LoudBrake

A wonderful Valentine's Day gift.

2007-01-25T10:30:00.000-08:00

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Thebes

2005-04-04T18:27:00.000-07:00

Ancient Egyptian Wase, or Wo'se, or (from c. 21st century BC) Nowe, or Nuwe,

Celaenae

2005-04-03T21:11:00.000-07:00

Ancient fortress city of Phrygia (in present Turkey), the starting point of the march of the “Ten Thousand” under Cyrus (401 BC) against Artaxerxes (recounted in Xenophon's Anabasis). In 333 Celaenae was conquered by Alexander the Great. The city was later renamed Apamea Cibotus (q.v.) by Antiochus I Soter, who refounded it on a more open site in order to benefit from the growing commerce

New England Conservatory Of Music

2005-04-02T17:19:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. Considered one of the leading music schools in the United States, it is also the oldest independent music conservatory in the nation. It offers bachelor's degrees with majors in percussion, five woodwind, five brass, six string, and three keyboard instruments, plus studies such as

Antarctica

2005-04-01T05:51:00.000-08:00

Lying almost concentrically around the South Pole, Antarctica—the name of which means “opposite to the Arctic”—is the southernmost continent, a circumstance that has had momentous consequences for all aspects of its character. It covers about 5.5 million square miles

Sanger, John And George

2005-03-30T17:55:00.000-08:00

The brothers were assistants in their father's touring peep show and formed their own show in 1853. By 1871 they had leased Astley's Amphitheatre

Godarpura

2005-03-29T18:29:00.000-08:00

Also called Mandhata , or Omkarji pilgrimage centre, western Madhya Pradesh state, central India. It lies along the Narmada River southeast of Indore. Godarpura has noted Saivite, Vaisnavite, and Jaina temples, mostly of the 14th and 18th centuries. The Omkar temple, on an island in the river, contains one of the 12 great Siva (Shiva) phallic symbols, or lingas; another linga stands outside the Gauri Somnath temple. The

'abd Al-rahman Iii

2005-03-29T14:24:00.000-08:00

Accounts of 'Abd ar-Rahman's reign may be found in W. Montgomery Watt, A History of Islamic Spain (1965, reissued 1977); and Stanley Lane-Poole, The Story of the Moors in Spain (1886, reprinted as The Moors in Spain, 1967).

Nicholas Of Clémanges

2005-03-26T09:10:00.000-08:00

Named rector of the University of Paris in 1393 after acquiring repute

Manala

2005-03-25T03:46:00.000-08:00

The Finnish underworld and related concepts among other Finno-Ugric peoples, such as the yabme-aimo of the Sami, are the

Sanjo Sanetomi, Koshaku

2005-03-25T01:02:00.000-08:00

In his youth he was a political leader of the court nobles gathered around the Emperor. In 1862, when the Emperor tried to reassert his

Fruitworm Beetle

2005-03-23T17:41:00.000-08:00

Any of a few genera of insects in the family Byfuridae (order Coleoptera) whose larvae feed on fruit. A common example of this family of small, hairy, oval beetles is the raspberry fruitworm (Byturus rubi). The small, pale larva, which is covered with short fine hairs, attacks the raspberry fruit. The adult, which ranges in colour from reddish yellow to black, is about 4 mm (0.16 inch)

Steffen, Albert

2005-03-23T00:51:00.000-08:00

Steffen's early works were compassionate messages of alarm at the disastrous effects of modern technological civilization and secularized thought in human relations. Moved by these problems, he joined the

Ibn Zuhr

2005-03-21T01:09:00.000-08:00

An intensely practical man, Ibn Zuhr disliked medical speculation; for that reason, he opposed the teachings of the Persian master physician Avicenna. In his Taysir fi al-mudawat wa al-tadbir (“Practical Manual of Treatments and Diet”), later translated

Amorphous Solid, Amorphous semiconductors in electronics

2005-03-20T19:13:00.000-08:00

Amorphous semiconductors, in the form of thin films prepared by methods such as that shown in Figure 4D, are important in applications requiring large areas of electronically active material. The first electronic application of amorphous semiconductors to occur on a large scale was

