Passage 1:
David Aldus
David Aldus (born 18 September 1941) is a Welsh painter known for his landscape and maritime scenery.

Personal life
Aldus was born and spent much of his life in the Garrison town of Brecon. His father, John Macdonald Aldus, was a Company Sergeant Major in the South Wales Borderers, as was his father, who was killed in action in the Khyber pass. His grandfather on his maternal side, William Godfrey, was a miner of the Blaenavon pit.

Art
Aldus developed a realist style, influenced in part by the French artist Jules Bastien-Lepage and the colourful primitivism of Cézanne.
His painting "A Tribute to the people of Malta" resides in the Museum at Valletta, many of landscapes are views of his Buckinghamshire/Oxfordshire and its surrounding countryside. He was a finalist in the Garrick/Milne Prize exhibition held at London's Christies. He exhibited at the Lambeth Palace under the auspices of the Royal Society of Marine Artists. Other Aldus accolades include full membership election in 1994 to UA United Artists.
In that same year, he was awarded the Acrylic Painting prize at Westminster Central Hall, London. In 1995 David Aldus won the Oil paintings prize at UA annual exhibition.
In 1995, he had work displayed at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (R.O.I.) in their annual exhibition held at the Mall Galleries, London.
Aldus has exhibited with the Royal Society of British Artists (R.B.A.) He also had work displayed at the Royal Society of Marine Artists (R.S.M.A.) at their annual exhibition. In November the Royal Society of Marine Artists asked him to display his work at Lambeth Palace where again he sold all his paintings.
In December 1995, he had his work selected by the Discerning eye exhibition. Judge Edward Lucie-Smith and another art critic chose his work for the same exhibition. One of his Landscape paintings was purchased by the town of Brecon and presented to their twin town of Saline in the U.S.A.
Aldus completed commissions for actor David Jason and ice skater Christopher Dean. In 1984, Aldus was also commissioned to paint Britain's first black female mayor Lydia Simmons in Slough. Aldus has also done work for Freddie Starr, the Duchess of Devonshire, Lord Carrington and rock star Jamiroquai.

External links
The Discerning Eye - home page
davidaldus.com
Passage 2:
Etan Boritzer
Etan Boritzer (born 1950) is an American writer of children’s literature who is best known for his book What is God? first published in 1989. His best selling What is? illustrated children's book series on character education and difficult subjects for children is a popular teaching guide for parents, teachers and child-life professionals.Boritzer gained national critical acclaim after What is God? was published in 1989 although the book has caused controversy from religious fundamentalists for its universalist views. The other current books in the What is? series include: What is Love?, What is Death?, What is Beautiful?, What is Funny?, What is Right?, What is Peace?, What is Money?, What is Dreaming?, What is a Friend?, What is True?, What is a Family?, and What is a Feeling? The series is now also translated into 15 languages.
Boritzer was first published in 1963 at the age of 13 when he wrote an essay in his English class at Wade Junior High School in the Bronx, New York on the assassination of John F. Kennedy. His essay was included in a special anthology by New York City public school children compiled and published by the New York City Department of Education.
Boritzer now lives in Venice, California and maintains his publishing office there also. He has helped numerous other authors to get published through How to Get Your Book Published! programs. Boritzer is also a yoga teacher who teaches regular classes locally and guest-teaches nationally. He is also recognized nationally as an erudite speaker on The Teachings of the Buddha.
Passage 3:
Terence Robinson
Terence D. Robinson (date of birth and death unknown) was a male wrestler who competed for England.

Wrestling career
He represented England and won a bronze medal, in the bantamweight category of -57 kg , at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Passage 4:
Theodred II (Bishop of Elmham)
Theodred II was a medieval Bishop of Elmham.
The date of Theodred's consecration unknown, but the date of his death was sometime between 995 and 997.
Passage 5:
Alfonso Fadrique
Don Alfonso Fadrique (English: Alfonso Frederick; Catalan: N'Anfós Frederic d'Aragó; died 1338) was the eldest and illegitimate son of Frederick II of Sicily. He served as vicar general of the Duchy of Athens from 1317 to 1330.
He was first proclaimed vicar general by his father in 1317 and sent off to govern Athens on behalf of his younger half-brother Manfred. He arrived in Piraeus with ten galleys later that year, but Manfred had died and was succeeded by another brother, William II. In the year of his arrival, Fadrique married Marulla, the daughter of Boniface of Verona, thus allying himself with the chief lord of Euboea. By this marriage, also, he acquired rights to the castles of Larmena, Karystos, Zetouni, and Gardiki.
Over the next two years, Fadrique warred with the Republic of Venice and stormed the city of Negroponte with Turks after Boniface of Verona died. In 1318, John II Ducas, the sebastokrator of Neopatras, died and Fadrique invaded Thessaly. He took possession of his castles at Zetouni and Gardiki and conquered Neopatras, Siderokastron, Loidoriki, Domokos, and Pharsalus. He conquered the palace of the Ducae at Neopatras and took the title of Vicar General of the Duchy of Neopatras. He built a tower at Neopatras.
In 1330, Alfonso was relieved of his duties as vicar general and replaced by Odo de Novelles. He was compensated with the Sicilian  counties of Malta and Gozo. He died in 1338 and left five sons, Peter; James, father of Louis Fadrique; William, lord of Livadeia; Boniface, lord of Aigina, Piada and Karystos; John, lord of Salamina and two daughters, Simona, who wed George II Ghisi and Jua.
Passage 6:
Brian Saunders (weightlifter)
Brian Saunders (date of birth and death unknown) was a male weightlifter who competed for England.

Weightlifting career
Saunders was the last person to be both the British Amateur Weight Lifters' Association (BAWLA) weightlifting champion and BAWLA powerlifting champion; the latter of which he won in 1970 and 1974.He represented England in the super heavyweight category of +110 kg Combined, at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Passage 7:
Frederick III of Sicily
Frederick II (or III) (13 December 1272 – 25 June 1337) was the regent of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1291 until 1295 and subsequently King of Sicily from 1295 until his death. He was the third son of Peter III of Aragon and served in the War of the Sicilian Vespers on behalf of his father and brothers, Alfonso ΙΙΙ and James ΙΙ. He was confirmed as king by the Peace of Caltabellotta in 1302. His reign saw important constitutional reforms: the Constitutiones regales, Capitula alia, and Ordinationes generales.

