document_title: Postage stamps and postal history of Pakistan

question_text: who made the design of pakistan first stamp ticket

question_tokens: who made the design of pakistan first stamp ticket

text: Postage stamps and postal history of Pakistan

text: History[edit]

text: 1947 to 1971[edit]

text: At the time of independence in August 1947, the country inherited a divided (east and west) postal system established by the British rulers. The new system started operating under the modified Post Office Act no VI of 1898.[3] The post office was part of the joint Department of Posts and Telegraph of the Ministry of Communications. Though the Office of the Postmaster General became operational at Lahore from 15 August 1947,[3] the newly formed government was too preoccupied with establishing itself, therefore British Indian stamps continued to be used without an overprint as was the practice in other countries.[1]

text:
On 1 October 1947, the government released its first stamps, being from the 1940s British India series of King George VI stamps overprinted with the word Pakistan.[4] Known as the Nasik Overprints, after the place near Mumbai, India, where they were overprinted, this set consists of 19 stamps.[5]
These Nasik overprints were also used in some Gulf states, both officially and unofficial. At the time of independence, the postal system of some of these areas was run from Karachi, and therefore, they became the responsibility of the new government.[6] Officially these stamps were used in Muscat and Oman and its protectorate of Gwadar (on Pakistan's Baluchistan coast) and Dubai. Muscat used these stamps for a period of only 3 months from 29 December 1947 to 31 March 1948.[6] Gwadar used this issue and various other commemorative ones until 1958.[6] Dubai used these stamps from October 1947 until the end of March 1948.[6]

text: In November 1947, Pakistan joined the Universal Postal Union as its 89th member.[7] Nine months later on 9 July 1948, the government released its first commemorative set for the country's first anniversary which consisted of 4 stamps. The stamps were inscribed "15 August 1947" because of the prevailing confusing as to which date was Pakistan's actual date of independence.[8] It wasn't until early 1949, that this confusion was cleared by declaring 14 August as independence day.[9] The first day cancellation for this issue was the country's first special pictorial postmark.[10]

text: 14 August 1948 saw the released of the first definitive set consisting of 20 stamps. This set depicted scales of justice (3)(SG 24-26); crescent and star (3) (SG 27-29); Lloyd's Barrage (now Sukkur Barrage)(3)(SG 30); Karachi Port Trust building (5); Salimullah Hostel, Dacca University (now in Bangladesh)(3) and the Khyber Pass (3)(SG 41-43). These were withdrawn from sale on 1 January 1961.[9]

text: The centenary of Scinde Dawks was commemorated in 1952 with the release of a set of two stamps (SG 63, 64). These depicted the actual stamps plus advances in transportation since their release.

text: The authorities have to date issued only four booklets, with the only regular issue, released in 1956.[11] Released on 23 March 1956, the first booklet was also the only time a private company, in this case Atco Industries, makers of Alladin battery cells, had sponsored a booklet.[12] It contained 24 stamps of two denominations, 6 pies (SG 65) and 1 ½anna (SG 68), from the 7th anniversary set of 1954. Each pane was separated by interleaving of butter paper.[11] The booklet was priced at Rs. 1/8 and 10,000 booklets were printed.[11]

text: Currency change[edit]

text: In 1961, the government decided to introduce decimal currency into the country. This necessitated the surcharging of stamps to reflect this change. Six stamps were chosen from various issues and overprinted with the following denominations: 1 paisa, 2 paisas, 3 paisas, 7 paisas, 13 paisas (2 designs). Their printing was divided between two local printers, both based in Karachi: Pakistan Security Printing Corporation (PSPC) and Time Press, Karachi. Times Press used many plates for printing which resulted in varieties and shifts. Service stamps with decimal surcharges were also printed by the same printers. Forgeries in this issue exist in such numbers that they make the average person think that there are more errors and varieties than in fact.[13] In the 2 paisas Service stamps, errors including service on front and surcharge on gum side are forgeries.[14]

text: Independent Department[edit]

text: In July 1962, the government bifurcated the old department[15] and independently placed the postal service under the Ministry of Communications.

text: To speed up the sorting of mail, during the 1960s, the post office installed five Thrisell Electro Magnetic Sorting Machines in Karachi and Lahore.[16] However, during the 1980s their use was stopped.

text: 1972 to date[edit]

text: 1972 was the beginning of a new period in the country's postal history with the eastern wing lost in the 1971 War. However, the post office continued to use three languages on stamps until the end of the year.

text: From August 1986, a number of special services were introduced within the country. These included Air Express (Airex) (2 August 1986);[17] Urgent Mail Service (UMS) (1 January 1987);[17][18] local packet and parcel service[18] or Local Express Delivery (LES) (22 April 1987);[17] International Speed Post (ISP) (1 September 1986)[17] and Postal Giro Service (15 March 1988)[17]

text: In January 1988, 5 digit postcodes were introduce in the country[18][19] to facilitate delivery.

text: On 14 August 1990, the government released its largest set (SG 801-827) on pioneers of freedom. Designed by Saeed Akhtar it was released in 3 sheets of 9 stamps.

text: To improve and expedite the transmission and delivery of international mail, a new office was constructed in Islamabad which started working in December 1990.[20] This helped to reduce pressure on the office in Karachi.

text: From 1991, Express Mail was sub contracted at Karachi.[18]

text: Pakistan Postal Services Corporation[edit]

text: Between 1 August 1992 and 6 July 1996, the post office was separated from the Ministry and made an independent corporation.[21] It was during this period that philately was first commercialised.[18]

text: Pakistan Post[edit]

text: In 2001, the government raises basic inland postage rates from Rs. 2 to Rs. 4.

text: In 2002, Pakistan Postal Services Management Board was created.[22]

text: Ministry of Postal Services[edit]

text: On 3 November 2008, the department was placed under the postal division of the newly created Ministry of Postal Services.[22] Senator Israr Ullah Zehri was appointed its first minister.

text: The first stamp issued under the new ministry was released on 10 December 2008, to honour the awarding of UN Human Rights Award to Benazir Bhutto.[23]

text: In November 2009, the government again raised minimum postage by 100% to Rs. 8.[24] To improve services, the Post Office has implemented a plan to establish 100 express centres throughout the country by June 2010.[25] These will includes centres at Hyderabad, Islamabad (1)[25] Karachi, Lahore (6),[26] Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi (6)[25] and Sukkur and provide a number of services under one roof.

text: Postage Stamps[edit]

text: Nasik Overprints[edit]

text: Definitives[edit]

text: Over the last 60 years, 17 definitive or regular series have been issued. The first series was issued on 14 August 1948 and consisted of 20 stamps. These stamps featured scales of justice (3)(SG 24-26); crescent and star (3) (SG 27-29); Lloyd's Barrage (now Sukkur Barrage)(3)(SG 30); Karachi Port Trust building (5); Salimullah Hostel, Dacca University (3) and the Khyber Pass (3)(SG 41-43). Mian Mahmood Alam Suharwardy gave 2 designs for this set: scale of justice (SG 24,25,26) and star and crescent (SG 27,28,29).[27]  These along with the 1949 redrawn series, were withdrawn from sale on 1 January 1961.[9]

text: The 1951, 1954, 1955 and 1956 Independence Anniversary issues were all basically definitive series.[9] During this time, these stamps featured the Badshahi Mosque and Jahangir's Tomb in Lahore; the Kaghan Valley and the mountains around Gilgit; tea gardens, jute fields and Karnaphuli Paper Mill in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and a textile mill, cotton fields and a Sui Gas Plant in West Pakistan.

text: The 1957, 1958 and 1960 Republic Day (23 March) issues were also definitives.[28] Since then 10 further series have been issued, with the latest in 1998. The 1978 series was printed with both gum Arabic and PVA gum,[29]  though the PVA issue had only 17 stamps compared to 18 for gum Arabic.[30]  These stamps featured the Minar-e-Pakistan (3); tractors (9 Gum Arabic, 8 Gum PVA) and Makli tombs (6). Of the last four series, three in 1989, 1994 and 1998, feature different portraits of the Quaid. The fourth in 1995 featured a geometric design.

text: First commemorative issue[edit]

text: The first commemorative issue was released in July 1948 for the country's first anniversary. Three of the four stamps depicted places from West Pakistan while the fourth stamp depicted a motif. The places were: Constituent Assembly Building, Karachi (1 ½ annas), Karachi airport (2 ½ annas) and Lahore Fort (3 annas). The stamps were inscribed "15th August 1947" because of the prevailing confusing as to which date was Pakistan's actual date of independence.[8] It wasn't until early 1949, that this confusion was cleared by declaring 14 August as independence day.[9] The artist, A.R. Chughtai was also amongst Pakistan's first stamp designers having designed the Re 1 motif stamp. The other stamps were designed by Rashiduddin (1 ½ anna and 3 anna) and M. Latif 2 ½ anna).[27] This set was printed in London by Thomas De La Rue Company as the country did not have its own printing press.[4]

text: Decimal Surcharges[edit]

text: In 1961, the government decided to introduce decimal coinage into the country. This necessitated the surcharging of stamps to reflect this change. Six stamps were chosen from various issues as follows:

text:
1 paisa (SG 122) on 1 ½ anna stamp (SG 68) from the 7th Anniversary of independence set released on 14 August 1954. It depicted Jahangir's Tomb in Lahore.
2 paisas (SG 123) on 3 pie stamp (SG 24a) from the first regular series crescent and star facing north east released on 14 August 1948. Scales of Justice were depicted on this stamp.
3 paisas (SG 124) on 6 pies stamp (SG 108) from the Jammu and Kashmir definitive set released on 23 March 1960. Stamp depicted a map of Pakistan.
7 paisas (SG 125) on 1 anna stamp (SG 67) from the 7th Anniversary of independence set released on 14 August 1954. The Badshahi Mosque, Lahore stamp was chosen from this series.
13 paisas (SG 126)on 2 anna stamp (SG 83) from the 9th Anniversary of independence set released on 14 August 1956. Stamp showed a crescent and star.
13 paisas (SG 127)on 2 anna stamp (SG 109) from the Jammu and Kashmir definitive set released on 23 March 1960. Stamp depicted a map of Pakistan with Jammu and Kashimir's status as not yet determined.

text: The printing of these stamps was divided between two printers: Pakistan Security Printing Corporation  (PSPC) and Time Press, Karachi. The former printed the 2 paisa, 3 paisa and 13 paisa (SG 126) stamps while the later did the 1 paisa, 7 paisa and 13 paisa (SG 127) stamps.

