Battle of Talas River - Background

Battle of Talas River - Background Few people today have even heard of the Battle of Talas River.  Yet this little-known skirmish between the army of Imperial Tang China and the Abbasid Arabs had important consequences, not just for China and Central Asia, but for the entire world. Eighth century Asia was an ever-shifting mosaic of different tribal and regional powers, fighting for trade rights, political power and/or religious hegemony. The era was characterized by a dizzying array of battles, alliances, double-crosses and betrayals. At the time, nobody could have known that one particular battle, which took place on the banks of the Talas River in present-day Kyrgyzstan, would halt the Arab and Chinese advances in Central Asia and fix the boundary between Buddhist/Confucianist Asia and Muslim Asia. None of the combatants could have predicted that this battle would be instrumental in transmitting a key invention from China to the western world: the art of paper-making, a technology that would alter world history forever. Background to the Battle For some time, the powerful Tang Empire (618-906) and its predecessors had been expanding Chinese influence in Central Asia. China used soft power for the most part, relying upon a series of trade agreements and nominal protectorates rather than military conquest to control Central Asia. The most troublesome foe faced by the Tang from 640 forward was the powerful Tibetan Empire, established by Songtsan Gampo. Control of what is now Xinjiang, Western China, and neighboring provinces went back and forth between China and Tibet throughout the seventh and eighth centuries. China also faced challenges from the Turkic Uighurs in the northwest, the Indo-European Turfans, and the Lao/Thai tribes on Chinas southern borders. The Rise of the Arabs While the Tang were occupied with all these adversaries, a new superpower rose in the Middle East. The Prophet Muhammad died in 632, and the Muslim faithful under the Umayyad Dynasty (661-750) soon brought vast areas under their sway. From Spain and Portugal in the west, across North Africa and the Middle East, and on to the oasis cities of Merv, Tashkent, and Samarkand in the east, the Arab conquest spread with astonishing speed. Chinas interests in Central Asia went back at least to 97 B.C., when the Han Dynasty general Ban Chao led an army of 70,000 as far as Merv (in what is now Turkmenistan), in pursuit of bandit tribes that preyed on early Silk Road caravans. China also had long courted trade relations with the Sassanid Empire in Persia, as well as their predecessors the Parthians. The Persians and Chinese had collaborated to quell rising Turkic powers, playing different tribal leaders off of one another. In addition, the Chinese had a long history of contacts with the Sogdian Empire, centered in modern-day Uzbekistan. Early Chinese/Arab Conflicts Inevitably, the lightning-quick expansion by the Arabs would clash with Chinas established interests in Central Asia. In 651, the Umayyads captured the Sassanian capital at Merv and executed the king, Yazdegerd III. From this base, they would go on to conquer Bukhara, the Ferghana Valley, and as far east as Kashgar (on the Chinese/Kyrgyz border today). News of Yazdegards fate was carried to the Chinese capital of Changan (Xian) by his son Firuz, who fled to China after the fall of Merv. Firuz later became a general of one of Chinas armies, and then governor of a region centered at modern-day Zaranj, Afghanistan. In 715, the first armed clash between the two powers occurred in the Ferghana Valley of Afghanistan. The Arabs and Tibetans deposed King Ikhshid and installed a man named Alutar in his place. Ikhshid asked China to intervene on his behalf, and the Tang sent an army of 10,000 to overthrow Alutar and reinstate Ikhshid. Two years later, an Arab/Tibetan army besieged two cities in the Aksu region of what is now Xinjiang, western China. The Chinese sent an army of Qarluq mercenaries, who defeated the Arabs and Tibetans and lifted the siege. In 750 the Umayyad Caliphate fell, overthrown by the more aggressive Abbasid Dynasty. The Abbasids From their first capital at Harran, Turkey, the Abbasid Caliphate set out to consolidate power over the sprawling Arab Empire built by the Umayyads. One area of concern was the eastern borderlands - the Ferghana Valley and beyond. The Arab forces in eastern Central Asia with their Tibetan and Uighur allies were led by the brilliant tactician, General Ziyad ibn Salih. Chinas western army was headed by Governor-General Kao Hsien-chih (Go Seong-ji), an ethnic-Korean commander. It was not unusual at that time for foreign or minority officers to command Chinese armies because the military was considered an undesirable career path for ethnic Chinese noblemen. Appropriately enough, the decisive clash at Talas River was precipitated by another dispute in Ferghana. In 750, the king of Ferghana had a border dispute with the ruler of neighboring Chach. He appealed to the Chinese, who sent General Kao to assist Ferghanas troops. Kao besieged Chach, offered the Chachan king safe passage out of his capital, then reneged and beheaded him. In a mirror-image parallel to what had happened during the Arab conquest of Merv in 651, the Chachan kings son escaped and reported the incident to Abbasid Arab governor Abu Muslim at Khorasan. Abu Muslim rallied his troops at Merv and marched to join Ziyad ibn Salihs army further east.  