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Aladağ (mountain, Turkey)
...in southern Turkey, a great chain running parallel to the Mediterranean coast. The system extends along a curve from Lake Egridir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates River in the east. Aladağ (10,935 feet [3,333 m]) in the Taurus proper and Mount Erciyes in the outlying offshoot of the Nur Mountains are the highest peaks; many other peaks reach between 10,000 and 12,000 fee...
Ālādāgh (mountain range, Iran)
...arc eastward from the frontier with Turkmenistan southwest of the Caspian Sea to the Khorāsān region of northeastern Iran, southeast of the Caspian Sea, where the range merges into the Ālādāgh, the more southerly of the two principal ranges there. More commonly, however, the westernmost part of the range is called the Talish (Talysh, Talesh, or Tavālesh...
Aladdin (work by Oehlenschläger)
...satire with poetic discourses on love and nature. His Poetiske skrifter (1805; “Poetic Writings”) contains two long cycles of lyric poems and Aladdin, a poetic drama on the writer’s own life, with the lamp of the story symbolizing intuitive poetic genius. Oehlenschläger was by now recognized as an important Romantic p...
Aladdin (fictional hero)
hero of one of the best-known stories in The Thousand and One Nights....
ALADDIN (American computer science project)
...science department in 1991. The parents moved into offices on either side of their son, and all three have collaborated on several computer science projects. In particular, the three are part of the ALADDIN (algorithm adaptation dissemination and integration) project, which received funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation...
Aladdin (Disney animated film by Clements [1992])
Ashman died in 1991 after having begun work with Menken on what would become another Disney success, Aladdin (1992), and Menken subsequently teamed up with lyricist Tim Rice. Aladdin became one of Disney’s biggest animated hits. For his next two Disney films, Menken collaborated with lyricist Stephen Schwartz on ......
ALADI (international organization)
organization that was established by the Treaty of Montevideo (August 1980) and became operational in March 1981. It seeks economic cooperation among its members. Original members were Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay...
Aladins Problem (work by Jünger)
...marionettes. After 1950 Jünger lived in self-imposed isolation in West Germany while continuing to publish brooding, introspective novels and essays on various topics. In such later books as Aladins Problem (1983), he tended to condemn the militaristic attitudes that had led to Germany’s disastrous participation in the World Wars. Jünger’s Sämtliche ...
Aladura (Nigerian religion)
(Yoruba: “Owners of Prayer”), religious movement among the Yoruba peoples of western Nigeria, embracing some of the independent prophet-healing churches of West Africa. The movement, which in the early 1970s had several hundred thousand adherents, began abo...
Alâeddin Ali Aşık Paşa (Turkish author)
poet who was one of the most important figures in early Turkish literature....
alafin (African political title)
town, Oyo state, southwestern Nigeria. Oyo lies 32 miles (51 km) north of Ibadan. In the 1830s it was declared the new seat of the alafin of Oyo (the political leader of the Yoruba people) by Alafin Atiba, after Old Oyo (also called Katunga), the capital of the Oyo empire, was completely destroyed by Fulani conquerors. New Oyo was aligned with Ibadan in the Yoruba civil wars of the......
Alafroískïotos (work by Sikelianos)
Sikelianós’ first important work, the Alafroískïotos (“The Light-Shadowed”), was published in 1909 and revealed his lyrical powers. It was followed by a group of outstanding lyrics. His next period was introduced by the philosophic poem Prólogos sti zoí (1917; “Prologue to Life”) and includes the long works Mete...
Alagakonara (Sinhalese family)
...rock, which he strengthened with ramparts and trenches. His successors moved the capital southward again to Kurunegala and then to Gampola toward the Central Highlands about 1344. Meanwhile, the Alagakonara, a powerful Sinhalese family, attained a strong position at Rayigama, near the west coast; the Muslim traveler Ibn Baṭṭūṭah, who visited Sri Lanka in 1344,......
Alaghez, Mount (mountain, Armenia)
mountain in Armenia, northwest of Yerevan and north of the Ararat Plain. The highest point in both Armenia and the Lesser Caucasus range (13,418 feet [4,090 m]), Aragats is a circular, shieldlike mountain composed of both lavas and tufas. A volcanic cone of recent geolog...
