Baksheesh

[Info from:  wikipedia entries] BAKSHEESH Baksheesh or bagsheesh (from Persian: bakhshesh) -- tipping, charitable giving -- certain forms of political corruption and bribery -- practised in the Middle East and South Asia -- derived from Middle Iranian Pahlavi -- goes back to Sanskrit: 'bhiksha' or 'bheeks' (same meaning) Middle Persian = Pahlavi script (incl. Zoroastrian Middle Persian of 9th-11th C.) 'Middle Persian' = 'Middle Iranian' language of south-western Persia / Iran Sassanid period:  224 - 654 AD Western Iranian language classification -- descends from Old Persian -- linguistic ancestor of Modern Persian -- was  prestige dialect spoken in other regions of empire -- Middle Persian = several dialects & variants -- one of which was:  Pahlavīk (Pahlavi) -- for Parthian -- language of Arsacid Dynasty -- Pārsik = official language of the Sasanian Dynasty -- Parsik = another Middle Persian variant -- when referring to 'Middle Perssian' -- it is this latter variant (Parsik) that is referred to Parsik -- native name for Middle Persian -- means 'language of Pars' Pars = Persia -- aka 'Fars'  = Fârs is the Arabized version of Pârs / Arabic has no 'p' -- Fars Province is one of 31 provinces of Iran -- ie Pars?  Province:  is cultural capital of Iran -- it is in south of Iran -- admin. centre = Shiraz -- Fars Province is original homeland of Persian people -- Persians present in region from abt. 10th Century BC -- became rulers of largest empire at that time -- ie Achaemenid empire (est. mid 6th C. BC) -- ruins of Persepolis & Pasargadae = x2 of x4 capitals -- of Achaemenid empire -- Persepolis & Pasargadae - are located in Pars Province -- 333 BC - Achaemenid empire defeated by Alexander the Great -- Seleucid empire then overtook, but never extended power beyond trade routes in Pars -- Seleucid Empire = Hellenistic state ruled by Seleucid dynasty -- Seleucus received Babylonia empire -- Seleucus expanded to incl:  pt. Anatolia, Persia, Levant, Mesopotamia     * now Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan & Kuwait -- Seleucid Empire = major centre of Hellenistic culture -- maintained Greek customs at fore / Greek political elite dominated -- mostly in urban areas - immigration from Greece enforces Greek dominant elite in cities -- decisive defeat by Roman Army ends Seleucid expansion into Anatolia & Greece -- blocked by Roman demands re Egypt as well -- + more, not time to view Seleucus I Nicator -- rival general of Alexander the Great -- one of Diadochi (successors) of Alexander the Great -- son of Antiochus -- Antiochus - Macedonian, orig. from Orestis, Macedonia -- Seleucus as king, founded x16 cities named honour of father, Antiochus -- incl. Syrian city of Antioch (now in Turkey) Orestis -- region of Upper Macedonia -- corresponds roughly to region now in western Maedonia in Greece -- inhabitants are:  Orestae, ancient Greek tribe part of Molossian tribal state -- Molossian tribal state, known as:  koinon -- term 'Orestis' derived from 'mountains' -- part of Macedon after early 4th C. BC -- prior to that associated with Epirus -- Epirus rugged mountain region b/w Greece & Albania -- home to ancient Greek tribes x3 -- home to sanctuary of Dodona     =  oldest ancient Greek oracle, & most prestigious one after Delphi -- Epirus - in reign of Pyrrhus of Epirus campaigns -- versust Rome are the origin of the term "Pyrrhic victory" -- 146 BC - Epirus (therefore Orestis region) -- became part of ROMAN EMPIRE with rest of Greece -- Byzantine Empire then ensues, following fall of Constantinople to Fourth Crusade -- Byzantine empire than conquered by Ottoman turks in 1400s -- semi-independent Epirus under Ottomans to 1821 assertion of Ottoman control -- Balkan Wars & WWI ensued -- Epirus becomes part of Greece -- northern portion Epirus designated NEWLY CREATED STATE OF ALBANIA Parthia -- historical region of north-eastern Iran -- Parthians were an Iranian people -- cultural base of Arsacid dynasty -- rulers Parthian Empire: 247BC - 224 AD) -- were subjects of: -- Medes -- Achaemenids -- Assyrians (Cyrus the Great defeats Medians) -- Darius I features also: Achaemenid throne sized by Darius I -- Parthians + Median