BitterChurch

Riverina

2005-04-03T18:51:00.000-07:00

Predominantly rural region, south-central New South Wales, Australia. Occupying 26,509 square miles (68,658 square km), it is bounded on the north and northwest by the Lachlan and Murrumbidgee rivers, on the south by the Murray River, and on the east by an imaginary line connecting the towns of Condobolin, Junee, and Albury. Most of the Riverina comprises level alluvial plains laced

Adrar

2005-04-03T16:16:00.000-07:00

Traditional region of central Mauritania in western Africa. It consists of a low central massif with noticeable cliffs that rise to about 800 feet (240 m). The terrain is arid and almost totally unsuitable for cropping. There is, however, sufficient water at the base of the uplands to support date-palm groves, and during the wetter part of the year there is cultivation of millet,

Staff, Leopold

2005-04-03T15:41:00.000-07:00

After completing his education in Lwów, Staff moved to Kraków, which in the 1890s was the centre of Polish literary life. There he came into close contact with representatives of the Young

Aracari

2005-04-02T18:57:00.000-08:00

Any of certain toucan species. See toucan.

Portugal

2005-04-02T14:35:00.000-08:00

Officially Portuguese Republic, Portuguese Portugal, or República Portuguesa, country lying along the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. It is bordered on the east and north by Spain and on the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean. Occupying about 16 percent of the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal has a total area of 35,672 square miles (92,389 square km). Despite its small size, the country displays a great diversity of geographic features;

Mosque

2005-04-01T09:54:00.000-08:00

Arabic masjid, or jami', any house or open area of prayer in Islam. The Arabic word masjid means “a place of prostration” to God, and the same word is used in Persian, Urdu, and Turkish. Two main types of mosques can be distinguished: the masjid jami', or “collective mosque,” a large state-controlled mosque that is the centre of community worship and the site of Friday prayer services; and smaller mosques

Capital Punishment

2005-03-31T18:44:00.000-08:00

Also called death penalty execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law of a criminal offense. Capital punishment should be distinguished from extrajudicial executions carried out without due process of law. The term death penalty is sometimes used interchangeably with capital punishment, though imposition of the penalty is not always followed by execution

Lenox

2005-03-31T17:00:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Berkshire county, western Massachusetts, U.S. It lies in the Berkshire Hills, just south of Pittsfield. Settled about 1750 and originally called Yokuntown, it was set off from Richmond in 1767 and was probably named for Charles Lennox, 3rd duke of Richmond and a defender of colonial rights. Early industries included an iron foundry, a marble works, and a glass factory.

K.b.e.

2005-03-30T21:09:00.000-08:00

Knight commander of the British Empire, member of the second highest class of a British order of knighthood. See British Empire, The Most Excellent Order of the.

Barbados

2005-03-29T06:47:00.000-08:00

Barbados is not part of the Lesser Antilles, although it is sometimes

Ta-li

2005-03-28T22:37:00.000-08:00

Ta-li was the traditional political and commercial centre of Yunnan,

Sacred Kingship, The king as judge

2005-03-28T21:49:00.000-08:00

From earliest times, in addition to other functions, the chief was the judge of his tribe; he personified the protection that the community provided for the individual. Providing for a balance of power in the community, mediating quarrels, and protecting individual rights, the chief or king was the lawgiver and the highest administrator for all community affairs.

Macdonald, Jacques, Duc De Tarente

2005-03-27T22:47:00.000-08:00

The son of a Scottish adherent of the exiled British Stuart dynasty, who had served in a Scots regiment in France, he joined the French army and was a colonel when the wars of the French Revolution broke out. He was promoted to general in 1793 and to general of division

Moraine

2005-03-27T21:17:00.000-08:00

A ground moraine consists of an irregular blanket of till deposited under

1812, War Of

2005-03-26T15:55:00.000-08:00

(June 18, 1812–Dec. 24, 1814), inconclusive British–U.S. conflict arising chiefly out of U.S. grievances over oppressive maritime practices during the Napoleonic Wars. The long struggle between Great Britain and France, fought intermittently between 1793 and 1815, led both belligerents to infringe on the rights and impair the interests of neutrals. Napoleon averted hostilities

Degema

2005-03-25T03:26:00.000-08:00

Town and river port, Rivers state, southern Nigeria, on the Sambreiro River (an outlet of the Niger). A traditional market centre (fish, cassava, taro, palm produce, plantains, and yams) of the Ijo (Ijaw) people, it became a major exporter of palm oil and kernels after the decline of the slave trade in the early 19th century. The Degema-Abonnema port (boats now anchor near the palm oil

