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Reaction. Nelson's first set of dispatches were captured when "Leander" was intercepted and defeated by "Généreux" in a fierce engagement off the western shore of Crete on 18 August 1798. As a result, reports of the battle did not reach Britain until Capel arrived in "Mutine" on 2 October, entering the Admiralty at 11:15 and personally delivering the news to Lord Spencer, who collapsed unconscious when he heard the report. Although Nelson had previously been castigated in the press for failing to intercept the French fleet, rumours of the battle had begun to arrive in Britain from the continent in late September and the news Capel brought was greeted with celebrations right across the country. Within four days Nelson had been elevated to Baron Nelson of the Nile and Burnham Thorpe, a title with which he was privately dissatisfied, believing his actions deserved better reward. King George III addressed the Houses of Parliament on 20 November with the words:
Additional awards were presented to the British fleet: Nelson was awarded £2,000 (£ as of ) a year for life by the Parliament of Great Britain and £1,000 per annum by the Parliament of Ireland, although the latter was inadvertently discontinued after the Act of Union dissolved the Irish Parliament. Both parliaments gave unanimous votes of thanks, each captain who served in the battle was presented with a specially minted gold medal and the first lieutenant of every ship engaged in the battle was promoted to commander. Troubridge and his men, initially excluded, received equal shares in the awards after Nelson personally interceded for the crew of the stranded "Culloden, "even though they did not directly participate in the engagement. The Honourable East India Company presented Nelson with £10,000 (£ as of ) in recognition of the benefit his action had on their holdings and the cities of London, Liverpool and other municipal and corporate bodies made similar awards. Nelson's own captains presented him with a sword and a portrait as "proof of their esteem." Nelson publicly encouraged this close bond with his officers and on 29 September 1798 described them as "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers", echoing William Shakespeare's play "Henry V". From this grew the notion of the Nelsonic Band of Brothers, a cadre of high-quality naval officers that served with Nelson for the remainder of his life. Nearly five decades later the battle was among the actions recognised by a clasp attached to the Naval General Service Medal, awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847.
Other rewards were bestowed by foreign states, particularly the Ottoman Emperor Selim III, who made Nelson the first Knight Commander of the newly created Order of the Crescent, and presented him with a chelengk, a diamond studded rose, a sable fur and numerous other valuable presents. Tsar Paul I of Russia sent, among other rewards, a gold box studded with diamonds, and similar gifts in silver arrived from other European rulers. On his return to Naples, Nelson was greeted with a triumphal procession led by King Ferdinand IV and Sir William Hamilton and was introduced for only the third time to Sir William's wife Emma, Lady Hamilton, who fainted violently at the meeting, and apparently took several weeks to recover from her injuries. Lauded as a hero by the Neapolitan court, Nelson was later to dabble in Neapolitan politics and become the Duke of Bronté, actions for which he was criticised by his superiors and his reputation suffered. British general John Moore, who met Nelson in Naples at this time, described him as "covered with stars, medals and ribbons, more like a Prince of Opera than the Conqueror of the Nile."
Rumours of a battle first appeared in the French press as early as 7 August, although credible reports did not arrive until 26 August, and even these claimed that Nelson was dead and Bonaparte a British prisoner. When the news became certain, the French press insisted that the defeat was the result both of an overwhelmingly large British force and unspecified "traitors." Among the anti-government journals in France, the defeat was blamed on the incompetence of the French Directory and on supposed lingering Royalist sentiments in the Navy. Villeneuve came under scathing attack on his return to France for his failure to support Brueys during the battle. In his defence, he pleaded that the wind had been against him and that Brueys had not issued orders for him to counterattack the British fleet. Writing many years later, Bonaparte commented that if the French Navy had adopted the same tactical principles as the British: By contrast, the British press were jubilant; many newspapers sought to portray the battle as a victory for Britain over anarchy, and the success was used to attack the supposedly pro-republican Whig politicians Charles James Fox and Richard Brinsley Sheridan.
In the United States, the outcome of the battle led President John Adams to pursue diplomacy with France to end the Quasi-War, as the French naval defeat rendered the prospect of an invasion of the United States less likely. There has been extensive historiographical debate over the comparative strengths of the fleets, although they were ostensibly evenly matched in size, each containing 13 ships of the line. However, the loss of "Culloden", the relative sizes of "Orient" and "Leander" and the participation in the action by two of the French frigates and several smaller vessels, as well as the theoretical strength of the French position, leads most historians to the conclusion that the French were marginally more powerful. This is accentuated by the weight of broadside of several of the French ships: "Spartiate", "Franklin", "Orient", "Tonnant" and "Guillaume Tell" were each significantly larger than any individual British ship in the battle. However inadequate deployment, reduced crews, and the failure of the rear division under Villeneuve to meaningfully participate, all contributed to the French defeat.
Effects. The Battle of the Nile has been called "arguably, the most decisive naval engagement of the great age of sail", and "the most splendid and glorious success which the British Navy gained." Historian and novelist C. S. Forester, writing in 1929, compared the Nile to the great naval actions in history and concluded that "it still only stands rivalled by Tsu-Shima as an example of the annihilation of one fleet by another of approximately equal material force". The effect on the strategic situation in the Mediterranean was immediate, reversing the balance of the conflict and giving the British control at sea that they maintained for the remainder of the war. The destruction of the French Mediterranean fleet allowed the Royal Navy to return to the sea in force, as British squadrons set up blockades off French and allied ports. In particular, British ships cut Malta off from France, aided by the rebellion among the native Maltese population that forced the French garrison to retreat to Valletta and shut the gates. The ensuing siege of Malta lasted for two years before the defenders were finally starved into surrender. In 1799, British ships harassed Bonaparte's army as it marched east and north through Palestine, and played a crucial part in Bonaparte's defeat at the siege of Acre, when the barges carrying the siege train were captured and the French storming parties were bombarded by British ships anchored offshore. It was during one of these latter engagements that Captain Miller of "Theseus" was killed in an ammunition explosion. The defeat at Acre forced Bonaparte to retreat to Egypt and effectively ended his efforts to carve an empire in the Middle East. The French general returned to France without his army late in the year, leaving Kléber in command of Egypt.
The Ottoman Empire, with whom Bonaparte had hoped to conduct an alliance once his control of Egypt was complete, was encouraged by the Battle of the Nile to go to war against France. This led to a series of campaigns that slowly sapped the strength from the French army trapped in Egypt. The British victory also encouraged the Austrian Empire and the Russian Empire, both of whom were mustering armies as part of a Second Coalition, which declared war on France in 1799. With the Mediterranean undefended, an Imperial Russian Navy fleet entered the Ionian Sea, while Austrian armies recaptured much of the Italian territory lost to Bonaparte in the previous war. Without their best general and his veterans, the French suffered a series of defeats and it was not until Bonaparte returned to become First Consul that France once again held a position of strength on Continental Europe. In 1801 a British Expeditionary Force defeated the demoralised remains of the French army in Egypt. The Royal Navy used its dominance in the Mediterranean to invade Egypt without the fear of ambush while anchored off the Egyptian coast.
In spite of the overwhelming British victory in the climactic battle, the campaign has sometimes been considered a strategic success for France. Historian Edward Ingram noted that if Nelson had successfully intercepted Bonaparte at sea as ordered, the ensuing battle could have annihilated both the French fleet and the transports. As it was, Bonaparte was free to continue the war in the Middle East and later to return to Europe personally unscathed. The potential of a successful engagement at sea to change the course of history is underscored by the list of French army officers carried aboard the convoy who later formed the core of the generals and marshals under Emperor Napoleon. In addition to Bonaparte himself, Louis-Alexandre Berthier, Auguste de Marmont, Jean Lannes, Joachim Murat, Louis Desaix, Jean Reynier, Antoine-François Andréossy, Jean-Andoche Junot, Louis-Nicolas Davout and Dumas were all passengers on the cramped Mediterranean crossing. Legacy. The Battle of the Nile remains one of the Royal Navy's most famous victories, and has remained prominent in the British popular imagination, sustained by its depiction in a large number of cartoons, paintings, poems, and plays. One of the best known poems about the battle is "Casabianca", which was written by Felicia Dorothea Hemans in 1826 and gives a fictional account of the actual death of the French Captain Casabianca's son on "Orient", i.e. the boy who famously "stood on the burning deck" was French.
Monuments were raised, including Cleopatra's Needle in London. Muhammad Ali of Egypt gave the monument in 1819 in recognition of the battle of 1798 and the campaign of 1801 but Great Britain did not erect it on the Victoria Embankment until 1878. Another memorial, the Nile Clumps near Amesbury, consists of stands of beech trees purportedly planted by Lord Queensbury at the behest of Lady Hamilton and Thomas Hardy after Nelson's death. The trees form a plan of the battle; each clump represents the position of a British or French ship. On the Hall Place estate, Burchetts Green, Berkshire (now Berkshire College of Agriculture), a double line of oak trees, each tree representing a ship of the opposing fleets, was planted by William East, Baronet, in celebration of the victory. He also constructed a scale-sized pyramid and a life-sized statue of Nelson on the highest point of the estate. The composer Joseph Haydn had just completed the Missa in Angustiis (mass for troubled times) after Napoleon Bonaparte had defeated the Austrian army in four major battles. The well received news of France's defeat at the Nile however resulted in the mass gradually acquiring the nickname "Lord Nelson Mass". The title became indelible when, in 1800, Nelson himself visited the Palais Esterházy, accompanied by his mistress, Lady Hamilton, and may have heard the mass performed.
The Royal Navy commemorated the battle with the ship names , and , and in 1998 commemorated the 200th anniversary of the battle with a visit to Aboukir Bay by the modern frigate , whose crew laid wreaths in memory of those who lost their lives in the battle. In John le Carré's novel Smiley's People there is mention of a bar on Battle of the Nile Street named 'The Defeated Frog'. Archaeology. Although Nelson biographer Ernle Bradford assumed in 1977 that the remains of "Orient" "are almost certainly unrecoverable," the first archaeological investigation into the battle began in 1983, when a French survey team under Jacques Dumas discovered the wreck of the French flagship. Franck Goddio later took over the work, leading a major project to explore the bay in 1998. He found that material was scattered over an area in diameter. In addition to military and nautical equipment, Goddio recovered a large number of gold and silver coins from countries across the Mediterranean, some from the 17th century. It is likely that these were part of the treasure taken from Malta that was lost in the explosion aboard "Orient". In 2000, Italian archaeologist Paolo Gallo led an excavation focusing on ancient ruins on Nelson's Island. It uncovered a number of graves that date from the battle, as well as others buried there during the 1801 invasion. These graves, which included a woman and three children, were relocated in 2005 to a cemetery at Shatby in Alexandria. The reburial was attended by sailors from the modern frigate and a band from the Egyptian Navy, as well as a descendant of the only identified burial, Commander James Russell.
Barnabas Barnabas (; ; ), born Joseph () or Joses (), was according to tradition an early Christian, one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to , Barnabas was a Cypriot Levite. Identified as an apostle in Acts 14:14, he and Paul the Apostle undertook missionary journeys together and defended Gentile converts against the Judaizers. They traveled together making more converts ( AD), and participated in the Council of Jerusalem ( AD). Barnabas and Paul successfully evangelized among the "God-fearing" Gentiles who attended synagogues in various Hellenized cities of Anatolia. Barnabas' story appears in the Acts of the Apostles, and Paul mentions him in some of his epistles. Tertullian named him as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, but this and other attributions are conjecture. The Epistle of Barnabas was ascribed to him by Clement of Alexandria and others in the early church and the epistle is included under his name in Codex Sinaiticus, the earliest extant manuscript of the complete New Testament. A few modern scholars concur with this traditional attribution but it is presently a minority view.
Although the date, place, and circumstances of his death are historically unverifiable, Christian tradition holds that Barnabas was martyred at Salamis, Cyprus. He is traditionally identified as the founder of the Cypriot Orthodox Church. The feast day of Barnabas is celebrated on 11 June. Barnabas is usually identified as the cousin of Mark the Evangelist on the basis of the term used in Colossians 4, which carries the connotation of "cousin". Orthodox tradition holds that Aristobulus of Britannia, one of the Seventy Disciples, was the brother of Barnabas. Name and etymologies. His Hellenic Jewish parents called him Joseph (although the Byzantine text-type calls him , , 'Joses', a Greek variant of 'Joseph'), but when recounting the story of how he sold his land and gave the money to the apostles in Jerusalem, the Book of Acts says the apostles called him Barnabas. (The "s" at the end is the Greek nominative case ending, and it is not present in the Aramaic form.) The Greek text of explains the name as , , meaning "son of encouragement" or "son of comforter". One theory is that this is from the Aramaic , , meaning 'son (of) prophet'. Another is that it is related to the Hebrew word (, Aramaic ) meaning "prophet". In the Syriac Bible, the phrase "son of prophet" is translated .
Biblical narrative. Barnabas appears mainly in Acts, a history of the early Christian church. He also appears in several of Paul's epistles. Barnabas, a native of Cyprus and a Levite, is first mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as a member of the early Christian community in Jerusalem, who sold the land that he owned and gave the proceeds to the community. When the future Paul the Apostle returned to Jerusalem after his conversion, Barnabas introduced him to the apostles. Easton, in his Bible Dictionary, supposes that they had been fellow students in the school of Gamaliel. The successful preaching of Christianity at Antioch to non-Jews led the church at Jerusalem to send Barnabas there to oversee the movement. He found the work so extensive and weighty that he went to Tarsus in search of Paul (still referred to as Saul), "an admirable colleague", to assist him. Paul returned with him to Antioch and labored with him for a whole year. At the end of this period, the two were sent up to Jerusalem (44 AD) with contributions from the church at Antioch for the relief of the poorer Christians in Judea.