Earth, The Earth's gravitational field

2005-03-19T09:49:00.000-08:00

Texts include Michele Caputo, The Gravity Field of the Earth, from Classical and Modern Methods (1967); W.A. Heiskanen and F.A. Vening Meinesz, The Earth and Its Gravity Field (1958); and W.M. Telford et al., Applied Geophysics (1976). The Journal of Geophysical Research contains much recent work, including the following articles: LeRoy M. Dorman and Brian T.R. Lewis, “Experimental Isostasy, 1: Theory of the Determination of the Earth's Isostatic Response to a Concentrated Load,” 75(17):3357–65 (June 10, 1970), “Experimental Isostasy, 2: An Isostatic Model for the U.S.A. Derived from Gravity and Topographic Data,” 75(17):3367–86 (June 10, 1970), and “Experimental Isostasy, 3: Inversion of the Isostatic Green Function and Lateral Density Changes,” 77(17):3068–77 (June 10, 1972); G.D. Karner and A.B. Watts, “Gravity Anomalies and Flexure of the Lithosphere at Mountain Ranges,” 88(B12):10,449–10,477 (Dec. 10, 1983); and Marcia McNutt, “Implications of Regional Gravity for State of Stress in the Earth's Crust and Upper Mantle,” 85(B11):6377–96 (Nov. 10, 1980).

Priene

2005-03-19T09:14:00.000-08:00

By the 8th century BC Priene was a member of the Ionian League, whose central shrine, the Panionion, lay within the city's territory. Priene

Asahikawa

2005-03-19T05:47:00.000-08:00

City, Hokkaido, Japan. It lies along the Ishikari River in the agriculturally important Kamikawa Basin. Settled in 1889 and organized as a village in 1893, Asahikawa became the railway, marketing, and industrial centre of northern Hokkaido. Its industries include brewing and the manufacture of pulp, paper, wood chemicals, and cotton yarn. Asahikawa also serves as the entrance

Wahat Al-kharijah, Al-

2005-03-17T06:27:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kharga, or El-kharga, oasis in the Libyan (Western) Desert, part of Al-Wadi al-Jadid (“New Valley”) muhafazah (governorate), in south-central Egypt. It is situated about 110 miles (180 km) west-southwest of Naj' Hammadi, to which it is linked by railroad. The name Wahat al-Kharijah means “outer oasis.” The oasis consists of two fertile zones, extending about 100 miles (160 km) north-south and from 12 to 50 miles (19 to 80 km) east-west, with an area of more

'abd Al-qadir Al-jilani

2005-03-17T01:19:00.000-08:00

He studied Islamic law in Baghdad and was introduced to Sufism rather late in life, first appearing as a preacher in 1127. His great reputation as a preacher and teacher attracted disciples from the entire Islamic world, and he is said to have converted numerous Jews and Christians

Fyodor Iii

2005-03-16T20:49:00.000-08:00

The eldest son of Alexis (reigned 1645–76), Fyodor not only was educated in the traditional subjects of Russian and Church

Narai

2005-03-15T10:31:00.000-08:00

Narai was a son of King Prasat Thong by a queen who was a daughter of King Song Tham, and he came to the throne after violent palace upheavals had cut short the reigns of his elder brother and his uncle.

Arnaut Daniel

2005-03-14T23:52:00.000-08:00

A nobleman by birth, Arnaut was a highly regarded travelling troubadour. He is credited with inventing the sestina, a lyrical form of six six-line stanzas, unrhymed,

Pacific Ocean, European exploration

2005-03-14T04:33:00.000-08:00

Pacific islanders had long inhabited their homelands before the European “discovery” of the Pacific in the 16th century. European exploration can be divided into three phases: Spanish and Portuguese, Dutch, and English and French. The Spanish and Portuguese period began with the voyages in the 1520s of Ferdinand Magellan and, after his death, of his crew members. Later discoveries

Tooke, Thomas

2005-03-12T22:00:00.000-08:00

Tooke was in business throughout most of his adult life, beginning in St. Petersburg at the age of 15 and finally retiring as governor of the Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation in 1852. He often gave evidence before Parliament on economic matters. In 1821 he

Puffin

2005-03-12T20:37:00.000-08:00

Also called Bottlenose, or Sea Parrot, any of three species of diving birds that belong to the auk family, Alcidae (order Charadriiformes). They are distinguished by their large, brightly coloured, triangular beaks. Puffins nest in large colonies on seaside and island cliffs, usually laying only one egg, in a burrow dug one or two metres (three to six feet) deep. Hatched in about six weeks,

Bezique

2005-03-12T20:33:00.000-08:00

Card game, a forerunner of Pinochle. The game is for two players using a 64-card deck consisting of two 52-card decks in which the deuces through sixes have been removed; the cards rank in descending order: ace, 10, king, queen, jack, 9, 8, 7. Eight cards are dealt, three, two, and three cards at a time. The remaining cards are placed face down and form the stock, the top card of which is turned up to

