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Decapolis

(Encyclopedia)Decapolis dēkăpˈəlĭs [key] [Gr.,=ten cities], confederacy of 10 ancient cities, all E of the Jordan, except Scythopolis. The others were (according to Pliny) Dion, Pella, Gadara, Hippos, Gerasa, ...

Aretas

(Encyclopedia)Aretas ârˈĭtəs, –tăs [key], dynastic name of the Nabataean kings of Petra. The best-known Aretas was Aretas IV, 9 b.c.–a.d. 49, ruler of S Palestine, most of Jordan, N Arabia, and Damascus. H...

Jezreel

(Encyclopedia)Jezreel jĕzˈrēĕl [key] [Heb.,=God sows]. 1 City, ancient Palestine, in the plain of Esdraelon, halfway from Megiddo to the Jordan, and mentioned in the Bible. Situated on land allotted to Issachar...

Hazael

(Encyclopedia)Hazael hăzˈāĕl, həzāˈəl [key], fl. 840 b.c., king of Damascus; successor and murderer of Benhadad. In the Bible he appears as the ally of the party of Elisha in Israel and later as the conquer...

Hula, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Hula, Lake, or Lake Huleh both: ho͞oˈlā [key], Arabic Bahr al Hulah, near sea-level lake formed by a natural dam of basalt, NE Israel; the Jordan River exits from its southern end. In ancient times...

Mongkut

(Encyclopedia)Mongkut rämˈə [key], 1804–68, king of Siam, now Thailand (1851–68). A devout Buddhist monk, he was displaced in succession to the throne by his brother, who ascended as Rama III. Mongkut became...

Ed

(Encyclopedia)Ed, in the Bible, name of an altar raised on the left bank of the Jordan.

Przhevalsky, Nikolai Mikhailovich

(Encyclopedia)Przhevalsky, Nikolai Mikhailovich nyĭkəlīˈ mēkhīˈləvĭch pərzhĭvälˈskē [key], 1839–88, Russian geographer and explorer in central and E Asia. He made five major expeditions—one to the...

El Dorado, legendary country of South America

(Encyclopedia)El Dorado ĕlˈdəräˈdō, –rāˈ– [key] [Span.,=the gilded man], legendary country of the Golden Man sought by adventurers in South America. The legend supposedly originated in a custom of the C...

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