A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

0-9

Arabia ... Aramis

Arabia Roman province created out of the former kingdom of the Nabataeans and the adjacent Syrian cities of Gerasa and Philadelphia (modern Jarash and 'Amman, Jordan, respectively), after the formal annexation of the Nabataean kingdom by the Roman emperor Trajan in AD 105. The province was bounded by the western coast ... Arabia Felix in ancient geography, the comparatively fertile region in southwestern and southern Arabia (in present-day Asir and Yemen), a region that contrasted with Arabia Deserta in barren central and northern Arabia and with Arabia Petraea ("Stony Arabia") in northwestern Arabia, which came under the suzerainty of imperial Rome. The Greeks and ... Arabia, history of history of the region from prehistoric times to the present. Arabian Basin submarine basin of the southern Arabian Sea, rising to meet the submerged Carlsberg Ridge to the south, the Maldive Islands to the southeast, India and Pakistan to the northeast, Iran to the north, and the Arabian Peninsula to the west. It has a maximum depth of 19,275 feet (5,875 metres) ... Arabian Desert great desert region occupying almost the entire Arabian Peninsula. Covering an area of about 900,000 square miles (2,300,000 square km), it is bordered on the north by the Syrian Desert, on the northeast and east by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the southeast and south by ... Arabian horse earliest improved breed of horse, valued for its speed, stamina, beauty, intelligence, and gentleness. The breed's long history has been obscured by legend, but it had been developed in Arabia by the 7th century AD. The Arabian horse has contributed its qualities to most of the modern breeds of light ... Arabian religion beliefs of Arabia comprising the polytheistic beliefs and practices that existed before the rise of Islam in the 7th century AD. Arabia is here understood in the broad sense of the term to include the confines of the Syrian desert. The religion of Palmyra, which belongs to the Aramaic sphere, ... Arabian Sea northwestern part of the Indian Ocean, covering a total area of about 1,491,000 square miles (3,862,000 square km) and forming part of the principal sea route between Europe and India. It is bounded to the west by the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, to the north by Iran ... Arabic alphabet second most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world (the Latin alphabet is the most widespread). Originally developed for writing the Arabic language and carried across much of the Eastern Hemisphere by the spread of Islam, the Arabic script has been adapted to such diverse languages as Persian, Turkish, ... Arabic language Southern-Central Semitic language spoken in a large area including North Africa, most of the Arabian Peninsula, and other parts of the Middle East. (See Afro-Asiatic languages.) Arabic literary renaissance 19th-century movement to a modern Arabic literature, inspired by contacts with the West and a renewed interest in the great classical literature. Arabic literature the body of written works produced in the Arabic language. Arabic philosophy Doctrines of the Arabic philosophers of the 9th-12th century who influenced medieval Scholasticism in Europe. The Arabic tradition combines Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism with other ideas introduced through Islam. Influential thinkers include the Persians al-Kindi, al-Farabi, and Avicenna, as well as the Spaniard Averroes, whose interpretations of Aristotle were taken up ... Aracaju port city and capital, Sergipe estado (state), northeastern Brazil, lying on the Continguiba River at the base of a ridge of sand hills 6 miles (10 km) from the coast. The city, which was founded in 1855 as a new state capital, is laid out in an unusual grid pattern. ... aracari any of certain toucan species. See toucan. Aracati city, northeastern Ceara estado (state), northeastern Brazil. It lies at the mouth of the Jaguaribe River, about 12 miles (19 km) from the Atlantic Ocean. It was founded in 1747. The city exports cotton, carnauba wax, and salt. Manufactures include textiles and rubber products. There are saltworks in the vicinity. ... Aracatuba city, western Sao Paulo estado (state), Brazil. It lies near the Tiete River, which is dammed for power and irrigation. The city was founded in 1908 and was given town rank in 1917. In 1921 it was separated administratively from Penapolis (to the southeast) and was designated the seat of ... Arachne in Greek mythology, the daughter of Idmon of Colophon in Lydia, a dyer in purple. arachnid any member of the arthropod group that includes spiders, daddy