(Encyclopedia) SafavidSafavidsäfäˈwēd [key], Iranian dynasty (1499–1736), that established Shiite Islam in Iran as an official state religion. The Safavid state provided both the territorial and…
Attack on Iraq Operation Desert Fox and Operation Northern Watch by Borgna Brunner December 16, 1998, marked the beginning of four days of air strikes launched against Iraq by the…
U.S. Department of State Background Note Index: Geography People History Government Political Conditions Economy Defense Foreign Relations U.S.-Algerian Relations GEOGRAPHYAlgeria, the second-…
U.S. Department of State Background Note Index: Geography People History Government and Political Conditions Economy Foreign Relations U.S.-Tajik Relations GEOGRAPHYAt 36'40' northern latitude…
(Encyclopedia) CoptsCoptskŏpts [key], the native Christian minority of Egypt; estimates of the number of Copts in Egypt range from 5% to 17% of the population. Copts are not ethnically distinct from…
(Encyclopedia) circumcisioncircumcisionsûrˌkəmsĭzhˈən [key], operation to remove the foreskin covering the glans of the penis. It dates back to prehistoric times and was widespread throughout the…
(Encyclopedia) imamimamĭmämˈ [key] [Arab.,=leader], in Islam, a recognized leader or a religious teacher. Among the Sunni the term refers to the leader in the Friday prayer at the mosque; any pious…
(Encyclopedia) Naipaul, V. S. (Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul)Naipaul, V. S.nīpôlˈ [key], 1932–2018, English writer, b. Chaguanas, Trinidad; grad. University College, Oxford, 1953. Naipul, whose…
(Encyclopedia) AramaicAramaicârəmāˈĭk [key], language belonging to the West Semitic subdivision of the Semitic subfamily of the Afroasiatic family of languages (see Afroasiatic languages). At some…