Mansehra

2005-03-24T20:19:00.000-08:00

Town, northeastern North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. The town is situated at the southern end of the Pakhli Plain on the Bhut Stream, a tributary to the Siran River, at an elevation of 3,682 feet (1,122 m) above sea level. It is a market town surrounded by pine-covered hills and has a flour mill, a woolen-yarn mill, and an agricultural research centre. The nearby Asokan rock edicts

Moscow, Grand Principality Of

2005-03-24T19:24:00.000-08:00

Muscovy became a distinct principality during the second half of the 13th century under the rule of Daniel, the youngest son of the Rurik prince Alexander

Mitiaro

2005-03-22T20:16:00.000-08:00

Island in the lower Cook Islands, a dependency of New Zealand, southwest Pacific Ocean. It is a raised coral atoll, with a land area of 8.6 sq mi (22.3 sq km), and is encircled by a reef. Its interior of fertile volcanic soil, ringed by swamps and limestone, supports copra and citrus fruits. Stands of sandalwood occur. Pop. (1981) 256.

Ayub Khan, Mohammad

2005-03-22T16:30:00.000-08:00

After studying at Aligarh Muslim University, in Uttar Pradesh, India, and at the British Royal Military College, at Sandhurst, Ayub Khan was commissioned an officer in the Indian army (1928). In World War II he was second-in-command

Mesopotamia, History Of, Literary and other historical sources

2005-03-22T02:33:00.000-08:00

The picture offered by the literary tradition of Mesopotamia is clearer but not necessarily historically relevant. The Sumerian king list has long been the greatest focus of interest. This is a literary composition, dating from Old Babylonian times, that describes kingship (nam-lugal in Sumerian) in Mesopotamia from primeval times to the end of the 1st dynasty of

Wolf Herring

2005-03-21T06:27:00.000-08:00

(Chirocentrus dorab), species of fish belonging to the family Chirocentridae (order Clupeiformes). It is exclusively marine in habitat, occurring in the Indian Ocean and in the western Pacific to Japan and eastern Australia. In contrast to other herrings, which feed on plankton, wolf herrings are carnivorous, attacking and eating other fish. Their jaws are equipped

Biblical Literature, Rule by the Herods

2005-03-20T02:57:00.000-08:00

The Herods who followed were under the control of Rome. Herod the Great, son of Antipater of Idumaea, was made king of Judaea, having sided with Rome, and he ruled with Roman favour (37–4 BC). Though he was a good statesman and architect, he was hated by the Jews as a foreigner and semi-Jew. Jesus was born a few years before the end of his reign, and “the slaughter of the innocents,” young children

Mon

2005-03-19T17:36:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Mun , Burmese Talaing people living in the eastern delta region of Myanmar (Burma) and in west-central Thailand, numbering in the late 20th century more than 1.1 million. The Mon have lived in their present area for the last 1,200 years, and it was they who gave Myanmar its writing (Pali) and its religion (Buddhism). The Mon are believed to have spread from western China over the river lowlands from the Irrawaddy

Peter Chrysologus, Saint

2005-03-19T08:43:00.000-08:00

About 433 he became archbishop of Ravenna, where, with the aid of Galla

China, The dynastic succession

2005-03-18T20:04:00.000-08:00

The Ming dynasty, which encompassed the reigns of 16 emperors, proved to be one of the stablest and longest dynasties of Chinese history. Rulers of Korea, Mongolia, East Turkistan, Burma, Siam, and Nam Viet regularly acknowledged Ming overlordship, and at times tribute was received from as far away as Japan, Java and Sumatra, Ceylon and South India, the East African coast,

Black Prince's Ruby

2005-03-16T19:25:00.000-08:00

Large red gem set in the Maltese cross in the front of the imperial state crown of England. It is not a ruby but is one of the world's largest gem-quality red spinels, a polished lump 5 cm (2 inches) long, pierced and partly filled with a small ruby. The stone was given to Edward the Black Prince by Pedro the Cruel, king of Castile, on the victory of Nájera in 1367. It narrowly escaped destruction

Krypton

2005-03-16T01:42:00.000-08:00

(Kr), chemical element, rare gas of Group 0 (noble gases) of the periodic table, forming very few chemical compounds. About three times heavier than air, krypton gas is colourless, odourless, and tasteless. Although traces are present in meteorites and minerals, krypton is more plentiful in the Earth's atmosphere, which contains 1 part krypton in about 900,000. The element was discovered

Brachiation

2005-03-15T04:23:00.000-08:00

In animal behaviour, specialized form of arboreal locomotion in which movement is accomplished by swinging from one hold to another by the arms. The process is highly developed in the gibbon and siamang, which are anatomically adapted for it in the length of their forelimbs, their long hooklike fingers, and the mobility of their shoulder joints. The South American

