Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Turks, term applied in its wider meaning to the Turkic-speaking peoples of Turkey, Russia, Central Asia, Xinjiang in China (Chinese Turkistan), Azerbaijan and the Caucasus, Iran, and Afghanistan. They...

(Encyclopedia) Capitol, seat of the U.S. government at Washington, D.C. It is the city's dominating monument, built on an elevated site that was chosen by George Washington in consultation with Major Pierre L'Enfant...

(Encyclopedia) Paulicians pôlĭshˈənz [key], Christian heretical sect. The sect developed in Armenia from obscure origins and is first mentioned in the middle of the 6th cent., where it is associated with Nestori...

(Encyclopedia) Palmyra pălmīˈrə [key], ancient city of central Syria. A small modern village known as Tudmor or Tadmor (the Syrian Arabic name of Palmyra) is nearby; residents were relocated from the ancient sit...

(Encyclopedia) Central American Federation or Central American Union, political confederation (1825–38) of the republics of Central America—Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Salvador. United under ...

(Encyclopedia) Pufendorf, Samuel, Baron von zäˈmo͞oĕl bärônˈ fən po͞oˈfəndôrf [key], 1632–94, German jurist and historian. He is especially noted as an early theorist of international law. Educated in ...

(Encyclopedia) Tamil Nadu mədrăsˈ, mədräsˈ [key], state (2001 provisional pop. 62,110,839), 50,180 sq mi (129,966 sq km), SE India, on the Bay of Bengal. The capital is Chennai (formerly Madras). On a low-lyin...

(Encyclopedia) Fitzwilliam Museum, building erected to house the art collection and library bequeathed in 1816 to the Univ. of Cambridge by Richard, 7th Viscount Fitzwilliam. Both the collection and the Founder's Bu...

(Encyclopedia) Burnham, Daniel Hudson bûrˈnəm [key], 1846–1912, American architect and city planner b. Henderson, N.Y. He was trained in architects' offices in Chicago. In that city he established (1873) a part...

(Encyclopedia) Roman architecture, structures produced by the ancient Romans. Most important among the structures developed by the Romans themselves were basilicas, baths, amphitheaters, and triumphal arches. U...