Hungarian Language

The language has been written in a modified

Biblical Literature, Determination of the canon in the 4th century

Athanasius, a 4th-century bishop of Alexandria and a significant theologian, delimited the canon and settled the strife between East and West. On a principle of inclusiveness, both Revelation and Hebrews (as part of the Pauline corpus) were accepted. The 27 books of the New Testament - and they only - were declared canonical. In the Greek churches there was still controversy

Basel Zoological Garden

German �Zoologischer Garten Basel, �also called �Zolli, � privately owned zoological garden in Basel, Switz., noted for its outstanding work in the breeding of the Indian rhinoceros and the pygmy hippopotamus. The zoo was founded in 1874 for the purpose of exhibiting local wildlife. (It opened with about 100 mammals and perhaps 400 birds, mostly European.) Financial difficulties, however, forced zoo administrators to obtain exotic animals

Circassian

From ancient times Circassia, comprising roughly the northwestern region of the Caucasus, acquired the exotic reputation common to lands occupying a crucial area between rival empires. The early history of the Circassian peoples is fairly obscure. Though no Greek

April Fools' Day

Also called �All Fools' Day� in most countries the first day of April. It received its name from the custom of playing practical jokes on this day - for example, telling friends that their shoelaces are untied or sending them on so-called fools' errands. Although the day has been observed for centuries, there are different explanations for its origin. It resembles festivals such as the Hilaria of

Mufaddaliyat, Al-

(Arabic: �The Examination of al-Mufaddal�), an anthology of ancient Arabic poems, compiled by al-Mufaddal ibn Muhammad ibn Ya'lah between 762 and 784. It is of the highest importance as a record of the thought and poetic art of Arabia in the last two pre-Islamic centuries. Not more than five or six of the 126 poems appear to have been composed by poets born under Islam, and, though a certain number

Tanzania, Early exploration

Most of the known history of Tanganyika before the 19th century concerns the coastal area, although the interior has a number of important prehistoric sites, including the Olduvai Gorge. Trading contacts between Arabia and the East African coast existed by the 1st century AD, and there are indications of connections with India. The coastal trading centres were mainly

Seton, George Seton, 5th Lord

He was the eldest son of the 4th Lord Seton (d. 1549) and was educated in France. He was present at Mary's marriage with the dauphin (afterward Francis II of France) in 1557, and three years later he was again in France because of his adherence to Roman Catholicism. When Mary returned to Scotland (1561), he became privy councillor

Foreign Affairs

Journal of international relations, published in New York City six times a year, one of the most prestigious periodicals of its kind in the world. The organ of the Council on Foreign Relations, by which it was founded in 1922, it provides a window on the U.S. foreign-policy establishment. It has an international reputation for its careful and probing analyses of political,

Atlantic Ocean, The South Atlantic

The currents of the South Atlantic correspond in many respects to those of the North Atlantic. The southeast trade winds maintain the South Equatorial Current, which flows toward the west where it divides into two branches: one that continues to the Northern Hemisphere and enters the Caribbean - together with a small amount of water from the North Equatorial

Plant, Principal pathways and cycles

The 6-carbon sugar glucose, a product of photosynthesis, may be translocated in the form of sucrose (a 12-carbon sugar) to nourish nonphotosynthesizing parts of the plant, or it may be polymerized into starch for storage. (Trehalose, another 12-carbon sugar, replaces sucrose in some nonvascular plants.) When required, sucrose and starch are hydrolyzed to glucose and then enter

B�k�scsaba

Town, seat of B�k�s megye (county), southeastern Hungary. A central point for road and rail communications, it is also connected by canal with the K�r�s River and serves as an agricultural and industrial centre for a large fertile countryside. A 13th-century Roman Catholic church (rebuilt in the 18th century) is evidence of the town's long occupation. The settlement in the

Alcoholism

The conception of inveterate drunkenness as a disease appears to be rooted in antiquity. The Roman philosopher Seneca classified it as a form of insanity. The term alcoholism, however, appeared first in the classical essay �Alcoholismus

