Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

287 results found

Sistan

(Encyclopedia)Sistan sā– [key], border lowland region of SW Afghanistan and E Iran, c.6,000 sq mi (15,540 sq km), fed mainly by the spring flood of the Helmand River and other streams. At low water, the region i...

Ramallah

(Encyclopedia)Ramallah rämäˈlä [key], city (2007 pop. 27,4000), in the West Bank, N of Jerusalem. The administrative center for the Palestinian Authority, it lies in a fertile farming region where olives, figs,...

Fars

(Encyclopedia)Fars färsĭstänˈ [key], province, c.51,500 sq mi (133,400 sq km), SW Iran. Shiraz is the capital and chief city, ...

Hazor

(Encyclopedia)Hazor hāˈzôr [key] 1 Fortified city of N Galilee, 5 mi (8 km) SW of Lake Hula, in present-day Israel. Strategically located in ancient Palestine on the road leading from Egypt to Syria and Asia Min...

gunpowder

(Encyclopedia)gunpowder, explosive mixture; its most common formula, called “black powder,” is a combination of saltpeter, sulfur, and carbon in the form of charcoal. Historically, the relative amounts of the c...

Monte Cassino

(Encyclopedia)Monte Cassino mônˈtā käs-sēˈnō [key], monastery, in Latium, central Italy, E of the Rapido River. Situated on a hill (1,674 ft/510 m) overlooking Cassino, it was founded c.529 by St. Benedict o...

Taranto

(Encyclopedia)Taranto täˈräntō [key], Lat. Tarentum, city (1991 pop. 232,334), capital of Taranto prov., Apulia, S Italy, on the Gulf of Taranto, an arm of the Ionian Sea. Taranto is, after La Spezia, the chief...

Mari, ancient city, Mesopotamia

(Encyclopedia)Mari mäˈrē [key], ancient city of Mesopotamia (modern Syria). It is on the middle Euphrates, south of its junction with the Habor (Khabur). The site was discovered by chance in the early 1930s by A...

Zefat

(Encyclopedia)Zefat zĕfˈät [key], town (1994 pop. 21,600), NE Israel. One of Israel's four holy cities, it has a thriving artists' colony and many museums and ancient synagogues. Ceramics, diamonds, and handicra...

Ceuta

(Encyclopedia)Ceuta thāo͞oˈtä [key], autonomous city, c.7 sq mi (19 sq km), NW Africa, a possession of ...