They returned to Antioch taking John Mark with them, the cousin or nephew of Barnabas. Later, they went to Cyprus and some of the principal cities of Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia. After recounting what the governor of Cyprus Sergius Paulus believed, Acts 13:9 speaks of Barnabas's spiritual brother no longer as Saul, but as Paul, his Roman name. From that point forward, when Acts refers to the two as a pair, it generally no longer uses "Barnabas and Saul", but "Paul and Barnabas". Only in Acts 14:14 and Acts 15:12,25 does Barnabas again occupy the first place; in Acts 14:14 with reference to Barnabas being mentioned first two verses earlier in Acts 14:12, and in Acts 15:12,25, because Barnabas stood in closer relation to the Jerusalem church than Paul. Paul appears as the more eloquent missionary, whence the Lystrans regarded him as Hermes and Barnabas as Zeus. Acts 14:14 is also the only biblical verse where Barnabas is referred to using the Greek word for Apostle. Returning from this first missionary journey to Antioch, they were again sent up to Jerusalem to consult with the church there regarding the relation of Gentiles to the church. According to Galatians 2:9–10, Barnabas was included with Paul in the agreement made between them, on the one hand, and James, Peter, and John, on the other, that the two former should in the future preach to the pagans, not forgetting the poor at Jerusalem. This matter having been settled, they returned again to Antioch, bringing the agreement of the council that Gentiles were to be admitted into the church without having to adopt Jewish practices.
After Paul and Barnabas returned from the Jerusalem council to Antioch, Peter also came to Antioch. Peter associated freely with the Gentiles there, including eating with them, until he was criticized for this by some disciples of James, as doing so was contrary to Mosaic law. Peter then refused to eat any longer with the Gentiles, apparently through fear of displeasing these disciples, and Barnabas followed his example. Paul then stated that Peter and Barnabas "walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel" (Galatians 2:14) and upbraided them before the whole church. In Galatians 2:11–13, Paul says, "And when Kephas [Peter] came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong. For, until some people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to draw back and separated himself, because he was afraid of the circumcised. And the rest of the Jews (also) acted hypocritically along with him, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy."
Paul then asked Barnabas to accompany him on another journey. Barnabas wished to take John Mark along, but Paul did not, as John Mark had left them on the earlier journey. The dispute ended by Paul and Barnabas taking separate routes. Paul took Silas as his companion, and journeyed through Syria and Cilicia; while Barnabas took John Mark to visit Cyprus. Little is known of the subsequent career of Barnabas. He was still living and labouring as an Apostle in 56 or 57 AD, when Paul wrote 1 Corinthians (1 Corinthians 9:5–6), in which it is stated that he, too, like Paul, earned his own living. The reference indicates also that the friendship between the two was unimpaired. A few years later, when Paul was a prisoner in Rome (61–63 AD), John Mark was attached to him as a disciple, which is regarded as an indication that Barnabas was no longer living (Colossians 4:10). Barnabas and Antioch. Antioch, the third-most important city of the Roman Empire after Rome and Alexandria, then the capital city of Syria province, today Antakya, Turkey, was where Christians were first called thus.
Some of those who had been scattered by the persecution that arose because of Stephen went to Antioch, which became the site of an early Christian community. A considerable minority of the Antioch church of Barnabas's time belonged to the merchant class, and they provided support to the poorer Jerusalem church. Martyrdom. Church tradition developed outside of the canon of the New Testament describes the martyrdom of many saints, including the legend of the martyrdom of Barnabas. It relates that certain Jews coming to Syria and Salamis, where Barnabas was then preaching the gospel, being highly exasperated at his extraordinary success, fell upon him as he was disputing in the synagogue, dragged him out, and stoned him to death. His kinsman, John Mark, privately interred his body. Although it is believed he was martyred by being stoned, the apocryphal Acts of Barnabas states that he was bound with a rope by the neck, and then being dragged only to the site where he would be burned to death. According to the "History of the Cyprus Church", in 478 Barnabas appeared in a dream to the Archbishop Anthemios of Cyprus and revealed to him the place of his sepulchre beneath a carob-tree. The following day Anthemios found the tomb and inside it the remains of Barnabas with a manuscript of Matthew's Gospel on his breast. Anthemios presented the Gospel to Emperor Zeno at Constantinople and received from him the privileges of the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus, that is, the purple cloak which the Greek Archbishop of Cyprus wears at festivals of the church, the imperial sceptre and the red ink with which he affixes his signature.
Anthemios then placed the venerable remains of Barnabas in a church which he founded near the tomb. Excavations near the site of a present-day church and monastery, have revealed an early church with two empty tombs, believed to be that of St. Barnabas and Anthemios. St. Barnabas is venerated as the patron saint of Cyprus. He is also considered a patron saint in many other places in the world, highlighting Milan in Italy. On the island of Tenerife (Spain), St. Barnabas was invoked in historical times as patron saint and protector of the island's fields against drought, together with St. Benedict of Nursia. Barnabas the Apostle is remembered in the Church of England with a festival on 11 June. Other sources. Although many assume that the biblical Mark the cousin of Barnabas is the same as John Mark and Mark the Evangelist, the traditionally believed author of the Gospel of Mark, they are listed as three distinct people in Pseudo-Hippolytus' "On the Seventy Apostles of Christ," which includes Barnabas himself as one of the Seventy-Two Disciples. There are two people named Barnabas among Hippolytus' list of Seventy Disciples, One (#13) became the bishop of Milan, the other (#25) the bishop of Heraclea. Most likely one of these two is the biblical Barnabas; the first one is more likely, because the numbering by Hippolytus seems to indicate a level of significance, and Barnabas is traditionally credited with founding the apostolic see of Milan. Clement of Alexandria also makes Barnabas one of the Seventy Disciples that are mentioned in the Gospel of Luke.
Other sources bring Barnabas to Rome and Alexandria. In the "Clementine Recognitions" (i, 7) he is depicted as preaching in Rome even during Christ's lifetime. Cypriots developed the tradition of his later activity and martyrdom no earlier than the 3rd century. The question whether Barnabas was an apostle was often discussed during the Middle Ages. Alleged writings. Tertullian and other Western writers regard Barnabas as the author of the Letter to the Hebrews. This may have been the Roman tradition—which Tertullian usually follows—and in Rome the epistle may have had its first readers. Modern biblical scholarship considers its authorship unknown, though Barnabas amongst others has been proposed as potential authors. "Photius of the ninth century, refers to some in his day who were uncertain whether the Acts was written by Clement of Rome, Barnabas, or Luke. Yet Photius is certain that the work must be ascribed to Luke." He is also traditionally associated with the Epistle of Barnabas, although some modern scholars think it more likely that the epistle was written in Alexandria in the 130s.
The 5th century "Decretum Gelasianum" includes a "Gospel of Barnabas" amongst works condemned as apocryphal; but no certain text or quotation from this work has been identified. Another book using that same title, the Gospel of Barnabas, survives in two post-medieval manuscripts in Italian and Spanish. Contrary to the canonical Christian Gospels, and in accordance with the Islamic view of Jesus, this later Gospel of Barnabas states that Jesus was not the son of God, but a prophet and messenger. The Barnabites. In 1538, the Catholic religious order officially known as "Clerics Regular of St. Paul" ("Clerici Regulares Sancti Pauli"), gained the grand old Monastery of Saint Barnabas by the city wall of Milan as their main seat. The Order was thenceforth known by the popular name of "Barnabites". References. Attribution
Birka Birka ("Birca" in medieval sources), on the island of Björkö (lit. "Birch Island") in present-day Sweden, was an important Viking Age trading center which handled goods from Scandinavia as well as many parts of Continental Europe and the Orient. Björkö is located in Lake Mälaren, 30 kilometers west of contemporary Stockholm, in the municipality of Ekerö. Birka was founded around AD 750 and it flourished for more than 200 years. It was abandoned c. AD 975, around the same time Sigtuna was founded as a Christian town some 35 km to the northeast. It has been estimated that the population in Viking Age Birka was between 500 and 1000 people. The archaeological sites of Birka and Hovgården, on the neighbouring island of Adelsö, make up an archaeological complex which illustrates the elaborate trading networks of Viking Scandinavia and their influence on the subsequent history of Europe. Generally regarded as Sweden's oldest town, Birka (along with Hovgården) has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. Many burial sites have been uncovered at Birka, leading to the finding of many objects including jewelry and many textile fragments. In recent years, objects from Birka have been in the public eye due to ongoing academic research connection Birka to evidence of trade with the Middle East.
History. Birka was founded around 750 AD as a trading port by a king or merchants trying to control trade. It is one of the earliest urban settlements in Scandinavia. Birka was the Baltic link in the Dnieper Trade Route through Ladoga ("Aldeigja") and Novgorod ("Holmsgard") to the Byzantine Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate. Birka is the site of the first known Christian in Sweden, founded in 831 by Saint Ansgar. As a trading center, Birka most likely offered furs, iron goods, and craft products, in exchange for various materials from much of Europe and Western Asia. Furs were obtained from the Sami people, the Finns, and people in Northwestern Russia, as well as from local trappers. Furs included bear, fox, marten, otter, beaver, and other species. Reindeer antlers and objects carved from reindeer antlers like combs were important items of trade. The trade of walrus tusks, amber, and honey is also documented. Foreign goods found from the graves of Birka include glass and metalware, pottery from the Rhineland, clothing and textiles including Chinese silk, Byzantine embroidery with extremely fine gold thread, brocades with gold passementerie, and plaited cords of high quality. From the ninth century onwards coins minted at Haithabu in Northern Germany and elsewhere in Scandinavia start to appear. However, the vast majority of the coins found at Birka are silver dirhams from the Middle East while English and Carolingian coins are rare.
Written accounts. Sources from Birka are mainly archaeological remains. No texts survive from this area, though the written text "Vita Ansgari" ("The Life of Ansgar") by Rimbert (c. 865) describes the missionary work of Ansgar around 830 at Birka, and "Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum" (Deeds of Bishops of the Hamburg Church) by Adam of Bremen in 1075 describes the Archbishop Unni, who died at Birka in 936. Saint Ansgar's work was the first attempt to convert the people of Birka from the Norse religion to Christianity. It was unsuccessful. Both Rimbert and Adam were German clergymen writing in Latin. There are no known Norse sources mentioning the name of the settlement, or even the settlement itself, and the original Norse name of Birka is unknown. "Birca" is the Latinised form given in the written sources by Rimbert and Adam; and "Birka" is the contemporary, unhistorical Swedish form. The Latin name is probably derived from an Old Norse word "birk" which probably means a market place. Related to this was the "Bjärköa law" (bjärköarätt) which regulated the life of market places in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Birka and similar spellings are very common in Scandinavian place names still today leading to speculation that all references to Birka, especially those by Adam of Bremen, were not about the same location.
Both publications are silent on Birka's size, layout, and appearance. Based on Rimbert's account, Birka was significant because it had a port and it was the location of the regional ting. Adam only mentions the port, but otherwise, Birka seems to have been significant to him because it was the start of Ansgar's Christian mission and because Archbishop Unni was buried there. "Vita Ansgari" and "Gesta" are sometimes ambiguous, which has caused some controversy as to whether Birka and the Björkö settlement are the same location. Many other locations have been suggested through the years. However, Björkö is the only location that shows remains of a town of Birka's significance, which is why the vast majority of scholars regard Björkö as the location of Birka. Birka was abandoned during the latter half of the 10th century. Based on the dating of the coins, the city seems to have died out around 960. Roughly around the same time, the nearby settlement of Sigtuna supplanted Birka as the main trading center in the Mälaren area. The reasons for Birka's decline are disputed. The Baltic island of Gotland was also in a better strategic position for Rus'-Byzantine trade and was gaining eminence as a mercantile stronghold. Historian Neil Kent has speculated that the area may have been the victim of an enemy assault.
The Varangian trade stations in Russia suffered a serious decline at roughly the same date. Rimbert's description. In "Vita Ansgari" ("The life of Ansgar") monk and later archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen Rimbert gives the first known description of Birka. The town was the center of Catholic missionary activities in the 9th century Sweden. Rimbert's interests were in the Christian faith, not so much in the Swedish geopolicy, so his descriptions of Birka remain approximate at best. Bridgehead of Christian missionaries. This is how it all started in 829: Meanwhile it happened that Swedish ambassadors had come to the Emperor Louis the Pious, and, amongst other matters which they had been ordered to bring to the attention of the emperor, they informed him that there were many belonging to their nation who desired to embrace the Christian religion, and that their king so far favoured this suggestion that he would permit God's priests to reside there, provided that they might be deemed worthy of such a favour and that the emperor would send them suitable preachers. (Chapter IX)
Ansgar then undertook the mission committed to him by the emperor, who desired that he should go to the Swedes and discover whether this people was prepared to accept the faith as their messengers had declared. (Chapter X) Ansgar was already experienced in the missionary work in Denmark, and set forth to Sweden. Rimbert describes the trip very generally: It may suffice for me to say that while they were in the midst of their journey they fell into the hands of pirates. The merchants with whom they were travelling, defended themselves vigorously and for a time successfully, but eventually they were conquered and overcome by the pirates, who took from them their ships and all that they possessed, whilst they themselves barely escaped on. foot to land. —With great difficulty they accomplished their long journey on foot, traversing also the intervening seas (maria), where it was possible, by ship, and eventually arrived at the Swedish port called Birka. (Chapters X and XI) Rimbert does not say where Ansgar sailed off or where he landed. Noteworthy is just his note about several "seas" that they had to cross to get to Birka from the place they had landed to. Since Rimbert mentions them to have crossed the seas by ship "where it was possible" they clearly had the alternative of going around them as well, meaning that the seas were probably the numerous lakes in southern Sweden. When Ansgar again travelled to Birka from Germany about 852, it went easier:
Ansgar accomplished the journey on which he had set out, and after spending nearly twenty days in a ship, he arrived at Birka (Chapter XXVI) This might mean that he sailed off from Hamburg or Bremen instead of some port in Baltic Sea, since the later account by Adam of Bremen gives the distance of Scania and Birka to be only five days at sea. Kings. Several Swedish kings of the 9th century, Björn, Anund and Olof, are all mentioned in "Vita" to have spent time in Birka. None of them is however said to have had his residence there, as the Swedish king and his retinue periodically moved between the Husbys, parts of the network of royal estates called Uppsala öd. King Björn met Ansgar in Birka when he arrived there in 829 (Chapter XI). Later King Olof met him there as well during his last trip in 852 (Chapter XXVI). Church. Ansgar's missionary work resulted in first churches to be built in Sweden. Talking about Herigar, the prefect of Birka: A little later he built a church on his own ancestral property and served God with the utmost devotion. (Chapter XI)
Herigar's church was not far from the place where tings were held: On one occasion he himself was sitting in an assembly of people, a stage having been arranged for a council on an open plain. He then summoned his servants and told them to carry him to his church. (Chapter XIX) Another church was also built in Sweden, however location is left open: This Gautbert, who at his consecration received the honoured name of the apostle Simeon, went to Sweden, and was honourably received by the king and the people; and he began, amidst general goodwill and approval, to build a church there (Chapter XIV) The exiled Swedish King Anund Uppsale confirms that either one of the churches was in Birka itself when he ponders if Birka should be plundered: "There are there," he said, "many great and powerful gods, and in former time a church was built there, and there are many Christians there who worship Christ" (Chapter XIX) Probable fortress. Danes attacked Birka, accompanied with the deposed king Anund, which caused great distress in the town.
