Armenia: Ottomans and Ṣafavids: …of Yerevan, Nakhichevan (Naxçıvan), and Karabakh. In mountainous Karabakh a group of five Armenian maliks (princes) succeeded in conserving their autonomy and maintained a short period of independence (1722–30) during the struggle between Persia and Turkey at the beginning of the 18th century; despite the heroic resistance of the Armenian…

Karabagh rug, floor covering handmade in the district of Karabakh (Armenian-controlled Azerbaijan), just north of the present Iranian border. As might be expected, Karabagh designs and colour schemes tend to be more like those of Persian rugs than do those made in other parts of the Caucasus, and

history of Central Asia: The Uyghur empire: …city on the Orhon River, Karabalghasun, the foundations of which were probably laid by the Kök Türks and can still be seen. A Muslim traveler, Tamīm ibn Baḥr, who visited the city about 821, speaks in admiring terms of this fortified town lying in a cultivated country—a far cry from…

Karakum Desert: Physiography: …on the southeast by the Garabil uplands and Badkhyz steppe region. In the south and southwest the desert runs along the foot of the Kopet-Dag Mountains, and in the west and northwest it borders the course of the ancient valley of the Uzboy River. It is divided into three parts:…

Karakum Desert: Physiography: …on the southeast by the Garabil uplands and Badkhyz steppe region. In the south and southwest the desert runs along the foot of the Kopet-Dag Mountains, and in the west and northwest it borders the course of the ancient valley of the Uzboy River. It is divided into three parts:…

Karabük, town, northwestern Turkey, on the Yenice River. Once a small hamlet, it has grown rapidly since the establishment of Turkey’s first major iron-and-steel complex there in 1940. The works were expanded greatly in the 1950s and ’60s. Facilities include a coking plant, blast furnaces, a

Dulkadir Dynasty: The dynasty was founded by Karaca, the chief of the Bozok Turkmen, who was recognized as nāʾīb (deputy) by the Mamlūk sultan in 1337 but who, with his sons, later was defeated and killed in a revolt against the sultan. In 1399 the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I, challenging Mamlūk influence,…

Turkey: The Arabian platform: …of this zone, the volcanic Mount Karaca reaches 6,294 feet (1,918 meters).

Turkish literature: Epic and the emergence of the âşik: …the Anatolian Turkmen tribes was Karacaoğlan, who flourished in the later 16th century or possibly the mid-17th century (his date of death is sometimes given as 1679). He is mentioned in several biographical dictionaries (tezkires) of the period. In its formal qualities his poetry is closely related to folk verse,…

Turkic peoples: Karachay, Karakalpaks, Kazakhs, Khakass, Kipchak, Kumyk, Kyrgyz, Nogay, Shor, Tatars, Tofalar, Turkmen

Turkic languages: Classification: …partly endangered languages, Kumyk (Dagestan), Karachay and Balkar (North Caucasus), Crimean Tatar, and Karaim. The Karachay and Balkars and Crimean Tatars were deported during World War II; the latter were allowed to resettle in Crimea only after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Karaim is preserved in…

Karachayevo-Cherkesiya, republic, southwestern Russia. It extends south from the foreland plains across the northern ranges and deep intervening valleys and gorges of the Greater Caucasus range as far as the crestline, which reaches 13,274 feet (4,046 metres) in Mount Dombay-Ulgen. Cherkessk is the

Karachayevo-Cherkesiya, republic, southwestern Russia. It extends south from the foreland plains across the northern ranges and deep intervening valleys and gorges of the Greater Caucasus range as far as the crestline, which reaches 13,274 feet (4,046 metres) in Mount Dombay-Ulgen. Cherkessk is the

Karachayevo-Cherkesiya, republic, southwestern Russia. It extends south from the foreland plains across the northern ranges and deep intervening valleys and gorges of the Greater Caucasus range as far as the crestline, which reaches 13,274 feet (4,046 metres) in Mount Dombay-Ulgen. Cherkessk is the

