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Issus

(Encyclopedia)Issus ĭsˈəs [key], ancient town of SE Asia Minor, now in Turkey, 5 mi (8 km) NW of Dörtyol. Located near the head of a gulf (the modern Gulf of Iskenderun), Issus was on a narrow strip of land bac...

Karaman

(Encyclopedia)Karaman kärämänˈ [key], town (1990 pop. 76,682), S central Turkey, at the northern foot of the Taurus Mts. The ancient Laranda, Karaman was renamed after the chieftain of a Turkic tribe who conque...

Aeolis

(Encyclopedia)Aeolis ēōˈlēə [key], ancient region of the west coast of Asia Minor (in present-day Turkey). Aeolis was not a geographic term but a collective term for the cities founded there by the Aeolians, a...

Mongkut

(Encyclopedia)Mongkut rämˈə [key], 1804–68, king of Siam, now Thailand (1851–68). A devout Buddhist monk, he was displaced in succession to the throne by his brother, who ascended as Rama III. Mongkut became...

Przhevalsky, Nikolai Mikhailovich

(Encyclopedia)Przhevalsky, Nikolai Mikhailovich nyĭkəlīˈ mēkhīˈləvĭch pərzhĭvälˈskē [key], 1839–88, Russian geographer and explorer in central and E Asia. He made five major expeditions—one to the...

Etruria

(Encyclopedia)Etruria ĭtro͝orˈēə [key], ancient country, W central Italy, now forming Tuscany and part of Umbria. It was the territory of the Etruscans, who in the 6th cent. b.c. spread Etruscan civilization t...

Drangiana

(Encyclopedia)Drangiana drănˌjēāˈnə, –ănˈə [key], ancient country, part of the Persian Empire, between Aria on the north and Gedrosia on the south. It was conquered (330 b.c.) by Alexander the Great and ...

Aram

(Encyclopedia)Aram āˈrăm [key], ancient country and people centered in Damascus in S Syria between the 11th and 8th cent. b.c. The Bible records constant contacts between the Hebrews and Aram. The Aramaeans spok...

dormouse

(Encyclopedia)dormouse, name for Old World nocturnal rodents of the family Gliridae. There are many dormouse species, classified in several genera. Many resemble small squirrels. Dormice sleep deeply during the day...

Nabataea

(Encyclopedia)Nabataea năbˌətēˈə [key], ancient kingdom of Arabia, south of Edom, in present-day Jordan. It flourished from the 4th cent. b.c. to a.d. 106, when it was conquered by Rome. The history of Nabata...