Tangut people

The Tangut, identified with the state of Western Xia, were Tibeto-Burman-speaking people who moved to Northwest China sometime before the 10th century. The Tanguts had only one state in their history, the Western Xia or Tangut Empire (1038–1227).

Origin

The Tangut is typically regarded by Chinese scholars to represent the Qiang or Dangxiang (党項; Dǎngxiàng). Historically, "Qiang" was a collective term for the multiple ethnic groups who lived on the west of China. The name Tangut first appears in the Orkhon inscriptions of 735. In their own language, the Tangut language, the Tanguts called themselves Mi-niah. "The Hsi-hsia ('Western Hsia') Dynasty, based in the Ordos, owed its founding to the descendants of Tibeto-Burman-speaking Tangut (Miñak) people there, most of whom had migrated from their homeland in West China under pressure from the expanding Tibetan Empire."

Culture

The Tanguts divided themselves into two classes: the "Black Headed" Tanguts, and the "Red Faced" Tanguts. The Red Faced Tanguts comprised the commonality while the Black Headed Tanguts were the elite priestly caste. Although Buddhism was extremely popular among the Tangut people, many Tangut herdsmen continued to practice shamanism, known as "Root West". The black caps worn by Root West shamans gave the Black Headed caste its name. According to Tangut myth, the ancestor of the Black Headed Tanguts was a heavenly white crane, while the ancestor of the Red Faced Tanguts was a monkey. Ancient sources describe Tanguts as being short, stocky, dark-skinned, and thick-lipped. They wore their hair in the Tufa style, shaved bald except for a long fringe of bangs that framed the face. Tangut kings went by the title of Wuzu.

Western Xia

The Western Xia (Chinese: 西夏; pinyin: Xī Xià; Wade–Giles: Hsi Hsia), also known as the Xi Xia Empire, the Tangut Empire and to the Tangut people and the Tibetans as Minyak, was an empire which existed from 1038 to 1227 in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, southwest Inner Mongolia, and southernmost Outer Mongolia, measuring about eight hundred thousand square kilometers.

The state suffered from devastating destruction by the Mongols who founded the Mongol Empire, including most of its written records and architecture. Its founders and history therefore remained controversial until recent research conducted both in the West and within China. The Western Xia occupied the area of important trade route between North China and Central Asia, the Hexi Corridor. The Western Xia made significant achievements in literature, art, music, and architecture, which was characterized as "shining and sparkling". Their extensive stance among the other empires of the Liao, Song, and Jin was attributable to their effective military organizations that integrated cavalry, chariots, archery, shields, artillery (cannons carried on the back of camels), and amphibious troops for combats on land and water.

Creative Commons

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The Western

Coordinates: 36°10′0.5″N 115°8′12.4″W / 36.166806°N 115.136778°W / 36.166806; -115.136778

The Western Hotel and Casino was a hotel and casino in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The 8,925 sq ft (829.2 m²) casino is owned by the Barrick Gaming and operated by Navegante and The Tamares Group.

The Western was the lowest rung of Jackie Gaughan's low-roller casino empire that included the Las Vegas Club, The Plaza, the Gold Spike and El Cortez.

History

The Western opened in 1970 as the Western Hotel & Bingo Parlor and was owned by Jackie Gaughan and Mel Exber. At its opening, The Western was the world's largest bingo parlor with 1,020 seats.

Jackie Gaughan sold the hotel to Barrick Gaming in March 2004. The plans called for redeveloping the Western Hotel as a Latino destination resort. At the time, the AP said about the property, "On a stretch of despair that tourists in Las Vegas seldom see, the Western Hotel-Casino stands out as a beacon for the broke and nearly broken".

In 2005, The Tamares Group acquired total control of the hotel and casino through a lease from Barrick. In 2010 the hotel portion completely closed and redevelopment still remains uncertain to this day.

Empire

An empire is defined as "an aggregate of nations or people ruled over by an emperor or other powerful sovereign or government, usually a territory of greater extent than a kingdom, as the former British Empire, French Empire, Spanish Empire, Russian Empire, Byzantine Empire or Roman Empire." An empire can be made solely of contiguous territories such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, or of territories far remote from the homeland, such as a colonial empire.

Aside from the more formal usage, the term "empire" can also be used to refer to a large-scale business enterprise (e.g. a transnational corporation), a political organisation controlled by a single individual (a political boss) or a group (political bosses). The term "empire" is associated with other words such as imperialism, colonialism, and globalization. Empire is often used to describe a displeasure to overpowering situations. The effects of imperialism exist throughout the world today.

An imperial political structure can be established and maintained in two ways: (i) as a territorial empire of direct conquest and control with force or (ii) as a coercive, hegemonic empire of indirect conquest and control with power. The former method provides greater tribute and direct political control, yet limits further expansion because it absorbs military forces to fixed garrisons. The latter method provides less tribute and indirect control, but avails military forces for further expansion. Territorial empires (e.g., the Mongol Empire and Median Empire) tend to be contiguous areas. The term, on occasion, has been applied to maritime empires or thalassocracies, (e.g., the Athenian and British empires) with looser structures and more scattered territories. Empires are usually larger than kingdoms.