Switzerland, War with France

2005-03-14T16:02:00.000-08:00

Following the Swabian conflict, Switzerland was drawn into the struggle between France, Austria, and Italy over control of the vital Po valley. The Swiss, of course, had more than a passing interest in this area, having extended their control into the southern Alpine valleys during the 15th century. They wanted to prevent either France or Austria from closing in on

Robbins, Jerome

2005-03-14T04:12:00.000-08:00

Original surname Rabinowitz one of the most popular and imaginative American choreographers of the 20th century. Robbins was first known for his skillful use of contemporary American themes in ballets and Broadway and Hollywood musicals. He won acclaim for highly innovative ballets structured within the traditional framework of classical

Cheke, Sir John

2005-03-13T21:55:00.000-08:00

Cheke also spelled Cheek English humanist and supporter of the Protestant Reformation who, as the poet John Milton said, “taught Cambridge and King Edward Greek” and who, with his friend Sir Thomas Smith, discovered the proper pronunciation of ancient Greek. Through his teaching he made the University of Cambridge the centre of the “new learning” and the Reformed religion.

Shamanism

2005-03-12T21:02:00.000-08:00

I.M. Lewis, Ecstatic Religion: A Study of Shamanism and Spirit Possession, 2nd ed. (1989), provides an excellent introduction. A thorough description of the shamanism of the peoples of Siberia is given in M.A. Czaplicka, Aboriginal Siberia (1914, reissued 1969); and Mircea Eliade, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstacy, rev. and enlarged ed. (1964, reissued 1989; originally published in French, 1951), with an extensive bibliography. Eliade's work not only deals with phenomena in Central and North Asia but also in North and South America, Southeast Asia, and Oceania; especially useful are the chapters on “Shamanic Ideologies and Techniques Among the Indo-Europeans” and “Shamanic Symbolisms and Techniques in Tibet, China, and the Far East.” Uno Holmberg, Finno-Ugric, Siberian, vol. 4 in Louis Herbert Gray and George Foot Moore, The Mythology of All Races (1927, reissued 1964), describes shamanism among these peoples. A very thorough summary of the worldview and specific traits of shamanism in North Asia, based on a good knowledge of literature on the subject in Russian, may be found in Georg Nioradze, Der Schamanismus bei den sibirischen Völkern (1925); and the traits considered most significant are discussed by Åke Ohlmarks, Studien zum Problem des Schamanismus (1939). V. Diószegi (ed.), Popular Beliefs and Folklore Tradition in Siberia (1968; originally published in German, 1963), contains studies on the shamanistic conceptions of the Sami, Hungarian, and Siberian peoples. Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer, Shamanism: Soviet Studies of Traditional Religion in Siberia and Central Asia (1990), summarizes contemporary Soviet research. Several studies explore Latin American shamanism. Jon Christopher Crocker, Vital Souls: Bororo Cosmology, Natural Symbolism, and Shamanism (1985), demonstrates the intimate relationship between social structure generally—and the structure of the village community in particular—and cosmological symbolism and analyzes the role of the shaman in conserving both the social and the cosmic order; this important study also challenges psychological approaches to the study of shamanism, which focus on the shaman's apparent psychological abnormality, and analyzes the larger social forces that are gradually destroying Bororo shamanism, and with it Bororo culture in general. Johannes Wilbert, Tobacco and Shamanism in South America (1987), examines both the pharmacological and the social aspects of nicotine use by the Warao shamans of Venezuela. A fascinating scholarly and artistic exploration of hallucinogenic medicine is found in Luis Eduardo Luna and Pablo Amaringo, Ayahuasca Visions: The Religious Iconography of a Peruvian Shaman (1991), produced through a unique partnership between a professional anthropologist and a practicing Peruvian shaman. Women's roles in Korean shamanism are explored in Laurel Kendall, Shamans, Housewives, and Other Restless Spirits: Women in Korean Ritual Life (1985), while The Life and Hard Times of a Korean Shaman (1988) chronicles the shamanic career of one South Korean woman through extensive use of her own words and stories and thereby examines the recent social history of South Korea through an interesting lens. David Lan, Guns & Rain: Guerrillas & Spirit Mediums in Zimbabwe (1985), examines the complex interaction between the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army and the traditional shamanic religious leaders of the Dande and Korekore subgroups of Shona during the 1970s; it is a good example of the study of shamanism in tension with modernity.