Being in great difficulty they fled to a neighbouring city (ad civitatem, quæ iuxta erat, confugerunt) and began to promise and offer to their gods—But inasmuch as the city was not strong and there were few to offer resistance, they sent messengers to the Danes and asked for friendship and alliance. —Hergeir, the faithful servant of the Lord, was angry with them and said, "They will lead away your wives and sons as captives, they will burn our city (urbs) and town (vicus)" and will destroy you with the sword (Chapter XIX) As the neighbouring "city" is not mentioned in any other context than during the Danish attack as a place where people took refuge, it probably meant a nearby fortress. Eventually Danes left, sparing Birka from destruction. "Ting" assembly. When Ansgar asked if King Olof would permit him to establish the Christian religion in the kingdom during his second visit in 852, the king said to him: On this account I have not the power, nor do I dare, to approve the objects of your mission until I can consult our gods by the casting of lots and until I can enquire the will of the people in regard to this matter. Let your messenger attend with me the next assembly (Chapter XXVI)
When the day for the assembly which was held in the town of Birka drew near, in accordance with their national custom the king caused a proclamation to be made to the people by the voice of a herald, in order that they might be informed concerning the object of their mission. —The king then rose up from amongst the assembly and forthwith directed one of his own messengers to accompany the bishop's messenger, and to tell him that the people were unanimously inclined to accept his proposal and at the same time to tell him that, whilst their action was entirely agreeable to him, he could not give his full consent until, in another assembly, which was to be held in another part of his kingdom, he could announce this resolution to the people who lived in that district. (Chapter XXVII) Tings were huge open-air events, which required plenty of space. The more important ting that king Olof talked about was probably the "Ting of all Swedes", which was held at the end of February in Uppsala, during the Disting. The king was obliged to obey the common decisions made at this ting, and the most powerful man at this assembly was not the king, but the lawspeaker of Tiundaland. Locally important tings were the Westrogothic "Ting of all Geats" in Skara and the Ostrogothic "Lionga ting" in the vicinity of today's Linköping.
Adam of Bremen's description. In "Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum" (Deeds of Bishops of the Hamburg Church), Adam of Bremen mentions Birka many times, and the book is the main source of information on the city. After its initial release in 1075–6, "Gesta" was complemented with supplementary "Scholias" until the death of Adam in the 1080s. Birca is described as an existing city in the original version, but then as destroyed in "Scholia 138". One of Adam's main sources had been the German bishop Adalvard the Younger of Sigtuna and later of Skara as hinted in "Scholia 119". He was also very familiar with Rimbert's work. Adam himself never visited Birka. Location and port. Adam described Birka as a Geatish port town and had gathered many details about it. Birka is the main Geatish town (oppidum Gothorum), situated in the middle of Sweden (Suevoniae), not far (non longe) from the temple called Uppsala (Ubsola) which the Swedes (Sueones) held in the highest esteem when it comes to the worship of the gods; here forms an inlet of the Baltic or the Barbaric Sea a port facing north which welcomes all the wild peoples all around this sea but which is risky for those who are careless or ignorant of such places ... they have therefore blocked this inlet of the troubled sea with hidden masses of rocks along more than 100 stadions (18 km). On this anchorage, being the best sheltered within the maritime region of Sweden (Suevoniae), all the ships belonging to Danes (Danorum) known as Norwegians (Nortmannorum) as well as to Slavs (Sclavorum), Sembrians (Semborum) and other Scythian (Scithiae) peoples use to convene every year for sundry necessary commerce. (I 62)
Turning from the northern parts to the mouth of the Baltic Sea we first meet the Norwegians (Nortmanni), then the Danish region of Skåne (Sconia) stands out, and beyond these live the Geats (Gothi) for a long stretch all the way to Birka. (IV 14) Having described Västergötland and Skara, Adam writes: Beyond it Östergötland (Ostrogothia) extends along the sea, that is called the Baltic Sea, all the way to Birka. (IV 23) Noteworthy in the following statement is the usage of the term "not far" (non longe) which was also used to describe the distance between Birka and the Uppsala temple: Furthermore we have been told that there are many more islands in that sea, one of which is called the Great Estland (Aestland) – And this island is told to be quite close to the Woman Land (terrae feminarum), which is not far (non longe) away from Birka of the Swedes. (IV 17) Adam also had travel instructions from Skåne to Sigtuna: From Skåne (Sconia) of the Danes one reaches Sigtuna (Sictonam) or Birka after five days at sea, for they are indeed alike. But by land from Skåne across the Geatish people (Gothorum populos) and cities Skara (Scaranem), Telgas and Birka, one reaches Sigtuna only after a full month. (IV 28)
"Telgas" is not mentioned anywhere else, and it remains as speculative as Birka. The most popular identification among many telge names in Sweden is Södertälje. "Scholia 121" of IV 20 tells also: For those who sail from Skåne (Sconia) of the Danes to Birka, the journey takes five days, from Birka to Russia (Ruzziam) likewise five days at sea. (Scholia 121) The following definition remains even more mysterious: In pity of their errors, our archbishop ordained as their diocesan capital Birka, which is in the middle of Sweden (Sueoniae) facing Jumne (Iumnem), the capital of the Slavs, and equally distant from all the coasts of the surrounding sea. (IV 20) Since it is physically impossible for any Swedish town to face Jumne, the latter being situated along River Oder, Adam's statement is probably a misunderstanding. No place having a similar name to Birka is known to have situated on the opposite shore of Oder, so it may be possible that something similar to Jumne was located opposite to Birka. Bishop. Archbishopric of Hamburg-Bremen that oversaw the missionary work in Scandinavia until 1103, had appointed bishops to Sweden at least from 1014 onwards, the first see being in Skara. Several bishops were appointed for Sweden in 1060s, one also for Birka.
For Sweden, six were consecrated: Adalvard the Elder (Adalwardum) and Acilinum, also Adalvard the Younger (Adalwardum) and Tadicum, and furthermore Simeon (Symeonem) and the monk John (Iohannem). (III 70) "Scholia 94" appends this as follows: Adalvard the Elder (Adalwardus senior) was to superintend both lands of the Geats (uterque praefectus est Gothiae), Adalvard the Younger Sigtuna (Sictunam) and Uppsala (Ubsalam), Simeon (Symon) the Sami people (Scritefingos), John (Iohannes) the islands of the Baltic Sea. (Scholia 94) Furthermore, the following was said about John's location after talking about Birka: For this city he ordained, as the first among our people, the abbot Hiltin, whom he wanted to call John. (IV 20) John seems to have been situated in Birka in order to prepare for the missionary work among the many heathen people that flooded to Birca from around the Baltic coasts. This was a logical continuation to Birka's position as the first missionary town in Sweden. Noteworthy here is that the biggest islands in the Baltic Sea, Öland and Gotland, were part of the diocese of Linköping in the Middle Ages, covering also Östergötland and eastern Småland.
Location of Unni's tomb. "Scholia 122" of IV 20 locates the tomb of Hamburg's archbishop Unni in Birka: There is the port of Saint Ansgar and the tomb of the holy Archbishop Unni, and a familiar haven, it is said, for the holy confessors of our diocese. (Scholia 122) According to "Gesta", Unni had died in 936 (I 64). Destruction. After having consistently described Birka as an existing city, "Scholia 138" of IV 29 describes Birka's sudden demise. Talking about Adalvard the Younger, the bishop of Sigtuna and later that of Skara, Adam or a later copyist has written: During his journey he seized the opportunity to make a detour to Birka, which is now reduced to loneliness so that one can hardly find vestiges of the city; therefore impossible to come upon the tomb of the holy Archbishop Unni. (Scholia 138) The remark does not make it clear if Adalvard found the city destroyed or if that had happened after his visit and the later remark was just to warn the future pilgrims not to go there anymore in vain. As Adalvard was back in Bremen already by 1069 and is mentioned as one of Adam's sources of information, it would have been expected that word about Birka's destruction had reached also Adam before he published his work half a decade later.
Björkö archaeological site. The exact location of Birka was also lost during the centuries, leading to speculation from Swedish historians. In 1450, the island of Björkö was first claimed to be Birka by the "Chronicle of Sweden" ("Prosaiska krönikan"). In search of Birka, National Antiquarian Johan Hadorph was the first to attempt excavations on Björkö in the late 17th century. In the late 19th century, Hjalmar Stolpe, an entomologist by education, arrived on Björkö to study fossilized insects found in amber on the island. Stolpe found very large amounts of amber, which is unusual since amber is not normally found in lake Mälaren. Stolpe speculated that the island may have been an important trading post, prompting him to conduct a series of archeological excavations between 1871 and 1895. The excavations soon indicated that a major settlement had been located on the island and eventually Stolpe spent two decades excavating the island. After Björkö came to be identified with ancient Birka, it has been assumed that the original name of Birka was simply "Bierkø" (sometimes spelled "Bjärkö"), an earlier form of "Björkö".
A significant collection of textiles fragments were retrieved during excavations, mostly from chamber graves. Agnes Geijer published the most detailed analysis of this collection in 1938, although her study was based upon only around 5% of the 4800 textile fragments preserved from the site. The collection represents a usual variety of different types of textiles showing high quality textiles manufactured by different techniques like tabby and twill. Mostly made from wool and flax, the quality of the textiles studied by Geijer ranged from very coarse to fine fabrics with high thread counts that required complicated techniques to create. The variety of materials and techniques to make the tablet woven textiles led Geijer to theorize that some of the textiles were imported. Geijer also found remains of the three-end twill textile that has not been found anywhere else in Northern Europe. Geijer theorized that some of the fragments came from the East, possibly China, due the use of gold and silver wire as well as silk.
Ownership of Björkö is today mainly in private hands and is used for farming and management also benefits biodiversity. The archaeological remains are located in the north part of Björkö and span an area of about 7 hectares (17 acres). The remains are both burial-sites and buildings, and in the south part of this area, there is also a hill fort called "Borgen" ("The Fortress"). The construction technique of the buildings is still unknown, but the main material was wood. An adjacent island holds the remains of Hovgården, an estate that housed the King's retinue during visits. Approximately 700 people lived at Birka when it was at its largest, and about 3,000 graves have been found. Its administrative center was supposedly located outside of the settlement itself, on the nearby island of Adelsö. The most recent large excavation was undertaken between 1990 and 1995 in a region of dark earth, believed to be the site of the main settlement. Shipyard. On 15 June 2022, it was announced that archaeologists from Stockholm University's Archaeological Research Laboratory had found a Viking Age shipyard in Lake Mälaren. It was the first time a site like the shipyard had been found.
"The site found consisted of a stone-lined depression in the Viking Age shore zone with a wooden boat slip at the bottom. The finds at the site consist of large quantities of both unused and used boat rivets, whetstones made from slate and woodworking tools." Björkö objects. "Allah" textile controversy. In 2017, Annika Larsson, a textile researcher, claimed in a press release by Uppsala University to have discovered a textile among the finds from Birka that bore the Arabic words "Allah" and "Ali". She theorized that some of the Vikings could have been influenced by Islam, leading to widespread media coverage. Stephennie Mulder, a professor of Islamic art at the University of Texas at Austin, replied to Larsson's findings in a Twitter thread. Based on the epigraphy, Mulder argued that the textile bore a simple geometric pattern and not Arabic writing because the dating of the textile was from the 10th century and the style of writing Larsson claimed was on the textile, square Kufic, is not seen until the 15th century. Larsson had also proposed extensions to the tablet weaving that expanded beyond the original drawing by Agnes Geijer in 1938. Textile specialist Carolyn Priest-Dorman argued that the expansions are impossible because the fragment has finished edges called selvages and the band would have shown cut weft threads if the fragment had been narrowed at some point. Larsson's drawings were speculative and not based on evidence that an expansion existed. The backlash following these criticisms led the press release on the Uppsala University website to include a note that Larsson's research was preliminary and a comment regarding the criticisms. In 2020, Larsson published an article reiterating her claim that the textile bore Arabic writing, without addressing these criticisms.