Name
Although the second Frederick of Sicily, he chose to call himself "Frederick III" (being one of the rare medieval monarchs who actually used a regnal number) – presumably because only some fifty years before, his well-known and remembered great-grandfather had ruled Sicily and also used an official ordinal: Fridericus secundus, imperator etc.. Thus, Fridericus tertius was better in line with the precedent of his ancestor's ordinal. However, an anecdote attributes Frederick's choice of numeral to him being the third son of Peter. The next man called Frederick to occupy the Sicilian throne was dubbed by later generations of historians as Frederick III: Frederick III the Simple, though he himself did not use an ordinal.

Biography
Early years
Frederick was born in BarcelonaWhen his father died in 1285, he left the Kingdom of Aragon to his eldest son, Alfonso, and that of Sicily to his second son, James. When Alfonso died in 1291, James became king of Aragon and left Frederick as regent in Sicily. The war between the Angevins, who contested the title to Sicily from their peninsular possessions centred on Naples (the so-called Kingdom of Naples), and the Crown of Aragon for the possession of the island was still in progress, and although the Crown of Aragon was successful in Italy, James’ position in Spain became very insecure due to internal troubles and French attacks. Peace negotiations were begun with Charles II of Naples, but were interrupted by the successive deaths of two popes. At last, under the auspices of Pope Boniface VIII, James concluded a shameful treaty, by which, in exchange for being left undisturbed in the rest of the territories belonging to the Crown of Aragon and promised possession of Sardinia and Corsica, he gave up Sicily to the Church, for whom it was to be held by the Angevins (Treaty of Anagni, 10 June 1295). The Sicilians refused to be made over once more to the hated French they had expelled in 1282 (in the Sicilian Vespers), and found a national leader in the regent Frederick. In vain the pope tried to bribe him with promises and dignities; he was determined to stand by his subjects, and was crowned king by the nobles at Palermo in 1296.When Frederick heard that James was preparing to go to war with him, he sent a messenger, Mountainer Pérez de Sosa, to Catalonia in an effort to stir up the barons and cities against James in 1298. Mountainer carried with him an Occitan poem, Ges per guerra no.m chal aver consir, intended as a communication with his supporters in Catalonia. This communiqué seems to have had in mind Ponç Hug as a recipient, for the count penned a response (under the title con d'Empuria), A l'onrat rei Frederic terz vai dir, in which he praised Frederick's tact and diplomacy, but told him bluntly that he would not abandon his sovereign. This poetic transaction is usually dated to January–March, Spring, or August 1296, but Gerónimo Zurita in the seventeenth century specifically dated the embassy of Mountainer to 1298.

Reign
Frederick reformed the administration and extended the powers of the Sicilian parliament, which was composed of the barons, the prelates, and the representatives of the towns.His refusal to comply with the pope's injunctions led to a renewal of the war. Frederick landed in Calabria, where he seized several towns, encouraged revolt in Naples, negotiated with the Ghibellines of Tuscany and Lombardy, and assisted the house of Colonna against Pope Boniface. In the meanwhile James, who received many favours from the Church, married his sister Yolanda to Robert, the third son of Charles II. Unfortunately for Frederick, a part of the Catalan-Aragonese nobles of Sicily favoured King James, and both John of Procida and Roger of Lauria, the heroes of the war of the Vespers, went over to the Angevins, and the latter completely defeated the Sicilian fleet off Capo d'Orlando. Charles's sons Robert and Philip landed in Sicily, but after capturing Catania were defeated by Frederick, Philip being taken prisoner (1299), while several Calabrian towns were captured by the Sicilians.For two years more the fighting continued with varying success, until Charles of Valois, who had been sent by Boniface to invade Sicily, was forced to sue for peace, his army being decimated by the plague. In August 1302 the Treaty of Caltabellotta was signed, by which Frederick was recognized king of Trinacria (the name Sicily was not to be used) for his lifetime, and was to marry Eleanor of Anjou, daughter of Charles II of Naples and Maria Arpad of Hungary. At Frederick's death, the kingdom was to revert to the Angevins (this clause was inserted chiefly to allow Charles to save face) and Frederick's children would receive compensation elsewhere. Boniface tried to induce King Charles to break the treaty, but the latter was only too anxious for peace. Finally, in May 1303, the pope ratified the treaty, albeit with changes and additions, which included Frederick agreeing to pay him a tribute.For a few years Sicily enjoyed peace, and the kingdom was reorganized. However, on the descent of the emperor Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor into Italy, Frederick entered into an alliance with him, and in violation of the pact of Caltabellotta made war on the Angevins again (1313) and captured Reggio. He set sail for Tuscany to cooperate with the emperor, but on the latter's death he returned to Sicily. Robert, who had succeeded Charles II in 1309, made several raids into the island, which suffered much material injury. A truce was concluded in 1317, but as the Sicilians had helped the north Italian Ghibellines in the attack on Genoa, and Frederick had seized some Church revenues for military purposes, Pope John XXII excommunicated him and placed the island under an interdict (1321) which lasted until 1335. An Angevin fleet and army, under Robert's son Charles, was defeated at Palermo by Giovanni da Chiaramonte in 1325, and in 1326 and 1327 there were further Angevin raids on the island, until the descent into Italy of the next Holy Roman Emperor Louis the Bavarian distracted their attention. The election of Pope Benedict XII (1334), who was friendly to Frederick, promised a respite; but after fruitless negotiations the war broke out once more, and Chiaramonte went over to Robert, owing to a private feud.In 1337 Frederick died at Paternò, and in spite of the Peace of Caltabellotta his son Peter II of Sicily succeeded him.

Family
From his marriage (1303) with Eleanor of Anjou were born:

Peter (1304–1342), successor
Roger (1305–died young).
Manfred (1306–1317), Duke of Athens and Neopatria
Constance (1307 – after 19 June 1344), married in 1317 to Henry II of Cyprus; on 29 December 1331 to Leo V of Armenia; and in 1343 to John of Lusignan, brother of Peter I of Cyprus. She died childless.
Elisabeth (1310–1349), married (1328) Stephen II of Bavaria
William (1312–1338), Prince of Taranto, Duke of Athens and Neopatria
John (1317–1348), Duke of Randazzo, Duke of Athens and Neopatria, Regent of Sicily (from 1338)
Catherine (1320–1342), Abbess of Santa Chiara at Messina.
Margaret (1331–1377), married (1348) Rudolf II of the Palatinate

