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Ecbatana

(Encyclopedia)Ecbatana ĕkbătˈənə, ĕkbətäˈnə [key], capital of ancient Media, later the summer residence of Achaemenid and Parthian kings, beautifully situated at the foot of Mt. Elvend and NE of Behistun....

Al-Fasi, Isaac ben Jacob ha-Kohen

(Encyclopedia)Al-Fasi, Isaac ben Jacob ha-Kohen äl-fäˈsē [key], 1013–1103, prominent Jewish Talmudic scholar of the very late Gaonic period, b. near Fès, N Africa. He headed the rabbinical school at Fès unt...

Cochin

(Encyclopedia)Cochin kōˌchĭnˈ [key], former princely state, 1,493 sq mi (3,867 sq km), SW India, on the ...

cherub

(Encyclopedia)cherub chĕrˈəb [key], plural cherubim, kind of angel. Cherubim were probably thought of in the ancient Middle East as composite creatures like the winged creatures of Assyria. In Jewish tradition, ...

Anan ben David

(Encyclopedia)Anan ben David änänˈ [key], fl. 8th cent., Babylonian Jewish theologian, founder of the Ananites from whom the Karaites claim spiritual descent. He is said to have been a descendant of Bostanai ben...

Judah ha-Nasi

(Encyclopedia)Judah ha-Nasi hä-näˈsē [key], c.135–c.220, Palestinian Jewish communal leader (tanna). He occupied the office of patriarch (nasi) which was reestablished by the Romans after 135. Under his leade...

Nahman of Bratslav

(Encyclopedia)Nahman of Bratslav näkhˈmən, brätˈsläf [key], 1772–1810, Jewish Hasidic leader, the great-grandson of the Baal-Shem-Tov. His messianic pretensions put him in conflict with other Hasidic (see H...

Auerbach, Berthold

(Encyclopedia)Auerbach, Berthold bĕrtˈhōlt ouˈərbäkhˌ [key], 1812–82, German novelist. He fought in the Revolution of 1848 and in the Franco-Prussian War. As a result of his Schwarzwälder Dorfgeschichten ...

Neander, Johann August Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Neander, Johann August Wilhelm yōˈhän ouˈgo͝ost vĭlˈhĕlm nāänˈdər [key], 1789–1850, German theologian and church historian. Of Jewish parentage, he became a Lutheran (1806), changing his...

Lewisohn, Ludwig

(Encyclopedia)Lewisohn, Ludwig lo͞oˈĭzōn [key], 1882–1955, American author, b. Berlin. After teaching German at Ohio State (1911–19), he was associate editor for the Nation (1920–24). His novels include D...