text: In the printing the Times Press used as many as 34 plates; 17 for 1 paisa (ordinary and service), 14 for 7 paisas and 3 plates for 13 paisas.[13] The PSPC used single plates for each denomination, therefore resulting in only minor varieties and shifts.[13]

text: Service stamps with decimal surcharges were also printed by the same printers. However, these are scarcer than ordinary stamps.[13]

text: In the 3 paisa and 13 paisa (SG 127) stamps, spelling errors such as "3PASIA" or 13 "PAIS" which are even listed in Stanley Gibbons are forgeries.[31] In the 7 paisa there are a number of known forgeries including extra sharp letters with the 'S' slightly broader.[31] The 13 paisa (SG 126) is one issue in which the existence of forgeries is very difficult because of the existence of variable stages of wear.[31]

text: Themes and series[edit]

text: Over the years, the postal authorities have portrayed, commemorated and honoured various personalities, national and international organisations and events, the country's flora and fauna, its cultural and historical heritage as well as the country's development. Other themes include health, educational institutions, religion, sports and defence.

text: Though it has now become very common to portray a human face on stamps, for the initial 17 years this was not the case. Mr. M. H. Zuberi, a retired CSP officer, tried to get the president's approval to issue stamps with the Quaid's portrait in 1964. This was however, rejected on the grounds that the people might not accept them.[32] He however, persevered and it paid off when the first locally designed issue to carry a human face, a set of three stamps, was released to pay homage to the country's armed forces after the War of 1965.[33] The first incumbent head of state or government portrayed was General Ayub Khan on the 1966 stamps for the new capital of Islamabad.[34]

text: The Quaid was first pictured on his 90th birth anniversary in 1966.[34]  Earlier issues carried motifs and wordings or his mausoleum. Since then numerous stamps have been issued carrying his portrait including his 50 death anniversary in 1998 (SG  ) and 125 years of his birth in 2001.

text: Since the 1960s, the government has featured a large number of both local and foreign personalities including Allama Mohammad Iqbal, Mirza Ghalib, Kemal Atatürk, Shah of Iran, Maria Montessori, Hakim Saeed, Liaquat Ali Khan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Tipu Sultan and Abdus Salam. The largest set ever issued consisted of 27 stamps and depicted pioneers of Pakistan's freedom movement (1990)(SG 801-827). For a complete list of personalities on Pakistani stamps, please see this list.

text: Over the years, various series have been periodically issued. There is no set basis for their issuance and these are released at the discretion of the authorities. Current series include Men of Letters and Medicinal Plants of Pakistan. Other series have included Fruits of Pakistan, Handicrafts, Moenjodaro, Poets of Pakistan and Wildlife.

text: Gold stamp[edit]

text: In 1976, the authorities issued a gold stamp for the birth centenary of Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Each stamp carried 25 mg of 23/24 carat gold and was valued at Rs. 10.[35]  These stamps were printed by Cartor S.A., France using a special silk screen printing process known as serigraphy. It was the first time that this process was used to make a stamp.[36] A sheetlet with stamp impression and a description of the event at the bottom was also released. The 500 copies printed were distributed to guests and dignitaries.[36]

text: Errors, Varieties, Forgeries and Overprints[edit]

text: There were two famous "errors" during the 1960s. The 1961 definitive was initially released with the name of the country wrongly spelt in Bengali i.e. "Shakistan" instead of Pakistan. The error was corrected and new stamps released. In 1968, the government printed stamps commemorating the Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. However, the birth year was out by a hundred years: 1989 instead of 1889. Although these stamps were not issued, a few of them did find their way into the market.[37]

text: Forgeries exist in the decimal surcharge stamps of 1961.

text: For the 10th Anniversary of the United Nations, Pakistan Post overprinted two stamps, one each from the 7th (1 ½ anna) and 8th (12 anna) Anniversary issues, with the words, Tenth Anniversary United Nations 24.10.55 in blue.

text: Varieties of different kinds exist in many different issues. Watermark variations are common. For example, in the 1994, definitive series, inverted watermark (Rs. 5, Rs. 10, Rs. 12 and Rs. 15) and watermark sideways (Rs. 10, Rs. 15 and Rs. 20) are known.[38]

text: Withdrawn and Not released Issues[edit]

text: In 1976, the post offices designed a stamps to coincide with the opening of the Shah Faisal Mosque in Islamabad. However this issue was not officially released but did manage to find its way onto the market.

text: In 2007, it issued[39] and later withdrew a stamp to commemorate the 1st Anniversary of the 3rd meeting of the ECO Postal Authorities held in Turkey.[40] The stamp was withdrawn because the name of the country had not been printed on it.

text: Joint issues[edit]

text: Twice during the 1960s and then yearly in the 1970s, Pakistan released joint issues with Turkey and Iran to commemorate the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD). The stamps depicted various aspects from the three nations including paintings, landscapes, personalities, handicrafts and mosques. Between 1977 and 1994, the country released 5 joint issues with Indonesia for the Indonesia Pakistan Economic and Cultural Cooperation (IPECC) Organisation. In 1995, it issued a stamp with Turkey for the holding of the conference of women parliamentarians. And in 1997, Jalal al din Rumi and Allama Muhammad Iqbal were honoured with Iran.

text: On the political front, in 2002 it teamed up with Kyrgyzstan to release a stamp on the 10th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and in 2004, Eurasia Postal Union (2001) members: Azerbaijan, The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Pakistan and Turkey jointly issued stamps on the Silk Route.[41]

text: Souvenir sheets[edit]

text: The first souvenir sheet was issued for Universal Postal Union Day on 9 October 1971.[42] It was an imperforate sheet valued at 70p.[42] There were no leaflets or first day covers released and 10,000 sheets were printed.[42]

text: Over the years, other sheets have been released and include both perforated and imperforate sheets. These include the 2,500th anniversary of the Iranian Monarchy (1971), the Quaid's 50th death anniversary (1998) (SG MS1048) and the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of K-2 (2004).

text: In 2005, Pakistan Post issued a souvenir sheet to raise money for the 2005 earthquake victims. There were 8 stamps of Rs.4, though the sheet was valued at Rs. 100. The entire amount was meant for the President's Fund. However, the souvenir sheet was also valid for postage but for Rs. 32 only. This sheet has not be given a number by the post office but catalogues list it as an issue. A similar issue was released in 2009 for raising funds for the prime minister's relief fund for Swat refugees. Like 2005, this issue was also sold for Rs. 100/- but it contained postage stamps worth Rs. 40/- only.

text: 2008 saw the release of three souvenir sheets: the first on 29th martyrdom anniversary of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in April with the slain leader's daughter, Benazir Bhutto, who was assassination in December 2007. The second on the birthday celebrations of Benazir Bhutto and the third on her death anniversary.

text: Booklets[edit]

text: Pakistan has to date issued only four booklets, the only regular issue, was released in 1956.[11] The other three were issued for stamp exhibitions in the 1990s. Released on 23 March 1956, the first booklet was also the only time a private company, in this case Atco Industries, makers of Alladin battery cells, had sponsored a booklet.[12] It contained 24 stamps of two denominations, 6 pies (SG 65) and 1 ½anna (SG 68), from the 7th anniversary set of 1954. Each pane was separated by interleaving of butter paper.[11] The booklet was priced at Rs. 1/8.[11] 10,000 booklets were printed.[11]

text: The second booklet, with a released quantity of between 500 and 600, was only sold during the National Seminar on Philately held in Multan in 1992.[12] It consisted of 2 denominations from the Mohammad Ali Jinnah 1989 definitive series overprinted in light grey with "National Seminar on Philately Multan 1992".[11] Watermarked paper was used and it was printed using lithography for the frames and recess for the centre.[12] PVA gum was used with perforation at 13C. The price was Rs. 20 even though the stamps were valued at only Rs. 18.[12]

text: The third booklet, for a stamp exhibition in Peshawar, was released in a quantity of 8,500.[12] It was sold through the philatelic bureau across the country.This exhibition organize of Peshawar Stamp Society, Peshawar. Released on 20 January 1993, 3 values (SG 632, 633 and 636) from the forts definitive issue were used and 18 stamps each were printed.[12] The price was Rs. 30, Rs. 3 more than the value inside.[12] There was no watermark and perforation was 11C.[12] Both PVA and Gum Arabica were used.[12]

text: The fourth and last booklet was released on 1 February 1994.[36] It used the Re.1 stamp depicting Wazir Mansion, the birthplace of Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Though 10,000 booklets were printed, because of defects many were return and therefore the actual numbers sold is considerably lower.[36]

text: Languages[edit]

text: When stamps were initially issued, the name of the country was in two languages i.e. English and Urdu. Bengali, which was the first language for more than half the population, was not depicted on stamps until 1956.[43] The first set aptly commemorated the first session of the National Assembly in the eastern wing. From then until 1973 when Pakistan officially recognised Bangladesh, three languages were depicted on the country's stamps. After 1973, it reverted to using Urdu and English again.

text: First Day Covers[edit]

text: Though Pakistan started issuing first day postmarks with its first stamps, this was not the case with covers. Earlier, collectors made their own covers and took them to the post office to be stamped. This however, changed in 1961 when official ones were released. Before, that only one official FDC was released on the occasion of the centenary of the Scinde Dawk issue.

text: Annual and special folders[edit]

text: Earlier, annual folders containing the entire year's issues were prepared and sold throughout the country to promote philately. However, in recent times this practise has been discontinued.

text: In 1989, Pakistan Post issued a special folder during INDIA89.[36] It consisted of a single sheet of 5 stamp designs from the Los Angeles Olympics.[44] The cover depicted the Post's logo and the inscription, "Olympics Los Angeles Commemorative Postage Stamps."[44] A quantity of 250 folders were sold at their face value of Rs. 150.[44]  These were later traded at Rs. 2000/-[44]

text: Printing[edit]

text: Designers and stamp design[edit]

text: Three people, A.R. chughtai, Rashiduddin and Muhammad Latif, have the honour of designing the first commemorative set issued in July 1948. Since then, numerous other people have designed stamps for the country, including some well-known artists. These artists include Saeed Akhtar, Bashir Mirza, Askari Mian Irani, Jimmy Engineer and Zahoor ul Akhlaq. Others designers were Nighat Saeed, Saleem Uddin Ghori, Zahid Shah, Talat Sultana and A. J. McCoy. A famous Pakistani designer is Adil Salahuddin, who in his capacity as the official designer for almost 40 years, designed over 350 stamps for his country.[45]

text: Most of the stamps designed are by local designers. However, photographs have been also used for stamps as in the Louis Pasteur issue (1995)(SG 978) and the 1993, Siberian Crane issue (SG   ). Some organisations linked to a stamp issue, supply their own design. These have included the Family Planning Association of Pakistan (SG   ), Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore (SG   ), Muslim Commercial Bank (SG  ) and UNICEF Pakistan (SG   ). For the 1987 Air Force Day set (SG 715-724), a painting by Sq. Ldr Masood was used to design the final stamps. Faiz Ahmed Faiz's stamp (SG 510) in 1997 was designed using a photograph.