king revolt c. 522–521 BC suppressed -- 331 BC Darius III vs. Alexander the Great -- Darius III defeat -- on death Alexander the Great = Partition of Babylon 323 BC -- Parthia = Seleucids governate under Nicanor Partition of Babylon -- distribution of territories under Alexander the Great -- following death Alexander the Great 323 BC -- Satrapies (provinces ancient Persia): -- Babylon -- Triparadisus -- Persepolis *it was not a 'political partition' -- before Alexander death Macedonian mutiny among troops since prior -- expedition to India -- Alexander formed special unit of Persians, the Epigoni -- Epigoni Persian guard armed & trained in Macedonian ways -- hired as exclusive bodyguards on Alexander return from India -- senior staff holders Macedonian generals (with official title bodyguards) -- Alexander covered with old wounds from head to foot & seriously ill prior death -- 'Pahlavi' term derived from Parthian lang. -- word 'arthav' or 'parthau' meaning Parthia -- Parthia region east of Caspian sea Pahlavi an admixture of -- written Imperial Aramaic -- Aramaic derived script, logograms, and some of vocabulary Logograms -- written character that respresents a word or phrase eg. - Chinese characters - Japanese kanji - Egyptian hieroglyphs (some) - some 'graphemes' in Cuneiform script -- use of logograms known as 'logography' Alphabets -- differs to: alphabets & syllabaries -- in which: -- individual written characters represent sounds rather than concepts -- known as: phonograms (vs. logograms, described above) Word 'baksheesh': -- absorbed by following languages: -- German - bakschisch (small bribe) -- French - bakschisch (small bribe) -- Russian - actual russian for gift is: podarok / подарок - prob. from дар / dar / gift - 'bakshish' not listed in my search - therefore possibly informally adopted some regions? -- Greek - baksisi - gift (in general) -- Serbian - Standard Serbian: based on Shtokavian dialect - South Slavic subgroup of Slavic language - in South Slavic group: Croation, Montenegrin & Bosnian -- Bosnian - standardised variety of Serbo-Croatian - however, incorporates loan words from: - Arabic - Ottoman Turkish - Persian - via cultural influence (Islamic ties) - ie. 'orientalisms' - otherwise, it is Serbo-Croatian -- Macedonian - eastern group of South Slavic branch of Slavic languages     - along with Bulgarian & extinct Old Church Slavonic     - closest to: Bulgarian / high degree intelligibility     - next closest: Serbo-Croatian -- Romanian - romana - lang. of Romania & spoken Moldova - Daco-Romanian - Soviet times, referred to as Moldovan in Moldova - since 2013 Moldova court rules it 'Romanian' language - bakschisch (small bribe euphamism re şpagă (outright bribe)) - closest relatives: Vlachs (Gk. term) for all Latin descendants Balkans etc, incl. Romanians -- ie general term for descendants of Latinised Balkans & Central-East Europe - Aromanian - Latin, Greece, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria - from vulgar Latin spoken by the Paleo-Balkan peoples - prior to Romanisation: - domination by: - Roman Republic - Roman Empire - ancient Roman historians referred to this as: "civilising of barbarians" - Megleno-Romanian (Vlăhește) - Romance language: sim. Aromanian & Romanian - dialect of Romanian - spoken Moglena, spans Greek Macedonia & Rep. Macedonia - spoken by small Muslim group Turkey - moved as part of population exchange from Greece 1920s - Istro-Romanian - aka Ćiribirci, Ćići, Vlahi - ethnic group Istria & other (Croatia) - total just over 100 speakers - endangered lang. - first historical record of Romanians in Istrian region - distinction re Romanian = not Orthodox, Roman Catholic - lang. mention dates to: 940 AD - Roman Emperor Constantine VII recorded Latin speakers - calling themselves 'Romans' but not from Rome - mention in 1329 Serbian chronicals re that region - in ref. to Vlach pop. - thought to have migrated from: Transylvania 600 years prior - after Black Death depopulated Istria - Istro-Romanians lived for time Dalmatia - brief Italian fascist rule - post WWII migrations / assimilation under Yugoslav admin. -- Bulgarian - first Slavic language attested in writing - Slavic