Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Comyn, John (Black Comyn), d. c.1300, Scottish nobleman

(Encyclopedia)Comyn, John kŭmˈĭn [key], d. c.1300, Scottish nobleman, known as the Black Comyn. In 1286 he became one of the six regents for Margaret Maid of Norway and, as such, agreed to the treaty of 1290, by...

Kurnool

(Encyclopedia)Kurnool kərno͞olˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 275,360), Andhra Pradesh state, S central India, at the confluence of the Tungabhadra and Hindri rivers. It was the state capital from 1953 to 1956, when it...

Baldwin II, Latin king of Jerusalem

(Encyclopedia)Baldwin II (Baldwin of Le Bourg), d. 1131, Latin king of Jerusalem (1118–31), count of Edessa (1100–1131); cousin and successor of Baldwin I. He accompanied Godfrey of Bouillon on the First Crusad...

Ramadan

(Encyclopedia)Ramadan rämädänˈ, rămˌədänˈ [key], in Islam, the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which all Muslims must fast during the daylight hours. Indulgence of any sort is forbidden during the f...

Ishmael

(Encyclopedia)Ishmael ĭshˈmāĕl [key] [Heb.,=God hears], in the Bible. 1 Son of Abraham and Hagar; ancestor of 12 tribes in N Arabia. Through Sara's jealousy he and his mother were sent into the desert, where th...

hajj

(Encyclopedia)hajj häj [key], the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, one of the five basic requirements (arkan or “pillars”) of Islam. Its annual observance corresponds to the major holy day id al-adha, itself...

An Najaf

(Encyclopedia)An Najaf än näˈjäf [key], city (2020 pop. 874,000), S central Iraq, on a lake near the Euphrates River. The city, one of Shi'a Islam's holiest, is also called Mashad A...

Ouargla

(Encyclopedia)Ouargla wärˈglä [key], town and oasis, E Algeria. It is the administrative center of a well-watered oasis at the junction of several Saharan desert caravan routes. Ouargla lies in the heart of a pa...

Waite, Terry

(Encyclopedia)Waite, Terry (Terence Waite), 1939–, British church official. An adviser to Robert Runcie, the archbishop of Canterbury, he successfully negotiated the release of British hostages in Iran (1981) and...

Biko, Steve

(Encyclopedia)Biko, Steve (Steven Biko) bēˈkō [key], 1946–77, South African political leader. A medical student, ...