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Trans-Alai

(Encyclopedia)Trans-Alai trăns-älīˈ, trănz– [key], mountain range, central Asia, a part of the Pamir-Alai mountain system. The Trans-Alai extends 155 mi (249 km) W from China to form the border between Kyrgy...

bandicoot rat

(Encyclopedia)bandicoot rat, giant rat of southern Asia, unrelated to true bandicoots. It is an agricultural pest in the grain crops and gardens of India and Sri Lanka and is known for the piglike grunts it emits w...

cucumber

(Encyclopedia)cucumber, fruit of Cucumis sativus, a species of gourd whose many varieties are descended from a plant native to Asia and Africa. Cucumber is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliops...

Shaw, Run Run

(Encyclopedia)Shaw, Run Run, 1907–2014, Chinese film mogul, best known of the six Shaw brothers who founded an Asian movie empire. In Shanghai, he and his elder brother Runme Shaw made their first film (1924) and...

Ürümqi

(Encyclopedia)Ürümqi or Urumchi both: o͞oro͞omˈchē [key], city (1994 est. pop. 1,130,300), capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, NW China, in the Dzungarian basin. Ürümqi is an administrative and com...

Thomson, Peter William

(Encyclopedia)Thomson, Peter William, 1929–2018, Australian golfer. A leading player in European tournaments at a time when Australians had not yet emerged as top golfers, Thomson had a compact swing and efficien...

coleus

(Encyclopedia)coleus kōˈlēəs [key], common name for a genus of plants with large colorful leaves native to tropical Asia and Africa. Several species are grown as ornamentals. Plants of the genus Coleus are in t...

Basmachi

(Encyclopedia)Basmachi bäsmäˈchē [key], revolt against Communist rule in Central Asia by Muslims and bandits, 1917–30. The Basmachi fought a guerrilla war against the Red Army, leading uprisings in the Fergan...

Franciscans

(Encyclopedia)Franciscans frănsĭsˈkənz [key], members of several Roman Catholic religious orders following the rule of St. Francis (approved by Honorius III, 1223). There are now three organizations of Francisc...

Alexander the Great

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Empire of Alexander the Great (including dependencies) Alexander the Great or Alexander III, 356–323 b.c., king of Macedon, conqueror of much of Asia. Whether or not Alexander had plans fo...