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Tiglathpileser III

(Encyclopedia)Tiglathpileser III, d. 728 b.c., king of ancient Assyria. He seems to have usurped the throne in 745 b.c. He bore the alternative name of Pul, by which he was known in biblical history (2 Kings 15.19)...

Sumqayit

(Encyclopedia)Sumqayit gīētˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 231,104), E central Azerbaijan, on the Caspian Sea at the mouth of the Sumqayit River. Once a major industrial center, it became heavily polluted and most of i...

Ural

(Encyclopedia)Ural yo͝orˈəl, Rus. o͞orälˈ [key], river, c.1,580 mi (2,540 km) long, rising in the S Urals, flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan. Part of the traditional boundary between Europe and Asia, the ...

Razin, Stenka

(Encyclopedia)Razin, Stenka stĕngˈkä räˈzēn [key], d. 1671, Don Cossack leader, head of the peasant revolt of 1670. As commander of a band of propertyless Don Cossacks, he raided and pillaged (1667–69) thro...

lake, body of water

(Encyclopedia)lake, inland body of standing water occupying a hollow in the earth's surface. The study of lakes and other freshwater basins is known as limnology. Lakes are of particular importance since they act a...

Gilan

(Encyclopedia)Gilan or Ghilan both: gēlänˈ [key], province, 14,709 sq mi (38,106 sq km), NW Iran, bounded in the N by ...

Absheron

(Encyclopedia)Absheron əp– [key], peninsula, c.40 mi (60 km) long, extending into the Caspian Sea, E Azerbaijan. It is a dry, hilly area at the eastern end of the Greater Caucasus Mts. and is underlain by rich o...

Kalmykia

(Encyclopedia)Kalmykia or Republic of Kalmykia-Khalmg-Tangeh, constituent republic (1990 est. pop. 329,000), c.29,400 sq mi (76,150 sq km), SE European Russia, on the Caspian Sea. Elista is the capital. A semino...

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...

Amu Darya

(Encyclopedia)Amu Darya or Amudarya both: ämo͞oˈ däryäˈ, äˈmo͞o därˈyə [key], river, c.1,600 mi (2,580 km) long, formed by the junction of the Vakhsh and Pandj rivers, which rise in the Pamir Mts. of ce...