Britannica
Encyclopedias since 1768  
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0-9
I Am movement ... Ibn al-Abbar
I Am movement
religious movement in the United States that taught that the Mighty I Am is the source of power and of all things necessary for everyone. It was begun in the 1930s by Guy Ballard (1878-1939), a mining engineer, and his ...
I li
collection of Chinese rituals probably compiled during Western Han times (206 BC-AD 8) and listed, along with two other ritual texts (Li chi, "Collection of Rituals"; Chou li, "Rites of Chou"), among the Nine, Twelve, and Thirteen Classics of Confucianism. ...
I novel
form or genre of 20th-century Japanese literature that is characterized by self-revealing narration, with the author usually as the central character.
I-ch'ang
city in western Hupeh sheng (province), China. I-ch'ang stands on the left bank of the middle Yangtze River, immediately below the entrance to the magnificent gorges of the Ta-pa Mountains to the west, and has a harbour formed by the ...
I-ch'un
city, central Heilungkiang sheng (province), China. I-ch'un is situated in the densely forested area of the Hsiao hsing-an (Lesser Khingan) Range, at the intersection of the I-ch'un River, from which it takes its name, and the T'ang-wang, a tributary of ...
I-lan
hsien (county), northeastern Taiwan, occupying an area of 825 square miles (2,137 square km) and bordered by the hsien of T'ai-pei (north), T'ao-yuan and Hsin-chu (west), and T'ai-chung and Hua-lien (south) and by the Philippine Sea (east). The Chung-yang Mountains ...
I-lan
shih (municipality) and seat of I-lan hsien (county), northeastern Taiwan, the centre of the only sizable alluvial basin on the island's mountainous eastern coast. The basin itself was largely formed as the delta of the Cho-Shui River and is about ...
I-n-Salah
oasis town, central Algeria, on the southern edge of the arid Tademait Plateau. At the crossing of ancient trans-Saharan caravan routes, it was once an important trade link between northern and central Africa but has declined in modern times owing ...
I-pin
city in southern Szechwan sheng (province), China. It is situated at the junction of the Min and the Yangtze rivers at the southwestern corner of the Szechwan Basin. Above I-pin the Yangtze is called the Chin-sha River. Junk traffic can ...
I-Thou
theological doctrine of the full, direct, mutual relation between beings, as conceived by Martin Buber and some other 20th-century philosophers. The basic and purest form of this relation is that between man and God (the Eternal Thou), which is the ...
I-yang
city, northern Hunan sheng (province), China. The city is situated approximately 47 miles (75 km) northwest of Ch'ang-sha on the Tzu River, to the south of Lake Tung-t'ing, on the main highway from Ch'ang-sha to Ch'ang-te. An ancient county, it ...
Iacchus
minor deity associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries, the best known of the ancient Greek mystery religions. On the day preceding the commencement of the mysteries, Iacchus' name was invoked with the names of the earth goddess Demeter and her daughter ...
Iacocca, Lee
American automobile executive who, as president and chairman of the board of the foundering Chrysler Corporation, secured the largest amount of federal financial assistance ever given to a private corporation at that time.
iamb
metrical foot consisting of one short syllable (as in classical verse) or one unstressed syllable (as in English verse) followed by one long or stressed syllable, as in the word ˘be|cause&stress; . Considered by the ancient Greeks to approximate the ...
iambe
French satiric verse form consisting of alternating lines of 8 and 12 syllables. The total number of lines is variable. Greek writers, especially Archilochus, used iambics as a vehicle for satire, but the name came into use as a French ...
Iamblichus
Syrian philosopher, a major figure in the philosophical school of Neoplatonism and the founder of its Syrian branch.
Iao Valley
valley, Maui county, northwestern Maui island, Hawaii, U.S. Situated on the eastern slope of Puu Kukui Mountain, it lies just north of Wailuku. Formed by erosion of the caldera whose volcano created the island's western peninsula, Iao Valley comprises a ...
