It is characteristic of Iranian revolts and rebellionsthat they usually occur when the state is perceivedto be weak and unable to enforce its authority.Naser al-Din Shah was an arbitrary ruler like allhis predecessors. But, the consequences of arbitraryrulers were not all alike either for themselves orfor the country. Much depended on theirpersonalities as well as the circumstances in whichthey lived. For example, the fall of the Safavidstate and its dreadful consequences for Iraniansociety and economy were largely due to thepersonality traits of Shah Sultan Hosain whichcombined extreme promiscuity and intemperance withcommon superstition, susceptibility to influence,and timidity and indecisiveness at moments ofcrisis. Otherwise, the state would not have fallenso swiftly and miserably in the face of rebellion bysome of the poorest and most backward nomads of thefar eastern provinces of the empire.

To facilitate & promote all enquiries which may becalculated to enlarge the boundaries of GeneralScience is a Duty imposed on the British Governmentin India by its present exalted situation & thedischarge of that Duty is in a more especial mannerrequired from us when any material addition can bemade to the Public Stock of useful knowledge withoutinvolving considerable expence.… [T]his desirableobject will never be attained unless it shall bemade the Duty of some Public Officer properlyqualified for this Service to collect information& to digest & publish the results of hisresearches.

In the Introductions to the Full Reports of hisexpeditions to Chinese Central Asia, Sir Aurel Stein(186–1943), professional as always, was careful toacknowledge the assistance of all involved with theproduction of the reports. Most of his colleagues inthe academic world were men who to this day retaintheir positions as great scholars in the history oforiental studies. The people who helped Stein in theremote sites of Xinjiang live on through hisaffectionate, and often humorous, descriptions ofthem scattered throughout the Full Reports and thepopular abridged accounts of his expeditions. Yetvery little is known of the people who worked on aday-to-day basis with Stein, unpacking the manycases he sent to the British Museum, sorting throughthe various groups of often unfamiliar material,documenting the Stein collection, arrangingexhibitions of objects and photographs relating toStein's expeditions, as well as carrying outpersonal favours for Stein, such as posting on hisspats and packing tea tablets bought on his accountat the Army and Navy Store.

A number of Frenchman stayed behind in Siam in the wakeof the Chaumont-Choisy embassy of 1685. The bestknown are the Chevalier de Forbin and the engineerLa Mare: Forbin was appointed governor of Bangkok,admiral and general of the King of Siam's armies,and La Mare was to produce numerous plans, sometimesimplemented, of Vaubanesque fortifications atvarious places including Bangkok, Mergui, Songkhla,and Phatthalung.

In the course of the last fifty years there have beenon average twenty-four million animals registeredannually in Mongolia. In 1996 29, 275,700 animalswere counted. This is a quantity never beforeexperienced in the country's history. In the comingyears another rise in the number of animals isexpected. Some specialists conjecture a continualincrease. Others are attempting to prove that thiscannot be realized on account of limitations ofspace and that, already, throughout the country,pasture land is being threatened by overuse due tothe sheer quantity of livestock. The question of howmuch livestock the resources of the entire naturalpasture can support is still not completelyanswered.