Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

431 results found

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...

Roman religion

(Encyclopedia)Roman religion, the religious beliefs and practices of the people of ancient Rome. The spirits were held in awe and were placated with offerings and prayers. In the earliest period of Roman state r...

Damascus

(Encyclopedia)Damascus dəmăsˈkəs [key], Arabic Dimashq or ash-Sham, city (1995 est. pop. 1,500,000), capital of Syria and of its Damascus governorate, SW Syria, on the eastern edge of the Anti-Lebanon Mts. It i...

Columbus, Christopher

(Encyclopedia)Columbus, Christopher, Ital. Cristoforo Colombo krēstōˈbäl kōlōnˈ [key], 1451–1506, European explorer, b. Genoa, Italy. Columbus was not the first European mariner to sail to the New World�...

Eswatini

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Eswatini or eSwatini, formerly Swaziland swäˈzēlănd [key],...

Greek religion

(Encyclopedia)Greek religion, religious beliefs and practices of the ancient inhabitants of the region of Greece. The civil strife that followed the classical period (from c.500 b.c.) placed the old gods on trial...

pacifism

(Encyclopedia)pacifism, advocacy of opposition to war through individual or collective action against militarism. Although complete, enduring peace is the goal of all pacifism, the methods of achieving it differ. S...

liberalism

(Encyclopedia)liberalism, philosophy or movement that has as its aim the development of individual freedom. Because the concepts of liberty or freedom change in different historical periods the specific programs of...

Arianism

(Encyclopedia)Arianism ârˈēənĭzˌəm [key], Christian heresy founded by Arius in the 4th cent. It was one of the most widespread and divisive heresies in the history of Christianity. As a priest in Alexandria,...

Pueblo, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Pueblo, name given by the Spanish to the sedentary Native Americans who lived in stone or adobe communal houses in what is now the SW United States. The term pueblo is also used for the villages occup...