Chigi vase, 6th century BCE. Source: joshobrouwers.com   Popular illustrations of ancient Greek fighters portray them as citizen soldiers bound by civic duty. However, as warfare became increasingly complicated, so too did the civic obligations associated with being a warrior. The later 5th-century BCE, in particular, saw the rise of a new class of paid professionals who altered the way war was conducted, and eventually, the way Greek city states operated.    Warfare in Ancient Greek City States Ancient Greek city states Sparta and Athens.   Warfare between city-states in ancient Greece was generally limited and seasonal, usually ending in one decisive battle. Additionally, battles were typically fought using the hoplite phalanx strategy, a tight mass of heavily-armed infantrymen.    The hoplite phalanx was a tight shoulder-to-shoulder formation of citizen soldiers that formed a shield wall with rows of soldiers of up to eight rows or more. Each soldier in the formation carried a large round hoplon (or aspis) shield on their left arm to protect themselves and the exposed right side of the soldier directly to his left.   A Phalanx, by Fallow Deer Painter, ca. 560 BCE. Source: Hellenica World   The primary offensive weapon of the hoplite (the heavily armed citizen soldier) was the dory — a long thrusting spear typically seven to ten feet long. In the event that the dory snapped, each soldier had access to a xiphos (short sword) for hand-to-hand combat.   The ability to afford the hoplite equipment was directly related to an individual’s status as a citizen and their participation in governance.   The system, however, had several drawbacks, and one of them was that the campaigns were short. This was due to the need for soldiers to return to their farms for planting and harvesting. As such, hoplites were ill-equipped for prolonged siege warfare.   The Impact of the Peloponnesian War on Fighting Strategies Amphora depicting Hoplite Race, ca 5th BCE. Source: Eagles and Dragon Publishing   The extended duration of the Peloponnesian War (431 BCE – 404 BCE), and the repeated invasion of Attica by the Spartans, severely damaged agricultural lands. The ensuing instability caused thousands of people in the affected lands, many of whom had prior military experience, to become unemployed. The situation left the veterans with two main options. One of them was to fight for their exhausted city-states again and the other was to work for foreign powers such as Persia, as mercenaries for a higher wage.    Not only did the war create a large pool of skilled and experienced veterans, it also created the opportunity for city-states to test new military strategies, like the extensive use of peltasts, who were lightly armored infantrymen. Peltasts were successful at disrupting the slow and rigid formation of traditional hoplites and soon became a favorite among mercenary units. One result of this was the eventual decline of the hoplite phalanx.    Greek peltast, by Johnny Shumate. Source: Wikimedia Commons   The rise of mercenary units also altered the manner in which battles were fought and won. Unlike citizen-soldiers, who were often constrained by their equipment and home duties, mercenaries were professional soldiers, capable of adapting to dynamic situations on the battlefield, including long sieges.   How the March of the Ten Thousand Influenced Warfare Tactics Cyrus, King of Persia, from “Four Illustrious Rulers of Antiquity” by Adrian Collaert, Maerten de Vos, Netherlands, 1590s. Source: Elisha Whittlesey Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York   The most detailed account of Greek mercenaries is found in Xenophon’s Anabasis. It detailed the struggles of The Ten Thousand, a force of Greek mercenaries hired by the Persian prince Cyrus to defeat his brother, Artaxerxes II. The Greeks successfully defeated the opposing forces in the Battle of Cunaxa. However, they found themselves stranded in hostile territory, over 1,500 miles from home after Cyrus was killed in battle.   Although they faced numerous dangers and hardships, the mercenaries successfully fought their way back to safety utilizing discipline and innovative tactics. Their success showed the Greek world that even a relatively small, well-disciplined, and organized force could successfully penetrate the interior of the large, distant Persian Empire. The lessons learned from the March of the Ten Thousand would have significant influence on the military strategies employed by future conquerors such as Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great.    Greek States and Mercenaries Alexander the Great at the Battle of Issus.   As being a soldier became a modern, full-time profession, the concept of the citizen-soldier disappeared. By the Hellenistic period (323 BCE to 31 BCE), which immediately followed the conquests of Alexander the Great, mercenaries had reached the pinnacle of their power. The enormous kingdoms established by Alexander’s successors were nearly completely reliant on professional, paid armies to enforce their rule and dominance. Today, most governments around the world maintain professional, paid militaries.

