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Dimitrios ... Dionysian period
Dimitrios
269th ecumenical patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox church.
Dimitrov, Georgi Mikhailovich
Bulgarian communist leader who became the post-World War II prime minister of Bulgaria. He also won worldwide fame for his defense against Nazi accusations during the German Reichstag Fire trial ...
Dimitrovgrad
town, south-central Bulgaria, in the fertile lowlands of the Maritsa River valley; it is a rail junction on the Belgrade-Sofia-Istanbul rail line. The new town, built in 1947 by Bulgarian ...
Dimitrovgrad
city, Ulyanovsk oblast (province), western Russia at the confluence of the Melekes and Bolshoy (Great) Cheremshan rivers. Founded in 1714, it became a town in 1919 and ...
dimity
(from Greek dimitos, "of double thread"), lightweight, sheer cotton fabric with two or more warp threads thrown into relief, forming fine cords. Originally dimity was made of silk or wool, ...
Dimona
town of the Negev, southern Israel, on the main highway from Beersheba (Be'er Sheva') to Sedom (Sodom). It is named for the biblical city of Dimonah, mentioned (Joshua 15:21-22) as ...
Dimorphodon
primitive flying reptiles found as fossils in European deposits from the Early Jurassic Period (206 million to 180 million years ago). Dimorphodon is among the earliest known pterosaurs, an extinct ...
Din-i Ilahi
(Persian: "Divine Faith"), an elite eclectic religious movement, which never numbered more than 19 adherents, formulated by the Mughal emperor Akbar in the late 16th century AD.
Dinah
in the Old Testament (Genesis 30:21; 34; 46:15), daughter of Jacob by Leah; Dinah was abducted and raped near the city of Shechem, by Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite ...
Dinajpur
town, northwestern Bangladesh, just east of the Punarbhaba River. The old city and the former residence of the maharaja of Dinajpur are located in the northeastern quarter of the town. ...
Dinan
town, northwestern France, in Cotes-d'Armor departement, Brittany region, dominating the upper Rance estuary. It stands on a height above the left bank of the ...
dinanderie
type of late medieval brass ware made in and around Dinant, Belg.
Dinant
municipality, Namur province, southern Belgium, on the Meuse River below steep limestone cliffs, south of Namur. Inhabited in Roman times, Dinant's name probably derives from Diana, Roman goddess of the ...
Dinarchus
professional speech writer at Athens whose work is generally thought to reflect the incipient decline of Attic oratory.
Dinaric Alps
southeastern division of the Eastern Alps, running parallel to the Dalmatian (Adriatic) coast from Trieste and Slovenia south to Albania. Bounded by the Soca (Italian Isonzo) and Sava rivers (north), ...
Dinawari, ad-
, in full Abu Hanifah Ahmad Ibn Da'ud Al-dinawari Persian astronomer, botanist, and historian, whose interest in Hellenism and the Arabic humanities has been compared with that of the Iraqi ...
Dinder National Park
park, eastern Sudan. The park lies in the clayish flood plain of the Nahr (river) ad-Dindar and Nahr ar-Rahad, at an elevation of 2,300 to 2,600 ft (700 to 800 ...
Dinder River
tributary of the Blue Nile, rising in the Ethiopian highlands west of Lake Tana. It flows northwest past Dongur, descends into the Sudanese plain, and runs in numerous meanders to ...
Dindigul
city, Tamil Nadu state, southeastern India. Situated between the Palni and Sirumalai hills, it is a road transport hub. Its name, derived from the words tintu kal ("pillow rock"), refers ...
Dindshenchas
(Gaelic: "Lore of Places"), studies in Gaelic prose and verse of the etymology and history of place-names in Ireland-e.g., of streams, raths (strongholds of ancient Irish chiefs), mounds, and rocks. ...
Dine, Jim
American painter, graphic artist, sculptor, and poet who emerged during the Pop Art period as an innovative creator of works that combine the painted canvas with ordinary objects of daily ...
Dines, William Henry
British meteorologist who invented instruments to measure atmospheric properties.
Dinesen, Isak
Danish writer whose finely crafted stories, set in the past and pervaded with an aura of supernaturalism, incorporate the themes of eros and dreams.
ding
type of ancient Chinese cooking or holding vessel, usually with two handles on the rim, that is supported by three or four columnar legs.
