Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Silk Road

(Encyclopedia)Silk Road, ancient overland trade route linking Asia and Europe, consisting of a network of caravan routes running from China across central Asia to the shores of the Mediterranean. Its starting point...

Philadelphia, ancient cities

(Encyclopedia)Philadelphia, name of several ancient cities. One was in Lydia, W Asia Minor (now W Turkey). At the foot of Mt. Tmolus and near the location of modern Alaşehir, it was founded in the 2d cent. b.c. by...

Andrews, Roy Chapman

(Encyclopedia)Andrews, Roy Chapman, 1884–1960, American naturalist and explorer, b. Beloit, Wis., B.A. Beloit College, 1906, M.A. Columbia Univ., 1913. Associated with the American Museum of Natural History, New ...

Tonkin Gulf resolution

(Encyclopedia)Tonkin Gulf resolution, in U.S. history, Congressional resolution passed in 1964 that authorized military action in Southeast Asia. On Aug. 4, 1964, North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonki...

Alyattes

(Encyclopedia)Alyattes ălēăˈtēz [key], d. 560 b.c., king of Lydia. During his reign, Alyattes expanded his kingdom. He made peace (585 b.c.) with Cyaxares of Media, continued the Lydian conquest of the Ionian ...

Far East

(Encyclopedia)Far East, in the most restricted sense, region comprising the countries of E Asia, namely China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, and Taiwan, and the easternmost portion of Russian Siberia (...

fermented milk

(Encyclopedia)fermented milk, whole or skim milk curdled to beverage or custardlike consistency by lactic-acid-producing microorganisms. Many forms of fermented milk were used by early nomadic herders, especially i...

Turkistan-Siberia Railroad

(Encyclopedia)Turkistan-Siberia Railroad, abbreviated as Turk-Sib, important railroad in Central Asia, providing the shortest link between Siberia and Central Asia. Completed in 1931, it runs from the Trans-Siberia...

python, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)python pīˈthŏn [key], name for nonvenomous constrictor snakes of the boa family, found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, and the S Pacific islands. Pythons climb and swim expertly...

mother-of-pearl

(Encyclopedia)mother-of-pearl or nacre nāˈkər [key], the iridescent substance that forms the lining of the shells of some fresh-water and some salt-water mollusks. Like the pearl it is a secretion of the mantle,...