  In Greek myth, the Telchines were thought to be the original inhabitants of the island of Rhodes, but were also present on the islands of Ceos and Crete. Hesiod called them malignant wizards, and Ovid celebrated their legendary skill as artisans. They were described as fish-like creatures and demons who acted as guardians and nurtured Poseidon and Zeus. Although they often helped the gods, they also worked malevolent magic. Eventually, their hubris and lust for power led to their downfall.   The Origins of the Telchines The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn, by Giorgio Vasari and Cristoforo Gherardi, c. 16th century. Source: USEUM   The origin of the Telchines is recorded differently in the various Greek and Roman sources. Some accounts suggest that they are the offspring of Tartarus, the primordial father of monsters, and Nemesis, the goddess of retribution. Other sources claim that the Telchines are the children of the primordial gods Pontus and Gaia, the personifications of the sea and the earth. Still, others report that Thalassa, the female personification of the sea, is their mother.   In another version, the Telchines were created from Uranus’ blood. Uranus was the primordial god and personification of the sky. Uranus was castrated with a scythe by his son, the Titan Cronos. In this version, the Telchines were formed when Uranus’ blood dripped onto the Earth, similar to how the Furies and Aphrodite were created.   Perseus and Andromeda (detail of a Telchines), by Joachim Wtewael, 1611. Source: Louvre Museum   All the origin stories of the Telchines, usually four in number, describe them as the children of Protogenoi, the primordial gods who established the tangible fabric of the universe and personified the forces of nature. This means that they were ancient beings who thrived during ancient times when the primordial gods and Titans ruled, before being overthrown by the Olympian Gods.   What Did They Look Like? Man with a dog head, by Hartmann Schedel, 1493. Source: Beloit College   The Telchines were strange creatures associated with the sea and often referred to as fish children. They were known to have fin-like hands and dog-like heads. Descriptions of them are similar to those of merfolk. Some accounts state that they had a fish’s lower body and a human-like upper body. Their skin was described as rough, like echinoids or sea urchins, which are hard-shelled sea animals with venomous spikes. However, the Telchines were not limited to the sea. They were also said to be able to walk and live on land.   Malevolent Wizards  Manfred and the Witch of the Alps, by John Martin, 1837. Source: Web Gallery of Art   The Telchines were renowned for their extraordinary magical abilities. They were often referred to as sorcerers or wizards by ancient writers. They could control nature itself, controlling lightning and snow, manipulating the seas, and even bringing about devastating earthquakes. Furthermore, the Telchines could produce a poisonous substance that could harm all living things.   The Telchines are rare male wizards, with most of the magic workers in Greek mythology being women like Circe and Medea.   In addition to their power, the Telchines could change their shape at will. They mostly used their powers for malevolent purposes, harming and cursing innocent people. The most heinous act the Telchines were accused of committing was mixing the waters of the Styx with sulphur and pouring it over the fertile fields of Rhodes. This act resulted in the destruction of all plant and animal life on the island.   Benevolent Artisans  Neptune menaçant les vents, by Pietro della Vecchia, 1650. Source: Augustinian Museum   The Telchines were feared for their magical abilities, but they were also known for their exceptional skills as artisans and metallurgists. They were believed to be the first to work and shape iron and bronze into tools and weapons. Their excellent skills as metallurgists led to the creation of remarkable objects.   The Telchines created two of Greek mythology’s most famous magical artifacts: the scythe of the Titan Cronos and the trident of Poseidon. The scythe of Cronus, used to castrate Uranus, the primordial personification of the sky, was the first weapon created in the mythological canon. The trident of Poseidon is also one of the most identifiable symbols from Greek mythology, often used to represent both Poseidon and the Telchines themselves.   The Telchines’ metallurgical skills were not always necessarily benevolent. For instance, Hephaestus tasked them with assisting him in forging Harmonia’s cursed necklace. Despite the cursed nature of the creation, the Telchines were still working for the benefit of the Olympians, in contrast to their use of magic, often performed in opposition to the gods.   Hephaestus was the Greek god of the forge, who also made an elaborate throne to trap the goddess Hera.   The Telchines were known not only for their skills in metallurgy but also for stone sculpting. They were the first to create marble statues of the gods, and the ancient Greeks highly regarded their masterpieces. According to the historian Diodorus Siculus, the Telchines were responsible for crafting statues of Apollo and Hera on the island of Rhodes in Lindus and Camirus, respectively.   Raising the Gods Jupiter Raised by the Korybantes, by Noël Coypel, 1705. Source: Château de Versailles   Two stories from Greek myth suggest that the Telchines helped raise the Olympian gods. According to one myth, the Titaness Rhea entrusted the Telchines with caring for Poseidon, with the help of Capheira, an Oceanid Sea nymph who nursed the infant Poseidon.   Other myths suggest the Telchines were crucial in Zeus’s upbringing. His mother, Rhea, took nine Telchines from Rhodes to Crete and tasked them with protecting and nurturing Zeus in a cave on Mount Ida. These nine Telchines were later known as the Kouretes. They protected the infant Zeus from his father, Cronos, by performing a frenzied dance. During this dance, they would bang their shields and spears together to drown out the sound of the infant’s cries.   The association between the Telchines and the Kouretes is not certain. The Kouretes were also considered daemons or spirits, like the Telchines. However, they presided over mountains, hunting, beekeeping, and shepherding on the island of Crete. Unlike the Telchines, the Kouretes had no connection to the sea. However, both the Telchines and the Kouretes are credited with inventing metalworking. It seems that this shared similarity, along with their respective care for an Olympian, led to the two groups being merged into one at some point in history.   Turning Against the Gods Jupiter; statue of the nude god seated on an eagle, holding a double trident, plate 2, from Statues of Roman Gods, artist, and publisher Philips Galle, after Jacques Jonghelinck, 1586. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art   One constant theme in myths about the Telchines is their eventual downfall. The exact catalyst for their downfall was the Telchines’ hubris, as they turned to evil magic and lusted for power.   Initially portrayed as benevolent servants of the gods, the Telchines’ behaviour took a turn for the worse after they created Poseidon’s trident. They became engrossed in pursuing methods to create more powerful items and fixated on acquiring other means of power. This new obsession transformed the Telchines’ reputation from respected artisans to malevolent sorcerers who cursed any who tried to learn their secret art.   The Olympians became concerned about the Telechine’s use of destructive magic. However, the final straw was when they mixed the waters of the river Styx with sulphur, poisoning all living things on Rhodes. The reason for this act of destruction is not apparent in many sources. In a later Roman account by Nonnus, it is suggested that the Telchines performed this foul magic as revenge against the Heliades, who had driven them out of Rhodes. The Heliades were the seven sons of Helios, the sun god, and Rhode, a sea nymph goddess who personified the island of Rhodes.   Downfall of the Telchines  Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Plate 68 Jupiter, by Johann Wilhelm Baur, 1641. Source: British Museum.   There are different versions of the story of how the Telchines were destroyed. In some accounts, Zeus destroys them with thunderbolts or creates a flood that sinks them into the sea. Other versions claim that the Telchines were driven off the island of Rhodes when Zeus caused a great deluge to punish humanity, and they weren’t explicitly killed for their malevolent magic or hubris. In other versions, Poseidon destroys the Telchines using the trident they created for him. In some accounts, Apollo transforms into a wolf and kills the Telchines, leading to their demise. After being defeated, the Telchines were banished to Tartarus by the gods.   Unfortunately, very little information about the Telchines has survived over time. Although several ancient writers mention them, they only do so briefly and often present contradictory images of these elusive beings. The Telchines are often confused with other mythological figures like the Cyclopes, who lived underwater and forged Zeus’s thunder, the Kouretes dancers from Crete, and the ancient smiths and healers, the Dactyls.

  Throughout England’s long and turbulent history, the White Cliffs of Dover have become a symbol of the nation. The vertical white cliff face, facing continental Europe, has stood as a physical barrier and shield against invasion from abroad. Throughout the ages, the Cliffs of Dover and the surrounding area have played a pivotal role in defending the realm and helping steer the course of history.   What Are the White Cliffs of Dover? The White Cliffs of Dover. Source: National Trust   The White Cliffs of Dover are located in the southeastern corner of Great Britain in the county of Kent. The minerals for the cliffs formed over 100 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period. The minerals come from the fossilized remains of algae that have built up over the course of millions of years. Though it is primarily made up of the remnants of these microscopic organisms, the cliffs occasionally contain the fossilized remains of much larger creatures, such as sponges, anemones, and urchins. Changes in sea level and shifts in the tectonic plates eventually raised the geological formation above sea level. At their highest, the cliffs stand around 350 feet above sea level.   The stone itself is a white color due to erosion and has layers of grey flint streaked through it. This stratification matches the mineral layers across the channel at the Alabaster Coast of Normandy, France, making them part of the same geological formation. It is a soft stone and is subject to erosion at a rate of about eight inches to a foot per year. However, the formation is large enough that the Cliffs will continue to exist for tens of thousands of years at the current rate of erosion.   The White Cliffs of Dover, by Edward William Cooke. c. 19th century. Source: British Museum   The cliffs are located at possibly the most strategically important location in the British Isles. They stretch along the coast for a length of about eight miles, flanking the port of Dover on the English Channel, the waterway that separates Britain from the rest of Europe. In fact, Dover is the closest point to continental Europe, only 20 miles away from the French port city of Calais, which is close enough to see on a clear day. Because of this location, the White Cliffs of Dover have been the most obvious place to launch an invasion of Britain, and the first line of defense for England.   The Cliffs of Dover in Roman Britain Marble bust of Julius Caesar, by Andrea di Pietro di Marco Ferrucci, c. 1512-1514. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art   Though there is some evidence of an Iron Age hill fort at Dover, the White Cliffs first entered written history in 55 BCE. In his Commentarii De Bello Gallico, or Commentaries on the Gallic War, Julius Caesar wrote about his first attempt to invade Britain. Taking two of his legions across the English Channel from Gaul, Caesar attempted to cross into the mysterious island at the narrowest point. Aided by the White Cliffs, the local Celtic inhabitants did everything in their power to prevent this from happening.   As the Roman ships approached, the Britons hurled weapons, stones, and anything else at hand down the sheer cliff face. Because of the height of the cliffs, the Romans were unable to retaliate. Seeing the aggression of the Britons, and the seemingly insurmountable advantage given by the white cliffs, Caesar stated that “it seemed to me that the place was altogether unsuitable for landing.” Still undeterred, he would lead his fleet to the north, landing on more hospitable terrain. Thus, the first historical record of the White Cliffs of Dover was as a barrier against outside invasions.   Caesar would launch another invasion but ultimately leave Britain without conquering the island. But the Romans did not forget the distant island. In 43 CE, the emperor Claudius, in need of a military victory to secure his power, decided to invade Britain and establish a permanent Roman presence in the region. Information about the initial landing place is sparse, though it does not seem to be Dover. After the Romans secured much of Britain, Dover was still seen as a vital location, not only for defense but also as a way to secure shipping in the Strait of Dover. To protect vessels in this often rough and storm-wracked waterway, the Romans would build a pair of lighthouses to guide sailors.   Douer (Dover) From “English Views,” by Wenceslaus Hollar, 1642. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art   As the Roman Empire began to crumble, Britain was subject to seaborne raids by Germanic tribes who preyed on the vulnerable coast of the collapsing empire. In response to these repeated attacks, the Romans created what is known as the Saxon Shore, a series of defenses on the coast of southern Britain and northern Gaul, or modern-day France and Belgium. Dover was part of this defensive chain, with a garrison placed to prevent incursions from the raiders. In 410, the Roman legions pulled out of Britain, leaving the inhabitants to “look to their own defenses.” Information during this era is scarce, but the Saxon Shore eventually crumbled, and Britain was invaded by the Angles, Saxons, Frisians, and other Germanic tribes that pushed the Romano-British to the west and north.   Dover’s Cliffs in the Middle Ages King John fights against Prince Louis during the First Baron’s War, in MS Royal 16 G VI folio 385, c. 1332-1350. Source: British Library   During the time of the Anglo-Saxons, a church was built at Dover, but the White Cliffs were not particularly utilized for the island’s defense. After centuries of Saxon rule, Britain was faced with a new group of invaders, the Normans. In 1066, William the Conqueror launched his successful bid for the English crown. While the bulk of the Saxon forces were far to the north, repelling an invasion by Harald Hardrada, William landed at Dover and soon overwhelmed the small garrison left there. A short time later, he would be victorious at the Battle of Hastings, securing himself the English crown. Knowing it was a vital strategic location, William and his descendants kept a permanent garrison at Dover. In 1160, Henry II began construction of a stone castle at the site, which would be the linchpin of the nation’s defenses.   While the White Cliffs of Dover were a formidable barrier against waterborne invasions, Dover Castle would play a major role against another threat. In 1216, barons, rebelling against King John, invited the son of the French king, Prince Louis, to invade England and establish himself as king of England, replacing the hapless John. He and a force of 700 ships would bypass Dover, landing further to the north, before capturing London. With the help of rebellious barons, Louis would eventually capture about half of England, mostly in the south of the country.   One bastion that held firm, however, was the castle of Dover, an island of loyalist support in a sea of rebellion. In spite of repeated attempts to take the fortress, the attackers only managed to topple one of the towers before being forced to withdraw. Due to this and other setbacks, the French prince failed in his bid to capture the English throne.   A More Peaceful Purpose Portrait of Charles II, by Peter Lely, c. 17th century. Source: Royal Museums Greenwich   The White Cliffs of Dover would retain their status as the first land barrier of the British Isles, though they would no longer see any invasion force to repel, well almost. In 1660, after the Interregnum led by Oliver Cromwell, the exiled Stuart scion, Charles II returned to England to reestablish the monarchy. He landed at Dover, reportedly greeted by cheering crowds and the looming Dover castle firing its cannons in salute, welcoming their returned king to his homeland.   The next major threat that Dover and the White Cliffs faced was the possible threat posed by Napoleon Bonaparte. In preparation for a potential invasion, British military engineers carved tunnels and garrisons into the soft chalk of the cliff face. Poised to throw back the ambitions of the French, the White Cliffs were fortified, though, after the battle of Trafalgar in 1805, it was apparent that this threat would never materialize.   Though still a military installation, the White Cliffs became the site of other purposes. The world’s first electric lighthouse, the South Foreland lighthouse, was built in 1843. It was from this point that Guglielmo Marconi pioneered radio communication, receiving the first international radio broadcast sent from Wimereux, France. But the White Cliffs of Dover had one final military role to play.   Where Bluebirds Fly: Dover During WWII An artillery piece at Dover prior to commissioning, 1942. Source: National Trust   In 1939, the British Admiralty dug a new operation center and a network of tunnels into the cliffs. Shortly after, the location was used to coordinate Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of the British army from Dunkirk after being surrounded by the Germans in 1940. After the evacuation, the White Cliffs were once again the first land barrier against a possible German invasion. As the closest point between Britain and the continent, it was an obvious location for an amphibious landing. The tunnel network was expanded, and extra defenses were put into place on the orders of Winston Churchill, who was enraged to see German ships plying the waters of the English Channel with impunity. Batteries of artillery were installed, which were used to attack German shipping. Long-range guns were used to bombard occupied Calais. Though Operation Sea Lion, the German invasion, never came about, the defenses at the White Cliffs were a major part of Britain’s wartime strategy.   Perhaps the most famous wartime use of the cliffs was not the rocks themselves but their symbolic meaning. For centuries, they were the last sight of their beloved homeland for leaving soldiers and sailors and the first sight on their return. Stark white stone jutting majestically from the sea, the White Cliffs became associated with Britain as a whole. It is even possible that the ancient name for Britain, Albion, is based on the word “alba,” or white. Now in their darkest hour, the cliffs became a symbol of resistance against the enemy.   A Formation of Supermarine Spitfires, c. WWII. Source: Wikimedia Commons   In 1941, Walter Kent and Nat Burton composed the song “(They’ll be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover.” A version of the song would be recorded in 1942 by Vera Lynn and would soon become one of the most popular songs of the war. Incidentally, both Burton and Kent were Americans and did not know that there are no bluebirds in Britain. The migratory house swallow is sometimes called a bluebird by mistake and is often associated with spring and the promise of a more hopeful future. Many others, including Lynn, believed the bluebirds were a reference to the RAF fighter pilots who fought the Luftwaffe tooth and nail in the skies over Britain. The song was a major boost to morale, and the White Cliffs were, once again, a stand-in for Britain as a whole. They were the rock on which the security of the nation and the free world rested.   After the success of the Normandy landings, the defenses at Dover were no longer necessary and gradually dismantled. The cliffs eventually fell under the control of the National Trust, and the nation’s bulwark is now home to museums dedicated to preserving this important part of British history.

