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Babel

(Encyclopedia)Babel bāˈbəl [key] [Heb.,=confused], in the Bible, place where Noah's descendants (who spoke one language) tried to build a tower reaching up to heaven to make a name for themselves. For this presu...

Scopus, Mount

(Encyclopedia)Scopus, Mount skōˈpəs [key], peak, 2,736 ft (834 m) high, NNE of Jerusalem. Dominating Jerusalem, it has long held strategic importance in the defense of the city. Roman legions camped there in a.d...

Shuayb

(Encyclopedia)Shuayb sho͞ohāyb [key], Qur'anic non-biblical prophet, appeared later than Hud and Salih among “the people of the thicket.” His preaching is said to have consisted of a call to monotheism and so...

Lynn, Loretta

(Encyclopedia)Lynn, Loretta, 1932–2022, American country singer and songwriter, b. Butcher Hollow, Ky. One of the most successful singers in modern country music, s...

Parton, Dolly

(Encyclopedia)Parton, Dolly, 1946–, country singer, songwriter, and actress, b. Sevier County, Tenn. Among the most popular country singers of the 1970s and 80s, Parton is known for her Nashville-style flamboyanc...

manor house

(Encyclopedia)manor house, dwelling house of the feudal lord of a manor, occupied by him only on occasional visits if he held many manors. Although not built specifically for fortification as castles were, many man...

reprisal

(Encyclopedia)reprisal, in international law, the forcible taking, in time of peace, by one country of the property or territory belonging to another country or to the citizens of the other country, to be held as a...

Silk Road

(Encyclopedia)Silk Road, ancient overland trade route linking Asia and Europe, consisting of a network of caravan routes running from China across central Asia to the shores of the Mediterranean. Its starting point...

Barak, Ehud

(Encyclopedia)Barak, Ehud āˈkho͞od bäräkˈ [key], 1942–, Israeli military and political leader, prime minister of Israel (1999–2001). The son of East European immigrants in Palestine, he was born Ehud Brog...

Philadelphia, ancient cities

(Encyclopedia)Philadelphia, name of several ancient cities. One was in Lydia, W Asia Minor (now W Turkey). At the foot of Mt. Tmolus and near the location of modern Alaşehir, it was founded in the 2d cent. b.c. by...