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Tripolitania

(Encyclopedia)Tripolitania trĭpˌəlĭtāˈnēə [key], historic region, W Libya, bordering on the Mediterranean Sea. Tripoli is the chief city. The original inhabitants of the region were probably Berbers. In the...

Sassanid

(Encyclopedia)Sassanid, Sasanid săsāˈnyən [key], last dynasty of native rulers to reign in Persia before the Arab conquest. The period of their dominion extended from c.a.d. 224, when the Parthians were overth...

Ghudamis

(Encyclopedia)Ghudamis or Ghadames both: gədäˈmĕs [key], town, W Libya, in an oasis in the Sahara, near the borders with Algeria and Tunisia. It was long an important caravan center on the route from Tripoli to...

Fromentin, Eugène

(Encyclopedia)Fromentin, Eugène özhĕnˈ frômäNtăNˈ [key], 1820–76, French painter and art critic. After studying in Paris, he traveled in Algeria and painted North African subjects. His Quarry and Fellah W...

Justinian II

(Encyclopedia)Justinian II (Justinian Rhinotmetus), 669–711, Byzantine emperor (685–95, 705–11), son and successor of Constantine IV. He successfully invaded Arab territory but lost the advantage through a tr...

Marsala

(Encyclopedia)Marsala märsäˈlä [key], city (1991 pop. 80,177), W Sicily, Italy, a port on the Mediterranean Sea, located on Cape Boeo. It is noted for its sweet wine. The ancient Lilybaeum, it was later renamed...

Cairo geniza

(Encyclopedia)Cairo geniza kōˈrō gənˈēzə [key], archive of ancient Jewish manuscripts found in the synagogue of Fostat-Cairo, Egypt (built 882). In the 1890s western scholars visited the synagogue and remove...

Vibo Valentia

(Encyclopedia)Vibo Valentia vēˈbō välānˈtyä [key], town (1991 pop. 34,836), Calabria, S Italy, near the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is an agricultural and commercial center. A flourishing Roman town, Vibo was destroy...

Ammon, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Ammon ămˈən [key], in the Bible, people living E of the Dead Sea. Their capital was Rabbath-Ammon, the present-day Amman (Jordan). Their god was Milcom, to whom Solomon built an altar. A Semitic pe...

morocco, type of leather

(Encyclopedia)morocco, goatskin leather, dyed on the grain side and boarded by hand or machine to bring up the grain in a bird's-eye effect. It probably originated with the Arabs in North Africa as an alum-tanned p...