#teofilo f. ruiz

[enddaysengine]

Actually… I have follow up on this, cause I found the perfect quote to compliment it, completely by accident.

Although we may know—thanks to the works of many historians that provide comprehensive accounts of the Black Death and its impact—far better than Florentines did in 1348 all the social, economic, cultural, and demographic consequences of the plague, we have unwittingly reduced the historicizing of these events to mere scholarship. In doing so, we have robbed the plague of its cruel immediacy and reality as a felt experience in time.

THE TERROR OF HISTORY, by TEOFILO F. RUIZ

Ruiz is absolutely getting at the same point I and Jean-Luc are getting at here. Understanding what did and did not happen is obviously an important part of doing history. Academic and scientific rigour are essential tools for the historian - but they are tools. Knowing historical truth has value and communicating that truth also has immense value, but they are not the only things of value.

History (and teaching more broadly) are about telling stories - stories which can communicate the human emotions of living through an uncertain time. They can bring us catharsis, sadness, joy, or all three at once. Reducing the act of history down to dates and figures codified in a textbook runs the very real risk of losing why it all matters in the first place, the human experience behind it all.

Making RPGs can be a pain in the ass. It’s not profitable, you have to do it carefully, and that goes doubly true of historical RPGs because you can unwittingly bring in nasty narratives like Manifest Destiny (which is still bullshit) if you aren’t careful. It’s worth it though. Gods it’s worth it. It is a tool teachers and historians can use to bring that human element back into the picture. That’s the beauty of using historical settings for games, especially tabletop games. It lets us experience those incredible, impossible times when humans had to make heart-rending decisions without putting ourselves at risk. It builds empathy, while also letting us reflect on our own impossible times.

But all that goes out the window if game designers don’t have a degree of latitude in the stories they tell. Absolutely, 100% call out harmful shit - but unless everyone at your table has a degree in Celtic Studies, trying to hold an RPG to the same standards as academia is not just nonsensical. It actively robs the work of its poignancy and meaning.

TLDR; if you reduce games to scholarship, then the players can no longer see the stage.

me @ modern films and tv shows

[dwellordream]

“Muslims, Jews, and Christians met every day in the streets of Spanish cities and small towns: there were, after all, very few places without representatives of one or both of the religious minorities. They made purchases in each other’s stores, lived close to each other (there were no ghettos in Spain), joined in mercantile and business enterprises, and benefited from the craftsmanship of others. In early-fourteenth-century Avila, almost all the artisan trades and small shops were run by either Muslims or Jews. In a town with just over four thousand inhabitants, Jews and Muslims ran over forty different shops, including those of a locksmith, a cloth seller, weavers, painters, fruit dealers, and other essential goods and services. 

The Jew Mossé de Dueñas and his wife, Çid Buena, sold half of their house to the dean of the city’s cathedral chapter. Two other Jews, Halaf and Alazar, sold property in Avila to the dean as well. Yuzef, a Muslim, sold his stores to a Christian. And these are only a few examples from many such activities in Avila and elsewhere. In most large Spanish medieval towns, it would have been impossible for Christians not to shop in Muslim or Jewish shops or vice versa. In addition, censuses of property and property transactions throughout the peninsula allow us an entry into how Christians, Muslims, and Jews interacted as buyers, sellers, and neighbors. 

In 1305, a Muslim couple, Audalia and Doña Çienso, sold their houses in Burgos to Don Pedro de Mena, a Christian and municipal official. The houses, which commanded a very high price for the period, were located on the street of Tintes (dyes) and were bounded by houses inhabited by Muslim dyers. The Muslim couple had rented one of the houses to two Jews, Vellido and Yhuda. Christians and Muslims signed as witnesses to the transaction. These economic exchanges, while not necessarily engendering tolerance, provided points of contact with other people, cultures, and religions. In litigation among members of the three religions—and lawsuits were frequent—each swore on his or her own sacred book: Christians on the Bible or the Gospels, Muslims on the Qu’ran, Jews on the Torah. There was no ignorance as to what the other believed or their rituals and language of devotion.

In the Crown of Aragon, as David Nirenberg has brilliantly shown, sexual relations between adherents of the three religions were not rare, though they were often tinged with violence. Though intermarriage was legally forbidden, Jews, Muslims, and Christians seduced one another, raped one another, and visited brothels where they may have had intercourse with prostitutes of another religion. The porous boundaries of sexuality brought these different groups together. So did conversion, the act that brought different religions most directly face-to-face with the beliefs of others. So much, I fear, for the good news. The flip side of these exchanges was dark indeed. 

From the early thirteenth century onward until the end of the Middle Ages, the legislation of the Cortes, enacted at almost every meeting of these parliamentary assemblies, promoted harsh measures against the Jews and, to a lesser extent, against the Muslims. These edicts sought to segregate religious minorities from Christians, demanding types of clothing and hairstyles that would make Jews and Muslims easily identifiable as such. Jews and Muslims could not serve as nannies to Christian children, and their economic activities were severely restricted. Jews suffered the most from this, as debts to them were canceled or reduced. 

Urban representatives to the Cortes continuously requested an end to Jewish and Muslim exemption from municipal jurisdiction and taxation. In the Siete Partidas, the great Roman-based legal code from the second half of the thirteenth century, the sections dealing with Jews and Muslims were particularly restrictive. In Partida VII, title 24, while providing the usual bans on sexual intercourse with Christians or holding Christians as slaves, evokes some of the worse aspects of anti-Jewish rhetoric, even though tempered by the requirement of proof: 

And because we have heard it said that in some places Jews celebrated, and still celebrate Good Friday . . . stealing children and fastening them to crosses, and making images of wax and crucifying them, when they cannot obtain children, we order that hereafter . . . [if] anything like this is done and can be proved, all persons who were present when the act was committed shall be seized, arrested and brought before the king; and after the king ascertains that they are guilty, he shall cause them to be put to death in a disgraceful manner. Title 25 deals with Moors in only slightly kinder fashion. 

Although prohibitions on sexual intercourse remained, the thrust of the law was to foster gradual conversion of Muslims to Christianity and to prevent Christian conversion to Islam. The constant reissuing of these legal measures tells us that they were not easily enforced, but nonetheless something had changed for the worse. Between the 1230s and the 1260s, the Christian kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, and Portugal conquered most of southern Iberia. By the late 1260s, only Granada remained as a Muslim outpost in the peninsula. How the Christians dealt with the conquered Muslims tells us a great deal about changing policies in dealing with religious minorities. 

In Castile, Muslims were expelled from Cordoba and Seville after the Christian conquests in 1236 and 1248, respectively, and, after 1264 and a Mudejar rebellion, from the countryside as well. The top layers of Muslim society had long opted for removal to either Granada or North Africa, choosing to live in exile rather than under Christian rule. Those at the bottom who had remained behind after the conquests were expelled from Andalusia. After 1264, though there were Muslims in Castilian cities and countryside in the north, few or none were found in the south. 

In the east the pattern of conquest was very different. Mudejars remained on the land in Aragon and Valencia, but they did so as marginalized and semi-enserfed rural labor. As for the Jews, even those close to the king could easily find themselves in mortal danger. Alfonso X had his top Jewish fiscal agent killed, sacrificing this scapegoat to appease popular complaints about oppressive taxation. So did his son and heir, Sancho IV (1284–1296), and his grandson, Alfonso XI (1312–1350). On the whole, as Castile and the Crown of Aragon sank into civil wars, demographic dislocations, social upheavals, and severe economic downturns, attitudes toward Jews and Muslims hardened. There were, of course, some important nuances. 

The antagonism against Jews was quite different from that against Muslims. Moreover, not all social groups shared equally in the hatred of religious minorities. One could say that the high nobility, clerical dignitaries, and the Crown were generally far less hostile than the lower classes. The bourgeoisie and urban middle class were in constant competition with Jews for control of financial resources, and they spearheaded the petitions against the Jews at the meetings of the Cortes. Hostility against Islam was particularly strong in frontier areas, but it frequently alternated with trade and other peaceful contacts. Sporadic outbreaks of violence against the Jews took place in Navarre in 1277, 1321, and 1328; in Girona (Catalonia) in 1285; in Castile in 1295, 1335, and 1360; and in Valencia in 1348, in the wake of the Black Death. 

