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Worms, Concordat of

(Encyclopedia)Worms, Concordat of, 1122, agreement reached by Pope Calixtus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V to put an end to the struggle over investiture. By its terms the emperor guaranteed free election of bis...

Jericho, city, West Bank

(Encyclopedia)Jericho jĕrˈĭkō [key] [Heb.,=fragrant, or city of the moon god], Arab. Ariha, town (2003 est. pop. 19,000), West Bank, in the Jordan valley N of the Dead Sea; nearby is the site of the ancient cit...

Hay-Pauncefote Treaties

(Encyclopedia)Hay-Pauncefote Treaties hā-pônsˈfo͝ot [key], negotiated in 1899 and 1901 by Secretary of State John Hay, for the United States, and Lord Pauncefote of Preston, British ambassador to the United Sta...

Portsmouth, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Portsmouth, Treaty of, 1905, treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War. It was signed at the Portsmouth Naval Base, New Hampshire, on Sept. 5, 1905. Negotiations leading up to the treaty began in the sprin...

liberation theology

(Encyclopedia)liberation theology, belief that the Christian Gospel demands “a preferential option for the poor,” and that the church should be involved in the struggle for economic and political justice in the...

lien

(Encyclopedia)lien, claim or charge held by one party, on property owned by a second party, as security for payment of some debt, obligation, or duty owed by that second party. A lien may arise by agreement between...

Aroostook War

(Encyclopedia)Aroostook War, Feb.–May, 1839, border conflict between the United States and Canada. In 1838, Maine and New Brunswick both claimed territory left undetermined on the U.S.-Canadian border, including ...

Kodok

(Encyclopedia)Kodok fəshōˈdə [key], town, NE South Sudan, on the White Nile. In 1898 it was the scene of the Fashoda Incident, which brought Britain and France to the brink of war and resulted, in 1899, in an A...

Abu Musa

(Encyclopedia)Abu Musa, island (2010 est. pop. 1,868), c. 4.6 sq mi (12 sq km), E Persian Gulf, disputed between Iran, who occupies it, and the United Arab Emirates. Strategically located near the entra...

Kiir Mayardit, Salva

(Encyclopedia)Kiir Mayardit, Salva, 1951–, South Sudanese political and military leader. A member of the Dinka ethnic group and a Christian, in the 1960s he joined the southern Sudanese rebellion, becoming a memb...