Habakkuk, The Book Of

It is difficult to fix the date of the book, but the mention of the Chaldeans as Yahweh's agent (1:6) suggests the period

Jainism, Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism

Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism share many key concepts derived from the Sanskrit language and dialects that have enabled them to hone their religious debates. For example, all three traditions share a notion of karman as the actions of individuals that determine their future births; yet each has attached unique connotations to the concept. This is also true with

Chemical Association

The aggregation of atoms or molecules into larger units held together by forces weaker than chemical bonds that bind atoms in molecules. The term is usually restricted to the formation of aggregates of like molecules or atoms. Polymerization also denotes the formation of larger units by the union of like small units but usually with chemical bonds between the

Parsons Table

Also called  T-square Table,   simple, sturdy rectangular table having straight lines, overall flush surfaces, and square legs that form the four corners of the top and whose diameter is identical with the thickness of the top. It is not certain who designed the Parsons table, and it may have been the result of a class project, but prototypes exist in the early work of both the French interior designer

China, Major cultures and sites

There was not one Chinese Neolithic but a mosaic of regional cultures whose scope and significance are still being determined. Their location in the area defined today as China does not necessarily mean that all the Neolithic cultures were Chinese or even proto-Chinese. Their contributions to the Bronze Age civilization of the Shang, which may be taken as unmistakably

Gullstrand, Allvar

Gullstrand studied in Uppsala, Vienna, and Stockholm, earning a doctorate in 1890. He became professor of diseases of the eye at Uppsala in 1894 and in 1913 was appointed professor of physiological

Raynal, Guillaume-thomas, Abb� De

Raynal was educated by the Jesuits and as a young man joined the order, but after going to Paris to work for the church he gave up religious life in favour of writing. He established himself as a writer with two historical works, one

Augury

Prophetic divining of the future by observation of natural phenomena—particularly the behaviour of birds and animals and the examination of their entrails and other parts, but also by scrutiny of man-made objects and situations. The term derives from the official Roman augurs, whose constitutional function was not to foretell the future but to discover whether

Adam, Robert

Having nearly exhausted his money and anxious to return to England, Adam had to forgo the pleasures of further expeditions to Greece and Egypt. He returned to London in January 1758, his head full of details of Roman antiquities. Palladianism was losing its appeal, and the public was ready for a new architectural style. Adam lost no time in making his reputation, and by the

Ammonite

Any member of an ancient Semitic people whose principal city was Rabbath Ammon, in Palestine. The “sons of Ammon” were in perennial, though sporadic, conflict with the Israelites. After a long period of seminomadic existence, the Ammonites established a kingdom north of Moab in the 13th century BC. With difficulty, their fortress capital was captured by Israel's King David.

Bioceramics

Ceramic products or components employed in medical and dental applications, mainly as implants and replacements. This article briefly describes the principal ceramic materials and surveys the uses to which they are put in medical and dental applications. For an explanation of important issues in biomedical uses of all materials (including ceramics), see the

1848, Revolutions Of

The revolutionary movement began in Italy with a local revolution in Sicily in January 1848; and, after the revolution

Spadefoot Toad

The European spadefoot (Pelobates fuscus) is found in Europe and Central Asia, usually in sandy regions.

Tabasco Plain

Tropical lowland on the Gulf of Mexico, Tabasco state, southeastern Mexico. Occupying the coastal lowlands south of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and north of the Yucatán Peninsula, the Tabasco Plain is a hot and humid land made up of alluvial materials deposited by the Grijalva and Usumacinta rivers and is covered with dense, tropical forest. Rainfall is heavy, and

Gage, Matilda Joslyn

Matilda Joslyn received an advanced education from her father and completed her formal schooling at the Clinton Liberal Institute in Clinton, New York. In 1845 she married Henry H. Gage, with whom she settled in Fayetteville,

Eakins, Thomas

From his earliest student days, Eakins had been primarily interested in studying and portraying the human figure. His early sculling scenes displayed the musculature of athletic men, and “The Gross Clinic” dealt directly with the subject of human anatomy. But Eakins found few subjects in contemporary Philadelphia that afforded opportunities for portraying