Muslims lived throughout Christian Castile (except for the south) and Aragon, albeit in communities that were increasingly segregated and diminished in size. They served as farm labor, unskilled and skilled labor in the building trades, and craftsmen, their activities and lives becoming but a shadow of the greatness that Islam had once achieved before 1035. Only in Granada did the flame burn brightly still, though the future was ominous indeed. 1391 and Beyond 1391 was a true watershed in the relations between Christians and Jews. Social and political tensions, resulting from the political instability of the realm, had long been building, but no one could have predicted the wave of violence that swept many towns throughout the peninsula. 

Some cities, such as Avila, did not witness any violence, and their Jewish and Mudejar communities were not disturbed. But in the great cities of the south (Seville, Cordoba, Andujar, Baeza, and Jaén), in some of the most important urban centers of the Castilian heartland (Cuenca, Burgos, Toledo, and Palencia), in Galicia, and in the Crown of Aragon’s most important cities (Valencia, Barcelona, Lérida, Palma de Mallorca, Teruel, Girona, and others), violence against the Jews erupted with unprecedented ferocity. Owing in part to the vitriolic preaching of mendicant friars and other clerics, Jewish communities were attacked, synagogues burned, and the Jews given the choice of converting or being killed. 

Thousands of Jews—according to some estimates, as many as 60 percent of the roughly 200,000 Jews living in the peninsula—converted in 1391. And they continued to convert for the next two decades. Many Jewish communities were completely erased, most notably that of Burgos, the second-largest Jewish community in Spain. There the great rabbi of the city, the learned Selomah ha Levi, converted in 1390 (a year before the violence), went to Paris to study theology, returned to Burgos, and became the bishop of the city. Obviously, factors in addition to violence were at work in the Jews’ massive conversions to Christianity. 

The opportunity for social and economic mobility, the growing attachment to secular lives, and the desire to avoid further violence all served as incentives for conversion. Those Jewish communities that survived the pogroms of 1391 did so greatly diminished and impoverished. Withdrawing or forcibly expelled from large cities, the Jews sought refuge from the violence and the uncertainties of the time in small towns, placing themselves under the protection of lords strong and independent enough to withstand the anarchy of the period. By the fifteenth century, the Muslims too played a lesser role in the affairs of the Spanish kingdoms, though in rural Aragon and Valencia they remained an important economic and demographic presence as skilled and thrifty farmers and as a significant source of revenue for their lords. 

Castile’s intermittent wars against Granada created a volatile frontier in the south. Raids against each other’s territories, kidnapping and enslaving of the enemy, and occasional conversions helped to maintain a growing level of hostility. Conversions represented an important aspect of the interaction of the three groups. Religious conversion is a complex and difficult topic that is not central to this narrative, but it was an important historical and religious phenomenon with an undeniable presence in the relations among Jews, Muslims, and Christians. The conversions we know best are those from either Judaism or Islam to Christianity.  

Recently converted Jews sometimes engaged in bitter polemics against their former coreligionists. Joshua Halorqui, later known as Jerónimo de Santa Fe, even led the Christian side at the Disputation of Tortosa in the early fifteenth century. Some Muslims converted to Judaism and even to Christianity and vice versa, but Muslim conversion out of Islam was rare. On the whole, our data on conversion from Christianity to one of the minority religions is scant. The penalties for such actions were heavy indeed, and such actions required secrecy. 

But they did happen—above all on the Jaén frontier with Granada, where some Christians converted to Islam and fled to Muslim territory, to the shock and outrage of Christians they left behind—creating liminal spaces and zones of contact on the confessional borders. Moreover, Jews and Muslims played special, and necessary, roles in Christian religious and secular spectacles. As David Nirenberg has shown, Jews, and sometimes Muslims, became important players in Holy Week celebrations. The Jews became the targets of ritualized violence and humiliation, but these ceremonial performances were, while dangerously exclusive, also a way to integrate religious minorities into the broader compass of Christian society. 

Jews and Muslims were compelled to attend the great Corpus Christi processions, serving as permanent reminders of Christian hegemony. And in a wonderful evocation of the manner in which the three religions could still coexist in ludic performances, a Castilian royal chronicle tells us of the ceremonial entrance of Princess Blanca into Briviesca in the 1440s, when she came to marry the heir to the Castilian throne. Upon entering the small town, she was received by the guilds with their tableaux vivants, displays, and music and by the Jews dancing with the Torah and the Mudejars with the Qu’ran, as was the custom, the chronicler tells us, when foreign princes came into the realm.”

- Teofilo F. Ruiz, “Jews, Muslims, and Christians.” in Medieval Christianity

[shakeel786blog]

World Cup preliminary squads Who will be on the plane to Russia?

Ian Darke leads the ESPN panel in predicting the 2018 World Cup winner with names of Germany, Brazil, France and England among the list.

Joachim Low has a deep German squad with World Cup winning experience. Ian Darke leads the discussion as to why the Germans may once again be favourites.

After humiliation on home soil for Brazil in 2014, Ian Darke and ESPN’s expert panel feel redemption could be in the cards for Neymar and company.

Ian Darke leads an expert panel to assess Spain’s World Cup hopes and whether or not Julen Lopetegui will be able to sort out the attack.

With the clock ticking on Lionel Messi’s international career, Ian Darke poses the question whether Argentina have enough firepower to win the World Cup.

Twenty years after winning the 1998 World Cup, the ESPN panel feel Didier Deschamps’ man management will be crucial for France’s World Cup hopes.

Ian Darke asks ESPN’s expert panel if Juan Carlos Osorio’s Mexico, after bowing out in six straight round-of-16s, can overcome their World Cup curse.

Ian Darke likens Belgium to a band who can never get a number one. The ESPN panel question if Roberto Martinez can get it right for Belgium’s golden generation.

While Portugal shocked the world at EURO 2016, Ian Darke and company feel Cristiano Ronaldo’s aging side may not be able to punch above their weight.

Despite England’s recent struggles, Ian Darke and the ESPN panel are cautiously optimistic about England’s World Cup chances.

Ian Darke asks the ESPN panel which of the five African nations has the best chance of making a big splash at the 2018 World Cup.

With the surprise factor gone for Iceland, the ESPN panel feel Iceland’s lack of depth could cause them trouble at the World Cup in Russia.

The ESPN panel in London are skeptical of Australia ahead of the World Cup with Bert van Marwijk’s defensive mindset and an aging squad.

World Cup squads are being announced. Find out who is in contention before FIFA’s final deadline on June 4; the tournament starts on June 14.

Note: Squads below may vary in size ahead of the deadline for 23-man rosters to be submitted. Additionally, names are subject to change.

ARGENTINA: 23-man squad — Injury doubt Sergio Aguero is in, as is Paulo Dybala, but Mauro Icardi has been left out.

Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (Manchester United), Wilfredo Caballero (Chelsea), Franco Armani (River Plate)

Defenders: Gabriel Mercado (Sevilla), Cristian Ansaldi (Torino), Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City), Federico Fazio (Roma), Marcos Rojo (Manchester United), Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax), Marcos Acuna (Sporting CP).

Midfielders: Javier Mascherano (Hebei China Fortune), Eduardo Salvio (Benfica), Lucas Biglia (Milan), Giovani Lo Celso (Paris Saint-Germain), Ever Banega (Sevilla), Manuel Lanzini (West Ham), Maximiliano Meza (Independiente), Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain), Cristian Pavon (Boca Juniors),

Forwards: Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus).

AUSTRALIA: 27-man preliminary squad — Originally left out of the squad, Jamie Maclaren was surprisingly recalled on May 28 amid doubts over Tomi Juric’s fitness.

