Encyclopædia Britannica Australia -

Encyclopedias since 1768

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Magnusson, Magnus ... Mahaicony River

Magnusson, Magnus: Icelandic-born author and British television personality despite a long and distinguished scholarly career, was best known for his 25-year stint (1972-97) as the tough but fair host of the BBC quiz show Mastermind. Magnusson, the son of Iceland's consul ...
Mago: (from the article "North Africa") ...Oea (Tripoli) became wealthy through trans-Saharan trade; Leptis Magna was the terminus of the shortest route across the Sahara linking the Mediterranean with the Niger River. A Carthaginian named Mago is said to have crossed the desert several times, but ...
Mago: a leading Carthaginian general during the Second Punic War (218-201 BC) against Rome. He was the youngest of the three sons of the Carthaginian statesman and general Hamilcar Barca. [1 Related Articles]
Magog: city, Estrie region, southern Quebec province, Canada, lying along the Magog River, near the foot of Lake Memphremagog, 20 miles (32 km) north of the border with Vermont, U.S. The town site, originally an Indian camp, was a stopping place ...
Magog: (from the article "Gog and Magog") in the Hebrew Bible, the prophesied invader of Israel and the land from which he comes, respectively; or, in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament), evil forces opposed to the people of God. Although biblical references to Gog and Magog are ...
magokoro: (from the article "Shinto") As the basic attitude toward life, Shinto emphasizes makoto no kokoro ("heart of truth"), or magokoro ("true heart"), which is usually translated as "sincerity, pure heart, uprightness." This attitude follows from the revelation of the truthfulness of kami in man. ...
Magonid: (from the article "North Africa") ...prevailed in Phoenicia until Hellenistic times, and Greek and Roman sources refer to kingship at Carthage. It appears to have been not hereditary but elective, though in practice one family, the Magonid, dominated in the 6th century BC. The power ...
Magoon, Charles: (from the article "Cuba") ...to rebellion and a second U.S. occupation in September 1906. U.S. secretary of war William Howard Taft failed to resolve the dispute, and Estrada Palma resigned. The U.S. government then made Charles Magoon provisional governor. An advisory commission revised electoral ...
Magosian industry: stone-tool technology in which an advanced Levallois technique was employed for the production of flakes for the manufacture of other tools, together with a punch technique for the production of microlithic artifacts. Projectile points were produced by pressure flaking.
magpie: any of several long-tailed birds belonging to the family Corvidae (order Passeriformes). The best-known species, often called the black-billed magpie (Pica pica), is a 45-centimetre (18-inch) black-and-white (i.e., pied) bird, with an iridescent blue-green tail. It occurs in northwestern Africa, ... [1 Related Articles]
magpie goose: large unusual waterfowl of Australia and Papua New Guinea. Although classified by many ornithologists as the sole member of the subfamily Anseranatinae in family Anatidae (ducks, geese, and swans), it may merit recognition as a separate family in order Anseriformes ... [2 Related Articles]
magpie-robin: any of eight species of chat-thrushes, belonging to the family Turdidae (order Passeriformes), found in southern Asia. They are 18 to 28 cm (7 to 11 inches) long, with pied plumage and attenuated tails-small replicas of magpies. The uptilted tail ...
Magris, Claudio: (from the article "Literature") The year also offered some surprises, such as Claudio Magris's Alla cieca. The story begins as 80-year-old Salvatore Cippico (a survivor of both a Nazi concentration camp and the Soviet Gulag) reflects on his life. Soon, however, his voice merges ...
Magritte, Rene: Belgian artist, one of the most prominent Surrealist painters whose bizarre flights of fancy blended horror, peril, comedy, and mystery. His works were characterized by particular symbols-the female torso, the bourgeois "little man," the bowler hat, the castle, the rock, ... [1 Related Articles]
Magruder, Jeb Stuart: (from the article "Watergate Scandal") ...defendants had been pressured by the White House to plead guilty and remain silent. And, according to McCord, witnesses had perjured themselves during the trial. Before the reconvened grand jury, Jeb Stuart Magruder (assistant to the reelection committee director, former ...
