Encyclopædia Britannica Australia -

Encyclopedias since 1768

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Talavera de la Reina ... Tamale

Talavera de la Reina: town, Toledo provincia, in the comunidad autonoma ("autonomous community") of Castile-La Mancha, central Spain, on the northern bank of the Tagus River near its confluence with the Alberche. The town originated as the Roman Caesarobriga and was conquered by King ...
talbiyah: in Islam, the formulaic pronouncement labbaykah allahummah labbaykah ("at your service, O Lord, at your service"), recited especially during a pilgrimage when pious Muslims perform the tawaf-i.e., walk around the sacred shrine of the Ka'bah. The question whether the talbiyah ...
Talbot: county, east-central Maryland, U.S. It adjoins Chesapeake Bay to the west, the Choptank River to the south and southeast, and Tuckahoe Creek to the northeast and includes Tilghman and Poplar islands. The jagged coast is carved by the Wye East, ...
Talbot, Mary Anne: British woman who served in the English army and navy disguised as a man. She was later known as the "British Amazon."
Talbot, William Henry Fox: English chemist, linguist, archaeologist, and pioneer photographer. He is best known for his development of the calotype (q.v.), an early photographic process that was an improvement over the daguerreotype of the French inventor L.-J.-M. Daguerre. Talbot's calotypes involved the use ...
talc: common silicate mineral that is distinguished from almost all other minerals by its extreme softness (it has the lowest rating [1] on the Mohs scale of hardness). Its soapy or greasy feel accounts for the name soapstone given to compact ...
Talca: capital of Talca provincia and Maule region, central Chile, in the Central Valley near the Maule River. Founded in 1692, it was destroyed by earthquakes in 1742 and 1928; completely rebuilt, it is now a major urban centre midway between ...
Talcahuano: city, Concepcion provincia, Bio-Bio region, south-central Chile, lying on a small peninsula that forms the southwestern shore of Concepcion Bay, just north-northwest of the city of Concepcion (q.v.), for which it became the outport after an earthquake in 1730. Talcahuano ...
Taldy-Kurgan: city, southeastern Kazakstan. It is situated on the left bank of the Karatal River and in the western foothills of the Dzungarian Alatau Range. It grew up on the site of Gavrilovka village, founded in the second half of the ...
Tale of Genji, The: masterpiece of Japanese literature by the Lady Murasaki Shikibu, written toward the start of the 11th century. It is considered the oldest full novel in the world and one of the finest. Most of the story is concerned with the ...
Talence: town, Gironde departement, Aquitaine region, southern suburb of Bordeaux, southwestern France. It is a centre for jet-aircraft production and has light industry and wine making. An extension of Bordeaux University (now Bordeaux University I), with housing for 30,000 students, was ...
talent: unit of weight used by many ancient civilizations, such as the Hebrews, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. The weight of a talent and its relationship to its major subdivision, the mina, varied considerably over time and location in the ancient world. ...
Talented Tenth: (1903), concept espoused by black educator and author W.E.B. Du Bois, emphasizing the necessity for higher education to develop the leadership capacity among the most able 10 percent of black Americans. Du Bois was one of a number of black ...
Taliban: ultraconservative political and religious faction that emerged in Afghanistan in the mid 1990s following the withdrawal of Soviet troops, the collapse of Afghanistan's communist regime, and the subsequent breakdown in civil order. The faction took its name from its membership, ...
Taliesin: one of five poets renowned among the Welsh in the latter part of the 6th century, according to the Historia Brittonum attributed to Nennius (flourished c. 796). The Book of Taliesin, the oldest surviving copy of his works (written about ...
Taliesin and Taliesin West: the two homes, as well as architectural schools, of the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Originally built in 1911, Taliesin, located near Spring Green, Wisconsin, U.S., was rebuilt after fires in 1914 and 1925. Taliesin West, near Scottsdale, Arizona, was ...
Talikota, Battle of: (January 1565), confrontation between the forces of the Hindu raja of Vijayanagar and the four Muslim sultans of Bijapur, Bidar, Ahmadnagar, and Golconda in the Indian Deccan. The armies numbered several hundred thousand with large contingents of elephants. The battle ...
talion: principle developed in early Babylonian law and present in both biblical and early Roman law that criminals should receive as punishment precisely those injuries and damages they had inflicted upon their victims. Many early societies applied this "eye-for-an-eye" principle literally.
Talish Mountains: mountain chain, northwestern Iran, in the northwest section of the Elburz Mountains, extending southeastward from the Azerbaijan border to the lower part of the Safid Rud (Safid River). Few peaks rise above 10,000 ft (3,000 m). The humid subtropical coastal ...
talisman: object bearing a sign or engraved character and thought to act as a charm to avert evil and bring good fortune. See amulet.
talking drum: any of various types of drums that, by imitating the rhythm and the rise and fall of words in languages, are used as communication devices. Such drums occur in East and West Africa, Melanesia, and Southeast Asia.
Talking Heads: American art rock band popular in the late 1970s and '80s. Band members were David Byrne (b. May 14, 1952, Dumbarton, Scot., ), Chris Frantz (b. May 8, 1951, Fort Campbell, Ky., U.S., ), Tina Weymouth (b. Nov. 22, 1950, ...
tall oil: dark, odorous liquid by-product of the sulfate (kraft) process of paper manufacture, used after refining to make coatings, sizing for paper, paint, varnish, linoleum, drying oils, emulsions, lubricants, and soaps. Tall oil is principally a mixture of resin acids, such ...
tall tale: narrative that depicts the wild adventures of extravagantly exaggerated folk heroes. The tall tale is essentially an oral form of entertainment; the audience appreciates the imaginative invention rather than the literal meaning of the tales. Associated with the lore of ...
