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Shem

(Encyclopedia)Shem, in the Bible, eldest son of Noah; presented as the ancestor of the Semites, particularly of the Hebrews and Arabs. An apocalypse called the Paraphrase of Shem was found among the Nag Hammadi cod...

Samosata

(Encyclopedia)Samosata səmŏsˈətə [key], ancient city of N Syria, on the Euphrates. It was founded c.150 b.c. as the capital of the Commagene kingdom. Taken by the Romans in a.d. 72, it was of some importance i...

Muş

(Encyclopedia)Muş mo͞osh [key], city (1990 pop. 44,019), capital of Muş prov., E Turkey. It is in a region with many vineyards. Founded c.400 b.c., it was an important town of Armenia. Called Tarun by the Arabs,...

Bitlis

(Encyclopedia)Bitlis bĭtlĭsˈ [key], city, capital of Bitlis prov., E Turkey, on a tributary of the Tigri...

Khuzestan

(Encyclopedia)Khuzestan kho͞ozēstänˈ [key], province (1991 pop. 3,175,852), c.24,000 sq mi (62,160 sq km), SW Iran, bordering on Iraq in the west and the Persian Gulf in the south. Its major cities include Ahva...

Michael II, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)Michael II (Michael the Stammerer), d. 829, Byzantine emperor (820–29). A native of Phrygia, he fought with Emperor Leo V, whom he had helped gain the throne. Leo had him arrested for heading a cons...

Saint-Denis, city, Réunion

(Encyclopedia)Saint-Denis, city (1990 pop. 122,875), capital of the French overseas department of Réunion. It is a port on the Indian Ocean at the mouth of the St.-Denis River and exports sugar and rum. St.-Denis ...

Cefalù

(Encyclopedia)Cefalù chāfälo͞oˈ [key], town, N Sicily, Italy, a port on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is a co...

Fazzan

(Encyclopedia)Fazzan fĕz– [key], historic region, SW Libya. Marzuq, Sabhha, Brak, and Zawilah, all situated in oases in the Sahara Desert, are the chief settlements. The population is largely Arab, with Berber a...

Khazars

(Encyclopedia)Khazars khäˈzärz [key], ancient Turkic people who appeared in Transcaucasia in the 2d cent. a.d. and subsequently settled in the lower Volga region. They emerged as a force in the 7th cent. and ros...