Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Constans II

(Encyclopedia)Constans II (Constans Pogonatus), 630–68, Byzantine emperor (641–68), son and successor of Constantine III and grandson of Heraclius. Early in his reign Armenia and Asia Minor were invaded by the ...

fatwa

(Encyclopedia)fatwa, in Islamic law, an opinion made by a judicial/religious scholar (a mufti) on a legal, civil, or religious matter. The fatwa is usually a valuable source of information on any subject for privat...

Roderick

(Encyclopedia)Roderick rŏdˈərĭk [key], d. 711?, last Visigothic king in Spain (710–711?). After the death of King Witiza, a group of nobles chose Roderick, duke of Baetica, as successor to the king. Having de...

Kabardino-Balkar Republic

(Encyclopedia)Kabardino-Balkar Republic kăbˌərdēˈnō-bălkârˈ [key] or Kabardino-Balkaria, constituent republic (1990 est. pop. 760,000), c.4,800 sq mi (12,400 sq km), SE European Russia, in the northern par...

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...

Aligarh

(Encyclopedia)Aligarh əlēgŭrˈ [key], city, Uttar Pradesh state, N central India. A district administrative headquarters and an important agricultural trade center, it also has a num...

Mossi

(Encyclopedia)Mossi mŏsˈē [key], African people, numbering about 2.5 million, mostly in Burkina Faso. From c.a.d. 1000 the Mossi were organized into several kingdoms, one of which has continued to the present da...

Ghardaïa

(Encyclopedia)Ghardaïa gärdäyäˈ [key], town, N Algeria. It is the chief town of the Mzab, a stony, barren ...

Bohemond I

(Encyclopedia)Bohemond I bōˈhəmŏnd [key], c.1056–1111, prince of Antioch (1099–1111), a leader in the First Crusade (see Crusades); elder son of Robert Guiscard. With his father he fought (1081–85) agains...

Ali, Muhammad

(Encyclopedia)Ali, Muhammad məhămˈəd älēˈ [key], 1942–2016, American boxer, b. Louisville, Ky. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, he was a 1960 Olympic gold medalist. Shortly after upsetting Sonny Liston in 1964...