Alagiyavanna Mahoṭṭāla (Sinhalese poet)
...the plentiful eulogies of the Buddha. Popular, too, was didactic verse, among the most notable of which is the Kusajātaka, 687 stanzas of epigrams and exempla by the 17th-century poet Alagiyavanna Mohoṭṭāla....
Alagna, Roberto (French opera singer)
French operatic lyric tenor who became known for both his vocal qualities and his flamboyant acting style....
Alagoas (state, Brazil)
estado (state) of northeastern Brazil. It is the second smallest of Brazil’s states and is an agricultural region in the early stages of industrialization. Situated on the northern bank of the São Francisco River, it is bounded on the north and west by the state of Pernambuco, on the east b...
Alagoinhas (Brazil)
city, northeastern Bahia estado (state), northeastern Brazil, lying 35 miles (56 km) inland from the Atlantic coast at 607 feet (185 metres) above sea level. It was elevated to city rank in 1880, and its municipality is one of the largest orange-producing regions ...
Alagonakkara (king of Sri Lanka)
On his second voyage, in 1408–09, Zheng He again visited Calicut—stopping as well in Chochin (Kochi) to the south—but encountered treachery from King Alagonakkara of Ceylon. Zheng defeated his forces and took the king back to Nanjing as a captive. In October 1409 Zheng He set out on his third voyage. This time, going beyond the seaports of India, he sailed to Hormuz on the......
Alagöz, Mount (mountain, Armenia)
mountain in Armenia, northwest of Yerevan and north of the Ararat Plain. The highest point in both Armenia and the Lesser Caucasus range (13,418 feet [4,090 m]), Aragats is a circular, shieldlike mountain composed of both lavas and tufas. A volcanic cone of recent geolog...
Alain (French philosopher)
French philosopher whose work profoundly influenced several generations of readers....
Alain de Lille (French theologian)
theologian and poet so celebrated for his varied learning that he was known as “the universal doctor.”...
Alain le Grand (French lord)
Charles I’s grandson, Alain, was known as Alain le Grand (1440–1522). The surname refers not to his deeds but to the vast domains over which he ruled as one of the last feudal lords. A daughter, Charlotte (1480–1514), was married to Cesare Borgia. Alain’s son, Jean (d. 1516), became king of Navarre through his marriage with Catherine de Foix in 1484. In 1550 the lands o...
Alain-Fournier (French author)
French writer whose only completed novel, Le Grand Meaulnes (1913; The Wanderer, or The Lost Domain), is a modern classic....
Alais (France)
town, Gard département, Languedoc-Roussillon région, southeastern France. It lies along a bend of the Gardon d’Alès River, at the foot of the Cévennes mountains, north-northwest of Nîmes. The town’s name meant “industry” in...
Alais, Peace of (French history)
Civil wars, however, occurred again in the 1620s under King Louis XIII. Eventually the Huguenots were defeated, and the Peace of Alès was signed on June 28, 1629, whereby the Huguenots were allowed to retain their freedom of conscience but lost all their military advantages. No longer a political entity, the Huguenots became loyal subjects of the king. Their remaining rights under the......
Alajuela (Costa Rica)
city, northwestern Costa Rica. It lies in the Valle Central at an elevation of 3,141 feet (957 metres). Known in colonial days as 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...
Alajuela, Lago (lake, Panama)
...Gatún a series of three locks lift vessels 26 metres (85 feet) to Gatún Lake. The lake, formed by Gatún Dam on the Chagres River and supplemented by waters from Alajuela Lake (Lake Madden; formed by the Madden Dam), covers an area of 425 square km (164 square miles). The channel through the lake varies in depth from 14 to 26 metres (46 to 85 feet) and extends for about 37.....
Alakaluf (people)
South American Indian people, very few (about 10) in number, living on the eastern coast of Isla Wellington in southern Chile. Their culture closely resembles that of the extinct Chono to the north and the Yámana to the south....
alake (African official)
...coming from Lagos and other parts of the country. Major tourist attractions are Olumo rock, which according to tradition provided refuge for early Egba settlers; the Ake, the residence of the alake (the traditional ruler of Egbaland), built in 1854 and noted for its collection of antiquities and relics; and the Centenary Hall, all in Abeokuta. There are teacher training colleges in......
