Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Nearchus nēärˈkəs [key], fl. 324 b.c., Macedonian general, b. Crete; friend of Alexander the Great. In 325 b.c., Alexander, about to leave India, had a fleet built in the Indus to transport part o...

(Encyclopedia) Mardonius märdōˈnēəs [key], d. 479 b.c., Persian general; son-in-law of Darius I. Darius sent him (492 b.c.) to retaliate against Eretria and Athens for aiding the Ionians in the Persian Wars, bu...

(Encyclopedia) Aga Muhammad Khan or Agha Muhammad Khan both: äˈgämo͞ohämˈmäd khän [key], 1742–97, shah of Persia, founder of the Qajar dynasty. He was emasculated by family enemies at the age of five. He w...

(Encyclopedia) Diyarbakir dēyärˈbäkŭrˌ [key], anc. Amida, city, capital of Diyarbakir prov., SE Turkey...

(Encyclopedia) Alp Arslan älp ärslänˈ [key], 1029–72, Seljuk sultan of Persia (1063–72). In 1065 he led the Seljuks in an invasion of Armenia and Georgia and in 1066 attacked the Byzantine Empire. The succes...

(Encyclopedia) cockfighting, sport of pitting gamecocks against one other. Though popular in ancient Greece, Persia, and Rome, cockfighting has been long opposed by clergy and humane groups. Massachusetts passed (18...

(Encyclopedia) Coryate or Coryat, Thomas both: kôrˈēət [key], 1577?–1617, English traveler. Grotesque in appearance, he became part of the household of Henry, the oldest son of James I, where he was a sort of ...

(Encyclopedia) Croesus krēˈsəs [key], d. c.547 b.c., king of Lydia (560–c.547 b.c.), noted for his great wealth. He was the son of Alyattes. He continued his father's policy of conquering the Ionian cities of A...

(Encyclopedia) Jovian (Flavius Claudius Jovianus) jōˈvēən [key], c.331–364, Roman emperor (363–64). The commander of the imperial guard under Julian the Apostate in his Persian campaign, Jovian was proclaime...

(Encyclopedia) Khosrow I (Khosrow Anüshirvan) khŏsrōˈ; ăno͞oshĭrvänˈ [key], d. 579, king of Persia (531–79), greatest of the Sassanid, or Sassanian, monarchs. He is also known as Chosroes I or Khosru I. H...