San Francisco Peaks

2005-03-12T16:27:00.000-08:00

The San Francisco Peaks, known by various Indian language names, are sacred to

Carnivore, Natural history

2005-03-10T10:41:00.000-08:00

Almost all cats are strictly carnivorous and feed on small mammals and birds or on the larger herbivorous artiodactyls like deer and various types of antelope. The fishing cat (Felis viverrina) feeds largely on fishes and clams or snails and thus fits into a slightly different niche from that of most cats. The flatheaded cat (Felis planiceps) is the only felid known

Aguirre, Lope De

2005-03-10T09:11:00.000-08:00

Nothing is known of Aguirre's life prior to 1544, when he arrived in Peru and took part in the Spanish suppression of Indian rebellions and in the wars that continually broke out between

Latin America, History Of, Cities

2005-03-09T13:50:00.000-08:00

In the late 15th century most of Iberia was consolidated into three kingdoms—Portugal, Castile, and Aragon—of which the last two were united through royal marriage. But society itself was still quite provincial. The most important entity for purposes of organization and affiliation was the city and the large territory attached to it. More people were engaged in agricultural

Facial Nerve

2005-03-09T10:19:00.000-08:00

Nerve that originates in the area of the brain called the pons and that has three types of nerve fibres: (1) motor fibres to the superficial muscles of the face, neck, and scalp and to certain deep muscles, known collectively as the muscles of facial expression; (2) sensory fibres, carrying impulses from the taste sensors in the front two-thirds of the tongue and general sensory

Death Valley

2005-03-08T11:50:00.000-08:00

For several decades after its christening in 1849 by a hapless party of emigrants who endured intense suffering while crossing it, Death Valley was little known except to the Indians of the area and to prospectors searching the surrounding mountains. The first scientific notice of the valley seems to have been a brief note published in 1868 by a California state geologist.

Muravyov, Mikhail Nikolayevich, Graf

2005-03-07T16:47:00.000-08:00

Muravyov was the grandson of Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov, known as the “hangman of Wilno” for his

Biblical Literature, The Letter of Paul to the Philippians

2005-03-07T16:20:00.000-08:00

In its present canonical form Philippians is, according to several scholars, a later collection of fragments of the correspondence of Paul with the congregation in Philippi that was founded by Paul himself. The first of the two major difficulties leading to this conclusion concerning redaction of the letter is created by a discrepancy between chapters 2 and 3—i.e.,

Chemical Synthesis

2005-03-06T09:15:00.000-08:00

Chemists synthesize chemical compounds that occur in nature in order to gain a better understanding of their structures.

Avezzano

2005-03-05T22:19:00.000-08:00

Town, L'Aquila província, Abruzzi regione, central Italy. Avezzano lies south of L'Aquila city. Built on the reclaimed Fucino Basin (q.v.), the town was destroyed in 1915 by an earthquake, of which it was the epicentre, and was subsequently rebuilt. In World War II it was heavily damaged again. Only the ruins remain of the castle of the Orsini family (15th century). Avezzano is now an agricultural

Pacific Islands, Changing administrations

2005-03-05T09:26:00.000-08:00

Two United Nations trust territories were the first to achieve sovereignty as independent nations—Western Samoa (now Samoa) in 1962 and Nauru in 1968. The first continued to rely on New Zealand in foreign affairs, while Nauru ended its trusteeship ties with Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. New Zealand, a Commonwealth member with a self-conscious Maori Polynesian

Ayllón, Lucas Vázquez De

2005-03-04T17:14:00.000-08:00

Going to the West Indies in 1502, he became a judge in the colonial administration of Hispaniola (Santo Domingo). In 1520 he went to Mexico to mediate the dispute between the Spanish commanders Hernán Cortés and Diego Velázquez. An expedition sent by him under

Argentina, The Pampas

2005-03-03T22:07:00.000-08:00

The Pampas region was originally inhabited by Indians such as the Querandí, who reportedly did not practice agriculture but were fishers and hunters who used bolas for entangling fleet-footed guanacos and rheas. Fierce attacks by the Querandí forced Spanish settlers in Buenos Aires to flee upriver to Asunción in 1541. After Buenos Aires reemerged in 1580, the Spanish showed

Economic Affairs, International.

2005-03-03T18:39:00.000-08:00

In late 1997 banks and other financial institutions in Southeast and East Asia fell like dominoes--one after another--as currencies and share prices collapsed in many of the much-admired "tiger" economies across the region. Beginning in July with the crash of Thailand's baht, the crisis spread to the Indonesian rupiah, Malaysian ringgit, and Philippine peso, all of which

Kwando River

2005-03-03T07:36:00.000-08:00

Portuguese Rio Cuando, river in southern Africa, rising in central Angola and flowing southeast, forming for nearly 140 miles (225 km) the boundary between Angola and Zambia. Near the end of its course the Kwando reaches the northern boundary of the Caprivi Strip, which juts out from Namibia, and thereafter the river spreads into the Linyanti Marshes, covering about 550 square miles (1,425 square km) and including

