Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Abbas I

(Encyclopedia)Abbas I (Abbas the Great) äbäsˈ, ăbäsˈ, ăbˈəs [key], 1557–1629, shah of Persia (1587–1628), of the Safavid dynasty. In 1597 he ended the raids of the Uzbeks, and subsequently (1603–23) ...

Spinks, Leon, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Spinks, Leon, Jr. 1953-2021, American boxer, b. St. Louis, Mo. Spinks began boxing at age 13, dropping out of high school in his junior year to join the...

Firishta

(Encyclopedia)Firishta or Ferishta both: fĭrĭshtăˈ [key], c.1560–c.1620, Indian Muslim historian. His given name was Muhammad Kasim Hindu Shah. Under the patronage of the shah of Bijapur, he wrote a history o...

Firdausi

(Encyclopedia)Firdausi or Ferdowsi both: fərdouˈsē [key], c.940–1020, principal Persian poet, author of the Shah Namah [the book of kings], the great Persian epic. His original name was Abul Kasim Mansur; he i...

Tahmasp

(Encyclopedia)Tahmasp täˈmäsp [key], 1514–76, shah of Persia (1524–76), son and successor of Ismail and the second of the Safavid dynasty. He successfully repulsed persistent invasions by the Uzbeks. Sulayma...

National Museum of African American History and Culture

(Encyclopedia)National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C., a division of the Smithsonian Institution. Devoted to the collection, presentation, and preservation of the culture of Africa...

Dundee, Angelo

(Encyclopedia)Dundee, Angelo, 1921–2012, American boxing trainer, most famous for his work with Muhammad Ali, b. Philadelphia as Angelo Mirena, Jr. After serving in World War II he moved to New York City, where h...

Al-Biruni, Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad

(Encyclopedia)Al-Biruni or Al Beruni, Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad äbo͞oˈ rīhänˈ məhămˈĭd ĭbˈən äˈməd ăl-bēro͞oˈnē, ăl bĕro͞oˈnē [key], b. 973, d. after 1050, Central Asian scientist. His...

An Najaf

(Encyclopedia)An Najaf än näˈjäf [key], city (2020 pop. 874,000), S central Iraq, on a lake near the Euphrates River. The city, one of Shi'a Islam's holiest, is also called Mashad A...

Masudi, Abd al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn

(Encyclopedia)Masudi, Abd al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn mäso͞oˈdē [key], d. 956, Arab historian, geographer, and philosopher, b. Baghdad. He traveled in Spain, Russia, India, Sri Lanka, and China and spent his las...