(Encyclopedia) Grand Canal, Chinese Da Yunhe [large transit river], longest in the world, extending c.1,000 mi (1,600 km) from Beijing to Hangzhou, E China, and forming an important north-south…
(Encyclopedia) BaburBaburbäˈbər [key] [Turk.,=lion], 1483–1530, founder of the Mughal empire of India. His full name was Zahir ud-Din Muhammad. A descendant of Timur (Tamerlane) and of Jenghiz Khan,…
The month of fasting by Holly Hartman For more on Islamic history and culture, see the Islam Primer. For more than a billion Muslims, Ramadan is a time of prayer,…
(Encyclopedia) Muhammad II or Mehmet II (Muhammad the Conqueror), 1429–81, Ottoman sultan (1451–81), son and successor of Murad II. He is considered the true founder of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey).…
(Encyclopedia) Ulaanbaatar or Ulan BatorUlaanbaatarboth: &oomacr;länˈ bäˈtôr [key] [Mongolian,=red hero], Chinese Kulun, city (2010 est. pop. 1,500,000), capital of the Republic of Mongolia, E…
(Encyclopedia) KashiKashikäˈshēˈ [key] or KashgarKashgarkäshˈgär [key], city (1994 est. pop. 190,500), SW Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, on the Kaxgar (Kashgar) River (a tributary of the…
(Encyclopedia) Bhutto, Zulfikar AliBhutto, Zulfikar Aliz&oobreve;lˈfĭkär älēˈ b&oomacr;tˈtō [key], 1928–79, Pakistani political leader. Member of a wealthy landowning family, he entered…
(Encyclopedia) SamarkandSamarkandsămərkăndˈ, Rus. səmərkäntˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 395,000), capital of Samarkand region, in Uzbekistan, on the Trans-Caspian RR. It is one of the oldest existing…
