title: Kanishka

text: The iconography of these three types is very different from that of the other deities depicted in Kanishka's coinage. Whether Kanishka's deities are all shown from the side, the Buddhas only are shown frontally, indicating that they were copied from contemporary frontal representations of the standing and seated Buddhas in statuary. Both representations of the Buddha and Shakyamuni have both shoulders covered by their monastic gown, indicating that the statues used as models were from the Gandhara school of art, rather than Mathura.


title: Kanishka

text: Several Buddhist statues are directly connected to the reign of Kanishka, such as several Bodhisattva statues from the Art of Mathura, while a few other from Gandhara are inscribed with a date in an era which is now thought to be the Yavana era, starting in 186 to 175 BCE.


title: Kanishka

text: The "Kanishka casket" or "Kanishka reliquary", dated to the first year of Kanishka's reign in 127 CE, was discovered in a deposit chamber under Kanishka stupa, during the archaeological excavations in 1908–1909 in Shah-Ji-Ki-Dheri, just outside the present-day Ganj Gate of the old city of Peshawar. It is today at the Peshawar Museum, and a copy is in the British Museum. It is said to have contained three bone fragments of the Buddha, which are now housed in Mandalay, Burma.


title: Kanishka

text: The text is signed by the maker, a Greek artist named "Agesilas", who oversaw work at Kanishka's stupas (caitya), confirming the direct involvement of Greeks with Buddhist realisations at such a late date: "The servant Agisalaos, the superintendent of works at the vihara of Kanishka in the monastery of Mahasena" ("dasa agisala nava-karmi ana*kaniskasa vihara mahasenasa sangharame").


title: Kanishka

text: The lid of the casket shows the Buddha on a lotus pedestal, and worshipped by Brahma and Indra. The edge of the lid is decorated by a frieze of flying geese. The body of the casket represents a Kushan monarch, probably Kanishka in person, with the Iranian sun and moon gods on his side. On the sides are two images of a seated Buddha, worshiped by royal figures, can be assumed as Kanishka. A garland, supported by cherubs goes around the scene in typical Hellenistic style.


title: Kanishka

text: The attribution of the casket to Kanishka has been recently disputed, essentially on stylistic ground (for example the ruler shown on the casket is not bearded, to the contrary of Kanishka). Instead, the casket is often attributed to Kanishka's successor Huvishka.


title: Kanishka

text: In Buddhist tradition, Kanishka is often described as an aggressive, hot tempered, rigid, strict, and a bit harsh kind of King before he got converted to Buddhism of which he was very fond, and after his conversion to Buddhism, he became an openhearted, benevolent, and faithful ruler. As in the Sri-dharma-pitaka-nidana sutra:


title: Kanishka

text: Additionally, the arrival of Kanishka was reportedly foretold or was predicted by the Buddha, as well as the construction of his stupa:


title: Kanishka

text: The same story is repeated in a Khotanese scroll found at Dunhuang, which first described how Kanishka would arrive 400 years after the death of the Buddha. The account also describes how Kanishka came to raise his stupa:


title: Kanishka

text: Chinese pilgrims to India, such as Xuanzang, who travelled there around 630 CE also relays the story:


title: Kanishka

text: King Kanishka because of his deeds was highly respected, regarded, honored by all the people he ruled and governed and was regarded the greatest king who ever lived because of his kindness, humbleness and sense of equality and self-righteousness among all aspects. Thus such great deeds and character of the king Kanishka made his name immortal and thus he was regarded "THE KING OF KINGS"


title: Kanishka

text: Buddhist monks from the region of Gandhara played a key role in the development and the transmission of Buddhist ideas in the direction of northern Asia from the middle of the 2nd century CE. The Kushan monk, Lokaksema (c. 178 CE), became the first translator of Mahayana Buddhist scriptures into Chinese and established a translation bureau at the Chinese capital Loyang. Central Asian and East Asian Buddhist monks appear to have maintained strong exchanges for the following centuries.


title: Kanishka

text: Kanishka was probably succeeded by Huvishka. How and when this came about is still uncertain. It is a fact that there was only one king named Kanishka in the whole Kushan legacy. The inscription on The Sacred Rock of Hunza also shows the signs of Kanishka.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: The Infinity Gauntlet is an American comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. In addition to an eponymous, six-issue limited series written by Jim Starlin and pencilled by George Pérez and Ron Lim, crossover chapters appeared in related comic books. Since its initial serialization from July to December 1991, the series has been reprinted in various formats and editions.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: The series' events are driven by Thanos, a nihilist character created for Marvel by Starlin in 1973. When Starlin began writing "Silver Surfer" in 1990, he and Lim began a new plot with Thanos that developed over sixteen monthly issues and a spin-off limited series before concluding in "The Infinity Gauntlet". Pérez was brought in to draw "The Infinity Gauntlet" because he had more name recognition among fans and because Lim already had a full schedule. However, after completing three issues and part of the fourth, his own busy schedule and dissatisfaction with the story led to him being replaced by Lim.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: At the start of "The Infinity Gauntlet", the character Thanos has collected all six Infinity Gems and attached them to his gauntlet. With their combined power, he becomes "like a god" and sets out to win the affection of Mistress Death, the living embodiment of death in the Marvel Universe. When Thanos uses his powers to instantly erase half of the life in the universe from existence, Adam Warlock leads Earth's remaining heroes against him. After the Infinity Gauntlet is stolen by Thanos' villainous granddaughter Nebula, Thanos aids the remaining heroes in defeating her. Warlock ultimately obtains the Infinity Gauntlet and uses its power to undo all it had wrought.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: The series was a top seller for Marvel during publication and was followed by two immediate sequels, "The Infinity War" (1992) and "The Infinity Crusade" (1993). The story's events continued to be referenced in other Marvel comics for decades. "The Infinity Gauntlet" remained popular among fans, warranting multiple reprint editions and merchandise, with its themes and plot elements adapted into video games and animated cartoons. Most notable among later adaptions was the "Infinity Saga" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which incorporated elements of the original comic story into a saga that spanned across almost two dozen connected films.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: Artist and character creator Jim Starlin introduced Thanos, the antagonist for the storyline, in "Iron Man" #55 (Feb. 1973). After providing artwork for "Captain Marvel" #24-25 (Jan. 1973 & March 1973), Starlin co-wrote #26 (May 1973) with Mike Friedrich, which featured Thanos (albeit in shadow) on a Marvel cover for the first time and marked the beginning of what was later coined the "First Thanos War". After collaborating with Friedrich for #27-28 (July & Sept. 1973), Starlin then assumed sole writing duties for the remainder of the sweeping cosmic saga from #29-33 (Nov. 1973 - July 1974). Starlin completed one final issue, #34 (Sept. 1974), laying the groundwork for the eventual death of hero Mar-Vell before leaving the title.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: In 1975, Starlin began writing and illustrating "Strange Tales", where he made significant changes to Adam Warlock and developed the concept of the Infinity Gems. He reintroduced Thanos first as Warlock's ally, then as his opponent in a storyline known as the "Second Thanos War" that ran until 1977. Because of their close publications dates, the two Thanos Wars are sometimes considered to be one storyline. Both are considered "cosmic" stories and led to Starlin being known as a "cosmic" writer.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: Starlin stopped doing regular work for Marvel after concluding the Second Thanos War, but occasionally returned for short projects like "The Death of Captain Marvel" graphic novel and creator-owned work such as the cosmic-themed "Dreadstar" through the 1980s. He also did high-profile work for DC Comics, such as "Batman" and "Cosmic Odyssey". In a 1990 interview, Starlin described himself as the only writer who had been allowed to "play" with Thanos, although other writers had scripted some tie-in chapters of the First Thanos War.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: George Pérez is a popular artist known for drawing comics featuring large casts. He came to prominence in the 1970s while working on Marvel's "The Avengers" before leaving the company to work for DC on comics such as "New Teen Titans", "Crisis on Infinite Earths", and "Wonder Woman". In 1984, Pérez entered into an exclusive contract with DC.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: In 1988, Steve Englehart was writing "Silver Surfer" and one of his storylines involved the Infinity Gems and Mistress Death. He asked to do a follow-up story where Mistress Death uses Thanos to get revenge on her enemies, but editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco did not know who Thanos was. After the character was explained to him, DeFalco liked the idea so much he wanted to save it for a big summer crossover instead. At the time, he indicated he wanted to format it like "The Evolutionary War", a 1988 crossover spread across the annuals of several continuing series instead of being contained in a limited series.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: Because of his ties to Thanos, Starlin was invited back to Marvel to write the story. He returned because work for him at DC declined following his controversial "Batman" story "A Death in the Family" (1988). Inspired by the work he had recently read from Wilhelm Reich, Carlos Castaneda, and Roger Zelazny, Starlin wanted to purposely add multiple layers to his characters instead of letting them be one-dimensional. He started writing with the expectation that this would be the last Thanos story "at least for a while" and was midway through the story before deciding to make Thanos an antihero. He began writing "Silver Surfer" with #34, cover dated February 1990. To organize various plot and character points, Starlin made notes on 3-by-5 cards and pinned them to a large piece of plywood hung on his wall.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: His first four issues reintroduced Thanos and was seen as the first act of the new Thanos storyline. Initially, Starlin and editor Craig Anderson planned for the story to remain contained within the pages of "Silver Surfer". However, Marvel had recently been purchased and the new owners mandated all intellectual property be exploited to maximum potential. To capitalize on the excitement surrounding Thanos' return, the start of the second act was spun off into the two-issue limited series "The Thanos Quest", released in September–October 1990. The plot then continued in "Silver Surfer" beginning with #44. In "Silver Surfer" #46, Starlin reintroduced Adam Warlock and his supporting cast. He included these characters because the editors told him a different writer wanted to use them, and they would let him unless Starlin wanted to use them first. Starlin was not impressed by the other writer's work, so he wrote Warlock into his "Silver Surfer" story. Again, Starlin and Anderson planned to conclude the story in the pages of "Silver Surfer", but the sales of "The Thanos Quest" were high enough to warrant another spin-off. After "Silver Surfer" #50, the plot moved to "The Infinity Gauntlet". Because of the time required to write the double-length issues of the limited series and coordinate tie-ins, Starlin had to leave the "Silver Surfer" series at #52.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: The editorial staff did not oppose Starlin's plans to kill major characters, which he believes was partly because Anderson did not share many of the details with his peers. They did, however, limit which of "their" characters could have roles in the story. For example, X-Men editor Bob Harras only allowed Cyclops and Wolverine to appear. The rest of the X-Men cast were said to have died off-panel or were otherwise omitted. This hesitancy was due in part to the relative newness of summer crossover events.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: Early in 1990, Marvel writer/artist Jim Valentino learned Pérez's contract with DC Comics was going to lapse in August. He contacted Pérez by phone to see if he would ink a cover to "Guardians of the Galaxy", a comic Valentino was currently writing and penciling. Pérez agreed, and Valentino told Anderson, who was his editor as well. Anderson passed the information to Starlin, who called Pérez and asked him to pencil "The Infinity Gauntlet". After working out the terms with Starlin and Anderson, Pérez agreed to the job. In a 1991 interview, Pérez speculated that he was asked because "Silver Surfer" and "The Thanos Quest" penciller Ron Lim was too busy.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: Although Pérez had been a writer as well as an artist at DC, he agreed to work from full scripts on "The Infinity Gauntlet" because he was not familiar with the current state of Marvel's characters. From the start, Pérez found this to be "a little aggravating, unnerving" because of the limits it placed on him. Starlin gave Pérez a suggested layout with each script to use as a reference, but Pérez ignored them with Starlin's blessing. He exercised this freedom by giving some scenes more space, even moving some scenes to different pages. Early in the collaboration, he asked Starlin to increase the number of characters appearing in the story so his return to Marvel would "knock fans' socks off".