Goalkeepers: Brad Jones (Feyenoord), Mat Ryan (Brighton), Danny Vukovic (Genk)

Defenders: Aziz Behich (Bursaspor), Milos Degenek (Yokohama F. Marinos), Matthew Jurman (Suwon Samsung Bluewings), Fran Karacic (Lokomotiva), James Meredith (Millwall), Josh Risdon (Western Sydney Wanderers), Trent Sainsbury (Grasshoppers)

Midfielders: Josh Brillante (Sydney FC), Jackson Irvine (Hull), Mile Jedinak (Aston Villa), Robbie Kruse (Bochum), Massimo Luongo (Queens Park Rangers), Mark Milligan (Al Ahli), Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield), Tom Rogic (Celtic), James Troisi (Melbourne Victory)

Forwards: Daniel Arzani (Melbourne City), Tim Cahill (Millwall), Tomi Juric (FC Luzern), Mathew Leckie (Hertha Berlin), Andrew Nabbout (Urawa Red Diamonds), Dimitri Petratos (Newcastle Jets), Nikita Rukavytsya (Maccabi Haifa), Jamie Maclaren (Hibernian)

BELGIUM: 28-man preliminary squad — Radja Nainggolan is omitted, and with Michy Batshuayi’s left ankle injury, Christian Benteke has been recalled as cover.

Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg), Matz Sels (Newcastle United)

Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham Hotspur), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), Laurent Ciman (LAFC), Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht), Christian Kabasele (Watford), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Jordan Lukaku (Lazio), Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur)

Midfielders: Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yifang), Nacer Chadli (West Bromwich Albion), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham Hotspur), Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad), Youri Tielemans (Monaco), Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian)

Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea), Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Monchengladbach), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United), Dries Mertens (Napoli)

BRAZIL: 23-man squad — Tite’s roster includes Fagner as a replacement for the injured Dani Alves. Neymar is included as he works his way back to fitness.

Goalkeepers: Alisson (Roma), Ederson (Manchester City), Cassio (Corinthians)

Defenders: Miranda (Inter Milan), Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain), Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain), Geromel (Gremio), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Fagner (Corinthians), Danilo (Manchester City), Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid)

Midfielders: Casemiro (Real Madrid), Fernandinho (Manchester City), Paulinho (Barcelona), Renato Augusto (Beijing Guoan), Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona), Willian (Chelsea), Fred (Shakhtar Donetsk)

Forwards: Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain), Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City), Firmino (Liverpool), Taison (Shakhtar Donetsk), Douglas Costa (Juventus)

COLOMBIA: 35-man preliminary squad — Eleven players carry over from the 2014 World Cup, while Radamel Falcao is included after missing out then through injury.

Goalkeepers: David Ospina (Arsenal), Camilo Vargas (Deportivo Cali), Ivan Arboleda (Banfield), Jose Fernando Cuadrado (Once Caldas)

Defenders: Santiago Arias (PSV Eindhoven), Frank Fabra (Boca Juniors), Davinson Sanchez (Tottenham), Cristian Zapata (AC Milan), Yerry Mina (Barcelona) Johan Mojica (Girona), Bernardo Espinosa (Girona), Oscar Murillo (Pachuca), Farid Diaz (Olimpia), Stefan Medina (Monterrey), William Tesillo (Leon)

Midfielders: Abel Aguilar (Cali), Wilmar Barrios (Boca Juniors), James Rodriguez (Bayern Munich), Carlos Sanchez (Espanyol), Jefferson Lerma (Levante), Giovanni Moreno (Shanghai Shenhua), Juan Fernando Quintero (River Plate), Edwin Cardona (Boca Juniors), Juan Guillermo Cuadrado (Juventus), Gustavo Cuellar (Flamengo), Sebastian Perez (Boca Juniors), Mateus Uribe (America)

Forwards: Radamel Falcao (Monaco), Carlos Bacca (Villarreal), Duvan Zapata (Sampdoria), Miguel Borja (Palmeiras), Jose Izquierdo (Brighton), Luis Muriel (Sevilla), Teofilo Gutierrez (Junior), Yimmi Chara (Junior).

COSTA RICA: 23-man squad — Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas heads the provisional 23-man squad.

Goalkeepers: Keylor Navas (Real Madrid), Patrick Pemberton (Liga Deportiva Alajuelense), Leonel Moreira (Herediano)

Defenders: Cristian Gamboa (Celtic), Ian Smith (Norrkoping), Ronald Matarrita (New York City), Bryan Oviedo (Sunderland), Oscar Duarte (Espanyol), Giancarlo Gonzalez (Bologna), Francisco Calvo (Minnesota United), Kendall Waston (Vancouver Whitecaps), Johnny Acosta (Aguilas Dorados)

Midfielders: David Guzman (Portland Timbers), Yeltsin Tejeda (Lausanne-Sport), Celso Borges (Deportivo La Coruna), Randall Azofeifa (Herediano), Rodney Wallace (New York City), Bryan Ruiz (Sporting CP), Daniel Colindres (Saprissa), Christian Bolanos (Saprissa)

Forwards: Johan Venegas (Saprissa), Joel Campbell (Real Betis), Marco Urena (LAFC)

CROATIA: 24-man preliminary squad — Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic are part of the provisional squad for what could be their final tournament as midfield partners.

Goalkeepers: Danijel Subasic (Monaco), Lovre Kalinic (Gent), Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo)

Defenders: Vedran Corluka (Lokomotiv Moscow), Domagoj Vida (Besiktas), Ivan Strinic (Sampdoria), Dejan Lovren (Liverpool), Sime Vrsaljko (Atletico Madrid), Josip Pivaric (Dynamo Kiev), Tin Jedvaj (Bayer Leverkusen), Matej Mitrovic (Club Brugge), Duje Caleta-Car (Red Bull Salzburg)

Midfielders: Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona), Mateo Kovacic (Real Madrid), Milan Badelj (Fiorentina), Marcelo Brozovic (Inter), Filip Bradaric (Rijeka)

Strikers: Mario Mandzukic (Juventus), Ivan Perisic (Inter), Nikola Kalinic (Milan), Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim), Marko Pjaca (Schalke), Ante Rebic (Eintracht).

DENMARK: 35-man preliminary squad — Coach Age Hareide has picked veterans Michael Krohn-Dehli and Nicklas Bendtner among his wider group.

Goalkeepers: Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester), Jonas Lossl (Huddersfield), Frederik Ronow (Brondby), Jesper Hansen (FC Midtjylland)

Defenders: Simon Kjaer (Sevilla), Andreas Christensen (Chelsea), Mathias Jorgensen (Huddersfield), Jannik Vestergaard (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Andreas Bjelland (Brentford), Henrik Dalsgaard (Brentford), Peter Ankersen (FC Copenhagen), Jens Stryger (Udinese), Riza Durmisi (Real Betis), Jonas Knudsen (Ipswich), Nicolai Boilesen (FC Copenhagen)

Midfielders: William Kvist (FC Copenhagen), Thomas Delaney (Werder Bremen), Lukas Lerager (Bordeaux), Lasse Schone (Ajax), Mike Jensen (Rosenborg), Christian Eriksen (Tottenham), Daniel Wass (Celta Vigo), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Southampton), Mathias Jensen (FC Nordsjaelland), Michael Krohn-Dehli (Deportivo La Coruna), Robert Skov (FC Copenhagen)

Strikers: Pione Sisto (Celta Vigo), Martin Braithwaite (Bordeaux), Andreas Cornelius (Atalanta), Viktor Fischer (FC Copenhagen), Yussuf Poulsen (RB Leipzig), Nicolai Jorgensen (Feyenoord), Nicklas Bendtner (Rosenborg), Kasper Dolberg (Ajax), Kenneth Zohore (Cardiff)

EGYPT: 29-man preliminary squad — Mohamed Salah is the headline name but also included is 45-year-old goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary.

Goalkeepers: Essam El-Hadary (Al Taawoun), Mohamed El-Shennawy (Al Ahly), Sherif Ekramy (Al Ahly), Mohamed Awad (Ismaily)

Defenders: Ahmed Fathi (Al Ahly), Saad Samir (Al Ahly), Ayman Ashraf (Al Ahly), Mahmoud Hamdy (Zamalek), Mohamed Abdel-Shafy (Al Fath) Ahmed Hegazi (West Brom), Ali Gabr (West Brom), Ahmed Elmohamady (Aston Villa), Karim Hafez (RC Lens), Omar Gaber (LAFC), Amro Tarek (Orlando City)

Midfielders: Tarek Hamed (Zamalek), Mahmoud Abdel Aziz (Zamalek), Shikabala (Al Raed), Abdallah Said (KuPS), Sam Morsy (Wigan), Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal), Kahraba (Ittihad), Ramadan Sobhi (Stoke City), Mahmoud “Trezeguet” Hassan (Kasimpasa), Amr Warda (Atromitos)

Forwards: Marwan Mohsen (Al Ahly), Ahmed Gomaa (Al Masry) Ahmed “Koka” Mahgoub (SC Braga), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

ENGLAND: 23-man squad — Liverpool’s uncapped youngster Trent Alexander-Arnold was called up by Gareth Southgate, who omitted Joe Hart and Jack Wilshere.