Iapetus
outermost of Saturn's major regular moons, extraordinary because of its great contrast in surface brightness. It was discovered by the Italian-born French astronomer Gian Domenico Cassini in 1671 and named for one of the Titans of Greek mythology.
Iasi
city, northeastern Romania. It is situated on the Bahlui River near its confluence with the Prut River in the Moldavian plain, 8 miles (13 km) west of the border with Moldova and 200 miles (320 km) northeast of Bucharest.
Iasi
judet (county), northeastern Romania, bounded on the east by Moldova. The southward-flowing Prut River marks the county's eastern border with Moldova, and the Siret River drains the hilly terrain of the county to the south. Iasi county ...
Iasion
in Greek mythology, Cretan youth loved by Demeter, the corn goddess, who lay with him in a fallow field that had been thrice plowed. Their son was Plutus (q.v.), the wealth within the soil. According to another version, Iasion attempted ...
Ibadan
capital city of Oyo state, Nigeria, located on seven hills (average elevation 700 feet [200 metres]) 100 miles (160 km) from the Atlantic coast. It is the nation's second largest city (after Lagos).
Ibague
city, central Colombia, on the eastern slopes of the Andean Cordillera Central (Central Mountains). Founded as San Bonifacio de Ibague in 1550 on the site of an Indian village, it was moved to its present location, on a plain 4,216 ...
Ibanez del Campo, Carlos
Chilean president from 1927 to 1931 and from 1952 to 1958. Although by preference Ibanez was aligned with foreign reactionaries, he made many constructive domestic reforms.
Ibar River
river in south-central Serbia and Montenegro, rising in the Mokra Planina (mountains) and flowing eastward to Kosovska Mitrovica, then northward to join the Zapadna Morava River. Its length is 171 miles (276 km), and it has a drainage area of ...
Ibaraki
ken (prefecture), central Honshu, Japan, facing the Pacific Ocean. It is located in the northeastern Kanto Plain. Ibaraki is bordered (south) by the Tone River and contains part of Suigo-Tsukuba Quasi-national Park. Main features of this section ...
Ibarbourou, Juana de
Uruguayan poet, one of the most famous Latin American women poets. She was venerated for her lyrical celebration of love and nature.
Ibarra
city, north-central Ecuador, situated in an Andean valley at an elevation of 7,300 feet (2,200 metres), within the Ecuadorian Lake District. It was founded in 1606 by the soldier Cristobal Torre, a representative of Miguel de Ibarra, the president of ...
Ibarruri, Dolores
Spanish Communist leader, who earned a legendary reputation as an impassioned orator during the Spanish Civil War, coining the Republican battle cry, "No pasaran! " ("They shall not pass!").
Ibb
city, southwestern Yemen, lying in the Yemen Highlands on a spur of the rugged Mount Shamahi, at 6,725 feet (2,050 metres) above sea level. The city's origins, according to Arab myth, date to biblical times. The area became important in ...
Iberia
Spanish airline created by law on June 7, 1940, and given rights to the air transport of persons and cargo within Spain. It took control of a privately owned company established in 1937, which in turn had revived the name ...
Iberian
one of a prehistoric people of southern and eastern Spain who later gave their name to the whole peninsula. The waves of migrating Celtic peoples from the 8th to 6th century BC onward settled heavily in northern and central Spain, ...
Iberian Peninsula
peninsula in southwestern Europe, occupied by Spain and Portugal. Its name derives from its ancient inhabitants whom the Greeks called Iberians, probably after the Ebro (Iberus), the peninsula's second longest river (after the Tagus). The Pyrenees form an effective land ...
Ibero-Maurusian industry
North African stone-tool industry dating from the late Wurm (last) Glacial Period, about 16,000 years ago. The former presumption that the industry extended into Spain explains the prefix "Ibero-" in the name. The industry does bear a close resemblance to ...
Ibert, Jacques
composer whose music is admired for its colourful, technically polished, and often witty neoclassical style.