longlegs, scorpions, and (in the subclass Acari) the mites and ticks, as well as lesser-known subgroups. Only a few species are of economic importance-for example, the mites and ticks, which transmit diseases to humans, other animals, and plants. Arachosia Ancient province, eastern Persian empire. The province encompassed much of what is now southern Afghanistan in the area of the city of Kandahar. It was conquered by Alexander the Great c. 330 BC. Arad town, southern Israel, in the northeast Negev, named for the biblical Arad, the ruins of which are visible at Tel 'Arad, about 5 12 miles (9 km) east-northeast. The book of Numbers (21:1-3) tells how the Canaanite king of 'Arad fought the Israelites during the exodus from Egypt, but his ... Arad judet (county), western Romania, bounded on the west by Hungary. The Mures and Crisul Alb rivers flow westward through the county, while the Western Carpathians, including the Zarand and Codru-Moma ranges, lie in the eastern portion. Settlements are found in the lowlands and intermontane valleys. Cereal growing, livestock raising, and ... Arad city, capital of Arad judet (county), western Romania. It is located in the lower Mures River valley close to the Hungarian border, about 30 miles (50 km) north-northeast of Timisoara. The city has a large Magyar (Hungarian) population. Arafat, Yasir president (1996-2004) of the Palestinian Authority (PA), chairman (1969-2004) of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and leader of Fatah, the largest of the constituent PLO groups. In 1993 he led the PLO to a peace agreement with the Israeli government. 'Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres of Israel were ... Arafura Sea shallow sea of the western Pacific Ocean, occupying 250,000 square miles (650,000 square km) between the north coast of Australia (Gulf of Carpentaria) and the south coast of New Guinea. It merges with the Timor Sea on the west and the Banda and Ceram seas on the northwest. The Torres ... Aragats, Mount mountain in Armenia, northwest of Yerevan and north of the Ararat Plain. The highest point in both Armenia and the Lesser Caucasus range (13,418 feet [4,090 m]), Aragats is a circular, shieldlike mountain composed of both lavas and tufas. A volcanic cone of recent geologic age lies atop far older ... Arago site of paleoanthropological excavation near the town of Tautavel in the French Pyrenees where more than 50 specimens of archaic Homo were recovered from 1964 to 1974. On the basis of the age of animal (particularly rodent) fossils found with them, the remains have been dated to 300,000 to 200,000 ... Arago, Francois French physicist who discovered the principle of the production of magnetism by rotation of a nonmagnetic conductor. He also devised an experiment that proved the wave theory of light and engaged with others in research that led to the discovery of the laws of light polarization. Aragon comunidad autonoma (autonomous community) and historical region of northeastern Spain. It encompasses the provincias (provinces) of Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Aragon is bounded by France to the north and by the autonomous communities of Catalonia to the east, Valencia to the southeast, Castile-La Mancha to the southwest, and Castile-Leon, La ... Aragon River river, northern Spain. It rises in the central Pyrenees and flows, generally southwest, into the Ebro River in Navarra. The river, used for irrigation and hydroelectric power, is about 80 miles (129 km) long; its chief tributary is the Arga River. Aragon, Louis French poet, novelist, and essayist who was a political activist and spokesperson for communism. aragonite widespread mineral, the stable form of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) at high pressures. It may be distinguished from calcite, the commoner form of calcium carbonate, by its greater hardness and specific gravity. Aragonite is always found in deposits formed at low temperatures near the surface of the Earth, as in caves ... Aragua estado (state), northern Venezuela. It is bounded north by the Caribbean Sea, east by the Distrito Federal and Miranda state, south by Guarico state, and west by Carabobo state. Aragua consists largely of two Andean ranges separated by an intermontane basin, in which lies Lake Valencia. Henri Pittier National Park ... Araguaia River river, central Brazil. It rises on the Brazilian Highlands near Alto Araguaia town in eastern Mato Grosso estado (state) and flows north-northeast for 1,632 miles (2,627 km) to its junction with the Tocantins River, at Sao Joao do Araguaia. Its upper course forms the boundary between Mato Grosso state (west) ... Araguari city, western Minas Gerais