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: Before he had finished the interior art for the first issue, Pérez completed the pencils for the covers of the first four issues so they could be used as promotional material. Some characters however, like Thor and Quasar, were wearing outdated costumes on the cover of issue three and had to be redrawn, which frustrated Pérez. Starlin, who wrote the scripts months in advance, also had to make minor adjustments to account for changes in these characters and the Hulk.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: During production, Pérez was also pencilling "War of the Gods" for DC Comics, a Wonder Woman miniseries he described as a "highly stressful" project. When he began to fall behind schedule on both projects, he wanted to quit "War of the Gods" but was contractually bound to complete it. Partly because of this stress and partly because he had become used to writing as well as drawing, he became overly critical of Starlin's scripts for "The Infinity Gauntlet". Specifically, he felt Starlin's story could be told in fewer pages. His lack of enthusiasm caused him to work slower, and he began to fall further behind schedule. In a 1994 interview, Starlin claimed Pérez was also acting at the time, and that it was a bigger contributor to the scheduling problems than the comic workload.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: When it became clear Pérez would not be able to meet the deadline for the fourth issue, DeFalco asked regular "Silver Surfer" penciler Ron Lim to complete issue #4. DeFalco suggested to Pérez that he let Lim finish the rest of the series, and Pérez agreed. Pérez understood the decision, and later said he felt Lim should have been the artist from the beginning. He inked Lim's covers for the remainder of the series to show he bore no ill will to the change. Although Marvel's management had feared sales would fall with Pérez's departure, sales rose with each issue Lim penciled.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: To replace Pérez, Lim had to leave his regular work on the monthly "Captain America" title. He cites Pérez as an influence and found it "nerve-wracking" to supplant him. Furthermore, the large cast made it the most challenging book he had done at that point in his career. Still, he said it was "fun" to work on the design aspect of "The Infinity Gauntlet".


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: When he saw sales figures for "The Infinity Gauntlet", Pérez realized he probably lost "tens of thousands of dollars" in royalty payments by leaving the series, but he was glad he left when he learned a sequel was in development. Like Starlin, Pérez had begun the project believing it would be the last Thanos story, but management asked Starlin to write a sequel midway through "The Infinity Gauntlet". By then, Starlin had already conceived follow-up concepts and knew it would be a trilogy.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: Marvel's marketing department "mega-hyped" the event in the months leading up to its release according to journalist Sean Howe. One aspect of the promotion was sending direct market retailers a kit that included a letter explaining details of the series, a sign to put by their cash register, and a poster 18 inches wide by 36 inches tall. Marvel's promotional magazine "Marvel Age" featured a cover story on "The Thanos Quest" and a Starlin interview in issue #91 (August 1990), followed by a 7-page preview of "The Infinity Gauntlet" #1 in "Marvel Age" #99 (April 1991). The limited series was the cover feature on "Comics Interview" #94 in March 1991, which included an 8-page interview with Pérez, and Starlin was interviewed about the series in "Comics Scene" #19 in June 1991.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: Marvel initially planned to release a new issue every two weeks, but deadline problems caused it to be released monthly. Issues had cover dates between July and December 1991. Each one was available in both comic specialty stores and newsstand outlets, which included supermarkets and department stores. Although the cover artwork was identical, the edition sold in comic stores featured additional artwork celebrating Marvel's 30th anniversary in place of the barcode found on the newsstand edition. Each issue was 48 pages and cover priced at $2.50 at a time when the average Marvel comic was $1.00 and 24 pages.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: To emphasize the connected nature of Marvel's comic books, some ongoing series starring characters seen in "The Infinity Gauntlet" had contemporary issues showing the main plot from a different point of view or explored consequences of certain events. These issues featured a triangle in the top right corner of their covers with the text "An Infinity Gauntlet Crossover". These tie-in issues did not impact the plot of the limited series and could be skipped by readers without creating plot holes. "Doctor Strange" #36 was set after the events of the crossover and featured a triangle with the text "An Infinity Gauntlet Epilogue".


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: Unlike other crossovers such as "Armageddon 2001" (the competing 1991 crossover from DC Comics) which featured tie-ins from a large majority of their publisher's comics, "The Infinity Gauntlet" only had tie-ins from titles which were obviously connected to the event or from series which needed a boost in sales. According to Pérez, Marvel's stance toward the tie-ins for its low-selling titles was "do it or else". Starlin remained uninvolved, allowing writers to choose for themselves which story elements they wished to use.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: The miniseries was collected in a single softcover edition released in 1992, a time when publishers only collected popular storylines, to coincide with the release of "The Infinity War". It featured new cover artwork by Pérez and was enhanced with a foil logo. Later printings of this edition had alternate cover artwork from different artists and no enhancement. The suggested retail price was $19.95, five dollars more than the total retail cost of the individual issues it contained.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: In June 2006, Marvel issued a second softcover collected edition to coincide with Keith Giffen and Andrea Di Vito's "Annihilation", another cosmic-level crossover starring Thanos and the Silver Surfer. This edition used the cover art from issue #1 and had a trade dress matching the first edition collections of "The Infinity War" and "The Infinity Crusade" which were released shortly thereafter. The month of release, it sold approximately 2,500 copies and was the 33rd best-selling comic collection according to Diamond Distribution. Marvel also released a "Silver Surfer" collection subtitled "The Rebirth of Thanos" in 2006 which included four of the lead-in issues of "Silver Surfer" and both issues of "The Thanos Quest".


