or senior judge, of Johor, setting him up in Singapore as well. In so doing, he hoped to legitimise British claims on the island.

Initially, Raffles acquired the use of Singapore after agreeing to make annual payments to Sultan Hussein and the Temenggong. In 1824, in exchange for a cash buyout, Singapore officially came under the ownership of the British East India Company.

Two years later, the island, along with Malacca and Penang, became part of the British Straits Settlements. The Straits Settlements were controlled by the East India Company in Calcutta, but administered from Singapore.

Raffles initiated a town plan for central Singapore. The plan included levelling one hill to set up a commercial centre (today's Shenton Way) and constructing government buildings around Fort Canning. Raffles, and the first Resident of Singapore, William Farquhar, gradually moulded Singapore from a jungle-ridden backwater with poor sanitation and little modern infrastructure to a successful entreport and colonial outpost. Hospitals, schools and a water supply system were built. Soon, boatloads of immigrants from India and China were coming to Singapore, in search of prosperity and a better life.

Today, you will find that many institutions and businesses choose to use the Raffles name, out of a certain respect or perhaps to portray a sense of history and gravitas. You will find the Raffles name linked to a boulevard, a school, a college, a hotel, a shopping mall, the business class of Singapore Airlines, a golf club and a lighthouse.

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4th.....THAILAND

HISTORY OF THAILAND

Thailand means "land of the free", and throughout its 800-year history, Thailand can boast the distinction of being the only country in Southeast Asia never to have been colonized. Its history is divided into five major periods :

Sukhothai Period (1238-1378 A.D.)

The Thai people founded their kingdom in the southern part of China, which is Yunnan, Kwangsi and Canton today. A great number of people migrated south as far as the Chao Phraya Basin and settled down over the Central Plain under the sovereignty of the Khmer Empire, whose culture they probably accepted.The Thai people founded their independent state of Sukhothai around 1238 A.D., which marks the beginning of the Sukhothai Period.

Nanchao Period (650-1250 A.D.)

Thai's began to emerge as a dominant force in the region in the13th century, gradually asserting independence from existing Khmer and Mon kingdoms. Called by its rulers "the dawn of happiness", this is often considered the golden era of Thai history, an ideal Thai state in a land of plenty governed by paternal and benevolent kings, the most famous of whom was King Ramkamhaeng the Great. However in 1350, the mightier state of Ayutthaya exerted its influence over Sukhothai.

Ayutthaya Period (1350-1767)

The Ayutthaya kings adopted Khmer cultural influences from the very beginning. No longer the paternal and accessible rulers that the kings of Sukhothai had been, Ayutthaya's sovereigns were absolute monarchs and assumed the title devaraja (god-king). The early part of this period saw Ayutthaya extend its sovereignty over neighboring Thai principalities and come into conflict with its neighbours, During the 17th century, Siam started diplomatic and commercial relations with western countries.In 1767, a Burmese invasion succeeded in capturing Ayutthaya. Despite their overwhelming victory, the Burmese did not retain control of Siam for long. A young general named Phya Taksin and his followers broke through the Burmese encirclement and escaped to Chantaburi. Seven months after the fall of Ayutthaya, he and his forces sailed back to the capital and expelled the Burmese occupation garrison.

Thon Buri Period (1767-1772)

General Taksin, as he is popularly known, decided to transfer the capital from Ayutthaya to a site nearer to the sea which would facilitate foreign trade, ensure the procurement of arms, and make defence and withdrawal easier in case of a renewed Burmese attack. He established his new capital at Thon Buri on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River.The rule of Taksin was not an easy one. The lack of central authority since the fall of Ayutthaya led to the rapid disintegration of the kingdom, and Taksin's reign was spent reuniting the provinces.

Rattanakosin Period (1782 - the Present)

fter Taksin's death, General Chakri became the first king of the Chakri Dynasty, Rama I, ruling from 1782 to 1809. His first action as king was to transfer the royal capital across the river from Thon Buri to Bangkok and build the Grand Palace. Rama II (1809-1824) continued the restoration begun by his predecessor. King Nang Klao, Rama III (1824-1851) reopened relations with Western nations and developed trade with China. King Mongkut, Rama IV, (1851-1868) of "The King and I" concluded treaties with European countries, avoided colonialisation and established modern Thailand. He made many social and economic reforms during his reign . King Chulalongkorn, Rama V (1869-1910) continued his father's tradition of reform, abolishing slavery and improving the public welfare and administrative system. Compulsory education and other educational reforms were introduced by King Vajiravudh, Rama VI (1910-1925). During the reign of King Prajadhipok, (1925-1935), Thailand changed from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. The king abdicated in 1933 and was succeeded by his nephew, King Ananda Mahidol (1935-1946). The country's name was changed from Siam to Thailand with the advent of a democratic government in 1939. Our present monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, is King Rama IX of the Chakri Dynasty.