Celestine Iii

2005-03-11T23:52:00.000-08:00

He was Peter Abélard's student and friend, and he carried out many important legations in Germany, Spain, and Portugal; St. Thomas Becket considered him his most reliable friend at the Roman Curia. He had been cardinal deacon of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Italy, for 47 years when, on March 30, 1191, at the age of 85, he was elected as the first

Rammed Earth

2005-03-11T20:24:00.000-08:00

Building material made by compacting certain soils, used by many civilizations. The most durable of the earth-building forms, rammed earth may be used for making building blocks or for constructing whole walls in place, layer by layer. In making building blocks, the soil is rammed into a box-shaped mold. In building up whole walls, two wooden planks separated by a spacer

Pythian Games

2005-03-11T10:51:00.000-08:00

In ancient Greece, various athletic and musical competitions held in honour of Apollo, chiefly those at Delphi. The musicians' contest there dated from very early times. In 582 BC it was made quadrennial, and athletic events including foot and chariot races were added in emulation of the Olympic Games. Open to all Greeks, the contests were held either at the Delphic shrine

Afanasev, Aleksandr Nikolayevich

2005-03-09T19:49:00.000-08:00

Afanasev studied law at Moscow University. His early work included a study of Russian satirical journals of the late 18th century (1859) and commentaries on contemporary Russian literature. During the period

Loranthaceae

2005-03-08T14:11:00.000-08:00

One of the mistletoe families of the sandalwood order (Santalales), having approximately 65 genera and about 850 species of parasitic flowering trees or shrubs. Some authorities also consider the 11 genera and about 450 species of the family Viscaceae, including the commonly known mistletoes of the genera Arceuthobium and Phoradendron in North America and of the genera

Taganrog

2005-03-08T10:58:00.000-08:00

City and seaport, Rostov oblast (province), southwestern Russia. It lies on the northern coast of Taganrog Gulf of the Sea of Azov. Founded as a fortress and naval base in 1698 by Peter I the Great, Taganrog developed in the 19th century as a grain-exporting port. Although overshadowed by Rostov-na-Donu, it is still a significant port for the Donets Basin coalfield and industrial

Alabastron

2005-03-07T09:28:00.000-08:00

Elongated, narrow-necked flask, used as a perfume or unguent container. The Greek alabastron has no handles but often lugs (ear-shaped projections), sometimes pierced with string holes. There are three types of classical alabastron: a basic Corinthian bulbous shape about 3 to 4 inches (8 to 10 cm) high that appeared from the mid-7th century BC and was common in Greece (see ); a long, pointed

Carter, Jimmy

2005-03-07T02:31:00.000-08:00

At the conclusion of the president's term, the Carters returned to their hometown. Rosalynn, who had taken an active role as first lady—not only acting as an adviser to the president but also attending cabinet meetings when the subjects under consideration were of interest to her—joined her husband in establishing the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, which included a presidential library and museum. Carter served as a sort of diplomat without portfolio in various conflicts in a number of countries—including Nicaragua (where he successfully promoted the return of the Miskito Indians to their homeland), Panama (where he observed and reported illegal voting procedures), and Ethiopia (where he attempted to mediate a settlement with the Eritrean People's Liberation Force). He was particularly active in this role in 1994, negotiating with North Korea to end nuclear weapons development there, with Haiti to effect a peaceful transfer of power, and with Bosnian Serbs and Muslims to broker a short-lived cease-fire. His efforts on behalf of international peace and his highly visible participation in building homes for the poor through Habitat for Humanity established in the public mind a much more favourable image of Carter than had been the case during his presidency. After leaving office, Carter also became a prolific author, writing on a variety of topics, including his presidency, the Middle East, and his Christian faith. He also wrote a collection of poetry.