Goalkeepers: Jack Butland (Stoke City), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Burnley)

Defenders: Phil Jones (Manchester United), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Ashley Young (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Harry Maguire (Leicester City)

Midfielders: Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Fabian Delph (Manchester City), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur)

Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal).

FRANCE: 23-man squad — Full-backs Benjamin Mendy and Djibril Sidibe have been included, despite recent injury concerns. Anthony Martial was left out.

Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Steve Mandanda (Marseille), Alphonse Areola (Paris Saint-Germain)

Defenders: Djibril Sidibe (Monaco), Benjamin Pavard (Stuttgart), Adil Rami (Marseille), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid), Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona), Presnel Kimpembe (Paris Saint-Germain), Benjamin Mendy (Manchester City), Lucas Hernandez (Atletico Madrid)

Midfielders: Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Blaise Matuidi (Juventus), Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich), N’Golo Kante (Chelsea), Steven N’Zonzi (Sevilla)

Forwards: Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), Olivier Giroud (Chelsea), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Thomas Lemar (Monaco), Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona), Florian Thauvin (Marseille), Nabil Fekir (Lyon)

GERMANY: 27-man preliminary squad — There is no place for Mario Gotze, whose goal won the 2014 World Cup, but Nils Peterson is a surprise inclusion.

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona), Bernd Leno (Bayer Leverkusen), Kevin Trapp (Paris Saint-Germain)

Defenders: Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich), Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Jonas Hector (Cologne), Marvin Plattenhardt (Hertha Berlin), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen), Matthias Ginter (Borussia Monchengladbach), Niklas Sule (Bayern Munich), Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea)

Midfielders: Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Sami Khedira (Juventus), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Sebastian Rudy (Bayern Munich), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Leon Goretzka (Schalke), Leroy Sane (Manchester City), Julian Draxler (Paris Saint-Germain), Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City), Julian Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen)

Forwards: Timo Werner (RB Leipzig), Mario Gomez (Stuttgart), Nils Petersen (Freiburg)

ICELAND: 23-man squad — Playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson and captain Aron Gunnarsson have been called up, even though both midfielders are injured.

Goalkeepers: Hannes Halldorsson (Randers), Runar Runarsson (Nordsjaelland), Frederik Schram (Roskilde)

Defenders: Kari Arnason (Aberdeen), Holmar Eyjolfsson (Levski Sofia), Rurik Gislason (Sandhausen), Sverrir Ingason (Rostov), Hordur Magnusson (Bristol City), Birkir Saevarsson (Valur), Ragnar Sigurdsson (Rostov), Ari Skulason (Lokeren)

Midfielders: Birkir Bjarnason (Aston Villa), Samuel Fridjonsson (Valerenga), Johann Gudmundsson (Burnley), Aron Gunnarsson (Cardiff City), Emil Hallfredsson (Udinese), Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton), Olafur Skulason (Karabukspor), Arnor Traustason (Malmo)

Forwards: Jon Bodvarsson (Reading), Alfred Finnbogason (Augsburg), Albert Gudmundsson (PSV), Bjorn Sigurdarson (Rostov)

IRAN: 24-man preliminary squad — Iran coach Carlos Queiroz has reduced his 35-man provisional 2018 World Cup squad to 24, leaving out veteran defender Seyed Jalal Hosseini in a surprise move.

Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand (Persepolis ), Rashid Mazaheri (Zob Ahan), Amir Abedzadeh (Maritimo, Portugal)

Defenders: Ramin Rezaeian (KV Oostende, Belgiium), Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh (Padideh), Morteza Pouraliganji (Al Saad, Qatar), Pejman Montazeri (Esteghlal ), Seyed Majid Hosseini (Esteghlal), Milad Mohammadi (Akhmat Grozny, Russia), Roozbeh Cheshmi (Esteghlal)

Midfielders: Saeid Ezatolahi (Amkar Perm, Russia), Masoud Shojaei (AEK Athens, Greece), Mehdi Torabi (Saipa), Ashkan Dejagah (Nottingham Forest, England), Omid Ebrahimi (Esteghlal), Ehsan Hajsafi (Olympiacos, Greece) Vahid Amiri (Persepolis), Ali Gholizadeh (Saipa) Karim Ansarifard (Olympiacos, Greece)

Forwards: Alireza Jahanbakhsh (AZ, Netherlands), Saman Ghoddos (Ostersunds FK, Sweden), Mahdi Taremi (Al-Gharafa, Qatar), Sardar Azmoun (Rubin Kazan, Russia) Reza Ghoochannejhad (Heerenveen, Netherlands)

JAPAN: 23-man squad — Takuma Asano of Arsenal and Leeds United’s Yosuke Ideguchi were among the players cut as Japan confirmed their final squad.

Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima (Metz, France), Masaaki Higashiguchi (Gamba Osaka), Kosuke Nakamura (Kashiwa Reysol)

Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo (Galatasaray, Turkey), Tomoaki Makino (Urawa Reds), Maya Yoshida (Southampton, England), Hiroki Sakai (Marseille, France), Gotoku Sakai (Hamburger SV, Germany), Gen Shoji (Kashima Antlers), Wataru Endo (Urawa Reds), Naomichi Ueda (Kashima Antlers)

Midfielders: Makoto Hasebe (Frankfurt, Germany), Keisuke Honda (Pachuca, Mexico), Takashi Inui (Eibar, Spain), Shinji Kagawa (Dortmund, Germany), Hotaru Yamaguchi (Cerezo Osaka), Genki Haraguchi (Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany), Takashi Usami (Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany), Gaku Shibasaki (Getafe, Spain), Ryota Oshima (Kawasaki Frontale)

Forwards: Shinji Okazaki (Leicester, England), Yuya Osako (Werder Bremen, Germany), Yoshinori Muto (Mainz, Germany)

MEXICO: 27-man preliminary squad — Juan Carlos Osorio included 39-year-old Rafa Marquez, a veteran of four World Cups, in his initial squad, but the Mexican federation revealed Nestor Araujo was sent home on May 23 because of an existing injury.

Goalkeepers: Guillermo Ochoa (Standard Liege), Alfredo Talavera (Toluca), Jesus Corona (Cruz Azul)

Defenders: Diego Reyes (FC Porto), Carlos Salcedo (Eintracht Frankfurt), Hector Moreno (Real Sociedad), Oswaldo Alanis (Getafe), Miguel Layun (Sevilla), Jesus Gallardo (Pumas), Hugo Ayala (Tigres), Edson Alvarez (America)

Midfielders: Hector Herrera (Porto), Andres Guardado (Real Betis), Rafa Marquez (Atlas), Jonathan dos Santos (LA Galaxy), Marco Fabian (Eintracht Frankfurt), Jesus Molina (Monterrey), Erick Gutierrez (Pachuca), Giovani dos Santos (LA Galaxy)

Forwards: Javier Aquino (Tigres), Jesus “Tecatito” Corona (Porto), Raul Jimenez (Benfica), Oribe Peralta (Club America), Javier Hernandez (West Ham United), Carlos Vela (LAFC), Hirving Lozano (PSV Eindhoven), Jurgen Damm (Tigres)

MOROCCO: 23-man squad — Sofiane Boufal is the most notable omission, while Youssef Ait Bennasser has made the cut after recovering from injury.

