Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

116 results found

Indian Mutiny

(Encyclopedia)Indian Mutiny, 1857–58, revolt that began with Indian soldiers in the Bengal army of the British East India Company but developed into a widespread uprising against British rule in India. It is also...

minaret

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Minaret minaret mĭnərĕtˈ [key], tower, used in Islamic architecture, from which the faithful are called to prayer by a muezzin. Most mosques have one or more small towers, which are usuall...

Mousavi, Mir Hossein

(Encyclopedia)Mousavi, Mir Hossein mēr hōsānˈ mo͞osävēˈ [key], 1941–, Iranian political leader and architect. Active in Islamic groups and in the opposition to the Shah's rule, he was (1979) a founder of ...

Karzai, Hamid

(Encyclopedia)Karzai, Hamid hämēdˈ kärzīˈ [key], 1957–, Afghan political leader, b. Kandahar. Karzai's father and grandfather, who both served in the government of King Muhammad Zahir Shah, were heads of th...

Herat

(Encyclopedia)Herat hĕrätˈ [key], city (1984 est. pop. 161,000), capital of Herat prov., NW Afghanistan, on the Hari Rud. The fertile river valley is renowned for its fruits, especially grapes. Herat has textile...

Bukhara, emirate of

(Encyclopedia)Bukhara, emirate of, former state, central Asia, in Turkistan, in the Amu Darya River basin. Part of ancient Sogdiana, it was ruled (a.d. 709–874) by the Umayyad Arabs and played an important role u...

Balkh

(Encyclopedia)Balkh bälkh [key], town, N Afghanistan, on a dried-up tributary of the Amu Darya River. One of the world's oldest cities, it is the legendary birthplace of the prophet Zoroaster. Because it was locat...

mausoleum

(Encyclopedia)mausoleum môsəlēˈəm [key], a sepulchral structure or tomb, especially one of some size and architectural pretension, so called from the sepulcher of that name at Halicarnassus, Asia Minor, erecte...

Mughal

(Encyclopedia)Mughal mōˈgəl, mōgŭlˈ [key], Muslim empire in India, 1526–1857. The dynasty was founded by Babur, a Turkic chieftain who had his base in Afghanistan. Babur's invasion of India culminated in th...

Shiites

(Encyclopedia)Shiites shēˈītz [key] [Arab., shiat Ali,=the party of Ali], the second largest branch of Islam, Shiites currently account for 10%–15% of all Muslims. Shiite Islam originated as a political moveme...