Alaknanda River (river, India)
The Ganges rises in the southern Himalayas on the Indian side of the border with the Tibet Autonomous region of China. Its five headstreams—the Bhagirathi, Alaknanda, Mandakini, Dhauliganga, and Pindar—all rise in the northern mountainous region of Uttarakhand state. Of these, the two main headstreams are the Alaknanda (the longer of the two), which rises about 30 miles (50 km)......
Alakol, Lake (lake, Kazakhstan)
salt lake in Kazakhstan, 110 miles (180 km) east of Lake Balqash, near the border with the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, China. Lake Alakol has a ...
Alaköl, Lake (lake, Kazakhstan)
salt lake in Kazakhstan, 110 miles (180 km) east of Lake Balqash, near the border with the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, China. Lake Alakol has a ...
Alakol, Ozero (lake, Kazakhstan)
salt lake in Kazakhstan, 110 miles (180 km) east of Lake Balqash, near the border with the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, China. Lake Alakol has a ...
Alalakh (ancient Syrian city, Turkey)
ancient Syrian city in the Orontes (Asi) valley, southern Turkey. Excavations (1936–49) by Sir Leonard Woolley uncovered numerous impressive buildings, including a massive structure known as the palace of Yarim-Lim, dating from c. 1780 bc, when Alalakh was the chief city of the district of Mukish and was incorporated within the kingdom of Yamkhad....
Alalkha (ancient Syrian city, Turkey)
ancient Syrian city in the Orontes (Asi) valley, southern Turkey. Excavations (1936–49) by Sir Leonard Woolley uncovered numerous impressive buildings, including a massive structure known as the palace of Yarim-Lim, dating from c. 1780 bc, when Alalakh was the chief city of the district of Mukish and was incorporated within the kingdom of Yamkhad....
Alalu (Anatolian god)
...god, Tarhun (q.v.). Several myths about Teshub survive in Hittite versions. One, called the “Theogony,” relates that Teshub achieved supremacy in the pantheon after the gods Alalu, Anu, and Kumarbi had successively been deposed and banished to the netherworld. Another myth, the “Song of Ullikummi,” describes the struggle between Teshub and a stone monster......
Alam al-Halfa, Battle of (European history)
...the north at a much shorter distance from the breach than Rommel had planned. Their assault thus ran mainly into the position held by the British 22nd Armoured Brigade, to the southwest of the ridge ʿAlam al-Halfaʾ. Shortage of fuel on the German side and reinforced defense on the British, together with intensification of the British bombing, spelled the defeat of the offensive, a...
ʿĀlam, Shāh (Mughal emperor)
...guaranteed in 1765 on the condition that the state’s ruler, Shujāʿ al-Dawlah, pay the cost of the necessary troops. The First Treaty of Banaras (1773) was the result of the Mughal emperor Shah ʿĀlam’s cession of Allahabad and Kora to the warlike Marathas as the price of their support. Warren Hastings, the British governor, ceded Allahabad and Kora to Sh...
ʿĀlam Shah, ʿAlāʾ-al-Dīn (Sayyid ruler)
...to obtain tribute and recognition of suzerainty from the nearby Rajput rulers and fighting almost continuously against neighbouring states to preserve their kingdom intact. The last Sayyid ruler, ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn ʿĀlam Shah (reigned 1445–51), peacefully surrendered Delhi to his nominal vassal, the Afghan Bahlūl Lodī (reigned 1451...
Alamán, Lucas (Mexican politician)
politician and historian, the leader of Mexican conservatives for nearly 30 years and the spokesman for a strong, centralized government that would support industrialization, educational expansion, and agricultural modernization. Living during a corrupt and brutal period of Mexican politics, he stood out as an honest and honourable political figure....
Alamance Battleground State Historic Site (historical site, North Carolina, United States)
Textiles and apparel are still important and are augmented by diversified manufactures (electronic equipment, chemicals, plastics, and machinery) and printing and publishing. Nearby is the Alamance Battleground State Historic Site, where the Regulators, a group of dissident colonists, were defeated (May 16, 1771) by militia dispatched by the royal governor. Elon College (1889) is nearby. Inc.......