Notes
Sources
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Frederick III., King of Sicily". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 11 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 57–58.
Bozzo, Stefano V. (1882), Note storiche siciliane del secolo XIV. Avvenimenti e guerre che seguirono il Vespro, dalla pace di Caltabellotta alla morte di re Federico II l'Aragonese (1302-1337), Palermo
Backman, Clifford R. (1995), The Decline and Fall of Medieval Sicily: Politics, Religion, and Economy in the Reign of Frederick III, 1296–1337, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Colletta, Pietro (2007), "Saggio critico di aggiornamento bibliografico", Declino e caduta della Sicilia medievale. Politica, religione ed economia nel regno di Federico III d'Aragona Rex Siciliae (1296-1337), by Clifford R. Backman, translated by Iole Turco, Palermo: Officina di Studi Medievali, pp. 333–364, ISBN 978-88-88615-65-3 (a comprehensive bibliography of Frederick III's reign up to 2007)
Riquer, Martí (1975), Los trovadores: historia literaria y textos, Barcelona: Planeta (3 vols.)
Hohenstaufen, Frederick II (1961). The Art of Falconry. Translated by Wood, Casey A.; Fyfe, F. Marjorie. Stanford University Press.
Passage 8:
Les Richards
Lachlan Adrian Russell Richards (21 December 1900 – 9 April 1930) was an Australian rules footballer who played with North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).In 1930 Richards was working for the British Phosphate Commission on Ocean Island when he died after being hit by a runaway truck whilst waiting to return to Australia.

Notes
External links
Lachlan Richards's playing statistics from AFL Tables
Lachlan Richards at AustralianFootball.com
Passage 9:
Politics of Malta
The politics of Malta takes place within a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Malta is the constitutional head of state. Executive Authority is vested in the President of Malta with the general direction and control of the Government of Malta remaining with the Prime Minister of Malta who is the head of government and the cabinet. Legislative power is vested in the Parliament of Malta which consists of the President of Malta and the unicameral House of Representatives of Malta with the Speaker presiding officer of the legislative body. Judicial power remains with the Chief Justice and the Judiciary of Malta. Since Independence, the party electoral system has been dominated by the Christian democratic Nationalist Party (Partit Nazzjonalista) and the social democratic Labour Party (Partit Laburista).
The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Malta a "flawed democracy" in 2022.

Political developments since Independence
Since independence, two parties have dominated Malta's polarized and evenly divided politics during this period: the centre-right Nationalist Party and the centre-left Labour Party.
From the pre-independence 1962 general election until 2017 third parties failed to score any electoral success. In the 2013 election, the Democratic Alternative (a green party established in 1989), had managed to secure only 1.8% of the first preference votes nationwide.
The 1996 elections resulted in the election of the Labour Party, by 8,000 votes, to replace the Nationalists who had won in 1987 and 1992. Voter turnout was characteristically high at 96%, with the Labour Party receiving 50.72%, the Nationalist Party 47.8%, the Democratic Alternative 1.46%, and independent candidates 0.02%.
In 1998, the Labour Party's loss in a parliamentary vote led the Prime Minister to call an early election. The Nationalist Party was returned to office in September 1998 by a majority of 13,000 votes, holding a five-seat majority in Parliament. Voter turnout was 95%, with the Nationalist Party receiving 51.81%, the Labour Party 46.97%, the Democratic Alternative 1.21%, and independent candidates 0.01%.
By the end of 2002 the Nationalist government wrapped up negotiations for European Union membership. A referendum on the issue was called in March 2003 for which the Nationalists and the Democratic Alternative campaigned for a "yes" vote while Labour campaigned heavily for "no" vote, invalidate their vote or abstain. Turnout was 91%, with more than 53% voting "yes".The Labour Party argued that the "yes" votes amounted to less than 50% of the overall votes, hence, and citing the 1956 Maltese United Kingdom integration referendum as an example, they claimed that the "yes" had not in fact won the referendum. The then MLP Leader Alfred Sant said that the General Election which was to be held within a month would settle the affair. In the General Elections the Nationalists were returned to office with 51.79% of the vote to Labour's 47.51%. The Democratic Alternative polled 0.68%. The Nationalists were thus able to form a government and sign and ratify the EU Accession Treaty on 16 April 2003.
On 1 May 2004 Malta joined the EU and on 1 January 2008, the Eurozone with the euro as the national currency. The first elections after membership were held in March 2008 resulting in a narrow victory for the Nationalist Party with 49.34% of first preference votes. In May 2011, a nationwide referendum was held on the introduction of divorce. This was the first time in the history of parliament that Parliament approved a motion originating outside from the Cabinet.In March 2013, the Labour Party returned to Government after fifteen years in Opposition with a record-breaking lead of 36,000 votes leading to the resignation of the Nationalist leader Lawrence Gonzi, and Joseph Muscat became Prime Minister.  In June 2017, the Labour Party called in a snap election on its May Day celebrations and increased its vote disparity to around 40,000 votes. The then leader of the opposition Simon Busuttil announced his resignation shortly thereafter. This election saw the first third party elected to Malta's Parliament since its Independence, with the election of Marlene Farrugia in the 10th District representing the Democratic Party. Joseph Muscat continued to be Prime Minister In January 2020, he stepped down after the 2019 Malta political crisis surrounding the carbombing of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Robert Abela - the son of Malta's former President George Abela - elected a new leader of Labour Party and new prime minister of Malta in January 2020.Democratic Alternative and the Democratic Party merged into a new party, AD+PD, on 17 October 2020.In March 2022, the ruling Labour party, led by Prime Minister Robert Abela, won its third successive election. It gained even bigger victory than in 2013 and in 2017.

Executive branch
Under its 1964 constitution, Malta became a parliamentary democracy within the Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom was sovereign of Malta, and a Governor-General exercised executive authority on her behalf, while the actual direction and control of the government and the nation's affairs were in the hands of the cabinet under the leadership of a Maltese prime minister.
On December 13, 1974, the constitution was revised, and Malta became a republic within the Commonwealth, with executive authority vested in the President of Malta which can be exercised directly or through officers subordinate to him. The president is elected by the House of Representatives for a five-year term. They appoint as Prime Minister the leader of the party with a majority of seats in the unicameral House of Representatives, known in Maltese as Kamra tar-Rappreżentanti.

The President also nominally appoints, upon recommendation of the Prime Minister, the individual ministers. Ministers are selected from among the members of the House of Representatives, which usually consists of 65 members unless bonus seats are given to a party which gains an absolute majority of votes but not a Parliamentary majority. Elections must be held at least every 5 years and the electoral system used is single transferable vote.