"Allah" ring controversy. A ring was found during the archeological excavations at Birka between 1872 and 1895, when archeologist Hjalmar Stolpe discovered it in a 9th-century Viking woman's burial. It is made of high-quality silver alloy and is set with a pink-violet oval glass. The ring, preserved at the Swedish history museum, became known as the "Allah ring" because of the pseudo-Kufic inscription found on the ring's glass that resembles the word Allah (Arabic: الله). While other rings were found at the Birka excavations, the "Allah ring" was the only one that had this type of inscription. The Arabic historical linguist Marijn van Putten argued that the inscription on the ring was an example of pseudo-Kufic and that it has no meaning in Arabic. Nevertheless, other analysts extrapolated that the pseudo-Kufic engraving was indeed Arabic and that this was sufficient evidence to directly link Vikings to Islamic civilization. In her Twitter thread on the "Allah” textile, Stephennie Mulder drew on the work of van Putten to argue that like the textile, the ring had been similarly misunderstood. However, she acknowledged that the Arabic language—found on the ring and other objects from Birka—was appreciated by the Vikings as a sign of social status. The inscription could suggest that the ring's owner might have been one of the Viking elites who were in contact with the Islamic world via trade or travel.
Dragonhead. The Birka dragonhead is a 45mm long decorative object made from a tin alloy. Sven Kalmring and Lena Holmquist maintain that the dragonhead was cast from a soapstone mold due to the presence of casting burs on the object and the fact that similar casting molds of dragons have been found in Birka. Stylistically similar dragonheads have been discovered around the Baltic, and scholars like Anne-Sofie Gräslund believe they likely functioned as dress pins. Wearable accessories. 10 small silver crosses were found in graves at Birka. Missionaries, brought by Rimbert and others, lead to some converts to Christianity. 27 graves contained small pendants of Thor's hammer from around the 10th century. Both traditional Viking religious beliefs and Christianity were present at Birka. Many Birka grave excavations produced a number of funerary findings unique to the deceased and the region of the grave. In the excavation of grave Bj 463, a small copper alloy brooch with animal motifs was found alongside the skeletal remains of a young girl from Birka, and similar ones appeared in other excavations around Birka.
The brooch is understood to be typically related to female burials and also female jewelry of the Viking period. The surrounding fragments of textiles attached to these brooches, scattered around various graves across Sweden, also give an understanding of what the typical womenswear of the Viking age may have been in the 9th and 10th centuries. Dirham coins. Dirham coins have been located all around Scandinavian countries and suggest strong trade relations existed between the medieval Middle East and Northern Europe. A dirham coin was found in the excavation of grave sites in Birka, with Arabic writing and an absence of imagery that would date the coin sometime after the 7th century. Other writing on the coin indicates the location of the mint as well as the names of a caliph and an Amir, which place the coin's origins in al-Shah, modern day Tashkent in Uzbekistan. The coin's inscription in Arabic translates into English:There is no deity but Allah alone he has no equal For God Muhammad is the messenger of God.
Birka burial sites. Over 3,000 grave sites are located in Birka, including both cremations and inhumations in coffins or chamber graves. Skeletal analysis and the presence of gender-specific jewelry and objects in graves has shown that the majority of the deceased are female. Scholar Nancy L. Wicker suggests that the disproportionate number of female graves is due to the fact that female grave goods are easily identifiable, but male graves without objects are difficult to identify. Many graves contain objects such as coins, glass, and textiles that originated in foreign countries as far as the Middle East and Eastern Asia. According to Nancy L. Wicker, these objects were either imported to Birka as luxury trade goods, or they belonged to foreign individuals who were buried at Birka. Grave Bj 463 contained the skeleton of a girl from the mid-10th century. She was buried in a coffin with grave goods associated with high-status women, including a round brooch, glass beads, and a needle case. By the condition of her teeth, she was 5–6 years old at the time of her death, and further analysis determined that her diet was similar to that of male warriors instead of a typical child's diet. Scholar Marianne Hem Eriksen maintains that this girl is an unusual case of a high-status child burial, as children were seldom buried with identifiable grave goods.
Beta-lactamase Beta-lactamases (β-lactamases) are enzymes () produced by bacteria that provide multi-resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics such as penicillins, cephalosporins, cephamycins, monobactams and carbapenems (ertapenem), although carbapenems are relatively resistant to beta-lactamase. Beta-lactamase provides antibiotic resistance by breaking the antibiotics' structure. These antibiotics all have a common element in their molecular structure: a four-atom ring known as a beta-lactam (β-lactam) ring. Through hydrolysis, the enzyme lactamase breaks the β-lactam ring open, deactivating the molecule's antibacterial properties. Beta-lactamases produced by gram-negative bacteria are usually secreted, especially when antibiotics are present in the environment. Structure. The structure of a "Streptomyces" serine β-lactamase (SBLs) is given by . The alpha-beta fold () resembles that of a -transpeptidase, from which the enzyme is thought to have evolved. β-lactam antibiotics bind to -transpeptidases to inhibit bacterial cell wall biosynthesis. Serine β-lactamases are grouped by sequence similarity into types A, C, and D.
The other type of beta-lactamase is of the metallo type ("type B"). Metallo-beta-lactamases (MBLs) need metal ion(s) (1 or 2 Zn2+ ions) on their active site for their catalytic activities. The structure of the New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1 is given by . It resembles a RNase Z, from which it is thought to have evolved. Mechanism of action. The two types of beta-lactamases work on the basis of the two basic mechanisms of opening the β-lactam ring. The SBLs are similar in structure and mechanistically to the β-lactam target penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) which are necessary for cell wall building and modifying. SBLs and PBPs both covalently change an active site serine residue. The difference between the PBPs and SBLs is that the latter generates free enzyme and inactive antibiotic by the very quick hydrolysis of the acyl-enzyme intermediate. The MBLs use the Zn2+ ions to activate a binding site water molecule for the hydrolysis of the β-lactam ring. Zinc chelators have recently been investigated as metallo-β-lactamase inhibitors, as they are often able to restore carbapenem susceptibility.
Penicillinase. Penicillinase is a specific type of β-lactamase, showing specificity for penicillins, again by hydrolysing the β-lactam ring. Molecular weights of the various penicillinases tend to cluster near 50 kilodaltons. Penicillinase was the first β-lactamase to be identified. It was first isolated by Abraham and Chain in 1940 from "E. coli" (which are gram-negative) even before penicillin entered clinical use, but penicillinase production quickly spread to bacteria that previously did not produce it or produced it only rarely. Penicillinase-resistant beta-lactams such as methicillin were developed, but there is now widespread resistance to even these. Resistance in gram-negative bacteria. Among gram-negative bacteria, the emergence of resistance to extended-spectrum cephalosporins has been a major concern. It appeared initially in a limited number of bacterial species ("E. cloacae", "C. freundii", "S. marcescens", and "P. aeruginosa") that could mutate to hyperproduce their chromosomal class C β-lactamase. A few years later, resistance appeared in bacterial species not naturally producing AmpC enzymes ("K. pneumoniae", "Salmonella" spp., "P. mirabilis") due to the production of TEM- or SHV-type ESBLs (extended spectrum beta lactamases). Characteristically, such resistance has included oxyimino- (for example ceftizoxime, cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, and ceftazidime, as well as the oxyimino-monobactam aztreonam), but not 7-alpha-methoxy-cephalosporins (cephamycins; in other words, cefoxitin and cefotetan); has been blocked by inhibitors such as clavulanate, sulbactam or tazobactam and did not involve carbapenems and temocillin. Chromosomal-mediated AmpC β-lactamases represent a new threat, since they confer resistance to 7-alpha-methoxy-cephalosporins (cephamycins) such as cefoxitin or cefotetan but are not affected by commercially available β-lactamase inhibitors, and can, in strains with loss of outer membrane porins, provide resistance to carbapenems.
Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL). Members of this family commonly express β-lactamases (e.g., TEM-3, TEM-4, and SHV-2 ) which confer resistance to expanded-spectrum (extended-spectrum) cephalosporins. In the mid-1980s, this new group of enzymes, the extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), was detected (first detected in 1979). The prevalence of ESBL-producing bacteria have been gradually increasing in acute care hospitals. The prevalence in the general population varies between countries, e.g. approximately 6% in Germany and France, 13% in Saudi Arabia, and 63% in Egypt. ESBLs are beta-lactamases that hydrolyze extended-spectrum cephalosporins with an oxyimino side chain. These cephalosporins include cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, and ceftazidime, as well as the oxyimino-monobactam aztreonam. Thus ESBLs confer multi-resistance to these antibiotics and related oxyimino-beta lactams. In typical circumstances, they derive from genes for TEM-1, TEM-2, or SHV-1 by mutations that alter the amino acid configuration around the active site of these β-lactamases. A broader set of β-lactam antibiotics are susceptible to hydrolysis by these enzymes. An increasing number of ESBLs not of TEM or SHV lineage have recently been described. The ESBLs are frequently plasmid encoded. Plasmids responsible for ESBL production frequently carry genes encoding resistance to other drug classes (for example, aminoglycosides). Therefore, antibiotic options in the treatment of ESBL-producing organisms are extremely limited. Carbapenems are the treatment of choice for serious infections due to ESBL-producing organisms, yet carbapenem-resistant (primarily ertapenem-resistant) isolates have recently been reported. ESBL-producing organisms may appear susceptible to some extended-spectrum cephalosporins. However, treatment with such antibiotics has been associated with high failure rates.
Types. TEM beta-lactamases (class A). TEM-1 is the most commonly encountered beta-lactamase in gram-negative bacteria. Up to 90% of ampicillin resistance in "E. coli" is due to the production of TEM-1. Also responsible for the ampicillin and penicillin resistance that is seen in "H. influenzae" and "N. gonorrhoeae" in increasing numbers. Although TEM-type beta-lactamases are most often found in "E. coli" and "K. pneumoniae", they are also found in other species of gram-negative bacteria with increasing frequency. The amino acid substitutions responsible for the extended-spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) phenotype cluster around the active site of the enzyme and change its configuration, allowing access to oxyimino-beta-lactam substrates. Opening the active site to beta-lactam substrates also typically enhances the susceptibility of the enzyme to β-lactamase inhibitors, such as clavulanic acid. Single amino acid substitutions at positions 104, 164, 238, and 240 produce the ESBL phenotype, but ESBLs with the broadest spectrum usually have more than a single amino acid substitution. Based upon different combinations of changes, currently 140 TEM-type enzymes have been described. TEM-10, TEM-12, and TEM-26 are among the most common in the United States. The term TEM comes from the name of the Athenian patient (Temoniera) from which the isolate was recovered in 1963.
SHV beta-lactamases (class A). SHV-1 shares 68 percent of its amino acids with TEM-1 and has a similar overall structure. The SHV-1 beta-lactamase is most commonly found in "K. pneumoniae" and is responsible for up to 20% of the plasmid-mediated ampicillin resistance in this species. ESBLs in this family also have amino acid changes around the active site, most commonly at positions 238 or 238 and 240. More than 60 SHV varieties are known. SHV-5 and SHV-12 are among the most common. The initials stand for "sulfhydryl reagent variable". CTX-M beta-lactamases (class A). These enzymes were named for their greater activity against cefotaxime than other oxyimino-beta-lactam substrates (e.g., ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, or cefepime). Rather than arising by mutation, they represent examples of plasmid acquisition of beta-lactamase genes normally found on the chromosome of "Kluyvera" species, a group of rarely pathogenic commensal organisms. These enzymes are not very closely related to TEM or SHV beta-lactamases in that they show only approximately 40% identity with these two commonly isolated beta-lactamases. More than 172 CTX-M enzymes are currently known. Despite their name, a few are more active on ceftazidime than cefotaxime. They are widely described among species of Enterobacteriaceae, mainly "E. coli" and "K. pneumoniae". Detected in the 1980s they have since the early 2000s spread and are the now the predominant ESBL type in the world. They are generally clustred into five groups based on sequencing homologies; CTX-M-1, CTX-M-2, CTX-M-8, CTX-M-9 and CTX-M-25. CTX-M-15 (belonging to the CTX-M-1 cluster) is the most prevalent CTX-M-gene. An example of beta-lactamase CTX-M-15, along with IS"Ecp1", has been found to have transposed onto the chromosome of "Klebsiella pneumoniae" ATCC BAA-2146. The initials stand for "Cefotaxime-Munich".
OXA beta-lactamases (class D). OXA beta-lactamases were long recognized as a less common but also plasmid-mediated beta-lactamase variety that could hydrolyze oxacillin and related anti-staphylococcal penicillins. These beta-lactamases differ from the TEM and SHV enzymes in that they belong to molecular class D and functional group 2d. The OXA-type beta-lactamases confer resistance to ampicillin and cephalothin and are characterized by their high hydrolytic activity against oxacillin and cloxacillin and the fact that they are poorly inhibited by clavulanic acid. Amino acid substitutions in OXA enzymes can also give the ESBL phenotype. While most ESBLs have been found in "E. coli", "K. pneumoniae", and other Enterobacteriaceae, the OXA-type ESBLs have been found mainly in "P. aeruginosa". OXA-type ESBLs have been found mainly in "Pseudomonas aeruginosa" isolates from Turkey and France. The OXA beta-lactamase family was originally created as a phenotypic rather than a genotypic group for a few beta-lactamases that had a specific hydrolysis profile. Therefore, there is as little as 20% sequence homology among some of the members of this family. However, recent additions to this family show some degree of homology to one or more of the existing members of the OXA beta-lactamase family. Some confer resistance predominantly to ceftazidime, but OXA-17 confers greater resistance to cefotaxime and cefepime than it does resistance to ceftazidime.