Magsaysay, Ramon: president of the Philippines (1953-57), best known for successfully defeating the communist-led Hukbalahap (Huk) movement. [5 Related Articles]
maguey: fibre obtained from the leaf of the plant Agave lurida, a member of the Agavaceae family and native to Mexico. It is shorter and stiffer than henequen, with physical properties similar to the hard leaf fibre cantala, and is used ... [1 Related Articles]
maguey, gusanos de: (from the article "lepidopteran") ...libeon) are collected in large quantities in the Congo, and the 10-cm (4-inch) caterpillars of giant skippers (family Megathymidae), known in Mexico as gusanos de maguey, are both consumed domestically and canned and exported for consumption as ...
Maguire, Gregory: With the publication of his 25th book, What-the-Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy, in 2007, writer Gregory Maguire continued his highly imaginative exploration of fairy tale and fantasy worlds in children's and adult fiction. He was best known ...
Maguire, Stephen: (from the article "Billiard Games") ...the world championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, Eng., and reclaimed his place atop the world rankings. He also won the Totesport Grand Prix in Preston, Eng., but in November lost to Stephen Maguire of Scotland in both the ...
magupat: (from the article "Iran, ancient") ...organization was set up in which every local district of any importance had its own mobed ("priest"; originally magupat, "chief priest"). At their head stood the mobedan mobed ("priest of priests"), ...
Magura National Park: (from the article "Podkarpackie") ...draw for tourists. The mountainous, heavily forested Bieszczady National Park is much visited by outdoor enthusiasts; it also provides habitat for lynx, wildcats, wolves, bison, and Carpathian deer. Magura National Park protects part of the Lower Beskid Mountains and contains ...
magus: member of an ancient Persian clan specializing in cultic activities. The name is the Latinized form of magoi (e.g., in Herodotus 1:101), the ancient Greek transliteration of the Iranian original. From it the word magic is derived. [8 Related Articles]
Maguzawa: (from the article "Hausa") ...of Islamic influence, which spread during the latter part of the 14th century from the kingdom of Mali, profoundly influencing Hausa belief and customs. A small minority of Hausa, known as Maguzawa, or Bunjawa, remained pagan.
Magwe: town, west-central Myanmar (Burma). The town is on the Irrawaddy River opposite Minbu. It is the site of Magwe College, affiliated to the Arts and Science University at Mandalay, and has an airfield.
Magyarization: (from the article "Hungary") ...language, as were business and social life above the lowest levels. The proportion of the population with Hungarian as its mother tongue rose from 46.6 percent in 1880 to 51.4 percent in 1900. The Magyarization of the towns had proceeded ...
mah-jongg: game of Chinese origin, played with tiles, or pais, that are similar in physical description to those used in dominoes but engraved with Chinese symbols and characters and divided into suits and honours. A fad in England, ... [1 Related Articles]
Maha Bodhi Society: an organization that was established to encourage Buddhist studies in India and abroad. The society was founded in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1891 by Anagarika Dharmapala; one of its original goals was the restoration of the Mahabodhi temple at ... [2 Related Articles]
Maha Kumbh Mela: Millions of pilgrims, many of whom had traveled for days to participate in the Maha Kumbh Mela-"Great Pitcher Festival"-walked to the various camps set up on the sandy plains along the Ganges River.
Maha Maya: the mother of Gautama Buddha; she was the wife of Raja Shuddhodana. [3 Related Articles]
Maha Moggallana: (from the article "Buddhism") From early in the history of Buddhism, the Buddha was recognized as a fully perfected yogi who possessed great religious insight and miraculous powers. Among the Buddha's disciples, Maha Moggallana was especially known for his yogic attainments and magical powers. ...
Maha Sarakham: town, northeastern Thailand. Maha Sarakham is located at a road junction on a bend of the Chi River. Rice is widely grown in the surrounding region, particularly in shallow river valleys, and freshwater fishing is also important. Pop. (1993 est.) ...
Maha Sila Viravong: (from the article "Lao literature") ...well as social commentary that attacked the government as corrupt and that bemoaned a perceived decline in Lao social values. Major writers in Vientiane during this period include three children of Maha Sila Viravong, an important scholar of traditional Lao ...
Maha Thammaracha: (from the article "Naresuan") In 1569 the Myanmar king Bayinnaung (reigned 1551-81) conquered Siam and placed Naresuan's father, Maha Thammaracha, on the throne as his vassal. The capital, Ayutthaya, was pillaged, thousands of Siamese were deported to Myanmar (Burma) as slaves, and Siam then ...
maha-ksatrapa: (from the article "India") ...and widely used by these dynasties. Its Sanskrit form was kshatrapa. The governors of higher status came to be called maha-kshatrapa; they frequently issued inscriptions reflecting whatever era they chose to follow, and they ...