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: A hardcover edition was released in July 2010 as the 46th entry in the "Marvel Premiere Classic" line. Like other volumes in this line, it was available with two covers. The standard cover featured a cutout of Thanos from the cover of issue #4 on a black matte background with the title in metallic red ink. The variant cover, available only to comic specialty stores, featured the cover art for issue #1 reduced 50% against a black and red background. The variant edition identifies itself as #46 on its spine.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: In 2011, a third edition softcover was released. The first printing reused the artwork from the standard cover of the "Premiere Classic" edition. Later printings reverted to the cover of issue #1. Sales of the collection spiked after Thanos appeared in a post-credits scene of the 2012 film "The Avengers", causing "The Infinity Gauntlet" to be the highest selling graphic novel in 2018.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: In July 2014, Marvel released a 1,248 page omnibus edition of "The Infinity Gauntlet". In addition to the limited series, the hardcover also included the lead-up issues of "Silver Surfer", "The Thanos Quest", and the marketed tie-ins. It also included additional issues of "Incredible Hulk", "Quasar", "Silver Surfer", and "Spider-Man" which had not been advertised as tie-ins, but were connected to the story. Comic book stores and the book market both offered a regular edition featuring the cover to "The Infinity Gauntlet" #1, but comic shops could also order a variant edition with cover art by Starlin.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: The first issue of "The Infinity Gauntlet" was included in the initial wave of Marvel's "True Believers" line in April 2015. Consisting solely of reprints offered at a discount price, comic books in this line are meant to introduce newer readers to the most popular titles in Marvel's history. A new printing was paired with a "True Believers" reprint of "Silver Surfer" #34 in April 2018.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: In March 2018, Marvel released an "Infinity Gauntlet" slipcase set of 12 hardcover books. Material began with "Infinity Gauntlet Prologue" and included all three "Infinity" crossovers, their tie-ins, intervening material, and a 528-page "companion" hardcover. The "Infinity Gauntlet Prologue" was released independently of the set at the same time.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: A deluxe paperback was released in February 2019. It contained the miniseries and additional content discussing the creation of the series.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: Resurrected by Mistress Death to correct a perceived imbalance between life and death, the Titan Thanos first encounters the Silver Surfer, and subsequently fakes his own death to proceed without interference. Thanos decides to reacquire the six Infinity Gems that he had previously used as a simple weapon. After defeating several of the Elders of the Universe and the In-Betweener, Thanos regains the gems and now has control over the six aspects of existence: Time, Space, Mind, Soul, Reality and Power. Ironically, now that Thanos is in possession of his "Infinity Gauntlet", Death advises him via an intermediary she cannot speak directly to him as he is now her superior.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: When the Silver Surfer learns that Thanos is still alive and confronts him, Thanos traps the Silver Surfer's soul inside the Soul Gem. On "Soul World", the Silver Surfer encounters former enemy of Thanos, Adam Warlock. Warlock returns the Surfer to his body and promises to help defeat Thanos. The Surfer races to Earth to warn super-team the Avengers about the coming threat. Demonic entity Mephisto senses the power in the Infinity Gauntlet and offers to instruct Thanos in its use, while secretly waiting for an opportunity to steal it for himself.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: Angry at Mistress Death's rejection, Thanos creates a shrine in her image, and then traps and burns Nebula – who pretended to be his "grand-daughter" – as an offering. When still rejected, Thanos in a fit of rage destroys several stars and then eliminates half of all living beings in the universe. The Surfer warns Doctor Strange about Thanos and encourages him to summon Earth's heroes. Cosmic entities Galactus and Epoch seek the source of the sudden imbalance, while Warlock and companions Gamora and Pip the Troll leave Soul World and occupy recently dead humans on Earth, reviving and altering the bodies to match their former appearance. Warlock appears before Doctor Strange and claims Thanos can only be defeated if Earth's remaining heroes unite under his command.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: Warlock meets with a group of cosmic entities, who, despite the reluctance and withdrawal of the Living Tribunal and Eternity, agree to attack Thanos. The combined heroes attack while Warlock and the Surfer observe, with Thanos almost defeated after heeding Mephisto's advice to limit his power to demonstrate his devotion to Death.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: After the heroes fail, the cosmic entities attack, with Mephisto and Mistress Death also joining in the assault on Thanos. Thanos, however, traps all the entities in stasis and changes the shrine to feature himself instead of Mistress Death. Believing he has defeated all of his enemies; Thanos separates his consciousness from his body and assumes an astral form taking the place of Eternity. Nebula uses this opportunity to steal the now-discarded Infinity Gauntlet. After restoring herself, Nebula banishes Thanos to drift through interstellar space, but he is rescued and brought to Earth by Doctor Strange. Warlock advises Thanos that whilst in Soul World he was able to examine the Titan's soul. Courtesy of his bond with the Soul Gem, Warlock knew Thanos would eventually lose the Infinity Gauntlet because, at his core, Thanos felt himself unworthy of the power. Overwhelmed by this revelation, Thanos agrees to help Warlock, Doctor Strange, and the Silver Surfer oppose Nebula.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: Thanos tricks Nebula into restoring the universe to its prior condition, inadvertently reverting into a burn victim in the process. Nebula wills herself back to health before Thanos can retrieve the gauntlet, but during this distraction Warlock returns to Soul World and uses his connection to the gem to create disharmony between the other gems. This causes Nebula to remove the gauntlet, which an emerging Warlock claims for himself. Preferring death to imprisonment, Thanos apparently dies in a suicide bomb blast. The heroes have reservations about Warlock keeping the gauntlet, but he returns them to Earth. Warlock then travels 60 days into the future to visit an unnamed planet where Thanos is living as a farmer. Thanos advises Warlock he has given up his quest for power and plans to lead a quiet, introspective life.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: "The Infinity Gauntlet" was an instant success and became one of the most influential storylines in comics from the 1990s. Both of the nationwide comic distributors at the time (Diamond Distribution and Capital City Distribution) reported each issue was one of their top ten sellers for the month of its release. When Capital City released their top 100 best selling single issues of 1991, "Infinity Gauntlet" issues fell between the 42nd and 64th positions. Aside from the first issue of "The Punisher War Zone", all of the higher ranked entries were issues of "", "Robin II: The Joker's Wild!", or the X-Men franchise. "Wizard", a comic magazine known for embracing speculation in the comic market, listed "The Infinity Gauntlet" #1 as the ninth "Hottest Book" in September 1991, and two lead-in issues of "Silver Surfer" were ranked sixth and tenth. The first issue's resale value rose above its $2.50 cover price in the back issue market, plateauing around $9 or $10 in late 1992.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: The debut issue of the follow-up series, "Warlock and the Infinity Watch", was the top recommendation from "Wizard" for December 1991. It led directly into the first sequel, "The Infinity War", which began in June 1992. The next sequel, "The Infinity Crusade", began in June 1993. The tie-ins to "The Infinity Gauntlet" also sold well, leading the editors who had put limits on characters appearing in "The Infinity Gauntlet" to request their books tie in to its sequels. Although both sequels sold well, they were viewed by critics like "Wizard"s Pat McCallum as being motivated by sales rather than storytelling because of their excessive tie-ins and slow narratives.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: By the end of the decade, interest in the continuing story dwindled, with sequels poorly received by fans, and "Warlock and the Infinity Watch" canceled in 1995. The same year, Marvel moved the Infinity Gems from their main continuity to an alternate universe called the Ultraverse, a property Marvel acquired when it bought Malibu Comics. The Ultraverse comics were then canceled in 1996. By 1998, "Wizard" was no longer listing "Infinity Gauntlet" in its monthly price guide. The first edition of the paperback collection saw its last printing in 1999.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: The iconography of the gauntlet remained popular, however. When Marvel partnered with fellow Disney subsidiary ESPN to create promotional images for the 2010–11 NBA season, the October 22, 2010 issue of "" included an advertisement showing Kobe Bryant wearing the gauntlet. When IGN released an unranked list of the all-time best comic book events in 2011, "The Infinity Gauntlet" was included and was noted for being "a template on which all future cosmic events were based". Its lasting appeal is often attributed to Pérez's artwork and Starlin's unusual treatment of classic heroes.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: When Thanos made a cameo appearance in the 2012 film "The Avengers", there was renewed interest in "The Infinity Gauntlet". This was further heightened in October 2014 when the title of the third and fourth "Avengers" films were revealed to be "" and "". As the 2018 release of "Infinity War" neared, several comic news websites produced articles explaining the storyline and speculating on which elements would be included in the adaptation. The renewed attention from the films made the paperback collection of "The Infinity Gauntlet" the best-selling graphic novel in 2018.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: Not all evaluations were positive – in a 2013 review for "Multiversity Comics", Drew Bradley felt the story was "only great" if read in its entirety. At the time of his article, the collected edition of Act One was out of print, with much of Act Two not been reprinted in any form. Bradley felt the story would not live up to its hype if readers skipped the lead-in material. Writing for "Digital Spy", Hugh Armitage complained about the comic's lack of real consequences, calling it "essentially [...] a really bizarre love story".


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: Aside from its immediate spin-off and sequels, the events of "The Infinity Gauntlet" have impacted storylines in later comics, including "Thanos" in 2003, "Avengers" (vol. 4) in 2011, and "Secret Wars" in 2016. Several of these later stories have downplayed the power of the gauntlet, often showing someone possessing it being beaten by a more powerful opponent.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: The storyline from "The Infinity Gauntlet" has been revisited by other comic books in the years since its release. The series "What If...?", which explores alternate outcomes to important events in the Marvel Universe, featured several issues in which different characters stole the gauntlet from Thanos or obtained it in another fashion. Beginning in August 2010, writer Brian Clevinger and artist Brian Churillathe retold the story for a younger audience in the four-issue limited series "Avengers and the Infinity Gauntlet" as part of the Marvel Adventures imprint. He used the basic framework of the story, but purposefully wrote it in a fashion that did not invite comparisons to the original, with which he did not believe he could compete. During the 2015 crossover "Secret Wars", a five-issue limited series by Gerry Dugan and Dustin Weaver reused the title and featured similar elements.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: During initial publication, Tenacity Incorporated offered a licensed black T-shirt featuring cover artwork from the series. It was available exclusively through ads placed in Marvel comics. The front side had the cover artwork from issue four, and the back had the cover artwork from issue three.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: Although no contemporary toys were created for the series, several Thanos action figures have been created in the years since that include the Infinity Gauntlet either as an accessory or as part of the sculpt, such as the 12 inch Marvel Select toy and the 2 inch Super Hero Squad toy. In 2011, a Marvel Universe toyline two-pack included Thanos, Warlock, an Infinity Gauntlet accessory for Warlock, and a reprint of "The Infinity Gauntlet" #3. Some toy sets have incorporated the series logo on their packaging, such as the 2009 Minimate set with Thanos, Warlock, Mephisto, and Drax the Destroyer or the San Diego Comic Con exclusive set with Marvel Universe editions of Thanos, Mistress Death, Eros, Nebula, and a wearable Infinity Gauntlet made of foam.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: A variety of licensed merchandise shaped the like Infinity Gauntlet has been created as well, including a coin bank and earrings from Think Geek, a bottle opener from Diamond Select Toys, a coffee mug from Entertainment Earth, and an oven mitt from Loot Crate.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: Capcom adapted the storyline into two video games shortly after its release. The first, "Marvel Super Heroes", was a fighting game released as an arcade game in 1995 before being ported to Sega Saturn and PlayStation in 1997. The second, "Marvel Super Heroes In War of the Gems", was a beat 'em up released in 1996 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: After the animated television series "The Super Hero Squad Show" introduced an "Infinity Sword" in its first season, its second season (2010–2011) loosely adapted "The Infinity Gauntlet". Griptonite Games released a tie-in video game, "", for several platforms in 2010.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: In October 2011, WizKids announced they would adapt "The Infinity Gauntlet" into an organized play tournament for their collectible miniatures game "Heroclix" in 2012. Vendors who wanted to participate qualified for free game kits by purchasing a minimum amount of new Heroclix booster packs. It began in January and a new round was held once a month through August. At each round, players received a special game piece for participating and winners received limited edition pieces based on characters from the storyline. The eight participation pieces could be combined to create Thanos' shrine to Death and featured all of the gems. At the time of release, it was the largest Heroclix tournament.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: In 2014, the early episodes of the second season of the animated cartoon "Avengers Assemble" adapted the storyline. It also included elements from the Thanos-centric 2013 crossover comic series "Infinity" written by Jonathan Hickman and penciled by Jim Cheung, Jerome Opeña, and Dustin Weaver, such as Thanos' allies, the Black Order.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: Capcom released "" for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows in September 2017. While it features elements from the series, it is not a direct adaptation. To coincide with the game's release, Capcom held a global tournament series called "Battle for the Stones". The winner of the tournament received a cash prize and a light-up Infinity Gauntlet trophy.


