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Smerdis

(Encyclopedia)Smerdis smûrˈdĭs [key], d. c.528 b.c., second son of Cyrus the Great, king of Persia. He is also called Bardiya. He was assassinated by his brother Cambyses II, who kept the murder a secret. Patizi...

Persia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Persian Empire (c.500 b.c.) Persia pûrˈzhə, –shə [key], old alternate name for the Asian country Iran. The article Iran contains a description of the geography and economy of the modern ...

Lydia, ancient country, Asia

(Encyclopedia)Lydia, ancient country, W Asia Minor, N of Caria and S of Mysia (now NW Turkey). The tyrant Gyges was the founder of the Mermnadae dynasty, which lasted from c.700 b.c. to 550 b.c. The little kingdom ...

Darius II

(Encyclopedia)Darius II, d. 404 b.c., king of ancient Persia (423?–404 b.c.); son of Artaxerxes I and a concubine, hence sometimes called Darius Nothus [Darius the bastard]. His rule was not popular or successful...

Mithredath

(Encyclopedia)Mithredath mĭthˈrēdăth [key], in the Bible. 1 Cyrus' treasurer. 2 Persian officer who hindered the rebuilding of the Temple. ...

Bithynia

(Encyclopedia)Bithynia bĭthĭnˈēə [key], ancient country of NW Asia Minor, in present-day Turkey. The original inhabitants were Thracians who established themselves as independent and were given some autonomy a...

China, Great Wall of

(Encyclopedia)China, Great Wall of: see Great Wall of China. ...

Great Lakes, North America

(Encyclopedia)Great Lakes, group of five freshwater lakes, central North America, creating a natural border between the United States and Canada and forming the largest body of freshwater in the world, with a combi...

Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park

(Encyclopedia)Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, c.13,500 sq mi (35,000 sq km; roughly the size of Belgium), the largest multinational park in S Africa and one of the largest parks in the world, in NE South Africa, ...

Great Salt Plains Dam

(Encyclopedia)Great Salt Plains Dam, on Salt Fork, a tributary of the Arkansas River, NW Okla., near Enid. The dam was authorized in 1936 as a federal project and completed in 1941. In a salt-encrusted plains area,...