Alamani (people)
a Germanic people first mentioned in connection with the Roman attack on them in ad 213. In the following decades, their pressure on the Roman provinces became severe; they occupied the Agri Decumates c. 260, and late in the 5th century they expanded into Alsace and northern Switzerland, establishing the ...
Alamanni (people)
a Germanic people first mentioned in connection with the Roman attack on them in ad 213. In the following decades, their pressure on the Roman provinces became severe; they occupied the Agri Decumates c. 260, and late in the 5th century they expanded into Alsace and northern Switzerland, establishing the ...
Alamanni, Luigi (Italian author)
...this period, chiefly by Giovanni Rucellai, who recast in Le api (1539; “The Bees”) the fourth book of the Roman poet Virgil’s Georgics, and by Luigi Alamanni, in six books on agriculture and rustic life called La coltivazione (1546)....
ālambana-pratyaya (Buddhist philosophy)
...the disappearance of the mental activity of the first moment is regarded as the cause for the appearance of that of the second moment; (3) the object as a cause (ālambana-pratyaya), since the object present in the preceding moment becomes the cause of the mental activity for functioning; and (4) the superior cause (adhipati-pratyaya), which......
Alamblak (people)
...of the Sepik River and among the hills ranging across the southern border of the Sepik valley, including the Hunstein Mountains. The most spectacular works in this style were figures carved by the Alamblak in the eastern Sepik Hills. The figures, known as yipwon, represent patron spirits of hunting and war. They are topped by a downcurved hook; directly beneath this is a human face, and....
Alameda (California, United States)
city, Alameda county, California, U.S. It lies on a 6.5-mile- (11-km-) long by 1-mile- (1.6-km-) wide island in San Francisco Bay, across the Oakland Harbor Channel from Oakland, with which it is connected by bridges and underground tunnels. The site was originally a peninsula that was part of Rancho ...
Alamein, battles of El- (World War II)
The ensuing First Battle of el-Alamein, which lasted throughout July 1942, marked the end of the German hopes of a rapid victory. Rommel’s troops, having come so far and so fast, were exhausted; their first assaults failed to break the defense rallied by Auchinleck; and they were also subjected to disconcerting counterstrokes. At this point, the respite that Rommel had to grant to his men g...
Alamein, El- (Egypt)
coastal town in northwestern Egypt, about 60 miles (100 km) west of Alexandria, that was the site of two major battles between British and Axis forces in 1942 during World War II. El-Alamein is the seaward (northern) end of a 40-mile-wide bottleneck that is flanked on ...
ʿĀlamgīr (Mughal emperor)
emperor of India from 1658 to 1707, the last of the great Mughal emperors. Under him the Mughal Empire reached its greatest extent, although his policies helped lead to its dissolution....
ʿĀlamgīr II (Mughal emperor)
Mughal emperor of India who disgraced his reign (1754–59) by his weakness and his disregard for his subjects’ welfare....
Ālamgīrpur (archaeological site, India)
...Kachchhi desert region of Balochistan, Pak., toward Sibi and Quetta. East of the Indus system, toward the north, a number of sites occur right up to the edge of the Himalayan foothills, where at Alamgirpur, north of Delhi, the easternmost Harappan (or perhaps, more properly, Late Harappan) settlement has been discovered and partly excavated. If the area covered by these sites is compared......
alamiqui (mammal family)
either species of large shrewlike mammal found only on the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola. Solenodons have a chunky body with short, stocky legs. Various skin glands give it a goatlike odour. The elongate head has very small eyes and tapers to a long, flexible snout adorned with long whi...
Alamo (missile)
...The Foxhound/Amos combination may have been fitted with a look-down/shoot-down capability, enabling it to engage low-flying targets while looking downward against a cluttered radar background. The AA-10 Alamo, a medium-range missile similar to the Amos, apparently had passive radar guidance designed to home onto carrier-wave emissions from U.S. aircraft firing the semiactive radar-homing......
Alamo (monument, San Antonio, Texas, United States)
18th-century Franciscan mission in San Antonio, Texas, U.S., that was the site of a historic resistance effort by a small group of determined fighters for Texan independence (1836) from Mexico....