title: The Infinity Gauntlet

text: An Infinity Gauntlet prop with gems was included in the 2011 film "Thor" as an Easter egg for fans before Marvel Studios decided the "Avengers" films would adapt "The Infinity Gauntlet". A post-credits scene in "" (2015) showed Thanos with a gauntlet without gems, and the one from "Thor" was stated to have been a fake in "" (2017).<ref name="/FilmFeige"></ref> The 2018 film "" drew inspiration from "The Infinity Gauntlet" and depicts Thanos collecting the Infinity Stones and using them to kill half of the universe. Its 2019 sequel, "", focuses on the Avengers' attempts to undo Thanos' actions.


title: Adam Dell

text: Adam R. Dell (born January 14, 1970) is an American venture capitalist and is the brother of Michael Dell, the founder of computer manufacturing company Dell Inc.


title: Adam Dell

text: Dell was born in Houston, Texas to a German Jewish family. He attended Tulane University and the University of Texas School of Law.


title: Adam Dell

text: He began his career working as a corporate attorney for Winstead Sechrest & Minick, in Austin, Texas, before joining the venture capital firm of Enterprise Partners in La Jolla, California. He then joined Crosspoint Venture Partners, in Woodside, California, where he became a partner in 1999. In 2000 he formed Impact Venture Partners, a $100mm early stage venture capital firm, in New York City. Dell joined Austin Ventures as a venture partner in 2009. Dell joined Goldman Sachs as a partner in 2018.


title: Adam Dell

text: During the course of his career, Dell invested in numerous technology companies such as Hotjobs.com, which was acquired by Yahoo! in 2002; Ingenio, which was acquired by AT&T in 2007; and OpenTable.


title: Adam Dell

text: He founded four companies, Clarity Money, which was acquired by Goldman Sachs in 2018; Civitas Learning; Buzzsaw.com, which was acquired by AutoDesk in 2002; and MessageOne, which was acquired by Dell, Inc. in 2008.


title: Adam Dell

text: Dell has served as an adjunct professor at both the Business School at Columbia University and the University of Texas School of Law.


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus species in the genus "Tobamovirus" that infects a wide range of plants, especially tobacco and other members of the family Solanaceae. The infection causes characteristic patterns, such as "mosaic"-like mottling and discoloration on the leaves (hence the name). TMV was the first virus to be discovered. Although it was known from the late 19th century that a non-bacterial infectious disease was damaging tobacco crops, it was not until 1930 that the infectious agent was determined to be a virus. It is the first pathogen identified as a virus. The virus was crystallised by W.M. Stanley. It has a similar size to the largest synthetic molecule, known as PG5


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: In 1886, Adolf Mayer first described the tobacco mosaic disease that could be transferred between plants, similar to bacterial infections. In 1892, Dmitri Ivanovsky gave the first concrete evidence for the existence of a non-bacterial infectious agent, showing that infected sap remained infectious even after filtering through the finest Chamberland filters. Later, in 1903, Ivanovsky published a paper describing abnormal crystal intracellular inclusions in the host cells of the affected tobacco plants and argued the connection between these inclusions and the infectious agent. However, Ivanovsky remained rather convinced, despite repeated failures to produce evidence, that the causal agent was an unculturable bacterium, too small to be retained on the employed Chamberland filters and to be detected in the light microscope. In 1898, Martinus Beijerinck independently replicated Ivanovsky's filtration experiments and then showed that the infectious agent was able to reproduce and multiply in the host cells of the tobacco plant. Beijerinck coined the term of "virus" to indicate that the causal agent of tobacco mosaic disease was of non-bacterial nature. "Tobacco mosaic virus" was the first virus to be crystallized. It was achieved by Wendell Meredith Stanley in 1935 who also showed that TMV remains active even after crystallization. For his work, he was awarded 1/4 of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1946, even though it was later shown some of his conclusions (in particular, that the crystals were pure protein, and assembled by autocatalysis) were incorrect. The first electron microscopical images of TMV were made in 1939 by Gustav Kausche, Edgar Pfankuch and Helmut Ruska – the brother of Nobel Prize winner Ernst Ruska. In 1955, Heinz Fraenkel-Conrat and Robley Williams showed that purified TMV RNA and its capsid (coat) protein assemble by themselves to functional viruses, indicating that this is the most stable structure (the one with the lowest free energy).


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: The crystallographer Rosalind Franklin worked for Stanley for about a month at Berkeley, and later designed and built a model of TMV for the 1958 World's Fair at Brussels. In 1958, she speculated that the virus was hollow, not solid, and hypothesized that the RNA of TMV is single-stranded. This conjecture was proven to be correct after her death and is now known to be the + strand. The investigations of tobacco mosaic disease and subsequent discovery of its viral nature were instrumental in the establishment of the general concepts of virology.


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: "Tobacco mosaic virus" has a rod-like appearance. Its capsid is made from 2130 molecules of coat protein and one molecule of genomic single strand RNA, 6400 bases long. The coat protein self-assembles into the rod-like helical structure (16.3 proteins per helix turn) around the RNA, which forms a hairpin loop structure (see the electron micrograph above). The structural organization of the virus gives stability. The protein monomer consists of 158 amino acids which are assembled into four main alpha-helices, which are joined by a prominent loop proximal to the axis of the virion. Virions are ~300 nm in length and ~18 nm in diameter. Negatively stained electron microphotographs show a distinct inner channel of radius ~2 nm. The RNA is located at a radius of ~4 nm and is protected from the action of cellular enzymes by the coat protein. X-ray fiber diffraction structure of the intact virus was studied based on an electron density map at 3.6 Å resolution. Inside the capsid helix, near the core, is the coiled RNA molecule, which is made up of 6,395 ±10 nucleotides. The structure of the virus plays an important role in the recognition of the viral DNA. This happens due to the formation of an obligatory intermediate produced from a protein allows the virus to recognize a specific RNA hairpin structure. The intermediate induces the nucleation of TMV self-assembly by binding with the hairpin structure.


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: The TMV genome consists of a 6.3–6.5 kbp single-stranded (ss) RNA. The 3’-terminus has a tRNA-like structure, and the 5’-terminus has a methylated nucleotide cap. (m7G5’pppG). The genome encodes 4 open reading frames (ORFs), two of which produce a single protein due to ribosomal readthrough of a leaky UAG stop codon. The 4 genes encode a replicase (with methyltransferase [MT] and RNA helicase [Hel] domains), an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, a so-called movement protein (MP) and a capsid protein (CP). The coding sequence starts with the first reading frame, which is 69 nucleotides away from the 5' end of the RNA. The noncoding region at the 5' end can be varied in different individual virions, but there hasn't been any variation found between virions in the noncoding region at the 3' end.


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: TMV is a thermostable virus. On a dried leaf, it can withstand up to 50 °C (120 degree Fahrenheit) for 30 minutes.


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: TMV does not have a distinct overwintering structure. Rather, it will over-winter in infected tobacco stalks and leaves in the soil, on the surface of contaminated seed (TMV can even survive in contaminated tobacco products for many years, so smokers can accidentally transmit it by touch, although not in the smoke itself). With the direct contact with host plants through its vectors (normally insects such as aphids and leafhoppers), TMV will go through the infection process and then the replication process.


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: After its multiplication, it enters the neighboring cells through plasmodesmata. The infection does not spread through contact with insects, but instead spreads by direct contact to the neighboring cells. For its smooth entry, TMV produces a 30 kDa movement protein called P30 which enlarges the plasmodesmata. TMV most likely moves from cell-to-cell as a complex of the RNA, P30, and replicate proteins.


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: It can also spread through phloem for longer distance movement within the plant. Moreover, TMV can be transmitted from one plant to another by direct contact. Although TMV does not have defined transmission vectors, the virus can be easily transmitted from the infected hosts to the healthy plants by human handling.


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: Following entry into its host via mechanical inoculation, TMV uncoats itself to release its viral [+]RNA strand. As uncoating occurs, the MetHel:Pol gene is translated to make the capping enzyme MetHel and the RNA Polymerase. Then the viral genome will further replicate to produce multiple mRNAs via a [-]RNA intermediate primed by the tRNA at the [+]RNA 3' end. The resulting mRNAs encode several proteins, including the coat protein and an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), as well as the movement protein. Thus TMV can replicate its own genome.


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: After the coat protein and RNA genome of TMV have been synthesized, they spontaneously assemble into complete TMV virions in a highly organized process. The protomers come together to form disks or 'lockwashers' composed of two layers of protomers arranged in a helix. The helical capsid grows by the addition of protomers to the end of the rod. As the rod lengthens, the RNA passes through a channel in its center and forms a loop at the growing end. In this way the RNA can easily fit as a spiral into the interior of the helical capsid.


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: Like other plant pathogenic viruses, TMV has a very wide host range and has different effects depending on the host being infected. "Tobacco mosaic virus" has been known to cause a production loss for flue cured tobacco of up to two percent in North Carolina. It is known to infect members of nine plant families, and at least 125 individual species, including tobacco, tomato, pepper (all members of the useful Solanaceae), cucumbers, a number of ornamental flowers, and beans including "Phaseolus vulgaris" and "Vigna unguiculata". There are many different strains. The first symptom of this virus disease is a light green coloration between the veins of young leaves. This is followed quickly by the development of a "mosaic" or mottled pattern of light and dark green areas in the leaves. Rugosity may also be seen where the infected plant leaves display small localized random wrinkles. These symptoms develop quickly and are more pronounced on younger leaves. Its infection does not result in plant death, but if infection occurs early in the season, plants are stunted. Lower leaves are subjected to "mosaic burn" especially during periods of hot and dry weather. In these cases, large dead areas develop in the leaves. This constitutes one of the most destructive phases of "Tobacco mosaic virus" infection. Infected leaves may be crinkled, puckered, or elongated. However, if TMV infects crops like grape and apple, it is almost symptomless. TMV is able to infect and complete its replication cycle in a plant pathogenic fungus,TMV is able to enter and replicate in cells of C. acutatum, C. clavatum, and C. theobromicola, which may not be an exception, although it has neither been found nor probably searched for in nature.


