Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Zela

(Encyclopedia)Zela zēˈlə [key], ancient city of Pontus, NE Asia Minor. There Mithradates VI defeated Triarius c.67 b.c., and in 47 b.c. Julius Caesar defeated Pharnaces, king of Pontus, recording the victory in ...

Saint-Denis, city, Réunion

(Encyclopedia)Saint-Denis, city (1990 pop. 122,875), capital of the French overseas department of Réunion. It is a port on the Indian Ocean at the mouth of the St.-Denis River and exports sugar and rum. St.-Denis ...

Dzungaria

(Encyclopedia)Dzungaria jo͝ongˈgärˈ [key], physical region (c.300,000 sq mi/777,000 sq km) of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, NW China. It is a largely steppe and semidesert basin surrounded by high mountains...

dengue fever

(Encyclopedia)dengue fever dĕngˈgē, –gā [key], acute infectious disease caused by four closely related viruses and transmitted by the bite of the female Aedes mosquito; it is also known as breakbone fever and...

cheetah

(Encyclopedia)cheetah chēˈtə [key], carnivore of the cat family, Acinonyx jubatus, native to Africa and SW Asia as far east as India. Formerly numerous all over their range, they are extinct now in Asia except f...

Nicaea, empire of

(Encyclopedia)Nicaea, empire of, 1204–61. In 1204 the armies of the Fourth Crusade set up the Latin Empire of Constantinople, but the Crusaders' influence did not extend over the entire Byzantine Empire. Several ...

pangolin

(Encyclopedia)pangolin păng-gōˈlĭn [key], armored, toothless mammal of tropical Asia and Africa. Pangolins range in length from 3 to 6 ft (90–180 cm) including the long, broad tail. Their snouts are narrow an...

Pentagon Papers

(Encyclopedia)Pentagon Papers, government study of U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia. Commissioned by Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara in June, 1967, the 47-volume, top secret study covered the period from ...

body-marking

(Encyclopedia)body-marking, painting, tattooing, or scarification (cutting or burning) of the body for ritual, esthetic, medicinal, magic, or religious purposes. Evidence from prehistoric burials, rock carvings, an...

Tibetan Buddhism

(Encyclopedia)Tibetan Buddhism, form of Buddhism prevailing in the Tibet region of China, Bhutan, the state of Sikkim in India, Mongolia, and parts of Siberia and SW China. It has sometimes been called Lamaism, fro...