Animal Disease

2005-03-01T20:37:00.000-08:00

Concern with diseases that afflict animals dates from the earliest human contacts with animals and is reflected in early views of religion and magic. Diseases of animals remain a concern principally because of the economic losses they cause and the possible transmission

Allston, Robert (francis Withers)

2005-03-01T13:08:00.000-08:00

Rice planter and governor of South Carolina whose papers, South Carolina Rice Plantation, provide important agricultural, political, and social information about the pre-Civil War South. By scientifically draining and reclaiming swamps in his state, he developed one of the last great rice plantations in the Atlantic

Extenuating Circumstance

2005-02-28T05:50:00.000-08:00

Many Anglo-American legal systems do not prescribe minimum punishments for all crimes. The judge is thus free to consider all the circumstances in setting the punishment up to a prescribed maximum. Some special circumstances

Valdemar Ii

2005-02-26T22:23:00.000-08:00

The son and brother, respectively, of the Danish kings Valdemar I and Canute IV, Valdemar acted as the duke of Schleswig from 1188 and conquered

Arab Economic Unity, Council Of

2005-02-26T11:08:00.000-08:00

The organization is devoted to achieving economic integration

Hokuriku

2005-02-26T08:38:00.000-08:00

Industrial region, west-central Honshu, Japan, lying along the Sea of Japan. It is neither an administrative nor a political entity. The northeastern portion of the area, occupying parts of Niigata and Toyama ken (prefectures), specializes in heavy and chemical industries and has close economic ties with the Keihin (Tokyo-Yokohama) Industrial Zone. The southwestern

Subsidy

2005-02-25T19:23:00.000-08:00

A direct or indirect payment, economic concession, or privilege granted by a government to private firms, households, or other governmental units in order to promote a public objective. Identification of a subsidy is often complicated because of the variety of subsidy instruments, the multiplicity of the objectives they are designed to serve, and the complexity

Papyrus Column

2005-02-25T15:11:00.000-08:00

In Egyptian religion, amulet that conveyed freshness, youth, vigour, and the continuance of life to its wearer. The amulet, made of glazed ware or various types of stone, was shaped like a papyrus stem and bud. Its significance was perhaps derived from its ideographic value (Egyptian wadj, “green, fresh, vigorous”); for, just as the plant itself was vigorous and growing, so also

Kazaure

2005-02-24T22:30:00.000-08:00

Town and traditional emirate in Jigawa state, northern Nigeria. The town has been the emirate's headquarters since 1819. It was founded by Dan Tunku, a Fulani warrior who was one of the 14 flag bearers for the Fulani jihad (holy war) leader Usman dan Fodio. Dan Tunku arrived from the nearby town of Dambatta (Dambarta) at a stockaded village that he named Kazaure and established

Leno, Dan

2005-02-23T19:57:00.000-08:00

Born into a family of traveling entertainers, Leno first appeared on stage at the age of four

China, The Southeast Mountains

2005-02-23T01:06:00.000-08:00

Southeastern China is bordered by a rocky shoreline backed by picturesque mountains. In general, there is a distinct structural and topographic trend from northeast to southwest. The higher peaks may reach altitudes of 5,000 to 6,500 feet. The rivers are short and fast-flowing and have cut steep-sided valleys. The chief areas of settlement are on narrow strips of coastal plain

Argand Diagram

2005-02-22T09:52:00.000-08:00

Graphic portrayal of complex numbers, those of the form a + bi, in which a and b are real numbers and i is the square root of -1; it was devised by the Swiss mathematician Jean Robert Argand in about 1806. One axis represents the pure imaginary numbers (those consisting of the bi portion only); the second represents the real numbers (a values only). This permits the complex numbers to

Telephone And Telephone System

2005-02-21T23:44:00.000-08:00

Facsimile, or fax, refers to the transmission of text or fixed images and drawings by wire or radio channels. Fax permits the transmission of a mix of documents—including handwriting, graphs, pictures, and maps—that often cannot be transmitted at all over other communications media. Although the concepts of fax were developed in the 19th century using contemporary

Accused, Rights Of

2005-02-21T09:18:00.000-08:00

All legal systems provide, at least on paper, guarantees

Abu Bakar

2005-02-20T03:39:00.000-08:00

Under an 1824 British treaty, supplemented by an agreement in 1855, the Malay state of Johore was ruled not

Juba Ii

2005-02-19T10:46:00.000-08:00

As a child of about five Juba was paraded in Rome in Caesar's triumphal procession after the death of Juba I but subsequently was given a good education in Italy. Octavian

Midas

2005-02-18T23:21:00.000-08:00

Abbreviation of Missile Defense Alarm System, any of a series of unmanned U.S. military satellites developed to provide warning against surprise attacks by Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles. Midas was the first such warning system in the world. Launched during the early 1960s, the reconnaissance satellites were equipped with infrared sensors capable of detecting the heat of a ballistic missile's rocket