Karachi, city and capital of Sindh province, southern Pakistan. It is the country’s largest city and principal seaport and is a major commercial and industrial centre. Karachi is located on the coast of the Arabian Sea immediately northwest of the Indus River delta. The city has been variously

Pakistan: Finance of Pakistan: The Karachi Stock Exchange (Guarantee) Limited (1947), Lahore Stock Exchange (Guarantee) Limited (1970), and Islamabad Stock Exchange (Guarantee) Limited (1989) are the largest such institutions in the country; each deals in stocks and shares of registered companies. The Investment Corporation of Pakistan (1966) and the National…

Pakistan: Education: …of Peshawar (1950), and the University of Karachi (1950). Other universities established during the 20th century include Quaid-i-Azam University (1967; called the University of Islamabad until 1976), the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University in Peshawar (1981), the International Islamic University in Islamabad (1980), the Aga Khan University in Karachi (1983), and…

Karaja rug, floor covering handmade in or near the village of Qarājeh (Karaja), in the Qareh Dāgh (Karadagh) region of Iran just south of the Azerbaijan border, northeast of Tabrīz. The best-known pattern shows three geometric medallions that are somewhat similar to those in Caucasian carpets. The

Black Sea, large inland sea situated at the southeastern extremity of Europe. It is bordered by Ukraine to the north, Russia to the northeast, Georgia to the east, Turkey to the south, and Bulgaria and Romania to the west. The roughly oval-shaped Black Sea occupies a large basin strategically

Bosporus, strait (boğaz, “throat”) uniting the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara and separating parts of Asian Turkey (Anatolia) from European Turkey. The Bosporus is 19 miles (30 km) long and has a maximum width of 2.3 miles (3.7 km) at the northern entrance and a minimum width of 2,450 feet (750

Ereğli, town, northern Turkey. It is situated on the Black Sea coast about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Zonguldak. The town was founded about 560 bce as Heraclea Pontica by a colony of Megarians who soon subjected the native Mariandynians and extended their control over most of the coast. In 74

Karadjordje was the leader of the Serbian people in their struggle for independence from the Turks and founder of the Karadjordjević (Karađorđević) dynasty. The son of a peasant, Karadjordje (“Black George”), so named because of his dark complexion and penetrating eyes, in his youth herded swine

Alexander was the prince of Serbia from 1842 to 1858. The third son of Karadjordje (Karageorge, or Karaðorðe), who had led the movement to win Serb autonomy from the Ottoman Turks (1804–13), Alexander lived in exile until 1842, when the Skupština (Serb parliament) elected him prince of Serbia.

Karadjordjević dynasty, rulers descended from the Serbian rebel leader Karadjordje (Karageorge, or Karađorđe). It rivaled the Obrenović dynasty for control of Serbia during the 19th century and ruled that country as well as its successor state, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (called

Karadjordje was the leader of the Serbian people in their struggle for independence from the Turks and founder of the Karadjordjević (Karađorđević) dynasty. The son of a peasant, Karadjordje (“Black George”), so named because of his dark complexion and penetrating eyes, in his youth herded swine

Karadjordjević dynasty, rulers descended from the Serbian rebel leader Karadjordje (Karageorge, or Karađorđe). It rivaled the Obrenović dynasty for control of Serbia during the 19th century and ruled that country as well as its successor state, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (called

Alexander was the prince of Serbia from 1842 to 1858. The third son of Karadjordje (Karageorge, or Karaðorðe), who had led the movement to win Serb autonomy from the Ottoman Turks (1804–13), Alexander lived in exile until 1842, when the Skupština (Serb parliament) elected him prince of Serbia.

