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Naucratis

(Encyclopedia)Naucratis nŏkˈrətĭs [key], ancient city of Egypt, on the Canopic branch of the Nile, 45 mi (72 km) SE of Alexandria. It was probably given (7th cent. b.c.) by Psamtik to Greek colonists from Milet...

Exodus

(Encyclopedia)Exodus ĕkˈsədəs [key], book of the Bible, 2d of the 5 books of the Law (the Pentateuch or Torah) ascribed by tradition to Moses. The book continues the story of the ancestors of Israel in Egypt, n...

Boutros-Ghali, Boutros

(Encyclopedia)Boutros-Ghali, Boutros bo͞oˈtrōs, gäˈlē [key], 1922–2016, Egyptian statesman, secretary-general of the United Nations (1992–96). Born into a politically connected Coptic Christian family, he...

Ptolemy VI

(Encyclopedia)Ptolemy VI (Ptolemy Philometor) fĭləmēˈtər [key], d. 145 b.c., king of ancient Egypt (180–145 b.c.), of the Macedonian dynasty, son of Ptolemy V. He became king when an infant, and his mother, ...

Cleopatra

(Encyclopedia)Cleopatra klēəpăˈtrə, –pāˈ–, –päˈ– [key], 69 b.c.–30 b.c., queen of Egypt, one of the great romantic heroines of all time. Her name was widely used in the Ptolemaic family; she was ...

Gaza

(Encyclopedia)Gaza, Ghazzah gŭzˈə [key], town (2003 est. pop. 380,000), principal city and administrative center of the Gaza Strip, SW Asia, on the Philistia plain between the Mediterranean Sea and W Israel. In...

Bir Tawil

(Encyclopedia)Bir Tawil, unclaimed territory, c.795 sq mi (2,060 km), along the E Egypt-Sudan border W of the Halayeb Triangle. Its unclaimed status arose from the peculiarities the disputed border: Bir Tawil lies ...

Taharka

(Encyclopedia)Taharka tērˈəkə, tērhäˈkə [key], d. 663 b.c., king of ancient Egypt, last ruler of the XXV dynasty; son of Piankhi. Before he was king, he led the Egyptians against Sennacherib, who disastrous...

Ptolemy VIII

(Encyclopedia)Ptolemy VIII (Ptolemy Physcon) fĭsˈkən [key], d. 116 b.c., king of ancient Egypt (145–116 b.c.), of the Macedonian dynasty, brother of Ptolemy VI. He is also called Ptolemy Euergetes II. He was c...

Jews

(Encyclopedia)Jews [from Judah], traditionally, descendants of Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, whose tribe, with that of his half-brother Benjamin, made up the kingdom of Judah; historically, members of the worldwi...