Race, Transforming race into species

2005-02-18T09:49:00.000-08:00

One of those whose direct experience of African slaves and assessment of them was given great weight was Edward Long (1734–1813), a former plantation owner and jurist in Jamaica. In a book entitled The History of Jamaica (1774), Long asserted that “the Negro” was “void of genius” and “incapable” of civilization; indeed, he was so far inferior as to constitute a separate species of mankind. Long's

Heirloom

2005-02-17T16:03:00.000-08:00

An item of personal property that by immemorial usage is regarded as annexed by inheritance to a family estate. The owner of such an heirloom may dispose of it during his lifetime, but he cannot bequeath it by will away from the estate. If he dies intestate (without a will), the object goes to his heir at law; otherwise it goes to whoever takes the estate under his will. Such

General Security, Committee Of

2005-02-17T14:16:00.000-08:00

French Comité De Sûreté Générale, organ of the French Revolutionary government. It directed the political police and Revolutionary justice. Founded by the National Convention in 1792, the committee administered the Reign of Terror of 1793–94, along with the Committee of Public Safety. See also Revolutionary Tribunal.

Ovonramwen

2005-02-17T01:23:00.000-08:00

He was called Idugbowa

Ardabil Carpet

2005-02-15T17:59:00.000-08:00

Either of two Persian floor coverings that are among the most famous examples of early classical Persian workmanship. The larger one measures 34 feet by 17.5 feet (10.4 by 5.3 m), and both carpets have a silk warp and wool pile. The carpets were completed in 1539–40, during the reign of the Safavid ruler Shah Tahmasp I (1524–76), and they were originally laid in the Mosque of Ardabil, in the Iranian province of

Culavamsa

2005-02-15T14:36:00.000-08:00

The portion of the Culavamsa dealing with Ceylon's

Alexander Ii

2005-02-15T09:54:00.000-08:00

Alexander came to the throne on the death of his father, William I (the Lion; reigned 1165–1214). When the English barons rebelled against King John (reigned 1199–1216) in 1215, Alexander sided

Clouet, Jean

2005-02-12T23:49:00.000-08:00

Although he lived in France most of his life, records show that he was not French by origin and was never naturalized. He was one of the chief painters to Francis I as early as 1516 and was appointed groom of the chamber from 1523, thus enjoying the salary and social position

Scandinavian Literature, Romantic Realism

2005-02-12T19:12:00.000-08:00

New elements of reason and realism appeared after the first quarter of the century in the works of Poul Møller, who wrote the first Danish novel on contemporary life, En dansk students eventyr (1824; “The Adventures of a Danish Student”), and dramatic poems and fables, sometimes showing personal disillusionment, and of Steen Steensen Blicher, who in Traekfuglene (1838; “The Birds

Petah Tiqwa

2005-02-12T06:20:00.000-08:00

City, west-central Israel, on the Plain of Sharon, east-northeast of Tel Aviv-Yafo and part of that city's metropolitan area. Situated in the valley of Achor near the Yarqon River, the city takes its name (meaning “Door of Hope”) from the biblical allusion in Hosea 2:15: “ . . . and make the valley of Achor a door of hope.” Petah Tiqwa was the first village (founded 1878) in the modern Jewish settlement

Chelsea Porcelain

2005-02-11T08:26:00.000-08:00

Soft-paste porcelain made at a factory in Chelsea, London, established in 1743 by Charles Gouyn and Nicolas Sprimont, the latter a silversmith. By the 1750s the sole manager was Sprimont, from whose genius stemmed Chelsea's greatest achievements. In 1769 the factory was sold to James Cox; and he sold it a year later to William Duesbury of Derby, Derbyshire, who maintained it until 1784, producing

Alexander City

2005-02-10T15:15:00.000-08:00

City, Tallapoosa county, east-central Alabama, U.S., 75 miles (120 km) southeast of Birmingham. Early settlement began in 1836, and gold was discovered in the area in the early 1840s. It was known as Youngsville until 1873, when it was named for General Edward Porter Alexander, president of the Savannah and Memphis (Central of Georgia) Railroad. To the south, Martin Dam on the Tallapoosa River provides

Argentina, The Pampas

2005-02-10T02:06:00.000-08:00

Interior Design, England

2005-02-09T06:42:00.000-08:00

The breakup of the feudal system during the Wars of the Roses and under Henry VII in the late 15th century had far-reaching effects on the social structure of the time and consequently on domestic buildings and their decoration. The new conditions necessitated a larger number of rooms, and a great hall, though still an important apartment, was no longer the focus of indoor