Others. Other plasmid-mediated ESBLs, such as PER, VEB, GES, and IBC beta-lactamases, have been described but are uncommon and have been found mainly in "P. aeruginosa" and at a limited number of geographic sites. PER-1 in isolates in Turkey, France, and Italy; VEB-1 and VEB-2 in strains from Southeast Asia; and GES-1, GES-2, and IBC-2 in isolates from South Africa, France, and Greece. PER-1 is also common in multiresistant acinetobacter species in Korea and Turkey. Some of these enzymes are found in Enterobacteriaceae as well, whereas other uncommon ESBLs (such as BES-1, IBC-1, SFO-1, and TLA-1) have been found only in Enterobacteriaceae. Treatment. While ESBL-producing organisms were previously associated with hospitals and institutional care, these organisms are now increasingly found in the community. CTX-M-15-positive E. coli are a cause of community-acquired urinary infections in the UK, and tend to be resistant to all oral β-lactam antibiotics, as well as quinolones and sulfonamides. Treatment options may include nitrofurantoin, fosfomycin, mecillinam and chloramphenicol. In desperation, once-daily ertapenem or gentamicin injections may also be used.
Inhibitor-resistant β-lactamases. Although the inhibitor-resistant β-lactamases are not ESBLs, they are often discussed with ESBLs because they are also derivatives of the classical TEM- or SHV-type enzymes. These enzymes were at first given the designation IRT for inhibitor-resistant TEM β-lactamase; however, all have subsequently been renamed with numerical TEM designations. There are at least 19 distinct inhibitor-resistant TEM β-lactamases. Inhibitor-resistant TEM β-lactamases have been found mainly in clinical isolates of "E. coli", but also some strains of "K. pneumoniae", "Klebsiella oxytoca", "P. mirabilis", and "Citrobacter freundii". Although the inhibitor-resistant TEM variants are resistant to inhibition by clavulanic acid and sulbactam, thereby showing clinical resistance to the beta-lactam—lactamase inhibitor combinations of amoxicillin-clavulanate (co-amoxiclav), ticarcillin-clavulanate (co-ticarclav), and ampicillin/sulbactam, they normally remain susceptible to inhibition by tazobactam and subsequently the combination of piperacillin/tazobactam, although resistance has been described. This is no longer a primarily European epidemiology, it is found in northern parts of America often and should be tested for with complex UTI's.
AmpC-type β-lactamases (class C). AmpC type β-lactamases are commonly isolated from extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant gram-negative bacteria. AmpC β-lactamases (also termed class C or group 1) are typically encoded on the chromosome of many gram-negative bacteria including "Citrobacter", "Serratia" and "Enterobacter" species where its expression is usually inducible; it may also occur on "Escherichia coli" but is not usually inducible, although it can be hyperexpressed. AmpC type β-lactamases may also be carried on plasmids. AmpC β-lactamases, in contrast to ESBLs, hydrolyse broad and extended-spectrum cephalosporins (cephamycins as well as to oxyimino-β-lactams) but are not typically inhibited by the β-lactamase inhibitors clavulanic acid and tazobactam, whereas avibactam can maintain inhibitory activity against this class of β-lactamases. AmpC-type β-lactamase organisms are often clinically grouped through the acronym, "SPACE": "Serratia, Pseudomonas" or "Proteus, Acinetobacter, Citrobacter", and "Enterobacter".
Carbapenemases. Carbapenems are famously stable to AmpC β-lactamases and extended-spectrum-β-lactamases. Carbapenemases are a diverse group of β-lactamases that are active not only against the oxyimino-cephalosporins and cephamycins but also against the carbapenems. Aztreonam is stable to the metallo-β-lactamases, but many IMP and VIM producers are resistant, owing to other mechanisms. Carbapenemases were formerly believed to derive only from classes A, B, and D, but a class C carbapenemase has been described. IMP-type carbapenemases (metallo-β-lactamases) (class B). Plasmid-mediated IMP-type carbapenemases (IMP stands for active-on-imipenem), 19 varieties of which are currently known, became established in Japan in the 1990s both in enteric gram-negative organisms and in "Pseudomonas" and "Acinetobacter" species. IMP enzymes spread slowly to other countries in the Far East, were reported from Europe in 1997, and have been found in Canada and Brazil. VIM (Verona integron-encoded metallo-β-lactamase) (Class B).
A second growing family of carbapenemases, the VIM family, was reported from Italy in 1999 and now includes 10 members, which have a wide geographic distribution in Europe, South America, and the Far East and have been found in the United States. VIM-1 was discovered in "P. aeruginosa" in Italy in 1996; since then, VIM-2 - now the predominant variant - was found repeatedly in Europe and the Far East; VIM-3 and -4 are minor variants of VIM-2 and -1, respectively. Amino acid sequence diversity is up to 10% in the VIM family, 15% in the IMP family, and 70% between VIM and IMP. Enzymes of both the families, nevertheless, are similar. Both are integron-associated, sometimes within plasmids. Both hydrolyse all β-lactams except monobactams, and evade all β-lactam inhibitors. The VIM enzymes are among the most widely distributed MBLs, with >40 VIM variants having been reported. Biochemical and biophysical studies revealed that VIM variants have only small variations in their kinetic parameters but substantial differences in their thermal stabilities and inhibition profiles.
OXA (oxacillinase) group of β-lactamases (class D). The OXA group of β-lactamases occur mainly in Acinetobacter species and are divided into two clusters. OXA carbapenemases hydrolyse carbapenems very slowly "in vitro", and the high MICs seen for some Acinetobacter hosts (>64 mg/L) may reflect secondary mechanisms. They are sometimes augmented in clinical isolates by additional resistance mechanisms, such as impermeability or efflux. OXA carbapenemases also tend to have a reduced hydrolytic efficiency towards penicillins and cephalosporins. KPC ("K. pneumoniae" carbapenemase) (class A). A few class A enzymes, most noted the plasmid-mediated KPC enzymes, are effective carbapenemases as well. Ten variants, KPC-2 through KPC-11 are known, and they are distinguished by one or two amino acid substitutions (KPC-1 was re-sequenced in 2008 and found to be 100% homologous to published sequences of KPC-2). KPC-1 was found in North Carolina, KPC-2 in Baltimore and KPC-3 in New York. They have only 45% homology with SME and NMC/IMI enzymes and, unlike them, can be encoded by self-transmissible plasmids.
, the class A "Klebsiella pneumoniae" carbapenemase (KPC) globally has been the most common carbapenemase, and was first detected in 1996 in North Carolina, USA. A 2010 publication indicated that KPC producing Enterobacteriaceae were becoming common in the United States. CMY (class C). The first class C carbapenemase was described in 2006 and was isolated from a virulent strain of "Enterobacter aerogenes". It is carried on a plasmid, pYMG-1, and is therefore transmissible to other bacterial strains. SME (Serratia marcescens enzymes), IMI (IMIpenem-hydrolysing β-lactamase), NMC and CcrA. In general, these are of little clinical significance. CcrA (CfiA). Its gene occurs in ca. 1–3% of "B. fragilis" isolates, but fewer produce the enzyme since expression demands appropriate migration of an insertion sequence. CcrA was known before imipenem was introduced, and producers have shown little subsequent increase. NDM-1 (New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase) (class B). Originally described from New Delhi in 2009, this gene is now widespread in "Escherichia coli" and "Klebsiella pneumoniae" from India and Pakistan. As of mid-2010, NDM-1 carrying bacteria have been introduced to other countries (including the United States and UK), most probably due to the large number of tourists travelling the globe, who may have picked up the strain from the environment, as strains containing the NDM-1 gene have been found in environmental samples in India. NDM have several variants which share different properties.
Treatment of ESBL/AmpC/carbapenemases. General overview. In general, an isolate is suspected to be an ESBL producer when it shows "in vitro" susceptibility to the cephamycins (cefoxitin, cefotetan) but resistance to the third-generation cephalosporins and to aztreonam. Moreover, one should suspect these strains when treatment with these agents for gram-negative infections fails despite reported "in vitro" susceptibility. Once an ESBL-producing strain is detected, the laboratory should report it as "resistant" to all penicillins, cephalosporins, and aztreonam, even if it is tested (in vitro) as susceptible. Associated resistance to aminoglycosides and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, as well as high frequency of co-existence of fluoroquinolone resistance, creates problems. Beta-lactamase inhibitors such as clavulanate, sulbactam, and tazobactam "in vitro" inhibit most ESBLs, but the clinical effectiveness of beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations cannot be relied on consistently for therapy. Cephamycins (cefoxitin and cefotetan) are not hydrolyzed by majority of ESBLs, but are hydrolyzed by associated AmpC-type β-lactamase. Also, β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor combinations may not be effective against organisms that produce AmpC-type β-lactamase. Sometimes these strains decrease the expression of outer membrane proteins, rendering them resistant to cephamycins. "In vivo" studies have yielded mixed results against ESBL-producing "K. pneumoniae". (Cefepime, a fourth-generation cephalosporin, has demonstrated "in vitro" stability in the presence of many ESBL/AmpC strains.) Currently, carbapenems are, in general, regarded as the preferred agent for treatment of infections due to ESBL-producing organisms. Carbapenems are resistant to ESBL-mediated hydrolysis and exhibit excellent "in vitro" activity against strains of Enterobacteriaceae expressing ESBLs.
According to genes. ESBLs. Strains producing only ESBLs are susceptible to cephamycins and carbapenems "in vitro" and show little if any inoculum effect with these agents. For organisms producing TEM and SHV type ESBLs, apparent "in vitro" sensitivity to cefepime and to piperacillin/tazobactam is common, but both drugs show an inoculum effect, with diminished susceptibility as the size of the inoculum is increased from 105 to 107 organisms. Strains with some CTX-M–type and OXA-type ESBLs are resistant to cefepime on testing, despite the use of a standard inoculum. Inhibitor-resistant β-lactamases. Although the inhibitor-resistant TEM variants are resistant to inhibition by clavulanic acid and sulbactam, thereby showing clinical resistance to the beta-lactam—beta lactamase inhibitor combinations of amoxicillin-clavulanate (Co-amoxiclav), ticarcillin-clavulanate, and ampicillin/sulbactam, they remain susceptible to inhibition by tazobactam and subsequently the combination of piperacillin/tazobactam. AmpC. AmpC-producing strains are typically resistant to oxyimino-beta lactams and to cephamycins and are susceptible to carbapenems; however, diminished porin expression can make such a strain carbapenem-resistant as well.
Carbapenemases. Strains with IMP-, VIM-, and OXA-type carbapenemases usually remain susceptible. Resistance to non-beta-lactam antibiotics is common in strains making any of these enzymes, such that alternative options for non-beta-lactam therapy need to be determined by direct susceptibility testing. Resistance to fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides is especially high. According to species. "Escherichia coli" or "Klebsiella". For infections caused by ESBL-producing "Escherichia coli" or "Klebsiella" species, treatment with imipenem or meropenem has been associated with the best outcomes in terms of survival and bacteriologic clearance. Cefepime and piperacillin/tazobactam have been less successful. Ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, and ceftazidime have failed even more often, despite the organism's susceptibility to the antibiotic "in vitro". Several reports have documented failure of cephamycin therapy as a result of resistance due to porin loss. Some patients have responded to aminoglycoside or quinolone therapy, but, in a recent comparison of ciprofloxacin and imipenem for bacteremia involving an ESBL-producing "K. pneumoniae", imipenem produced the better outcome
"Pseudomonas aeruginosa". There have been few clinical studies to define the optimal therapy for infections caused by ESBL producing "Pseudomonas aeruginosa" strains. Use as a pharmaceutical. In 1957, amid concern about allergic reactions to penicillin-containing antibiotics, a beta-lactamase was sold as an antidote under the brand name neutrapen. It was theorized that the breakdown of penicillin by the enzyme would treat the allergic reaction. While it was not useful in acute anaphylactic shock, it showed positive results in cases of urticaria and joint pain suspected to be caused by penicillin allergy. Its use was proposed in pediatric cases where penicillin allergy was discovered upon administration of the polio vaccine, which used penicillin as a preservative. However, some patients developed allergies to neutrapen. The Albany Hospital removed it from its formulary in 1960, only two years after adding it, citing lack of use. Some researchers continued to use it in experiments on penicillin resistance as late as 1972. It was voluntarily withdrawn from the American market by 3M Pharmaceuticals in 1997.
Detection. Beta-lactamase enzymatic activity can be detected using nitrocefin, a chromogenic cephalosporin substrate which changes color from yellow to red upon beta-lactamase mediated hydrolysis. Extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) screening can be performed using disk-diffusion. Cefpodoxime, ceftazidime, aztreonam, cefotaxime, and/or ceftriaxone discs are used. Evolution. Beta-lactamases are ancient bacterial enzymes. Metallo β-lactamases ("class B") are all structurally similar to RNase Z and may have evolved from it. Of the three subclasses B1, B2, and B3, B1 and B2 are theorized to have evolved about one billion years ago, while B3 seems to have arisen independently, possibly before the divergence of the gram-positive and gram-negative eubacteria about two billion years ago. PNGM-1 (Papua New Guinea Metallo-β-lactamase-1) has both metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) and tRNase Z activities, suggesting that PNGM-1 is thought to have evolved from a tRNase Z, and that the B3 MBL activity of PNGM-1 is a promiscuous activity and subclass B3 MBLs are thought to have evolved through PNGM-1 activity. Subclasses B1 and B3 has been further subdivided.
Serine beta-lactamases (classes A, C, and D) appear to have evolved from -transpeptidases, which are penicillin-binding proteins involved in cell wall biosynthesis, and as such are one of the main targets of beta-lactam antibiotics. These three classes show undetectable sequence similarity with each other, but can still be compared using structural homology. Groups A and D are sister taxa and group C diverged before A and D. These serine-based enzymes, like the group B betalactamases, are of ancient origin and are theorized to have evolved about two billion years ago. The OXA group (in class D) in particular is theorized to have evolved on chromosomes and moved to plasmids on at least two separate occasions. Etymology. The "β" (beta) refers to the nitrogen's position on the second carbon in the ring. "Lactam" is a blend of "lactone" (from the Latin "lactis", "milk", since lactic acid was isolated from soured milk) and "amide". The suffix "-ase", indicating an enzyme, is derived from "diastase" (from the Greek "diastasis", "separation"), the first enzyme discovered in 1833 by Payen and Persoz.
