Islamic World, Cultural flowering in Iraq

By the late 9th and early 10th centuries the last remnant of the caliphal state was Iraq, under control of the Turkic soldiery. Political decline and instability did not preclude cultural creativity and productivity, however. In fact, Iraq's �generation of 870,� loosely construed, contained some of the most striking and lastingly important figures in all of early Islamicate

Cabedelo

City, eastern Para�ba estado (�state�), northeastern Brazil. Built on the site of the 17th-century fortress of Santa Rita, Cabedelo lies on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Para�ba River and serves as the port for Jo�o Pessoa, the state capital, approximately 12 miles (20 km) by rail and highway to the southeast. Cotton, agave fibres, sugar, and various minerals are handled at the

H Ii Region

Also spelled �Hii Region,� in astronomy, interstellar matter consisting of ionized hydrogen atoms. Such regions occur as hot, ionized gaseous clouds, sometimes called emission nebulae. The energy that is responsible for ionizing and heating the hydrogen in an emission nebula comes from a central star that has a surface temperature in excess of 20,000 K. The density of these clouds normally ranges

Clay Mineral, Kaolin-serpentine group

Minerals of this groups are 1:1 layer silicates. Their basic unit of structure consists of tetrahedral and octahedral sheets in which the anions at the exposed surface of the octahedral sheet are hydroxyls (see Figure 4). The general structural formula may be expressed by Y2 - 3Z2O5(OH)4, where Y are cations in the octahedral sheet such as Al3 and Fe3 for dioctahedral species and Mg2 ,

Strain

In physical sciences and engineering, number that describes relative deformation or change in shape and size of elastic, plastic, and fluid materials under applied forces. The deformation, expressed by strain, arises throughout the material as the particles (molecules, atoms, ions) of which the material is composed are slightly displaced from their normal

Dahlmann, Friedrich (christoph)

Dahlmann was appointed professor

Wollastonite

White, glassy silicate mineral that commonly occurs as masses or tabular crystals with other calcium-containing silicates (e.g., diopside, tremolite, garnet, and epidote) in metamorphosed limestones. Deposits are found in Ciclova Rom�na, Rom.; Monte Somma, Italy; and Pargas, Fin. Occurrences in the United States include Utah; Isle Royale, Mich.; Riverside, Calif.; and Essex county,

Margay

Also called �Tiger Cat, or Tigrillo� (Felis wiedii), species of small cat that ranges from South through Central America and, rarely, into the extreme southern United States. Like all cats, it is of the family Felidae. Little is known about the natural habits of the margay. It lives in forests and presumably is nocturnal, feeding on small prey such as birds, frogs, and insects. It is largely arboreal

Alajuela

City, northwestern Costa Rica. It lies on the central plateau at an altitude of 3,141 feet (957 metres). Known in colonial days as La Lajuela and Villahermosa, the town was active in support of independence from Spain in 1821; five years later it suffered from a plot to restore Spanish control over Costa Rica. For a brief period in the 1830s Alajuela served as the nation's capital. It was the

Religion, Salvation Army.

In March 1998 a group of 150 Protestants and Roman Catholics, including youth from the Salvation Army Ireland Divisional Youth Chorus, demonstrated their shared Christian ideals by traveling to Washington, D.C., where they were greeted by and sang for both U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton

Aran Islands

Irish �Arainn, � three limestone islands - Inishmore, Inishmaan, and Inisheer - comprising 18 square miles (47 square km) and lying across the mouth of Galway Bay on the west coast of Ireland. They are administratively part of County Galway. The islands, whose sheer cliffs face the Atlantic Ocean, are generally bleak. Steamers and ferries call mainly at the town of Kilronan on Inishmore, the

Brabant

The remnant of the duchy of Lower Lorraine was

Delors, Jacques

The son of a courier at the Banque de France, Delors himself joined the bank in 1945, later earning a degree in economics from the Sorbonne. He became active in the Christian Trade Union Confederation (renamed the Democratic Trade Union