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

2005-02-08T13:14:00.000-08:00

American symphony orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1895 by the all-female board of trustees of the Cincinnati Orchestra Association, headed by Helen Herron Taft, wife of future U.S. president William Howard Taft. The fifth oldest symphony orchestra in the United States, the Cincinnati Symphony maintains a year-round performing schedule, including

Permafrost, Highways and railroads

2005-02-08T02:56:00.000-08:00

Highways in polar areas are relatively few and mainly unpaved. They are subject to subsidence by thawing of permafrost in summer, frost heaving in winter, and loss of bearing strength on fine-grained sediments in summer. Constant grading of gravel roads permits maintenance of a relatively smooth highway. Where the road is paved over ice-rich permafrost, the roadway

Nader, Ralph

2005-02-07T22:34:00.000-08:00

Nader ran for president of the United States in 1996 but collected less than 1 percent of the vote. In 2000 he was nominated by the Green Party as its U.S. presidential candidate. His campaign focused on universal health care, environmental and consumer protections, campaign finance reform, and strengthened labour rights. Realizing that he had little hope of winning the election, Nader concentrated on obtaining 5 percent of the national vote, the minimum necessary to secure federal matching funds for the Green Party for future presidential campaigns. Nader eventually fell well short of this goal, receiving only 2.7 percent of the national vote, but he may have aided Republican candidate George W. Bush—who narrowly won the presidency over Democrat Al Gore—by attracting votes that otherwise might have gone to Gore, especially in the key state of Florida. In 2004, despite pleas by many Democrats that he not run, Nader campaigned for the presidency as an independent.

Henry I

2005-02-07T06:56:00.000-08:00

Byname Henry Beauclerc (Good Scholar), French Henri Beauclerc youngest and ablest of William I the Conqueror's sons, who as king of England (1100–35) strengthened the crown's executive powers and, like his father, also ruled Normandy (from 1106).

Stratemeyer, Edward

2005-02-07T01:35:00.000-08:00

Stratemeyer worked as a store clerk and, on the side, began writing stories in imitation of those of Horatio

Fyodor I

2005-02-05T15:51:00.000-08:00

The son of Ivan IV the Terrible and his first wife, Anastasiya Romanovna Zakharina-Yureva, Fyodor succeeded his father on March 19, 1584. Being both physically weak and feebleminded, however, he took no part in government affairs, which were dominated by his wife's

Leninism

2005-02-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

In the Communist

Sporades

2005-02-04T06:40:00.000-08:00

Group of Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, lying northeast of Euboea (Évvoia) island, including Skíathos, Skópelos, Skyros, and Alónnisos, as well as neighbouring islets. In antiquity these were known as the Thessalian, or Northern, Sporades, while the Thracian, or Eastern, Sporades included the now-Turkish island of Imroz (Greek Imvros), Samothrace, Thasos, Lemnos, and Áyios

Cambodia, Flag Of

2005-02-03T11:51:00.000-08:00

In different artistic representations, the central building of Angkor Wat has appeared on Khmer national flags since the 19th century, in the early days of the French protectorate over Cambodia. The first flag was red bordered in blue with the temple in white. The flag was “modernized” in 1948 by adoption of unequal horizontal stripes of dark blue, red, and dark blue, and the

Silky Oak

2005-02-03T01:35:00.000-08:00

In Australia it is cut for timber, but elsewhere it is valued for its graceful, feathery foliage and orange flower clusters at the ends of leafless branches.

Bead Lightning

2005-02-02T23:14:00.000-08:00

Also called chain lightning form of lightning of longer duration than more typical lightning that appears as a string of luminous segments instead of a continuous channel. It occurs infrequently but has been observed many times. Its causes are unknown, but among the theories proposed are the following: portions of the lightning channel are slanted toward or away from the observer and thus

Nebula, Ultracompact H II region

2005-02-01T15:28:00.000-08:00

Recently “ultracompact” H II regions have been discovered inside the molecular clouds in which they were formed. These nebulae are observed only at the wavelengths of radio and far-infrared radiation, which are able to penetrate the thick dust in the clouds. They are extremely bright at wavelengths of 50 micrometres, and the most luminous ones were detected throughout

Permafrost, Soil flow

2005-02-01T06:10:00.000-08:00

In areas underlain by an impermeable layer (seasonally frozen ground or perennially frozen ground), the active layer is often saturated with moisture and is quite mobile. The progressive downslope movement of saturated detrital material under the action of gravity and working in conjunction with frost action is called solifluction. This material moves in a