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3rd.....Brunei

BRUNEI HISTORY

Historians believe there was a forerunner to the present Brunei Sultanate which the Chinese called Po-ni. Chinese and Arabic records indicate that this ancient trading kingdom existed at the mouth of the Brunei River as early as the seventh or eighth century A.D. This early kingdom was apparently conquered by the Sumatran empire of Srivijaya in the early ninth century and later controlled northern Borneo and the Philippines. It was subjugated briefly by the Java-based Majapahit Empire but soon regained its independence and once again rose to prominence.

The history of Brunei is especially fascinating. Historians believe that there was a forerunner to the president Brunei Sultanate that the Chinese called Po-ni. Arabic and Chinese records indicates that in the early seventh or eighth century A.D an ancient trading kingdom existed at the mouth of the Brunei River. It is said that this early kingdom was apparently ruled by the Sumatran Empire of Srivijaya in the ninth century and later on ruled by Northern Borneo and the Philippines.

Every Kingdom has its golden time. Brunei’s Empire had its golden time from the 15 th to the 17 th century. Brunei was particularly powerful during the ruling of the fifth Sultan Bolkiah (1473-1521). Sultan Bolkiah was especially famous for his sea exploits and even briefly captured Manila. The ninth ruler was Sultan Hassan, he ruled from 1605 till 1619. He entirely urbanized a complex Royal court structure elements of which remain.

After some time Sultan Hassan entered a period of decline, the reason for it was because of internal battles over royal succession as well as the expanding influences of European Colonial powers that among other stuff disturbing customary trading patterns demolishing the economic base of Brunei and numerous other Southeast Asia sultanates. In 1839 a very generous English adventurer, James Brook turned up in Borneo and helped Sultan Hassan put down a rebellion. Later as a reward James Brook became the governor and later “Rajah” of Sarawak the northwest of Borneo. He steadily extended the territory under his control.

The Brunei Empire had its golden age from the 15th to the 17th centuries when its control extended over the entire island of Borneo and north into the Philippines. Brunei was particularly powerful under the fifth sultan Bolkiah (1473-1521) who was famed for his sea exploits and even briefly captured Manila; and under the ninth sultan Hassan (1605-19) who fully developed an elaborate Royal Court structure elements of which remain.

After Sultan Hassan Brunei entered a period of decline due to internal battles over royal succession as well as the rising influences of European colonial powers in the region that among other things disrupted traditional trading patterns destroying the economic base of Brunei and many other Southeast Asia sultanates. In 1839 the English adventurer James Brooke arrived in Borneo and helped the Sultan put down a rebellion. As a reward he became governor and later "Rajah" of Sarawak in northwest Borneo and gradually expanded the territory under his control.

Meanwhile the British North Borneo Company was expanding its control over territory in northeast Borneo. In 1888 Brunei became a protectorate of the British Government retaining internal independence but with British control over external affairs. In 1906 Brunei accepted a further measure of British control when executive power was transferred to a British resident who advised the ruler on all matters except those concerning local custom and religion.

In 1959 a new constitution was written declaring Brunei a self-governing state while its foreign affairs security and defense remained the responsibility of the United Kingdom. An attempt in 1962 to introduce a partially elected legislative body with limited powers was abandoned after the opposition political party Partai Rakyat Brunei launched an armed uprising which the government put down with the help of British forces. In the late 1950s and early 1960s the government also resisted pressures to join neighboring Sabah and Sarawak in the newly formed Malaysia. The Sultan eventually decided that Brunei would remain an independent state.

In 1967 Sultan Omar abdicated in favor of his eldest son Hassanal Bolkiah who became the 29th ruler. The former Sultan remained as Defense Minister and assumed the royal title Seri Begawan. In 1970 the national capital Brunei Town was renamed Bandar Seri Begawan in his honor. The Seri Begawan died in 1986.

On January 4 1979 Brunei and the United Kingdom signed a new treaty of friendship and cooperation. On January 1 1984 Brunei Darussalam became a fully independent state.

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2nd.....INDONESIA

INDONESIA HISTORY

The first known hominid inhabitant of Indonesia was the so-called "Java Man", or Homo erectus, who lived here half a million years ago. Some 60,000 years ago, the ancestors of the present-day Papuans move eastward through these islands, eventually reaching New Guinea and Australia some 30-40,000 years ago. Much later, in about the fourth millennium B.C., they were followed by the ancestors of the modern-day Malays, Javanese and other Malayo-Polynesian groups who now make up the bulk of Indonesia's population.

Trade contracts with India, China and the mainland of Southeast Asia brought outside cultural and religious influences to Indonesia. One of the first Indianized empires, known to us now as Sriwijaya, was located on the coast of Sumatra around the strategic straits of Malacca, serving as the hub of a trading network that reached to many parts of the archipelago more than a thousand years ago.

On neighboring Java, large kingdoms of the interior of the island erected scores of exquisite of religious monuments, such as Borobudur, the largest Buddhist monument in the world. The last and most powerful of these early Hindu-Javanese kingdoms, the 14th century Majapahit Empire, once controlled and influenced much of what is now known as Indonesia, maintaining contacts with trading outposts as far away as the west coast of Papua New Guinea.