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: TMV is known as one of the most stable viruses. It has a very wide survival range. As long as the surrounding temperature remains below approximately 40 degrees Celsius, TMV can sustain its stable form. All it needs is a host to infect. If necessary, greenhouses and botanical gardens would provide the most favorable condition for TMV to spread out, due to the high population density of possible hosts and the constant temperature throughout the year. It also could be useful to culture TMV in vitro in sap because it can survive up to 3000 days.


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: One of the common control methods for TMV is sanitation, which includes removing infected plants and washing hands in between each planting. Crop rotation should also be employed to avoid infected soil/seed beds for at least two years. As for any plant disease, looking for resistant strains against TMV may also be advised. Furthermore, the cross protection method can be administered, where the stronger strain of TMV infection is inhibited by infecting the host plant with a mild strain of TMV, similar to the effect of a vaccine.


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: In the past ten years, the application of genetic engineering on a host plant genome has been developed to allow the host plant to produce the TMV coat protein within their cells. It was hypothesized that the TMV genome will be re-coated rapidly upon entering the host cell, thus it prevents the initiation of TMV replication. Later it was found that the mechanism that protects the host from viral genome insertion is through gene silencing.


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: TMV is inhibited by a product of the myxomycete slime mold "Physarum polycephalum". Both tobacco and the beans "P. vulgaris" and "V. sinensis" suffered almost no lesioning "in vitro" from TMV when treated with a "P. polycephalum" extract.


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: Research has shown that "Bacillus" spp. can be used to reduce the severity of symptoms from TMV in tobacco plants. In the study, treated tobacco plants had more growth and less build-up of TMV virions than tobacco plants that hadn't been treated.


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: A research has been conducted by H.Fraenkel-Conrat to show the influence of acetic acid on the Tobacco Mosaic Virus. According to the research, 67% acetic acid resulted as degradation of the virus.


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: Another possible source of prevention for TMV is the use of salicylic acid. A study completed by a research team at the University of Cambridge found that treating plants with salicylic acid reduced the amount of TMV viral RNAs and viral coat protein present in the tobacco plants. There research showed that salicylic acid most likely was disrupting replication and transcription and more specifically, the RdRp complex.


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: The large amount of literature about TMV and its choice for many pioneering investigations in structural biology (including X-ray diffraction), virus assembly and disassembly, and so on, are fundamentally due to the large quantities that can be obtained, plus the fact that it does not infect animals. After growing several hundred infected tobacco plants in a greenhouse, followed by a few simple laboratory procedures, a scientist can produce several grams of the virus. In fact, tobacco mosaic virus is so proliferate that the inclusion bodies can be seen with only a light microscope.


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: James D. Watson, in his memoir "The Double Helix", cites his x-ray investigation of TMV's helical structure as an important step in deducing the nature of the DNA molecule.


title: Tobacco mosaic virus

text: Plant viruses can be used to engineer viral vectors, tools commonly used by molecular biologists to deliver genetic material into plant cells; they are also sources of biomaterials and nanotechnology devices. Viral vectors based on TMV include those of the magnICON and TRBO plant expression technologies. Due to its cylindrical shape, high aspect ratio, self-assembling nature, and ability to incorporate metal coatings (nickel and cobalt) into its shell, TMV is an ideal candidate to be incorporated into battery electrodes. Addition of TMV to a battery electrode increases the reactive surface area by an order of magnitude, resulting in an increase in the battery's capacity by up to six times compared to a planar electrode geometry..The TMV-based vector also enabled C. acutatum to transiently express exogenous GFP up to six subcultures and for at least 2 mo after infection, without the need to develop transformation technology, RNAi can be expressed in the phytopathogenic fungus Colletotrichum acutatum by VIGS using a recombinant vector based on TMV in which the ORF of the gene encoding the green fluorescent protein (GFP) was transcribed in fungal cells from a duplicate of the TMV coat protein (CP) subgenomic mRNA promoter and demonstrated that the approach could be used to obtain foreign protein expression in fungi.


title: Alpha Group (Ukraine)

text: Special Group "Alpha" is an elite Ukrainian "Spetsnaz" group, branch of the Security Service of Ukraine; and a successor of the Soviet Union's Alpha Group. Group Alpha is one of the top divisions of the special forces of Ukraine.


title: Alpha Group (Ukraine)

text: On 28 July 1974, Alpha Group was created on the orders of the KGB Chairman, Yuri Andropov, in the aftermath of the 1972 Munich massacre. It might have been established as a response to West Germany's creation of "Grenzschutzgruppe 9" (or GSG 9). By attaching a special-purpose unit to the office of the First Chief Directorate in Moscow (later the Seventh Directorate), it was hoped that the Soviet Union's defensive capacity against terrorist attacks would increase significantly. At the time, other, more offensive special forces of the KGB included the groups Zenit and Kaskad/Omega. Another important mission for Alpha was to provide security for the Soviet leadership against enemy special forces in times of crisis or war.


title: Alpha Group (Ukraine)

text: Later, territorial Alpha units were established across the Soviet Union. An Alpha detachment in Ukraine was created on March 3, 1990, when the order was given to the Chief of the 7th Directorate of the KGB to establish 10th group (Kyiv) Group 'A' Services EIR 7th Directorate of the KGB. The selection process was rigorous. Of the initial 120 KGB candidates, only 15 passed the rigorous selection course to establish the first detachment under the leadership of commander Peter Feliksovich Zakrevskii.


title: Alpha Group (Ukraine)

text: The Kyiv territorial unit of Group "A" was converted into Service "C" of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in 1992. Nevertheless, it has continued to be informally called "Alpha", until June 23, 1994, when by the decree of the President of Ukraine on the basis of service "C" of the SBU was created Directorate "A" (Alpha). At this point in the SBU's groups "A" consists of five offices and regional offices based in each regional center of Ukraine.


title: Alpha Group (Ukraine)

text: In April 2014, in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity, when Ukraine's Alpha snipers were alleged to shoot at the protesters, it was purged and reorganised, and soon used by the new government against the pro-Russian separatist forces in the war in Donbas. Late April 2014 three officers were captured by members of the Donbas People's Militia armed group led by Igor Girkin in the town of Horlivka, after which they were beaten up and shown on Russian television; the SBU spokeswoman said the separatists acted on a tip from infiltrators inside the agency.


title: Alpha Group (Ukraine)

text: The SBU Alfa defector Alexander Khodakovsky, a former Alfa commander for Donetsk Oblast who has deserted from Ukrainian service along with several of his men following the revolution, became the commander of the rebel Vostok Battalion and later was given the post of security minister of the separatist Donetsk People's Republic.


title: Alpha Group (Ukraine)

text: During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Alpha group (according to Ukrainian sources) ambushed and wiped out a convoy in northern Kyiv, around Hostomel, composed of Chechen paramilitary (the "Kadyrovtsy") heading to the city. The Alpha Group was present in Kharkiv, defending the city at the Battle of Kharkiv and the Northeastern Ukraine campaign, during the counteroffensive, the Alpha Group re-captured several settlements such as Kupiansk.


title: Alpha Group (Ukraine)

text: The Alpha Group conducted operations to capture alleged fifth-columnists, Russian sympathizers, spies and infiltrators.


title: Alpha Group (Ukraine)

text: From its inception in 1994 to 2010, members of the special unit carried out more than 7,000 operations, from weapons seizure to anti narcotics operations, to apprehension of organized gang members, with no casualties sustained.


title: Alpha Group (Ukraine)

text: The unit suffered its first casualty in June 2014, fighting against Russian separatists and possibly, Russian special forces, in the Russo-Ukrainian War. As of 2018, ten SBU Alpha operators lost their lives in the conflict.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, (20 December 1926 – 9 October 2015) was a British Conservative politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1989 to 1990.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: Howe was Margaret Thatcher's longest-serving Cabinet minister, successively holding the posts of Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary, and finally Leader of the House of Commons, deputy prime minister and Lord President of the Council. His resignation on 1 November 1990 is widely considered to have precipitated the leadership challenge that led to Thatcher's resignation three weeks later.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: Geoffrey Howe was born in 1926 at Port Talbot, Wales, to Benjamin Edward Howe, a solicitor and coroner, and Eliza Florence (née Thomson) Howe. He was to describe himself as a quarter Scottish, a quarter Cornish and half Welsh.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: He was educated at three independent schools: at Bridgend Preparatory School in Bryntirion, followed by Abberley Hall School in Worcestershire and by winning an exhibition to Winchester College in Hampshire. Howe was not sporty, joining instead the debating society. It was during wartime, so he was active in the Home Guard at the school, and set up a National Savings group. He was also a keen photographer, and film buff.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: A gifted classicist, Howe was offered an exhibition to Trinity Hall, Cambridge in 1945, but first decided to join the army. He did a six-month course in maths and physics. Then he did National Service as a lieutenant with the Royal Corps of Signals in East Africa, by his own account giving political lectures in Swahili about how Africans should avoid communism and remain loyal to "Bwana Kingy George"; and also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: Having declined an offer to remain in the army as a captain, he matriculated at Trinity Hall in 1948, where he read Law and was chairman of the Cambridge University Conservative Association, and on the committee of the Cambridge Union Society.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: He was called to the bar by the Middle Temple in 1952 and practised in Wales. On 28 August 1953, Howe married Elspeth, daughter of P. Morton Shand. They had a son and two daughters. At first his legal practice struggled to pay, surviving thanks to £1,200 gift from his father and a judicious marriage. He served on the Council of the Bar from 1957 to 1962, and was a council member of the pressure group JUSTICE. A high-earning barrister, he was made a QC in 1965.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: Choosing a parallel career in politics, Howe stood as the Conservative Party candidate in his native Aberavon at the 1955 and 1959 general elections, losing in what was a very safe Labour Party seat.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: He helped to found the Bow Group, an internal Conservative think tank of "young modernisers" in the 1950s; he was one of its first chairmen in 1955–1956 and edited its magazine "Crossbow" from 1960 to 1962. In 1958, he co-authored the report "A Giant's Strength" published by the Inns of Court Conservative Association. The report argued that the unions had become too powerful and that their legal privileges ought to be curtailed. Iain Macleod discouraged the authors from publicising the report.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: Harold Macmillan believed that trade union votes had contributed towards the 1951 and 1955 election victories and thought that it "would be inexpedient to adopt any policy involving legislation which would alienate this support". Through a series of Bow Group publications, Howe advanced free market ideas, largely inspired by the thinking of Enoch Powell, which was later to be known as Thatcherism.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: Howe represented Bebington in the House of Commons from 1964 to 1966 with a much reduced majority. He became a chairman of the backbench committee on social services, being quickly recognised for promotion to the front bench, as HM Opposition spokesman on welfare and labour policy. He was defeated at the 1966 general election.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: Howe returned to the bar. He participated in the 1966 Aberfan Disaster Tribunal, representing the colliery managers. He sat as deputy chairman of Glamorgan quarter sessions. More politically significant was work on the Latey Committee tasked with recommending a reduction in the voting age. In 1969, he chaired the committee of inquiry into investigate alleged abuse at Ely Mental Hospital, Cardiff. On Howe's insistence, the inquiry's remit was expanded to cover the treatment of patients with intellectual disabilities within the National Health Service. The report had a wide impact on mental health provision in the UK, beginning a process that led to the widespread closure of large mental hospitals. But of more legislative importance were the Street Committee on racial discrimination, and Cripps Committee on discrimination against women, the reports of which helped the Labour government to change the law.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: He returned to the House of Commons as the MP for Reigate from 1970 to 1974, and East Surrey from 1974 to 1992. In 1970, he was appointed Solicitor General in Edward Heath's government and was knighted. He was responsible for the Industrial Relations Act that caused immediate retaliatory union strikes. He was promoted in 1972 to Minister of State at the Department of Trade and Industry, with a seat in the Cabinet and Privy Council membership, a post he held until Labour were returned to government in March 1974.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: In 1974, the Reigate boundary changes redrew the seat as East Surrey, and Heath appointed him as spokesman for social services. Howe contested the second ballot of the 1975 Conservative leadership election, in which Margaret Thatcher was elected as party leader. She saw him as a like-minded right-winger and he was appointed Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. He masterminded the development of new economic policies embodied in an Opposition mini-manifesto "The Right Approach to the Economy".