Radovan Karadžić was a physician, author, and politician who was the leader (1990–96) of the Serb Democratic Party in Bosnia and president (1992–95) of the autonomous Republika Srpska, a self-proclaimed Serb republic within Bosnia. In 2016 he was found guilty of committing war crimes, including

Vuk Stefanović Karadžić was a language scholar and the father of Serbian folk-literature scholarship, who, in reforming the Cyrillic alphabet for Serbian usage, created one of the simplest and most logical spelling systems. Karadžić learned to read and write in the old monastery Tronosha (near his

Sakhalin Island, island at the far eastern end of Russia. It is located between the Tatar Strait and the Sea of Okhotsk, north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. With the Kuril Islands, it forms Sakhalin oblast (region). Sakhalin was first settled by Japanese fishermen along its southern coasts.

Tofalar, Turkic-speaking people of southern Siberia who numbered about 800 in the mid-1980s. Their traditional habitat was the northern slopes of the Eastern Sayan Mountains, where they lived by nomadic hunting and reindeer breeding. Of all the peoples of Siberia, only the Tofalar failed to develop

Qaraghandy, city, capital of Qaraghandy oblysy (region), central Kazakhstan. It lies at the centre of the important Qaraghandy coal basin. It is the second largest city in the republic and derives its name from the caragana bush, which grows abundantly in the surrounding steppe. The first

Qaraghandy, oblysy (region), central Kazakhstan. It lies mostly in the Kazakh Uplands in a dry steppe zone, rising gradually in elevation eastward to a maximum in the Karkaraly Mountains of 5,115 feet (1,559 m). The principal rivers, the Nura and Sarysu, are in the west, in the Musbel lowland. The

Tofalar, Turkic-speaking people of southern Siberia who numbered about 800 in the mid-1980s. Their traditional habitat was the northern slopes of the Eastern Sayan Mountains, where they lived by nomadic hunting and reindeer breeding. Of all the peoples of Siberia, only the Tofalar failed to develop

Tofalar, Turkic-speaking people of southern Siberia who numbered about 800 in the mid-1980s. Their traditional habitat was the northern slopes of the Eastern Sayan Mountains, where they lived by nomadic hunting and reindeer breeding. Of all the peoples of Siberia, only the Tofalar failed to develop

Karadjordje was the leader of the Serbian people in their struggle for independence from the Turks and founder of the Karadjordjević (Karađorđević) dynasty. The son of a peasant, Karadjordje (“Black George”), so named because of his dark complexion and penetrating eyes, in his youth herded swine

Karadjordjević dynasty, rulers descended from the Serbian rebel leader Karadjordje (Karageorge, or Karađorđe). It rivaled the Obrenović dynasty for control of Serbia during the 19th century and ruled that country as well as its successor state, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (called

Alexander was the prince of Serbia from 1842 to 1858. The third son of Karadjordje (Karageorge, or Karaðorðe), who had led the movement to win Serb autonomy from the Ottoman Turks (1804–13), Alexander lived in exile until 1842, when the Skupština (Serb parliament) elected him prince of Serbia.

Greece: The arts: The traditional shadow puppet theatre, Karaghiozis, is now largely extinct, having been displaced by television and other leisure pursuits. There is, however, a lively Athenian theatrical tradition in which political satire plays an important part.

dress: Japan: …is a wide-sleeved jacket (karaginu) that reaches only to the waist and has a pattern of hō-ō bird medallions brocaded in colours of the empress’s choice. Attached to the waist at the back of the karaginu is a long, pleated train (mo) of sheer, white silk decorated with a…

Khakasiya: …9,613 feet (2,930 metres) in Mount Karagosh, and to the west and northwest are the Abakan and Kuznetsk Alatau mountains, with their highest point at Mount Verkhny Zub (7,146 feet [2,178 metres]). The enclosed basin has a dry, severely continental climate that has produced steppe and forest-steppe vegetation in the…

Karagöz, (Turkish: “Black Eyes,” or “Gypsy”), type of Turkish shadow play, named for its stock hero, Karagöz. The comically risqué plays are improvised from scenarios for local audiences in private homes, coffee shops, public squares, and innyards. The Karagöz play apparently was highly developed

Sikhism: The worship service: …followed by the distribution of karah prasad, a sacramental food that consists of equal parts of coarsely refined wheat flour, clarified butter, and raw sugar.