Annelid, Regeneration

It has been said that annelids are the most highly organized animals with the power of complete regeneration. The powers of regeneration are greater in the polychaetes and lower oligochaetes than in the higher oligochaetes; leeches lack the ability to regenerate. Most polychaetes and oligochaetes can regenerate a new tail. The ability to replace an amputated

Waterfall

Area where flowing river water drops abruptly and nearly vertically (see video). Waterfalls represent major interruptions in river flow. Under most circumstances rivers tend to smooth out irregularities in their flow by processes of erosion and deposition. In time, the long profile of a river (the graph of its gradient) takes the form of a smooth curve, steepest toward

Eastern Orthodoxy, Attempts at ecclesiastical union and theological renaissance

In 1261 the Nicaean emperor Michael Palaeologus recaptured Constantinople from the Latins, and an Orthodox patriarch again occupied the see in Hagia Sophia. From 1261 to 1453 the Palaeologan dynasty presided over an empire that was embattled from every side, torn apart by civil wars, and gradually shrinking to the very limits of the imperial city itself. The church, meanwhile,

Earth, Paleoclimatological data

Alfred Wegener was a meteorologist who was particularly interested in the study of ancient climates (paleoclimatology). He noticed that sedimentary rocks indicative of having been deposited in warm climates are now found in cold climates and vice versa. He felt that these observations were best explained if the continents had moved relative to each other and

Rocky Mountains, National parks, forests, and recreational areas

Many of North America's finest national parks, national monuments, and wilderness areas are in the ranges of the Rocky Mountains and in the Colorado Plateau. To these areas of natural beauty have been added such large recreation facilities as the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, located on either side of Lake Powell in Utah and Arizona, and Flaming Gorge National

Eleanor Of Aquitaine

Eleanor was the daughter and heiress of William X, duke of Aquitaine and count of Poitiers, who possessed one of the largest domains in France—larger,

Ramanathapuram

Ramanathapuram district occupies part of the flat southern coastal plain, including the island of Rameswaram. Protected

Innocent I, Saint

Probably a Roman deacon, Innocent was possibly the son of St. Anastasius I, whom he succeeded in the papacy on Dec. 22, 401. In 404 Innocent ordered a synod to reinstate Patriarch St. John Chrysostom of Constantinople, who had been illegally deposed

Antelami, Benedetto

Little is known of his life. It is believed that he served his apprenticeship in sculpture at Saint-Trophîme in Arles, Fr., and that this service may have influenced his sensitivity to French (particularly Provençal) stylistic developments. It is

Craft Guild

Also called  Mystery  (from Latin ministerium, “occupation”), a European medieval occupational association, usually comprising all the artisans—and often the suppliers, retailers, and wholesale merchants—concerned with a specific branch of industry or commerce. A weavers' guild is recorded at Mainz as early as 1099 and in London and other cities of England during the reign of Henry I (1100–35); but the

Minyan

Plural  Minyanim, or Minyans,   in Judaism, the minimum number of males (10) required to constitute a representative “community of Israel” for liturgical purposes. A Jewish boy of 13 may form part of the quorum after his Bar Mitzvah (religious adulthood). When a minyan is lacking for synagogue services, those who have gathered merely recite their prayers as private individuals. There is thus no public reading

Acanthaceae

One of 18 families in the figwort order of flowering plants (Scrophulariales), containing approximately 250 genera and at least 2,500 species distributed predominantly in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The greater part of the Acanthaceae family are herbs or shrubs, but climbers (vines) and trees occur as well. The range of habitats extends from marshes to extremely

Pietas

In Roman religion, personification of a respectful and faithful attachment to gods, country, and relatives, especially parents. Pietas had a temple at Rome, dedicated in 181 BC, and was often represented on coins as a female figure carrying a palm branch and a sceptre or as a matron casting incense upon an altar, sometimes accompanied by a stork, the symbol of filial piety.