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: At the same time, in response to the 1976 sterling crisis, Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer Denis Healey had requested a loan of $3.9 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF); at the time, it was the largest loan request the IMF had ever received. In 1978, Healey said Howe's criticism was "like being savaged by a dead sheep". Nevertheless, when Healey was featured on "This Is Your Life" in 1989, Howe appeared and paid warm tribute.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: With the Conservative victory in the 1979 general election, Howe became Chancellor of the Exchequer. His tenure was characterised by an ambitious programme of radical policies intended to restore the public finances, reduce inflation and liberalise the economy. The shift from direct to indirect taxation, the development of a medium-term financial strategy, the abolition of exchange controls and the creation of tax-free enterprise zones were among the most important decisions of his Chancellorship.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: The first of five budgets, in 1979, promised to honour Professor Hugh Clegg's report that recommended a return to pre-1975 pay levels in real terms, conceding Howe's point about "concerted action". Rampant inflation had however eroded competitiveness, devalued pensions, investments, and wages. Thatcher reminded him: "On your own head be it, Geoffrey, if anything goes wrong," commencing an often tense and querulous working relationship. Thatcher's point was that the vast increase in (indirect) taxation and government spending (notably in public sector pay) in 1979 would lead to terrible consequences – which it did, as unemployment doubled. The financial policy tightened money supply, restricted public sector pay, with the ultimate effect of driving up inflation, at least in the short-term, and unemployment in the medium-term.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: During Thatcher's first term the government's poll ratings plummeted, until the 'Falklands Factor'. Howe's 1981 Budget defied conventional economic wisdom at the time by slowing the rate of inflation at a time of recession. At the time, his decision was fiercely criticised by 364 academic economists in a letter to "The Times", who contended that there was no place for de-stimulatory policies in the economic climate of the time, remarking the Budget had "no basis in economic theory or supporting evidence". Many signatories were prominent members of the academic sphere, including Mervyn King who later became the Governor of the Bank of England.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: The logic in his proposals was that by reducing the deficit which at the time was £9.3 billion (3.6% GDP), and controlling inflation, long-term interest rates would be able to decline, thus re-stimulating the economy. The budget did reduce inflation from 11.9% in early 1981 to 3.8% in February 1983. Long-term interest rates also declined from 14% in 1981 to 10% in 1983. The economy slowly climbed out of recession. However, unemployment, already extremely high, was pushed to a 50-year high of 12% by 1984, narrowly avoiding the figure reached during the Great Depression of 13.5%. Some have argued that the budget, although ultimately successful, was nevertheless over the top. Specialist opinions on the question, expressed with 25 years' hindsight, are collected in an Institute of Economic Affairs report.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: Unlike Reaganomics, his macro-economic policy emphasised the need to narrow the budget deficit rather than engage in unilateral tax cuts – 'I never succumbed... to the mistaken interpretations of Lafferism, which have led some US policymakers so far astray'; despite these measures the budget deficit remained on average 3% of GDP during Howe's tenure. His macro-economic policy was designed to liberalise the economy and promote supply-side reform. This combination of policies became one of the defining features of Thatcherism in power. However, by the time of his last budget shortly before a general election there were early signs of a recovery, which Howe used to justify a cut in taxes.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: Documents released under the British government's 30-year rule in 2011 revealed that in the wake of the Toxteth riots in Liverpool in 1981 Howe had warned Thatcher "not to overcommit scarce resources to Liverpool", writing that "It would be even more regrettable if some of the brighter ideas for renewing economic activity were to be sown only on relatively stony ground on the banks of the Mersey. I cannot help feeling that the option of managed decline is one which we should not forget altogether. We must not expend all our limited resources in trying to make water flow uphill". Howe later stated that he had not advocated the "managed decline" policy and that he had merely been warning of the danger of concentrating excessive resources on one area of need.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: After the 1983 general election Thatcher reluctantly appointed Howe Foreign Secretary, a post he held for six years, the longest tenure since Sir Edward Grey in 1905–1916. With "the quiet determination" applied in the Treasury he set off on a tour of Warsaw Pact countries, interviewing communist leaders and sounding out opponents. The trip opened the way to further discussions with Mikhail Gorbachev, with whom he believed Thatcher shared "extraordinary chemistry." He later looked back on this period (1983–1985) as his happiest, and most fruitful and productive, engaging with world leaders across the summit table, sharing decisions with Thatcher, including a notable encounter with Caspar Weinberger on 6 September 1982. Success with the Americans proved decisive in bringing about the end of Communism in Europe.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: Howe was closely involved in the negotiations leading up to the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration on the future of Hong Kong, and developed a good working relationship with the United States Secretary of State, George Shultz, mirroring the close connection between Thatcher and President Ronald Reagan. However, Howe's tenure was made difficult by growing behind-the-scenes tensions with the Prime Minister on a number of issues, first on South Africa, next on Britain's relations with the European Community, and then in 1985 the Anglo-Irish Agreement. For his staff, Howe was a respected boss; mild-mannered, polite and courteous, he was assiduous in his attention to detail. However the human rights questions over South African sanctions and trade embargo coupled to his deep concern over Thatcher's strident style in Europe, increasingly drove a stressful wedge between Nos 10 and 11. On policy objectives they began to drift apart with fatal consequences for the Prime Minister's ambitions. Thatcher's dominant style contrasted with his emollience, patience and capacity for negotiation. Their differences were dated to the Westland Affair in 1986, when senior ministers almost forced her to resign, according to Douglas Hurd's memoirs.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: In June 1989, Howe and his successor as chancellor, Nigel Lawson, both secretly threatened to resign over Thatcher's opposition to British proposed membership of the exchange rate mechanism of the European Monetary System. Howe supported the ERM both because of his general support of European integration and because he had become convinced as Chancellor of the need for more exchange rate stability. She turned increasingly for advice to her No.10 private secretary Charles Powell, a career diplomat who contrasted to Howe's mandarin-style. Howe remarked: "She was often exasperated by my tenaciously quiet brand of advocacy." His friends often wondered why he put up with her style for so long; but many considered him to be her successor. One historian has suggested that the government would have survived even the ructions over Europe had Howe remained her ally.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: In the following month of July 1989, the then little-known John Major was unexpectedly appointed to replace Howe as Foreign Secretary, and the latter became Leader of the House of Commons, Lord President of the Council and Deputy Prime Minister. In the reshuffle, Howe was also offered, but turned down, the post of Home Secretary. Although attempts were made to belittle this aspect, Howe's move back to domestic politics was generally seen as a demotion, especially after Thatcher's press secretary Bernard Ingham belittled the significance of the deputy prime minister appointment, saying that the title had no constitutional significance, at his lobby briefing the following morning.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: Howe then had to give up the Foreign Secretary's country residence Chevening. The sceptical attitude towards Howe in Number 10 weakened him politically – even if it might have been driven to some degree by fear of him as a possible successor, a problem compounded by the resignation from the Treasury of his principal ally Nigel Lawson later in the same year. During his time as deputy prime minister, Howe made a series of coded calls on Thatcher to realign her administration, which was suffering rising unpopularity following its introduction of the poll tax, as a 'listening government'.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: Tensions began to emerge in 1982 during the Falklands War when Thatcher, on the advice of Harold Macmillan (who warned against including the Treasury), refused to appoint him to the war cabinet. During his first budget, Thatcher wrote to Adam Ridley: "The trouble with people like Geoffrey – lawyers – they are too timid." On the occasion of the general election victory of 1983 there were heated exchanges of views in No. 10 on her decision to move him to the Foreign Office. Howe was one of those who persuaded Michael Heseltine that on balance it was probably better that he, rather than she, resign during the Westland Affair in 1986. At the Scottish Party Conference in Perth in 1987, Howe spelled out his position for the European single market and the proposed Delors Plan (Thatcher having accepted the Single European Act in 1986). In the following year, Thatcher made her speech at Bruges declining the offer to deepen the bureaucratic state towards a "Federalist Superstate".