Administrative divisions
Malta is divided into 68 elected local councils, with each council responsible for the administration of cities or regions of varying sizes. Administrative responsibility is distributed between the local councils and the central government in Valletta.
The Local Councils Act, 1993 (Act XV of 1993) was published on June 30, 1993, subdividing Malta into 54 local councils in Malta and 14 in Gozo. The inhabitants who are registered elect the Council every three years, as voters in the Local Councils' Electoral Register. Elections are held by means of the system of proportional representation using the single transferable vote. The mayor is the head of the Local Council and the representative of the Council for all effects under the Act. The Executive Secretary, who is appointed by the Council, is the executive, administrative, and financial head of the Council. All decisions are taken collectively with the other members of the Council. Local councils are responsible for the general upkeep and embellishment of the locality, local wardens, and refuse collection, and carry out general administrative duties for the central government such as collection of government rents and funds, and answering government-related public inquiries.
There are also Administrative Committees elected with responsibility for smaller regions.

Legislative branch
Elections to the House of Representatives (Kamra tad-Deputati) are based on the single transferable vote system, a variant of the proportional representation electoral system. First, vacancies are filled through casual election and subsequent vacancies through co-option, meaning that no by-elections are held between one general election and the other. The Parliamentary term cannot exceed five years.
Ordinarily, 65 members are elected to the House from 13 multi-seat constituencies each returning 5 MPs. Additional MPs are elected in two circumstances:

When a party achieves 50%+1 of first-preference valid votes in the election but does not secure a Parliamentary majority it is awarded enough seats (filled by the best runner-up candidates) to make a Parliamentary majority
When in an election contested by more than two parties only two parties are elected to Parliament and the relative Parliamentary strength is not proportionate to the first preference votes obtained, additional seats are allocated to establish proportionalityA third electoral amendment has been enacted which guarantees strict-proportionality with respect to votes and seats to parliamentary political groups.

Political party standings as of the most recent election
Voting stations were opened from 07:00 to 22:00, and in total, there were 355,075 citizens that had the right to vote in the general election. The turnout at 14:00 was reported at 44.8%, which was eight points lower than in 2017. According to the Electoral Commission of Malta, a total of 304,050 citizens voted, which made it the lowest turnout since the 1955 election. In addition to the 65 regularly elected members, two seats were awarded to the Nationalist Party to restore proportionality between votes obtained and parliamentary representation and twelve more women were appointed (six for each of the parties with elected members) to comply with the gender-corrective mechanism.

Judicial branch
The Judicial system in Malta comprises Inferior Courts, Civil and Criminal Courts of
Appeal, and a Constitutional Court.  Inferior courts are presided over by Magistrates which have original jurisdiction in criminal and civil actions. In the Criminal Courts, the presiding judge sits with a jury of nine.  The Court of Appeal and the Court of Criminal Appeal hear appeals from decisions of the civil and criminal actions respectively.
The highest court, the Constitutional Court, has both original and appellate jurisdiction. In its appellate jurisdiction it adjudicates cases involving violations of human rights and interpretation of the Constitution. It can also perform judicial review. In its original jurisdiction it has jurisdiction over disputed parliamentary elections and electoral corrupt practices.
There is a legal aid scheme offered to citizens lacking the means to afford legal defence.According to the Constitution, the President appoints the Chief Justice of Malta acting in accordance with a resolution of the House supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds of all the members of the House of Representatives. The Judges of the Superior Court and the Magistrates of the Inferior Courts are appointed through the Judicial Appointments Committee of Malta.
Guarantees for the independence of the judiciary include the security of tenure for judges until their retiring age set at 65 (with a choice to extend retirement till 68), or until impeachment. The impeachment procedure for judges foresees a removal decision of the President upon request by the Commission for the Administration for Justice.
The independence of the judiciary is also guaranteed by the constitutional requirement that the judges’ salaries are paid from the Consolidated Fund and thus the government may not diminish or amend them to their prejudice.
The Maltese system is considered in line with the principles of separation of powers and of independence of the judiciary. However, in its pre-accession evaluation reports, the European Commission has suggested in 2003 the need to reform the procedure for appointment of the members of the judiciary, currently "controlled by political bodies" (i.e. the Parliament and parties therein), in order to improve its objectivity. The Commission has also pointed to the need to check the compliance of the procedure for challenging judges and magistrates provided for by Article 738 of the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure with the principle of an impartial tribunal enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights.

International organization participation
Malta is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, CE, EBRD, ECE, EU (member from 1 May 2004), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Malta was a long-time member of the Non-Aligned Movement. It ceased to be part of the movement when it joined the European Union.

See also
Nationalist Party
Labour Party
People's Party
Volt Malta
Mass meeting

Notes
Passage 10:
John Fadrique
John Fadrique (died 1366) was a son of Alfonso Fadrique, vicar general of Athens and Neopatras, and Marulla of Verona. He is attested as lord of Aegina and Salamis in 1350.


Passage 1:
Mona Hopton Bell
Mona Hopton Bell (1867–1940) was a British artist, best known for her portraits of civic figures.She was the grandmother of the painter Jean H. Bell.
Passage 2:
Hubba bint Hulail
Hubba bint Hulail (Arabic: حبة بنت هليل) was the grandmother of Hashim ibn 'Abd Manaf, thus the great-great-great-grandmother of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Biography
Hubbah was the daughter of Hulail ibn Hubshiyyah ibn Salul ibn Ka’b ibn Amr al-Khuza’i of Banu Khuza'a who was the trustee and guardian of the Ka‘bah (Arabic: كَـعْـبَـة, 'Cube'). She married Qusai ibn Kilab and after her father died, the keys of the Kaaba were committed to her. Qusai, according to Hulail's will, had the trusteeship of the Kaaba after him.
Hubbah never gave up ambitious hopes for the line of her favourite son Abd Manaf. Her two favourite grandsons were the twin sons Amr and Abd Shams, of ‘Ātikah bint Murrah. Hubbah hoped that the opportunities missed by Abd Manaf would be made up for in these grandsons, especially Amr, who seemed much more suitable for the role than any of the sons of Abd al-Dar. He was dear to the ‘ayn (Arabic: عـيـن, eye) of his grandmother Hubbah.

Family
Qusai ibn Kilab had four sons by Hubbah: Abd-al-Dar ibn Qusai dedicated to his house, Abdu’l Qusayy dedicated to himself, Abd-al-Uzza ibn Qusai to his goddess (Al-‘Uzzá) and Abd Manaf ibn Qusai to the idol revered by Hubbah. They also had two daughters, Takhmur and Barrah. Abd Manaf's real name was 'Mughirah', and he also had the nickname 'al-Qamar' (the Moon) because he was handsome.
Hubbah was related to Muhammad in more than one way. Firstly, she was the great-great-grandmother of his father Abdullah. She was also the great-grandmother of Umm Habib and Abdul-Uzza, respectively the maternal grandmother and grandfather of Muhammad's mother Aminah.

Family tree
* indicates that the marriage order is disputed
Note that direct lineage is marked in bold.

See also
Family tree of Muhammad
List of notable Hijazis
Passage 3:
Tjuyu
Thuya (sometimes transliterated as Touiyou, Thuiu, Tuya, Tjuyu or Thuyu) was an Egyptian noblewoman and the mother of queen Tiye, and the wife of Yuya. She is the grandmother of Akhenaten, and great grandmother of Tutankhamun.

Biography
Thuya is believed to be a descendant of Queen Ahmose-Nefertari, and she held many official roles in the interwoven religion and government of ancient Egypt. She was involved in many religious cults; her titles included 'Singer of Hathor' and 'Chief of the Entertainers' of both Amun and Min. She also held the influential offices of Superintendent of the Harem of the god Min of Akhmin and of Amun of Thebes.  She married Yuya, a powerful ancient Egyptian courtier of the Eighteenth Dynasty.  She is believed to have died in around 1375 BC in her early to mid 50s.

Children
Yuya and Thuya had a daughter named Tiye, who became the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. The great royal wife was the highest Egyptian religious position, serving alongside of the pharaoh in official ceremonies and rituals.
Yuya and Thuya also had a son named Anen, who carried the titles Chancellor of Lower Egypt, Second Prophet of Amun, sm-priest of Heliopolis and Divine Father.They also may have been the parents of Ay, an Egyptian courtier active during the reign of pharaoh Akhenaten who became pharaoh after the death of Tutankhamun. However, there is no conclusive evidence regarding the kinship of Yuya and Ay, although certainly, both men came from Akhmim.

Tomb
Thuya was interred in tomb KV46 in the Valley of the Kings, together with her husband Yuya, where their largely intact burial was found in 1905. It was the best-preserved tomb discovered in the Valley before that of Tutankhamun, Thuya's great-grandson. The tomb was discovered by a team of workmen led by archaeologist James Quibell on behalf of the American millionaire Theodore M. Davis. Though the tomb had been robbed in antiquity, much of its contents were still present, including beds, boxes, chests, a chariot, and the sarcophagi, coffins, and mummies of the two occupants.Thuya's large gilded and black-painted wooden sarcophagus was placed against the south wall of the tomb. It is rectangular, with a lid shaped like the sloping roof of the per-wer shrine of Upper Egypt, and sits on ornamental sledge runners, their non-functionality underscored by the three battens attached below them. Ancient robbers had partially dismantled it to access her coffins and mummy, placing its lid and one long side on a bed on the other side of the tomb; the other long side had been leaned against the south wall. Her outer gilded anthropoid coffin had been removed, its lid placed atop the beds, and the trough put into the far corner of the tomb; the lid of her second (innermost) coffin, also gilded, had been removed and placed to one side although the trough and her mummy remained inside the sarcophagus. Quibell suggests this is due to the robbers having some difficulty in removing the lid of this coffin.

Mummy
Thuya's mummified body was found covered with a large sheet of linen, knotted at the back and secured by four bandages. These bands were covered with resin and opposite each band were her gilded titles cut from gold foil. The resin coating on the lower layers of bandages preserved the impression of a large broad collar. The mummy bands that had once covered her wrapped mummy were recovered above the storage jars on the far side of the room.The first examination of her body was conducted by Australian anatomist Grafton Elliot Smith. He found her to be an elderly woman of small stature, 1.495 metres (4.90 ft) in height, with white hair. Both of her earlobes had two piercings. Her arms are straight at her sides with her hands against the outside of her thighs. Her embalming incision is stitched with thread, to which a carnelian barrel bead is attached at the lower end; her body cavity is stuffed with resin-soaked linen. When Dr. Douglas Derry, (who later conducted the first examination of Tutankhamun's mummy) assisting Smith in his examination, exposed Thuya's feet to get an accurate measurement of her height, he found her to be wearing gold foil sandals. Smith estimated her age at more than 50 years based on her outward appearance alone. Recent CT scanning has estimated her age at death to be 50–60 years old. Her brain was removed, though no embalming material was inserted, and both nostrils were stuffed with linen. Embalming packs had been placed into her eye sockets, and subcutaneous filling had been placed into her mid and lower face to restore a lifelike appearance; embalming material had also been placed into her mouth and throat. Her teeth were in poor condition at the time of her death, with missing molars. Heavy wear and abscesses had been noted in earlier x-rays. The scan revealed that she had severe scoliosis with a Cobb angle of 25 degrees. No cause of death could be determined. Her mummy has the inventory number CG 51191.

Archaeological items pertaining to Thuya
Passage 4:
Hannah Arnold
Hannah Arnold may refer to:

Hannah Arnold (née Waterman) (c.1705–1758), mother of Benedict Arnold
Hannah Arnold (beauty queen) (born 1996), Filipino-Australian model and beauty pageant titleholder
Passage 5:
Diana Guardato
Diana Guardato was a member of the aristocratic Patrician Guardato family. She had at least two children with King Ferdinand I.
Her first child was Ferdinando d' Aragona y Guardato, 1st Duke of Montalto who married 1st, Anna Sanseverino, 2nd, Castellana de Cardona whose daughter Maria d'Aragona, married Antonio Todeschini Piccolomini, Duke of Amalfi, a nephew of Pope Pius II and brother of Pope Pius III.
Her second child was Giovanna d’ Aragona, who married Leonardo della Rovere, Duke of Arce and Sora, a nephew of Pope Sixtus IV and brother of Pope Julius II.
Passage 6:
Anne Denman
Anne Denman (1587–1661) was born in Olde Hall, Retford, Nottinghamshire. Through a second marriage with Thomas Aylesbury, she became the grandmother of Lady Anne Hyde, Duchess of York and great-grandmother of Queen Mary II and Queen Anne.

Early life
Anne was born in Olde Hall, West Retford in around 1587. She was the younger daughter of Francis Denman of Retford and Anne (Blount) Denman. Francis (born c. 1531, died 1599) was the rector of West Retford, Notts from 1578. He was the second son of Anne Hercy by her first husband, Nicholas Denman esq of East Retford, Notts. Francis had several sons who pre-deceased him and left two daughters as his heirs: Barbara (born c. 1583) who married Edward Darell (born c. 1582); and Anne.Anne's nephew, Dr John Darrell, was the youngest child of Barbara Denman and Edward Darell, and inherited substantial properties from both the Denman and Darell families. In 1665 just before his death he made a will dividing his estate between three charities. He donated the childhood home of Anne and Barbara, Olde Hall, to create a hospital for elderly men (an alms house), which became the site for Trinity Hospital, Retford (a Grade II listed building).