Abu Kalijar Al-marzuban Ibn Sultan Ad-dawlah

When his father, Sultan ad-Dawlah, died in December 1023/January 1024, Abu Kalijar's succession to the sultan's Iranian possessions of Fars and Khuzistan was challenged by his uncle Abu al-Fawaris, the ruler of Kerman, to the west. By 1028 Abu Kalijar was

Peru, Flag Of

The first national flag of Peru was created in 1820, when José de San Martín arrived with his Army of the Andes from Argentina and Chile. The Peruvian flag he designed combined the colours red and white, said to have been chosen because San Martín saw a flock of flamingos take wing at his arrival. The form of the flag was unusual—a diagonal division forming two white and two

Arethusa

The river god Alpheus fell in love with Arethusa, who was in the retinue of Artemis. Arethusa fled to Ortygia, where she was changed into a spring. Alpheus, however, made his way beneath the sea and united his waters with those of the spring. According to Ovid's

Chase, Salmon P(ortland)

Chase received part of his education from his uncle Philander Chase, the first Episcopal bishop of Ohio

Theatre

Though the word theatre is derived from the Greek theaomai, “to see,” the performance itself may appeal either to the ear or to the eye, as is suggested by the interchangeability of the terms spectator

Berat

Located strategically between the ancient regions of Illyria and Epirus, Berat was the

North Africa, History Of, Carthaginian supremacy

By the 5th century BC, active military participation by Tyre in the west had doubtlessly ceased; from the latter half of the 6th century Tyre was under Persian rule. Carthage thus became the leader of the western Phoenicians and in the 5th century formed an empire of its own, centred on North Africa, which included existing Phoenician settlements, new ones founded by Carthage

Nord-norge

English  Northern Norway  geographic region of Norway. It reaches from Nordland about 575 miles (925 km) northward to the North Cape (Nordkapp), the northernmost point in Europe. It includes the fylker (counties) of Nordland, Troms, and Finnmark. An arm of the Gulf Stream, the North Atlantic Current, which flows past its coast, provides a relatively mild maritime climate. Commonly known as the “Land of the Midnight

Egypt, World War I and independence

In November 1914 Britain declared war on the Ottoman Empire and in December proclaimed a protectorate over Egypt, deposed 'Abbas, and appointed his uncle, Husayn Kamil, with the title of sultan. Kitchener was succeeded by Sir Henry MacMahon, and he by Sir Reginald Wingate, both with the title of high commissioner. Although Egypt was not required to provide troops, the people,

Ovett, Steve

Ovett first attracted international notice when he won the 800-metre race at the 1973 European junior championships in Duisburg, West

Eagle Owl

(Bubo bubo), bird of the family Strigidae (order Strigiformes), characterized by its large size (often 70 centimetres [about 2.3 feet] long), two tufts of feathers on the head (ear tufts), and large orange eyes. The overall coloration is tawny, mottled with brown, lighter below. The eagle owl roosts and breeds within rocky niches and hollow trees. At twilight it perches on a branch while

Argentina, Confederation under Rosas, 1829–52

The regime of Rosas in Buenos Aires enjoyed far broader support than any of its predecessors. Special interest groups, landholders, and export-import merchants (along with the British diplomatic contingent that was identified with these interests) all fell behind the new governor. Practically all the influential sectors in the province identified Rosas's triumph

Basel-landschaft

French  Bâle-campagne,   Halbkanton (“demicanton”), northern Switzerland, traversed by the Jura Mountains and drained by the Ergolz and Birs rivers. It was formed in 1833 by the division of Basel canton into two half cantons, or demicantons, and its early history is linked with Basel (q.v.) city. Its present constitution dates from 1892, and its capital is Liestal (q.v.). Approximately one-third of its 165 square miles

Bohra

Also spelled  Bohora,   in general, any Shi'i Isma'ili Muslim of the Musta'li sect, living in western India. The name is a corruption of a Gujarati word, vahaurau, meaning “to trade.” The Bohras include, in addition to this Shi'i majority, often of the merchant class, a Sunni minority who are usually peasant farmers. The Musta'li sect (see Isma'ilite), which originated in Egypt and later moved its religious centre to Yemen,