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Heidenstam, Verner von

(Encyclopedia)Heidenstam, Verner von vĕrˈnər fən hāˈdənstäm [key], 1859–1940, Swedish lyric poet, novelist, and essayist. His first volume of poetry, Pilgrimage and Wanderyears (1888), challenged the cont...

Copts

(Encyclopedia)Copts kŏpts [key], the native Christian minority of Egypt; estimates of the number of Copts in Egypt range from 5% to 17% of the population. Copts are not ethnically distinct from other Egyptians; th...

Aramaic

(Encyclopedia)Aramaic ârəmāˈĭk [key], language belonging to the West Semitic subdivision of the Semitic subfamily of the Afroasiatic family of languages (see Afroasiatic languages). At some point during the se...

Timur

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Empire of Timur (1405) Timur tămˈərlān [key], c.1336–1405, Mongol conqueror, b. Kesh, near Samarkand. He is also called Timur Leng [Timur the lame]. He was the son of a tribal leader, an...

Institut de France

(Encyclopedia)Institut de France ăNstētüˈ də fräNs [key], cultural institution of the French state. Founded in 1795 by the Directory, it replaced five learned societies that had been suppressed in 1793 by the...

Hitopadesa

(Encyclopedia)Hitopadesa: see Sanskrit literature. ...

Sutra

(Encyclopedia)Sutra: see Sanskrit literature.

Mozarabs

(Encyclopedia)Mozarabs mōzârˈəbz [key], Christians of Muslim Spain. Their position was the usual one of Christians and Jews in Islam: they were a separate community, locally autonomous, and they paid a special ...

Riyadh

(Encyclopedia)Riyadh or Riad both: rēädˈ [key], city (1997 est. pop. 3,000,000), capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia, in the Nejd, central Saudi Arabia. It is situated in an oasis, c.240 mi (390 km) inland ...

Aldebaran

(Encyclopedia)Aldebaran ălˌdĕbˈərən [key], brightest star in the constellation Taurus; Bayer designation α Tauri; 1992 position R.A. 4h35.5m, Dec. +16°30′. An orange giant star (spectral class K5 III) wit...