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Jericho, city, West Bank

(Encyclopedia)Jericho jĕrˈĭkō [key] [Heb.,=fragrant, or city of the moon god], Arab. Ariha, town (2003 est. pop. 19,000), West Bank, in the Jordan valley N of the Dead Sea; nearby is the site of the ancient cit...

Druze

(Encyclopedia)Druze or Druse dro͞oz [key], religious community of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, with important overseas branches in the Americas and Australia. The religious leadership prefers the name Muwah...

Claudius

(Encyclopedia)Claudius, ancient Roman gens. Appius Claudius Sabinus Inregillenis or Regillensis was a Sabine; he came (c.504 b.c.) with his tribe to Rome. While consul (495), his severe interpretation of the laws o...

Halifax, city, Canada

(Encyclopedia)Halifax, city and regional municipality, provincial capital, S central N.S., Canada, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the largest city in the Maritime Provi...

Mogadishu

(Encyclopedia)Mogadishu or Mogadisho both: mŏgədĭshˈo͞o [key], Ital. Mogadiscio, city (1990 est. pop. 1,200,000), capital of Somalia, on the Indian Ocean. It is the country's largest city, a port, and a commer...

Cascade Range

(Encyclopedia)Cascade Range, mountain chain, c.700 mi (1,130 km) long, extending S from British Columbia to N Calif., where it becomes the Sierra Nevada; it parallels the Coast Ranges, 100–150 mi (161–241 km) i...

siege

(Encyclopedia)siege, assault against a city or fortress with the purpose of capturing it. The history of siegecraft parallels the development of fortification and, later, artillery. In early times battering rams an...

Early, Jubal Anderson

(Encyclopedia)Early, Jubal Anderson, 1816–94, Confederate general, b. Franklin co., Va., grad. West Point, 1837. After fighting against the Seminole in Florida he resigned from the army (1838), studied law, and p...

amphibious warfare

(Encyclopedia)amphibious warfare ămfĭbˈēəs [key], employment of a combination of land and sea forces to take or defend a military objective. The general strategy is very ancient and was extensively employed by...

Sinai

(Encyclopedia)Sinai sīˈnī [key], triangular peninsula, c.23,000 sq mi (59,570 sq km), NE Egypt. It is c.230 mi (370 km) long and 150 mi (240 km) wide and extends north into a broad isthmus linking Africa and Asi...