Iberville
town, Monteregie region, southern Quebec province, Canada, on the east bank of the Richelieu River, opposite Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Originally called Christieville, it was renamed in 1854 for the French explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville. The town is a rail and highway ...
Iberville, Pierre Le Moyne d'
French-Canadian naval hero and explorer, noted for his exploration and battles on behalf of the French in Hudson Bay and in the territory of Louisiana.
ibex
any of several surefooted, sturdy wild goats of the genus Capra, family Bovidae (order Artiodactyla), found in the mountains of Europe, Asia, and northeastern Africa. The European, or Alpine, ibex (C. ibex ibex) is typical. It stands about 90 cm ...
Ibi
town and river port, Taraba state, east-central Nigeria, on the south bank of the Benue River, opposite the mouth of the Shemankar River. Founded in the 1850s by a slave of Hamman, the Fulani emir of Muri (to the northeast), ...
Ibibio
people of southeastern Nigeria, mainly in the Cross River state. They speak dialects of Efik-Ibibio, a language now grouped within the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. The Ibibio comprise the following major divisions: Efik, Northern (Enyong), Southern (Eket), ...
ibis
any of about 20 species of medium-sized wading birds constituting the subfamily Threskiornithinae of the family Threskiornithidae (order Ciconiiformes), which also includes the spoonbills. Ibises occur in all warm regions except on South Pacific islands. They wade in shallow lagoons, ...
ibisbill
(Ibidorhyncha struthersii), Asian bird named for its long, red, down-curved bill (similar to that of an ibis), which it uses to probe for food under stones along streams and ponds. Rather heavyset birds about 40 centimetres (16 inches) long, ibisbills ...
Ibiza
island, Balearic Islands provincia (province) and comunidad autonoma (autonomous community), Spain, one of the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean. It lies 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Majorca and has an area of ...
Iblis
in Islam, the personal name of the devil, probably derived from the Greek diabolos. Iblis, the counterpart of the Jewish and Christian Satan, is also referred to as 'aduw Allah (enemy of God), 'aduw (enemy), or, when he is portrayed ...
Ibn 'Abbad
in full Abu 'abd Allah Muhammad Ibn Abi Ishaq Ibrahim An-nafzi Al-himyari Ar-rundi Islamic theologian who became the leading mystical thinker of North Africa in the 14th century.
Ibn 'Aqil
in full Abu Al-wafa' 'ali Ibn 'aqil Ibn Muhammad Ibn 'aqil Ibn Ahmad Al-baghdadi Az-zafari Islamic theologian and scholar of the Hanbali school, the most traditionalist of the schools of Islamic law. His thoughts and teachings represent an attempt to ...
Ibn Abi 'Asrun
in full Sharaf Ad-din Abu Sa'd 'abd Allah Ibn Muhammad Ibn Hibat Allah Ibn Mutahhar At-tamimi Al-mawsili Ibn Abi 'asrun, also called Al-halabi, or Ad-dimashqi scholar who became a leading Shafi'i (one of the four schools of Islamic law) theologian ...
Ibn Abi ar-Rijal, Ahmad
Yemeni scholar and theologian, who is the best source of historical information on the little-known sect of Shi'i Muslims in Yemen called the Zaydis.
Ibn al-'Arabi
celebrated Muslim mystic-philosopher who gave the esoteric, mystical dimension of Islamic thought its first full-fledged philosophic expression. His major works are the monumental Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyyah ("The Meccan Revelations") and Fusus al-hikam (1229; "The Bezels ...
Ibn al-'Awwam
agriculturist who wrote the Arabic treatise on agriculture, Kitab al-fila-hah, the outstanding medieval work on the subject. The Spanish translation, published in the early 1800s, consists of 35 chapters dealing with agronomy, cattle and poultry raising, and ...
Ibn al-Abbar
in full Abu 'abd Allah Muhammad Al-quda'i historian, theologian, and humorist who became one of the most famous students of Islamic Spain.
© 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica Australia Ltd
Encyclopedia Home | World Atlas