Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

443 results found

exploration

(Encyclopedia)exploration, travel to a part of the earth that is relatively unknown to the traveler's culture, historically often motivated by a desire for colonization, conquest, or trade. See also space explorati...

Cyprus

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Cyprus sīˈprəs [key], Gr. Kypros, Turk. Kıbrıs, officially Republic of Cyprus...

magic, in entertainment

(Encyclopedia)magic, in entertainment, the seeming manipulation and supernatural control of the natural world for the amusement and amazement of an audience. Entertainment magic can be divided into four main catego...

Eastern Question

(Encyclopedia)Eastern Question, term designating the problem of European territory controlled by the decaying Ottoman Empire in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th cent. The Turkish threat to Europe was checked by the H...

religion

(Encyclopedia)religion, a system of thought, feeling, and action that is shared by a group and that gives the members an object of devotion; a code of behavior by which individuals may judge the personal and social...

biblical archaeology

(Encyclopedia)biblical archaeology, term applied to the archaeology of the biblical lands, especially those of the ancient Middle East. While the thousands of written texts found in the languages of the ancient Mid...

Ethiopia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Ethiopia ēthēōˈpēə [key], officially Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, republic (2021 ...

Assyria

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Assyrian Empire (c.650 b.c.) Assyria əsĭrˈēə [key], ancient empire of W Asia. It developed around the city of Ashur, or Assur, on the upper Tigris River and south of the later capital, Ni...

Knights Hospitalers

(Encyclopedia)Knights Hospitalers, members of the military and religious Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, sometimes called the Knights of St. John and the Knights of Jerusalem. The symbol of the Orde...

Greek art

(Encyclopedia)Greek art, works of art produced in the Aegean basin, a center of artistic activity from very early times (see Aegean civilization). This article covers the art of ancient Greece from its beginnings t...

Browse by Subject