Goalkeepers: Mounir El Kajoui (Numancia), Yassine Bounou (Girona), Ahmad Reda Tagnaouti (Ittihad Tanger)

Defenders: Medhi Benatia (Juventus), Romain Saiss (Wolves), Manuel Da Costa (Basaksehir), Badr Benoun (Raja Casablanca), Nabil Dirar (Fenerbahce), Achraf Hakimi (Real Madrid), Hamza Mendyl (LOSC)

Midfielders: Mbark Boussoufa (Al Jazira), Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord), Youssef Ait Bennasser (Caen), Sofyan Amrabat (Feyenoord), Younes Belhanda (Galatasaray), Faycal Fajr (Getafe), Amine Harit (Schalke 04)

Forwards: Khalid Boutaib (Malatyaspor), Aziz Bouhaddouz (Saint Pauli), Ayoub El Kaabi (Renaissance Berkane), Nordin Amrabat (Leganes), Mehdi Carcela (Standard de Liege), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax)

NIGERIA: 30-man preliminary squad — Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr has named uncapped pair Junior Lokosa and Simeon Nwankwo.

Goalkeepers: Ikechukwu Ezenwa (Enyimba FC), Francis Uzoho (Deportivo La Coruna), Daniel Akpeyi (Chippa United); Dele Ajiboye (Plateau United)

Defenders: Abdullahi Shehu (Bursaspor), Tyronne Ebuehi (Ado Den Haag), Olaoluwa Aina (Hull), Elderson Echiejile (Cercle Brugge), Brian Idowu (Amkar Perm), Chidozie Awaziem (Nantes), William Ekong (Bursaspor), Leon Balogun (Mainz), Kenneth Omeruo (Kasimpasa), Stephen Eze (Lokomotiv Plovdiv)

Midfielders: Mikel John Obi (Tianjin Teda), Ogenyi Onazi (Trabzonspor), Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester), Oghenekaro Etebo (Las Palmas), John Ogu (Hapoel Be’er Sheva), Uche Agbo (Standard Liege), Joel Obi (Torino), Mikel Agu (Bursaspor)

Forwards: Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow), Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester), Moses Simon (KAA Gent), Victor Moses (Chelsea), Odion Ighalo (Changchun Yatai), Alex Iwobi (Arsenal), Nwankwo Simeon (Crotone), Junior Lokosa (Kano Pillars)

PANAMA: 23-man squad — Hernan Dario Gomez’s final group includes six Major League Soccer-based players.

Goalkeepers: Jose Calderon (Chorrillo FC), Jaime Penedo (Dinamo Bucharest), Alex Rodriguez (San Francisco FC)

Defenders: Felipe Baloy (CSD Municipal), Harold Cummings (San Jose Earthquakes), Eric Davis (DAC Dunajska Streda), Fidel Escobar (New York Red Bulls), Adolfo Machado (Houston Dynamo), Michael Murillo (New York Red Bulls), Luis Ovalle (CD Olimpia), Roman Torres (Seattle Sounders)

Midfielders: Edgar Barcenas (Cafetaleros de Tapachula), Armando Cooper (Club Universidad de Chile), Anibal Godoy (San Jose Earthquakes), Gabriel Gomez (Bucaramanga), Valentin Pimentel (Plaza Amador), Alberto Quintero (Universitario de Lima), Jose Luis Rodriguez (KAA Gent)

Forwards: Abdiel Arroyo (LD Alajuelense), Ismael Diaz (Deportivo La Coruna), Blas Perez (CSD Municipal), Luis Tejada (Sports Boys), Gabriel Torres (CD Huachipato)

PERU: 25-man preliminary squad — Captain Paolo Guerrero will be in Russia after his doping ban was temporarily lifted by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Goalkeepers: Pedro Gallese (Veracruz), José Carvallo (UTC), Carlos Caceda (Municipal)

Defenders: Luis Abram (Vélez Sarsfield), Luis Advíncula (Lobos), Miguel Araujo (Alianza Lima), Aldo Corzo (Universitario), Nilson Loyola (Melgar), Christian Ramos (Veracruz), Alberto Rodríguez (Junior), Anderson Santamaría (Puebla), Miguel Trauco (Flamengo)

Midfielders: Pedro Aquino (Lobos), Wilmer Cartagena (Veracruz), Christian Cueva (Sao Paulo), Edison Flores (Aalborg), Paolo Hurtado (Vitória Guimaraes), Sergio Pena (Grenade), Andy Polo (Portland Timbers), Renato Tapia (Feyernoord), Yoshimar Yotún (Orlando City)

Strikers: Paolo Guerrero (Flamengo), André Carrillo (Watford), Raul Ruidiaz (Morelia), Jefferson Farfan (Lokomotiv Moscow).

POLAND: 35-man preliminary squad — Robert Lewandowski and Wojciech Szczesny are the big names, while Arkadiusz Milik has proved his fitness. 

Goalkeepers: Bartosz Białkowski (Ipswich Town), Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea City), Lukasz Skorupski (AS Roma), Wojciech Szczesny (Juventus Turin)

Defenders: Jan Bednarek (Southampton), Bartosz Bereszynski (Sampdoria), Thiago Cionek (SPAL), Kamil Glik (AS Monaco), Marcin Kaminski (VfB Stuttgart), Tomasz Kedziora (Dynamo Kyiv), Lukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund), Artur Jedrzejczyk (Legia Warsaw), Michal Pazdan (Legia Warsaw)

Midfielders: Jakub Blaszczykowski (VfL Wolfsburg), Pawel Dawidowicz (Palermo), Przemyslaw Frankowski (Jagiellonia Bialystok), Jacek Goralski (Ludogorets Razgrad), Kamil Grosicki (Hull City), Damian Kądzior (Gornik Zabrze), Grzegorz Krychowiak (West Bromwich Albion), Rafal Kurzawa (Gornik Zabrze), Karol Linetty (Sampdoria), Maciej Makuszewski (Lech Poznan), Krzysztof Mączynski (Legia Warsaw), Slawomir Peszko (Lechia Gdańsk), Maciej Rybus (Lokomotiv Moscow), Sebastian Szymanski (Legia Warsaw), Piotr Zielinski (Napoli), Szymon Żurkowski (Gornik Zabrze)

Forwards: Dawid Kownacki (Sampdoria), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Arkadiusz Milik (Napoli), Krzysztof Piątek (Cracovia), Lukasz Teodorczyk (Anderlecht), Kamil Wilczek (Brondby IF)

PORTUGAL: 23-man squad — Renato Sanches, Euro 2016’s Golden Boy, was omitted, as was Nani; both players started the Euro 2016 final vs. France.

Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Beto (Goztepe), Rui Patricio (Sporting Lisbon).

Defenders: Bruno Alves (Rangers), Cedric Soares (Southampton), Jose Fonte (Dalian Yifang), Mario Rui (Napoli), Pepe (Besiktas), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund), Ricardo Pereira (Porto), Ruben Dias (Benfica)

Midfielders: Adrien Silva (Leicester), Bruno Fernandes (Sporting Lisbon), Joao Mario (West Ham), Joao Moutinho (Monaco), Manuel Fernandes (Lokomotiv), William Carvalho (Sporting Lisbon)

Forwards: Andre Silva (AC Milan), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Gelson Martins (Sporting Lisbon), Goncalo Guedes (Valencia), Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas)

RUSSIA: 28-man preliminary squad — Sergei Ignashevich came out of international retirement to replace Ruslan Kambolov, who was originally included after being the subject of a FIFA doping investigation.

Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow), Vladimir Gabulov (Brugge), Soslan Dzhanaev (Rubin Kazan), Andrei Lunev (Zenit St. Petersburg)

Defenders: Vladimir Granat (Rubin Kazan), Ruslan Kambolov (Rubin Kazan), Fedor Kudryashov (Rubin Kazan), Ilya Kutepov (Spartak Moscow), Roman Neustadter (Fenerbahce), Konstantin Rausch (Dynamo Moscow), Andrei Semenov (Akhmat Grozny), Igor Smolnikov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Mario Fernandes (CSKA Moscow), Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow)

Midfielders: Yuri Gazinsky (Krasnodar), Alexander Golovin (CSKA Moscow), Alan Dzagoev (CSKA Moscow), Alexander Erokhin (Zenit), Yuri Zhirkov (Zenit), Daler Kuzyaev (Zenit), Roman Zobnin (Spartak Moscow), Alexander Samedov (Spartak Moscow), Anton Miranchuk (Lokomotiv Moscow), Alexander Tashaev (Dynamo Moscow), Denis Cheryshev (Villareal)

Forwards: Artem Dzyuba (Arsenal Tula), Alexei Miranchuk (Lokomotiv Moscow), Fyodor Smolov (Krasnodar), Fyodor Chalov (CSKA Moscow)

SAUDI ARABIA: 28-man squad – There were few surprises in Juan Antonio Pizzi’s selection, which includes three players — Fahad Al-Muwallad, Salem Al Dawsari and Yahya Al-Shehri loaned to La Liga clubs in January.