  From 1931 to 1945, the Japanese Empire ruled over the province of Manchuria in northeastern China. Manchuria was considered a crucial part of the empire because of its access to resources and the presence of several million Japanese settlers on the territory. Only when the USSR invaded in 1945 did Japanese rule end. To this day, China and Japan still spar over the official narrative of what transpired while the Japanese were in Manchuria during the 1930s and 1940s.   Japanese Imperial Designs on Manchuria Japanese cavalry attacking Chinese forces at the Battle of Pyongyang during the First Sino-Japanese War. Source: British Library   Situated in northeastern China, Manchuria had been the setting for competition between the Russian and Japanese empires for influence in China at the turn of the 20th century. The region controlled large quantities of natural resources and access to East Asian shipping lanes. Japan had arisen from centuries of isolation and chaos to become a modernized empire under the leadership of the Meiji Emperor.   As a part of this process, it desired to test its new military capabilities on the Asian mainland and obtain colonies to add to a limited resource base in the Japanese islands. In the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Japan defeated the declining Qing Empire to gain control of the Korean peninsula and a sliver of territory in Manchuria. When Russia coerced Japan into giving the main harbor of Port Arthur (Lüshunkou District, Dalian, China), Tokyo vowed to get it back.   “In the Battle of the Sha River, a Company of Our Forces Drives a Strong Enemy Force to the Left Bank of the Taizi River,” Yoshikuni, 1904. Source: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston   From 1904 to 1905, the Japanese army and navy fought an intense war against the Russian Empire known as the Russo-Japanese War. To the surprise of the international community, the Japanese military proved vastly superior, destroying two Russian fleets at sea and inflicting a series of defeats on Russian land armies.   As part of the Treaty of Portsmouth brokered by US President Theodore Roosevelt in 1905, Japan gained access to the southern part of Sakhalin Island and gained control of Port Arthur. For Japan, this victory was a major turning point in their development; European countries began to see them as a major regional power. The support from local Chinese in fighting the Russians convinced many Japanese that the local population would welcome them if they took over the territory. This had major ramifications for future Japanese policy.   Mukden Incident Japanese troops gathering outside Mukden, Manchuria, 1931. Source: Heritage Image   Japan’s decision to enter World War I and the Russian Civil War was intended to lead to Japan gaining control over more territory through the Versailles Conference. While they did gain access to some islands in the Pacific and some concessions on the Chinese mainland, Tokyo was embittered when most of their territorial claims were denied. Many senior officers in the military blamed the civilian government for not insisting on more control over territories in Asia. Additionally, the fear that Japan could be colonized by the European powers was pervasive in Japanese politics. Many Japanese believed that the only way to become a great power was through territorial expansion.   From 1916 to 1928, China was in a state of chaos known as the “Warlord Era.” When Sun Yat-sen formed the Kuomintang Party as part of an effort to unify China, Japanese officials became worried about dealing with an aggressive neighbor. In 1927, Japanese military and political leaders met to discuss plans to take over Manchuria. Tokyo believed that resistance would be minimal due to the weakness of the Chinese army and state. In June 1928 the Japanese Kwantung Army organized the assassination of Manchurian warlord Zhang Zuolin, but Zhang’s son and successor Zhang Xueliang proved an ardent opponent of the Japanese. Zhang’s opposition to Japanese influence inspired the Japanese military to take a more direct approach.   On September 18th, 1931, in what came to be known as the Mukden Incident, an explosion rocked a Japanese-owned railway in the city of Mukden, now Shenyang. Japanese military personnel claimed that Chinese nationalists committed the act and responded by entering the city in force. While Tokyo insisted it was an act of aggression against its interests in the region, evidence surfaced that the Kwantung Army staged the incident.   Establishment of Manchukuo Photograph of the young Xuantong Emperor (Puyi). Source: Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC   Within a couple of months of the Mukden Incident, Japan had seized control over Manchuria. The untrained and ill-equipped Chinese army offered little resistance and Japanese generals were stunned by their success. Tokyo’s civilian government, hoping to maintain friendly relations with the West, disagreed with the military, but the generals got their way. Ugaki Kazushige, the governor-general of Japanese-controlled Korea, began setting up a puppet state with the assistance of Chinese monarchists who wanted to restore the former emperor Puyi to his throne. Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek, facing brutal internal battles against warlords and Communist forces, did not use force to push the Japanese out. Instead, he appealed to the League of Nations, causing Japan to withdraw from the League in 1933. This did nothing to change the reality on the ground for the Japanese in Manchuria.   Ever since the collapse of the Qing Empire in 1912, there had been a number of Chinese who were loyal to the child emperor Puyi, who was deposed at the age of six. In 1924, he was expelled from Beijing and escaped to the Japanese-controlled port of Tianjin. When he received the offer to be head of state of the newly formed Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo, he happily accepted the opportunity to return to the ancestral homeland of the Qing emperors. He retained a large number of former imperial advisors and was given a palace in Changchun, which was renamed Xinjing or “New Capital.” While Puyi’s title was changed to emperor in 1934, the Japanese controlled every facet of government.   