linguistic unity lasted to late antiquity LATE ANTIQUITY From: Late antiquity from: -- reorganisation of late Roman Empire -- by: Diocletian (reigned: 284-305 -- b. Dalmatia province -- ranks through military -- under Roman Emperor Carsus -- death Carsus & son campaign in Persia -- Diocletian proclaimed emperor (contested - Battle of the Margus) -- stabilised empire -- marking end 'Crisis of the Third Century' -- 286 AD: appoints officer Maximilian as Augustus (co-emperor) -- 293 AD: rule of four (tetrarchy) by additional appointment: -- Galerius -- Constantius -- as ceasars: junior co emperors -- each ruled quarter of empire -- separated enlarged Roman empire civil & military services -- rearranged provincial divisions -- established largest & most bureaucratic govt in history of Roman empire -- admin centres: -- Nicomedia -- Mediolanum -- Antioch -- Trier -- autocrat / follow-on from 'absolutism' of 3rd Century AD trends -- helped stabilize the empire economically & militarily -- enabled Roman empire to remain essentially intact anor. 100 years -- despite brink of collapse of Roman empire in Diocletian's youth -- 305: first Roman emperor to abdicate (voluntarily) -- retired to palace on the Dalmatian coast -- modern day city of Split (Croatia) - core = Diocletian palace To:   -- Early Middle Ages (aka Early Medieval) -- Early Medieval = 5th C. to 10th C. AD -- Early Middle Ages followed decline of Western Roman Empire - dramatic changes follow: influence of neighbours, incl. Turks -- Albanian - known as: shqip language - first written mention 1285, Dubrovnik (Croatia) - referred to by witness of crime, in Latin script: " ... lingua albanesca" (... Albanian tongue) - note: 500 years of Ottoman domination of Albania - Albanian in Indo-Euro branch of own (as is Armenian & Greek) - vocab. distinct - proven distinct from earlier groupings (ie Germanic & Balto-Slavic) - evolved from an ancient Paleo-Balkan language, either: - Illyrian or (Dracian or) Thracian - linguists are still arguing this one - earliest loan words from Doric Greek - strongest influence from Latin (2nd C. BC to 5th C. AD) - followed by Slavic & German invasions Word 'baksheesh' - also: -- Turkish - bakshish - tip (in conventional Western sense) -- Arabic Sanskrit -- saṃskṛtā -- sacred language of Hinduism -- philosophical language:  Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism -- literary language & lingua franca Greater India -- lingua franca / common language / trade language / bridge language -- communication means b/w those who do not share native language -- esp. communication in third, distinct language -- standardised dialect of Old Indo-Aryan -- ie.  Vedic Sanskrit -- ancestry to:     -- Proto-Indo-Iranian     -- Proto-Indo-European -- one of the oldest Indo-European languages -- for which *written* docs exist -- Sanskrit:  prominent position in Indo-European studies -- body of literature:  poetry & drama, scientific, tech, philosophical & religious texts -- ceremonial language Hindu religious riguals -- Buddhist hymns & chants = Sanskrit -- evolved out of the earlier Vedic form -- present form Vedic Sanskrit traced back to 2000 BC -- separate to Pāṇinian dialect -- Vedic Sanskrit = lang. of Vedas -- Vedas -- large body texts of ancient India -- in Vedic Sanskrit - oldest scriptures of Hinduism -- Vedas aka  śruti literature  ('what is heard') -- disgingusihed from  smṛti  (other religious texts) -- smṛti ('what is remembered') -- smṛti - body Hindu texts (constantly revised) -- incls. epics & other it is a bit like:  смерть  /  smert /  death ... or maybe not?  sounds similar to me sound of death [Info from:  wikipedia entries] ---------------------- ---------------------- COMMENT Really enjoyed going off on a tangent checking out the trail from 'baksheesh' to Hindu texts and Slavic 'death'. Trouble remembering 'Parthian' -- for some reason, that term reminds me of Indian.  But it's not Indian; it's Persian (Iranian). No time to look more ... must rush to clean up some, or I'll be in the 'doghouse'. *No time to double-check spelling ...  Having trouble with spell-check:  for some reason, not picking up the occasional typos like it normally does.