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Mahdi

(Encyclopedia)Mahdi mäˈdē [key] [Arab.,=he who is divinely guided], in Sunni Islam, the restorer of the faith. He will appear at the end of time to restore justice on earth and establish universal Islam. The Mah...

symbol

(Encyclopedia)symbol, sign representing something that has an independent existence. The most important use of symbols is in language. To say so, however, does not solve the perennial philosophical questions as to ...

On

(Encyclopedia)On ŏn [key], in the Bible. 1 Reubenite conspirator in Korah's revolt. 2 The Egyptian Heliopolis. ...

Rafa

(Encyclopedia)Rafa or Rafah both: räˈfä [key], town in the present Gaza Strip on the Egyptian border. The ancient name was Raphia. There in 217 b.c., Ptolemy IV defeated Antiochus III. ...

Tiele, Cornelis Petrus

(Encyclopedia)Tiele, Cornelis Petrus kôrnāˈlĭs pāˈtrəs tēˈlə [key], 1830–1902, Dutch theologian and author of a number of valuable works on the history of religion. Important is his Outlines of the Hist...

L'Hôpital, Michel de

(Encyclopedia)L'Hôpital or L'Hospital, Michel de both: mēshĕlˈ də lōpētälˈ [key], c.1505–1573, chancellor of France under Catherine de' Medici. He was Catherine's chief collaborator in the policy of reli...

Hamitic languages

(Encyclopedia)Hamitic languages, subfamily of the Hamito-Semitic family of languages, a now-abandoned system of classification for languages of N Africa and SW Asia. The Egyptian, Berber, Cushitic, and (sometimes) ...

Pyramids, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Pyramids, battle of, July, 1798, during the French Revolutionary Wars, battle fought between the French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte and the Egyptian Mamluks led by Murad Bey. Napoleon's victory ga...

Hyksos

(Encyclopedia)Hyksos hĭkˈsōs [key] [Egyptian,=rulers of foreign lands], invaders of ancient Egypt, now substantiated as the XV–XVIII dynasties. They were a northwestern Semitic (Canaanite or Amorite) people wh...

Qusayr, Al

(Encyclopedia)Qusayr, Al äl ko͞osārˈ [key], town (1986 pop. 19,997), E Egypt, on the Red Sea. The ancient Leucus Limen, it was once a major Egyptian port and the focus of several trade routes. It was formerly k...