Swan song in the context of "Swan"

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⭐ Core Definition: Swan song

The swan song (Ancient Greek: κύκνειον ᾆσμα; Latin: carmen cygni) is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful song just before their death while they have been silent (or alternatively not so musical) for most of their lifetime.

The belief, whose basis has been long debated, had become proverbial in ancient Greece by the 3rd century BCE and was reiterated many times in later Western poetry and art. In reality, swans learn a variety of sounds throughout their lifetime; their sounds are more distinguishable during courting rituals and not correlated with death.

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Swan song in the context of Timurid Renaissance

The Timurid Renaissance was a period in Asian and Islamic history, following the Islamic Golden Age, and spanning from the late 14th to the early 16th centuries, which saw the revival of the arts and sciences under the Timurid Empire. Its movement spread across the Muslim world. The French word renaissance meaning "rebirth", is used to refer to a period of cultural revival. The use of this term to describe the Timurid period has not been without reservation, with some scholars seeing it as a swan song of Timurid culture.

The Timurid Renaissance took place slightly earlier than the Renaissance of Europe. The glories of which have been described by some as equalling the Italian Quattrocento. The Timurid Renaissance reached its peak in the 15th century, after the end of the Mongol invasions and conquests.

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Swan song in the context of Royal Palace of Caserta

The Royal Palace of Caserta (Italian: Reggia di Caserta [ˈrɛddʒa di kaˈzɛrta, - kaˈsɛrta]; Neapolitan: Reggia 'e Caserta [ˈrɛdːʒ(ə) e kaˈsertə]) is a former royal residence in Caserta, Campania, 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Naples in southern Italy, constructed by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as their main residence as kings of Naples. The complex is the largest palace erected in Europe during the 18th century. In 1997, the palace was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site; its nomination described it as "the swan song of the spectacular art of the Baroque, from which it adopted all the features needed to create the illusions of multidirectional space". The Royal Palace of Caserta is the largest former royal residence in the world, over 2 million m in volume covering an area of 47,000 m and a floorspace of 138,000 square metres distributed across five floors.

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Swan song in the context of Heraclius II of Georgia

Heraclius II, also known as Erekle II (Georgian: ერეკლე II) and The Little Kakhetian (Georgian: პატარა კახი [pʼatʼaɾa kʼaχi]; 7 November 1720 or 7 October 1721 [according to C. Toumanoff] – 11 January 1798), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the king (mepe) of the Kingdom of Kakheti from 1744 to 1762, and of the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti from 1762 until his death in 1798. In the contemporary Persian sources he is referred to as Erekli Khan (ارکلی خان), while Russians knew him as Irakly (Ираклий). Heraclius is the Latinized form of his name.

From being granted the kingship of Kakheti by his overlord Nader Shah in 1744 as a reward for his loyalty, to becoming the penultimate king of the united kingdoms of Kakheti and Kartli in eastern Georgia, his reign is regarded as the swan song of the Georgian monarchy. Aided by his personal abilities and the unrest in Iran following Nader Shah's death, Heraclius established himself as a de facto autonomous ruler, unified eastern Georgia politically for the first time in three centuries, and attempted to modernize the government, economy, and military. Overwhelmed by the internal and external menaces to Georgia's precarious independence and its temporary hegemony in eastern Transcaucasia, he placed his kingdom under the formal Russian protection in 1783, but the move did not prevent Georgia from being devastated by the Persian invasion in 1795. Heraclius died in 1798, leaving the throne to his moribund heir, George XII.

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