text: For more information see: Designers of Pakistani Stamps.

text: Gum and paper[edit]

text: From 1968 until about 2003 paper manufactured at Pakistan Security Printing Press, Karachi was used to print the stamps.[46] The ink used was also manufactured at the same place.[46] Near the end of the 2003, paper manufactured by Tullis Russell Coaters, UK started being used, and it continued for the next year. At the beginning of 2005, paper imported from Shanghai Kailum Paper (Group) Co Ltd, China was used until mid-2006 except for a couple of issues. Since then paper manufactured at the Security Press, Karachi is used.

text: Process[edit]

text: Pakistan Security Printing Press uses three processes in the production of stamps. These are: recess, photogravure and lithography. Definitive stamps of high and medium face values are printed using the recess method as are special stamps.[47] However, a time frame of 10 to 12 months has to be given for its production.[47] Special stamps which involve a large variety of colours are printed using the photogravure method.[47] Simpler designed stamps, both commemorative and definitive are printed using lithography.[47]

text: Watermarks[edit]

text: Watermarked paper was first used in the 1963 definitive issue for the Chota Sona Masjid.[48] The watermark consisted of a crescent and star. Since 1993, it has also been occasionally used for commemorative issues. Besides normal watermarks, reversed, inverted (SG996) and reversed inverted (SG476) watermarks are also found on stamps.

text: Printing press[edit]

text: Due to the lack of a local press, Pakistan's initial stamps were printed by Thomas De La Rue in London. In 1949, the Pakistan Security Printing Corporation was set up in Malir Halt, Karachi.[49] The first set printed entirely by this press was the 1954 Seventh Anniversary issue (SG  ).[50] Since then until mid-2003, it printed most of the stamps issued within the country. In 2003, from the Year of Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah issue (SG  ), stamps were printed by Pakistan Post Office Foundation Press (Security Division), Karachi. However, this changeover did not last long and in 2006 the printing was reverted to the earlier printer. Other foreign printers of Pakistani stamps have been Cartor, Paris, France; Courvoisier, Switzerland; Harrisons, London and Secura, Singapore.

text: Postmarks[edit]

text: First Day Cancellation[edit]

text: Though there was a postmark which marked the release of the Nasik Overprints (1947), the first special (pictorial) postmark of Pakistan was the one issued on 9 July 1948.[51] The design was simple with a star above a crescent within a circle and Pakistan written in both Urdu and English. As time has gone by, these postmarks have become more and more elaborate.

text: Slogan postmarks[edit]

text: The first slogan postmark commemorated the founding of the country. The wordings were simple with "Pakistan Zindabad" in English and Urdu.[52] Some of the examples of this type are from up to five years after independence. The initial slogans reflect the priories of the government with "Learn and Teach" in Urdu,[53] the bilingual slogan with "Patronise Pakistan Products" (English) and "Use Pakistani products" (Urdu),[54]  and "Contribute to Quaid-e-Azam Memorial Fund."[55] Later slogans depict a wide range of subjects including fighting TB (1963), census (1961) national identity cards (1973) and family planning (1980). Postmarks were issued in three languages: Bengali, Urdu and English, though all postmarks were not released in all three languages.

text: Special postmarks[edit]

text: Though slightly on the decline, special postmarks are also used. Over the years, these have commemorated events such as state visits by King Saud of Saudi Arabia (1954) and Elizabeth II (1961), stamp exhibitions (1968, 1998, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2010), the holding of cricket matches (2004) and National Horse and Cattle shows (1964, 1965). Others include Mother and Child Care Campaign (1961), Scouting (1953), SEATO Conference (1956), awarding of Hilal-e-Istiqlal to the cities of Sargodha, Lahore and Sialkot (1965) and World Post Day (2009).

text: Metermarks[edit]

text: Provided to bulk mailers, metermarks have become more prominent in recent years, most of which come with a slogan promoting the entity. Their usage is not restricted to any particular type of entity and include diplomatic missions, multinational corporations, book publishers, media groups, clubs, banks, government organisations and non governmental organisations.

text: Postal stationery[edit]

text: Besides stamps and souvenir sheets, the Post Office also prints postal stationery. These include pre-stamped envelopes, aerogrammes, postal cards, urgent mail service envelopes and registered envelopes.

text: Pre-stamped envelopes[edit]

text: These types of envelopes are mostly used for domestic postage.[56] Until 1978, a simple design and size introduced by the British in the 1890s, was used.[56] In 2001, new larger, 4 colour litho offset envelopes were issued. These provided both, the Post Office and commercial companies, an avenue for advertising. The first envelope was issued on 1 August 2001 and featured the Quaid's Ziarat Residency as the stamp impression. The reverse showed the Mazar-e-Quaid, Badshahi Mosque, Shah Faisal Mosque and the Northern Areas. It also gave the tourism department's website and the slogan 'Visit Pakistan.'

text: Later that year, 3 envelopes featuring Habib Bank AG Zurich were released with an additional one in April 2002.[56] On all, the stamp impression was the bank's logo with an enlarged emblem on the left side. However, the writing above this emblem was different on each enevelope including Pachas key lakh (a 100,000 from 50) and 'A tradition of service' on one and small symbols to highlight the bank's services on another.[56]

text: A month later, another bank, this time Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB), had 5 envelopes printed with the Quaid's Ziarat residency as their stamp impression.[56] These envelopes also promoted the services of the bank including its rupee travellers cheques and 24‑hour banking via ATMs.[56]

text: An error was noticed in the next envelope issued in June 2002. This envelope was smaller in size (200mm × 92mm) and also featured 4 landmarks of the country, but the name of the fort in Lahore was given as 'Red Fort.'[56] This error was corrected quickly and new envelopes with the correct text were released in July. This reduction in size was not to last, for in October 2002, it was enlarged to 222mm × 96mm with the released of an envelope showing the national flag on top of buildings. A rarity exists in this envelope with the flags closed as opposed to unfurled later on.[56]

text: Besides, the two banks in 2001, two oil companies: Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Pak Arab Refinery Company (PARCO), have also had envelopes released with their advertisements. The housing scheme, Bahria Town, has also advertised on these envelopes in 2005. Since then, other designs include Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah year (2003), 50th anniversary of the first ascent of K-2 (2004) and reconstruction of earthquake ravaged areas (2005). Normally, these envelopes are provided at the cost of postage, however, some such as the Golden Jubilee of Pakistan Resolution envelope (1990) carry additional stationery charges of 25 paisas.

text: Post Office Service Envelopes[edit]

text: In recent years special envelopes have been printed for some of the Post Office's various services. These include a Rs. 12 light blue envelope for Urgent Mail Service and a yellow Rs. 25 Airex enevlope. The latter features, some of the country's famous langmarks. Both envelopes carry a stationery charge of Re. 1.

text: Aerogrammes/Air Letters[edit]

text: Pakistan had issued 5 different types of aerogrammes and air letters. These are for: public use, official use, armed forces/army use, prisoners of war and formulae aerogrammes. The first Pakistani air letter was a Nasik "Pakistan" overprint of a 6 anna British India, King George VI 1946 issue.[57] Since then, these have been issued in various shapes and keeping up with increasing postal rates. The languages used on them are Arabic, Urdu and English. The late 1960s saw the introduction of pictorial aerogrammes. The front sides of these were printed with a view of Moenjodaro(Rs. 2) and a gate of Lahore Fort (Rs. 0.50).

text: The 1971 war saw the release of two special aerogrammes. The first one released for general use depicted a hand behind a barbwire to symbolise the POWs being held in India. The second one was released with reduced rates to be used for sending mail to the POWs. In 1982, two special aerogrammes were released. They were overprints in gold on the Rs. 2 ones, and issued to commemorate the International Stamp Exhibition, Philexfrance and Intentional Stamp Fair, Riccione, Italy. In 1990, to commemorate the golden jubilee of the Pakistan Resolution passed in Lahore (1940), the Post Office used a special aerogramme depicting Quaid-e-Azam, Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

text: Three aerogrammes were released to be used for the armed forces. Two were identical except for the watermark. The same message "for use by the armed forces" in Urdu was slightly larger in one.

text: Postal cards[edit]

text: The first pictorial postal cards were released on 10 August 1967. Featuring 4 designs showing Buddha, a small industry, a boat scene from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and a dam in West Pakistan. These 30 paisa cards had a flying dove silhouette.[58] About 8 months later in May 1967, a second set of 4 cards was released.[58] In 2001, the Post Office teamed up with the organisers of the SAF Games, which were scheduled for that year in Islamabad, to produce Rs.10 postcards. Besides being valid for postage, these cards entitled the buyer to be entered into a lucky draw. In 2009, the government reissued the current Re 1 Lahore Fort postcard with a Re. 1 postal stationery charge.

text: Collecting Pakistani stamps[edit]

text: In Pakistan, stamp programmes are not issued in advance. Earlier, collectors could almost always count on stamps being issued on at least two dates: 23 March and 14 August. However, in recent years, the 23 March issues have become less frequent. The number of stamps issue per year also varies. However, no matter how many issues are released, their total cost rarely exceeds Rs. 300/- (approx USD 5). Besides postage stamps and souvenir sheets, the post office also sells first day covers, leaflets with and without stamps on it and postal stationery. Earlier, the post office did not use any specific numbering system but this changed when they started using a rather simple system on their leaflets: xxxx – y where xxxx is the year and y is the issue number within that year. All major catalogues include Pakistani stamps in them. Two local updated catalogues are available, each of which uses its own system of numbering.

text: Chronology of Pakistani stamps[edit]

text:
1947 - First official stamps[59]
1948 - First commemorative stamps[59]
1955 - First two colour stamp (SG 76)
1955 - First overprinted stamps (SG 77,78)
1956 - First trilingual issue (SG 84-86)
1962 - First airmail[59]
1965 - First human face portrayed (SG 226-228)
1990 - Largest set issued - Pioneers of Freedom (SG 801-827)

text: Philatelic societies[edit]

text: Within Pakistan:

text:
Thematic Society of Pakistan, Karachi
Allama Iqbal Stamps Society, Lahore
Philatelic Federation of Pakistan, Karachi
Faisalabad Philatelic Association
Scouts Stamps Society of Pakistan
Peshawar Stamp Society
Stamp Society of Pakistan, Karachi

text: Outside Pakistan:

text: Pakistan Study Circle, UK


document_title: Johnny Brennan

question_text: who does the voice of mort goldman on family guy

root

text: Johnny Brennan

text: This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text:
Johnny Brennan