Hughes Electronics Corporation

2005-03-06T18:36:00.000-08:00

American provider of wireless telecommunication services and formerly a leading manufacturer of satellites. The company was formed in 1985 as GM Hughes Electronics, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors Corporation, and renamed in 1995 as Hughes Electronics Corporation. In 2000 Hughes sold its satellite-manufacturing business to Boeing Company. Headquarters are

Argonne National Laboratory

2005-03-05T21:48:00.000-08:00

Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy in Argonne, Ill., that is operated by the University of Chicago and the Argonne Universities Association. It was founded in 1946 to conduct basic atomic research and to develop the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Argonne National Laboratory now carries out research on a broad range of science and engineering topics, including

André Le Chapelain,

2005-03-05T20:28:00.000-08:00

Latin Andreas Capellanus French writer on the art of courtly love, best known for his three-volume treatise Liber de arte honeste amandi et reprobatione inhonesti amoris (c. 1185; “Book of the Art of Loving Nobly and the Reprobation of Dishonourable Love”). He is thought to have been a chaplain at the court of Marie, Countess of Champagne, daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine. At Marie's request

Ambrosiaster

2005-03-04T06:57:00.000-08:00

In 1527 Erasmus expressed doubts that the work was written by Ambrose. His judgment was eventually accepted by scholars, and the author is generally called Ambrosiaster

Prie, Jeanne-agnes Berthelot De Pleneuf, Marquise De

2005-03-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

The daughter of an unscrupulous financier, Étienne Berthelot, she was married at age 15 to Louis, Marquess de Prie, and went with him to the court of Savoy at Turin, where he was ambassador. She was 21 when she returned to France and was soon the declared mistress of Louis-Henri, Duke de Bourbon. During

Jacob's Ladder

2005-03-02T18:39:00.000-08:00

Also called Greek Valerian, any of about 25 species of the genus Polemonium of the family Polemoniaceae, native to temperate areas in North and South America and Eurasia. Many are valued as garden flowers and wildflowers. They have loose, spikelike clusters of drooping blue, violet, or white, funnel-shaped, five-petaled flowers and alternate, pinnately (featherlike) compound

Macdonnell Ranges

2005-03-02T14:30:00.000-08:00

Mountain system in south central Northern Territory, Australia, a series of bare quartzite and sandstone parallel ridges that rise from a plateau 2,000 ft (600 m) above sea level and extend east and west of the town of Alice Springs for about 230 mi (380 km). They reach a maximum elevation of 4,954 ft at Mt. Ziel and are the source of the Finke, Todd, and Plenty rivers and Ellery Creek. Some streams

Heemstede

2005-03-01T06:42:00.000-08:00

Gemeente (commune), Noord-Holland provincie, western Netherlands. It lies along the Ring Canal, which borders the reclaimed Haarlem Lake polder, drained between 1840 and 1852. Heemstede is chiefly a residential suburb for Amsterdam and Haarlem. Many dunes in the vicinity have been leveled, and the land is used for bulb cultivation. Among the town's 17th- and 18th-century country houses

Iron Gate

2005-02-28T19:18:00.000-08:00

Romanian Portile de Fier , Serbo-Croatian Gvozdena Vrata the last gorge of the Djerdap gorge system on the Danube River, dividing the Carpathian and Balkan mountains and forming part of the boundary between Yugoslavia and Romania. It is about 2 miles (3 km) long and 530 feet (162 m) wide, with towering rock cliffs that make it one of the most dramatic natural wonders of Europe. Near the town of Sip a large rock reef (called Perigrada) obstructed

Orange

2005-02-27T02:17:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1852) of Orange county, southeastern Texas, U.S. It lies at the Louisiana state line. Orange is a deepwater port on the Sabine River, which has been canalized to connect with the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. It is linked to Beaumont and Port Arthur by the tall Rainbow Bridge (1938), built to allow passage of the tallest ship of its time; with Beaumont and Port Arthur, Orange forms

Acámbaro

2005-02-27T00:34:00.000-08:00

City, southeastern Guanajuato estado (“state”), central Mexico. Acámbaro lies along the Lerma River, in the central plateau, at 6,388 feet (1,947 m) above sea level. A Spanish settlement was founded there in 1526 on the site of a small Tarascan Indian village. With the construction of the Solís Reservoir, irrigation water became available to bring land under cultivation. Corn (maize), beans,

German Literature, Aestheticism

2005-02-26T18:40:00.000-08:00

In the final decades of the 19th century the literary scene was divided between naturalism and its opposites, variously collected under terms such as Neoromanticism, Impressionism, Jugendstil, and Decadence. Aestheticism—the belief that the work of art need have no moral or political use beyond its existence as a beautiful object—may prove to be the most appropriate

Hinton

2005-02-25T02:59:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1871) of Summers county, southeastern West Virginia, U.S., on the New River, near the mouth of the Greenbrier River. Laid out in 1831, it became a railway maintenance facility and rail-shipping point in 1871 with the arrival of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. The early 20th century was the boom time for Hinton; the railroad had at one time about 1,000 employees. However, this volume of activity

Næstved

2005-02-24T19:59:00.000-08:00

City, Storstrøm amtskommune (county commune), southern Sjælland (Zealand), Denmark, on the Suså River. Næstved originated around a Benedictine monastery, founded in 1135. The monks moved at the end of the 12th century, and the town developed as a market centre for southern Sjælland (chartered 1426). Chief among its medieval landmarks are Sankt Peder Church, the only survival of the

Salem

2005-02-24T09:04:00.000-08:00

Nearby oil fields

Amphissa

2005-02-23T17:45:00.000-08:00

Modern Greek Ámfissa, agricultural centre, chief town of the eparkhía (“eparchy”) of Parnassus (Parnassós), capital of the nomós (department) of Fokís (Phocis), central Greece, at the northwestern limit of the fertile Crisaean plain between the Gióna Mountains and the Parnassus massif. The economy includes trade in wheat, livestock, and particularly olives grown on the Crisaean plain. Bauxite

Châtelet

2005-02-23T03:00:00.000-08:00

In Paris, the principal seat of common-law jurisdiction under the French monarchy from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution. Located on the right bank of the Seine River, the building was originally a small fort that guarded the northern approach to the Île de la Cité. Frequently rebuilt, it was known as the Grand Châtelet to distinguish it from the Petit Châtelet

Radiation

2005-02-23T02:44:00.000-08:00

Flow of atomic and subatomic particles and of waves, such as those that characterize heat rays, light rays, and X rays. All matter is constantly bombarded with radiation of both types from cosmic and terrestrial sources. This article delineates the properties and behaviour of radiation and the matter with which it interacts and describes how energy is transferred

Ob River, Climate and hydrology

2005-02-21T13:32:00.000-08:00

The Ob basin has short, warm summers and long, cold winters. Average January temperatures range from -18 °F (-28 °C) on the shores of the Kara Sea to 3 °F (-16 °C) in the upper reaches of the Irtysh. July temperatures for the same locations, respectively, range from 40 °F (4 °C) to above 68 °F (20 °C). The absolute maximum temperature, in the arid south, is 104 °F (40 °C), and the minimum, in the Altai Mountains, is -76 °F (-60 °C). Rainfall, which

Xanthophyta

2005-02-20T07:52:00.000-08:00

Division or phylum of algae commonly known as yellow-green algae (q.v.).

Mosaferid Dynasty

2005-02-19T09:34:00.000-08:00

The founder of the dynasty was Mohammad ebn Mosafer (ruled c. 916–941), military commander of the strategic mountain fortresses of Tarom and Samiran in Daylam, in northwestern Iran. With the increasing weakness of the Justanid dynasty that ruled the region, Mohammad increased his power and gained control of most of Daylam. After

Kwandebele

2005-02-19T03:28:00.000-08:00

Former nonindependent black state and enclave in central Transvaal province, South Africa, that was a self-governing “national state” for Transvaal Ndebele people from 1981 to 1994. KwaNdebele was located in a 3,500-foot- (1,060-metre-) high dry savanna area about 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Johannesburg. It was established in 1979, when many Transvaal Ndebele were expelled from the nearby Bophuthatswana

Stiller, Mauritz

2005-02-18T09:42:00.000-08:00

Motion-picture director who during the early 1920s was a leader in the internationally preeminent Swedish cinema. He was influenced by D.W. Griffith's epic style and Thomas Harper Ince's integral use of landscape but most of all by the typically Swedish mysticism and passionate love of nature reflected in the novels of Selma Lagerlöf, many of which

Chekhov, Anton

2005-02-16T17:05:00.000-08:00

In March 1897 Chekhov had suffered a lung hemorrhage caused by tuberculosis, symptoms of which had become apparent considerably earlier. Now forced to acknowledge himself a semi-invalid, Chekhov sold his Melikhovo estate and built a villa in Yalta, the Crimean coastal resort. From then on he spent most of his winters there or on the French Riviera, cut off from the intellectual

Locarno

2005-02-16T09:07:00.000-08:00

German Luggarus town, Ticino canton, southern Switzerland. It is situated at the northern end of Lago Maggiore, near the mouth of the Maggia River, west of Bellinzona. The site was settled in prehistoric times, and the town was first mentioned in 789. A possession of the dukes of Milan from 1342, it was taken by the Swiss in 1513. It became part of the newly formed Ticino canton in 1803 and, with Lugano and Bellinzona,

Alabama, The economy

2005-02-16T08:26:00.000-08:00

Among the 50 states, the relative status of Alabama may be indicated by its income per capita: it has ranked close to the bottom of the economic scale for a number of years. This low status results, in part, from the depressed state of agriculture, which employs a large segment of the population. Rural poverty thus drags down the state average, concealing more promising developments

Anthropology And Archaeology, Eastern Hemisphere.