Japanese Settlement and Security Actions Japanese women cultivating soy in Manchuria (Manchukuo), 1930s. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Many Chinese were resentful of being dominated by foreigners and a major insurgency had sprung up from the remnants of the Chinese army. From 1932-1940, the Japanese army used ruthless force to crush the rebellion, which at times numbered over 300,000 men. Japan deployed more troops and recruited local collaborators to target the insurgents. This brutal colonial struggle, practically forgotten today, had mostly ended by the Second World War, although some Chinese forces hung on until 1945.   Japan began to colonize the territory almost immediately. The South Manchuria Railway Company was set up to expand the railway lines in the region and even opened an office in New York City. Japan upgraded port infrastructure, increased the size of towns and cities throughout Manchukuo, and introduced new farming techniques. However, the local Chinese became an underclass thanks to the arrival of 270,000 Japanese settlers over a 14-year period. Hoping to avoid the effects of the Great Depression, large numbers of Japanese soldiers and civilians moved their families to Manchukuo. Tokyo encouraged this practice, hoping to resolve agricultural problems on the home islands with the importation of crops from its empire. As was the case in Korea and Taiwan, Japanese settlers formed a higher caste in the societies they moved into. Tokyo sought to reengineer the demographics of the territory.   Caste Society in Manchukuo A propaganda poster promoting harmony between Japanese, Chinese, and Manchu, 1935. Source: Manchukuo State Council   Japan claimed that Manchukuo was part of its “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere,” a euphemism for its empire. Tokyo promoted propaganda to people throughout Asia that its rule was benevolent to all Asian peoples and was different from European colonialism. In reality, its rule over Manchuria was not much different from what other empires did in Asia. Japanese settlers were issued rifles and organized into paramilitary units to fight Chinese guerillas. Propaganda in the Japanese homeland urged people to go there as a “civilizing force.” The Chinese locals were seen as uncivilized, savage people who could not possibly rule themselves.   Tokyo followed the model that it had used in Korea and Taiwan. Schools taught in Japanese and Japanese cultural customs were adopted. Even though Chinese loyal to Puyi were allowed to rule over ministries in the Manchukuo government, Japanese officials ruled through “internal guidance.” Any efforts by Chinese officials to enact policies Tokyo was opposed to were doomed to fail thanks to the massive Japanese military and police presence. Co-prosperity was less about promoting interethnic harmony and more about keeping Europeans out of Japan’s colonial “sphere of influence.”   Japanese ideology embraced militarism, fascism, and racism as a part of its national ideology starting in the 1930s. Other Asian groups were seen as hostile to the interests of the Japanese people but also partners in the fight against the West. While Puyi may have seen himself as China’s last emperor, he was nothing more than a useful tool in the minds of policymakers in Tokyo.   World War II The Kwantung Army, 1940s. Source: histclo.com   Ironically, Japan’s desire for more territory became its undoing and meant the end of its colony in Manchukuo. Throughout the 1930s, China’s long civil war continued between the Communists and the Kuomintang. The intensity of the fighting meant that Japanese military leadership assumed seizing more territory would be an easy gambit.   The Second Sino-Japanese War  began in 1937 when Japanese forces launched a full-scale invasion of China. By 1941, they had seized most of the Chinese coast and large parts of the interior. In 1938, they attacked Soviet-controlled territory in Mongolia, an action that failed and put Manchukuo at risk of a Soviet invasion. A temporary ceasefire led to a quiet period on the Soviet-Manchukuo border. However, Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and the expansion of World War II led to major changes in the region.   Dizzying success in the first several months of the Pacific War was followed by a steady drumbeat of defeats for Japan. By 1943, the Allies were winning on all fronts except in China. Manchukuo was not at risk of direct Allied attack but suffered nonetheless. As part of the Yalta Agreement, the Soviets agreed to invade the territory once Germany was defeated. Days after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviets invaded and finished Manchukuo off once and for all.   The End of Manchukuo A journal of poems written on the bark of birch trees by Japanese internees in Siberian camps. Source: Maizuru Repatriation Memorial Museum   The Soviets destroyed the Kwantung Army in a very short time. Japanese forces crumbled due to the weakness of local defenses and the lack of reinforcements. The Red Army ruthlessly attacked southward and seized the entire territory, even advancing into the Korean peninsula. In September 1945, Emperor Hirohito of Japan recognized the inevitable and ordered his government to surrender to the Allies. Part of the terms included Manchukuo returning to Chinese control and being renamed Manchuria. All Japanese were to be repatriated back to the home islands.   Having arrived in Manchuria full of pride as part of Japan’s colonization mission, the Japanese settlers panicked with the Soviet advance. Many of the young men had joined the military and became casualties. Long lines of Japanese refugees, mainly women and children, fled to the ports for evacuation. The civilian refugees were lucky—they were repatriated to Japan on US Navy ships. 575,000 captured soldiers and sailors were taken by the Soviets to forced labor camps in Siberia. With this, the Japanese colonial project in Manchuria came to a brutal end.