Burhanuddin Rabbani Burhānuddīn Rabbānī (; 20 September 1940 – 20 September 2011) was an Afghan politician and teacher who served as the sixth president of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996, and again from November to December 2001 (in exile from 1996 to 2001). Born in the Badakhshan Province, Rabbani studied at Kabul University and worked there as a professor of Islamic theology. He formed the Jamiat-e Islami ("Islamic Society") at the university which attracted then-students Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Ahmad Shah Massoud, both would eventually become the two leading commanders of the Afghan mujahideen in the Soviet–Afghan War from 1979. Rabbani was chosen to be the President of Afghanistan after the end of the former communist regime in 1992. Rabbani and his Islamic State of Afghanistan government was later forced into exile by the Taliban, and he then served as the political head of the Northern Alliance, an alliance of various political groups who fought against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. During his time in the office, there were a lot of internal clashes between different fighting groups.
After the Taliban government was toppled during Operation Enduring Freedom, Rabbani returned to Kabul and served briefly as president from 13 November to 22 December 2001, when Hamid Karzai was chosen as his succeeding interim leader at the Bonn International Conference. In later years he became head of Afghanistan National Front (known in the media as United National Front), the largest political opposition to Karzai's government. On 20 September 2011, Rabbani was assassinated by a suicide bomber entering his home in Kabul. As suggested by the Afghan parliament, Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai gave him the title of "Martyr of Peace". His son Salahuddin Rabbani was chosen in April 2012 to lead efforts to forge peace in Afghanistan with the Taliban. Early life and education. Rabbani, son of Muhammed Yousuf, was born on 20 September 1940 in the northern province of Badakhshan. He was a Persian-speaking ethnic Tajik. After finishing school in his native province, he went to Darul-uloom-e-Sharia (Abu-Hanifa), a religious school in Kabul. When he graduated from Abu-Hanifa, he attended Kabul University to study Islamic Law and Theology, graduating in 1963.
Soon after his graduation in 1963, he was hired as a professor at Kabul University. In order to enhance himself, Rabbani went to Egypt in 1966, and he entered the Al-Azhar University in Cairo where he developed close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood leadership. In two years, he received his master's degree in Islamic Philosophy. He resumed his position at the university and became closely associated with his fellow professor, Gholam Mohammad Niazi, whom he served as secretary in 1969 and 1970. Rabbani was one of the first Afghans to translate the works of Sayyid Qutb into Persian. Later he returned to Egypt to complete his PhD in Islamic philosophy and his thesis was titled "The Philosophy and Teachings of Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Jami." In 2004 he received Afghanistan's highest academic and scientific title "Academician" from the Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan. Political career. Rabbani returned to Afghanistan in 1968, where the High Council of Jamiat-e Islami gave him the duty of organizing the university students. Due to his knowledge, reputation, and active support for the cause of Islam, in 1972, a 15-member council selected him as head of Jamiat-e Islami of Afghanistan; the founder of Jamiat-e Islami of Afghanistan, Gholam Mohammad Niazi was also present. Jamiat-e Islami was primarily composed of Tajiks.
In the spring of 1974, the police came to Kabul University to arrest Rabbani for his pro-Islamic stance, but with the help of his students the police were unable to capture him, and he managed to escape to the countryside. In Pakistan, Rabbani gathered important people and established the party. Sayed Noorullah Emad, who was then a young Muslim in the University of Kabul, became the General Secretary of the party and, later, its deputy chief. Rabbani alongside Ahmad Shah Massoud and others planned to take action either against the Daoud government or people who they deemed communist in 1975, but failed. When the Soviets intervened in 1979, Rabbani helped lead Jamiat-e Islami in resistance to the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan regime. Rabbani's forces were the first Mujahideen elements to enter Kabul in 1992 when the PDPA government fell from power. He took over as president from 1992 in accordance to the Peshawar Accords. Rabbani was the third ethnic Tajik leader of modern Afghanistan after Habibullah Kalakani in 1929 and Abdul Qadir in 1978 (and possibly including Babrak Karmal, whose ethnicity was disputed). His rule was limited since the country was fractured by civil war between different sides. Rabbani was forced to flee following the Taliban's conquest of Kabul in 1996. Rabbani operated his government in exile, following the establishment of the Taliban rule of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. In this period between 1996 and 2001, the Rabbani government of the Islamic State of Afghanistan remained the internationally recognized government, despite only controlling about 10% of Afghan territory. For the next five years, he and the Northern Alliance, commanded by Ahmad Shah Massoud and others, were fighting the Taliban until the 2001 US-led Operation Enduring Freedom toppled the Taliban government. Rabbani was head of Afghanistan's High Peace Council, which had been formed in 2010 to initiate peace talks with the Taliban and other groups in the insurgency, until his death.
Assassination. Rabbani was killed in a suicide bombing at his home in Kabul on 20 September 2011, his 71st birthday. Two men posing as Taliban representatives approached him to offer a hug and detonated their explosives. At least one of them had hidden the explosives in his turban. The suicide bomber claimed to be a Taliban commander, said he bore a "very important and positive message" from Taliban leaders in Pakistan, and said he wanted to "discuss peace" with Rabbani. Four other members of Afghanistan's High Peace Council were also killed in the blast. Rabbani was buried in the Wazir Akbar Khan cemetery. Afghan officials blamed the Quetta Shura, which was the leadership of the Afghan Taliban allegedly hiding in the affluent Satellite Town of Quetta in Pakistan. The Pakistani government confirmed that Rabbani's assassination was linked to Afghan refugees in Pakistan. A senior Pakistani official stated that over 90% of terrorist attacks in Pakistan were traced back to Afghan elements and that their presence in the country was "an important issue for [peace in] Pakistan" and "a problem for Afghanistan". Pakistani foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar stated that Pakistan was "not responsible if Afghan refugees crossed the border and entered Kabul, stayed in a guest house and attacked Professor Rabbani".
In 2011, just days before he died, Rabbani was trying to persuade Islamic scholars to issue a religious edict denouncing suicide bombings. The former president's 28-year-old daughter said in an interview that her father died shortly after he spoke at a conference on "Islamic Awakening" in Tehran. "Right before he was assassinated, he talked about the suicide bombing issue," Fatima Rabbani told Reuters. "He called on all Islamic scholars in the conference to release a fatwa" against the tactic. Government minister Nematullah Shahrani said Rabbani is irreplaceable because "he had relations with all these tribes." United States President Barack Obama and several NATO military leaders condemned the assassination. Japan also offered its condolences at the Sixty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly. Afghan President Hamid Karzai cut short his trip for the General debate of the sixty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly following Rabbani's assassination. Rabbani's son Salahuddin then took over chairmanship of the High Peace Council from his father.
Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, to reduce its seat cost by 30%. In 1965, Joe Sutter left the 737 development program to design the 747. In April 1966, Pan Am ordered 25 Boeing 747-100 aircraft, and in late 1966, Pratt & Whitney agreed to develop the JT9D engine, a high-bypass turbofan. On September 30, 1968, the first 747 was rolled out of the custom-built Everett Plant, the world's largest building by volume. The 747's first flight took place on February 9, 1969, and the 747 was certified in December of that year. It entered service with Pan Am on January 22, 1970. The 747 was the first airplane called a "Jumbo Jet" as the first wide-body airliner. The 747 is a four-engined jet aircraft, initially powered by Pratt & Whitney JT9D turbofan engines, then General Electric CF6 and Rolls-Royce RB211 engines for the original variants. With a ten-abreast economy seating, it typically accommodates 366 passengers in three travel classes. It has a pronounced 37.5° wing sweep, allowing a cruise speed, and its heavy weight is supported by four main landing gear legs, each with a four-wheel bogie. The partial double-deck aircraft was designed with a raised cockpit so it could be converted to a freighter airplane by installing a front cargo door, as it was initially thought that it would eventually be superseded by supersonic transports.
Boeing introduced the -200 in 1971, with uprated engines for a heavier maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of from the initial , increasing the maximum range from . It was shortened for the longer-range 747SP in 1976, and the 747-300 followed in 1983 with a stretched upper deck for up to 400 seats in three classes. The heavier 747-400 with improved RB211 and CF6 engines or the new PW4000 engine (the JT9D successor), and a two-crew glass cockpit, was introduced in 1989 and is the most common variant. After several studies, the stretched 747-8 was launched on November 14, 2005, using the General Electric GEnx engine first developed for the 787 Dreamliner (the inspiration for the -8 in the name), and was first delivered in October 2011. The 747 is the basis for several government and military variants, such as the VC-25 (Air Force One), E-4 Emergency Airborne Command Post, Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, and some experimental test aircraft such as the YAL-1 and SOFIA airborne observatory. Initial competition came from the smaller trijet widebodies: the Lockheed L-1011 (introduced in 1972), McDonnell Douglas DC-10 (1971) and later MD-11 (1990). Airbus competed with later variants with the heaviest versions of the A340 until surpassing the 747 in size with the A380, delivered between 2007 and 2021. Freighter variants of the 747 remain popular with cargo airlines. The final 747 was delivered to Atlas Air in January 2023 after a 54-year production run, with 1,574 aircraft built.
, 64 Boeing 747s (%) have been lost in accidents and incidents, in which a total of 3,746 people have died. Development. Background. In 1963, the United States Air Force began a series of study projects on a very large strategic transport aircraft. Although the C-141 Starlifter was being introduced, officials believed that a much larger and more capable aircraft was needed, especially to carry cargo that would not fit in any existing aircraft. These studies led to initial requirements for the CX-Heavy Logistics System (CX-HLS) in March 1964 for an aircraft with a load capacity of and a speed of Mach 0.75 (), and an unrefueled range of with a payload of . The payload bay had to be wide by high and long with access through doors at the front and rear. The desire to keep the number of engines to four required new engine designs with greatly increased power and better fuel economy. In May 1964, airframe proposals arrived from Boeing, Douglas, General Dynamics, Lockheed, and Martin Marietta; engine proposals were submitted by General Electric, Curtiss-Wright, and Pratt & Whitney. Boeing, Douglas, and Lockheed were given additional study contracts for the airframe, along with General Electric and Pratt & Whitney for the engines.
The airframe proposals shared several features. As the CX-HLS needed to be able to be loaded from the front, a door had to be included where the cockpit usually was. All of the companies solved this problem by moving the cockpit above the cargo area; Douglas had a small "pod" just forward and above the wing, Lockheed used a long "spine" running the length of the aircraft with the wing spar passing through it, while Boeing blended the two, with a longer pod that ran from just behind the nose to just behind the wing. In 1965, Lockheed's aircraft design and General Electric's engine design were selected for the new C-5 Galaxy transport, which was the largest military aircraft in the world at the time. Boeing carried the nose door and raised cockpit concepts over to the design of the 747. Airliner proposal. The 747 was conceived while air travel was increasing in the 1960s. The era of commercial jet transportation, led by the enormous popularity of the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8, had revolutionized long-distance travel. In this growing jet age, Juan Trippe, president of Pan American Airways (Pan Am), one of Boeing's most important airline customers, asked for a new jet airliner times size of the 707, with a 30% lower cost per unit of passenger-distance and the capability to offer mass air travel on international routes. Trippe also thought that airport congestion could be addressed by a larger new aircraft.
In 1965, Joe Sutter was transferred from Boeing's 737 development team to manage the design studies for the new airliner, already assigned the model number 747. Sutter began a design study with Pan Am and other airlines to better understand their requirements. At the time, many thought that long-range subsonic airliners would eventually be superseded by supersonic transport aircraft. Boeing responded by designing the 747 so it could be adapted easily to carry freight and remain in production even if sales of the passenger version declined. In April 1966, Pan Am ordered 25 Boeing 747-100 aircraft for US$525 million (equivalent to $ billion in dollars). During the ceremonial 747 contract-signing banquet in Seattle on Boeing's 50th Anniversary, Juan Trippe predicted that the 747 would be "…a great weapon for peace, competing with intercontinental missiles for mankind's destiny". As launch customer, and because of its early involvement before placing a formal order, Pan Am was able to influence the design and development of the 747 to an extent unmatched by a single airline before or since.
Design effort. Ultimately, the high-winged CX-HLS Boeing design was not used for the 747, although technologies developed for their bid had an influence. The original design included a full-length double-deck fuselage with eight-across seating and two aisles on the lower deck and seven-across seating and two aisles on the upper deck. However, concern over evacuation routes and limited cargo-carrying capability caused this idea to be scrapped in early 1966 in favor of a wider single deck design. The cockpit was therefore placed on a shortened upper deck so that a freight-loading door could be included in the nose cone; this design feature produced the 747's distinctive "hump". In early models, what to do with the small space in the pod behind the cockpit was not clear, and this was initially specified as a "lounge" area with no permanent seating. (A different configuration that had been considered to keep the flight deck out of the way for freight loading had the pilots below the passengers, and was dubbed the "anteater".)
One of the principal technologies that enabled an aircraft as large as the 747 to be drawn up was the high-bypass turbofan engine. This engine technology was thought to be capable of delivering double the power of the earlier turbojets while consuming one-third less fuel. General Electric had pioneered the concept but was committed to developing the engine for the C-5 Galaxy and did not enter the commercial market until later. Pratt & Whitney was also working on the same principle and, by late 1966, Boeing, Pan Am and Pratt & Whitney agreed to develop a new engine, designated the JT9D to power the 747. The project was designed with a new methodology called fault tree analysis, which allowed the effects of a failure of a single part to be studied to determine its impact on other systems. To address concerns about safety and flyability, the 747's design included structural redundancy, redundant hydraulic systems, quadruple main landing gear and dual control surfaces. Additionally, some of the most advanced high-lift devices used in the industry were included in the new design, to allow it to operate from existing airports. These included Krueger flaps running almost the entire length of the wing's leading edge, as well as complex three-part slotted flaps along the trailing edge of the wing. The wing's complex three-part flaps increase wing area by 21% and lift by 90% when fully deployed compared to their non-deployed configuration.
