Sasan

Eponymous ancestor of the Sasanian dynasty in ancient Persia. Details of his life vary, but most scholars believe he was originally a prince in the province of Persis and a vassal of Gochihr, the chief petty king in Persis. His son or descendant was Babak, who was the father of Ardashir I, the founder of the Sasanian Empire. According to one tradition, Sasan married a daughter

Novi Pazar

Town, southern Serbia, Yugoslavia. It lies in the Raška River valley, in rough and hilly country near the site of Ras, which was the capital city of the medieval Serbian state in the 12th–14th century. In the vicinity are Roman baths, and the Church of St. Peter, one of the oldest in Yugoslavia (7th or 8th century), is an interesting example of early Slav architecture. A few miles west is

Alabama State University

Public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Montgomery, Alabama, U.S. It is a historically black school, and its enrollment is predominantly African American. Alabama State offers bachelor's and master's degree programs in the schools of Music and Graduate Studies and colleges of Business Administration, Education, and Arts and Sciences. An educational

Taginae, Battle Of

The Byzantine emperor Justinian I sent his commander in chief, the eunuch Narses, with an army of 20,000 men into Italy, where, at the Apennine village of Taginae near

Gunn, Thom

The son of a successful London journalist, Gunn attended University College School in London and Trinity College in Cambridge, where he received a B.A. (1953) and M.A. (1958). In 1954 he moved to San Francisco, California, to study

Liquefied Petroleum Gas

Also called  LP gas , or  LPG  any of several liquid mixtures of the volatile hydrocarbons propene, propane, butene, and butane. It was used as early as 1860 for a portable fuel source, and its production and consumption for both domestic and industrial use have expanded ever since. A typical commercial mixture may also contain ethane and ethylene as well as a volatile mercaptan, an odorant added as

Andijon

Also spelled  Andizhan, or Andizan,   city, extreme eastern Uzbekistan. Andijon lies in the southeastern part of the Fergana Valley. The city, which stands on ancient deposits of the Andijon River, dates back at least to the 9th century. In the 15th century it became the capital of the Fergana Valley and, being on the Silk Road caravan route to China, its chief centre of trade and handicrafts. In the 18th century it

Heron

Any of about 60 species of long-legged wading birds of the subfamily Ardeinae of the family Ardeidae (order Ciconiiformes) and generally including several species usually called egrets (see egret). The Ardeidae also include the bitterns (subfamily Botaurinae). Herons are widely distributed over the world but are most common in the tropics. They usually feed while wading

Henderson

City, seat of Henderson county, northwestern Kentucky, U.S., on a bluff overlooking the Ohio River, 7 miles (11 km) south of Evansville, Indiana. The town site, around Red Banks (settled 1784), was laid out in 1797 by the Transylvania Land Company and named for its promoter, Richard Henderson. Originally a farming settlement, its economy is evenly balanced among industry, agriculture (corn

Xerxes I

Soured by this failure, which modern historians consider the beginning of Achaemenian decline, Xerxes retired to Susa and Persepolis. He then furthered the depletion of the once-enormous resources he had gathered, through multiple taxation, by launching a vast construction program. At the capital city of Persepolis, Darius' architects, working from a unified plan