Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Safavid

(Encyclopedia)Safavid säfäˈwēd [key], Iranian dynasty (1499–1736), that established Shiite Islam in Iran as an official state religion. The Safavid state provided both the territorial and societal foundations...

Persia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Persian Empire (c.500 b.c.) Persia pûrˈzhə, –shə [key], old alternate name for the Asian country Iran. The article Iran contains a description of the geography and economy of the modern ...

Sanballat

(Encyclopedia)Sanballat sănbălˈət [key], in the Bible, one of the Persian officials in Palestine who consistently opposed Nehemiah in his restoration of Jerusalem. He is called a Horonite, a designation perhaps...

Nasir ad-Din

(Encyclopedia)Nasir ad-Din näˈsər äd-dēn [key], 1831?–1896, shah of Persia (1848–96). He and his able vizier, Mirza Taqi Khan, were responsible for shaking Persia from a long period of inertia. He traveled...

Behistun Inscription

(Encyclopedia)Behistun Inscription bēso͞oto͞onˈ, bēsə– [key], cuneiform text, the decipherment of which was the key to all cuneiform script and opened to scholars the study of the written works of ancient M...

Ulloa, Francisco de

(Encyclopedia)Ulloa, Francisco de ᵺā o͞olyōˈä [key], d. c.1540, Spanish explorer in Mexico. Against the orders of Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza, Hernán Cortés sent Ulloa to explore the Gulf of California. In...

Pan-Arabism

(Encyclopedia)Pan-Arabism, general term for the modern movement for political unification among the Arab nations of the Middle East. Since the Ottoman Turks rose to power in the 14th cent., there have been stirring...

Jackson, Abraham Valentine Williams

(Encyclopedia)Jackson, Abraham Valentine Williams, 1862–1937, American Orientalist, b. New York City. Teaching at Columbia (1895–1935), he was a great authority on ancient Persian religion, language, and litera...

peri

(Encyclopedia)peri pērˈē [key], in Persian mythology, supernatural being. Peris were said to be fallen angels who were denied paradise until they did penance. Originally agents of evil, in later mythology they w...

oral history

(Encyclopedia)oral history, compilation of historical data through interviews, usually tape-recorded and sometimes videotaped, with participants in, or observers of, significant events or times. Primitive societies...