Boeing agreed to deliver the first 747 to Pan Am by the end of 1969. The delivery date left 28 months to design the aircraft, which was two-thirds of the normal time. The schedule was so fast-paced that the people who worked on it were given the nickname "The Incredibles". Developing the aircraft was such a technical and financial challenge that management was said to have "bet the company" when it started the project. Due to its massive size, Boeing subcontracted the assembly of subcomponents to other manufacturers, most notably Northrop and Grumman (later merged into Northrop Grumman in 1994) for fuselage parts and trailing edge flaps respectively, Fairchild for tailplane ailerons, and Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) for the empennage. Production plant. As Boeing did not have a plant large enough to assemble the giant airliner, they chose to build a new plant. The company considered locations in about 50 cities, and eventually decided to build the new plant some north of Seattle on a site adjoining a military base at Paine Field near Everett, Washington. It bought the site in June 1966.
Developing the 747 had been a major challenge, and building its assembly plant was also a huge undertaking. Boeing president William M. Allen asked Malcolm T. Stamper, then head of the company's turbine division, to oversee construction of the Everett factory and to start production of the 747. To level the site, more than of earth had to be moved. Time was so short that the 747's full-scale mock-up was built before the factory roof above it was finished. The plant is the largest building by volume ever built, and has been substantially expanded several times to permit construction of other models of Boeing wide-body commercial jets. Flight testing. Before the first 747 was fully assembled, testing began on many components and systems. One important test involved the evacuation of 560 volunteers from a cabin mock-up via the aircraft's emergency chutes. The first full-scale evacuation took two and a half minutes instead of the maximum of 90 seconds mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and several volunteers were injured. Subsequent test evacuations achieved the 90-second goal but caused more injuries. Most problematic was evacuation from the aircraft's upper deck; instead of using a conventional slide, volunteer passengers escaped by using a harness attached to a reel. Tests also involved taxiing such a large aircraft. Boeing built an unusual training device known as "Waddell's Wagon" (named for a 747 test pilot, Jack Waddell) that consisted of a mock-up cockpit mounted on the roof of a truck. While the first 747s were still being built, the device allowed pilots to practice taxi maneuvers from a high upper-deck position.
In 1968, the program cost was US$1 billion (equivalent to $ billion in dollars). On September 30, 1968, the first 747 was rolled out of the Everett assembly building before the world's press and representatives of the 26 airlines that had ordered the airliner. Over the following months, preparations were made for the first flight, which took place on February 9, 1969, with test pilots Jack Waddell and Brien Wygle at the controls and Jess Wallick at the flight engineer's station. Despite a minor problem with one of the flaps, the flight confirmed that the 747 handled extremely well. The 747 was found to be largely immune to "Dutch roll", a phenomenon that had been a major hazard to the early swept-wing jets. Issues, delays and certification. During later stages of the flight test program, flutter testing showed that the wings suffered oscillation under certain conditions. This difficulty was partly solved by reducing the stiffness of some wing components. However, a particularly severe high-speed flutter problem was solved only by inserting depleted uranium counterweights as ballast in the outboard engine nacelles of the early 747s. This measure caused some concern when these aircraft crashed, for example El Al Flight 1862 at Amsterdam in 1992 with of uranium in the tailplane (horizontal stabilizer); detailed investigations showed, however, that the best estimate of the exposure to depleted uranium was ".. several orders of magnitude less than the workers' limit for chronic exposure."
The flight test program was hampered by problems with the 747's JT9D engines. Difficulties included engine stalls caused by rapid throttle movements and distortion of the turbine casings after a short period of service. The problems delayed 747 deliveries for several months; up to 20 aircraft at the Everett plant were stranded while awaiting engine installation. The program was further delayed when one of the five test aircraft suffered serious damage during a landing attempt at Renton Municipal Airport, the site of Boeing's Renton factory. The incident happened on December 13, 1969, when a test aircraft was flown to Renton to have test equipment removed and a cabin installed. Pilot Ralph C. Cokely undershot the airport's short runway and the 747's right, outer landing gear was torn off and two engine nacelles were damaged. However, these difficulties did not prevent Boeing from taking a test aircraft to the 28th Paris Air Show in mid-1969, where it was displayed to the public for the first time. Finally, in December 1969, the 747 received its FAA airworthiness certificate, clearing it for introduction into service.
The huge cost of developing the 747 and building the Everett factory meant that Boeing had to borrow heavily from a banking syndicate. During the final months before delivery of the first aircraft, the company had to repeatedly request additional funding to complete the project. Had this been refused, Boeing's survival would have been threatened. The firm's debt exceeded $2 billion, with the $1.2 billion owed to the banks setting a record for all companies. Allen later said, "It was really too large a project for us." Ultimately, the gamble succeeded, and Boeing held a monopoly in very large passenger aircraft production for many years. Entry into service. On January 15, 1970, First Lady Pat Nixon christened Pan Am's first 747 at Dulles International Airport in the presence of Pan Am chairman Najeeb Halaby. Instead of champagne, red, white, and blue water was sprayed on the aircraft. The 747 entered service on January 22, 1970, on Pan Am's New York–London route; the flight had been planned for the evening of January 21, but engine overheating made the original aircraft (Clipper Young America, registration N735PA) unusable. Finding a substitute delayed the flight by more than six hours to the following day when Clipper Victor (registration N736PA) was used. The 747 enjoyed a fairly smooth introduction into service, overcoming concerns that some airports would not be able to accommodate an aircraft that large. Although technical problems occurred, they were relatively minor and quickly solved.
Improved 747 versions. After the initial , Boeing developed the , a higher maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) variant, and the (Short Range), with higher passenger capacity. Increased maximum takeoff weight allows aircraft to carry more fuel and have longer range. The model followed in 1971, featuring more powerful engines and a higher MTOW. Passenger, freighter and combination passenger-freighter versions of the were produced. The shortened 747SP (special performance) with a longer range was also developed, and entered service in 1976. The 747 line was further developed with the launch of the on June 11, 1980, followed by interest from Swissair a month later and the go-ahead for the project. The 300 series resulted from Boeing studies to increase the seating capacity of the 747, during which modifications such as fuselage plugs and extending the upper deck over the entire length of the fuselage were rejected. The first , completed in 1983, included a stretched upper deck, increased cruise speed, and increased seating capacity. The -300 variant was previously designated 747SUD for stretched upper deck, then 747-200 SUD, followed by 747EUD, before the 747-300 designation was used. Passenger, short range and combination freighter-passenger versions of the 300 series were produced.
In 1985, development of the longer range 747-400 began. The variant had a new glass cockpit, which allowed for a cockpit crew of two instead of three, new engines, lighter construction materials, and a redesigned interior. Development costs soared, and production delays occurred as new technologies were incorporated at the request of airlines. Insufficient workforce experience and reliance on overtime contributed to early production problems on the . The -400 entered service in 1989. In 1991, a record-breaking 1,087 passengers were flown in a 747 during a covert operation to airlift Ethiopian Jews to Israel. Generally, the 747-400 held between 416 and 524 passengers. The 747 remained the heaviest commercial aircraft in regular service until the debut of the Antonov An-124 Ruslan in 1982; variants of the 747-400 surpassed the An-124's weight in 2000. The Antonov An-225 "Mriya" cargo transport, which debuted in 1988, remains the world's largest aircraft by several measures (including the most accepted measures of maximum takeoff weight and length); one aircraft has been completed and was in service until 2022. The Scaled Composites Stratolaunch is currently the largest aircraft by wingspan.
Further developments. After the arrival of the , several stretching schemes for the 747 were proposed. Boeing announced the larger 747-500X and preliminary designs in 1996. The new variants would have cost more than US$5 billion to develop, and interest was not sufficient to launch the program. In 2000, Boeing offered the more modest 747X and 747X stretch derivatives as alternatives to the Airbus A38X. However, the 747X family was unable to attract enough interest to enter production. A year later, Boeing switched from the 747X studies to pursue the Sonic Cruiser, and after the Sonic Cruiser program was put on hold, the 787 Dreamliner. Some of the ideas developed for the 747X were used on the 747-400ER, a longer range variant of the . After several variants were proposed but later abandoned, some industry observers became skeptical of new aircraft proposals from Boeing. However, in early 2004, Boeing announced tentative plans for the 747 Advanced that were eventually adopted. Similar in nature to the 747-X, the stretched 747 Advanced used technology from the 787 to modernize the design and its systems. The 747 remained the largest passenger airliner in service until the Airbus A380 began airline service in 2007.
On November 14, 2005, Boeing announced it was launching the 747 Advanced as the Boeing 747-8. The last 747-400s were completed in 2009. , most orders of the 747-8 were for the freighter variant. On February 8, 2010, the 747-8 Freighter made its maiden flight. The first delivery of the 747-8 went to Cargolux in 2011. The first 747-8 Intercontinental passenger variant was delivered to Lufthansa on May 5, 2012. The 1,500th Boeing 747 was delivered in June 2014 to Lufthansa. In January 2016, Boeing stated it was reducing 747-8 production to six per year beginning in September 2016, incurring a $569 million post-tax charge against its fourth-quarter 2015 profits. At the end of 2015, the company had 20 orders outstanding. On January 29, 2016, Boeing announced that it had begun the preliminary work on the modifications to a commercial 747-8 for the next Air Force One presidential aircraft, then expected to be operational by 2020. On July 12, 2016, Boeing announced that it had finalized an order from Volga-Dnepr Group for 20 747-8 freighters, valued at $7.58 billion (~$ in ) at list prices. Four aircraft were delivered beginning in 2012. Volga-Dnepr Group is the parent of three major Russian air-freight carriers – Volga-Dnepr Airlines, AirBridgeCargo Airlines and Atran Airlines. The new 747-8 freighters would replace AirBridgeCargo's current 747-400 aircraft and expand the airline's fleet and will be acquired through a mix of direct purchases and leasing over the next six years, Boeing said.
End of production. On July 27, 2016, in its quarterly report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Boeing discussed the potential termination of 747 production due to insufficient demand and market for the aircraft. With a firm order backlog of 21 aircraft and a production rate of six per year, program accounting had been reduced to 1,555 aircraft. In October 2016, UPS Airlines ordered 14 -8Fs to add capacity, along with 14 options, which it took in February 2018 to increase the total to 28 -8Fs on order. The backlog then stood at 25 aircraft, though several of these were orders from airlines that no longer intended to take delivery. On July 2, 2020, it was reported that Boeing planned to end 747 production in 2022 upon delivery of the remaining jets on order to UPS and the Volga-Dnepr Group due to low demand. On July 29, 2020, Boeing confirmed that the final 747 would be delivered in 2022 as a result of "current market dynamics and outlook" stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to CEO David Calhoun. The last aircraft, a 747-8F for Atlas Air registered N863GT, rolled off the production line on December 6, 2022, and was delivered on January 31, 2023. Boeing hosted an event at the Everett factory for thousands of workers as well as industry executives to commemorate the delivery.
Design. The Boeing 747 is a large, wide-body (two-aisle) airliner with four wing-mounted engines. Its wings have a high sweep angle of 37.5° for a fast, efficient cruise speed of Mach 0.84 to 0.88, depending on the variant. The sweep also reduces the wingspan, allowing the 747 to use existing hangars. Its seating capacity is over 366 with a 3–4–3 seat arrangement (a cross section of three seats, an aisle, four seats, another aisle, and three seats) in economy class and a 2–3–2 layout in first class on the main deck. The upper deck has a 3–3 seat arrangement in economy class and a 2–2 layout in first class. Raised above the main deck, the cockpit creates a hump. This raised cockpit allows front loading of cargo on freight variants. The upper deck behind the cockpit provides space for a lounge and/or extra seating. The "stretched upper deck" became available as an alternative on the variant and later as standard beginning on the 747-300. The upper deck was stretched more on the 747-8. The 747 cockpit roof section also has an escape hatch from which crew can exit during the events of an emergency if they cannot do so through the cabin.
The 747's maximum takeoff weight ranges from for the -100 to for the -8. Its range has increased from on the -100 to on the -8I. The 747 has redundant structures along with four redundant hydraulic systems and four main landing gears each with four wheels; these provide a good spread of support on the ground and safety in case of tire blow-outs. The main gear are redundant so that landing can be performed on two opposing landing gears if the others are not functioning properly. The 747 also has split control surfaces and was designed with sophisticated triple-slotted flaps that minimize landing speeds and allow the 747 to use standard-length runways. For transportation of spare engines, the 747 can accommodate a non-functioning fifth-pod engine under the aircraft's port wing between the inner functioning engine and the fuselage. The fifth engine mount point was also used by Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne program to carry an orbital-class rocket to cruise altitude where it was deployed. Operational history. After the aircraft's introduction with Pan Am in 1970, other airlines that had bought the 747 to stay competitive began to put their own 747s into service. Boeing estimated that half of the early 747 sales were to airlines desiring the aircraft's long range rather than its payload capacity. While the 747 had the lowest potential operating cost per seat, this could only be achieved when the aircraft was fully loaded; costs per seat increased rapidly as occupancy declined. A moderately loaded 747, one with only 70 percent of its seats occupied, used more than 95 percent of the fuel needed by a fully occupied 747. Nonetheless, many flag-carriers purchased the 747 due to its prestige "even if it made no sense economically" to operate. During the 1970s and 1980s, over 30 regularly scheduled 747s could often be seen at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The recession of 1969–1970, despite having been characterized as relatively mild, greatly affected Boeing. For the year and a half after September 1970, it only sold two 747s in the world, both to Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus. No 747s were sold to any American carrier for almost three years. When economic problems in the US and other countries after the 1973 oil crisis led to reduced passenger traffic, several airlines found they did not have enough passengers to fly the 747 economically, and they replaced them with the smaller and recently introduced McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar trijet wide bodies (and later the 767 and Airbus A300/A310 twinjets). Having tried replacing coach seats on its 747s with piano bars in an attempt to attract more customers, American Airlines eventually relegated its 747s to cargo service and in 1983 exchanged them with Pan Am for smaller aircraft; Delta Air Lines also removed its 747s from service after several years. Later, Delta acquired 747s again in 2008 as part of its merger with Northwest Airlines, although it retired the Boeing 747-400 fleet in December 2017.