estado (state), Brazil, lying on the Jordao River, a tributary of the Paranaiba River, at 3,051 feet (930 metres) above sea level. Formerly called Freguesia do Brejo Alegre, the settlement was made the seat of a municipality in 1882 and was elevated to city rank in ... Arai Hakuseki Japanese statesman and scholar who was a chief adviser to the Tokugawa shoguns in the early years of the 18th century. Arakan coastal geographic region in southern Myanmar (Burma). It comprises a long, narrow strip of land along the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal and stretches from the Naf estuary on the border of the Chittagong Hills area (in Bangladesh) in the north to the Gwa River in the south. ... Arakanese ethnic group centred in the Arakan coastal region of southern Myanmar (Burma). Most Arakanese speak an unusual variety of the Burmese language that includes significant differences from Burmese pronunciation and vocabulary. Arakcheyev, Aleksey Andreyevich, Graf military officer and statesman whose domination of the internal affairs of Russia during the last decade of Alexander I's reign (1801-25) caused that period to be known as Arakcheyevshchina. Araki Sadao Japanese general, statesman, and a leader of the Kodo-ha (Imperial Way) faction, an ultranationalistic group of the 1930s. He strongly advocated the importance of character building through rigid mental and physical discipline, whereas the dominant Toseiha (Control) faction emphasized the importance of modernization along with self-discipline. Aral Sea a once-large saltwater lake straddling the boundary between Kazakhstan to the north and Uzbekistan to the south. The shallow Aral Sea was formerly the world's fourth largest body of inland water. It nestles in the climatically inhospitable heart of Central Asia, to the east of the Caspian Sea. The Aral ... Araliaceae the ginseng family of flowering plants, in the order Apiales, comprising approximately 700 species centred in Southeast Asia and tropical America. Most members are shrubs or trees, though there are a number of climbers and a few herbs. The family has large, usually alternate, compound leaves, five-parted flowers arranged in ... Aram Ancient country, Middle East, southwestern Asia. It extended eastward from the Anti-Lebanon Mountains to beyond the Euphrates River. It was named for the Aramaeans, who emerged from the Syrian desert to invade Syria and Upper Mesopotamia (c. 11th century BC) and who built numerous city-kingdoms, including Damascus. It lends its ... Aram, Eugene noted English scholar and murderer, whose notoriety was romanticized in a ballad by Thomas Hood and in the novel Eugene Aram (1832), by Bulwer-Lytton. Aramaean one of a confederacy of tribes that spoke a North Semitic language (Aramaic) and, between the 11th and 8th century BC, occupied Aram, a large region in northern Syria. In the same period some of these tribes seized large tracts of Mesopotamia. Aramaic alphabet major writing system in the Middle East in the latter half of the 1st millennium BC. Derived from the North Semitic script, the Aramaic alphabet was developed in the 10th and 9th centuries BC and came into prominence after the conquest of the Aramaean states by Assyria in the 9th ... Aramaic language Semitic language of the Northern Central, or Northwestern, group that was originally spoken by the ancient Middle Eastern people known as Aramaeans. It was most closely related to Hebrew, Syriac, and Phoenician and was written in a script derived from the Phoenician alphabet. Aramco Oil company founded by the Standard Oil Co. of California (Chevron) in 1933, when the government of Saudi Arabia granted it a concession. Other U.S. companies joined after oil was found near Dhahran in 1938. In 1950 Aramco opened a pipeline from Saudi Arabia to the Mediterranean Sea port of ... aramid any of a series of synthetic polymers (substances made of long chainlike multiple-unit molecules) in which repeating units containing large phenyl rings are linked together by amide groups. Amide groups (CO-NH) form strong bonds that are resistant to solvents and heat. Phenyl rings (or aromatic rings) are bulky six-sided groups ... Aramis site of paleoanthropological excavations in the Awash River valley in the Afar region of Ethiopia, best known for its 4.4-million-year-old fossils of Ardipithecus ramidus found in 1992 and named in 1994. Aramis fictional character, one of the swashbuckling heroes of The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas pere. With the other two musketeers, Athos and Porthos, Aramis fights against various enemies, notably Cardinal Richelieu, during the reigns of the French kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV.