Encyclopædia Britannica Australia -

Encyclopedias since 1768

0-9

Z particle ... Zambia

Z particle: massive electrically neutral carrier particle of the weak force that acts upon all known subatomic particles. It is the neutral partner of the electrically charged W particle. The Z particle has a mass of 91.19 gigaelectron volts (GeV; 10⁹ eV), ...
za: in feudal Japan, any of the mercantile or craft guilds that flourished about 1100-1590. They did not become fully organized until the Muromachi period (1338-1573), when they began to monopolize the production, transport, and sale of merchandise. In exchange for ...
Zaanstad: gemeente (commune), western Netherlands. It lies along the Zaan River near its junction with the North Sea Canal. An industrial area 6 miles (10 km) northwest of Amsterdam, Zaanstad was created in 1974 at the merger of ...
Zabid: town, western Yemen. It lies on the bank of the Wadi Zabid and at the eastern fringe of the Tihamah coastal plain, about 10 miles (16 km) from the Red Sea coast. An ancient Yemeni centre, Zabid was refounded in ...
Zabrze: city, Slaskie wojewodztwo (province), southern Poland. It is situated in the Upper Silesian industrial district.
Zacapa: town, eastern Guatemala, situated at 738 feet (225 m) above sea level along the San Jose River. Although the town is old, it grew greatly in size and importance only after the Puerto Barrios-Guatemala City railroad was completed in 1896; ...
Zacapu: city, north-central Michoacan estado ("state"), west-central Mexico. It is in the Sierra de Nahuatzen, 6,500 feet (1,980 m) above sea level and west of Morelia, the state capital. Agriculture and livestock raising are the principal sources of income, the main ...
Zacatecas: city, capital of Zacatecas estado (state), north-central Mexico. Located in the southern part of the state, it lies in a deep, narrow ravine, about 8,200 feet (2,500 metres) above sea level. The city's name means "place where ...
Zacatecas: estado ("state"), north-central Mexico. It is bordered by Coahuila on the north, San Luis Potosi on the east, Aguascalientes and Jalisco on the south, and Durango on the west. Its territory lies wholly within the central plateau and is traversed ...
Zacatecoluca: city, southern El Salvador. It lies in the Lempa River valley, at the foot of San Vicente Volcano. A commercial centre for the surrounding agricultural area, it also trades in cotton goods, baskets, salt, and lumber and produces cement. An ...
Zaccaria, Benedetto: Genoese merchant, diplomat, and admiral, hero of a decisive Genoese naval victory over Pisa at Meloria (1284).
Zaccaria, Saint Antonio Maria: Italian priest, physician, and founder of the congregation of Clerks Regular of St. Paul, or Barnabites, a religious order devoted to the study of the Pauline Letters.
Zacconi, Lodovico: Italian musicologist, last of a distinguished line of Renaissance writers on music.
Zach, Franz Xaver, Freiherr von: (baron of) German-Hungarian astronomer patronized by Duke Ernst of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.
Zacharias, Saint: pope from 741 to 752.
Zachodniopomorskie: wojewodztwo (province), northwestern Poland. Created in 1999 as part of Poland's provincial reorganization, it comprises the former (1975-98) provinces of Szczecin and Koszalin, as well as portions of the former provinces of Gorzow, Pila, and Slupsk. It ...
Zacynthus: island, southernmost and third largest of the Ionian Islands (q.v.) of Greece, lying off the west coast of the Peloponnese. Including the tiny Strotadhes Islands to the south, it constitutes the nomos (department) of Zakinthos. Zacynthus is indented by a ...
Zadar: picturesque historical town in Croatia, the former capital of Dalmatia. It is located on the end of a low-lying peninsula that is separated by the Zadar Channel from the islands of Ugljan and Pasman. The inlet between the peninsula and ...
Zadkine, Ossip: Russian-born French sculptor known for his dramatic Cubist-inspired sculptures of the human figure.
Zaehner, R.C.: British historian of religion who investigated the evolution of ethical systems and forms of mysticism, particularly in Eastern religions.
Zafar: ancient Arabian site located southwest of Yarim in southern Yemen. It was the capital of the Himyarites, a tribe that ruled much of southern Arabia from about 115 BC to about AD 525. Up until the Persian conquest (c. AD ...
Zafrulla Khan, Sir Muhammad: Pakistani politician, diplomat, and international jurist, known particularly for his representation of Pakistan at the United Nations (UN).
Zaghlul, Sa'd: Egyptian statesman and patriot, leader of the Wafd party and of the nationalist movement of 1918-19, which led Britain to give Egypt nominal independence in 1922. He was briefly prime minister in 1924.
Zaghwan: town, northeastern Tunisia. It lies on the fertile, northern slope of Mount Zaghwan at an elevation of 4,247 feet (1,295 m). It is built on the ancient Roman site of Zigus. Parts of a Roman aqueduct and canal network built ...
Zagreb: capital and chief city of Croatia. It is situated on the slopes of Medvednica Hill (Zagrebacka Gora) to the north and the floodplain of the Sava River to the south.
Zagreus: in Orphic myth, a divine child who was the son of Zeus (as a snake) and his daughter Persephone. Zeus intended to make Zagreus his heir and bestow on him unlimited power, but Hera out of jealousy urged the Titans ...
Zagros Mountains: mountain range in southwestern Iran, extending northwest-southeast from the Sirvan (Diyala) River to Shiraz. The Zagros range is about 550 miles (900 km) long and more than 150 miles (240 km) wide. Situated mostly in what is now Iran, it ...
Zagwe Dynasty: line of 12th- and 13th-century Ethiopian kings who combined a nomadic military life with an impassioned desire to build monuments to their Christian religion. Their tenuous pretensions to succession, based on a legendary marriage to a daughter of one of ...
Zaharias, Babe Didrikson: American sportswoman, one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century, performing in basketball, track and field, and later golf.
Zaharoff, Sir Basil: international armaments dealer and financier. Reputedly one of the richest men in the world, he was described as a "merchant of death" and the "mystery man of Europe."
Zahedan: city and capital of Sistan va Baluchestan province, southeastern Iran, near the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is situated about 225 miles (360 km) southeast of Kerman in an arid zone, at an elevation of 4,435 feet (1,352 metres). ...
Zahedi, Fazlollah: Iranian army officer and politician who was prime minister of Iran from 1953 to 1955.
Zahir Shah, Mohammad: king of Afghanistan from 1933 to 1973, who provided an era of stable government to his country.
Zahiriyah: followers of an Islamic legal and theological school that insisted on strict adherence to the literal text (zahir) of the Qur'an and Hadith (sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad) as the only source of Muslim law. ...
Zahlah: city, central Lebanon. It lies on the eastern slopes of the Lebanon Mountains, at an elevation of 3,150 feet (960 metres) above sea level. An agricultural market centre for the broad Al-Biqa' Valley, it is also a popular summer resort ...
Zahn, Ernst: Swiss writer, one of the contributors to the Heimatkunst ("homeland") movement-a literature striving for the reproduction of the life and atmosphere of the provinces. His realistic prose, though conventional, shows insight into the daily life of the Alpine people.
zaibatsu: (Japanese: "wealthy clique"), any of the large capitalist enterprises of Japan before World War II, similar to cartels or trusts but usually organized around a single family. One zaibatsu might operate companies in nearly all important areas of economic activity. ...
Zakarpattya: oblast (province), western Ukraine. It is bounded by Slovakia and Hungary on the west, Poland on the northwest, and Romania on the south. The oblast extends from the northwest-southeast-trending Carpathian Mountain crestline (the Verkhovyna and Gorgany ranges, respectively), across the ...
zakat: an obligatory tax required of Muslims, one of the five Pillars of Islam. The zakat is levied on five categories of property-food grains; fruit; camels, cattle, sheep, and goats; gold and silver; and movable goods-and is payable each year after ...
Zakopane: city, Malopolskie wojewodztwo (province), south-central Poland. The city is situated in the Carpathian Mountains near the Slovakian border. Its location at the foot of the Alpine-like Tatra Mountains makes it a major winter-sports and health-resort centre. Situated ...
Zakrzewska, Marie Elizabeth: German-born American physician who founded the New England Hospital for Women and Children and contributed greatly to women's opportunities and acceptance as medical professionals.
Zala: megye (county), western Hungary. Zala has an area of 1,461 square miles (3,784 square km) and consists of wooded, undulating hill country. The Yugoslav border, partly defined by the Drava River, is on the southwest. There is a high incidence ...
Zalaegerszeg: town and seat of Zala megye (county), western Hungary. It lies on the right bank of the Zala River. The town was of medieval origin and was a frontier fort in Hungary's wars with Turkey (16th-17th century). It was never ...
Zalau: town, capital of Salaj judet (county), northwestern Romania. It is located in an isolated part of the country on the northwestern slopes of the Mezes Mountains. It is the terminal of a branch line railway and a local market centre ...
Zaltan: town site at the first exploited oil field in Libya. Located 105 miles (169 km) south of the Mediterranean port of Marsa al-Burayqah on the Gulf of Sidra, at the foot of the Zaltan Mountains, the town is in the ...
zaltys: in ancient Baltic traditions, a harmless green snake highly respected as a symbol of fertility and wealth. To ensure the prosperity of family and field, a zaltys was kept in a special corner of the house, and the entire household ...
Zama, Battle of: (202 BC), victory of the Romans led by Scipio Africanus the Elder over the Carthaginians commanded by Hannibal. It was the last and decisive battle of the Second Punic War. The battle took place at a site identified by the ...
Zamakhshari, Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn 'Umar al-: Persian-born Arabic scholar whose chief work is Al-Kashshaf 'an Haqa'iq at-Tanzil ("The Discoverer of Revealed Truths"), his exhaustive linguistic commentary on the Qur'an.
Zambales Mountains: volcanic range in the southwestern part of northern Luzon in the Philippines. The range stretches northwest-southeast from Lingayen Gulf in the north to the Bataan Peninsula and the entrance to Manila Bay in the south. Its greatest elevation is High ...
Zambezi River: river draining a large portion of south-central Africa. Together with its tributaries, it forms the fourth largest river basin of the continent. The river flows eastward for about 2,200 miles (3,540 kilometres) from its source on the Central African Plateau ...
Zambia: landlocked country in south-central Africa. It has an area of 290,586 square miles (752,614 square kilometres). Zambia has a long land border on the west with Angola but is divided from its neighbours to the south by the Zambezi River. ...