Brennan at the Big Apple Convention,
June 8, 2008

Occupation
Actor, comedian, voice actor, writer

text: Johnny Brennan is an American actor, film writer, and voice actor. Johnny Brennan is the creator of the Jerky Boys.

tag: p

text: In 1995, Johnny Brennan wrote and starred with Ahmed in a motion picture portraying the antics of Johnny's Jerky Boys characters called The Jerky Boys: The Movie (the film was shot between April and June 1994). In 1997, Johnny appeared in the Mariah Carey music video "Honey". Brennan is more recently known for his voice work in the emmy-nominated animated series Family Guy where he performs the voices of Mort Goldman (whose voice and mannerisms are almost identical to that of his Jerky Boys character Sol Rosenberg) and Horace the bartender of the Drunken Clam. He appears as himself as a member of the Jerky Boys in an episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast in 1994.

text: In 2007, Brennan released the first solo release under the Jerky Boys name, titled Sol's Rusty Trombone. It was the first Jerky Boys release since 2001. In April, Brennan reprised his role of Frank Rizzo on the animated web series Clock Suckers in the episode "If You Can't Beat 'Em, Then You're a Pussy".

text: In 2010, Brennan released two iOS apps, titled The Jerky Boys Prank Caller and The Jerky Boys Pinball developed by Inner Four.

text: Brennan launched The Jerky Boys Show with Johnny Brennan as a free podcast in October 2011. On the show, Brennan discussed the history behind Jerky Boys tracks and allowed fans to call in with questions. Sixteen episodes of the podcast aired before it ended in February 2012. In November 2012, a seventeenth episode was released, featuring a prerecorded interview that had taken place at Gotham Comedy Club in New York City.

text: Selected filmography[edit]

text:
Big Money Hustlas (2000) ... actor
The Jerky Boys: The Movie (1995) ... actor, writer

tag: ul

text: Selected TV roles[edit]

text:
Space Ghost Coast to Coast (1994) – Himself
Family Guy – Mort Goldman (2001— ), Horace (2001—2015)


document_title: Seabiscuit

question_text: who won the race between war admiral and seabiscuit

text: Seabiscuit

text: Early days[edit]

text: Seabiscuit was foaled in Lexington, Kentucky, on May 23, 1933,[1][2] from the mare Swing On and sire Hard Tack, a son of Man o' War.[3] Seabiscuit was named for his father, as hardtack or "sea biscuit" is the name for a type of cracker eaten by sailors.[4]

text: The bay colt grew up on Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky, where he was trained. He was undersized, knobby-kneed,[3] and given to sleeping and eating for long periods.

text: Initially, Seabiscuit was owned by the powerful Wheatley Stable and trained by "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons, who had taken Gallant Fox to the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. Fitzsimmons saw some potential in Seabiscuit but felt the horse was too lazy. Fitzsimmons devoted most of his time to training Omaha, who won the 1935 Triple Crown.

text: Seabiscuit was relegated to a heavy schedule of smaller races. He failed to win his first 17 races, usually finishing back in the field. After that, Fitzsimmons did not spend much time on him, and the horse was sometimes the butt of stable jokes. Seabiscuit began to gain attention after winning two races at Narragansett Park and setting a new track record in the second - a Claiming Stakes race. As a two-year-old, Seabiscuit raced 35 times (a heavy racing schedule),[3] coming in first five times and finishing second seven times. These included three claiming races, in which he could have been purchased for $2500, but he had no takers.[3]

text: While Seabiscuit had not lived up to his racing potential, he was not the poor performer Fitzsimmons had taken him for. His last two wins as a two-year-old came in minor stakes races. The next season, however, started with a similar pattern. The colt ran 12 times in less than four months, winning four times. One of those races was a cheap allowance race on the "sweltering afternoon of June 29", 1936, at Suffolk Downs. That is where trainer Tom Smith first laid eyes on Seabiscuit.[5] His owners sold the horse to automobile entrepreneur Charles S. Howard for $8000 at Saratoga, in August.[3]

text: 1936/1937: The beginning of success[edit]

text: Howard assigned Seabiscuit to a new trainer, Tom Smith,[3] who, with his unorthodox training methods, gradually brought Seabiscuit out of his lethargy. Smith paired the horse with Canadian jockey Red Pollard (1909–1981), who had experience racing in the West and in Mexico. On August 22, 1936, they raced Seabiscuit for the first time. Improvements came quickly, and in their remaining eight races in the East, Seabiscuit and Pollard won several times, including the Detroit Governor's Handicap (worth $5,600) and the Scarsdale Handicap ($7,300) at Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York.

text: In early November 1936, Howard and Smith shipped the horse to California, by rail. His last two races of the year were at Bay Meadows racetrack in San Mateo, California. The first was the $2,700 Bay Bridge Handicap, run over one-mile (1.6 km). Despite starting badly and carrying the top weight of 116 pounds (53 kg), Seabiscuit won by five lengths. At the World's Fair Handicap (Bay Meadows' most prestigious stakes race), Seabiscuit led throughout.

text: In 1937, the Santa Anita Handicap, California's most prestigious race, was worth over $125,000 ($2.2 million in 2010) to the winner; it was known colloquially as "The Hundred Grander". In his first warm-up race at Santa Anita Park, Seabiscuit won easily. In his second race of 1937, the San Antonio Handicap, he suffered a setback after he was bumped at the start and then pushed wide; Seabiscuit came in fifth, losing to Rosemont.

text: The two met again in the Santa Anita Handicap a week later, where Rosemont won by a nose. The defeat was devastating to Smith and Howard, and was widely attributed in the press to a jockey error.[3]a[›] Pollard, who had not seen Rosemont over his shoulder until too late, was blind in one eye due to an accident during a training ride, a fact he had hidden throughout his career.

text: Seabiscuit was rapidly becoming a favorite among California racing fans, and his fame spread as he won his next three races. With his successes, Howard decided to ship the horse east for its more prestigious racing circuit.

text: Seabiscuit's run of victories continued. Between June 26 and August 7, he ran five times, each time in a stakes race, and each time he won under steadily increasing handicap weights (imposts) of up to 130 pounds (59 kg). On September 11, Smith accepted an impost of 132 pounds (60 kg) for the Narragansett Special at Narragansett Park. On race day, the ground was slow and heavy, and unsuited to "the Biscuit", carrying the heaviest burden of his career. Smith wanted to scratch, but Howard overruled him. Never in the running, Seabiscuit finished third. His winning streak was snapped, but the season was not over; Seabiscuit won his next three races (one a dead heat) before finishing the year with a second place at Pimlico.

text: In 1937, Seabiscuit won 11 of his 15 races and was the year's leading money winner in the United States. War Admiral, having won the Triple Crown that season, was voted the most prestigious honor, the American Horse of the Year Award.

text: Early five-year-old season[edit]

text: In 1938, as a five-year-old, Seabiscuit's success continued. On February 19, Pollard suffered a terrible fall while racing on Fair Knightess, another of Howard's horses. With half of Pollard's chest caved in by the weight of the fallen horse, Howard had to find a new jockey. After trying three, he settled on George Woolf, an already successful rider and old friend of Pollard's.

text: Woolf's first race aboard Seabiscuit was the Santa Anita Handicap, "The Hundred Grander" the horse had narrowly lost the previous year. Seabiscuit was drawn on the outside, and at the start was impeded by another horse, Count Atlas, angling out. The two were locked together for the first straight, and by the time Woolf disentangled his horse, they were six lengths off the pace. Seabiscuit worked his way to the lead but lost in a photo finish to the fast-closing Santa Anita Derby winner, Stagehand (owned by Maxwell Howard, not related to Charles), who had been assigned 30 pounds (14 kg) less than Seabiscuit.

text: Throughout 1937 and 1938, the media speculated about a match race between Seabiscuit and the seemingly invincible War Admiral (sired by Man o' War, Seabiscuit's grandsire). The two horses were scheduled to meet in three stakes races, but one or the other was scratched, usually due to Seabiscuit's dislike of heavy ground. After extensive negotiation, the owners organized a match race for May 1938 at Belmont, but Seabiscuit was scratched.

text: By June, Pollard had recovered, and on June 23, he agreed to work a young colt named Modern Youth. Spooked by something on the track, the horse broke rapidly through the stables and threw Pollard, shattering his leg and seemingly ending his career.

text: Howard arranged a match race for Seabiscuit against Ligaroti, a highly regarded horse owned by the Hollywood entertainer Bing Crosby and Howard's son, Lindsay, through Binglin Stable, in an event organized to promote Crosby's resort and Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. With Woolf aboard, Seabiscuit won that race, despite persistent fouling from Ligaroti's jockey. After three more outings and with only one win, he was scheduled to go head-to-head with War Admiral in the Pimlico Special in November, in Baltimore, Maryland.[6]

text: Sent to race on the East Coast, on October 16, 1938, Seabiscuit ran second by two lengths in the Laurel Stakes to the filly Jacola, who set a new Laurel Park Racecourse record of 1:37.00 for one mile.[7]

text:
"George Woolf always said he never had more fun on a racehorse than he did that day in 1938 at Pimlico, when Tom Smith, the horse's trainer, lifted Woolf aboard Seabiscuit for the big match race against War Admiral."[6]

William Nack, Sports Illustrated, November 29, 1999

tag: div

text: On November 1, 1938, Seabiscuit met War Admiral and jockey Charles Kurtsinger in what was dubbed the "Match of the Century." The event was run over 1 3⁄16 miles (1.9 km) at Pimlico Race Course. From the grandstands to the infield, the track was jammed with fans. Trains were run from all over the country to bring fans to the race, and the estimated 40,000 at the track were joined by 40 million listening on the radio. War Admiral was the favorite (1–4 with most bookmakers) and a nearly unanimous selection of the writers and tipsters, excluding a California contingent.

text: Head-to-head races favor fast starters, and War Admiral's speed from the gate was well known. Seabiscuit, on the other hand, was a pace stalker, skilled at holding with the pack before pulling ahead with late acceleration. From the scheduled walk-up start, few gave him a chance to lead War Admiral into the first turn. Smith knew these things and trained Seabiscuit to run against this type, using a starting bell and a whip to give the horse a Pavlovian burst of speed from the start.

