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Bliss, Daniel

(Encyclopedia)Bliss, Daniel, 1823–1916, American missionary, b. Franklin co., Vt., founder of Syrian Protestant College (now the American Univ. of Beirut) in Lebanon. He went to Syria in 1855, returning in 1862 t...

Simeon Stylites, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Simeon Stylites, Saint stīlīˈtēz [key] [Gr.,= of a pillar], d. 459?, Syrian hermit. He lived for more than 35 years on a small platform on top of a high pillar. He had many imitators (called styli...

Bar-Hebraeus, Gregorius

(Encyclopedia)Bar-Hebraeus, Gregorius bär-hēbrēˈəs [key], 1226–86, Syrian scholar, bishop of the Jacobite Church. Partly Jewish in ancestry, his original name was Abu-al-Faraj. His most celebrated work is a ...

Assad, Bashar al-

(Encyclopedia)Assad, Bashar al- bäshärˈ äl-äsˈsäd [key], 1965–, Syrian political leader, son of Hafez al-Assad. A medical doctor, he left Syria (1992) for an ophthamology residency i...

Leo III, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)Leo III (Leo the Isaurian or Leo the Syrian), c.680–741, Byzantine emperor (717–41). He was probably born in N Syria (rather than in Isauria, as once thought). He held diplomatic and military post...

Rimmon

(Encyclopedia)Rimmon rĭmˈən [key], in the Bible. 1 Syrian god. 2 Father of the murderers of Ish-bosheth. 3 Rock, E of Bethel. There the remnants of the Benjamites took refuge after the battle of Gibeah. 4 See En...

Namib-Naukluft National Park

(Encyclopedia)Namib-Naukluft National Park, 19,216 sq mi (49,768 sq km), W Namibia, encompassing parts of the Namib Desert and the Naukluft mountain range. It was established in 1979 when the Namib Desert Park (beg...

Qattara Depression

(Encyclopedia)Qattara Depression mo͝ongkhäfädˈ äl-kät-täräˈ [key], desert basin, c.7,000 sq mi (18,130 sq km), NW Egypt, NE Africa, in the Libyan Desert. It was long believed to be the lowest point (436 ft...

Nusaybin

(Encyclopedia)Nusaybin nēˈsĭbēn [key], town (1990 pop. 50,605), SE Turkey, near the Syrian border. It is a commercial and transportation center. It has ruins of the ancient Nisibis, the residence of early (2d c...

Seven Sleepers of Ephesus

(Encyclopedia)Seven Sleepers of Ephesus ĕfˈĭsəs [key], in a Christian version of a widespread story, martyrs immured in a cave near Ephesus during the persecutions by Decius (c.250). Long afterward, in the 5th ...