Alamo, Battle of the (San Antonio, Texas, United States [1836])
...On Feb. 23, 1836, a Mexican army, variously estimated at 1,800 to 6,000 men and commanded by Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna, arrived from south of the Rio Grande and immediately began a siege of the Alamo. The small defending force was supplemented by some later arrivals and amounted to roughly 200 men. This force was commanded by Col. James Bowie and Col. William B. Travis and......
Alamogordo (New Mexico, United States)
city, seat (1899) of Otero county, southern New Mexico, U.S. It lies at the western base of the Sacramento Mountains and east of the Tularosa Basin. Founded by John A. and Charles B. Eddy in 1898 and named for its large cottonwood trees (Spanish: alamo “cottonwood,” gordo...
Alamosa (Colorado, United States)
city, seat (1913) of Alamosa county, southern Colorado, U.S. It lies along the Rio Grande in the San Luis Valley, on the western flank of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Founded as Garland City near the site of a small encampment outside the gates of Fort Garland (1858), a cavalry post once commanded by Christopher (“Kit”) Carson...
Alamosaurus (dinosaur genus)
city, seat (1913) of Alamosa county, southern Colorado, U.S. It lies along the Rio Grande in the San Luis Valley, on the western flank of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Founded as Garland City near the site of a small encampment outside the gates of Fort Garland (1858), a cavalry post once commanded by Christopher (“Kit”) Carson...
Alampur (India)
...
Alamūt (ancient fortress, Iran)
...movement in Iran crystallized under the leadership of Ḥasan-e Ṣabbāḥ, who had been trained in Fāṭimid Egypt. In 1090 Ḥasan gained the castle of Alamūt in the Elburz Mountains, and the order’s principal cells were thereafter situated, so far as possible, in similar impregnable mountain strongholds. From these centres, ......
Alan Lomax Collection: Southern Journey, The (work by Lomax)
...movement in Iran crystallized under the leadership of Ḥasan-e Ṣabbāḥ, who had been trained in Fāṭimid Egypt. In 1090 Ḥasan gained the castle of Alamūt in the Elburz Mountains, and the order’s principal cells were thereafter situated, so far as possible, in similar impregnable mountain strongholds. From these centres, .........
Alan of Lille (French theologian)
theologian and poet so celebrated for his varied learning that he was known as “the universal doctor.”...
Alan, Ray (British ventriloquist and writer)
Sept. 18, 1930London, Eng.May 24, 2010Reigate, Surrey, Eng.British ventriloquist and writer who created numerous much-loved puppet characters, notably the drunken aristocrat Lord Charles and a boy and his pet duck named, respectively, Tich and Quackers. Introduced in 1959, the monocled Lord...
Alan, Raymond (British ventriloquist and writer)
Sept. 18, 1930London, Eng.May 24, 2010Reigate, Surrey, Eng.British ventriloquist and writer who created numerous much-loved puppet characters, notably the drunken aristocrat Lord Charles and a boy and his pet duck named, respectively, Tich and Quackers. Introduced in 1959, the monocled Lord...
Alanbrooke of Brookeborough, Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount, Baron Alanbrooke of Brookeborough (British field marshal)
British field marshal and chief of the Imperial General Staff during World War II....
Åland, Congress of (Russian history)
...the Hangö (Gangut) peninsula and raided the Swedish mainland. The death of Charles XII (killed accidentally in Norway in 1718, soon after his return from Turkey) led to protracted negotiations (Congress of Åland) that ultimately resulted in the Peace of Nystad (Aug. 30 [Sept. 10, New Style], 1721), under the terms of which Sweden acquiesced to Russian conquests on the eastern coas...
Åland Convention (Europe [1856])
...The peace treaty that was concluded in Paris shortly afterward, however, ended the hopes cherished in Sweden of winning Finland, or at least Åland, back again. All that was gained was the Åland Convention, which forbade Russia to build fortifications or to have other military installations on Åland....
Åland Islands (islands, Finland)
archipelago constituting Åland (Ahvenanmaa) autonomous territory, southwestern Finland. The islands lie at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia, 25 miles (40 km) east of the Swedish coast, at the eastern edge of the Åland Sea. The archipelago has a land area of 599 square miles (1,551 square km...