text: When the bell rang, Seabiscuit broke in front, led by over a length after 20 seconds, and soon crossed over to the rail position. Halfway down the backstretch, War Admiral started to cut into the lead, gradually pulling level with Seabiscuit, then slightly ahead. Following advice he had received from Pollard, Woolf had eased up on Seabiscuit, allowing his horse to see his rival, then asked for more effort. Two hundred yards from the wire, Seabiscuit pulled away again and continued to extend his lead over the closing stretch, finally winning by four lengths despite War Admiral's running his best time for the distance.

text: As a result of his races that year, Seabiscuit was named American Horse of the Year for 1938, beating War Admiral by 698 points to 489 in a poll conducted by the Turf and Sport Digest magazine.[8] Seabiscuit was the number one newsmaker of 1938.[9] The only major prize that eluded him was the Santa Anita Handicap.

text: Injury and return[edit]

text: Seabiscuit was injured during a race. Woolf, who was riding him, said that he felt the horse stumble. The injury was not life-threatening, although many predicted Seabiscuit would never race again. The diagnosis was a ruptured suspensory ligament in the front left leg. With Seabiscuit out of action, Smith and Howard concentrated on their horse Kayak II, an Argentine stallion.

text: Seabiscuit and a still-convalescing Pollard recovered together at Howard's ranch, with the help of Pollard's new wife Agnes, who had nursed him through his initial recovery. Slowly, both horse and rider learned to walk again (Pollard joked that they "had four good legs between" them).[10] Poverty and his injury had brought Pollard to the edge of alcoholism. A local doctor broke and reset Pollard's leg to aid his recovery, and slowly Pollard regained the confidence to sit on a horse. Wearing a brace to stiffen his atrophied leg, he began to ride Seabiscuit again, first at a walk and later at a trot and canter. Howard was delighted at their improvement, as he longed for Seabiscuit to race again, but was extremely worried about Pollard, as his leg was still fragile.

text: Over the fall and winter of 1939, Seabiscuit's fitness seemed to improve by the day. By the end of the year, Smith was ready to return the horse to race training, with a collection of stable jockeys in the saddle. By the time of his comeback race, Pollard had cajoled Howard into allowing him the ride. After the horse was scratched due to soft going, the pair finally lined up at the start of the La Jolla Handicap at Santa Anita, on February 9, 1940. Seabiscuit was third, beaten by two lengths. By their third comeback race, Seabiscuit was back to his winning ways, running away from the field in the San Antonio Handicap to beat his erstwhile training partner, Kayak II, by two and a half lengths. Under 124 pounds (56 kg), Seabiscuit equalled the track record for a mile and 1/16.

text: One race was left in the season. A week after the San Antonio, Seabiscuit and Kayak II both took the gate for the Santa Anita Handicap and its $121,000 prize. 78,000 paying spectators crammed the racetrack, most backing Seabiscuit. Pollard found his horse blocked almost from the start. Picking his way through the field, Seabiscuit briefly led. As they thundered down the back straight, Seabiscuit became trapped in third place, behind leader Whichcee and Wedding Call on the outside.

text: Trusting in his horse's acceleration, Pollard steered between the leaders and burst into the lead, taking the firm ground just off the rail. As Seabiscuit showed his old surge, Wedding Call and Whichcee faltered, and Pollard drove his horse on, taking "The Hundred Grander" by a length and a half from the fast-closing Kayak II. Pandemonium engulfed the course. Neither horse and rider, nor trainer and owner, could get through the sea of well-wishers to the winner's enclosure for some time.

text: Retirement, later life, and offspring[edit]

text: On April 10, Seabiscuit's retirement from racing was officially announced. When he was retired to the Ridgewood Ranch near Willits, California, he was horse racing's all-time leading money winner. Put out to stud, Seabiscuit sired 108 foals, including two moderately successful racehorses: Sea Sovereign and Sea Swallow. Over 50,000 visitors went to Ridgewood Ranch to see Seabiscuit in his seven years there before his death.[11][12]

text: Death and interment[edit]

text: Seabiscuit died of a probable heart attack[13] on May 17, 1947, in Willits, California, six days short of 14 years old. He is buried at Ridgewood Ranch in Mendocino County, California.[11][12][14]

text: Legacy and honors[edit]

text: Awards and honorable distinctions[edit]

text:
In 1958, Seabiscuit was voted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
In the Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century (1999), Seabiscuit was ranked 25th. War Admiral was 13th, and Seabiscuit's grandsire and War Admiral's sire, Man o' War, placed 1st.

text: Portrayals in film and television[edit]

text: Documentaries[edit]

text:
American Experience: "Seabiscuit" (April 21, 2003)[15]) is a documentary episode that aired as Season 15, Episode 11[15] of the PBS American Experience series.[16]
ESPN SportsCentury: "Seabiscuit" (November 17, 2003), Seabiscuit was featured on ESPN's SportsCentury Greatest Athletes series.[17]
The True Story of Seabiscuit (July 27, 2003) is a 45-minute made-for-TV documentary directed by Craig Haffner, written by Martin Gillam, and containing interviews and footage with William H. Macy, Seabiscuit, and Tobey Maguire, that aired on the USA Network.[18]
Seabiscuit: the Lost Documentary (1939) by Seabiscuit's owner Charles Howard. The film was directed by Manny Nathan, and written by Nathan and Hazel Merry Hawkins. It stars Martin Mason, Doc Bond, Charles Howard as himself and his wife, Marcella.[19] It was colorized and released in 2003 by Legend Films to coincide with interest around the movie.[19]
Seabiscuit: America's Legendary Racehorse (2003) directed and produced by Nick Krantz.

text: Fiction films[edit]

text:
Stablemates (1938), starring Wallace Beery and Mickey Rooney. Film producer Harry Rapf arranged a deal whereby he could film the $50,000 Hollywood Gold Cup, and actual footage of Seabiscuit running in the race was used. The field is headed by Seabiscuit for the "straight" race in the film.[20]
Porky and Teabiscuit (1939) is Warner Bros.' Porky Pig cartoon take on Seabiscuit's underdog story.
The Story of Seabiscuit (1949), starring Shirley Temple in her second to last film, is a fictionalized account featuring Sea Sovereign in the title role. An otherwise undistinguished film, it did include actual footage of the 1938 match race against War Admiral and the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap.
Seabiscuit (2003), Universal Studios' adaptation of Laura Hillenbrand's bestselling 2001 book, was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture

The Making of Seabiscuit (December 16, 2003) is a documentary short directed by Laurent Bouzereau and starring Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, and William Goldenberg, produced by DreamWorks SKG, Herzog Productions, Spyglass Entertainment, and Universal Studios, and distributed by Universal Studios Home Video.[21]

text: Non-fiction books[edit]

text:
Track writer B.K. Beckwith wrote Seabiscuit: The Saga of a Great Champion (1940), with a foreword by Grantland Rice, right after Seabiscuit's Santa Anita win and at the moment of the horse's retirement.[22]
Ralph Moody wrote Come On, Seabiscuit! (1963), illustrated by Robert Riger, which was recently reprinted by the University of Nebraska Press.[23]
Laura Hillenbrand's book Seabiscuit: An American Legend (2001) became a bestseller,[24] and in 2003 it was adapted for film.

text: Postage stamp[edit]

text: In 2009, after an 8-year-long grassroots effort by Maggie Van Ostrand and Chuck Lustick, Seabiscuit was honored by the United States Postal Service with a stamp bearing his likeness. Thousands of signatures were obtained from all over the nation, and the final approval was given by Citizens Stamp Committee member Joan Mondale, wife of former Vice President Walter Mondale.[25]

text: Statues[edit]

text:
A statue of Seabiscuit (not life-sized) sits outside the main entrance of The Shops at Tanforan, a shopping mall built upon the former site of the Tanforan Racetrack. Seabiscuit was stabled there briefly in 1939, while preparing for his comeback.[26]
In the 1940s, businessman and racehorse owner W. Arnold Hanger donated a statuette of Seabiscuit to the Keeneland library.
In 1941, a life-sized bronze statue of Seabiscuit, hand-tooled by Frank Buchler, was installed at Santa Anita Park; it now stands in the walking ring at the track's "Seabiscuit Court"
On June 23, 2007, a statue of Seabiscuit was unveiled at Ridgewood Ranch.
On July 17, 2010, a life-size statue of George Woolf and Seabiscuit was unveiled at the Remington Carriage Museum in Woolf's hometown of Cardston, Alberta. This coincided with the 100th anniversary of Woolf's birth, though not the actual date.
In 1941, sculptor Hughlette "Tex" Wheeler cast two bronze statues from Seabiscuit: one stands at Santa Anita racetrack in Arcadia, CA; the other is in Saratoga Springs, outside the National Museum of Racing.[27]

text: Pedigree[edit]

text:
Pedigree of Seabiscuit[28]

Sire
Hard Tack
b. 1926
Man o' War
ch. 1917
Fair Play
ch. 1905
Hastings

Fairy Gold

Mahubah
b. 1910
Rock Sand

Merry Token

Tea Biscuit
1912
Rock Sand
br. 1900
Sainfoin

Roquebrune

Tea's Over
ch. 1893[29]
Hanover

Tea Rose

Dam
Swing On
b. 1926
Whisk Broom II
ch. 1907
Broomstick
b. 1901
Ben Brush

Elf

Audience
1901
Sir Dixon

Sallie McClelland

Balance
b. 1919
Rabelais
br. 1900
St. Simon

Satirical

Balancoire
b. 1911
Meddler

Ballantrae

text: Notable races won[edit]

text: Seabiscuit ran 89 times at 16 different distances over the course of his career.[30]

text:
Brooklyn Handicap (1937)[31]
San Antonio Handicap (1940)
Santa Anita Handicap (1940)

text: Notes[edit]

text: ^ a: The Saturday Evening Post, dated April 27, 1940, reported: "By the following March the horse failed only by inches—because his jockey erred in looking back—to win in his first try at the Santa Anita Handicap, richest of all races."[3]


document_title: Monotheism

question_text: who created the first monotheism known in history

question_tokens: who created the first monotheism known in history

text: Monotheism

text: Etymology[edit]

text: The word monotheism comes from the Greek μόνος (monos)[11] meaning "single" and θεός (theos)[12] meaning "god".[13] The English term was first used by Henry More (1614–1687).[14]

text: Origins[edit]

text: This section relies too much on references to primary sources. Please improve this section by adding secondary or tertiary sources. (July 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Quasi-monotheistic claims of the existence of a universal deity date to the Late Bronze Age, with Akhenaten's Great Hymn to the Aten. A possible inclination towards monotheism emerged during the Vedic period[15] in Iron-Age South Asia. The Rigveda exhibits notions of monism of the Brahman, particularly in the comparatively late tenth book,[16] which is dated to the early Iron Age, e.g. in the Nasadiya sukta. Bonpa Dharma, perhaps from twentieth century BCE,[17] was the first recorded religion to declare that there is one God above all, whom it calls Sangpo Bumtri.[18] However, it does not encourage monotheistic worship of a Sangpo Bumtri or any god for salvation but rather it focuses on karma.