Maha-sivaratri: (Sanskrit: "Great Night of Siva"), the most important sectarian festival of the year for devotees of the Hindu god Siva. The 14th day of the dark half of each lunar month is specially sacred to Siva, but when it occurs ...
Mahabad: city, northwestern Iran. The city lies south of Lake Urmia in a fertile, narrow valley at an elevation of 4,272 feet (1,302 metres). There are a number of unexcavated tells, or mounds, on the plain of Mahabad in this part ...
Mahabaleshwar: resort town, southwestern Maharashtra state, western India. It lies about 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Bombay and northwest of the town of Satara at an elevation of 4,718 feet (1,438 m), in the Sahyadri Hills of the Western Ghats. ... [1 Related Articles]
Mahabalipuram: historic town, northeast Tamil Nadu state, southeastern India. The town lies along the Bay of Bengal 37 miles (60 km) south of Madras. The town's religious centre was founded by a 7th-century-AD Hindu Pallava king, Narasimhavarman, also known as Mamalla, ... [2 Related Articles]
Mahabat Khan: (from the article "India") ...and her relatives and associates. The queen's alleged efforts to secure the prince of her choice as successor to the ailing emperor resulted in the rebellion of Prince Khurram in 1622 and later of Mahabat Khan, the queen's principal ally, ...
Mahabat Khan Mosque: (from the article "Peshawar") ...of Nowshera; Gor Khatri, once a Buddhist monastery and later a sacred Hindu temple, which stands on an eminence in the east and affords a panoramic view of the entire city; the pure white mosque of Mahabat Khan (1630), a ...
Mahabharat Range: (from the article "Nepal") A complex system of mountain ranges, some 50 miles in width and varying in elevation from 8,000 to 14,000 feet, lie between the Mahabharat Range and the Great Himalayas. The ridges of the Mahabharat Range present a steep escarpment toward ...
Mahabharata: one of the two Sanskrit great epic poems of ancient India (the other being the Ramayana). The Mahabharata is an important source of information on the development of Hinduism between 400 BCE and 200 ... [25 Related Articles]
Mahabodhi temple: (from the article "Bodh Gaya") ...have representations of the Vedic gods Indra and Surya, and the railing medallions are carved with imaginary beasts. This shrine was replaced in the Kushan period (2nd century AD) by the present Mahabodhi temple (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site ...
Mahabodhi temple: (from the article "Pagan") ...It is much revered and famous for its huge golden umbrella finial encrusted with jewels. It was considerably damaged in the earthquake of 1975. Also revered are the late 12th-century pyramidal Mahabodhi, built as a copy of the temple at ...
Mahadaji Sindhia: (from the article "India") ...(1761). Again, like the Holkars, the Sindhias were based largely in central India, first at Ujjain, and later (from the last quarter of the 18th century) in Gwalior. It was during the long reign of Mahadaji Sindhia, which began after ...
Mahadammayaza: (from the article "Toungoo Dynasty") ...and the victory over Arakan was never achieved. Instead, the Myanmar empire gradually disintegrated. The Toungoo dynasty, however, survived for another century and a half, until the death of Mahadammayaza (reigned 1733-52), but never again ruled all of Myanmar.
Mahadeo Hills: sandstone hills located in the northern part of the Satpura Range, in southern Madhya Pradesh state, central India. The hills have small plateaus and steep scarps that were formed during the Carboniferous Period (360 to 286 million years ago). The ... [1 Related Articles]
Mahadeva temple: (from the article "South Asian arts") ...Lakkundi temple is also the first to be built of chloritic schist, which is the favoured material of the later period and which lends itself easily to elaborate sculptural ornamentation. With the Mahadeva temple at Ittagi (c. 1112) the transition ...
Mahaica River: (from the article "Guyana") ...the tributaries of the Essequibo, the Potaro, Mazaruni, and Cuyuni drain the northwest, and the Rupununi drains the southern savanna. The coast is cut by shorter rivers, including the Pomeroon, Mahaica, Mahaicony, and Abary.
Mahaicony River: (from the article "Guyana") ...tributaries of the Essequibo, the Potaro, Mazaruni, and Cuyuni drain the northwest, and the Rupununi drains the southern savanna. The coast is cut by shorter rivers, including the Pomeroon, Mahaica, Mahaicony, and Abary.