Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) calligraphy kəlĭgˈrəfē [key] [Gr.,=beautiful writing], skilled penmanship practiced as a fine art. See also inscription; paleography. The art of calligraphy is also practiced with the limited l...

(Encyclopedia) Chechnya chəchĕnˈ [key], republic (1990 est. pop. 1,300,000, with neighboring Ingushetia), c.6,100 sq mi (15,800 sq km), SE European Russia, in the N Caucasus. Grozny is the capital. Prior to 1992 ...

(Encyclopedia) Gibraltar jĭbrôlˈtər [key], British overseas territory (2015 est. pop. 34,000), 2.5 sq mi (6.5 sq km), on a narrow, rocky peninsula extending into the Mediterranean Sea from SW Spain. Most of the ...

(Encyclopedia) Hamas hämäsˈ [key] [Arab., = zeal], Arabic acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement, a Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist organization that was founded in 1987 during the Intifada; it seeks ...

(Encyclopedia) Islamic art and architecture, works of art and architecture created in countries where Islam has been dominant and embodying Muslim precepts in its themes. Among the ceramic types are unglazed wares...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Mali mäˈlē [key], officially Republic of Mali, independent republic (2015 est. pop. 17,468,000), 478,764 sq mi (1,240,000 sq km), the largest country in W Africa. Mali is bordered on the nor...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Senegal sĕnĭgôlˈ, sĕnˈĭgôl [key], officially Republic of Senegal, republic (2015 est. pop. 13,975,000), 76,124 sq mi (197,161 sq km), W Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in t...

(Encyclopedia) Mughal art and architecture, a characteristic Indo-Islamic-Persian style that flourished on the Indian subcontinent during the Mughal empire (1526–1857). This new style combined elements of Islamic ...

(Encyclopedia) stained glass, in general, windows made of colored glass. To a large extent, the name is a misnomer, for staining is only one of the methods of coloring employed, and the best medieval glass made litt...

(Encyclopedia) Arabs, name originally applied to the Semitic peoples of the Arabian Peninsula. It now refers to those persons whose primary language is Arabic. They constitute most of the population of Algeria, Bahr...