  Ottoman women from the 16th to 18th centuries lived in a patriarchal society where they had clear-cut gender roles in the household. Although they had limited opportunities for formal education and employment, many women played important roles in politics, arts, medicine, economic production, and governance.   Wives and Mothers Woman on birthing chair, from Enderuni’s Zenanname (Book of Women), a work about the women of the world and their qualities, 1793. Source: Wikimedia Commons   In early-modern Ottoman society, gender was one of the defining factors in a person’s life. Women were expected to become dutiful wives and show obedience to male family members, who were considered the “heads of household.” Ideas like honor were instilled in women’s bodies and actions.   During the reign of Sultan Süleyman (r. 1520-1566), the Kanunname or secular law was put into place alongside Islamic law to regulate the behaviors of Ottoman citizens. These laws considered order in the household as the basis of order in wider society. Thus, men whose wives were guilty of crimes like adultery, for instance, were also fined for being unable to preserve order and honor in their households.   Motherhood was another purpose of a woman’s life. A good wife was expected to bear healthy children and teach them good manners and morals. In the 16th century Turkish epic The Book of Dede Korkut, the narrator opines that “a girl cannot become a lady unless she has good breeding from her mother.”   Women’s Work Female musicians, painted by Levni, d. 1732. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Women were not expected to have careers or professions in the early-modern Ottoman Empire. They were often barred from joining craftsmen’s guilds and rarely received formal professional training. Yet, many women were exceptions to this rule. Rural and nomadic women were expected by their communities to participate in fieldwork, such as farming, animal herding, and cotton or hazelnut picking.   Townswomen often performed work as servitors, that is, as maids, washerwomen, servants, and personal attendants. They worked mainly in baths, hospitals, and for elite households. Some areas, such as midwifery, nursing, weaving, and embroidering, were even female-dominated. Pierre Belon, a 16th-century French traveller and diplomat in the Ottoman Empire, noted that women would frequently sell their handmade goods at markets.   Women also performed roles where their voices and opinions could be heard. Belon noted that women were employed as teachers in primary schools for girls. Women like Mihri Hatun (d. 1506) and Ayse Hubbi Hatun (d. 1590) were celebrated court poets who were patronized by sultans. Ayse Hubbi was born into an elite family with close ties to Sultan Süleyman. As a result, she received a fine education in court and eventually became a lady-in-waiting and close friend of future sultan, Prince Selim II. Ayse Hubbi’s poetry challenged the misogynistic beliefs of her time:   “Being feminine is no shame to the name of the sun…  Being masculine is no glory to the crescent moon.”   Many women also broke the barriers of gender segregation through their work in the medical field. Saliha Hatun was a physician who practiced in Istanbul in the 1620s-30s. Her consent forms, dated between these years, reveal that she performed successful hernia and tumour operations, mostly on men. Interestingly, she had no female patients.   Festivities and Celebrations Wedding procession, by Lambert de Vos, ca. 1574. Source: Gennadius Library   Women, though to a lesser extent than men, were involved in the public and social arena. They attended celebrations for royal marriages, circumcision festivities, and military campaigns. Since women were not allowed to perform in public, they held gender-segregated dance and theatrical shows.   These restrictions did not reach inside the private space, however. In 1524, Istanbul’s Italian community organized festivities in celebration of the peace treaty between the Italian states. In the house of the Italian ambassador, a ballet and various other dances were organized and danced by Turkish women.   English historian and orientalist Thomas Hyde (d. 1703) also wrote in his book De Ludis Orientalibus (1694) that women dancers, called çengi, dressed like men and took part in plays and traditional dances such as the zeybek.   Patrons of Art and Architecture Hürrem Sultan Complex, Istanbul. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Women were important patrons of art, learning, and architecture. They mostly founded religious buildings like mosques and tekkes (dervish monasteries), rather than secular ones. Royal women patronized buildings as a symbol of their goodwill, religiosity, and power. Having a building patronized in their name immortalized and publicized these women, the majority of whom would never be seen outside the harem.   Hürrem, wife of Suleyman the Magnificent, had the Haseki Hürrem Külliye built in 1540. This massive structure consisted of a mosque, medreses (religious schools), a hospital, hamam (bathhouse), and soup-kitchen.   