Indian Muslim traders began spreading Islam in Indonesia in the eighth and ninth centuries. By the time Marco Polo visited North Sumatra at the end of the 13th century, the first Islamic states were already established there. Soon afterwards, rulers on Java's north coast adopted the new creed and conquered the Hindu-based Majapahit Empire in the Javanese hinterland. The faith gradually spread throughout archipelago, and Indonesia is today the world's largest Islamic nation.

Indonesia's abundant spices first brought Portuguese merchants to the key trading port of Malacca in 1511. Prized for their flavor, spices such as cloves, nutmeg and mace were also believed to cure everything from the plague to venereal disease, and were literally worth their weight in gold. The Dutch eventually wrested control of the spice trade from Portuguese, and the tenacious Dutch East India Company (known by initials VOC) established a spice monopoly which lasted well into the 18th century. During the 19th century, the Dutch began sugar and coffee cultivation on Java, which was soon providing three-fourths of the world supply of coffee.

By the turn of the 20th century, nationalist stirring, brought about by nearly three centuries of oppressive colonial rule, began to challenge the Dutch presence in Indonesia. A four-year guerilla war led by nationalists against the Dutch on Java after World War II, along with successful diplomatic maneuverings abroad, helped bring about independence. The Republic of Indonesia, officially proclaimed on August 17th, 1945, gained sovereignty four years later.

During the first two decades of independence, the republic was dominated by the charismatic figure of Sukarno, one of the early nationalists who had been imprisoned by the Dutch. General (ret.) Soeharto eased Sukarno from power in 1967. Indonesia's economy was sustained throughout the 1970's, almost exclusively by oil export.

The Asian financial crisis, which broke out in mid-1997, paralyzed the Indonesian economy with the rupiah losing 80% of its value against the US dollar at the peak of the turmoil.

On May 21, 1998, Soeharto resigned after 32 years in power and was replaced by B.J. Habibie following bloody violence and riots. Indonesia held its first democratic election in October 1999, which put Abdurrahman 'Gus Dur' Wahid in the role of president.

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1st.....MALAYSIA

MALAYSIA HISTORY

Situated in the heart of Southeast Asia at one of the world's major crossroads, Malaysia has always been pivotal to trade routes from Europe, the Orient, India and China. Its warm tropical climate and abundant natural blessings made it a congenial destination for immigrants as early as 5,000 years ago when the ancestors of the Orang Asli, the indigenous peoples of Peninsular Malaysia, settle here, probably the pioneers of a general movement from China and Tibet. They were followed by the Malays, who brought with them skills in farming and the use of metals. Around the first century BC, strong trading links were established with China and India, and these had a major impact on the culture, language and social customs of the country. Evidence of a Hindu-Buddhist period in the history of Malaysia can today be found in the temple sites of the Bujang Valley and Merbok Estuary in Kedah in the north west of Peninsular Malaysia, near the Thai border. The spread of Islam, introduced by Arab and Indian traders, brought the Hindu-Buddhist era to an end by the 13th century. With the conversion of the Malay-Hindu rulers of the Melaka Sultanate (the Malay kingdom which ruled both side of the Straits of Malaka for over a hundred years),, Islam was established as the religion of the Malays, and had profound effect on Malay society.

The arrival of Europeans in Malaysia brought a dramatic change to the country. In 1511, the Portuguese captured Malaka and the rulers of the Melaka Sultanate fled south to Johor where they tried to establish a new kingdom. They were resisted not only by the Europeans but by the Acehnese, Minangkabau and the Bugis, resulting in the sovereign units of the present-day states of Peninsular Malaysia. The Portuguese were in turn defeated in 1641 by the Dutch, who colonized Melaka until the advent of the British in the Dutch exerted any profound influence on Malay society. The British acquired Melaka from the Dutch in 1824 in exchange for Bencoolen in Sumatra. From their new bases in Malaka, Penang and Singapore, collectively known as the Straits settlements, the British, through their influence and power, began the process of political intergration of the Malay states of Peninsular Malaysia.

After World War II and the Japanese occupation from 1941-45, the British created the Malayan Union 1946.This was abandoned in 1948 and the Federation of Malaya emerged in its place. The Federation gained its independence from Britain on 31 August 1957.In September 1963, Malaya, Sarawak, Sabah, and initially Singapore united to form Malaysia, a country whose potpourri of society and customs derives from its rich heritage from four of the world's major cultures - Chinese, Indian, Islamic and Western.

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The Temple of Artemis (Diana) at Ephesus

The great Ionian city of Ephesus was chosen as the site for one of the largest and most complex temples built in ancient times. The Temple of Artemis (Diana) had a marble sanctuary and a tile-covered wooden roof.

Conceived by architect Chersiphron and his son, Metagenes, the temple's inner space featured a double row of at least 106 columns, each believed to be 40 to 60 feet high. The foundation was approximately 200 feet by 400 feet.

The original temple burned in 356 B.C. and was rebuilt on the same foundation. Fire devastated the second temple in 262 A.D., but its foundation and some debris have survived. The British Museum in London counts some of the second temple's sculptures among its treasures.

Location: In Greek city of Ephesus, on west coast of modern Turkey