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Medes

(Encyclopedia)Medes: see Media, ancient country of W Asia. ...

Mongolian languages

(Encyclopedia)Mongolian languages, group of languages forming a subdivision of the Altaic subfamily of the Ural-Altaic family of languages (see Uralic and Altaic languages). The Mongolian languages are spoken by ab...

Selenga

(Encyclopedia)Selenga sĕlĕng-gäˈ [key], river, 616 mi (992 km) long, rising in the Khangai Mts., NW Republic of Mongolia, and flowing east, then north, across the Mongolian-Russian border to Lake Baykal; the Or...

Tian Shan

(Encyclopedia)Tian Shan or Tien Shan both: tēĕn shän [key] [Chin.,=celestial mountains], mountain system of central Asia, extending c.1,500 mi (2,410 km) from the Pamir Mts., Tajikistan, NE through the Xinjiang ...

North Country National Scenic Trail

(Encyclopedia)North Country National Scenic Trail: see National Parks and Monuments (table)national parks and monuments (table). ...

Samoa, country, SW Pacific Ocean

(Encyclopedia)Samoa, formerly Western Samoa, officially Independent State of Samoa, constitutional monarchy (2015 est. pop. 194,000), South Pacific, comprising the western half of the Samoa island chain. There are ...

Carpini, Giovanni de Piano

(Encyclopedia)Carpini, Giovanni de Piano jōvänˈnē dā pyäˈnō kärpēˈnē [key], c.1180–1252, Italian traveler and Franciscan monk, b. Pian del Carpini (now Piano della Magione), Umbria. He was a companion...

Ptolemaïs, ancient cities, Asia and Africa

(Encyclopedia)Ptolemaïs tŏləmāˈīs [key], ancient name given to several cities to honor members of the dynasty of the Ptolemies. One of these later became known as Akko, in modern Israel. Another was one of th...

Ulan Bator

(Encyclopedia)Ulan Bator: see Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia ...

T'ang, Chinese dynasty

(Encyclopedia)T'ang täng [key], dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907. It was founded by Li Yuan and his son Li Shih-min, with the aid of Turkish allies. The early strength of the T'ang was built directly up...