Marriages
Anne was married at 20 and left a widow at 23 after the death of her first husband William, the younger son of Sir Thomas Darell. William was the half-brother of her sister Barbara's husband Edward.
Anne left Retford due to some unknown trouble, or loss of fortune, in 1610 and proceeded to London by waggon-coach. Wilmshurst (1908) records that there had been a lawsuit between the two sisters in 1605.
After reaching London, Anne is said to have halted at a hostel called the 'Goat and Compasses', where she rested before looking out for an occupation suitable for a country lady of good birth and family. The owner (not the landlord) of the hostel was Mr Thomas Aylesbury, a rich brewer of the Parish of St Andrew's, Holborn who happened to be making an inspection of his 'Houses' and required a housekeeper for his household, engaging Anne to this position. Thomas was a widower of 34, and a year later made Anne an offer of marriage.

The marriage of Anne and Thomas was recorded in the Bishop of London's Registry, dated 3 October 1611, giving the couple's address as St Andrew's, Holborn. The registry notes that the marriage has 'the consent of his father, William Aylesbury, Esquire'. She is described in the register as 'Anne Darell, of the City of London, widow, whose husband died a year before'. Edwin Wilmshurst (1908) notes that Anne's first husband, William Darrel is described as 'of London', and apparently died there. He says this suggests Anne 'may have become acquainted with Mr Thomas Aylesbury before she became so young a widow and he a widower'. He also comments that on 17 April 1611, there was a partition of Estate between Edward Darrel and Barbara his wife, and her sister Anne, by an Indenture. This took place while she was working for Thomas Aylesbury but before she married him.
Marrying Thomas was fortunate for Anne, as in 1627, he was created a Baronet, Master of the Mint, and Master of the Requests, by Charles I. After the King's death, the family moved to Antwerp with other Royalists. During this time in exile, Barbara, Anne's daughter died. Lady Anne Hyde, Duchess of York, and granddaughter of Anne Denman, later noted in her pocket book that her aunt Barbara died in Antwerp in 1652 and unmarried. 'My dear Aunt Bab was, when she died, 24 years of age.' Barbara, when in exile in Holland, was attached to the then Princess of Orange, as a lady in waiting at the Hague.

Children
The issue of Anne Denman's marriage with Thomas Aylesbury were:

William baptised in 1612 at St Margaret's Lothbury in London, died in Jamaica in 1656
Thomas (probably died young)
Frances born 1617 died 1667, married Edward Hyde in 1634, had issue
Lady Anne (1637–1671), married King James II/VII
Hon. Henry, later 2nd Earl of Clarendon (1638–1709)
Hon. Laurence, later 1st Earl of Rochester (1641–1711)
Hon. Edward, (born c 1645, died 1665) buried 13 January 1665 having died at age 19 while a student at Oxford
Hon. James drowned in HMS Gloucester in 1682 in the suite of the Duke of York
Lady Frances, married Thomas Keightley, Irish revenue commissioner and privy councillor in 1675.
Anne, baptised at St Margaret's and married there in 1637 to John Brigham
Jane (probably died young)
Barbara baptised at St Margaret's, Westminster, 9 May 1627 died 1652 in Antwerp, no issue.Through her daughter Frances, Anne Denman is the maternal grandmother of Anne Hyde, the first wife of James II, and is the maternal great-grandmother of Mary II of England and Queen Anne.

Sir Thomas' death and will
In 1657, Sir Thomas died in exile in Breda, aged 81. Anne returned to London. Sir Thomas's will was in favour of Anne and her daughter Frances, but was disputed. Fortunately, Anne had the help of the eminent lawyer Edward Hyde (b. 18 February 1608/9 d. 1674) who was married to her daughter Frances. The deaths of Frances' brothers and sisters meant that by the time of her father's death she was the heiress for her father's estate.

Edward Hyde
Edward Hyde was Anne's son-in-law. The Registers of Westminster Abbey show that he married Frances, daughter of Sir Thomas Aylesbury and his wife Anne, at the Church of St Margaret's, Westminster (in which Parish Sir Thomas and Anne were resident), on 10 July 1634, under a Licence from the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, issued the same day. He was said to be 26 years of age having been born in the ninth year of King Charles' reign (1609), and was already a widower. He married his first wife Anne in 1629, and she died about six months later after catching smallpox. His second wife, Frances was about 21 upon her marriage.

Edward Hyde had risen rapidly in his profession. When King Charles was at Oxford, he was knighted on 22 February 1642–3, and was then made Lord Chancellor and Privy Councillor at the age of 34. Upon King Charles' death, he had to flee from Puritan vengeance. He was with King Charles II in exile in Flanders, and in Bruges on 29 January 1657–58, he was again appointed Lord Chancellor in prospectu. With the restitution of the monarchy, Edward and Frances Hyde were now in high favour. For his long service to the King, and his fidelity to the Crown, Edward was created Baron Hyde of Hindon, Wiltshire in 1660. In 1661, he was raised to be Viscount Cornberry (in which year Frances died). He was later created Earl of Clarendon (1662), taking his title from the Estate and Park of Clarendon, near Salisbury.
Edward and Frances had six children. Their daughter Lady Anne (1637–1671), married King James II/VII.

Death and burial
Anne Denman is interred in the Hyde family vault in Westminster Abbey. She seems to have secured the regard of her grandson-in-law, James, Duke of York, as Samuel Pepys notes in his Diary that, in 1661, The Duke of York was in mourning for his wife's grandmother, who (he adds) was thought of with a great deal of fondness — and which grandmother was Anne Denman, of the Old Manor House, West Retford, Notts, now the Trinity Hospital.

Queen Anne portrait
Anne Denman's childhood home, the Old Hall in Retford, was given by her nephew John Darrell in his will to become a hospital for old men of good repute. As the last member of the Denman-Darrell family, he carried out the wishes of his father, Edward, in this respect. The Old Hall became Trinity Hospital, on Hospital Road, Retford. It is administered by a Trust which owns considerable property around Retford. A portrait of Queen Anne in Trinity Hospital was recently attributed (1999) by the auctioneers Phillips to Sir Godfrey Kneller. John was the nephew of Anne Denman, the first cousin of Frances Hyde, and therefore a cousin twice removed of Queen Anne.

== Notes ==
Passage 7:
Seleucus V Philometor
The Seleucid king Seleucus V Philometor (Greek: Σέλευκος Ε΄ ὁ Φιλομήτωρ; 126/125 BC), ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid kingdom, was the eldest son of Demetrius II Nicator and Cleopatra Thea. The epithet Philometor means "mother-loving" and in the Hellenistic world usually indicated that the mother acted as co-regent for the prince.

