Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

443 results found

Hargeisa

(Encyclopedia)Hargeisa, Hargeysa, or Harghessa all: härgāˈsä [key], town (1984 est. pop. 70,000) and capital of the Somaliland region, N Somalia. It is a commercial center and watering place for nomadic stock ...

Al Ubayyid

(Encyclopedia)Al Ubayyid ĕl ōbādˈ [key], city (2021 metropolitan area pop. 495,000), S central Sudan. It is a rail terminus, a road and camel caravan junction, and the end of a pilg...

mastaba

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Mastaba mastaba măsˈtəbə [key], in Egyptian architecture, a sepulchral structure built aboveground. The mastabas of the early dynastic period (3200–2680 b.c.), such as those of the I dyn...

Sesostris III

(Encyclopedia)Sesostris III sĭsŏsˈtrĭs [key], d. 1840 b.c., king of ancient Egypt, of the XII dynasty. He succeeded (1878 b.c.) his father Sesostris II. He fixed the southern boundary of Egypt above the Second ...

ElBaradei, Mohamed

(Encyclopedia)ElBaradei, Mohamed ĕlbäräˈdā [key], 1942–, Egyptian lawyer and United Nations diplomat, b. Cairo, grad. Univ. of Cairo (1962), New York Univ. School of Law (1974). He worked (1964–80) in the ...

Morsi, Mohamed

(Encyclopedia)Morsi, Mohamed môrˈsē [key], 1951–2019, Egyptian engineer and political leader, grad. Cairo Univ. (B.A. 1975. M.A. 1978), Univ. of Southern California (Ph.D. 1982). He taught engineering at Calif...

mummy

(Encyclopedia)mummy, dead human or animal body preserved by embalming or by unusual natural conditions. As a rule mummies are from ancient times. The word is of Arabic derivation and refers primarily to the burials...

Mitanni

(Encyclopedia)Mitanni mĭtănˈē [key], ancient kingdom established in the 2d millennium b.c. in NW Mesopotamia. It was founded by Aryans but was later made up predominantly of Hurrians. Washshukanni was its capit...

Sudd

(Encyclopedia)Sudd so͝od [key], swampy region, c.200 mi (320 km) long, and c.150 mi (240 km) wide, central South Sudan, E central Africa. It is fed by the Bahr el Jebel, the Bahr el Ghazal, and the Bahr el Arab, h...

Taylor, Isaac

(Encyclopedia)Taylor, Isaac, 1829–1901, English clergyman, antiquarian, and author, chiefly noted for researches in philology. In 1885, Taylor became canon of York. His inclination toward controversy led to the w...

Browse by Subject