2005-02-15T23:26:00.000-08:00

The year 2002 yielded a number of stunning archaeological discoveries. A 50-cm (20-in)-long limestone ossuary, or box for storage of bones, bearing a text in Aramaic, was hailed as the first archaeological evidence for the historical Jesus. The ossuary, found near Jerusalem, was carved with a single line of text reading, “Ya'akov bar Yosef akhui diYeshua,” or “James, son of Joseph, brother

Cheilostomata

2005-02-15T19:35:00.000-08:00

Major division of the bryozoans (small, colonial, aquatic invertebrate animals) that first appeared during the Jurassic period (208 to 144 million years ago). Individual members of the cheilostome colony are protected by a calcareous or chitinous covering that may be closed by a lidlike structure, an operculum. The cheilostomes are exclusively marine animals, and the plantlike

Arabia, History Of, Oman

2005-02-14T15:33:00.000-08:00

In the last decades of the 7th century the Ibadites (Ibadiyah), regarded as a moderate Kharijite sect, conquered southern Arabia, established a Kindite imam in Hadhramaut, occupied San'a', and took Mecca and Medina, before the Umayyads drove them back to Hadhramaut. Oman had early become Kharijite; the first Ibadite imam, al-Julanda ibn Mas'ud, was elected at about the beginning of the 'Abb

Adams, Maude

2005-02-13T16:52:00.000-08:00

Her mother, whose maiden name she adopted, was leading lady of the Salt Lake City stock company. From Adams' first triumph at the age of five as Little Schneider in Fritz at the San Francisco Theatre, she played child roles. In 1888 she joined

Hawk's-eye

2005-02-13T08:28:00.000-08:00

Variety of the semiprecious quartz tiger's-eye (q.v.).

Zamora

2005-02-13T05:32:00.000-08:00

In full Zamora De Hidalgo, city, northwestern Michoacán state, west-central Mexico. It lies at an elevation of 5,141 feet (1,567 m) above sea level in the Zamora valley, formed by the Duero River. It was founded in 1540 as an outpost to guard against Indians. Commerce, agriculture, and livestock raising are the principal sources of income. Corn (maize), wheat, beans, and numerous fruits and vegetables are grown in the

Nacaome

2005-02-11T17:57:00.000-08:00

City, southern Honduras, on the seasonally dry Nacaome River. It was founded in 1535 and given city status in 1845. Its colonial church, rebuilt in 1867, still stands. Nacaome is a manufacturing and commercial centre. Cement products are made in the city, which also contains tanneries. The surrounding agricultural lands yield principally sesame and cotton. Gold and silver are mined

Islamic World, Trans-Saharan Islam

2005-02-10T15:26:00.000-08:00

When the Ottomans expanded through the southern Mediterranean coast in the early 16th century, they were unable to incorporate Morocco, where a new state had been formed in reaction to the appearance of the Portuguese. The Portuguese were riding the momentum generated by their own seaborne expansion as well as by the fulfillment of the Reconquista and the establishment

Earth, Results of structural geologic studies

2005-02-10T11:51:00.000-08:00

Deformed rocks typically occur in long, linear belts along the trend of present or past mountain belts. In many parts of the world, mountain belts end rather abruptly at the edges of continents and commonly occur in pairs located on opposite sides of an ocean. The Appalachian mountain belt, for example, extends from Georgia and Alabama through southeastern Pennsylvania,

Theatres, War Of The

2005-02-09T18:54:00.000-08:00

In English literary history, conflict involving the Elizabethan playwrights Ben Jonson, John Marston, and Thomas Dekker. It covered a period when Jonson was writing for one children's company of players and Marston for another, rival group. In 1599 Marston presented a mildly satirical portrait of Jonson in his Histrio-mastix. In 1599 Jonson replied in Every Man Out of His

Wain, John (barrington)

2005-02-09T14:47:00.000-08:00

Wain was educated at St. John's College, Oxford, of which he subsequently became a fellow. He was a lecturer in English literature at the University

Mena (y Medrano), Pedro De

2005-02-09T03:20:00.000-08:00

Beginning as a student of his father, the sculptor Alonso de Mena, Pedro worked in the studio of Alonso Cano from 1652 to 1657. After Cano departed for Madrid, Pedro went in 1658 to Málaga to begin

Bon, Cape

2005-02-06T21:01:00.000-08:00

Arabic Ra's At-tib, peninsula of northeastern Tunisia, 20 miles (32 km) wide and protruding 50 miles (80 km) into the Mediterranean Sea between the Gulf of Tunis and Khalij (gulf) al-Hammamat (Hammamet). Cape Bon was the site of the surrender of more than 250,000 Germans and Italians to the Allies in 1943. A region of hills and fertile plains, with a Mediterranean climate and adequate rainfall, it is noted for its irrigated

House Sparrow

2005-02-06T07:59:00.000-08:00

Also called English Sparrow (Passer domesticus), one of the world's best-known and most abundant small birds, sometimes classified in the family Ploceidae (q.v.; order Passeriformes) or separated as Passeridae. It lives in towns and on farms, worldwide, having accompanied Europeans from its original home—most of Eurasia and northern Africa. It was introduced into North America

Córdoba, Mosque-cathedral Of

2005-02-06T03:58:00.000-08:00

The original structure was built by the Umayyad ruler 'Abd ar-Rahman I in 784–786 with extensions in the 9th and 10th centuries that doubled its size, ultimately making it one of the largest sacred buildings in the Islamic world. The ground plan of the completed building forms a vast rectangle

Incidental Music

2005-02-05T16:17:00.000-08:00

Music written to accompany or point up the action or mood of a dramatic performance on stage, film, radio, television, or recording; to serve as a transition between parts of the action; or to introduce or close the performance. Because it is written to enhance a nonmusical medium, most incidental music makes little impression on public taste. But some incidental music

Abduction

2005-02-05T14:29:00.000-08:00

In law, the carrying away of any female for purposes of concubinage or prostitution. The taking of a girl under a designated age for purposes of marriage is in most jurisdictions also included in the crime of abduction. Abduction is generally regarded as a form of kidnapping (q.v.).

Malalas, John

2005-02-05T07:37:00.000-08:00

Malalas' Chronographia in 18 books is a compilation of history from the Creation certainly to 565, perhaps to 574, but the single extant manuscript ends with events of 563. The greater part of it stresses the importance of Antioch and has a Monophysite flavour. The last part of Book 18 appears to

Settlement

2005-02-03T20:54:00.000-08:00

In law, a compromise or agreement between litigants to settle the matters in dispute between them in order to dispose of and conclude their litigation. Generally, as a result of the settlement, prosecution of the action is withdrawn or dismissed without any judgment being entered (see nolle prosequi). In such cases, the settlement itself, as a binding contract between

Arctic, Land transport

2005-02-03T18:50:00.000-08:00

Land transport is less well developed. The expense of building a road or railbed is generally prohibitive in an area with such low population and such great distances between centres. In the American north there is only one railway, the Alaska Railroad, which runs from the port of Seward on the south coast to Fairbanks in the interior. There are more roads, chief among

Ear Disease, Congenital nerve deafness

2005-02-03T00:17:00.000-08:00

Congenital nerve deafness, a defect of the auditory nerve in the cochlea, may be present at birth or acquired during or soon after birth. Usually both inner ears are affected to a similar degree, and as a rule there is a severe impairment of hearing, although in some cases of congenital nerve loss the impairment is moderate. Many cases of congenital nerve deafness have

Arts, Central Asian, Kushan

2005-02-01T16:27:00.000-08:00

The Kushans replaced the Greeks in Bactria about 130 BC. They are thought to have been of Yüeh-chih stock with a strong admixture of Hephthalites, Saka, and Tocharian. One branch of this group migrated to the Tarim Basin and founded a short-lived empire, while the other, under the name of Kushan, gained control of Central Asia. Capturing a section of the great trade route leading

Eyzies-de-tayac Caves

2005-02-01T09:39:00.000-08:00

Aucassin Et Nicolette

2005-01-31T11:05:00.000-08:00

Early 13th-century French chantefable (a story told in alternating sections of verse and prose, the former sung, the latter recited). Aucassin, “endowed with all good qualities,” is the son of the Count of Beaucaire and falls in love with Nicolette, a captive Saracen turned Christian. The lovers are imprisoned but manage to escape and, after many vicissitudes (including flight,

Painting, Western, The 17th century

2005-01-30T02:36:00.000-08:00

English painting during the 17th century had been dominated by a series of foreign-born practitioners, mostly portraitists (e.g., Rubens and Van Dyck), even before the Civil War. Sir Peter Lely and Sir Godfrey Kneller continued this trend after the Restoration. The vast majority of the painting executed by native artists remained thoroughly provincial. Lely began his