text: Since the sixth century BCE, Zoroastrians have believed in the supremacy of one God above all: Ahura Mazda as the "Maker of All"[19] and the first being before all others.[20][21][22][23] Nonetheless, Zoroastrianism was not strictly monotheistic[24] because it venerated other yazatas alongside Ahura Mazda. Ancient Hindu theology, meanwhile, was monist, but was not strictly monotheistic in worship because it still maintained the existence of many gods, who were envisioned as aspects of one supreme God, Brahman.[25] Numerous ancient Greek philosophers, including Xenophanes of Colophon and Antisthenes believed in a similar polytheistic monism that came close to monotheism, but fell short.[25] Judaism was the first religion to conceive the notion of a personal monotheistic God within a monist context.[25] The concept of ethical monotheism, which holds that morality stems from God alone and that its laws are unchanging,[26][27] first occurred in Judaism,[28] but is now a core tenet of most modern monotheistic religions, including Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and Bahá'í Faith.[29]

text: According to Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition, monotheism was the original religion of humanity; this original religion is sometimes referred to as "the Adamic religion", or, in the terms of Andrew Lang, the "Urreligion". Scholars of religion largely abandoned that view in the 19th century in favour of an evolutionary progression from animism via polytheism to monotheism, but by 1974 this theory was less widely held, and a modified view similar to Lang's became more prominent.[2][need quotation to verify] Austrian anthropologist Wilhelm Schmidt had postulated an Urmonotheismus, "original" or "primitive monotheism" in the 1910s.[30] It was objected[by whom?] that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam had grown up in opposition to polytheism as had Greek philosophical monotheism.[2] Karen Armstrong[31] and other authors have written that the concept of monotheism gradually developed through a series of periodic transitions; first came animism, which developed into polytheism, which developed into henotheism, which developed into monolatry, which developed into true monotheism.[32]

text: Abrahamic religions[edit]

text: While all adherents of the Abrahamic religions consider themselves to be monotheists, Judaism does not consider Christianity to be monotheistic, recognizing only Islam as monotheistic.[33] Islam likewise does not recognize modern-day Christianity as monotheistic, primarily due to the Christian doctrine of Trinity, which Islam argues was not a part of the original monotheistic Christianity as preached by Jesus.[34] Christians, on the other hand, argue that the doctrine of the Trinity is a valid expression of monotheism, citing that the Trinity does not consist of three separate deities, but rather the three persons, who exist consubstantially (as one substance) within a single Godhead.[35][36][37]

text: Judaism[edit]

text: Judaism is one of the oldest monotheistic religions in the world.[38] God in Judaism is strictly monotheistic,[39] an absolute one, indivisible, and incomparable being who is the ultimate cause of all existence. The Babylonian Talmud references other, "foreign gods" as non-existent entities to whom humans mistakenly ascribe reality and power.[40] One of the best-known statements of Rabbinical Judaism on monotheism is the Second of Maimonides' 13 Principles of faith:

text: God, the Cause of all, is one. This does not mean one as in one of a pair, nor one like a species (which encompasses many individuals), nor one as in an object that is made up of many elements, nor as a single simple object that is infinitely divisible. Rather, God is a unity unlike any other possible unity.[41]

text: Judaism[42] and Islam reject the Christian idea of monotheism. Judaism uses the term shituf to refer to the worship of God in a manner which Judaism does not deem to be monotheistic.

text: In Ancient Israel[edit]

text: During the 8th century BCE, the worship of YHWH in Israel was in competition with many other cults, described by the Yahwist faction collectively as Baals. The oldest books of the Hebrew Bible reflect this competition, as in the books of Hosea and Nahum, whose authors lament the "apostasy" of the people of Israel, threatening them with the wrath of God if they do not give up their polytheistic cults.[43][44]

text: Ancient Israelite religion was originally polytheistic;[45] the Israelites worshipped many deities,[46] including El, Baal, Asherah, and Astarte. YHWH was originally the national god of the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah.[47] As time progressed, the henotheistic cult of Yahweh grew increasingly militant in its opposition to the worship of other gods.[45] Later, the reforms of King Josiah imposed a form of strict monolatrism. After the fall of Judah to Babylon, a small circle of priests and scribes gathered around the exiled royal court, where they first developed the concept of YHWH as the sole God of the world.[25]

text: The Shema[edit]

text: Shema Yisrael ("Hear, [O] Israel") are the first two words of a section of the Torah, and is the title of a prayer that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services. The first verse encapsulates the monotheistic essence of Judaism: "Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one" (Hebrew: שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ ה' אֶחָד), found in Deuteronomy 6:4, sometimes alternatively translated as "The LORD is our God, the LORD alone." Observant Jews consider the Shema to be the most important part of the prayer service in Judaism, and its twice-daily recitation as a mitzvah (religious commandment). It is traditional for Jews to say the Shema as their last words, and for parents to teach their children to say it before they go to sleep at night.

text: Christianity[edit]

text: Among early Christians there was considerable debate over the nature of the Godhead, with some denying the incarnation but not the deity of Jesus (Docetism) and others later calling for an Arian conception of God. Despite at least one earlier local synod rejecting the claim of Arius, this Christological issue was to be one of the items addressed at the First Council of Nicaea.

text: The First Council of Nicaea, held in Nicaea (in present-day Turkey), convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325, was the first ecumenical[49] council of bishops of the Roman Empire, and most significantly resulted in the first uniform Christian doctrine, called the Nicene Creed. With the creation of the creed, a precedent was established for subsequent general ecumenical councils of bishops (synods) to create statements of belief and canons of doctrinal orthodoxy— the intent being to define a common creed for the Church and address heretical ideas.

text: One purpose of the council was to resolve disagreements in Alexandria over the nature of Jesus in relationship to the Father; in particular, whether Jesus was of the same substance as God the Father or merely of similar substance. All but two bishops took the first position; while Arius' argument failed.

text: Christian orthodox traditions (Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and most Protestants) follow this decision, which was reaffirmed in 381 at the First Council of Constantinople and reached its full development through the work of the Cappadocian Fathers. They consider God to be a triune entity, called the Trinity, comprising three "persons", God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These three are described as being "of the same substance" (ὁμοούσιος).

text: Christians overwhelmingly assert that monotheism is central to the Christian faith, as the Nicene Creed (and others), which gives the orthodox Christian definition of the Trinity, begins: "I believe in one God". From earlier than the times of the Nicene Creed, 325 CE, various Christian figures advocated[50] the triune mystery-nature of God as a normative profession of faith. According to Roger E. Olson and Christopher Hall, through prayer, meditation, study and practice, the Christian community concluded "that God must exist as both a unity and trinity", codifying this in ecumenical council at the end of the 4th century.[51]

text: Most modern Christians believe the Godhead is triune, meaning that the three persons of the Trinity are in one union in which each person is also wholly God. They also hold to the doctrine of a man-god Christ Jesus as God incarnate. These Christians also do not believe that one of the three divine figures is God alone and the other two are not but that all three are mysteriously God and one. Other Christian religions, including Unitarian Universalism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism and others, do not share those views on the Trinity.

text: Some Christian faiths, such as Mormonism, argue that the Godhead is in fact three separate individuals which include God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.[52] Each individual having a distinct purpose in the grand existence of human kind.[53] Furthermore, Mormons believe that before the Council of Nicaea, the predominant belief among many early Christians was that the Godhead was three separate individuals. In support of this view, they cite early Christian examples of belief in subordinationism.[54]

text: Unitarianism is a theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism.[55]

text: Islam[edit]

text: In Islam, Allāh (God) is all-powerful and all-knowing, the creator, sustainer, ordainer and judge of the universe.[56][57] God in Islam is strictly singular (tawhid)[58] unique (wahid) and inherently One (ahad), all-merciful and omnipotent.[59] Allāh exists without place[60] and the Qur'an states that "No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision. God is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things" (Qur'an 6:103)[57] Allāh is the only God and the same God worshiped in Christianity and Judaism. (29:46).[61]

text: Islam emerged in the 7th century CE in the context of both Christianity and Judaism, with some thematic elements similar to Gnosticism.[62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69] Islamic belief states that Muhammad did not bring a new religion from God, but is rather the same religion as practiced by Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and all the other prophets of God.[70] The assertion of Islam is that the message of God had been corrupted, distorted or lost over time and the Quran was sent to Muhammad in order to correct the lost message of the Torah, New Testament and prior scriptures from God.[71]

text: The Qur'an asserts the existence of a single and absolute truth that transcends the world; a unique and indivisible being who is independent of the creation.[72] The Qur'an rejects binary modes of thinking such as the idea of a duality of God by arguing that both good and evil generate from God's creative act. God is a universal god rather than a local, tribal or parochial one; an absolute who integrates all affirmative values and brooks no evil.[73] Ash'ari theology, which dominated Sunni Islam from the tenth to the nineteenth century, insists on ultimate divine transcendence and holds that divine unity is not accessible to human reason. Ash'arism teaches that human knowledge regarding it is limited to what was has been revealed through the prophets, and on such paradoxes as God's creation of evil, revelation has to accepted bila kayfa (without [asking] how).[74]

text: Tawhid constitutes the foremost article of the Muslim profession of faith, "There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God.[75] To attribute divinity to a created entity is the only unpardonable sin mentioned in the Qur'an.[73] The entirety of the Islamic teaching rests on the principle of tawhid.[76]

text: As they traditionally profess a concept of monotheism with a singular person as God, Judaism[42] and Islam reject the Christian idea of monotheism. Judaism uses the term Shituf to refer to non-monotheistic ways of worshiping God. Though Muslims venerate Jesus (Isa in Arabic) as a prophet, they do not accept the doctrine that he was a begotten son of God.

text: Sabianism[edit]

text: According to the Quran, the Sabians were a monotheistic religious group.[77] Some Hadiths account them as converts to Islam.[78] However this interpretation may be related to the fact that Quraysh polytheists used to describe anyone who converted to Islam with the word "Saba"[citation needed] (صبى/صبوت) which may either mean that this term was used for anyone who changed his religion or that they identified the message of Muhammed as a "Sabian belief". The former linguistic explanation (i.e. saba = changed his religion) is the one adopted by most Muslim scholars.