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: At the Madrid inter-governmental conference the tensions were ratcheted higher as Thatcher emphatically renounced any advance in British policy over the European agenda for "ever closer union" of political and economic forces. Howe forced her to give conditions for entering the proposal for entry to the ERM in June 1989. Howe and Nigel Lawson threatened to resign; but she called his bluff by appointing John Major over his head. Howe resented having to give up the state residence of Chevening, in Kent on being effectively demoted to Lord President of the Council. He deeply resented leaving the Foreign and Commonwealth Office which was a job he had always coveted. When Lawson resigned it looked like a natural reshuffle, but Howe was frozen out of the inner circle. When Howe attended a meeting with the Queen he found to his surprise that Britain had joined the ERM before he had been informed about it – the ERM had been Howe's policy. The pound sterling was thus pegged to the Deutsche Mark, instead of the US dollar and the consequence was that Britain's currency was pummelled into devaluation by a much stronger German economy. The option to leave cost Britain billions in 1992. But at the Rome Summit in October 1990, Thatcher was said to have exclaimed, in a fit of pique, "no, no, no" to the Delors Plan, and repeated the government's policy at Paris summit on 18–20 November. She also repeated the "no, no, no" message in the House of Commons on her return to Westminster. Howe had told Brian Walden (a former Labour MP) on ITV's "Weekend World", that the "government did not oppose the principle of a single currency", which was factually inaccurate.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: Howe tendered his resignation on 1 November 1990. Sometimes mocked as "Mogadon man" – Mogadon being a well-known sleeping medication – Howe delivered a blow to Thatcher's government in full view of Prime Minister's Questions and a packed House of Commons on 13 November. Howe later contended that the Community Charge was incompetently implemented, but it was the direction of European policy rather than domestic rioting that tipped the balance. His dispute with Thatcher was over matters of substance more than ones of style; he advocated a move back towards a more centrist position on constitutional and administrative issues, such as taxation and European integration. Howe represented a kind of moderate whiggery in the party, being educated, lawyerly, and diligent; while direct, he was conciliatory and collegial in style.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: Howe wrote a cautiously worded letter of resignation in which he criticised the Prime Minister's overall handling of UK relations with the European Community. After largely successful attempts by 10 Downing Street to claim that there were differences only of style, rather than substance, in Howe's disagreement with Thatcher on Europe, Howe chose to send a powerful message of dissent. In his resignation speech in the Commons on 13 November 1990, he attacked Thatcher for running increasingly serious risks for the future of the country and criticised her for undermining the policies on EMU proposed by her own chancellor and governor of the Bank of England.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: Although Howe subsequently wrote in his memoir that his intention was only to constrain any shift in European policy by the Cabinet under the existing prime minister, his speech is widely seen as the key catalyst for the leadership challenge mounted by Michael Heseltine a few days later. Although Thatcher won the most votes in the leadership election, she did not win by a large enough margin to win outright and subsequently withdrew from the contest on 22 November. Five days later, Chancellor of the Exchequer John Major was elected party leader and thus became prime minister. The change proved to be a positive one for the Tories, who had trailed Labour in most opinion polls by a double-digit margin throughout 1990 but soon returned to the top of the polls and won the general election in April 1992.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: Howe retired from the House of Commons in 1992 and was made a life peer on 30 June 1992 as Baron Howe of Aberavon, of Tandridge in the County of Surrey. He published his memoirs (1994) soon after. In the Lords, Howe continued to speak on a wide range of foreign-policy and European issues, and led opposition to the Labour government's plans from 1997 to convert the second chamber into a largely elected body – a position reiterated in the face of Coalition proposals in 2012. He retired from the House of Lords on 19 May 2015.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: Following his retirement from the Commons, Howe took on a number of non-executive directorships in business and advisory posts in law and academia, including as international political adviser to the US law firm Jones Day, a director of GlaxoSmithKline and J. P. Morgan, and visitor at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: His wife, Elspeth, a former chairman of the Broadcasting Standards Commission, was made a life peer in 2001. The Baroness Howe of Idlicote and her husband were one of the few couples who both held titles in their own right. Lord Howe was a patron of the UK Metric Association and the Conservative Foreign and Commonwealth Council. Howe was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in the 1996 Birthday Honours. He was an honorary fellow of SOAS. From 1996 to 2006 he was president of the Academy of Experts and in November 2014 was made an honorary fellow of the organisation in recognition of his contribution to the development of methods of dispute resolution.


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: Howe was a close personal friend of Ian Gow, the former MP, parliamentary private secretary, and personal confidant of Margaret Thatcher. He delivered the principal appreciation of Gow at the latter's memorial service after Gow was murdered by the IRA in July 1990. Obituarists noted how Howe was "warm and well liked by colleagues", with Nigel Lawson writing that he would be remembered by those who knew him "as one of the kindest and nicest men in politics" who, according to Andrew Rawnsley of "The Observer", was frequently spoken of by fellow politicians "as one of the most honest and decent practitioners of their profession."


title: Geoffrey Howe

text: Howe's dramatic resignation speech in the House of Commons formed the basis of Jonathan Maitland's 2015 play "Dead Sheep". Howe was interviewed in 2012 as part of the History of Parliament's oral history project.


title: Kofta

text: Kofta is a family of meatball or meatloaf dishes found in Balkan, Middle Eastern, South Caucasian, South Asian and Central Asian cuisines. In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced meatusually beef, chicken, pork, lamb or mutton, or a mixturemixed with spices and sometimes other ingredients. The earliest known recipes are found in early Arab cookbooks and call for ground lamb.


title: Kofta

text: There are many national and regional variations. There are also vegetable and uncooked versions. Shapes vary and include balls, patties, and cylinders. Sizes typically vary from that of a golf ball to that of an orange.


title: Kofta

text: In English, "kofta" is a loanword borrowed from which in turn is derived from Classical Persian , contemporarily . The earliest extant use of the word in the Urdu language is attested from the year 1665 in Mulla Nusrati's "ʿAlī Nāma". It was first used in English in "Qanoon-e-Islam" in 1832, and then by James Wise in 1883. The languages of the region of the kofta's origin have adopted the word with minor phonetic variations. Similar foods are called in other languages croquettes, dumplings, meatballs, rissoles, and turnovers.


title: Kofta

text: The first appearance of recipes for kofta are in the earliest Arab cookbooks. The earliest recipes are for large ground lamb meatballs triple-glazed in a mixture of saffron and egg yolk. This glazing method spread to the West, where it is referred to as "gilding" or "endoring". Koftas moved to India; according to Alan Davidson nargisi kofta were served at the Moghul court.


title: Kofta

text: Koftas are found from the Indian subcontinent through Central Asia, the Middle East, the Balkans, and northern Africa. Koftas are found in the traditional cuisines of Iran, Afghanistan, Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Greece, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Romania, and Turkey. In Turkey it is "a preferred offering at communal gatherings of all kinds", according to Engin Akin. In Armenia and Azerbaijan it is, along with dolma, lavash, harissa, kebabs, and pahlava, a dish of "clearly symbolic ethnic significance" often argued over by gastronationalists attempting to claim it as one of their own country's traditional dishes that has been co-opted by the other country. Kofta is a popular dish among Assyrian people.


title: Kofta

text: Generally meat is mixed with spices and often other ingredients such as rice, bulgur, vegetables, or eggs to form a paste. They can be grilled, fried, steamed, poached, baked, or marinated, and may be served with a rich spicy sauce or in a soup or stew. Koftas are sometimes made from fish or vegetables rather than red meat. Some versions are stuffed with nuts, cheese, or eggs. Generally the size can vary from the "size of an orange to the size of a golf ball", although some variants are outside that range; "tabriz koftesi", which average in diameter, are the largest. They can be shaped in various forms including patties, balls, or cylinders. Some versions are uncooked.


title: Cyclic group

text: In group theory, a branch of abstract algebra in pure mathematics, a cyclic group or monogenous group is a group, denoted C, that is generated by a single element. That is, it is a set of invertible elements with a single associative binary operation, and it contains an element "g" such that every other element of the group may be obtained by repeatedly applying the group operation to "g" or its inverse. Each element can be written as an integer power of "g" in multiplicative notation, or as an integer multiple of "g" in additive notation. This element "g" is called a "generator" of the group.


title: Cyclic group

text: Every infinite cyclic group is isomorphic to the additive group of Z, the integers. Every finite cyclic group of order "n" is isomorphic to the additive group of Z/"n"Z, the integers modulo "n". Every cyclic group is an abelian group (meaning that its group operation is commutative), and every finitely generated abelian group is a direct product of cyclic groups.


title: Cyclic group

text: Every cyclic group of prime order is a simple group, which cannot be broken down into smaller groups. In the classification of finite simple groups, one of the three infinite classes consists of the cyclic groups of prime order. The cyclic groups of prime order are thus among the building blocks from which all groups can be built.


title: Cyclic group

text: For any element "g" in any group "G", one can form the subgroup that consists of all its integer powers: , called the cyclic subgroup generated by "g". The order of "g" is the number of elements in ⟨"g"⟩; that is, the order of an element is equal to the order of the cyclic subgroup that it generates.


title: Cyclic group

text: A "cyclic group" is a group which is equal to one of its cyclic subgroups: for some element "g", called a "generator" of "G".


title: Cyclic group

text: For a finite cyclic group "G" of order "n" we have , where "e" is the identity element and whenever (mod "n"); in particular , and . An abstract group defined by this multiplication is often denoted C, and we say that "G" is isomorphic to the standard cyclic group C. Such a group is also isomorphic to Z/"n"Z, the group of integers modulo "n" with the addition operation, which is the standard cyclic group in additive notation. Under the isomorphism "χ" defined by the identity element "e" corresponds to 0, products correspond to sums, and powers correspond to multiples.


