Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

230 results found

Osman Nuri Pasha

(Encyclopedia)Osman Nuri Pasha ōsmänˈ no͞orēˈ päshäˈ [key], 1837–1900, Turkish general. He fought in the Crimean War of 1854–56 and in Lebanon, Crete, and Arabia in the 1860s and 70s. He was made muşi...

Islamic State

(Encyclopedia)Islamic State (IS), Sunni Islamic militant group committed to the establishment of an Islamic caliphate that would unite Muslims in a transnational, strict-fundamentalist Islamic state. IS has been ma...

monarchy

(Encyclopedia)monarchy, form of government in which sovereignty is vested in a single person whose right to rule is generally hereditary and who is empowered to remain in office for life. The power of this sovereig...

Pan-Arabism

(Encyclopedia)Pan-Arabism, general term for the modern movement for political unification among the Arab nations of the Middle East. Since the Ottoman Turks rose to power in the 14th cent., there have been stirring...

Ajman

(Encyclopedia)Ajman äjmänˈ [key], sheikhdom, c.100 sq mi (260 sq km), part of the federation of seven United Arab Emirates, SE Arabia, primarily on the Persian Gulf. The smallest me...

Hogarth, David George

(Encyclopedia)Hogarth, David George hōˈgärth [key], 1862–1927, English archaeologist, keeper (1909–27) of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. He explored and excavated (1887–1907) in Cyprus, Crete, Egypt, Syria,...

Marib

(Encyclopedia)Marib mäˈrĭb [key], ancient city, Yemen, SW Arabia, 140 mi (225 km) inland at an altitude of 3,900 ft (1,190 m). It was one of the chief cities, perhaps the capital, of Sheba. It was the site of a ...

Valle, Pietro della

(Encyclopedia)Valle, Pietro della pyĕˈtrō dĕlˈlä välˈlā [key], 1586–1652, Italian traveler in Asia. He sailed (1614) from Venice; spent a year in Constantinople, where he studied Turkish and Arabic; then...

Hodeida

(Encyclopedia)Hodeida äl ho͞odāˈdä [key], city, W Yemen, on the Red Sea. An important port, it exported ...

Doughty, Charles Montagu

(Encyclopedia)Doughty, Charles Montagu dōˈtē, douˈtē [key], 1843–1926, English author and traveler. He is best known for his Travels in Arabia Deserta (1888), describing his life among the Bedouins. Now cons...