Afyonkarahisar, city, western Turkey. It lies along the Akar River at an elevation of 3,392 feet (1,034 metres). In ancient times the town was known as Acroënus. It fell to the Seljuq Turks in the 13th century and was renamed Karahisar (“Black Fortress”) for the ancient fortress situated atop a

senryu: History: Karai Hachiemon, writing in the 18th century, was a poet and government official in Edo (now Tokyo), which was the capital of the Tokugawa shogunate. In 1757, under the pen name Karai Senryū, he became a judge of verse-capping contests called maekuzuke, in which a…

senryu: History: Karai Hachiemon, writing in the 18th century, was a poet and government official in Edo (now Tokyo), which was the capital of the Tokugawa shogunate. In 1757, under the pen name Karai Senryū, he became a judge of verse-capping contests called maekuzuke, in which a…

Karaikal, town, Puducherry union territory, southeastern India. It constitutes an enclave on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal within eastern Tamil Nadu state, near the mouth of the Arasalar River. Karaikal, the chief town of the Karaikal territory and a former French colony in India, is in

South Asian arts: Bhakti poetry: …first representative was the poetess Kāraikkāl Ammaiyār, who called herself a pēy, or ghostly minion of Śiva, and sang ecstatically of his dances. Tirumūlar was a mystic and reformer in the so-called Siddhānta (Perfected Man) school of Śaivism, which rejected caste and asceticism, and believed that the body is the…

Turkic languages: Classification: … (North Caucasus), Crimean Tatar, and Karaim. The Karachay and Balkars and Crimean Tatars were deported during World War II; the latter were allowed to resettle in Crimea only after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Karaim is preserved in Lithuania and Ukraine. The languages of the Pechenegs…

history of Mesopotamia: The Kassites in Babylonia: Karaindash built a temple with bas-relief tile ornaments in Uruk (Erech) around 1420. A new capital west of Baghdad, Dūr Kurigalzu, competing with Babylon, was founded and named after Kurigalzu I (c. 1400–c. 1375). His successors Kadashman-Enlil I (c. 1375–c. 1360) and Burnaburiash II (c.

Geórgios Karaïskákis was a klepht, or brigand chief, who played an important role in the Greek War of Independence. He is remembered both for his treachery and for his reckless courage. Karaïskákis was a native of the district of Ágrafa in Epirus (Modern Greek: Íperos), a region known for its

Karaism, (from Hebrew qara, “to read”), a Jewish religious movement that repudiated oral tradition as a source of divine law and defended the Hebrew Bible as the sole authentic font of religious doctrine and practice. In dismissing the Talmud as man-made law substituted for the God-given Torah,

Israel: Karaites: The Karaites are a Jewish sect that emerged in the early Middle Ages. Several thousand members live in Ramla, and more recently in Beersheba and Ashdod. Like other religious minorities, they have their own religious courts and communal organizations. Considered part of Jewish society,…

Turkic languages: Classification: … (North Caucasus), Crimean Tatar, and Karaim. The Karachay and Balkars and Crimean Tatars were deported during World War II; the latter were allowed to resettle in Crimea only after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Karaim is preserved in Lithuania and Ukraine. The languages of the Pechenegs…

Karaism, (from Hebrew qara, “to read”), a Jewish religious movement that repudiated oral tradition as a source of divine law and defended the Hebrew Bible as the sole authentic font of religious doctrine and practice. In dismissing the Talmud as man-made law substituted for the God-given Torah,

Karaj, city, capital of Alborz province, north-central Iran. Karaj is a large suburb of Tehrān, which lies about 20 miles (32 km) to the west. Karaj is situated in the foothills of the Elburz Mountains, and a fertile agricultural plain extends to the south. Although it was a stopping point on the

Alborz Mountains: Settlement and economy: …the Sefid river delta; the Karaj Dam and the Jajrud Dam, used mainly for supplying water to Tehran and partly for irrigation; and a series of dams on other rivers of the Mazandaran ostān (province) also used for irrigation.

Carajá, tribe of South American Indians living along the Araguaia River, near the inland island of Bananal, in central Brazil. Their language may be distantly related to Ge, which is spoken by most of the surrounding tribes. The three subtribes of the Carajá—the Carajá proper, the Shambioá, and the

Karaja rug, floor covering handmade in or near the village of Qarājeh (Karaja), in the Qareh Dāgh (Karadagh) region of Iran just south of the Azerbaijan border, northeast of Tabrīz. The best-known pattern shows three geometric medallions that are somewhat similar to those in Caucasian carpets. The

Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian-born orchestra and opera conductor, a leading international musical figure of the mid-20th century. A child prodigy on the piano, Karajan studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. He made his professional conducting debut in 1929 at Salzburg, and he was appointed to

al-Karajī was a mathematician and engineer who held an official position in Baghdad (c. 1010–15), perhaps culminating in the position of vizier, during which time he wrote his three main works, Al-Fakhrī fī’l-jabr wa’l-muqābala (“The Glorious [Work] on Algebra”), Al-Badīʿ fī’l-ḥisāb (“The Wonderful

al-Karajī was a mathematician and engineer who held an official position in Baghdad (c. 1010–15), perhaps culminating in the position of vizier, during which time he wrote his three main works, Al-Fakhrī fī’l-jabr wa’l-muqābala (“The Glorious [Work] on Algebra”), Al-Badīʿ fī’l-ḥisāb (“The Wonderful

Shintō: Shintō religious arts: …called komainu (“Korean dogs”) or karajishi (“Chinese lions”) are placed in front of a shrine. Originally they served to protect the sacred buildings from evil and defilements. After the 9th century they were used for ornamental purposes on ceremonial occasions at the Imperial Court and later came to be used…

Kaya, tribal league that was formed sometime before the 3rd century ad in the area west of the Naktong River in southern Korea. The traditional date for the founding of the confederation is given as ad 42, but this is considered to be highly unreliable. The confederation was sometimes known as

Al-Karak, town, west-central Jordan. It lies along the Wadi Al-Karak, 15 miles (24 km) east of the Dead Sea. Built on a small, steep-walled butte about 3,100 feet (950 metres) above sea level, the town is the Qir-hareseth, or Qir-heres, of the Bible and was one of the capitals of ancient Moab. Its

Karva Chauth, a festival traditionally observed in parts of northern India and Nepal primarily by married Hindu women. During this festival, women fast for a day from sunrise to moonrise and pray for their husbands’ longevity and prosperity. Some unmarried women also participate in the fast and

Aral Sea: Environmental consequences: Hardest hit were the Karakalpaks, who live in the southern portion of the region. Winds blowing across the exposed seabed produced dust storms that buffeted the region with a toxic dust contaminated with salt, fertilizer, and pesticides. As a result, the areas’s inhabitants have suffered health problems at unusually…

Karakalpakstan, autonomous republic in Uzbekistan, situated southeast and southwest of the Aral Sea. On the east Karakalpakstan occupies the western half of the Kyzylkum Desert, a vast plain covered with shifting sands. The central part consists of the valley and delta of the Amu Darya (river), a

Altaic languages: The Turkic languages: …most of the languages; Kyrgyz, Karakalpak, and Kazakh in particular are linguistically much alike.