Women’s patronage was felt all around the empire. Rabia Gülnüş Sultan (d. 1715), consort of Sultan Mehmed IV, and mother of two Sultans, Mustafa II and Ahmed III, established pious foundations, hospitals and soup-kitchens in Mecca for weary pilgrims. After the conquest of the island of Chios in 1695, Rabia Gülnüş had a church converted into a mosque and built a fountain to provide the area with clean, flowing water.   Unruly Women Turkish prostitute, from Travels in Turkey, by Nicolas de Nicolay, circa 1578. Source: Academia.edu   In Ottoman society, women’s honor and reputation were policed and considered a communal issue. According to the etiquette of high society, female respectability was linked to public visibility. In the 16th century, scholars considered a respectable woman to be one who was veiled and did not leave the house without a retinue of attendants or servants.   Despite these beliefs, women often acted in “unseemly” ways. Rural women did not have the luxury of being idle and secluded. Field and housework, including going to the river to wash clothes or to the well to collect water, made women visible and active in public. Likewise, Gypsy (Romani) women had a strong public presence. They abided by the moral guidelines of their own community, and thus could be seen in the street without veils, performing dances, and selling goods.   Women also engaged in illegal—albeit widespread—work like prostitution. Women found guilty of prostitution could be fined or exiled, and even being accused of such work was enough to ruin a woman’s reputation. Those who were accused of prostitution could take their accusers to court. If the accusations were proved to be false, the accuser would receive a hefty fine!   Queens and Concubines Imagined portrait of Hürrem Sultan, by Johann Theodor de Bry (1561-1623), circa 1590s. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Women in the Ottoman Empire had important responsibilities as the wives, consorts, concubines, mothers, or sisters of sultans. In the early 14th century, it was common for Ottoman sultans to marry princesses of rival empires like the Byzantines. However, by the 16th century, the Ottomans dominated Turkey and the Balkans, and so, sultans preferred to take concubines.   Concubines were slaves of the sultan. Many of them, such as Hürrem, were products of the Crimean slave trade. Concubinage allowed sultans to produce heirs and secure their dynasty’s survival without the need for marriage. Although marriages were acceptable, they were not preferred. This was because local Turkish families could strengthen their influence or lay claim to Ottoman lands and power if their daughters were married to the Sultan.   Concubines and wives of the sultan were more restricted than other women in their society. They were free to travel, although their visibility was restricted by enclosed carriages. Until the Early Modern Era, concubines were restricted to having one son with the ruler. This was due to Ottoman governmental practices. Once a prince reached his teenage years, he would be sent to govern another province. His mother would accompany him, acting as the Sultan’s eyes and ears, and ensuring the court functioned properly.   This changed when Sultan Suleyman I married his concubine Hürrem, had several male children with her, and allowed them to live with him in Istanbul. The most powerful position a woman could reach was that of valide sultan, or queen mother. The valide not only ran the harem, but also had a major influence on her son’s choice of concubines and even his political decisions.   Women of the Court Women of the harem, in the Album of Sultan Ahmed I, circa 1610. Source: Topkapi Palace Museum   The harem was almost like a smaller version of court “in court.” Some of the roles played by women included “mistress of financial affairs,” housekeeper, and educator of the ladies-in-waiting.   Female members of the royal family, who were raised in the harem, usually married grand viziers, ministers, or princes of other dynasties. After this, they would move into their own palaces or homes. Some, such as Sultan Suleyman’s daughter Mihrimah, still retained their influence and wealth. When her brother Selim became Sultan, Mihrimah continued to give him political counsel and even lent him a sum of 50,000 gold coins.   Most women in the harem, however, played service roles. They sewed and embroidered clothes for the pages of the court. They also ensured the harem remained clean and hygienic. Wet nurses or daye were common in the Ottoman court. The wet nurses of princes held high status and established mosques inscribed with their titles and names, something that many queen mothers themselves were not able to do.   The gender segregation in court also meant that males could not freely access the harem. As a result, many women had to perform traditionally male professions. In Suleyman I’s era (ca.1514), female physicians were appointed for the women at court. Non-Muslim women were also given specific roles. Jewish women often acted as the political agents or kiras of powerful women at court. As intermediaries and economic advisors for the queen mothers, kiras gained status and wealth, which sometimes led to them being blamed for poor management of finances in court.