Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Nara näˈrä [key], city (1990 pop. 349,349), capital of Nara prefecture, S Honshu, Japan. An ancient cultural and religious center, it was founded in 706 by imperial decree and was modeled after Cha...

(Encyclopedia) suttee sŭˌtēˈ, sŭˈtēˌ [key] [Skt. sati=faithful wife], former Indian funeral practice in which the widow immolated herself on her husband's funeral pyre. The practice of killing a favorite wif...

(Encyclopedia) harem hârˈəm [key] [Arabic], term applied to women's apartments in a Muslim household. In the ancient Arab world women enjoyed a certain amount of freedom. However, with the advent of Islam, the ve...

(Encyclopedia) trench warfare. Although trenches were used in ancient and medieval warfare, in the American Civil War, and in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–5), they did not become important until World War I. The i...

(Encyclopedia) Necho nēˈkō [key], 609–593 b.c., king of ancient Egypt, 2d ruler of the XXVI dynasty, the son and successor of Psamtik and grandson of Necho, lord of Saïs. Necho took advantage of the confusion ...

(Encyclopedia) Qina kĕnˈə [key], town (1986 pop. 119,917), capital of Qina governorate, E central Egypt, on the Nile River. Sugarcane and grains are grown nearby, and pottery is made in the town. Qina was built o...

(Encyclopedia) Podgorica pōdˈgōrētsä [key], city (2011 pop. 185,937), capital and largest city of Montenegro, SE Montenegro, at the confluence of the Ribnica and Morača rivers. A commercial center, it has indu...

(Encyclopedia) epicureanism ĕpˌĭkyo͝orēˈənĭzˌəm [key], philosophy that follows the teachings of Epicurus, who held that pleasure is the end of all morality and that real pleasure is attained through a life...

(Encyclopedia) sphinx sfĭngks [key], mythical beast of ancient Egypt, frequently symbolizing the pharaoh as an incarnation of the sun god Ra. The sphinx was represented in sculpture usually in a recumbent position ...

(Encyclopedia) Brindisi brēnˈdēzē [key], Latin Brundisium, city, capital of Brindisi prov., in Apulia, S...