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Mannaeans

(Encyclopedia)Mannaeans mănēˈənz [key], ancient people of Asia Minor, occupying the region E of Assyria and SE of Urartu, in present-day NW Iran. Their kingdom, which flourished in the 9th and 8th cent. b.c., s...

Abu al-Faraj Ali of Esfahan

(Encyclopedia)Abu al-Faraj Ali of Esfahan äˈbo͞o äl-färajˈ älēˈ, ĕsfähänˈ [key], 897–967, Arabic scholar from Iran. He is mainly known for his invaluable Kitab al-Aghani (book of songs), which provid...

ammoniac

(Encyclopedia)ammoniac or gum ammoniac əmōˈnēăkˌ [key], yellowish substance with a sickening, bitter taste, obtained from the milky exudate of the injured stem of a plant (Dorema ammoniacum) found in Iran, In...

Bandar-e Imam Khomeini

(Encyclopedia)Bandar-e Imam Khomeini ēˈmäm khōˌmānēˈ [key], town, Khuzestan prov., SW Iran,...

Bassett, James

(Encyclopedia)Bassett, James băsˈət [key], 1834–1906, American Presbyterian missionary, b. Canada. In 1872, under the auspices of the American Board, he founded the first American mission at Tehran, Persia (no...

diplomatic service

(Encyclopedia)diplomatic service, organized body of agents maintained by governments to communicate with one another. In the 20th and 21st cent. there have been numerous meetings of heads of state and foreign min...

Persian art and architecture

(Encyclopedia)Persian art and architecture, works of art and structures produced in the region of Asia traditionally known as Persia and now called Iran. Bounded by fierce mountains and deserts, the high plateau of...

Ariana

(Encyclopedia)Ariana or Aryana both: ârēāˈnə, –ăˈnə [key], general name for the eastern provinces of the ancient Persian Empire. It was used to mean the regions S of the Oxus (modern Amu Darya) River; the...

Karkheh

(Encyclopedia)Karkheh kärˈkĕ [key], ancient Choaspes, river, c.350 mi (560 km) long, rising in the Zagros Mts., W Iran, and flowing S into the Khuzestan lowland, where it forms a swamp bordering the Tigris River...

Gunbad-e-Qabus

(Encyclopedia)Gunbad-e-Qabus gōnbädˈ-ĕ kôvo͞osˈ [key], city, Mazandaran prov., N Iran, on th...