Ding Ling
one of China's most popular 20th-century authors. In her early career Ding Ling initially wrote highly successful short stories centring on young, unconventional Chinese women. About 1930, with a distinct ...
Ding ware
Chinese glazed stoneware produced for many centuries, beginning in the 8th century AD.
Dingane
Zulu king of Natal (1828-40) who assumed power after taking part in the murder of his half brother Shaka in 1828. In November 1837 Dingane promised the Boer leader Piet ...
Dingelstedt, Franz Ferdinand, Freiherr von
German poet, playwright, and theatrical producer known for his biting political satires.
Dingiswayo
chieftain, from 1807, of the Mtetwa clan of the North (Natal) Nguni division of the Bantu people.
Dingle
peninsula and bay in County Kerry, on the southwestern coast of Ireland. The peninsula begins south of Tralee as the Slieve Mish range, with elevations of more than 2,000 feet ...
dingo
Australian wild dog, one of the few mammals of Australia that is not a marsupial. As wild dogs, dingoes are members of the canine family, Canidae. Authorities regard them as ...
Dinguiraye
town, north-central Guinea. It lies at the eastern edge of the Fouta Djallon plateau. The town was once the seat of the imamate (region ruled by a Muslim religious leader) ...
Dinh Bo Linh
reign title Dinh Tien Hoang emperor and founder of the second Vietnamese dynasty, who, after a decade of anarchy, reunified his country, winning official recognition of Vietnam as a state ...
Dinichthys
extinct genus of arthrodires, i.e., primitive, armoured, fishlike animals that dominated ancient seas. Dinichthys lived during the Late Devonian Period (374 to 360 million years ago) and is found fossilized ...
Dinis
sixth king of Portugal (1279-1325), who strengthened the kingdom by improving the economy and reducing the power of the nobility and the church.
Dinis, Julio
poet, playwright, and novelist, the first great novelist of modern Portuguese middle-class society. His novels, extremely popular in his lifetime and still widely read in Portugal today, are written in ...
Dinka
people who live in the savanna country surrounding the central swamps of the Nile basin in the southern part of The Sudan. Numbering more than 4,000,000 at the turn of ...
Dinkelsbuhl
city, Bavaria Land (state), southern Germany. It lies along the Wornitz River about 20 miles (30 km) southwest of Ansbach. Mentioned in 928, it was fortified in ...
Dinkins, David
American politician, who served as the first African American mayor of New York City (1990-94).
Dinocrates
Greek architect who prospered under Alexander the Great. He tried to captivate the ambitious fancy of that king with a design for carving Mount Athos into a gigantic seated statue. ...
dinoflagellate
any of numerous one-celled, aquatic organisms bearing two dissimilar flagellae and having characteristics of both plants and animals. Most are microscopic and marine. Botanists place them in the algal class ...
Dinohyus
extinct genus of giant piglike mammals found as fossils in deposits of early Miocene age in North America (the Miocene Epoch occurred 23.7 to 5.3 million years ago). Dinohyus is ...
Dinornis
genus of extinct giant flightless birds that are popularly known as moas. See moa.
dinosaur
the common name given to a group of reptiles, often very large, that first appeared in the Late Triassic Period about 215 million years ago and thrived worldwide for some ...
Dinosaur National Monument
desert area in northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah, U.S., set aside in 1915 to preserve rich fossil beds that include dinosaur remains. The monument was enlarged from its original 80 ...
Dinosaur Provincial Park
public park located in the badlands of southeastern Alberta, Canada. The nearly 29-square-mile (75-square-km) park is best known for its extensive fossil beds, within which have been identified some 35 ...
Dinslaken
city, North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state), western Germany. It lies in the Ruhr region, about 22 miles (35 km) north of Dusseldorf. First mentioned in 1163 and chartered in 1273 by ...
Dinwiddie, Robert
British colonial administrator who as lieutenant governor of Virginia helped precipitate the French and Indian War.
Dio Cassius
Roman administrator and historian, the author of Romaika, a history of Rome, written in Greek, that is a most important authority for the last years of the republic and the ...
diocese
in some Christian churches, a territorial area administered by a bishop. The word originally referred to a governmental area in the Roman Empire, governed by an imperial vicar. The secular ...
