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Gilan

(Encyclopedia)Gilan or Ghilan both: gēlänˈ [key], province, 14,709 sq mi (38,106 sq km), NW Iran, bounded in the N by ...

Evagoras

(Encyclopedia)Evagoras ĭvăgˈərəs [key], d. c.374 b.c., despot of Cyprus. Exiled in his youth, he returned (411 b.c.) and made good his claim as ruler of Salamis. By 410 b.c. he had spread his control over the ...

Thásos

(Encyclopedia)Thásos thāˈsŏs [key], island (1991 pop. 13,527), c.170 sq mi (440 sq km), NE Greece, in the Aegean Sea. Timber, olive oil, honey, wine, and lead-zinc ores are its chief products; boatbuilding, fis...

Valerian, Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Valerian (Publius Licinius Valerianus) vəlērˈēən [key], d. after 260, Roman emperor (253–60). He held important posts, both civil and military, under the emperors Decius and Gallus. After the s...

Sulayman I

(Encyclopedia)Sulayman I so͞olāmänˈ, sülī– [key] or Sulayman the Magnificent, 1494–1566, Ottoman sultan (1520–66), son and successor of Selim I. He is known as Sulayman II when considered as a successor...

Tehran

(Encyclopedia)Tehran or Teheran both: tāˌəränˈ, –rănˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 6,475,527), capital of Iran and Tehran prov., N Iran, near Mt. Damavand. It is Iran's largest city and its administrative, comme...

Karaites

(Encyclopedia)Karaites or Caraites both: kârˈəīts [key], form of Judaism, reputedly founded (8th cent.) in Persia by Anan ben David and originally known as Ananites. Its adherents were called Karaites after the...

Hatra

(Encyclopedia)Hatra hăˈtrə [key], Arab. Al Hadr, ancient city and fortress, in modern-day Iraq, 68 mi (110 km) SW of Mosul. It flourished from the 1st cent. b.c. to the 2nd cent. a.d. under the Parthian Empire (...

Ibn Batuta

(Encyclopedia)Ibn Batuta ĭˈbən bäto͞oˈtä [key], 1304?–1378?, Muslim traveler, b. Tangier. No other medieval traveler is known to have journeyed so extensively. In 30 years (from c.1325) he made a series of...

Edessa

(Encyclopedia)Edessa ĭdĕsˈə [key], ancient city of Mesopotamia, on the site of modern Şanlıurfa, Turkey. It emerged in the 4th cent. b.c. as Orrhoe, or Arrhoe, and was later named Edessa by Seleucus I of Syri...