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Castelar y Ripoll, Emilio

(Encyclopedia)Castelar y Ripoll, Emilio āmēˈlyō kästālärˈ ē rēpōˈlyə [key], 1832–99, Spanish statesman and author. A professor of history and philosophy at the Univ. of Madrid and a republican leader...

Japheth

(Encyclopedia)Japheth jāˈfĕth [key], in the Bible, son of Noah and ancestor of those who were to occupy the isles of the Gentiles. This has been supposed to mean the Mediterranean lands of Europe and Asia Minor....

Mysia

(Encyclopedia)Mysia mĭshˈēə [key], ancient region, NW Asia Minor. It was N of Lydia and its coast faced Lesbos. Mysia was not a political unit, and it passed successively to Lydia, Persia, Macedon, Syria, Perga...

Atargatis

(Encyclopedia)Atargatis ātärgāˈtĭs [key], ancient Syrian goddess. Of obscure origin, she probably belongs to the general pattern of mother goddesses that were worshiped throughout W Asia and Greece. In Rome sh...

Saudi Arabia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Saudi Arabia säo͞oˈdē ərāˈbēə, souˈ–, sô– [key], officially Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, kingdom (2015 est. pop. 27,752,000), 829,995 sq mi (2,149,690 sq km), comprising most of the ...

Downing, Andrew Jackson

(Encyclopedia)Downing, Andrew Jackson, 1815–52, American horticulturist, rural architect, and landscape gardener, b. Newburgh, N.Y. With his brother Charles Downing, 1802–85, he took over the operation of the n...

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) ...

Lystra

(Encyclopedia)Lystra lĭsˈtrə [key], ancient city of Lycaonia, S Asia Minor, in present Turkey. The Acts of the Apostles reports that it was visited by Paul and Barnabas. An ancient altar found there mentioned th...

Pactolus

(Encyclopedia)Pactolus păktōˈləs [key], small river of ancient Lydia, W central Asia Minor (now Turkey), joining the Hermus (modern Gediz) after passing Sardis. It was famous for the gold washed from its sands,...

Hedin, Sven Anders

(Encyclopedia)Hedin, Sven Anders svĕn änˈdərs hĕdēnˈ [key], 1865–1952, Swedish explorer in central Asia. Following soon after Przhevalsky, Hedin explored Tibet, Xinjiang, and the Kunlun and Trans-Himalaya ...