Tall Za'tar: former Palestinian refugee camp, Jabal Lubnan muhafazah (governorate), central Lebanon, north of Beirut, near Nabay. The camp was the last large Muslim outpost in the midst of the predominantly Christian inhabited area of north Lebanon and had a population estimated ...
Tall-e Bakun: prehistoric Iranian site located near Persepolis in south-central Iran. The site, continuously inhabited from c. 4200 to c. 3000 BC, is the oldest yet discovered in that area of Iran. Excavations in 1928 by the University of Berlin and in ...
Talladega: city, seat (1834) of Talladega county, east-central Alabama, U.S., in the foothills of the southern Appalachian Mountains, about 60 miles (100 km) east of Birmingham. The site was originally inhabited by Creek Indians, and its name was derived from Creek ...
Talladega Mountain: low-lying segment of the Appalachian Mountains, extending northeastward along the border of Clay and Talladega counties and into Cleburne county in east-central Alabama, U.S. Rising to Cheaha Mountain (2,407 feet [734 metres]), the highest point in Alabama, the pine- and ...
tallage: in medieval Europe, a tax imposed by the lord of an estate upon his unfree tenants. In origin, both the amount and the frequency of levies was at the lord's discretion, but by the 13th century tallage on many estates ...
Tallahassee: city, capital of Florida, U.S., and seat (1824) of Leon county. It is situated in the central part of the state's northern panhandle region about halfway between Pensacola (west) and Jacksonville (east).
Tallahatchie River: river rising in Tippah county, Mississippi, U.S., and flowing 230 miles (370 km) west and then south to join the Yalobusha River just north of Greenwood in Leflore county to form the Yazoo River. The upper section of the river ...
Tallapoosa River: river rising in the Piedmont area of western Georgia, U.S., west of Atlanta, and flowing southwest in an irregular, steplike course for about 268 mi (431 km), joining the larger Coosa River just north of Montgomery, Ala., to form the ...
Tallchief, Maria: ballet dancer of North American Indian descent noted for fine technique and considered one of the greatest ballerinas of the United States.
Tallchief, Marjorie: ballerina, dance teacher, and the first American ever to become the premiere danseuse etoile at the Paris Opera Ballet.
Tallemant des Reaux, Gedeon: French writer of entertaining and informative Historiettes, or short biographies.
Tallensi: a people of northern Ghana who speak a language of the Gur branch of the Niger-Congo language family. They grow millet and sorghum as staples and raise cattle, sheep, and goats on a small scale. Their normal domestic unit is ...
Talleyrand, Charles-Maurice de, Prince De Benevent: French statesman and diplomat noted for his capacity for political survival, who held high office during the French Revolution, under Napoleon, at the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, and under King Louis-Philippe.
Tallien, Jean-Lambert: French Revolutionary who became a leader of the moderates (Thermidorians) after he helped engineer the fall of Robespierre in 1794.
Tallinn: city, capital of Estonia, on Tallinn Bay of the Gulf of Finland. A fortified settlement existed there from the late 1st millennium BC until the 10th-11th century AD, and there was a town on the site in the 12th century. ...
Tallis, Thomas: one of the most important English composers of sacred music before William Byrd (1543-1623). His style encompassed the simple Reformation service music and the great continental polyphonic schools whose influence he was largely responsible for introducing into English music.
tallit: prayer shawl worn by male Jews during the daily morning service (shaharit); it is also worn by the leader of the service during the afternoon service (minha). On Yom Kippur, males wear it for all five services and on Tisha ...
tallow: odourless, tasteless, waxy white fat, consisting of suet (the hard fat about the kidneys and loins of cattle, sheep, and horses) or similar vegetable substances. Tallow consists mainly of glyceryl esters of oleic, palmitic, and stearic acids. Tallow was used ...
tallow tree: (Sapium sebiferum), small tree, of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae), native to China but much cultivated in the tropics for its tallow-producing seeds and elsewhere as an ornamental. The seeds are thickly coated with vegetable tallow from which candles and soap ...
Talma, Francois-Joseph: French actor and theatrical company manager whose reforms in acting styles, stage costuming, and scenery made him a leading precursor of 19th-century French Romanticism and Realism.
Talmud and Midrash: commentative and interpretative writings that hold a place in the Jewish religious tradition second only to the Bible (Old Testament).
Talmud Torah: (Hebrew: Study of the Torah), since late medieval and early modern times, an elementary school under Jewish auspices that places special emphasis on religious education. Some Talmud Torahs concentrate on Talmudic studies as a preparation for entrance into a yeshiva ...
Talon, Jean, count d'Orsainville: French statesman and the first intendant of New France (Canada), who tried unsuccessfully to develop its economy.
Talpur: Baluchi tribe that furnished a number of Muslim amirs in the Upper and Lower Sind, when the region was nominally a part of the Durrani kingdom of Afghanistan. One of their leaders, Mir Fath 'Ali Khan, set himself up as ...
Tam, Jacob ben Meir: French Jew, an outstanding Talmudic authority of his time, who was responsible for a series of far-reaching decisions governing relationships between Christians and Jews in medieval Europe. He was also one of the most eminent of the French tosaphists (commentators ...
tama: in Japanese religion, a soul or a divine or semidivine spirit; also an aspect of a spirit. Several mitama are recognized in Shinto and folk religions. Among them are the ara-mitama (with the power of ruling), the kushi-mitama (with the ...
Tamale: town, north-central Ghana. Surrounded by villages with high population densities, it lies 600 feet (183 m) above sea level on a plain 22 miles (35 km) east of the White Volta River. With its modern buildings and wide streets, Tamale ...