Karakalpakstan, autonomous republic in Uzbekistan, situated southeast and southwest of the Aral Sea. On the east Karakalpakstan occupies the western half of the Kyzylkum Desert, a vast plain covered with shifting sands. The central part consists of the valley and delta of the Amu Darya (river), a

Karakalpakstan, autonomous republic in Uzbekistan, situated southeast and southwest of the Aral Sea. On the east Karakalpakstan occupies the western half of the Kyzylkum Desert, a vast plain covered with shifting sands. The central part consists of the valley and delta of the Amu Darya (river), a

South Asian arts: Folk dance: The karakam dance of Tamil Nadu state, mainly performed on the annual festival in front of the image of Mariyammai (goddess of pestilence), is to deter her from unleashing an epidemic. Tumbling and leaping, the dancer retains on his head without touching it a pot of…

Hotan: …oasis is watered by the Karakax (Kalakashi) and Yurungkax (Yulongkashi) rivers, which flow from the high Kunlun Mountains to the south. They join in the north of the oasis to form the Hotan (Khotan) River, which discharges into the desert to the north. The rivers have their maximum flow during…

Karakhan Manifesto, manifesto issued on July 25, 1919, by Lev Karakhan, a member of the foreign ministry of the newly formed Soviet republic, in which he offered to relinquish all Soviet claims to the special rights and privileges won by the Russian tsarist government in China. The proposal, even

China: Communist-Nationalist cooperation: Lev M. Karakhan, the deputy commissar for foreign affairs, was chosen as plenipotentiary for the negotiations. In addition to negotiating a treaty of mutual recognition, Karakhan was to try to regain for the Soviet Union control of the Chinese Eastern Railway. On the revolutionary front,…

Qarakhanid Dynasty, Turkic dynasty (999–1211) that ruled in Transoxania in Central Asia. The Qarakhanids, who belonged to the Qarluq tribal confederation, became prominent during the 9th century. With the disintegration of the Iranian Sāmānid dynasty, the Qarakhanids took over the Sāmānid

Yelü Dashi: …first emperor (1124–43) of the Xi (Western) Liao dynasty (1124–1211) of Central Asia.

New Zealand literature: Maori narrative: the oral tradition: These include karakia (forms of incantation invoking a power to protect or to assist the chanter), paatere (chants by women in rebuttal of gossip or slander, asserting the performer’s high lineage and threatening her detractors), kaioraora (expressions of hatred and abuse of an enemy, promising terrible revenge),…

Yelü Dashi: …first emperor (1124–43) of the Xi (Western) Liao dynasty (1124–1211) of Central Asia.

Vanadzor, city, northern Armenia. It lies at the confluence of the Pambak, Tandzut, and Vanadzoriget rivers. In 1826 the villages of Bolshoy and Maly Karaklis were merged into the town of Karaklis. Construction of the Tiflis-Karaklis-Alexandropol railway at the end of the 19th century speeded the

Turkish literature: Modern Turkish literature: …half of the 20th century, Sezai Karakoç blended European and Ottoman sensibilities with a right-wing Islamist perspective. His poetry collections include Körfez (1959; “The Gulf”) and Şiirler VI (1980; “Poems VI”). Karakoç also published numerous essays on Islam. The poet İsmet Özel began his career as a Marxist, but by…

Karakol, city, eastern Ysyk-köl oblasty (province), eastern Kyrgyzstan. It is located on the Karakol River at the northern foot of the Teriskey Alatau (Teskey Ala) Mountains at an elevation of 5,807 feet (1,770 metres). The city was founded in 1869 as a Russian military and administrative outpost;

Karakoram Highway, roadway that connects Kashgar (Kaxgar) in western Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, with Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. The road, which took almost 20 years (1959–78) to complete, extends for about 500 miles (800 km) through some of the most rugged and inaccessible

Xinjiang: Relief: …and east, such as the Karakoram in the Kashmir region and the Korgan in Xinjiang. In the east the Altun Mountains turn northeast and eventually merge with the Qilian Mountains in Gansu province.

Karakoram Range, great mountain system extending some 300 miles (500 km) from the easternmost extension of Afghanistan in a southeasterly direction along the watershed between Central and South Asia. Found there are the greatest concentration of high mountains in the world and the longest glaciers

Karakorum, ancient capital of the Mongol empire, whose ruins lie on the upper Orhon River in north-central Mongolia. The site of Karakorum may have been first settled about 750. In 1220 Genghis Khan, the great Mongol conqueror, established his headquarters there and used it as a base for his

Karakoram Highway, roadway that connects Kashgar (Kaxgar) in western Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, with Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. The road, which took almost 20 years (1959–78) to complete, extends for about 500 miles (800 km) through some of the most rugged and inaccessible

Karakoram Range, great mountain system extending some 300 miles (500 km) from the easternmost extension of Afghanistan in a southeasterly direction along the watershed between Central and South Asia. Found there are the greatest concentration of high mountains in the world and the longest glaciers

Ağrı, city, in the highlands of eastern Turkey. It lies 5,380 feet (1,640 metres) above sea level in the valley of the Murat River, a tributary of the Euphrates River. The city is a centre for trade in livestock and livestock products and is a transit station on the main highway from Turkey to

Kara Koyunlu, Turkmen tribal federation that ruled Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Iraq from about 1375 to 1468. The Kara Koyunlu were vassals of the Jalāyirid dynasty of Baghdad and Tabrīz from about 1375, when the head of their leading tribe, Kara Muḥammad Turmush (reigned c. 1375–90), ruled Mosul. The

Alexander II: Life: …spring of 1866, when Dmitry Karakozov, a young revolutionary, attempted to kill the emperor. Alexander—who bore himself gallantly in the face of great danger—escaped almost by a miracle. The attempt, however, left its mark by completing his conversion to conservatism. For the next eight years, the tsar’s leading minister—maintaining his…

Karakul, sheep breed of central or west Asian origin, raised chiefly for the skins of very young lambs, which are covered with glossy, tightly curled black coats and are called Persian lamb in the fur trade. The wool of mature Karakul sheep, classified as carpet wool, is a mixture of coarse and

Pakistan: Daily life and social customs: …more often the woolen, boat-shaped Karakul hat (popularized by Mohammed Ali Jinnah) is associated with Pakistan; however, many other hat styles are worn, especially in tribal areas. Western clothes are popular among the urban young, and combinations of Western and Pakistani styles can be seen in the streets.

Tajikistan: Drainage and soils: …Pamir region; the largest is Lake Karakul, lying at an elevation of about 13,000 feet. Lake Sarez was formed in 1911 during an earthquake, when a colossal landslide dammed the Murgab River. The Zeravshan Range contains Iskanderkul, which, like most of the country’s lakes, is of glacial origin.

Karakum Canal, waterway in Turkmenistan, one of the most extensive water-supply canals in the world. The main section, begun in 1954 and completed in 1967, runs some 840 km (520 miles) from the Amu Darya (river) to Gökdepe, west of Ashgabat, skirting the Karakum Desert. In the 1970s and ’80s the

Karakum Desert, great sandy region in Central Asia. It occupies about 70 percent of the area of Turkmenistan. Another, smaller desert in Kazakhstan near the Aral Sea is called the Aral Karakum. The Turkmen Karakum is approximately 135,000 square miles (350,000 square km) in area, extending some 500

Karakum Canal, waterway in Turkmenistan, one of the most extensive water-supply canals in the world. The main section, begun in 1954 and completed in 1967, runs some 840 km (520 miles) from the Amu Darya (river) to Gökdepe, west of Ashgabat, skirting the Karakum Desert. In the 1970s and ’80s the

Karakum Desert: …Aral Sea is called the Aral Karakum.

black widow, (genus Latrodectus), any of about 30 species of comb-footed spiders distinguished by an hourglass-shaped marking on the abdomen and known for the venomous bite of the females. Black widows are found throughout much of the world and are so named for the female’s habit of eating the male

Bayezid I: …in Anatolia and defeated the Karaman emirate at Akçay (1397). These conquests brought Bayezid into conflict with the Central Asian conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), who claimed suzerainty over the Anatolian Turkmen rulers and offered refuge to those expelled by Bayezid. In a confrontation between Bayezid and Timur in Çubukovası near Ankara…