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pistachio

(Encyclopedia)pistachio pĭstăshˈēō, pĭstäˈshēō [key], tree or shrub (of the genus Pistacia) of the family Anacardiaceae (sumac family). The species that yields the pistachio nut of commerce is P. vera, na...

Bamian

(Encyclopedia)Bamian or Bamiyan both: bəmyänˈ [key], town, capital of Bamian prov., N central Afghanistan, on the Kunduz ...

Chandragupta

(Encyclopedia)Chandragupta (Chandragupta Maurya) chändrəgo͝opˈtə [key], fl. c.321 b.c.–c.298 b.c., Indian emperor, founder of the Maurya dynasty and grandfather of Aśoka. He conquered the Magadha kingdom (i...

Vavilov, Nikolai Ivanovich

(Encyclopedia)Vavilov, Nikolai Ivanovich nyĭkəlīˈ ēväˈnəvĭch vəvēˈləf [key], 1887–1943?, Russian botanist and geneticist. He is reported to have died in a Soviet concentration camp after losing polit...

Rumi, Jalal ad-Din

(Encyclopedia)Rumi, Jalal ad-Din jälälˈ ĕd-dēnˈ ro͞oˈmē [key], 1207–73, great Islamic Persian sage and poet mystic, b. in Balkh. His father, a scholar, was invited by the Seljuk sultan of Rum to settle i...

Rutskoi, Aleksandr Vladimirovich

(Encyclopedia)Rutskoi or Rutskoy, Aleksandr Vladimirovich ŭlˌyĭksänˈdər vlŭdˌyĭmĭrˈəvyĭchˌ ro͞otskoiˈ [key], 1947–, Russian politician, b. Ukraine. A Russian nationalist and former air force offic...

onager

(Encyclopedia)onager ŏnˈəjər [key] or Persian wild ass, wild ass of central Asia, Equus hemonius onager. Formerly classified as a separate species, it is one of the several subspecies of Asian wild ass (E. hemo...

inspector general

(Encyclopedia)inspector general, a government official tasked with independently overseeing an agency or department. Inspectors general are utilized by many countries, as well as regional and local governments and ...

Persian Gulf Wars

(Encyclopedia)Persian Gulf Wars, two conflicts involving Iraq and U.S.-led coalitions in the late 20th and early 21st cent. The First Persian Gulf War, also known as the Gulf War, Jan.–Feb., 1991, was an armed co...

opium

(Encyclopedia)opium, substance derived by collecting and drying the milky juice in the unripe seed pods of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum. Opium varies in color from yellow to dark brown and has a characterist...