Draft Animal

2005-01-31T06:55:00.000-08:00

Any domesticated animal used in drawing heavy loads. Draft animals were in common use in Mesopotamia before 3000 BC for farm work and for pulling wheeled vehicles. Their use spread to the rest of the world over the following 2,500 years. While cattle, usually in teams, have been used most often as draft animals, horses and donkeys have supplanted them in many areas. Some horses—such

France, History Of, The age of Louis XIV

2005-01-30T06:56:00.000-08:00

Throughout his long reign Louis XIV (1643–1715) never lost the hold over his people he had assumed at the beginning. He worked hard to project his authority in the splendid setting of Versailles, to depict it in his arrogant motto: “Nec pluribus impar” (“None his equal”), and in his sun emblem. He buttressed his authority with the divine-right doctrines elaborated by Bishop

Kohistan

2005-01-29T17:04:00.000-08:00

In the North-West Frontier, Kohistan is that sparsely populated area of Pakistan which lies west of Chilas in Kashmir and the Kagan Valley. The eastern part is known as Indus Kohistan (for the Indus River) and the western part, divided between Swat

Arsaces

2005-01-28T14:09:00.000-08:00

Iranian name borne by the Parthian royal house as being descended from Arsaces, son of Phriapites (date unknown), a chief of the seminomadic Parni tribe from the Caspian steppes. The first of his line to gain power in Parthia was Arsaces I, who reigned from about 250 to about 211 BC. (Some authorities believe that a brother, Tiridates I, succeeded Arsaces about 248 and ruled until 211; other

Boyne, River

2005-01-28T06:52:00.000-08:00

Irish An Bhóinn river rising in the Bog of Allen, County Kildare, Ireland, and flowing 70 miles (110 km) northeast to enter the Irish Sea just below Drogheda. Neolithic passage graves at Knowth, Newgrange, and Dowth are of archaeological significance, and nearby in the Boyne valley is Tara, seat of the high kings of Ireland. The river was the scene of the famous Battle of the Boyne (1690).

Gable, Clark

2005-01-27T04:12:00.000-08:00

The only son of an itinerant oil-field worker, Gable embarked on an acting career while in his early 20s

Microscope, The compound microscope

2005-01-26T16:46:00.000-08:00

The compound microscope, using an objective and an eyepiece, was first described in the 16th century, but all drawings of the period indicate very impractical arrangements of lenses. The first useful compound microscope was constructed in the Netherlands sometime between 1590 and 1608. Three spectacle makers—Hans Jansen, his son Zacharias, and Hans Lippershey—have each received

Karasi Dynasty

2005-01-25T06:36:00.000-08:00

Founded by Karasi, a frontier ruler under Seljuq suzerainty, the principality had two branches, with their respective centres in Balikesir and Bergama (Pergamum). Of the sons of Karasi, Demirhan was defeated by the Ottoman ruler Orhan, and Balikesir was annexed (c. 1345). The coastal region of Çanakkale-Troy

BitterChurch

Riverina

Adrar

Staff, Leopold

Aracari

Portugal

Mosque

Capital Punishment

Lenox

K.b.e.

Barbados

Ta-li

Sacred Kingship, The king as judge

Macdonald, Jacques, Duc De Tarente

Moraine

1812, War Of

Degema

Mansehra

Moscow, Grand Principality Of

Mitiaro

Ayub Khan, Mohammad

Mesopotamia, History Of, Literary and other historical sources

Wolf Herring

Biblical Literature, Rule by the Herods

Mon

Peter Chrysologus, Saint

China, The dynastic succession

Black Prince's Ruby

Krypton

Brachiation

Switzerland, War with France

Robbins, Jerome

Cheke, Sir John

Shamanism

San Francisco Peaks

Carnivore, Natural history

Aguirre, Lope De

Latin America, History Of, Cities

Facial Nerve

Death Valley

Muravyov, Mikhail Nikolayevich, Graf

Biblical Literature, The Letter of Paul to the Philippians

Chemical Synthesis

Avezzano

Pacific Islands, Changing administrations

Ayllón, Lucas Vázquez De

Argentina, The Pampas

Economic Affairs, International.

Kwando River

Animal Disease

Allston, Robert (francis Withers)

Extenuating Circumstance

Valdemar Ii

Arab Economic Unity, Council Of

Hokuriku

Subsidy

Papyrus Column

Kazaure

Leno, Dan

China, The Southeast Mountains

Argand Diagram

Telephone And Telephone System

Accused, Rights Of

Abu Bakar

Juba Ii

Midas

Race, Transforming race into species

Heirloom

General Security, Committee Of

Ovonramwen

Ardabil Carpet

Culavamsa

Alexander Ii

Clouet, Jean

Scandinavian Literature, Romantic Realism

Petah Tiqwa

Chelsea Porcelain

Alexander City

Argentina, The Pampas

Interior Design, England

Race, Transforming race into species