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Jenghiz Khan

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Empire of Jenghiz Khan (1227) Jenghiz Khan jĕngˈgĭs, gĕngˈgĭs kän [key], Mongolian Chinggis Khaan, 1167?–1227, Mongol conqueror, originally named Temujin. He succeeded his father, Yek...

Shapur I

(Encyclopedia)Shapur I säˈpôr [key], d.272, king of Persia (241–72), son and successor of Ardashir I, of the Sassanid, or Sassanian, dynasty. He was an able warrior king. Although he was defeated by the Roman ...

Dura, ancient city, Syria

(Encyclopedia)Dura yo͝orōˈpəs [key], ancient city of Syria, E of Palmyra on a plateau above the Euphrates River. It is also called Dura-Europos or Dura-Europus. Founded (c.300 b.c.) by a general of Seleucus I, ...

animal husbandry

(Encyclopedia)animal husbandry, aspect of agriculture concerned with the care and breeding of domestic animals such as cattle, goats, sheep, hogs, and horses. Domestication of wild animal species was a crucial achi...

Karmathians

(Encyclopedia)Karmathians or Carmathians kärmāˈthēənz [key], a Muslim sect of the 9th and 10th cent., similar to the Assassin sect. They were part of a movement for social reform that spread widely through Isl...

Muhammad II, Ottoman sultan

(Encyclopedia)Muhammad II or Mehmet II (Muhammad the Conqueror), 1429–81, Ottoman sultan (1451–81), son and successor of Murad II. He is considered the true founder of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). He completed ...

Nineveh

(Encyclopedia)Nineveh nĭnˈəvə [key], ancient city, capital of the Assyrian Empire, on the Tigris River opposite the site of modern Mosul, Iraq. A shaft dug at Nineveh has yielded a pottery sequence that can be ...

Trajan

(Encyclopedia)Trajan (Marcus Ulpius Trajanus) trāˈjən [key], c.a.d. 53–a.d. 117, Roman emperor (a.d. 98–a.d. 117). Born in Spain, he was the first non-Italian to become head of the empire. Trajan served in t...

cire perdue

(Encyclopedia)cire perdue sēr pĕrdüˈ [key] [Fr.,=lost wax], sculptural process of metal casting that may be used for hollow and solid casting. The sculptor makes a model in plaster or clay that is then coated w...

Gordian

(Encyclopedia)Gordian gôrˈdēən [key], name of three Roman emperors. Gordian I (Marcus Antonius Gordianus Africanus), d. 238, was a Roman of great wealth and was colleague in the consulship with Caracalla and wi...