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Drangiana

(Encyclopedia)Drangiana drănˌjēāˈnə, –ănˈə [key], ancient country, part of the Persian Empire, between Aria on the north and Gedrosia on the south. It was conquered (330 b.c.) by Alexander the Great and ...

Paropamisus

(Encyclopedia)Paropamisus pârˌəpămˈĭsəs, –pəmīˈsəs [key], mountain range, NW Afghanistan, stretching c.300 mi (480 km) W from the Hindu Kush toward the Elburz Mts. in Iran; rises to c.11,000 ft (3,350 ...

Safed Koh

(Encyclopedia)Safed Koh säfādˈ kō [key], mountain range on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, SE of Kabul; rises to 15,620 ft (4,761 m) at Mt. Sikaram. It parallels the Kabul River. A spur of the range is crossed...

Ariana

(Encyclopedia)Ariana or Aryana both: ârēāˈnə, –ăˈnə [key], general name for the eastern provinces of the ancient Persian Empire. It was used to mean the regions S of the Oxus (modern Amu Darya) River; the...

commando

(Encyclopedia)commando, small, elite military raiding and assault unit or soldier. Although the word was coined in the Boer War (1899–1902), the role is as old as battles themselves. In 1940, when the British org...

Zarqawi, Abu Musab al-

(Encyclopedia)Zarqawi, Abu Musab al- äˈbo͞o mo͞osäb äl-zärkäˈwē [key], nom de guerre of Ahmad Fadhil Nazzar al-Khalaylah, 1966–2006, Islamic terrorist leader, b. Jordan. Becoming a militant Islamist in ...

lapis lazuli

(Encyclopedia)lapis lazuli lăpˈĭs lăzˈo͝olē [key], gem, deep blue, violet, or greenish blue in color and usually flecked with yellow iron pyrites. It is composed of lazurite, a complex sodium aluminum silica...

Khulm

(Encyclopedia)Khulm täshˈko͝orgänˌ [key], town, N Afghanistan. It has extensive fruit orchards and is a market for wool and sheep with a notable covered bazaar. Khulm is commonly identified with the ancient to...

Buttigieg, Pete

(Encyclopedia)Buttigieg, Pete (Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg) bo͞otˈəjĕj [key], 1982–, American pol...

Kabul

(Encyclopedia)Kabul käˈbo͝ol, kəbo͞olˈ [key], city (1997 est. pop. 1,500,000), capital of Afghanistan and of Kabul prov. and its largest city and economic and cultural center, E Afghanistan, on the Kabul Rive...