Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Junot, Andoche

(Encyclopedia)Junot, Andoche äNdôshˈ zhünōˈ [key], 1771–1813, French general. Having served under Napoleon Bonaparte in Italy and Egypt, he became ambassador to Portugal (1804–5) and commanded the French ...

Jeroboam I

(Encyclopedia)Jeroboam I jĕrəbōˈəm [key], in the Bible, first king of the northern kingdom of Israel. He was an Ephraimite and led a revolt against Solomon, inspired probably by the restlessness of N Palestine...

Auchmuty, Sir Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Auchmuty, Sir Samuel ôkmyo͞oˈtē, ôkˈ–, äˈmətē [key], b. 1758 (not, as commonly stated, 1756) in New York City, d. 1822, British general. A Loyalist soldier in the American Revolution, he w...

Nefertiti

(Encyclopedia)Nefertiti nĕfˌrĕtēˈtē [key], fl. c.1372–1350 b.c., queen of ancient Egypt; wife of Ikhnaton (XVIII dynasty) and aunt of Tutankhamen. She seems to have been divorced by Ikhnaton late in his rei...

labyrinth

(Encyclopedia)CE5 labyrinth lăbˈərĭnth [key], intricate building of chambers and passages, often constructed so as to perplex and confuse a person inside. In Egypt, Amenemhet III of the XII dynasty built him...

Pharnabazus

(Encyclopedia)Pharnabazus färnəbāˈzəs [key], d. after 374 b.c., Persian governor. He had an important satrapy in Asia Minor under Darius II and Artaxerxes II. He was responsible for the assassination (404 b.c....

Baybars I

(Encyclopedia)Baybars I bīˈbärs [key], 1223–77, Mamluk sultan (1260–77) of Egypt and Syria. Once a Turkish slave, Baybars became a commander of the Ayyubid and then Mamluk armies. In 1260 he led Mamluk troop...

Tahpanhes

(Encyclopedia)Tahpanhes tēhăfˈnĭhēz [key], ancient city, NE Egypt, on Lake Manzala. The site is now on the Suez Canal. Herodotus states that the city (called by the Greeks Daphnae) had a garrison of Psamtik's ...

safflower

(Encyclopedia)safflower, Eurasian thistlelike herb (Carthamus tinctorius) of the family Asteraceae (aster family). Safflower, or false saffron, has long been cultivated in S Asia and Egypt for food and medicine and...

Berenice, b. c.340 b.c., d. 281 or 271 b.c., consort and half-sister of Ptolemy I, king of ancient Egypt

(Encyclopedia)Berenice bĕrənīˈsē [key], b. c.340 b.c., d. 281 or 271 b.c., consort and half-sister of Ptolemy I, king of ancient Egypt. A Macedonian, she was the widow of Philip, one of the officers of Alexand...