Goalkeepers: Assaf Al-Qarny (Al-Ittihad), Mohammed Al-Owais (Al Ahli), Yasser Al-Musailem (Al Alhi), Abdullah Al-Mayuf (Al Hilal).

Defenders: Mansoor Al-Harbi (Al Ahli), Yasser Al-Shahrani (Al Hilal) Mohammed Al-Breik (Al HIlal), Saeed Al-Mowalad (Al Ahli), Motaz Hawsawi (Al Ahli), Osama Hawsaw (Al Hilal)i, Omar Hawsawi (Al Nassr), Mohammed Jahfali (Al Hilal), Ali Al-Bulaihi (Al Hilal).

Midfielders: Abdullah Al-Khaibari (Al Shabab), Abdulmalek Al-Khaibri (Al Hilal), Abdullah Otayf (Al Hilal), Taiseer Al-Jassim (Al Ahli), Houssain Al-Mogahwi (Al Ahli), Salman Al-Faraj, Nawaf Al-Abed, Mohamed Kanno (all Al Hilal), Hattan Bahebri (Al Shabab), Mohammed Al-Kwikbi (Al Ettifaq), Salem Al-Dawsari (Villarreal, Spain), Yehya Al-Shehri (Leganes, Spain).

Forwards: Fahad Al-Muwallad (Levante, Spain), Mohammad Al-Sahlawi (Al Nassr), Muhannad Assiri (Al Ahli).

SENEGAL: 23-man squad — Cheikhou Kouyate and Kara Mbodji have overcome injury scares to make Aliou Cisse’s squad.

Goalkeepers: Abdoulaye Diallo (Stade Rennes), Alfred Gomis (SPAL), Khadim Ndiaye (Horoya)

Defenders: Lamine Gassama (Alanyaspor), Saliou Ciss (Valenciennes), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Kara Mbodii (Anderlecht), Youssouf Sabaly (Bordeaux), Salif Sane (Hannover 96), Moussa Wague (Eupen)

Midfielders: Idrissa Gueye (Everton), Cheikhou Kouyate (West Ham United), Alfred Ndiaye (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Badou Ndiaye (Stoke City), Cheikh Ndoye (Birmingham City), Ismaila Sarr (Stade Rennes)

Forwards: Keita Balde (Monaco), Mame Biram Diouf (Stoke City), Moussa Konate (Amiens), Sadio Mane (Liverpool), Mbaye Niang (Torino), Diafra Sakho (Stade Rennes), Moussa Sow (Bursaspor)

SERBIA: 23-man squad — Striker Luka Jovic, 20, is one of several untested players selected by Mladen Krstajic.

Goalkeepers: Vladimir Stojkovic (Partizan Belgrade), Predrag Rajkovic (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Marko Dmitrovic (Eibar)

Defenders: Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Branislav Ivanovic (Zenit St Petersburg), Dusko Tosic (Guangzhou R&F), Antonio Rukavina (Villarreal), Milos Veljkovic (Werder Bremen), Milan Rodic (Red Star Belgrade), Uros Spajic (Krasnodar), Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina)

Midfielders: Nemanja Matic (Manchester United), Luka Milivojevic (Crystal Palace), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio), Marko Grujic (Liverpool), Adem Ljajic (Torino), Dusan Tadic (Southampton), Filip Kostic (Hamburg), Andrija Zivkovic (Benfica), Nemanja Radonjic (Red Star Belgrade)

Forwards: Aleksandar Mitrovic (Newcastle), Aleksandar Prijovic (PAOK Salonika), Luka Jovic (Benfica)

SOUTH KOREA: 23-man squad — Lee Chung-Yong had his dreams of a third World Cup dashed as he was one of three players cut by coach Shin Tae-Yong.

Goalkeepers: Kim Seung-Gyu (Vissel Kobe, Japan), Kim Jin-Hyeon (Cerezo Osaka, Japan), Cho Hyun-Woo (Daegu FC)

Defenders: Kim Young-Gwon (Guangzhou Evergrande, China), Jang Hyun-Soo (FC Tokyo, Japan), Jung Seung-Hyun (Sagan Tosu, Japan), Yun Yong-Sun (Seongnam FC), Oh Ban-Suk (Jeju United), Kim Min-Woo (Sangju Sangmu), Park Joo-Ho (Ulsan Hyundai), Hong Chul (Sangju Sangmu), Go Yo-Han (FC Seoul), Lee Yong (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors)

Midfielders: Ki Sung-Yueng (Swansea City, England), Jung Woo-Young (Vissel Kobe, Japan), Ju Se-Jong (Asan Mugunghwa FC), Koo Ja-Cheol (FC Augsburg, Germany), Lee Jae-Sung (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors), Lee Seung-Woo (Hellas Verona, Italy), Moon Seon-Min (Incheon United),

Forwards: Kim Shin-Wook (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors), Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur, England), Hwang Hee-Chan (FC Red Bull Salzburg, Austria)

SPAIN: 23-man squad — Cesc Fabregas, who assisted Andres Iniesta’s winning goal in the 2010 final, and Alvaro Morata were omitted though Diego Costa will feature.

Goalkeepers: Kepa Arrizabalaga (Athletic Bilbao), David De Gea (Manchester United), Pepe Reina (Napoli)

Defenders: Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Nacho (Real Madrid), Nacho Monreal (Arsenal), Alvaro Odriozola (Real Sociedad), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)

Midfielders: Isco (Real Madrid), Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), David Silva (Manchester City), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Saul Niguez (Atletico Madrid), Koke (Atletico Madrid)

Forwards: Marco Asensio (Real Madrid), Iago Aspas (Celta Vigo), Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid), Rodrigo (Valencia), Lucas Vazquez (Real Madrid)

SWEDEN: 23-man squad — Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been left out as expected but so has Jakob Johansson, scorer of the goal that clinched qualification.

Goalkeepers: Karl-Johan Johnsson (Guingamp), Kristoffer Nordfeldt (Swansea), Robin Olsen (FC Copenhagen).

Defenders: Ludwig Augustinsson (Werder Bremen), Andreas Granqvist (Krasnodar), Filip Helander (Bologna), Pontus Jansson (Leeds), Emil Krafth (Bologna), Mikael Lustig (Celtic), Victor Lindelof (Manchester United), Martin Olsson (Swansea).

Midfielders: Viktor Claesson (Krasnodar), Jimmy Durmaz (Toulouse), Albin Ekdal (Hamburger SV), Emil Forsberg (Leipzig), Oscar Hiljemark (Genoa), Sebastian Larsson (Hull City), Marcus Rohden (FC Crotone), Gustav Svensson (Seattle Sounders).

Forwards: Marcus Berg (Al Ain), John Guidetti (Alaves), Isaac Kiese Thelin (Waasland-Beveren), Ola Toivonen (Toulouse).

SWITZERLAND: TBC

TUNISIA: 29-man preliminary squad — Attacking star Youssef Msakni misses out with a knee injury and will be a huge loss for manager Nabil Maaloul.

Goalkeepers: Mathlouthi Aymen (Al Batin), Ben Cherifia Moez (ES Tunis), Ben Mustapha Farouk (Al Shabab), Moez Hassen (LB Chateauroux)

Defenders: Hamdi Nagguez (Zamalek), Dylan Bronn (Gent), Rami Bedoui (ES Setif), Yohan Ben Olouane (Leicester City), Siyam Ben Youssef (Kasimpasa), Yessine Meriah (CS Sfaxien), Bilel Mohsni (Dundee United), Khalil Chammam (ES Tunis), Oussama Haddai (Dijon), Ali Maaloul (Al Ahly)

Midfielders: Elyess Skhiri (Montpellier), Mohamed Amine Ben Amor (Al Ahly), Ghaylene Chalali (ES Tunis), Karim Laaribi (Cesena), Ferjani Sassi (Al Nassr), Ahmed Khlil (Club Africain), Seifeddine Khaoui (Troyes), Mohamed Wael Arbi (Tours)

Forwards: Fakhreddine Ben Youssef (Al Ittifaq), Anice Badri (ES Tunis), Bassem Srarfi (Nice), Ahmed Akaichi (Al Ittihad), Wahbi Khazri (Rennes), Naim Sliti (Dijon), Sabeur Khlifa (Club Africain)

URUGUAY: 26-man preliminary squad — No surprises as star strikers Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani headline Oscar Tabarez’s La Celeste.

