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chemical warfare

(Encyclopedia)chemical warfare, employment in war of incendiaries, poison gases, and other chemical substances. Ancient armies attacking or defending fortified cities threw burning oil and fireballs. A primitive ty...

Arab League

(Encyclopedia)Arab League, popular name for the League of Arab States, formed in 1945 in an attempt to give political expression to the Arab nations. The original charter members were Egypt, Iraq, Jordan (then know...

Clark, Helen

(Encyclopedia)Clark, Helen, 1950–, New Zealand politician, prime minister (1999–2008), b. Hamilton, N.Z. A graduate of the Univ. of Auckland (B.A., 1971; M.A., 1974), she taught political science there (1973–...

Hilprecht, Hermann Volrath

(Encyclopedia)Hilprecht, Hermann Volrath hĕrˈmän fôlˈrät hĭlˈprĕkht [key], 1859–1925, American Assyriologist, b. Germany; Ph.D. Univ. of Leipzig, 1883. He is noted as an authority on cuneiform writing. H...

Meese, Edwin, 3d

(Encyclopedia)Meese, Edwin, 3d, 1931–, American public official, b. Oakland, Calif. As a deputy district attorney of Alameda co., he was a tough prosecutor with little toleration for radical protest. As a result,...

Kish, ancient city, Mesopotamia

(Encyclopedia)Kish kĭsh [key], ancient city of Mesopotamia, in the Euphrates valley, 8 mi (12.9 km) E of Babylon and 12 mi (19 km) east of the modern city of Hillah, Iraq. It was occupied from very ancient times, ...

Adams, Robert McCormick, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Adams, Robert McCormick, Jr., 1926–, American anthropologist, b. Chicago, Ill., grad. Univ. of Chicago (Ph.B., 1947; M.A., 1952; Ph.D., 1956). He served on the faculty of the Univ. of Chicago (1955�...

Flynn, Michael Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Flynn, Michael Thomas, 1958–, U.S. military officer and government official, b. Middletown, R.I., Univ. of Rhode Island (B.S., 1981). Commissioned as ...

Revolutionary Guards

(Encyclopedia)Revolutionary Guards, officially the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) or Pasdaran, Iranian military group formed in the aftermath of the 1979 revolution by young Islamic activists loyal to Ayato...

Primakov, Yevgeny Maksimovich

(Encyclopedia)Primakov, Yevgeny Maksimovich yĭvgyānˈyē mŭksyēˈməvyĭchˌ prēˌməkôfˈ [key], 1929–2015, Russian government official and economist, b. Kiev (now in Ukraine). An Arabic scholar, grad. (19...