The Arabs were determined to teach General Kao a lesson... and incidentally, to assert Abbasid power in the region. The Battle of Talas River In July of 751, the armies of these two great empires met at Talas, near the modern-day Kyrgyz/Kazakh border. Chinese records state that the Tang army was 30,000 strong, while Arab accounts put the number of Chinese at 100,000. The total number of Arab, Tibetan and Uighur warriors is not recorded, but theirs was the larger of the two forces. For five days, the mighty armies clashed. When the Qarluq Turks came in on the Arab side several days into the fighting, the Tang armys doom was sealed. Chinese sources imply that the Qarluqs had been fighting for them, but treacherously switched sides midway through the battle. Arab records, on the other hand, indicate that the Qarluqs were already allied with the Abbasids prior to the conflict. The Arab account seems more likely since the Qarluqs suddenly mounted a surprise attack on the Tang formation from the rear. (If the Chinese accounts are correct, wouldnt the Qarluqs have been in the middle of the action, rather than riding up from behind? And would the surprise have been as complete, if the Qarluqs had been fighting there all along?) Some modern Chinese writings about the battle still exhibit a sense of outrage at this perceived betrayal by one of the Tang Empires minority peoples. Whatever the case, the Qarluq attack signaled the beginning of the end for Kao Hsien-chihs army. Of the tens of thousands the Tang sent into battle, only a small percentage survived. Kao Hsien-chih himself was one of the few who escaped the slaughter; he would live just five years more, before being put on trial and executed for corruption. In addition to the tens of thousands of Chinese killed, a number were captured and taken back to Samarkand (in modern-day Uzbekistan) as prisoners of war. The Abbassids could have pressed their advantage, marching into China proper. However, their supply lines were already stretched to the breaking point, and sending such a huge force over the eastern Hindu Kush mountains and into the deserts of western China was beyond their capacity. Despite the crushing defeat of Kaos Tang forces, the Battle of Talas was a tactical draw. The Arabs eastward advance was halted, and the troubled Tang Empire turned its attention from Central Asia to rebellions on its northern and southern borders. Consequences of the Battle of Talas At the time of the Battle of Talas, its significance was not clear. Chinese accounts mention the battle as part of the beginning of the end for the Tang Dynasty. That same year, the Khitan tribe in Manchuria (northern China) defeated the imperial forces in that region, and Thai/Lao peoples in what is now Yunnan province in the south revolted as well. The An Shi Revolt of 755-763, which was more of a civil war than a simple revolt, further weakened the empire. By 763, the Tibetans were able to seize the Chinese capital at Changan (now Xian). With so much turmoil at home, the Chinese had neither the will nor the power to exert much influence past the Tarim Basin after 751. For the Arabs, too, this battle marked an unnoticed turning point. The victors are supposed to write history, but in this case, (despite the totality of their victory), they did not have much to say for some time after the event. Barry Hoberman points out that the ninth-century Muslim historian al-Tabari (839-923) never even mentions the Battle of Talas River. Its not until half a millennium after the skirmish that Arab historians take note of Talas, in the writings of Ibn al-Athir (1160-1233) and al-Dhahabi (1274-1348). Nevertheless, the Battle of Talas had important consequences. The weakened Chinese Empire was no longer in any position to interfere in Central Asia, so the influence of the Abbassid Arabs grew. Some scholars quibble that too much emphasis is placed on the role of Talas in the Islamification of Central Asia. It is certainly true that the Turkic and Persian tribes of Central Asia did not all immediately convert to Islam in August of 751. Such a feat of mass communication across the deserts, mountains, and steppes would have been utterly impossible before modern mass communications, even if the Central Asian peoples were uniformly receptive to Islam. Nonetheless, the absence of any counterweight to the Arab presence allowed Abbassid influence to spread gradually throughout the region. Within the next 250 years, most of the formerly Buddhist, Hindu, Zoroastrian, and Nestorian Christian tribes of Central Asia had become Muslim. Most significant of all, among the prisoners of war captured by the Abbassids after the Battle of Talas River, were a number of skilled Chinese artisans, including Tou Houan. Through them, first the Arab world and then the rest of Europe learned the art of paper-making. (At that time, the Arabs controlled Spain and Portugal, as well as North Africa, the Middle East, and