Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Ayodhya –jōdˈ– [key], town, Uttar Pradesh state, N India, on the Ghaghara River. Formerly called Oudh, the town forms a municipal corporation with Faizabad. Ayodhya was the capital of the kingdo...

(Encyclopedia) Afghanistan War, 1978–92, conflict between anti-Communist Muslim Afghan guerrillas (mujahidin) and Afghan government and Soviet forces. The conflict had its origins in the 1978 coup that overthrew A...

(Encyclopedia) cavalry, a military force consisting of mounted troops trained to fight from horseback. Horseback riding probably evolved independently in the Eurasian steppes and the mountains above the Mesopotamian...

(Encyclopedia) imam ĭmämˈ [key] [Arab.,=leader], in Islam, a recognized leader or a religious teacher. Among the Sunni the term refers to the leader in the Friday prayer at the mosque; any pious Muslim may functi...

(Encyclopedia) Hejaz or Hedjaz both: hējăzˈ, hĕjäzˈ [key], region, c.150,000 sq mi (388,500 sq km), NW Saudi Arabia, on the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea. Mecca is the chief city. Extending S to Asir, Hejaz is...

(Encyclopedia) Yunnan or Yun-nan both: yünˈnän [key] [south of the clouds], province (2010 pop. 45,966,239), c.162,000 sq mi (419,600 sq km), SW China. It borders Myanmar on the west and Laos and Vietnam on the s...

(Encyclopedia) Bali bäˈlē [key], island and (with two offshore islets) province, c.2,200 sq mi (5,700 sq ...

(Encyclopedia) Bharatiya Janata party bärˈətēə jänˈətə [key] [Hindi,=Indian People's party] (BJP), Indian political party that espouses Hindu nationalism. The BJP draws its Hindu nationalist creed from the ...

(Encyclopedia) Tehran or Teheran both: tāˌəränˈ, –rănˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 6,475,527), capital of Iran and Tehran prov., N Iran, near Mt. Damavand. It is Iran's largest city and its administrative, comme...

(Encyclopedia) Sembene, Ousmane o͝osmäˈnĕ səmbĕˈnĕ [key], 1923–2007, Senegalese author and film director who wrote and made films in French and Wolof, often regarded as the father of sub-Saharan African ci...