Biography
Just before Antiochus VII Sidetes died fighting the Parthians in late 129, the Parthian king Phraates II had released Demetrius II, who entered Syria in ca. September 129. This forced Seleucus V's half-brother Antiochus IX to flee to Cyzicus. Cleopatra Thea remarried Demetrius and reunited him with his two sons, Seleucus V and Antiochus VIII.Antiochus VII had taken a son, also named Seleucus, and Seleucus V's sister, Laodice, on his campaign against Parthia, and when Antiochus was killed, this Seleucus and Laodice were captured. Phraates married Laodice and showed this Seleucus (not to be confused with Seleucus V) great favor. As Demetrius II fought a civil war against the usurper, Alexander II Zabinas, Phraates sent this Seleucus back to Syria with the body of his father, Antiochus VII, to claim the Seleucid throne as puppet king of the Parthians. Yet this Seleucus failed and returned to Parthia, where he later died.Instead, after his father was murdered outside of Tyre in 125, Seleucus V claimed the throne as the eldest son of Demetrius II; however, he was soon killed by his own mother. According to Appian, Cleopatra Thea had aided in the death of Demetrius, and therefore, she was afraid that Seleucus V might avenge the assassination of his father. This encouraged Cleopatra Thea to remove Seleucus in favor of his younger brother, Antiochus VIII.

See also
List of Syrian monarchs
Timeline of Syrian history
Passage 8:
Purnima (Hindi actress)
Purnima Das Verma (born Meherbhano Mohammad Ali; 2 March 1934 — 14 August 2013) was an Indian actress who worked predominantly in Hindi-language films. She was the aunt of director Mahesh Bhatt and grandmother of actor Emraan Hashmi.

Personal life
Meherbano Mohammad Ali was born on 2 March 1934. Her elder sister, Shirin, is the mother of directors Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt. Meherbano's first husband was a journalist named Syed Shauqat Hashmi, who moved to Pakistan during the end of colonial rule in South Asia when Pakistan and India were created as new states by the British as they decolonized. Her son from this first marriage, Anwar Hashmi (father of Emraan Hashmi), acted in Baharon Ke Manzil (1968) opposite Farida Jalal. In 1954, she married for the second time with filmmaker Bhagwan Das Varma. Meherbano took the screen name 'Purnima' when she entered the film industry.

Career
Purnima acted in more than 80 Bollywood films. She was a popular actress in Hindi films from late '40s to '50s. She appeared in many films including Patanga (1949), Jogan (1950), Sagai (1951), Jaal (1952), Aurat (1953), a role in Ajay Devgan's debut film Phool Aur Kaante, and the role of Sanjay Dutt's on-screen grandmother in Naam which was directed by Mahesh Bhatt (Purnima's elder sister's son). She also played the role of Amitabh Bachchan's mother in the film Zanjeer.

Death
Purnima had Alzheimer's disease during the last few years of her life and died on 14 August 2013. Mahesh Bhatt later revealed on Twitter, "My aunt Purnima, the first star of our family and who happens to be Emraan Hashmi's grandmother has entered the sunset moments of her life.".

Selected filmography
Passage 9:
Kaoru Hatoyama
Kaoru Hatoyama (鳩山 薫, Hatoyama Kaoru, 21 November 1888 – 15 August 1982) was an educator and an administrator, the schoolmaster of Kyoritsu Women's University, which was founded by her mother-in-law, Haruko Hatoyama. She is well known as the wife of Ichirō Hatoyama, who was the 52nd–54th Prime Minister of Japan, serving terms from December 10, 1954 through December 23, 1956. She was the mother of Iichirō Hatoyama, who was Japan's Foreign Minister from 1976 through 1977.
After the elections of 2009, she became more widely known as the grandmother of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his politician brother Kunio Hatoyama.

See also
Hatoyama Hall (Hatoyama Kaikan)

Notes
Passage 10:
Demetrius II Nicator
Demetrius II (Ancient Greek: Δημήτριος Β`, Dēmḗtrios B; died 125 BC), called Nicator (Ancient Greek: Νικάτωρ, Nikátōr, "Victor"), was one of the sons of Demetrius I Soter. His mother may have been Laodice V, as was the case with his brother Antiochus VII Sidetes. Demetrius ruled the Seleucid Empire for two periods, separated by a number of years of captivity in Hyrcania in Parthia, first from September 145 BC to July/August 138 BC, and again from 129 BC until his death in 125 BC. His brother Antiochus VII ruled the Seleucid Empire in the interim between his two reigns.

Biography
Early life
When he was a young boy, Demetrius' father Demetrius I fought Alexander Balas for control of the Seleucid throne.  Somewhat surprisingly, Balas won, and Demetrius' father, mother, and older brother were all killed.  The young Demetrius II fled to Crete, where he was raised by his guardians.

First reign (147–139 BC)
Victory over Alexander Balas
About 147 BC he returned to Syria with a force of Cretan mercenaries led by a man called Lasthenes, while Alexander Balas was occupied with a revolt in Cilicia. In 145 BC Ptolemy VI Philometor, king of Egypt, marched with an army into Syria ostensibly in support of Alexander Balas, but he soon switched his support to Demetrius, perhaps after receiving an offer to formalize the Ptolemaic occupation of Coele-Syria. Ptolemy sealed the alliance by divorcing his daughter Cleopatra Thea from Alexander and remarrying her to Demetrius. Shortly after, Antioch surrendered to the Egyptian forces and offered the kingship to Ptolemy VI. However, he insisted Demetrius would become king, believing that Rome would not tolerate the unification of Egypt and Syria. Ptolemy pledged to serve as "a tutor in goodness and a guide" to Demetrius II. He probably intended for Demetrius to serve as a puppet ruler.Alexander returned from Cilicia with his army, but Ptolemy VI and Demetrius II defeated his forces at Battle of the Oenoparus river. Alexander then fled to Arabia, where he was killed. Ptolemy was wounded in the battle and died three days later. With both his rival and his self-appointed guardian gone, Demetrius took the opportunity to assert his control over his kingdom. By late 145, Demetrius II had expelled all Ptolemaic troops from Syria and reasserted Seleucid control by leading his own forces all the way down to the Egyptian border.

Antiochene riots
However, new troubles soon arose. Once he had expelled the Egyptian forces, he demobilised a large portion of his army. It appears that his financial situation led him to cut the soldiers' wages and debase the coinage. Demetrius had also punished the city of Antioch severely for having supported Alexander against his father and for speaking to him disrespectfully. He disarmed the citizens and the Cretan mercenaries under Lasthenes slaughtered those who resisted, including women and children. This led the Antiochenes to rise up and besiege Demetrius in his palace. Jewish troops violently restored Demetrius' control, burning down a large portion of the city in the process. This left the city even more hostile to him.