Goalkeepers: Fernando Muslera (Galatasaray), Martin Silva (Vasco da Gama), Martin Campana (Independiente)

Defenders: Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid), Sebastian Coates (Sporting CP), Jose Maria Gimenez (Atletico Madrid), Maximiliano Pereira (FC Porto), Gaston Silva (Independiente), Martin Caceres (Lazio), Guillermo Varela (Penarol)

Midfielders: Nahitan Nandez (Boca Juniors), Lucas Torreira (Sampdoria), Matias Vecino (Inter Milan), Federico Valverde (Real Madrid), Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus), Carlos Sanchez (Monterrey), Giorgian De Arrascaeta (Cruzeiro), Diego Laxalt (Genoa), Cristian Rodriguez (Penarol), Jonathan Urretaviscaya (Monterrey), Nicolas Lodeiro (Seattle Sounders), Gaston Ramirez (Sampdoria)

Forwards: Cristhian Stuani (Girona), Maximiliano Gomez (Celta Vigo), Edinson Cavani (PSG), Luis Suarez (Barcelona)

from WordPress https://ift.tt/2J9QhCN via IFTTT

[nathanalbright151]

Audiobook Review: Great Courses: The Terror Of History: Part 2

Great Courses:  The Terror Of History:  Part 2, taught by Professor Teofilo F. Ruiz

I must admit that I did not enjoy this part of the course as much as the first course, although there were at least some elements of the lectures, particular the exploration of the esoteric interests of the Renaissance and the way that religion, science, and mysticism became disentangled from their medieval…

[dwellordream]

“In 711, the growing antagonism between Christians and Jews came to an end, as did the Visigothic Empire. In swift and unexpected victories, a motley group of Berbers, Arabs, and other Muslims crossed the Straits of Gibraltar and smashed the Visigothic Empire into pieces. The victory of Islam in Iberia dramatically altered the lives of Jews and Christians in the region and reversed the traditional hegemonic relationship between Christians and other religious groups. Conditions for the Jews improved greatly. Though Islamic rulers in Spain were not always tolerant, the early centuries of Muslim rule proved particularly beneficial for Jews. Under the protection of Islam, Jews, as people of the Book, rose to positions of influence and power. 

Christians, especially in southern Iberia, flocked to the new religion, adopting not only Islam as their faith but also Arabic as their language and Muslim dress, dietary customs, and lifestyle. A small number of Christians fled to the northern mountains and over the next centuries waged war on Muslim lands. Other Christians remained under their new masters and, although retaining their faith, assimilated into the higher civilization of Islam, benefiting from its culture and expansive economy. A few resisted and sought martyrdom. In general terms, one could say that when Muslims were on top in the Middle Ages, they often behaved with far more tolerance toward Christians and Jews than Christians did toward Muslims and Jews when they had the upper hand. 

This was the case in Egypt in the late seventh century and in Iberia in the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries. During the early decades of Islamic rule in Spain, relations were still sufficiently fluid, and the Muslim invaders were few in number and heterogeneous enough that conversion provided significant social, economic, political, and cultural benefits. Promotion within Muslim society could also be swift for recent converts and even for those who retained their religion but cooperated with the ruling Muslim groups. Christians and Jews, though often still at odds, were placed in a new situation in which cooperation and willingness to get along were necessary, and often rewarded, under Islam. How did this work in Muslim Iberia? 

Jews under Islam Jewish communities in Lucena, Toledo, Barcelona, Tarragona, and other communities grew in number under Muslim protection. Jewish merchants, in association with Muslims or sometimes even with Christians, enjoyed the advantages of Islamic control over the Mediterranean and access to profitable eastern markets. Documents from Cairo show the far-flung commercial ties joining Spanish Jews to their brethren and other trading communities in the eastern Mediterranean. Jews were also found in prominent administrative positions in eighth-century Islamic Spain and even more so after the formation of the Caliphate of Cordoba in the ninth century. Jewish communities enjoyed jurisdictional autonomy and the right to practice their faith (subject to a special tax). European Jews migrated to Spain, finding there a haven from the harsh conditions faced by Jews in Christian northern Europe.

Yitzhak Baer even reports that a Christian cleric named Bodo traveled to Zaragoza, converted to Judaism, and married a Jewish woman in 839. The first Jew for whom we have sufficient information to fully trace his life and activities under Islamic rule is Abu Yusuf Hasdai ibn Shaprut (ca. 917–970). A physician at the court of Caliph Abd-arRahman III (912–961), he not only treated the caliph and other Muslim notables (as well as Christian kings who came to Cordoba in search of cures for their ailments—or, in one case, to lose weight) but also served as a special legate to Christian courts. Hasdai ibn Shaprut also collected taxes and may have supervised the activities of foreign merchants. Other scholars and teachers, such as Dunas ibn Labrat (ca. 920–980) and Judah ibn Daid Hayyuy (ca. 940–1010), contributed to the splendor of Jewish culture in this period. It was a culture deeply intertwined with Muslim or Arabic culture, and often articulated in the Arabic language. 

If Jewish life under Islam was generally peaceful and prosperous, Christians did not always fare equally well. From the mid-eighth century into the tenth, a series of small Christian realms began to emerge in the northern areas of the peninsula: the kingdoms of Asturias, Leon, Galicia, Navarre, Aragon, and Castile. These fledgling Christian kingdoms defined themselves in opposition to the Muslim Caliphate. Although they were as yet no match militarily, economically, or culturally for the sophisticated Cordoban Caliphate, they provided an alternative and a glimmer of hope for Christians in the south. 

Many Christians had converted to Islam shortly after 711. There is no reason to believe that their conversions had not been sincere: in fact, although there were few conversions from Islam to Christianity, the contrary was not uncommon. Other Christians embraced many aspects of Islamic civilization without abandoning their faith. These became known as Mozarabs, developing their own language (Mozarabic), their own Christian liturgy, and a distinctive cultural identity. They prospered and even held positions of power in the caliph’s court and, above all, in the city of Toledo, a place that became strongly identified with Mozarabic culture and politics. 

When unrest flared up, as it did in the tenth century, some Mozarabs fled to the Christian north, where they played a significant role in shaping Asturias and Leon’s political culture in the tenth and eleventh centuries. A few other Christians challenged Islamic rule directly by provocative denunciations of the religion and of Muhammad’s teachings. The most notable of these forms of resistance was that of the so-called martyrs of Cordoba, a group of Christians who sought martyrdom in Cordoba in the early 800s. Although Christian authorities often condemned their actions, the martyrs, through the hagiographical writings of two Cordoban Christians, Eulogius and Paulus Alvarus, who witnessed the events, became emblematic of Christian resistance to Islam. 

Their actions, the ideological support they garnered from some Christians, and the language of Christian chronicles written from the mid-eighth century onward—in both Muslim Spain and the Christian north—created a discourse of opposition to Muslim occupation. The 711 invasion and defeat of the Visigoths came to be seen as a catastrophe, the invaders as cruel and barbaric (even cannibals), Muhammad as a false prophet, and the teachings of the Qu’ran as a pack of lies. Admiration for, and assimilation into, Islam were tempered by these antagonistic attitudes. As the power of the Caliphate began to wane as a result of internal dissension, growing pressure from the Christian north, and a harsher and more fundamentalist religious stance in the Muslim south, some Christians and Jews began to migrate to the Christian realms in the north, hoping either to find better opportunities to practice their religion or to benefit from the growing prosperity there. 

