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Śivaji

(Encyclopedia)Śivaji or Shivaji shĭväˈjē [key], 1627–80, Indian ruler, leader of the Marathas. The son of a Maratha chieftain, he was imbued from early childhood with hatred of the Mughal empire, which contr...

Bamian

(Encyclopedia)Bamian or Bamiyan both: bəmyänˈ [key], town, capital of Bamian prov., N central Afghanistan, on the Kunduz ...

communistic settlements

(Encyclopedia)communistic settlements, communities practicing common ownership of goods. Communistic settlements were known in ancient and medieval times, but the flowering of such groups occurred in the 19th cent....

Jainism

(Encyclopedia)Jainism jīˈnĭzəm [key] [i.e., the religion of Jina], religious system of India practiced by about 5,000,000 persons. Jainism, Ajivika, and Buddhism arose in the 6th cent. b.c. as protests against ...

Shevchenko, Taras Hryhorovych

(Encyclopedia)Shevchenko, Taras, 1814–1861, Ukrainian poet, writer, and artist, b. Ukraine, studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Art. The premier Ukrainian poet...

Mumbai

(Encyclopedia)Mumbai bŏmbāˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 3,175,000), capital of Maharashtra state, W central India, occupying c.25 sq mi (65 sq km) on Mumbai (Bombay) and Salsette islands on the Arabian Sea coast. Mum...

Beirut

(Encyclopedia)Beirut bāro͞otˈ [key], Arab. Bayrut, Fr. Beyrouth, city (1996 est. pop. 1,200,000), W Lebanon, capital of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean Sea, at the foot of the Lebanon Mts. Beirut is an important p...

Modi, Narendra Damodardas

(Encyclopedia)Modi, Narendra Damodardas närĕnˈdrä dämōdärdäsˈ mōdē [key], 1950–, Indian politician. A member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a right-wing, paramilitary Hindu nationalist group and t...

Nouakchott

(Encyclopedia)Nouakchott nwäkshôtˈ [key], city (1991 est. pop. 500,000), capital of Mauritania and Nouakchott dist., W Mauritania, a port on the Atlantic Ocean. Located between the Atlantic and the Sahara in a b...

Sundarbans

(Encyclopedia)Sundarbans, large, heavily forested swamp region, c.3,860 sq mi (10,000 sq km), in the S Ganges delta on the Bay of Bengal, about 60% in SW Bangladesh and the rest in West Bengal state, India. The mor...