Rebellion of Diodotus
In order to secure his hold on power, Demetrius had eliminated officials associated with Alexander Balas. One of these officials, the general Diodotus, fled into Arabia, where he secured the infant son of Alexander Balas and proclaimed him king as Antiochus VI Dionysus. Many of Demetrius' soldiers defected to Diodotus, out of anger at his conduct or the cuts to their pay. Demetrius was defeated in battle and lost control of Apamea and Antioch to Diodotus. Numismatic evidence indicates that Apamea was lost in early 144 and Antioch in late 144 or early 143.Demetrius proved unable to retake the capital, instead establishing himself in Seleucia Pieria. Antiochus VI died in 142 or 141, and Diodotus made himself king as Tryphon.  The division of the kingdom between Demetrius in Seleucia and Diodotus in Antioch persisted. Initially, Diodotus succeeded in bringing the leader of the Jews, Jonathan Apphus, onto his side, but this relationship broke down; ultimately Diodotus captured and executed Jonathan. By means of adroit diplomacy and grants of extensive freedoms, Demetrios II was able to secure the Jonathan's brother Simon Thassi as a close ally. These grants were later seen by the Hasmonean Jewish state as the moment when they achieved full independence.

Parthian war and captivity (139–130 BC)
Mithridates I, king of Parthia had taken advantage of the conflict between Demetrius and Tryphon to seize control of Susa and Elymais in 144 and of Mesopotamia in mid-141 BC. In 139/8, Demetrius journeyed east to reclaim these territories from the Parthians. As late as 140 vassal rulers of Persis, Elam, and even Bactria sent auxiliary troops (mostly persians and babylonians) to support Demetrius II in his war against the Parthians.He was initially successful, but was defeated in the Iranian mountains and taken prisoner in July or August of 138 BC. Parthian control of Mesopotamia was thus reaffirmed. In Syria, Tryphon was briefly left as uncontested ruler of the remaining Seleucid territories, but the Seleucid dynasty's grip was reestablished under Antiochus VII Sidetes, the younger brother of Demetrius, who also married Cleopatra Thea.King Mithridates had kept Demetrius II alive and even married him to a Parthian princess named Rhodogune, with whom he had children. However, Demetrius was restless and twice tried to escape from his exile in Hyrcania on the shores of the Caspian Sea, once with the help of his friend Kallimander, who had gone to great lengths to rescue the king: he had travelled incognito through Babylonia and Parthia. When the two friends were captured, the Parthian king did not punish Kallimander but rewarded him for his fidelity to Demetrius. The second time Demetrius was captured when he tried to escape, Mithridates humiliated him by giving him a golden set of dice, thus hinting that Demetrius II was a restless child who needed toys. It was however for political reasons that the Parthians treated Demetrius II kindly.
In 130 BC Antiochus Sidetes felt secure enough to march against Parthia, and scored massive initial successes. Now Phraates II made what he thought was a powerful move: he released Demetrius, hoping that the two brothers would start a civil war. However, Sidetes was defeated soon after his brother's release and never met him. Phraates II sent people to pursue Demetrius, but he managed to safely return home to Syria and regained his throne and his queen as well.

Second reign (130–125 BC)
However, the Seleucid kingdom was now but a shadow of its former glory, and Demetrius had a hard time ruling.  Notably, his first wife Cleopatra Thea detested her returned husband.  He was apparently unpopular, perhaps from memories of his humiliating defeat and general discontent with the decline of the Empire, and perhaps from resentment that he had lived while so many Seleucid soldiers and family members sent to Parthia had died. To the good luck of Demetrius, however, Phraates II was faced by an invasion from Sacaen nomads to his east.  The Parthians attempted to use captured Greeks against the Sacaeans, but they mostly defected, and Phraates was killed in battle.  The next Parthian king, Artabanus, also had a short and violent reign fighting in the east rather than to Parthia's west.  This gave the Seleucid Empire a temporary reprieve from the Parthian threat.At the time in Ptolemaic Egypt, a power struggle developed between Queen Cleopatra II and her brother king Ptolemy VIII.  Cleopatra had the support of the Greek administration in the capital Alexandria, while Ptolemy VIII had the support of the countryside and native Egyptians.  Cleopatra II might have sent out a request for aid to Demetrius II, or he might have gotten an impression from travelers and spies that Ptolemy VIII's government was weak.  Around 128 BC, Demetrius II mounted a military expedition to Egypt to "save" Cleopatra II.  Ancient sources roundly condemn Demetrius II for this action as foolish when so many problems were on-going for the Seleucid Empire.  A modern historian, John Grainger, defends it as a reasonable gamble: small forces had set off waves of defections before in recent history, so if Ptolemy VIII was truly as unpopular as reported, it might work.  More generally, the geopolitical situation for both the Seleucids and Ptolemys was desperate enough that uniting the remaining great Greek states might be the only way for them to maintain their relevance, given that Antigonid Macedonia had been crushed by Rome in the preceding decades.  Regardless, the gamble backfired.  Demetrius II camped outside the fortress of Pelusium, the gateway to Egypt, but Ptolemy VIII's troops remained loyal; there was no mass defection.  It was Demetrius' own troops that mutinied in the dry desert.  King Ptolemy VIII reacted by finding another potential Seleucid royal claimant to undermine the obviously hostile Demetrius II.  He found and sent a man named Alexander II Zabinas, the alleged illegitimate son of Alexander Balas, to fight a civil war against Demetrius, backed by the Ptolemies.The remainder of Demetrius' reign would be spent fighting a slowly losing battle against Alexander II.  He retained the loyalty of Coele-Syria and Cilica, but not the capital Antioch.  In 126 BC, Demetrius was defeated in a battle at Damascus. He fled to Ptolemais but his wife Cleopatra Thea closed the gates against him. He was captured and then killed on a ship near Tyre, after his wife had deserted him and he was denied temple asylum.
He was succeeded by the victorious usurper, Alexander II, while his queen, Cleopatra Thea, ruled in Ptolemais Akko in co-regency with two of their sons, Seleucus V Philometor and Antiochus VIII Grypus.

In opera
Incidents from the life of Demetrius II Nicator and Cleopatra Thea are the basis of the libretto Demetrio by Pietro Metastasio. First set by the composer Antonio Caldara for the imperial court of Vienna in 1731, it was one of Metastasio's most popular librettos, eventually set by dozens of 18th-century composers up to the year 1790.

See also
List of Syrian monarchs
Timeline of Syrian history