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Rassam, Hormuzd

(Encyclopedia)Rassam, Hormuzd hôrmo͝ozdˈ räsämˈ [key], 1826–1910, Turkish archaeologist. He assisted Sir Austen Henry Layard in Nineveh in 1845–47 and 1849–51, studying at Oxford in the years between. W...

Arrabal, Fernando

(Encyclopedia)Arrabal, Fernando fārnänˈdō äräbälˈ [key], 1932–, French playwright, b. Melilla, Morocco. He studied law in Madrid before moving to Paris in 1954. His plays, which reflect his abhorrence of ...

Hoshea

(Encyclopedia)Hoshea hōshēˈə [key]. 1 See Joshua. 2 Died after 722 b.c., last king of Israel (c.730–722 b.c.). He succeeded Pekah, whom he murdered. He was a tributary of Assyria but made the fatal mistake of...

Tiglathpileser III

(Encyclopedia)Tiglathpileser III, d. 728 b.c., king of ancient Assyria. He seems to have usurped the throne in 745 b.c. He bore the alternative name of Pul, by which he was known in biblical history (2 Kings 15.19)...

Isaiah

(Encyclopedia)Isaiah īzāˈyə, īsāˈ– [key], prophetic book of the Bible. It is a collection of prophecies from a 300-year period attributed to Isaiah, who may have been a priest. Some scholars argue that a l...

Mitanni

(Encyclopedia)Mitanni mĭtănˈē [key], ancient kingdom established in the 2d millennium b.c. in NW Mesopotamia. It was founded by Aryans but was later made up predominantly of Hurrians. Washshukanni was its capit...

lost tribes

(Encyclopedia)lost tribes, 10 Israelite tribes that, according to the Bible, were transported to Assyria by Tiglathpileser III or Shalmaneser after the conquest of Israel in 722 b.c. Numerous conjectures have been ...

Gilead

(Encyclopedia)Gilead gĭlˈēăd [key], in the Bible. 1 Eponym of the Gileadites, grandson of Manasseh. 2 Gadite. 3 Jephthah's father. 4 City near Mizpah, denounced by Hosea. 5 Fertile, mountainous region, NE of th...

cherub

(Encyclopedia)cherub chĕrˈəb [key], plural cherubim, kind of angel. Cherubim were probably thought of in the ancient Middle East as composite creatures like the winged creatures of Assyria. In Jewish tradition, ...

stirrup

(Encyclopedia)stirrup, foot support for the rider of a horse in mounting and while riding. It is a ring with a horizontal bar to receive the foot and is attached by a strap to the saddle. To avoid the danger of hav...

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