Aland, Kurt (German biblical scholar)
...of gospels as a whole, formally and theologically, with patterns or cycles to be investigated. It may be significant that the latest and best regarded Greek synopsis is that of the German scholar Kurt Aland, Synopsis Quattuor Evangeliorum (1964; Synopsis of the Four Gospels, 1972), which includes the Gospel According to John and, as an appendix, the Gospel of Thomas, as......
Åland Skärgård (islands, Finland)
archipelago constituting Åland (Ahvenanmaa) autonomous territory, southwestern Finland. The islands lie at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia, 25 miles (40 km) east of the Swedish coast, at the eastern edge of the Åland Sea. The archipelago has a land area of 599 square miles (1,551 square km...
Alang language
language spoken chiefly in the central highlands of south-central Vietnam near Kon Tum. The number of speakers in Vietnam is estimated at some 10,000. Halang is a member of the North Bahnaric subbranch of the Mon-Khmer language family, which is a part of the Austroasiati...
alang-alang (plant)
one of about seven species of perennials constituting the genus Imperata (family Poaceae), native to temperate and tropical regions of the Old World. Cogon grass is a serious weed in cultivated areas of South Africa and Australia. Satintail (I. brevifolia), a tall gra...
Alani (ancient people)
an ancient nomadic pastoral people that occupied the steppe region northeast of the Black Sea. The Alani were first mentioned in Roman literature in the 1st century ad and were described later as a warlike people that specialized in horse breeding. They frequently raided the Parthian empire and the Caucasian pr...
alanine (chemical compound)
either of two amino acids, one of which, L-alanine, or alpha-alanine (αあるふぁ-alanine), is a constituent of proteins. An especially rich source of L-alanine is silk fibroin, from which the amino acid was first isolated in 1879. Alanine is one of several so-called nones...
Alans (ancient people)
an ancient nomadic pastoral people that occupied the steppe region northeast of the Black Sea. The Alani were first mentioned in Roman literature in the 1st century ad and were described later as a warlike people that specialized in horse breeding. They frequently raided the Parthian empire and the Caucasian pr...
Alanus de Insulis (French theologian)
theologian and poet so celebrated for his varied learning that he was known as “the universal doctor.”...
Alaotra, Lake (lake, Madagascar)
There are many lakes of volcanic origin on the island, such as Lake Itasy. Alaotra is the last surviving lake of the eastern slope. Lake Tsimanampetsotsa, near the coast south of Toliara (formerly Tuléar), is a large body of saline water that has no outlet....
Alaouite dyansty (Moroccan dynasty)
...army spilled down the gap and seized Fès, the capital of the powerful religious brotherhood of Dila. Al-Rashīd proclaimed himself sultan and thus formally establishing the ʿAlawī dynasty. From Fès he proceeded to conquer the north, plundered and razed the Dila monastery, and seized control of Morocco’s Atlantic seaboard from its ruling marabouts.......
alap (Indian music)
in the art musics of South Asia, improvised melody structures that reveal the musical characteristics of a raga. Variant forms of the word—alap in northern Indian music and...
alapa (Indian music)
in the art musics of South Asia, improvised melody structures that reveal the musical characteristics of a raga. Variant forms of the word—alap in northern Indian music and...
Alapaevsk (Russia)
city, Sverdlovsk oblast (province), west-central Russia, on the Neyva River. It is one of the oldest centres of the iron and steel industry in the Urals (an ironworks was established there in 1704). It also has machine-tool, timbering, and metalworking industries. Pop. (2006 est.) 42,920....
alapana (Indian music)
in the art musics of South Asia, improvised melody structures that reveal the musical characteristics of a raga. Variant forms of the word—alap in northern Indian music and...
Alapayevsk (Russia)
city, Sverdlovsk oblast (province), west-central Russia, on the Neyva River. It is one of the oldest centres of the iron and steel industry in the Urals (an ironworks was established there in 1704). It also has machine-tool, timbering, and metalworking industries. Pop. (2006 est.) 42,920....