text: Sabians are often identified with Mandaeism, a small monotheistic community which lives today in Iraq and call themselves Yahyawiya (Arabic: يحياوية). Muslim scholars traditionally viewed them as followers of the prophets Noah and Yahya (i.e. John the Baptist).[79]

text: Bahá'í Faith[edit]

text: God in the Bahá'í Faith is taught to be a personal god, too great for humans to fully comprehend. Human primitive understanding of God is achieved through his revelations via his divine intermediary Manifestations.[80][81] In the Bahá'í faith, such Christian doctrines as the Trinity are seen as compromising the Bahá'í view that God is single and has no equal.[82] And the very existence of the Bahá'í Faith is a challenge to the Islamic doctrine of the finality of Muhammad's revelation.[83] God in the Bahá'í Faith communicates to humanity through divine intermediaries, known as Manifestations of God.[84] These Manifestations establish religion in the world.[81] It is through these divine intermediaries that humans can approach God, and through them God brings divine revelation and law.[85]

text: The Oneness of God is one of the core teachings of the Bahá'í Faith. The obligatory prayers in the Bahá'í Faith involve explicit monotheistic testimony.[86][87] God is the imperishable, uncreated being who is the source of all existence.[88] He is described as "a personal God, unknowable, inaccessible, the source of all Revelation, eternal, omniscient, omnipresent and almighty".[89][90] Although transcendent and inaccessible directly, his image is reflected in his creation. The purpose of creation is for the created to have the capacity to know and love its creator.[91] God communicates his will and purpose to humanity through intermediaries, known as Manifestations of God, who are the prophets and messengers that have founded religions from prehistoric times up to the present day.[84]

text: Atenism[edit]

text: Amenhotep IV initially introduced Atenism in Year 5 of his reign (1348/1346 BCE) during the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom. He raised Aten, once a relatively obscure Egyptian Solar deity representing the disk of the sun, to the status of Supreme God in the Egyptian pantheon.[92] To emphasise the change, Aten's name was written in the cartouche form normally reserved for Pharaohs, an innovation of Atenism. This religious reformation appears to coincide with the proclamation of a Sed festival, a sort of royal jubilee intended to reinforce the Pharaoh's divine powers of kingship. Traditionally held in the thirtieth year of the Pharaoh's reign, this possibly was a festival in honour of Amenhotep III, who some Egyptologists think had a coregency with his son Amenhotep IV of two to twelve years.

text: Year 5 is believed to mark the beginning of Amenhotep IV's construction of a new capital, Akhetaten (Horizon of the Aten), at the site known today as Amarna. Evidence of this appears on three of the boundary stelae used to mark the boundaries of this new capital. At this time, Amenhotep IV officially changed his name to Akhenaten (Agreeable to Aten) as evidence of his new worship. The date given for the event has been estimated to fall around January 2 of that year. In Year 7 of his reign (1346/1344 BCE), the capital was moved from Thebes to Akhetaten (near modern Amarna), though construction of the city seems to have continued for two more years. In shifting his court from the traditional ceremonial centres Akhenaten was signalling a dramatic transformation in the focus of religious and political power.

text: The move separated the Pharaoh and his court from the influence of the priesthood and from the traditional centres of worship, but his decree had deeper religious significance too—taken in conjunction with his name change, it is possible that the move to Amarna was also meant as a signal of Akhenaten's symbolic death and rebirth. It may also have coincided with the death of his father and the end of the coregency. In addition to constructing a new capital in honor of Aten, Akhenaten also oversaw the construction of some of the most massive temple complexes in ancient Egypt, including one at Karnak and one at Thebes, close to the old temple of Amun.

text: In Year 9 (1344/1342 BCE), Akhenaten declared a more radical version of his new religion, declaring Aten not merely the supreme god of the Egyptian pantheon, but the only God of Egypt, with himself as the sole intermediary between the Aten and the Egyptian people. Key features of Atenism included a ban on idols and other images of the Aten, with the exception of a rayed solar disc, in which the rays (commonly depicted ending in hands) appear to represent the unseen spirit of Aten. Aten was addressed by Akhenaten in prayers, such as the Great Hymn to the Aten: "O Sole God beside whom there is none".

text: The details of Atenist theology are still unclear. The exclusion of all but one god and the prohibition of idols was a radical departure from Egyptian tradition, but most scholars see Akhenaten as a practitioner of monolatry rather than monotheism, as he did not actively deny the existence of other gods; he simply refrained from worshiping any but Aten. It is known that Atenism did not solely attribute divinity to the Aten. Akhenaten continued the cult of the Pharaoh, proclaiming himself the son of Aten and encouraging the Egyptian people to worship him.[93] The Egyptian people were to worship Akhenaten; only Akhenaten and Nefertiti could worship Aten directly.[94]

text: Under Akhenaten's successors, Egypt reverted to its traditional religion, and Akhenaten himself came to be reviled as a heretic.

text: Chinese view[edit]

text: The orthodox faith system held by most dynasties of China since at least the Shang Dynasty (1766 BCE) until the modern period centered on the worship of Shangdi (literally "Above Sovereign", generally translated as "God") or Heaven as an omnipotent force.[95] This faith system pre-dated the development of Confucianism and Taoism and the introduction of Buddhism and Christianity. It has features of monotheism in that Heaven is seen as an omnipotent entity, a noncorporeal force with a personality transcending the world. From the writings of Confucius in the Analects, it is known Confucius believed that Heaven cannot be deceived, Heaven guides people's lives and maintains a personal relationship with them, and that Heaven gives tasks for people to fulfill in order to teach them of virtues and morality.[95] However, this faith system was not truly monotheistic since other lesser gods and spirits, which varied with locality, were also worshiped along with Shangdi. Still, later variants such as Mohism (470 BCE–c.391 BCE) approached true monotheism, teaching that the function of lesser gods and ancestral spirits is merely to carry out the will of Shangdi, akin to angels in Abrahamic religions. In Mozi's Will of Heaven (天志), he writes:

text:
"I know Heaven loves men dearly not without reason. Heaven ordered the sun, the moon, and the stars to enlighten and guide them. Heaven ordained the four seasons, Spring, Autumn, Winter, and Summer, to regulate them. Heaven sent down snow, frost, rain, and dew to grow the five grains and flax and silk that so the people could use and enjoy them. Heaven established the hills and rivers, ravines and valleys, and arranged many things to minister to man's good or bring him evil. He appointed the dukes and lords to reward the virtuous and punish the wicked, and to gather metal and wood, birds and beasts, and to engage in cultivating the five grains and flax and silk to provide for the people's food and clothing. This has been so from antiquity to the present." 且吾所以知天之愛民之厚者有矣，曰以磨為日月星辰，以昭道之；制為四時春秋冬夏，以紀綱之；雷降雪霜雨露，以長遂五穀麻絲，使民得而財利之；列為山川谿谷，播賦百事，以臨司民之善否；為王公侯伯，使之賞賢而罰暴；賊金木鳥獸，從事乎五穀麻絲，以為民衣食之財。自古及今，未嘗不有此也。

Will of Heaven, Chapter 27, Paragraph 6, ca. 5th century BCE

text: Worship of Shangdi and Heaven in ancient China includes the erection of shrines, the last and greatest being the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, and the offering of prayers. The ruler of China in every Chinese dynasty would perform annual sacrificial rituals to Shangdi, usually by slaughtering a completely healthy bull as sacrifice. Although its popularity gradually diminished after the advent of Taoism and Buddhism, among other religions, its concepts remained in use throughout the pre-modern period and have been incorporated in later religions in China, including terminology used by early Christians in China. Despite the rising of non-theistic and pantheistic spirituality contributed by Taoism and Buddhism, Shangdi was still praised up until the end of the Qing Dynasty as the last ruler of the Qing declared himself son of heaven.

text: Indigenous African religion[edit]

text: The Himba people of Namibia practice a form of monotheistic panentheism, and worship the god Mukuru. The deceased ancestors of the Himba and Herero are subservient to him, acting as intermediaries.[96]

text: The Igbo people practice a form of monotheism called Odinani.[97] Odinani has monotheistic and panentheistic attributes, having a single God as the source of all things. Although a pantheon of spirits exists, these are lesser spirits prevalent in Odinani expressly serving as elements of Chineke (or Chukwu), the supreme being or high god.

text: Some (approximately 3%) of Oromo people follow a traditional monotheistic religion called Waaqeffannaa and God called Waaq.

text: Indo-European religions[edit]

text: Proto-Indo-European religion[edit]

text: The supreme god of the Proto-Indo-European religion was the god *Dyḗus Pḥatḗr . A number of words derived from the name of this supreme deity are used in various Indo-European languages to denote a monotheistic God. Nonetheless, in spite of this, Proto-Indo-European religion itself was not monotheistic.[98]

text: In western Eurasia, the ancient traditions of the Slavic religion contained elements of monotheism. In the sixth century AD, the Byzantine chronicler Procopius recorded that the Slavs "acknowledge that one god, creator of lightning, is the only lord of all: to him do they sacrifice an ox and all sacrificial animals."[99] The deity to whom Procopius is referring is the storm god Perún, whose name is derived from *Perkwunos, the Proto-Indo-European god of lightning. The ancient Slavs syncretized him with the Germanic god Thor and the Biblical prophet Elijah.[100]

text: Indo-Iranian religions[edit]

text: Hinduism[edit]

text: As an old religion, Hinduism inherits religious concepts spanning monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, monism, and atheism among others;[101][102][103][104] and its concept of God is complex and depends upon each individual and the tradition and philosophy followed.