large swaths of Central Asia.) Soon, paper-making factories sprang up in Samarkand, Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo, Delhi... and in 1120 the first European paper mill was established in Xativa, Spain (now called Valencia). From these Arab-dominated cities, the technology spread to Italy, Germany, and across Europe. The advent of paper technology, along with woodcut printing and later movable-type printing, fueled the advances in science, theology, and history of Europes High Middle Ages, which ended only with the coming of the Black Death in the 1340s. Sources: The Battle of Talas, Barry Hoberman. Saudi Aramco World, pp. 26-31 (Sept/Oct 1982). A Chinese Expedition across the Pamirs and Hindukush, A.D. 747, Aurel Stein. The Geographic Journal, 59:2, pp. 112-131 (Feb. 1922). Gernet, Jacque, J. R. Foster (trans.), Charles Hartman (trans.). A History of Chinese Civilization, (1996). Oresman, Matthew. Beyond the Battle of Talas: Chinas Re-emergence in Central Asia. Ch. 19 of In the tracks of Tamerlane: Central Asias path to the 21st Century, Daniel L. Burghart and Theresa Sabonis-Helf, eds. (2004). Titchett, Dennis C. (ed.). The Cambridge History of China: Volume 3, Sui and Tang China, 589-906 AD, Part One, (1979).

Nursing Information Literacy Essay Example

Nursing Information Literacy Essay Example Nursing Information Literacy Paper Nursing Information Literacy Paper When a person begins nursing school it can be a bit over whelming. One is bombarded by not only new experiences but an overabundance of information. Clinical advisors demand an accumulation of information before setting a toe into a patient’s room. However, being a novice, the student has no idea what all that information pertains to or what to do with it. As the semesters of nursing school pass, the student begins to realize what the information is and what to do with it. The students acquire information literacy. Information Literacy Definition Due to the enormous growth of the health care industry itself and the many changes of how information is delivered, it is more important now than ever that nurses have acquired information literacy. â€Å"Information Literacy is defined as the ability to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information† (Cherry Jacob, 2011, p. 306). Nurses need the ability to recognize when information is needed because they need to know what questions they need to ask their patients to be able to clearly assess their patient’s conditions. They also need to assess outside information to be able to establish the best evidence based practice to be used in their patient’s treatment. Information can be obtained from the patient themselves or evidence based practice journals, computer data bases, and facility protocols. â€Å"To be able to achieve any of these competencies nurses need to identify where relevant information can be found† (Glasper, 2011, p. 188). It is also very important to consider the level of evidence of your source of information. Once the nurse has gathered information, one must be able to understand what the information means. Anyone can read the words on a lab report, but nurses must be able to know what lab values mean. They must also be able to know when values are critical and need immediate intervention. Not only is it important to ask the right questions but it is also important what the nurse does with the information gathered. If a nurse knows that a patient is trending in a bad direction, one must intervene in a proven way to stop the patient’s progression. For example if a person has a very high blood sugar, just knowing the sugar is high is not going to prevent a bad event. One must intervene with the most evidence based practice to lower the blood glucose level. Importance of Information Literacy Information literacy is not only very important; it is the key to survival as a registered nurse. Health Care has begun to place a great emphasis on quality and safety of patient care. This is a wonderful thing but for the nurse to practice safely, one will have to be able to gather and apply information in a correct proven method. Wonderful safety measures are being developed every day but if nurses are not aware of them or how they work the practice will not improve. Information is the key element to an evidenced based practice. Without a knowledge base sound decisions cannot be made. With an increasing amount of information available to nurse, it is of great importance as well to protect the patien’s personal information. â€Å" It is also very important to have information literacy to be able to understand economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and the use of information† (Magee, 2011, p. 1). The most important reason however, is to be able to assess the correct information to be able to safely and effectively care for patients. Integration of Information Literacy. When the student nurse becomes a registered nurse she will make information literacy a key part of her practice. She will monitor current accredited nursing journals to find articles about best evidence based practices. She will access web-based information when she has a deficient knowledge of a medication. The registered