By 1035, the Caliphate fragmented into a series of small kingdoms known as the kingdoms of taifas, and the context in which Muslims, Jews, and Christians interacted changed. From 1035 to 1212 The period between the collapse of the Caliphate and the early thirteenth century was marked by important changes. Some of the taifa kingdoms— those of Seville, Zaragoza, Granada, Valencia, and Murcia—prospered in spite of the growing Christian threat. Some Jews, such as the great Solomon ibn Gabirol (ca. 1020–1058), could still produce seminal works such as his Fons vitae, written in Arabic at Zaragoza. Maimonides (1135–1204) taught, wrote, and tended to his duties as a physician in the court of the Muslim ruler in Cordoba before migrating to Egypt in search of a less volatile society. In many respects the period between 1035 and 1085 represented a liminal period in the relationship among the three religions. 

The slow process by which Christians made territorial gains at the expense of the Muslims—the so-called Reconquest—was never a simple affair. Christian gains often led to Muslim reactions, including invasions from North Africa: the Almoravids in the eleventh century, the Almohads in the twelfth. Spanish Muslims were caught in a bind. On the one hand, they did not cherish these North African invaders. The Almoravids and Almohads brought with them harsher measures, stricter interpretations of religious rules, and an end, or at least a threat, to the independence of the taifa kingdoms. On the other hand, without these invaders, the Muslim kingdoms would have become easy pickings for the Christians. 

One of the results of these political changes within Islamic Spain was a growing intolerance of Jews and Christians and a growing demand for a more faithful observance of Islam. That meant no wine, less flexibility, more antagonism. Christianity in Spain underwent a similar transformation, which had dire consequences for the future. The rapid growth of the pilgrimage to Compostela in the eleventh and twelfth centuries brought numerous northern Europeans into Iberia. Cluniac monasteries rose along the pilgrimage road, and Cluniac monks began to play a significant role in the culture and politics of Iberian kingdoms. The Reconquest, which until then had been a complex process of shifting alliances and conflict over territory and tribute, became now a crusade, acquiring an ideological bent that led to growing hostility between different religious groups. 

Even if reality was often otherwise and Christians could pragmatically ally themselves with Muslims against Christian enemies and vice versa, a crusading discourse pervaded the writings and actions of rulers and, most of all, ecclesiastics. This gave a hard new edge to Christian attitudes toward Muslims and Jews. This change was most obvious in Alfonso VI of Castile’s conquest of Toledo in 1085. As a young exile, Alfonso had lived in the city, and his relations with the Muslim rulers of the kingdom of Toledo had been amicable and even close. His mistress, Zaida, was a Muslim woman. When he conquered the city in 1085, he granted rights to the conquered Muslims and to the many Jews who lived in the city and its territory—the largest Jewish population in Iberia. 

He proclaimed himself the “emperor of the three religions” and envisioned a city where the three groups could live in harmony and understanding. But the northern knights (mostly from France) who had joined the siege of the city wanted to kill all the “infidels,” actions that the king had to prevent by great effort. Within days of his coming to power in Toledo, his hand was forced by his Cluniac ecclesiastical advisors. The main mosque of the city became a Christian cathedral. Faced with the king’s anger against this breach, the Muslims, to avoid further conflict, acquiesced in the action. Tolerance was replaced by hostility. 

As for the Jews, they fared poorly under the Almoravids and even worse under the Almohads. Although Jews continued to engage in trade and other activities in the great cities of al-Andalus, many fled to the urban centers coming into being along the road to Compostela in Castile, to Catalonia and Aragon (mostly to Barcelona, Zaragoza, and Girona), and to the new cities settled along the advancing frontier of the Reconquest (Avila, Segovia, Cuenca, and others). Jews in Christian Spain engaged in a variety of economic pursuits: from farming to mercantile activities and crafts, medicine, soldiering, money lending, and financial or fiscal occupations. 

As possessions of the Crown, they paid substantial taxes to the kings while enjoying autonomy from municipal jurisdiction and taxes. Jewish communities (aljamas) were self-governing, responsible only to royal authority. In many respects, their organization paralleled that of the Muslims living now under Christian rule, known as Mudejars: they too lived in their own self-governing communities (morerías), enjoying autonomy from local governments but paying a tax to the Crown. The Muslims’ economic profile, however, became different. In Aragon, many of these Mudejars became a semi-servile peasant population, tied to great lords and constituting the basis of their wealth. 

In Castile, they could be found in agricultural labor and as small traders and craftsmen. By the twelfth century and afterward, pejorative representations of Jews and, to a lesser extent, Muslims were on the increase, and these two groups suffered from stereotyping. The classical example is that of the Poem of the Cid (ca. 1206). It depicts two Jews of Burgos, Raquel and Vidas, as greedy moneylenders who, in the end, are cunningly and (in the eyes of the author) rightly deceived by the Cid. The same text, like its mid-twelfth-century predecessor the Historia Roderici, reflected the ambivalence of Christians toward Muslims: respected warriors, neighbors, and even friends, but also infidels and enemies. 

This ambivalence was particularly marked in the period when, following the demise of the Caliphate, the Christians began to make gains against the fragmented taifa kingdoms and to extort substantial tribute. Nonetheless, Christians understood the complex nature of their relations to the Muslims. In reality as in the Poem of the Cid, Muslims could be enemies, but they could also be friends and allies. Equals in the battlefield, they were to be treated with respect. The tide of war had not yet turned decisively in favor of the Christians, and thus certain proprieties had to be maintained.

Enemy cities that surrendered were treated leniently. Rights of property and of religious practice were protected in the treaties that regulated conquest and surrender. Christians knew that harsh measures would stiffen resistance and would be returned in kind. Although ecclesiastical propaganda and literary representations often vilified Muslims and their religion, the reality on the ground was different, at least until 1212. The early thirteenth century witnessed the confluence of two signal events. One was the great victory by an international Christian army over the Almohads at Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212. This victory changed the peninsular political landscape forever. 

After the Christian victory, the relationship between Christians and Muslims (but also between Christians and Jews) underwent a dramatic transformation. The battle for control of the peninsula was essentially over. Although Granada was not conquered for another 280 years, the Christians were now securely on top. The second development, affecting all of medieval Christendom, has already been summarized in the introduction to this essay: in 1215 the edicts of the Fourth Lateran Council also reached the Spanish kingdoms. Together with the recent victory at Las Navas de Tolosa, these edicts provided the impetus for harsher treatment and growing resentment of religious minorities. 

But once again, we should not be misled into seeing any particular period as being one of either great tolerance or unrelenting persecution. Despite the establishment of Christian hegemony in the peninsula and growing church militancy and intolerance, the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries witnessed both tolerance and intolerance. At the court of Alfonso X (1252–1284) of Castile and, to a lesser extent, those of other Iberian kings in this period, Muslim, Jewish, and Christian scholars worked together in ambitious cultural programs. In fact, the court of Alfonso X, known as Alfonso the Wise, has long stood as a model of convivencia. 

The Castilian king had an abiding interest in Arabic science and magic and promoted the work and scholarly cooperation of religious minorities. Jews also played an important role in the fiscal affairs of the kingdom. Great Muslim lords accompanied the peripatetic royal court, witnessed royal charters, and often proved to be reliable and faithful allies in Castile’s internal strife. When Alfonso X fought a losing civil war against his own son, the Infante Sancho, in the late 1270s and early 1280s, he sought refuge among Andalusi princes and military support from them. Jewish and Muslim music; the artistic and architectural forms known as the Mudejar style; agricultural practices such as irrigation and vertical watermills; craftsmanship in silk, iron, and leather work; Arabic words; types of food; and forms of eating, dress, and other aspects of cultural and material life were deeply woven into Spanish society.”

- Teofilo F. Ruiz, “Jews, Muslims, and Christians.” in Medieval Christianity

[nathanalbright151]

Audiobook Review: Great Courses: The Terror Of History: Part 1

Great Course:  The Terror Of History:  Mystics, Heretics, And Witches In The Western Tradition:  Part 1, taught by Professor Teofilo F. Ruiz

Although I do not consider myself a particularly mystical person, quite the opposite, for a variety of reasons I have found myself to be a student of mysticism and esoteric religion and its influence on culture [1].  This course gives a good reason why this…