text: Hindu views are broad and range from monism, through pantheism and panentheism (alternatively called monistic theism by some scholars) to monotheism and even atheism. Hinduism cannot be said to be purely polytheistic. Hindu religious leaders have repeatedly stressed that while God's forms are many and the ways to communicate with him are many, God is one. The puja of the murti is a way to communicate with the abstract one god (Brahman) which creates, sustains and dissolves creation.[105]

text: Rig Veda 1.164.46,

text: Traditions of Gaudiya Vaishnavas, the Nimbarka Sampradaya and followers of Swaminarayan and Vallabha consider Krishna to be the source of all avatars,[106] and the source of Vishnu himself, or to be the same as Narayana. As such, he is therefore regarded as Svayam Bhagavan.[107][108][109]

text: When Krishna is recognized to be Svayam Bhagavan, it can be understood that this is the belief of Gaudiya Vaishnavism,[110] the Vallabha Sampradaya,[111] and the Nimbarka Sampradaya, where Krishna is accepted to be the source of all other avatars, and the source of Vishnu himself. This belief is drawn primarily "from the famous statement of the Bhagavatam"[112] (1.3.28).[113] A viewpoint differing from this theological concept is the concept of Krishna as an avatar of Narayana or Vishnu. It should be however noted that although it is usual to speak of Vishnu as the source of the avataras, this is only one of the names of the God of Vaishnavism, who is also known as Narayana, Vasudeva and Krishna and behind each of those names there is a divine figure with attributed supremacy in Vaishnavism.[114]

text: The Rig Veda discusses monotheistic thought, as do the Atharva Veda and Yajur Veda: "Devas are always looking to the supreme abode of Vishnu" (tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sṻrayaḥ Rig Veda 1.22.20)

text: "The One Truth, sages know by many names" (Rig Veda 1.164.46)[115]

text: "When at first the unborn sprung into being, He won His own dominion beyond which nothing higher has been in existence" (Atharva Veda 10.7.31)[116]

text: "There is none to compare with Him. There is no parallel to Him, whose glory, verily, is great." (Yajur Veda 32.3)[117]

text: The number of auspicious qualities of God are countless, with the following six qualities (bhaga) being the most important:

text:
Jñāna (omniscience), defined as the power to know about all beings simultaneously
Aishvarya (sovereignty, derived from the word Ishvara), which consists in unchallenged rule over all
Shakti (energy), or power, which is the capacity to make the impossible possible
Bala (strength), which is the capacity to support everything by will and without any fatigue
Vīrya (vigor), which indicates the power to retain immateriality as the supreme being in spite of being the material cause of mutable creations
Tejas (splendor), which expresses His self-sufficiency and the capacity to overpower everything by His spiritual effulgence[118]

text: In the Shaivite tradition, the Shri Rudram (Sanskrit श्रि रुद्रम्), to which the Chamakam (चमकम्) is added by scriptural tradition, is a Hindu stotra dedicated to Rudra (an epithet of Shiva), taken from the Yajurveda (TS 4.5, 4.7).[119][120] Shri Rudram is also known as Sri Rudraprasna, Śatarudrīya, and Rudradhyaya. The text is important in Vedanta where Shiva is equated to the Universal supreme God. The hymn is an early example of enumerating the names of a deity,[121] a tradition developed extensively in the sahasranama literature of Hinduism.

text: The Nyaya school of Hinduism has made several arguments regarding a monotheistic view. The Naiyanikas have given an argument that such a god can only be one. In the Nyaya Kusumanjali, this is discussed against the proposition of the Mimamsa school that let us assume there were many demigods (devas) and sages (rishis) in the beginning, who wrote the Vedas and created the world. Nyaya says that:

text: [If they assume such] omniscient beings, those endowed with the various superhuman faculties of assuming infinitesimal size, and so on, and capable of creating everything, then we reply that the law of parsimony bids us assume only one such, namely Him, the adorable Lord. There can be no confidence in a non-eternal and non-omniscient being, and hence it follows that according to the system which rejects God, the tradition of the Veda is simultaneously overthrown; there is no other way open.[citation needed]

text: In other words, Nyaya says that the polytheist would have to give elaborate proofs for the existence and origin of his several celestial spirits, none of which would be logical, and that it is more logical to assume one eternal, omniscient god.[122]

text: Sikhism[edit]

text: Sikhi is a monotheistic[123][124] and a revealed religion.[125] God in Sikhi is called Vāhigurū, and is shapeless, timeless, and sightless: niraṅkār, akaal, and alakh. God is present (sarav viāpak) in all of creation. God must be seen from "the inward eye", or the "heart". Sikhi devotees must meditate to progress towards enlightenment, as its rigorous application permits the existence of communication between God and human beings.[126]

text: Sikhism is a monotheistic faith[127][128] that arose in northern India during the 16th and 17th centuries. Sikhs believe in one, timeless, omnipresent, supreme creator. The opening verse of the Guru Granth Sahib, known as the Mul Mantra, signifies this:

text: The word "ੴ" ("Ik ōaṅkār") has two components. The first is ੧, the digit "1" in Gurmukhi signifying the singularity of the creator. Together the word means: "One Universal creator God".

text: It is often said that the 1430 pages of the Guru Granth Sahib are all expansions on the Mul Mantra. Although the Sikhs have many names for God, some derived from Islam and Hinduism, they all refer to the same Supreme Being.

text: The Sikh holy scriptures refer to the One God who pervades the whole of space and is the creator of all beings in the universe. The following quotation from the Guru Granth Sahib highlights this point:

text: "Chant, and meditate on the One God, who permeates and pervades the many beings of the whole Universe. God created it, and God spreads through it everywhere. Everywhere I look, I see God. The Perfect Lord is perfectly pervading and permeating the water, the land and the sky; there is no place without Him."

text: However, there is a strong case for arguing that the Guru Granth Sahib teaches monism due to its non-dualistic tendencies:

text: Punjabi: ਸਹਸ ਪਦ ਬਿਮਲ ਨਨ ਏਕ ਪਦ ਗੰਧ ਬਿਨੁ ਸਹਸ ਤਵ ਗੰਧ ਇਵ ਚਲਤ ਮੋਹੀ ॥੨॥

text: Sikhs believe that God has been given many names, but they all refer to the One God, VāhiGurū. Sikhs believe that members of other religions such as Islam, Hinduism and Christianity all worship the same God, and the names Allah, Rahim, Karim, Hari, Raam and Paarbrahm are frequently mentioned in the Sikh holy scriptures. Although there is no set reference to God in Sikhism, the most commonly used Sikh reference to God is Akal Purakh (which means "the true immortal") or Waheguru, the Primal Being.

text: Zoroastrianism[edit]

text: Zoroastrianism combines cosmogonic dualism and eschatological monotheism which makes it unique among the religions of the world. Zoroastrianism proclaims an evolution through time from dualism to monotheism.[129]

text: Zoroastrianism is a monotheistic religion,[130] although Zoroastrianism is often regarded[131] as dualistic, duotheistic or bitheistic, for its belief in the hypostatis of the ultimately good Ahura Mazda (creative spirit) and the ultimately evil Angra Mainyu (destructive spirit). Zorastrianism was once one of the largest religions on Earth, as the official religion of the Persian Empire. By some scholars,[who?] the Zoroastrians ("Parsis" or "Zartoshtis") are credited with being some of the first monotheists and having had influence on other world religions. Gathered statistics shows the number of adherents at as many as 3.5 million,[132] with adherents living in many regions, including South Asia.

text: Ancient Greek religion[edit]

text: Classical Greece[edit]

text: The surviving fragments of the poems of the classical Greek philosopher Xenophanes of Colophon suggest that he held views very similar to those of modern monotheists.[133] His poems harshly criticize the traditional notion of anthropomorphic gods, commenting that "...if cattle and horses and lions had hands or could paint with their hands and create works such as men do,... [they] also would depict the gods' shapes and make their bodies of such a sort as the form they themselves have."[134] Instead, Xenophanes declares that there is "...one god, greatest among gods and humans, like mortals neither in form nor in thought."[135] Xenophanes's theology appears to have been monist, but not truly monotheistic in the strictest sense.[25] Although some later philosophers, such as Antisthenes, believed in doctrines similar to those expounded by Xenophanes, his ideas do not appear to have become widely popular.[25]

text: Although Plato himself was a polytheist, in his writings, he often presents Socrates as speaking of "the god" in the singular form. He does, however, often speak of the gods in the plural form as well. The Euthyphro dilemma, for example, is formulated as "Is that which is holy loved by the gods because it is holy, or is it holy because it is loved by the gods?"[136]

text: Hellenistic Religion[edit]

text: The development of pure (philosophical) monotheism is a product of the Late Antiquity. During the 2nd to 3rd centuries, early Christianity was just one of several competing religious movements advocating monotheism.

text: "The One" (Τὸ Ἕν) is a concept that is prominent in the writings of the Neoplatonists, especially those of the philosopher Plotinus.[137] In the writings of Plotinus, "The One" is described as an inconceivable, transcendent, all-embodying, permanent, eternal, causative entity that permeates throughout all of existence.[138]

text: A number of oracles of Apollo from Didyma and Clarus, the so-called "theological oracles", dated to the 2nd and 3rd century CE, proclaim that there is only one highest god, of whom the gods of polytheistic religions are mere manifestations or servants.[139] 4th century CE Cyprus had, besides Christianity, an apparently monotheistic cult of Dionysus.[140]

text: Aristotle's concept of the "Uncaused Cause"—never incorporated into the polytheistic ancient Greek religion—has been used by many exponents of Abrahamic religions to justify their arguments for the existence of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic God of the Abrahamic religions.

text: The Hypsistarians were a religious group who believed in a most high god, according to Greek documents. Later revisions of this Hellenic religion were adjusted towards Monotheism as it gained consideration among a wider populace. The worship of Zeus as the head-god signaled a trend in the direction of monotheism, with less honour paid to the fragmented powers of the lesser gods.

text: New religious movements[edit]

text: This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2012)

text: Various New religious movements, such as Cao Đài, Tenrikyo, Seicho no Ie, and Cheondoism, are monotheistic.

text: Tengrism[edit]

text: Tengrism or Tangrism (sometimes stylized as Tengriism), occasionally referred to as Tengrianism , is a modern term[141] for a Central Asian religion characterized by features of shamanism, animism, totemism, both polytheism and monotheism,[142][143][144][145] and ancestor worship. Historically, it was the prevailing religion of the Bulgarians, Turks, Mongols, and Hungarians, as well as the Xiongnu and the Huns.[146][147] It was the state religion of the six ancient Turkic states: Avar Khaganate, Old Great Bulgaria, First Bulgarian Empire, Göktürks Khaganate, Eastern Tourkia and Western Turkic Khaganate. In Irk Bitig, Tengri is mentioned as Türük Tängrisi (God of Turks).[148] The term is perceived among Turkic peoples as a national religion.

text: In Sino-Tibetan and Turco-Mongol traditions, the Supreme God is commonly referred to as the ruler of Heaven, or the Sky Lord granted with omnipotent powers, but it has largely diminished in those regions due to ancestor worship, Taoism's pantheistic views and Buddhism's rejection of a creator God, although Mahayana Buddhism does seem to keep a sense of divinity. On some occasions in the mythology, the Sky Lord as identified as a male has been associated to mate with an Earth Mother, while some traditions kept the omnipotence of the Sky Lord unshared.

text: Native American religion[edit]

text: Native American theology may be monotheistic, polytheistic, henotheistic, animistic, or some combination thereof.

text: Cherokee for example are monotheist as well as pantheist.

text: The Great Spirit, called Wakan Tanka among the Sioux,[149] and Gitche Manitou in Algonquian, is a conception of universal spiritual force, or supreme being prevalent among some Native American and First Nation cultures.[150] According to Lakota activist Russell Means a better translation of Wakan Tanka is the Great Mystery.[151]