title: Cyclic group

text: For example, the set of complex 6th roots of unity formula_1 forms a group under multiplication. It is cyclic, since it is generated by the primitive root formula_2 that is, "G" = ⟨"z"⟩ = { 1, "z", "z", "z", "z", "z" } with "z" = 1. Under a change of letters, this is isomorphic to (structurally the same as) the standard cyclic group of order 6, defined as C = ⟨"g"⟩ = with multiplication "g" · "g" = "g" , so that "g" = "g" = "e". These groups are also isomorphic to Z/6Z = with the operation of addition modulo 6, with "z" and "g" corresponding to "k". For example, corresponds to , and corresponds to , and so on. Any element generates its own cyclic subgroup, such as ⟨"z"⟩ = of order 3, isomorphic to C and Z/3Z; and ⟨"z"⟩ = { "e", "z", "z" = "z", "z" = "z", "z" = "z", "z" = "z" } = "G", so that "z" has order 6 and is an alternative generator of "G".


title: Cyclic group

text: Instead of the quotient notations Z/"n"Z, Z/("n"), or Z/"n", some authors denote a finite cyclic group as Z, but this clashes with the notation of number theory, where Z denotes a "p"-adic number ring, or localization at a prime ideal.


title: Cyclic group

text: On the other hand, in an infinite cyclic group , the powers "g" give distinct elements for all integers "k", so that "G" = , and "G" is isomorphic to the standard group and to Z, the additive group of the integers. An example is the first frieze group. Here there are no finite cycles, and the name "cyclic" may be misleading.


title: Cyclic group

text: To avoid this confusion, Bourbaki introduced the term monogenous group for a group with a single generator and restricted "cyclic group" to mean a finite monogenous group, avoiding the term "infinite cyclic group".


title: Cyclic group

text: The set of integers Z, with the operation of addition, forms a group. It is an infinite cyclic group, because all integers can be written by repeatedly adding or subtracting the single number 1. In this group, 1 and −1 are the only generators. Every infinite cyclic group is isomorphic to Z.


title: Cyclic group

text: For every positive integer "n", the set of integers modulo "n", again with the operation of addition, forms a finite cyclic group, denoted Z/"n"Z.


title: Cyclic group

text: A modular integer "i" is a generator of this group if "i" is relatively prime to "n", because these elements can generate all other elements of the group through integer addition.


title: Cyclic group

text: The addition operations on integers and modular integers, used to define the cyclic groups, are the addition operations of commutative rings, also denoted Z and Z/"nZ or Z/("n"). If "p" is a prime, then Z/"pZ is a finite field, and is usually denoted F or GF("p") for Galois field.


title: Cyclic group

text: For every positive integer "n", the set of the integers modulo "n" that are relatively prime to "n" is written as (Z/"n"Z); it forms a group under the operation of multiplication. This group is not always cyclic, but is so whenever "n" is 1, 2, 4, a power of an odd prime, or twice a power of an odd prime .


title: Cyclic group

text: This is the multiplicative group of units of the ring Z/"nZ; there are "φ"("n") of them, where again "φ" is the Euler totient function. For example, (Z/6Z) = , and since 6 is twice an odd prime this is a cyclic group. In contrast, (Z/8Z) = is a Klein 4-group and is not cyclic. When (Z/"nZ) is cyclic, its generators are called primitive roots modulo "n".


title: Cyclic group

text: For a prime number "p", the group (Z/"p"Z) is always cyclic, consisting of the non-zero elements of the finite field of order "p". More generally, every finite subgroup of the multiplicative group of any field is cyclic.


title: Cyclic group

text: The set of rotational symmetries of a polygon forms a finite cyclic group. If there are "n" different ways of moving the polygon to itself by a rotation (including the null rotation) then this symmetry group is isomorphic to Z/"n"Z. In three or higher dimensions there exist other finite symmetry groups that are cyclic, but which are not all rotations around an axis, but instead rotoreflections.


title: Cyclic group

text: The group of all rotations of a circle (the circle group, also denoted "S") is "not" cyclic, because there is no single rotation whose integer powers generate all rotations. In fact, the infinite cyclic group C is countable, while "S" is not. The group of rotations by rational angles "is" countable, but still not cyclic.


title: Cyclic group

text: An "n"th root of unity is a complex number whose "n"th power is 1, a root of the polynomial . The set of all "n"th roots of unity forms a cyclic group of order "n" under multiplication. For example, the polynomial factors as , where ; the set = forms a cyclic group under multiplication. The Galois group of the field extension of the rational numbers generated by the "n"th roots of unity forms a different group, isomorphic to the multiplicative group (Z/nZ) of order "φ"("n"), which is cyclic for some but not all "n" (see above).


title: Cyclic group

text: A field extension is called a cyclic extension if its Galois group is cyclic. For fields of characteristic zero, such extensions are the subject of Kummer theory, and are intimately related to solvability by radicals. For an extension of finite fields of characteristic "p", its Galois group is always finite and cyclic, generated by a power of the Frobenius mapping. Conversely, given a finite field "F" and a finite cyclic group "G", there is a finite field extension of "F" whose Galois group is "G".


title: Cyclic group

text: All subgroups and quotient groups of cyclic groups are cyclic. Specifically, all subgroups of Z are of the form ⟨"m"⟩ = "mZ, with "m" a positive integer. All of these subgroups are distinct from each other, and apart from the trivial group {0} = 0Z, they all are isomorphic to Z. The lattice of subgroups of Z is isomorphic to the dual of the lattice of natural numbers ordered by divisibility. Thus, since a prime number "p" has no nontrivial divisors, "pZ is a maximal proper subgroup, and the quotient group Z/"p"Z is simple; in fact, a cyclic group is simple if and only if its order is prime.


title: Cyclic group

text: All quotient groups Z/"nZ are finite, with the exception For every positive divisor "d" of "n", the quotient group Z/"nZ has precisely one subgroup of order "d", generated by the residue class of "n"/"d". There are no other subgroups.


title: Cyclic group

text: Every cyclic group is abelian. That is, its group operation is commutative: (for all "g" and "h" in "G"). This is clear for the groups of integer and modular addition since , and it follows for all cyclic groups since they are all isomorphic to these standard groups. For a finite cyclic group of order "n", "g" is the identity element for any element "g". This again follows by using the isomorphism to modular addition, since for every integer "k". (This is also true for a general group of order "n", due to Lagrange's theorem.)


title: Cyclic group

text: For a prime power "p", the group Z/"p"Z is called a primary cyclic group. The fundamental theorem of abelian groups states that every finitely generated abelian group is a finite direct product of primary cyclic and infinite cyclic groups.


title: Cyclic group

text: Because a cyclic group is abelian, each of its conjugacy classes consists of a single element. A cyclic group of order "n" therefore has "n" conjugacy classes.


title: Cyclic group

text: If "d" is a divisor of "n", then the number of elements in Z/"n"Z which have order "d" is "φ"("d"), and the number of elements whose order divides "d" is exactly "d".


title: Cyclic group

text: If "G" is a finite group in which, for each , "G" contains at most "n" elements of order dividing "n", then "G" must be cyclic.


title: Cyclic group

text: If "n" and "m" are coprime, then the direct product of two cyclic groups Z/"nZ and Z/"mZ is isomorphic to the cyclic group Z/"nm"Z, and the converse also holds: this is one form of the Chinese remainder theorem. For example, Z/12Z is isomorphic to the direct product under the isomorphism ; but it is not isomorphic to , in which every element has order at most 6.


title: Cyclic group

text: A number "n" is called a cyclic number if Z/"n"Z is the only group of order "n", which is true exactly when . The sequence of cyclic numbers include all primes, but some are composite such as 15. However, all cyclic numbers are odd except 2. The cyclic numbers are:


title: Cyclic group

text: The representation theory of the cyclic group is a critical base case for the representation theory of more general finite groups. In the complex case, a representation of a cyclic group decomposes into a direct sum of linear characters, making the connection between character theory and representation theory transparent. In the positive characteristic case, the indecomposable representations of the cyclic group form a model and inductive basis for the representation theory of groups with cyclic Sylow subgroups and more generally the representation theory of blocks of cyclic defect.


title: Cyclic group

text: A cycle graph illustrates the various cycles of a group and is particularly useful in visualizing the structure of small finite groups. A cycle graph for a cyclic group is simply a circular graph, where the group order is equal to the number of nodes. A single generator defines the group as a directional path on the graph, and the inverse generator defines a backwards path. A trivial path (identity) can be drawn as a loop but is usually suppressed. Z is sometimes drawn with two curved edges as a multigraph.


title: Cyclic group

text: A cyclic group Z, with order "n", corresponds to a single cycle graphed simply as an "n"-sided polygon with the elements at the vertices.


title: Cyclic group

text: A Cayley graph is a graph defined from a pair ("G","S") where "G" is a group and "S" is a set of generators for the group; it has a vertex for each group element, and an edge for each product of an element with a generator. In the case of a finite cyclic group, with its single generator, the Cayley graph is a cycle graph, and for an infinite cyclic group with its generator the Cayley graph is a doubly infinite path graph. However, Cayley graphs can be defined from other sets of generators as well. The Cayley graphs of cyclic groups with arbitrary generator sets are called circulant graphs. These graphs may be represented geometrically as a set of equally spaced points on a circle or on a line, with each point connected to neighbors with the same set of distances as each other point. They are exactly the vertex-transitive graphs whose symmetry group includes a transitive cyclic group.


title: Cyclic group

text: The endomorphism ring of the abelian group Z/"nZ is isomorphic to Z/"nZ itself as a ring. Under this isomorphism, the number "r" corresponds to the endomorphism of Z/"nZ that maps each element to the sum of "r" copies of it. This is a bijection if and only if "r" is coprime with "n", so the automorphism group of Z/"nZ is isomorphic to the unit group (Z/"n"Z).


title: Cyclic group

text: Similarly, the endomorphism ring of the additive group of Z is isomorphic to the ring Z. Its automorphism group is isomorphic to the group of units of the ring Z, which is .


title: Cyclic group

text: A group is called virtually cyclic if it contains a cyclic subgroup of finite index (the number of cosets that the subgroup has). In other words, any element in a virtually cyclic group can be arrived at by multiplying a member of the cyclic subgroup and a member of a certain finite set. Every cyclic group is virtually cyclic, as is every finite group. An infinite group is virtually cyclic if and only if it is finitely generated and has exactly two ends; an example of such a group is the direct product of Z/"n"Z and Z, in which the factor Z has finite index "n". Every abelian subgroup of a Gromov hyperbolic group is virtually cyclic.