Diocles
philosopher and pioneer in medicine, among Greek physicians second only to Hippocrates in reputation and ability, according to tradition.
Diocletian
Roman emperor (284-305), who restored efficient government to the empire after the near anarchy of the 3rd century. His reorganization of the fiscal, administrative, and military machinery of the empire ...
Diocletian window
window with a somewhat rounded top, or head, and bronze-framed panes of glass, named after those in the palace of the 3rd-century Roman emperor Diocletian at Spalato (Split, Croatia) and ...
Diocletian, Palace of
ancient Roman palace built between AD 295 and 305 at Split (Spalato), Croatia, by the emperor Diocletian as his place of retirement (he renounced the imperial crown in 305 and ...
Diodati, Giovanni
Swiss Calvinist pastor known for his translation of the Bible into Italian.
diode
evacuated glass or metal electron tube containing two electrodes-a negatively charged cathode and a positively charged anode. It is used as a rectifier and as a detector in electronic circuits ...
Diodorus Cronus
philosopher of the Megarian school, remembered for his innovations in logic. His surname Cronus, of uncertain meaning, was applied both to him and to his teacher, the philosopher Apollonius of ...
Diodorus Siculus
Greek historian, the author of a universal history, Bibliotheca historica.
Diodotus I
satrap (governor) of the Seleucid province of Bactria, who, with his son of the same name, founded the Greek kingdom of Bactria.
Diodotus II
king of Bactria, the son and successor of Diodotus I.
Diogenes
archetype of the Cynics, a Greek philosophical sect that stressed stoic self-sufficiency and the rejection of luxury. He is credited by some with originating the Cynic way of life, but ...
Diogenes Laertius
Greek author noted for his history of Greek philosophy, the most important existing secondary source of knowledge in the field. One of its traditional titles, Peri bion dogmaton kai apophthegmaton ...
Diogenes Of Apollonia
Greek philosopher remembered for his cosmology and for his efforts to synthesize ancient views and new discoveries.
Diogenes Of Babylon
(b. Seleucia, Mesopotamia; fl. 2nd century BC), Greek Stoic philosopher remembered chiefly for his visit to Rome in 156-155 Bc, which served to arouse interest in the Stoic creed among ...
Diognetus, Letter to
an early Christian apologetic work probably dating from the 2nd or 3rd century AD. It is often included with the works of the Apostolic Fathers, Greek Christian writers of the ...
Diomede Islands
two small islands in the Bering Strait, lying about 2 12 mi (4 km) apart and separated by the U.S.-Russian boundary, which coincides with the International Date Line. The larger ...
Diomedes
in Greek legend, commander of 80 Argive ships and one of the most respected leaders in the Trojan War. His famous exploits include the wounding of Aphrodite, the slaughter of ...
Dion
brother-in-law of Dionysius the Elder, tyrant of Syracuse, in Sicily, and master of Syracuse intermittently between 357 and 354.
Dion and the Belmonts
American rock-and-roll singing group popular in the late 1950s whose lead singer was a successful soloist in the '60s. The original members were Dion DiMucci (b. July 18, 1939, New ...
Dion Chrysostom
Greek rhetorician and philosopher who won fame in Rome and throughout the empire for his writings and speeches.
Dion, Celine
Canadian singer who achieved international superstardom and was considered one of the top pop vocalists of the 1990s. Working in the pop ballad tradition, she recorded numerous albums in both ...
Dione
in Greek mythology, a consort and, in one remote region, cult partner of Zeus, the king of the gods. Since the partner and wife of Zeus was normally the goddess ...
Dione
fourth nearest of the major regular moons of Saturn. It was discovered by the Italian-born French astronomer Gian Domenico Cassini in 1684 and named for a daughter of the Titan ...
Dionne quintuplets
the five daughters-Emilie, Yvonne, Cecile, Marie, and Annette-born prematurely on May 28, 1934, near Callander, Ontario, Canada, to Oliva and Elzire Dionne. The parents had 14 children, 9 by single ...
Dionysian
characteristic of the god Dionysus or the cult of worship of Dionysus; specifically, of a sensuous, frenzied, or orgiastic character. The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche used the terms Dionysian and Apollonian ...
Dionysian period
in the Julian calendar, a period of 532 years covering a complete cycle of New Moons (19 years between occurrences on the same date) and of dominical letters-i.e., correspondences between ...