nurse will also access facility information regarding policies and protocols. The registered nurse (RN) will utilize electronic charting and participate in all in-house education on informatics. She will also continue her education by attending seminars and web based education to further her knowledge base. The RN will utilize all available information sources. She will take the time to accurately assess given information and decide on an affective course action for all patients in her care. Clinical Experience During the student nurse’s medical-surgical one rotation, she was assigned to care for a patient with a subarachnoid hematoma. The patient was exhibiting contradictory symptoms. On assessment the patients eyes were not reactive to light and accommodation, however the student nurse noticed that the patient was tracking her when she was cleaning in the room. The patient’s physician felt that he did not have much brain activity. The student left the patients room and then returned to find that the patient had pulled all of his catheters out. The student talked with the physician about what she had seen with the patient. The physician somewhat laughed at the student and replied that it was very unlikely that the patient had any cognition. The student then talked with the primary nurse assigned to the patient. The nurse did agree that sometimes physicians give up too quickly on patients. The student nurse went home to find any information about subarachnoid hematomas. The student found lots of information on the subject. The student used Medscape which is an accredited source. The student read that sometimes the swelling cause’s pressure within the brain that prevents the eyes from reacting to light and accommodation. When the level of inflammation and pressure is reduced the patient may function at a higher level. The article also encourage interventions to stimulate brain activity. (Liebeskind, 2013) The student is in no way qualified to diagnose the patient, but this information helped the student understand what the condition of the patient actually was and changed how the student approached the patient. The student began music therapy with the patient. She talked with him and held his hand and he did sometimes squeeze back. The student did understand that the patient would probably have extensive brain damage but there was a possibility of some primitive functioning. The information gathered was not only valuable in the day- to- day care of the patient, but also in advocating for the patient to be placed in a rehab facility as opposed to convalescent care. In the example above, the student nurse had deficient knowledge of a medical condition, so she took the next step to find credible information on the subject matter. Next she assessed the information and achieved a general understanding of the information. Then the student decided on a course of action and implemented it. The student learned to assess and access information to provide the best care possible for her patient. References Cherry, B. , Jacob, S. R. (2011). Contemporary Nursing Issues, Trends, Management (5th Ed. ). http://dx. doi. org/9780323069533 Glasper, A. (2011, January 12). The RCN’s literacy competences for evidence-based practice. . British Journal of Nursing, 20(3), 188-189. Retrieved from http://web. ebscohost. com. bakerezproxy. palnet. info/ehost/delivery? sid Liebeskind, D. S. (2013). Intracranial hemorrhage. Retrieved from http://emedicine. medscape. com Magee, J. (2011, February 25). Information Literacy and Nursing Students. Librarians and Faculty Collaborating to Enhance Understanding. Retrieved from www. sciencedirect. com/science/article/pii/S875572230300

Video Games in America Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 22

Video Games in America - Research Paper Example These critics also argue that playing video games encourages violence and leads to addiction even though these allegations do not have any particular basis and evidence. Numerous research on if video games encourage violence has been unsatisfactory and has focused only on the short-term impact. During the periods when playing video games has become a commonplace occurrence in America; the rate of violent crimes has decreased by almost a half. If the games made people become violent, this tendency should be exhibited in the figures considering that half of the American people play either computer games or video games as demonstrated by the graph (Adam 2009). According to research, only three percent of people who play video games play alone as most of them engage in multi-player games in the same rooms or through online connections. It has also been suggested that gaming can be a topic of discussion for both children and adults which creates a foundation for friendships. This social attribute of gaming is demonstrated through teamwork and the sense of collaboration that is evident between the super players and their fans. The professional player's stream videos of their playing through online sites in order to assist other people who wish to play the games to learn and view various techniques. Video games are important in relieving stress as playing involves undivided attention.