Ilchester

2005-01-29T21:03:00.000-08:00

Town (“parish”), South Somerset district, administrative and historic county of Somerset, England. It lies along the River Yeo. Ilchester was known as Lindinis under Roman rule and was the northern tribal capital of the Durotriges, an early British people. A royal mint was established there in the 10th century and remained in operation until Henry II's reign (1154–89). The town's royal

Sabot

2005-01-29T14:59:00.000-08:00

Variations of the sabot—wooden-soled shoes topped with a variety of materials such as leather and suede—became popular

Basil Ii

2005-01-28T21:57:00.000-08:00

The reign of Basil II, widely acknowledged to be one of the outstanding Byzantine emperors, admirably illustrates both

Azerbaijan

2005-01-28T13:08:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Azarbaijan , or Azarbayjan , Persian Azarbayjan, geographic region that comprises the extreme northwestern portion of Iran. It is bounded on the north by the Aras River, which separates it from independent Azerbaijan and Armenia; on the east by the Iranian region of Gilan and the Caspian Sea; on the south by the Iranian regions of Zanjan and Kordestan; and on the west by Iraq and Turkey. Azerbaijan is about 40,000 square miles

Dandolo, Vincenzo

2005-01-28T07:36:00.000-08:00

Of modest origins, Dandolo, after studying chemistry at the University of Padua, became a champion of new scientific

Patiala

2005-01-26T01:58:00.000-08:00

City, administrative headquarters of Patiala district, Punjab state, northwestern India. The city lies on a major rail line, as well as on a branch of the Sirhind Canal. Founded in 1763 as the capital of the princely state of Patiala, it is a trade and industrial centre; weaving, cotton ginning, distilling, and manufacturing are among its industries. Punjabi University (established

Dinosaur, The asteroid theory

2005-01-25T19:42:00.000-08:00

The discovery of an abnormally high concentration of the rare metal iridium at, or very close to, the K–T boundary provides what has been recognized as one of those rare instantaneous geologic time markers that seem to be worldwide. This iridium anomaly, or spike, was first found by Walter Alvarez in the Cretaceous–Tertiary stratigraphic sequence at Gubbio, Italy,

Adams

2005-01-25T18:14:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Berkshire county, northwestern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies at the foot of Mount Greylock (3,491 feet [1,064 metres]), on the Hoosic River, 15 miles (24 km) north of Pittsfield. The town of North Adams is 5 miles north. Founded by Quakers in 1766, it was known as East Hoosuck until 1778, when it was incorporated and renamed for the Revolutionary War hero Samuel Adams. Local limestone and marble

Heterospecific Mating

2005-01-25T01:25:00.000-08:00

Also called incompatible mating mating in which the man and woman have incompatible blood types, such that the woman may develop antibodies to her partner's blood type. This mating causes difficulties in childbirth, since there is a chance that the child conceived in a heterospecific mating will have its father's blood type. When a heterospecific pregnancy occurs, the mother produces antibodies

Brugmann, Karl

2005-01-24T02:04:00.000-08:00

As a young man Brugmann sided with the emerging Junggrammatiker, or Neogrammarians, who rejected

Spookfish

2005-01-23T07:58:00.000-08:00

Any of about 11 species of small marine fishes constituting the family Opisthoproctidae (order Salmoniformes), with representatives in each of the major oceans. The name spookfish, or barreleye, as they are sometimes called, originates from their unusual eyes, which are pointed upward and are borne at the end of short tubular stalks. Specimens have been collected at

Dowitcher

2005-01-23T04:11:00.000-08:00

Dowitchers

F-100

2005-01-23T01:05:00.000-08:00

Also called Super Sabre, jet fighter aircraft, the first developed for the U.S. Air Force to exceed the speed of sound in level flight. It was operational from 1953 to 1973. It was made by North American Aviation, Inc., and it became the principal tactical fighter of the U.S. Tactical Air Command and was adopted by various NATO countries. The F-100C had a wingspan of 38 feet (11.58 m) and was 47 feet (14.33 m) long. It was a single-seat, low-wing

Bradley, Edward R.

2005-01-22T10:54:00.000-08:00

As a student at Cheyney State College (now Cheyney University of Pennsylvania), Bradley worked his way into broadcasting by volunteering at Philadelphia radio station WDAS-FM. After graduating with a degree in education (B.S., 1964), Bradley became an elementary schoolteacher but continued to work