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umbrella

(Encyclopedia)umbrella, a small canopy used as a protection against the sun in China, Egypt, and elsewhere in remote antiquity. It was often an emblem of rank. During the Middle Ages the umbrella became almost exti...

Pompeius, Sextus

(Encyclopedia)Pompeius, Sextus sĕkˈstəs pŏmpāˈəs [key], d. 35 b.c., Roman commander; one of the sons of Pompey the Great. He fought for his father at Pharsalus, then went to Egypt and, after the battle of Th...

prefect

(Encyclopedia)prefect or praefect both: prēˈfĕkt [key], in ancient Rome, various military and civil officers. Under the empire some prefects were very important. The Praetorian prefects (first appointed 2 b.c.) ...

ibis

(Encyclopedia)ibis īˈbĭs [key], common name for wading birds with long, slender, decurved bills, found in the warmer regions of both hemispheres. The body is usually about 2 ft (61 cm) long. Most ibises nest in ...

indigo

(Encyclopedia)indigo [Span.; from Lat.,=Indian], important blue dyestuff used in printing inks and for vat dyeing of cotton (see dye). It was anciently produced in India and was known in Egypt, probably c.1600 b.c....

Suez

(Encyclopedia)Suez so͞oĕzˈ [key], city (1996 pop. 417,610), NE Egypt, at the northern end of the Gulf of Suez and at the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. An important port with extensive facilities, it is al...

Tallien, Jean Lambert

(Encyclopedia)Tallien, Jean Lambert zhäN läNbĕrˈ tälyăNˈ [key], 1767–1820, French revolutionary. A law clerk and later a printer, he became known through his Jacobin journal, Ami des citoyens. A leader in ...

basketry

(Encyclopedia)basketry, art of weaving or coiling and sewing flexible materials to form vessels or other commodities. The materials used include twigs, roots, strips of hide, splints, osier willows, bamboo splits, ...

Zenobia

(Encyclopedia)Zenobia zĭnōˈbēə [key], d. after 272, queen of Palmyra. She was of Arab stock and was the wife of Septimius Odenathus. He was murdered, probably through her contrivance, and she obtained rule of ...

Beyazid II

(Encyclopedia)Beyazid II, 1447–1513, Ottoman sultan (1481–1512), son and successor of Muhammad II to the throne of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). With the help of the corps of Janissaries he put down the revolt o...