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Marsala

(Encyclopedia)Marsala märsäˈlä [key], city (1991 pop. 80,177), W Sicily, Italy, a port on the Mediterranean Sea, located on Cape Boeo. It is noted for its sweet wine. The ancient Lilybaeum, it was later renamed...

Brunanburh, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Brunanburh, battle of bro͞oˈnənbûrg [key], a.d. 937, a victory won by Athelstan, king of the English, over a coalition of Irish, Scots, and Britons (or Welsh) of Strathclyde. The site of the battl...

Thompson, William Hale

(Encyclopedia)Thompson, William Hale, 1869–1944, American politician, b. Boston. His family moved to Chicago when he was nine years old, and there he later entered politics as an alderman (1900–1902). He became...

Banu Musa

(Encyclopedia)Banu Musa bäno͞oˈ mo͞osäˈ [key], family of Arab mathematicians and astronomers of the 9th cent. a.d. The name means “sons of Musa” and refers to the three brothers, Muhammad, Ahmad, and al-H...

Hama

(Encyclopedia)Hama or Hamah both: häˈmä [key], city (1995 est. pop. 280,000), capital of Hama governorate, W central Syria, on the Orontes River. It is the market center for an irrigated farm region where cotton...

Alcántara

(Encyclopedia)Alcántara älkänˈtärä [key], town, Cáceres prov., W Spain, in Extremadura, near the Tagus River. A fine Roman bridge (Arabic al-kantara) built (a.d. 105–106) in ...

Jyväskylä

(Encyclopedia)Jyväskylä yüˈvăsküˌlă [key], city (1998 pop. 76,948), Western Finland prov., S central Finland. Situated on Lake Päijänne, it is an important port. Paper and wood products, metals, wool, and...

Muallaqat

(Encyclopedia)Muallaqat mo͞oälˌäkätˈ [key], Pre-Islamic Arabic anthology compiled by the scholar Hammad al Rawiya (d. c.775). comprised of poems that were written in gold letters and hung on the walls of the ...

Lyall, Sir Charles James

(Encyclopedia)Lyall, Sir Charles James līˈəl [key], 1845–1920, British Orientalist and civil servant in India. He held various offices in India and became chief commissioner of the Central Provs. (1895–98). ...

Reed, James Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Reed, James Alexander, 1861–1944, American political leader, b. near Mansfield, Ohio. He moved to Iowa and was admitted (1885) to the bar, practicing there and later in Missouri. He was (1898–1900...