Indus Civilization

Also called �Indus Valley civilization �or �Harappan civilization� the earliest known urban culture of the Indian subcontinent, first identified in 1921 at Harappa in the Punjab and then in 1922 at Mohenjo-daro, near the Indus River in the Sindh, now both in Pakistan. Subsequently, vestiges of the civilization were found as far apart as Sutkagen Dor, near the shore of the Arabian Sea 300 miles (480 km) west of Karachi, and Ropar at the foot of the Simla Hills,

Pr�bram

Pr�bram's other

Peter Ii

After the death of his father, John IV, in 1656, Peter's

Russell, Morgan

After studying under Robert Henri in New York City, Russell moved to Paris in 1906 and lived there for 40 years. In 1913 - 14 he and Stanton Macdonald-Wright established Synchromism (q.v.) as an avant-garde movement, issuing manifestos and exhibiting together in Munich, Paris, and New York

Philidor, Fran�ois-andr�

The last member of a large and prominent musical family, Philidor was thoroughly trained in music, but at age 18 he turned entirely to chess competition throughout Europe. He was particularly well

Romancero

It was once thought that they were the source

Halebid

Historic site and modern village, south-central Karnataka (formerly Mysore) state, southwestern India. It is situated north-northwest of the town of Hassan. It grew up beside a large artificial lake, known as Dorasamudra (Dvarasamudra), which was probably built by the Rastrakutas in the 9th century. In the early 12th century the Hoysalas made it their capital, and for about two centuries

Averno, Lake Of

Italian �Lago D'averno, �Latin �Lacus Avernus, � crater lake in Napoli province, Campania region, southern Italy, in the Campi Flegrei volcanic region, west of Naples. It is 7 ft (2 m) above sea level, 118 ft deep, and nearly 2 mi (more than 3 km) in circumference, with no natural outlet. Its Greek name, Aornos, was interpreted as meaning �without birds,� giving rise to the legend that no bird could fly across it and live because of its poisonous

Aldanov, Mark

In 1919 Aldanov emigrated to France, which he left for the United States in 1941. He wrote an essay on Lenin (1921); Deux R�volutions (1921; �Two Revolutions�), a work comparing the Russian and French revolutions; Actinochimie (1936; �Actinic Chemistry�), a scientific

Bene Israel

The largest and oldest of several groups of Jews of India. Believed by tradition to have shipwrecked on the Konkan coast of western India more than 2,100 years ago, they were absorbed into Indian society, maintaining many Jewish observances while operating within the caste system. Of some 67,000 Bene Israel at the turn of the 21st century, less than 5,000 remain in India, the great majority

Giridih

Town, Bihar state, northeastern India. It lies 72 miles (115 km) northeast of Hazaribagh town, on both banks of the Usri River. In 1871 a branch line of the Eastern Railway was built to the town, increasing its importance as a transport centre for coal mined at nearby Kuharbarie, Serampore, and Banaidih. It is the headquarters of the country's major mica-producing firms and has a degree-granting

Tannenberg, Battle Of

Polish and Lithuanian forces proceeding toward

Maurois, Andr�

Born into a prosperous family of textile manufacturers, Maurois came under the influence of the French philosopher and teacher Alain (�mile-Auguste Chartier). He was a liaison officer in the British army during World War I, and his first literary success

Para�ba

Also called �Parahyba, or Parahyba Do Norte, � estado (�state�) of northeastern Brazil. Primarily an agricultural state, Para�ba is bounded by the states of Rio Grande do Norte on the north, Cear� on the west, and Pernambuco on the south and by the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its area is 20,833 square miles (53,958 square km). Its chief river, the Para�ba, rises on the Pernambuco border and enters the Atlantic Ocean near the state capital,

Akhisar

Historically �Thyatira� town, western Turkey, in a fertile plain on the Great Zab River (the ancient Lycus). The ancient town, originally called Pelopia, was probably founded by the Lydians. It was made a Macedonian colony about 290 BC and renamed Thyatira. It became part of the kingdom of Pergamum in 190 BC and was an important station on the ancient Roman road from Pergamum (Bergama) to Laodicea (near Denizli).

Empiricism, In modern philosophy

In the earlier and unsystematically speculative phases of Renaissance philosophy, the claims of Aristotelian logic to yield substantial knowledge were attacked by several 16th-century logicians, and, in the same century, the role of observation was stressed. One mildly skeptical Christian thinker, Pierre Gassendi (1592 - 1655), advanced a deliberate revival of the empirical