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Baalbek

(Encyclopedia)Baalbek bälˈbĕk [key], ancient city, now in Lebanon, 35 mi (56 km) NW of Damascus, in the Al Biqa (Bekaa) valley. Originally it was probably devoted to the worship of Baal or Bel, the Phoenician su...

Woolley, Sir Charles Leonard

(Encyclopedia)Woolley, Sir Charles Leonard, 1880–1960, English archaeologist. His early work included excavations at Carchemish (1912–14) and the Egyptian site of Tell el Amarna (1921–22). He was then chosen ...

Baghdadi, Abu Bakr al-

(Encyclopedia)Baghdadi, Abu Bakr al-, nom de guerre of Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai, 1971–2019, Iraqi jihadist leader. Following the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, he helped found a Sunni militia. Arres...

truffle

(Encyclopedia)truffle trŭfˈəl [key] [Fr.], subterranean edible fungus that forms a mutually beneficial (symbiotic) relationship with the roots of certain trees and plants. The part of the fungus used as food is ...

Arabah

(Encyclopedia)Arabah or Araba both: äˈräbä, ărˈəbə [key], depression, on the Israel-Jordan border, extending c.100 mi (160 km) from the Dead Sea S to the Gulf of Aqaba; part of the Great Rift Valley complex...

Karkheh

(Encyclopedia)Karkheh kärˈkĕ [key], ancient Choaspes, river, c.350 mi (560 km) long, rising in the Zagros Mts., W Iran, and flowing S into the Khuzestan lowland, where it forms a swamp bordering the Tigris River...

Bikaner

(Encyclopedia)Bikaner bĭkənērˈ [key], former native state, NW India. The state is now part of Rajasthan ...

Antiochus II

(Encyclopedia)Antiochus II (Antiochus Theos) thēˈŏs [key], d. 247 b.c., king of Syria (261?–247 b.c.), son and successor of Antiochus I. In warfare with Ptolemy II he had sporadic successes, but his marriage t...

Maronites

(Encyclopedia)Maronites mârˈənīts [key], Lebanese Christian community, in communion with the pope. By emigration they have spread to Cyprus, Palestine, Egypt, South America, and the United States and now number...

Soleimani, Qasem

(Encyclopedia)Soleimani, Qasem, or Qassem Suleimani käˈsəm Sōləmänˈē [key], 1957–2020, Iranian general. He joined the Revolutionary Guards following the 1979 revolution and was considered a hero of the Ir...