Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

410 results found

Alexander the Great

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Empire of Alexander the Great (including dependencies) Alexander the Great or Alexander III, 356–323 b.c., king of Macedon, conqueror of much of Asia. Whether or not Alexander had plans fo...

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 ...

Charlemagne

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Carolingian Empire (814) Charlemagne (Charles the Great or Charles I) shärˈləmān [key] [O.Fr.,=Charles the great], 742?–814, emperor of the West (800–814), Carolingian king of the Fran...

espionage

(Encyclopedia)espionage ĕsˈpēənäzhˌ [key], the act of obtaining information clandestinely. The term applies particularly to the act of collecting military, industrial, and political data about one nation for ...

Flemish art and architecture

(Encyclopedia)Flemish art and architecture, works of art and structures produced in the region of Europe known for centuries as Flanders. Netherlandish art is another term sometimes used for these works. Art produc...

Oman

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Oman ōmänˈ [key], officially Sultanate of Oman, independent sultanate (2015 est. pop. 3,287,000), c.82,000 sq mi (212,380 sq km), SE Arabian peninsula, on the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Se...

Mary Queen of Scots

(Encyclopedia)Mary Queen of Scots (Mary Stuart), 1542–87, only child of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise. Through her grandmother Margaret Tudor, Mary had the strongest claim to the throne of England after t...

Vatican City

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Vatican City vătˈĭkən [key] or Holy See, officially Holy See (State of the Vatican City), independent state (2015 est. pop. 1,000), 108.7 acres (44 hectares), within the city of Rome, Italy...

dolphin, aquatic mammal

(Encyclopedia)dolphin, aquatic mammal, any of the small toothed whales of the family Delphinidae, numbering more than 50 species. These include the true, or beaked, dolphins, the killer whale, the pilot whale, and ...

Hudson's Bay Company

(Encyclopedia)Hudson's Bay Company, corporation chartered (1670) by Charles II of England for the purpose of trade and settlement in the Hudson Bay region of North America and for exploration toward the discovery o...