International flights bypassing traditional hub airports and landing at smaller cities became more common throughout the 1980s, thus eroding the 747's original market. Many international carriers continued to use the 747 on Pacific routes. In Japan, 747s on domestic routes were configured to carry nearly the maximum passenger capacity. Variants. The 747-100 with a range of 4,620 nautical miles (8,556 km), was the original variant launched in 1966. The 747-200 soon followed, with its launch in 1968 and the shorter 747SP launched in 1973. The 747-300 was launched in 1980 and was followed by the in 1985. Ultimately, the 747-8 was announced in 2005. Several versions of each variant have been produced, and many of the early variants were in production simultaneously. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) classifies variants using a shortened code formed by combining the model number and the variant designator (e.g. "B741" for all -100 models). 747-100. The first 747-100s were built with six upper deck windows (three per side) to accommodate upstairs lounge areas. Later, as airlines began to use the upper deck for premium passenger seating instead of lounge space, Boeing offered an upper deck with ten windows on either side as an option. Some early -100s were retrofitted with the new configuration. The -100 was equipped with Pratt & Whitney JT9D-3A engines. No freighter version of this model was developed, but many 747-100s were converted into freighters as 747-100(SF). The first 747-100(SF) was delivered to Flying Tiger Line in 1974. A total of 168 747-100s were built; 167 were delivered to customers, while Boeing kept the prototype, "City of Everett". In 1972, its unit cost was US$24M (M today). 747SR.
Responding to requests from Japanese airlines for a high-capacity aircraft to serve domestic routes between major cities, Boeing developed the 747SR as a short-range version of the with lower fuel capacity and greater payload capability. With increased economy class seating, up to 498 passengers could be carried in early versions and up to 550 in later models. Intended for shorter routes and thus more turn arounds, the 747SR had an economic design life objective of 52,000 flights during 20 years of operation, compared to 24,600 flights in 20 years for the standard 747. The initial 747SR model, the -100SR, had a strengthened body structure and landing gear to accommodate the added stress accumulated from a greater number of takeoffs and landings. Extra structural support was built into the wings, fuselage, and the landing gear along with a 20% reduction in fuel capacity. The initial order for the -100SR – four aircraft for Japan Air Lines (JAL, later Japan Airlines) – was announced on October 30, 1972; rollout occurred on August 3, 1973, and the first flight took place on August 31, 1973. The type was certified by the FAA on September 26, 1973, with the first delivery on the same day. The -100SR entered service with JAL, the type's sole customer, on October 7, 1973, and typically operated flights within Japan. Seven -100SRs were built between 1973 and 1975, each with a MTOW and Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7A engines derated to of thrust.
Following the -100SR, Boeing produced the -100BSR, a 747SR variant with increased takeoff weight capability. Debuting in 1978, the -100BSR also incorporated structural modifications for a high cycle-to-flying hour ratio; a related standard -100B model debuted in 1979. The -100BSR first flew on November 3, 1978, with first delivery to All Nippon Airways (ANA) on December 21, 1978. A total of 20 -100BSRs were produced for ANA and JAL. The -100BSR had a MTOW and was powered by the same JT9D-7A or General Electric CF6-45 engines used on the -100SR. ANA operated this variant on domestic Japanese routes with 455 or 456 seats until retiring its last aircraft in March 2006. In 1986, two -100BSR SUD models, featuring the stretched upper deck (SUD) of the -300, were produced for JAL. The type's maiden flight occurred on February 26, 1986, with FAA certification and first delivery on March 24, 1986. JAL operated the -100BSR SUD with 563 seats on domestic routes until their retirement in the third quarter of 2006. While only two -100BSR SUDs were produced, in theory, standard -100Bs can be modified to the SUD certification. Overall, 29 Boeing 747SRs were built. 747-100B.
The 747-100B model was developed from the -100SR, using its stronger airframe and landing gear design. The type had an increased fuel capacity of , allowing for a range with a typical 452-passenger payload, and an increased MTOW of was offered. The first -100B order, one aircraft for Iran Air, was announced on June 1, 1978. This version first flew on June 20, 1979, received FAA certification on August 1, 1979, and was delivered the next day. Nine -100Bs were built, one for Iran Air and eight for Saudi Arabian Airlines. Unlike the original -100, the -100B was offered with Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7A, CF6-50, or Rolls-Royce RB211-524 engines. However, only RB211-524 (Saudia) and JT9D-7A (Iran Air) engines were ordered. The last 747-100B, EP-IAM was retired by Iran Air in 2014, the last commercial operator of the 747-100 and -100B. 747SP. The development of the 747SP stemmed from a joint request between Pan American World Airways and Iran Air, who were looking for a high-capacity airliner with enough range to cover Pan Am's New York–Middle Eastern routes and Iran Air's planned Tehran–New York route. The Tehran–New York route, when launched, was the longest non-stop commercial flight in the world. The 747SP is shorter than the . Fuselage sections were eliminated fore and aft of the wing, and the center section of the fuselage was redesigned to fit mating fuselage sections. The SP's flaps used a simplified single-slotted configuration. The 747SP, compared to earlier variants, had a tapering of the aft upper fuselage into the empennage, a double-hinged rudder, and longer vertical and horizontal stabilizers. Power was provided by Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7(A/F/J/FW) or Rolls-Royce RB211-524 engines.
The 747SP was granted a type certificate on February 4, 1976, and entered service with launch customers Pan Am and Iran Air that same year. The aircraft was chosen by airlines wishing to serve major airports with short runways. A total of 45 747SPs were built, with the 44th 747SP delivered on August 30, 1982. In 1987, Boeing re-opened the 747SP production line after five years to build one last 747SP for an order by the United Arab Emirates government. In addition to airline use, one 747SP was modified for the NASA/German Aerospace Center SOFIA experiment. Iran Air, the last civil operator of the type, retired its final 747-SP (EP-IAC) in June 2016. 747-200. While the 747-100 powered by Pratt & Whitney JT9D-3A engines offered enough payload and range for medium-haul operations, it was marginal for long-haul route sectors. The demand for longer range aircraft with increased payload quickly led to the improved -200, which featured more powerful engines, increased MTOW, and greater range than the -100. A few early -200s retained the three-window configuration of the -100 on the upper deck, but most were built with a ten-window configuration on each side. The 747-200 was produced in passenger (-200B), freighter (-200F), convertible (-200C), and combi (-200M) versions.
The 747-200B was the basic passenger version, with increased fuel capacity and more powerful engines; it entered service in February 1971. In its first three years of production, the -200 was equipped with Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7 engines (initially the only engine available). Range with a full passenger load started at over and increased to with later engines. Most -200Bs had an internally stretched upper deck, allowing for up to 16 passenger seats. The freighter model, the 747-200F, had a hinged nose cargo door and could be fitted with an optional side cargo door, and had a capacity of 105 tons (95.3 tonnes) and an MTOW of up to . It entered service in 1972 with Lufthansa. The convertible version, the 747-200C, could be converted between a passenger and a freighter or used in mixed configurations, and featured removable seats and a nose cargo door. The -200C could also be outfitted with an optional side cargo door on the main deck. The combi aircraft model, the 747-200M (originally designated 747-200BC), could carry freight in the rear section of the main deck via a side cargo door. A removable partition on the main deck separated the cargo area at the rear from the passengers at the front. The -200M could carry up to 238 passengers in a three-class configuration with cargo carried on the main deck. The model was also known as the 747-200 Combi. As on the -100, a stretched upper deck (SUD) modification was later offered. A total of ten 747-200s operated by KLM were converted. Union de Transports Aériens (UTA) also had two aircraft converted.
After launching the -200 with Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7 engines, on August 1, 1972, Boeing announced that it had reached an agreement with General Electric to certify the 747 with CF6-50 series engines to increase the aircraft's market potential. Rolls-Royce followed 747 engine production with a launch order from British Airways for four aircraft. The option of RB211-524B engines was announced on June 17, 1975. The -200 was the first 747 to provide a choice of powerplant from the three major engine manufacturers. In 1976, its unit cost was US$39M (M today). A total of 393 of the 747-200 versions had been built when production ended in 1991. Of these, 225 were -200B, 73 were -200F, 13 were -200C, 78 were -200M, and 4 were military. Iran Air retired the last passenger in May 2016, 36 years after it was delivered. , five 747-200s remain in service as freighters. 747-300. The 747-300 features a upper deck than the -200. The stretched upper deck (SUD) has two emergency exit doors and is the most visible difference between the -300 and previous models. After being made standard on the 747-300, the SUD was offered as a retrofit, and as an option to earlier variants still in-production. An example for a retrofit were two UTA -200 Combis being converted in 1986, and an example for the option were two brand-new JAL -100 aircraft (designated -100BSR SUD), the first of which was delivered on March 24, 1986.
The 747-300 introduced a new straight stairway to the upper deck, instead of a spiral staircase on earlier variants, which creates room above and below for more seats. Minor aerodynamic changes allowed the -300's cruise speed to reach Mach 0.85 compared with Mach 0.84 on the -200 and -100 models, while retaining the same takeoff weight. The -300 could be equipped with the same Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce powerplants as on the -200, as well as updated General Electric CF6-80C2B1 engines. Swissair placed the first order for the on June 11, 1980. The variant revived the 747-300 designation, which had been previously used on a design study that did not reach production. The 747-300 first flew on October 5, 1982, and the type's first delivery went to Swissair on March 23, 1983. In 1982, its unit cost was US$83M (M today). Besides the passenger model, two other versions (-300M, -300SR) were produced. The 747-300M features cargo capacity on the rear portion of the main deck, similar to the -200M, but with the stretched upper deck it can carry more passengers. The 747-300SR, a short range, high-capacity domestic model, was produced for Japanese markets with a maximum seating for 584. No production freighter version of the 747-300 was built, but Boeing began modifications of used passenger -300 models into freighters in 2000.
A total of 81 series aircraft were delivered, 56 for passenger use, 21 -300M and 4 -300SR versions. In 1985, just two years after the -300 entered service, the type was superseded by the announcement of the more advanced 747-400. The last 747-300 was delivered in September 1990 to Sabena. While some -300 customers continued operating the type, several large carriers replaced their 747-300s with 747-400s. Air France, Air India, Japan Airlines, Pakistan International Airlines, and Qantas were some of the last major carriers to operate the . On December 29, 2008, Qantas flew its last scheduled 747-300 service, operating from Melbourne to Los Angeles via Auckland. In July 2015, Pakistan International Airlines retired their final 747-300 after 30 years of service. Mahan Air was the last passenger operator of the Boeing 747-300. In 2022, their last 747-300M was leased by Emtrasur Cargo. The 747-300M was later seized by the US Department of Justice in 2024. As of 2024, TransAVIAExport, a Belarusian cargo airline operates one Boeing 747-300F. As of 2024, a former Saudia 747-300 is used for VVIP transport, operated by the Saudi Arabian Government. 747-400.
The 747-400 is an improved model with increased range. It has wingtip extensions of and winglets of , which improve the type's fuel efficiency by four percent compared to previous 747 versions. The 747-400 introduced a new glass cockpit designed for a flight crew of two instead of three, with a reduction in the number of dials, gauges and knobs from 971 to 365 through the use of electronics. The type also features tail fuel tanks, revised engines, and a new interior. The longer range has been used by some airlines to bypass traditional fuel stops, such as Anchorage. A 747-400 loaded with of fuel flying consumes an average of . Powerplants include the Pratt & Whitney PW4062, General Electric CF6-80C2, and Rolls-Royce RB211-524. As a result of the Boeing 767 development overlapping with the 747-400's development, both aircraft can use the same three powerplants and are even interchangeable between the two aircraft models. The was offered in passenger (-400), freighter (-400F), combi (-400M), domestic (-400D), extended range passenger (-400ER), and extended range freighter (-400ERF) versions. Passenger versions retain the same upper deck as the , while the freighter version does not have an extended upper deck. The 747-400D was designed for short-range operations with maximum seating for 624. So winglets were not included though they can be retrofitted. Cruising speed is up to Mach 0.855 on different versions of the .
The passenger version first entered service in February 1989 with launch customer Northwest Airlines on the Minneapolis to Phoenix route. The combi version entered service in September 1989 with KLM, while the freighter version entered service in November 1993 with Cargolux. The 747-400ERF entered service with Air France in October 2002, while the 747-400ER entered service with Qantas, its sole customer, in November 2002. In January 2004, Boeing and Cathay Pacific launched the Boeing 747-400 Special Freighter program, later referred to as the Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF), to modify passenger 747-400s for cargo use. The first 747-400BCF was redelivered in December 2005. In March 2007, Boeing announced that it had no plans to produce further passenger versions of the -400. However, orders for 36 -400F and -400ERF freighters were already in place at the time of the announcement. The last passenger version of the 747-400 was delivered in April 2005 to China Airlines. Some of the last built 747-400s were delivered with Dreamliner livery along with the modern Signature interior from the Boeing 777. A total of 694 of the series aircraft were delivered. At various times, the largest 747-400 operator has included Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines, and British Airways. , 331 Boeing 747-400s were in service; there were only 10 Boeing 747-400s in passenger service as of September 2021. 747 LCF Dreamlifter.

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