Discount Store

In merchandising, retail store that sells products at prices lower than those asked by traditional retail outlets. Some, like department stores, offer wide assortments of goods; others specialize in such merchandise as jewelry, electronic equipment, or electrical appliances. Food stores also have been operated on the discount principle. Stores that are open only

Sadler, Michael Thomas

An importer of Irish linens in Leeds, Yorkshire, Sadler served as a Tory member of the House

Japan, Temperature

Temperatures are generally warmer in the south than in the north, and the transitional seasons of spring and fall are shorter in the north. At Asahikawa, in central Hokkaido, the mean temperature in January, the coldest month, is 16 �F (-9 �C), and the mean temperature in August, the hottest month, is 70 �F (21 �C), with an annual average temperature of 43 �F (6 �C). At Tokyo, the mean temperature for January

Extratropical Cyclone

According to the polar-front theory, extratropical cyclones develop when

China, Intellectual movements

A new intelligentsia had also emerged. The educational reforms and the ending of the governmental examination system during the final Ch'ing years enabled thousands of young people to study sciences, engineering, medicine, law, economics, education, and military skills in Japan. Others went to Europe and the United States. Upon their return they took important positions

Insurance, Major types of surety bonds

There are various classes of surety bonds. Contract construction bonds are written to guarantee the performance of contractors on building projects. Bonds are particularly important in this field because of the general practice of awarding commercial building contracts to the lowest bidder, who may promise more than can actually be performed. The surety who

Allobroges

Ancient Celtic tribe living in the northeast of Gallia Narbonensis (i.e., Narbonne Gaul, in the part of southeastern France bounded by the Rh�ne and Is�re rivers) and in the area around Geneva. The Allobroges were first mentioned in history when Hannibal passed through their territory in 218 BC. Later, they were attacked by the Romans and finally conquered (121 BC) at the junction

Ponca

North American Indian people of the Dhegiha branch of the Siouan linguistic stock. Under pressure of settlement by whites, the Ponca migrated westward from the Atlantic coast, settling first in Virginia and the Carolinas. After a time they moved to what is now western Missouri. The Ponca then moved north to present-day Minnesota, where they lived until the late 17th

Clostridium

Genus of rod-shaped, usually gram-positive bacteria, members of which are found in soil, water, and the intestinal tracts of humans and other animals. Most species grow only in the complete absence of oxygen. Dormant cells are highly resistant to heat, dessication, and toxic chemicals and detergents. The species are variable in size. A typical species, C. butyricum, ranges

Jesus Christ, First-century Judaism

The standard account of all aspects of 1st-century Judaism, though it is weak on the Jewish religion, is Emil Sch�rer, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C. - A.D. 135), trans. from German, rev. and ed. by Geza Vermes and Fergus Millar, 3 vol. in 4 (1973 - 87). E.P. Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief, 63 BCE - 66 CE (1992, reprinted with corrections 1994), provides a good overview of the Jewish religion in the 1st century. Geza Vermes, An Introduction to the Complete Dead Sea Scrolls, rev. ed. (2000), is a good study of the collection at Qumran. Yigael Yadin (ed.), The Temple Scroll, 3 vol. in 4 (1977 - 83; originally published in Hebrew, 1977), is a valuable study of the longest and most important scroll from Qumran.

Powell, Enoch

Powell was the son of schoolteachers of Welsh ancestry. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge, and became a professor of

Hove

Town, unitary authority of Brighton and Hove, historic county of Sussex, England, on the English Channel, adjoining Brighton to the east and Portslade to the west. Hove, which grew with Brighton as a seaside resort and residential town in the 19th century, has excellent road and rail connections with London to the north. Pop. (1991) 67,602.

Ujjain

Lying on the first meridian of the ancient Hindu geographers, it was the capital (as Ujjayini) of the Aryan Avanti kingdom (6th - 4th century BC). In the 2nd century BC, Ujjain was the seat of the emperor A