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Marais

(Encyclopedia)Marais märāˈ [key] [Fr.,=swamp], old quarter of Paris, on the right bank of the Seine. Until the 18th cent. it was the most aristocratic section of Paris. The Hôtel des Tournelles, long the reside...

cherub

(Encyclopedia)cherub chĕrˈəb [key], plural cherubim, kind of angel. Cherubim were probably thought of in the ancient Middle East as composite creatures like the winged creatures of Assyria. In Jewish tradition, ...

Cochin

(Encyclopedia)Cochin kōˌchĭnˈ [key], former princely state, 1,493 sq mi (3,867 sq km), SW India, on the ...

Anan ben David

(Encyclopedia)Anan ben David änänˈ [key], fl. 8th cent., Babylonian Jewish theologian, founder of the Ananites from whom the Karaites claim spiritual descent. He is said to have been a descendant of Bostanai ben...

Al-Fasi, Isaac ben Jacob ha-Kohen

(Encyclopedia)Al-Fasi, Isaac ben Jacob ha-Kohen äl-fäˈsē [key], 1013–1103, prominent Jewish Talmudic scholar of the very late Gaonic period, b. near Fès, N Africa. He headed the rabbinical school at Fès unt...

Donner, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Donner, Richard, 1930-2021, American film director, b. Bronx, N.Y., as Richard Donald Schwartzberg. Donner came from a Russian, Jewish immigrant family....

Ecbatana

(Encyclopedia)Ecbatana ĕkbătˈənə, ĕkbətäˈnə [key], capital of ancient Media, later the summer residence of Achaemenid and Parthian kings, beautifully situated at the foot of Mt. Elvend and NE of Behistun....

Judah ha-Nasi

(Encyclopedia)Judah ha-Nasi hä-näˈsē [key], c.135–c.220, Palestinian Jewish communal leader (tanna). He occupied the office of patriarch (nasi) which was reestablished by the Romans after 135. Under his leade...

archangel, in religion

(Encyclopedia)archangel ärkˈānjəl [key], chief angel. They are four to seven in number. Sometimes specific functions are ascribed to them. The four best known in Christian tradition are Michael, Gabriel, Raphae...

Kielce

(Encyclopedia)Kielce kyĕlˈtsĕ [key], city (1993 est. pop. 215,300), capital of Świętokrzyskie prov., S central Poland. It is a railway junction and manufacturing center where metals, machinery, and foodstuffs ...