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Helbon

(Encyclopedia)Helbon hĕlˈbŏn [key], in the Bible, ancient place, Syria, NW of Damascus. It was noted for its wine. ...

Trachonitis

(Encyclopedia)Trachonitis trăkˌənīˈtĭs [key], region, ancient Palestine, NE of the Sea of Galilee and SE of Damascus. It formed part of the tetrarchy of Herod Philip and Herod Agrippa I. It is mentioned in th...

Maher-shalal-hash-baz

(Encyclopedia)Maher-shalal-hash-baz māˈər-shălˈəl-hăsh-băz [key] [Heb.,=the spoil speeds, the prey hastens], in the Bible, name of Isaiah's son, symbolizing hope for Judah during the Assyrian attack on Dama...

Eden, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Eden, in the Bible. 1 Son of Joah. 2 Priest. Perhaps this is the same as 1. 3 See Eden, Garden of. 4 Unidentified trading center, possibly in Mesopotamia. 5 Place somewhere near Damascus. ...

Abu'l Hasan al-Uqlidisi

(Encyclopedia)Abu'l Hasan al-Uqlidisi, c. a.d. 920–c. a.d. 980, Arab mathematician working in Damascus and Baghdad. He wrote (952–53) a treatise on arithmetic and Arabic numerals that is the first known work to...

Asa

(Encyclopedia)Asa āˈsə [key], in the Bible, king of Judah, son and successor of Abijah. He was a good king, zealous in his extirpation of idols. When Baasha of Israel took Ramah (a few miles N of Jerusalem), Asa...

Aram

(Encyclopedia)Aram āˈrăm [key], ancient country and people centered in Damascus in S Syria between the 11th and 8th cent. b.c. The Bible records constant contacts between the Hebrews and Aram. The Aramaeans spok...

Abu al-Fida

(Encyclopedia)Abu al-Fida äˌbo͞o äl-fēˈdä, –fĭdäˈ [key], 1273–1331, Arab historian, b. Damascus. He fought against the Christians in the last period of the Crusades and later became (1310) governor of...

Conrad III, ruler of the Holy Roman Empire

(Encyclopedia)Conrad III, c.1093–1152, German king (1138–52), son of Frederick, duke of Swabia, and Agnes, daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV; first of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. He joined his brother Frede...

Syrian Desert

(Encyclopedia)Syrian Desert, Arabic Badiyat Ash Sham, arid wasteland, SW Asia, between the cultivated lands along the E Mediterranean coast and the fertile Euphrates River valley. It extends N from the Nafud Desert...