Alappuzha (India)
city, southern Kerala state, southwestern India. It lies on a narrow land spit between the Arabian Sea and Vembanad Lake, south of Kochi (Cochin), and is on the main road between Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum). Alappuzha’s port was opened to ...
Alar (dimethylamino)
Daminozide, also known as Alar, is a plant growth regulator used to improve the appearance and shelf life of apples. Because of its carcinogenicity in animals (Table 1), concerns have been raised that daminozide may produce tumours in children who consume apples. As a result, the use of daminozide has greatly decreased....
Alara (Nubian prince)
...to Napata, where they may have Egyptianized the native princes of Cush, inspiring them—from about 750—to conquer a degenerate Egypt. The descendants of the first known Cushite prince, Alara (c. 790 bc), established themselves as the 25th dynasty of Egypt; they are remembered for being largely responsible for restoring to Egypt its ancient customs and beliefs. ...
Alarcón, Fabián (president of Ecuador)
...of Abdala Bucaram. In February 1997 the National Congress, which had accused Bucaram of widespread corruption and nepotism, declared him mentally unfit to govern. The president of the Congress, Fabián Alarcón, was chosen by that body to serve as interim president. This move, however, was challenged by Arteaga, who claimed that the Ecuadoran constitution granted her the right......
Alarcón y Ariza, Pedro Antonio de (Spanish writer)
writer remembered for his novel El sombrero de tres picos (1874; The Three-Cornered Hat)....
Alarcón y Mendoza, Juan Ruiz de (Spanish dramatist)
Mexican-born Spanish dramatist of the colonial era who was the principal dramatist of early 17th-century Spain after Lope de Vega and Tirso de Molina....
Alarcos, Battle of (European history)
(July 18, 1195), celebrated Almohad victory in Muslim Spain over the forces of King Alfonso VIII of Castile. In 1190 the Almohad caliph Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb forced an armistice on the Christian kings of Castile and Leon, after repulsing their att...
Alaric (leader of Visigoths)
chief of the Visigoths from 395 and leader of the army that sacked Rome in August 410, an event that symbolized the fall of the Western Roman Empire....
Alaric, Breviary of (Germanic law)
...Salic Law of Clovis, c. 507–511; Law of Gundobad, c. 501–515), and occasionally had summaries of Roman rights drawn up for the Gallo-Roman population (Papian Code of Gundobad; Breviary of Alaric). By the 9th century this principle of legal personality, under which each person was judged according to the law applying to his status group, was replaced by a territoriall...
Alaric II (king of Visigoths)
king of the Visigoths, who succeeded his father Euric on Dec. 28, 484. He was married to Theodegotha, daughter of Theodoric, the Ostrogothic king of Italy....
Alarie, Pierrette (Canadian singer)
Nov. 9, 1921Montreal, Que.July 10, 2011Victoria, B.C.Canadian soprano who enjoyed a remarkable operatic career as a soloist and alongside her husband (from 1946 until his death in 2006), the renowned Canadian lyric tenor L...
Alarie-Simoneau, Pierrette Marguerite (Canadian singer)
Nov. 9, 1921Montreal, Que.July 10, 2011Victoria, B.C.Canadian soprano who enjoyed a remarkable operatic career as a soloist and alongside her husband (from 1946 until his death in 2006), the renowned Canadian lyric tenor L...
alarm pheromone
Alarm pheromones, produced by some animals and best known in insects, have quite different requirements. An alarm pheromone needs high volatility, since it is used to quickly warn other individuals and must rapidly decay from the immediate environment. With a persistent compound the insects would be in a continual state of alarm or would habituate to the odour, thus reducing its value as an......
alarm signal (zoology)
in zoology, a ritualized means of communicating a danger or threat among the members of an animal group. In many cases the signal is visual or vocal, but some animals—ants, bees, and certain fishes, for example—secrete chemical substances. Alarm communications frequently cross species boundaries. The hawking alarm calls of many small birds are similar and will cause most other birds ...
alarm substance (fish secretion)
...along a trail leading to a food source so that other members of the colony can find the food. Pheromones are also used to signal the presence of danger. A wounded minnow has been shown to release a chemical from specialized epidermal cells that elicits a dispersal response from the school. Pheromones play a role in sexual attraction and copulatory behaviour, and they have been shown to......