red oak: The Texas red oak (Q. texana), about 10 m tall, is sometimes considered a shorter variety of the Shumard oak.

Texas Revolution, war fought from October 1835 to April 1836 between Mexico and Texas colonists that resulted in Texas’s independence from Mexico and the founding of the Republic of Texas (1836–45). Although the Texas Revolution was bookended by the Battles of Gonzales and San Jacinto, armed

Behind the Scenes: 12 Real-Life Characters of Texas Rising: Although the History Channel’s Texas Rising miniseries is “inspired” by the true story of the Texas Revolution, it doesn’t purport to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Not that there is anything wrong with taking some literary license in pursuit of additional drama, excitement, and romance—especially…

Lee Harvey Oswald: …secured a job at the Texas School Book Depository.

John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-guitarist, one of the most distinctive artists in the electric blues idiom. Born into a Mississippi sharecropping family, Hooker learned to play the guitar from his stepfather and developed an interest in gospel music as a child. In 1943 he moved to

Texas Southern University (TSU), public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Houston, Texas, U.S. TSU is a historically Black university, and it grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees within colleges of liberal arts and behavioral sciences, science and technology,

Texas State University, public, coeducational institution of higher education in San Marcos, Texas, U.S. It is part of the Texas State University System. It offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees through the Graduate College and colleges of applied arts, business administration,

Texas Southern University (TSU), public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Houston, Texas, U.S. TSU is a historically Black university, and it grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees within colleges of liberal arts and behavioral sciences, science and technology,

Texas State University, public, coeducational institution of higher education in San Marcos, Texas, U.S. It is part of the Texas State University System. It offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees through the Graduate College and colleges of applied arts, business administration,

Texas Tech University, public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Lubbock, Texas, U.S. In addition to programs leading to baccalaureate degrees, it offers about 100 master’s and 60 doctoral degree programs. The main campus includes colleges of agricultural sciences and natural

Texas Tech University, public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Lubbock, Texas, U.S. In addition to programs leading to baccalaureate degrees, it offers about 100 master’s and 60 doctoral degree programs. The main campus includes colleges of agricultural sciences and natural

Texas Tower shooting of 1966, mass shooting in Austin, Texas, on August 1, 1966, in which Charles Whitman, a student and ex-Marine, fired down from the clock tower on the campus of the University of Texas, killing 14 people and wounding 31 others (one of whom died years later from complications

Texas v. Johnson, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (5–4) on June 21, 1989, that the burning of the U.S. flag is a protected form of speech under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The case originated during the Republican National Convention in Dallas in August 1984,

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Provisions: In Texas v. United States, a suit brought by several Republican-led states and two individuals, a U.S. district court held in December 2018 that the individual mandate was unconstitutional (because it could no longer be enforced as a tax) and was not “severable” from other provisions…

Texas v. White, (1869), U.S. Supreme Court case in which it was held that the United States is “an indestructible union” from which no state can secede. In 1850 the state of Texas received $10,000,000 in federal government bonds in settlement of boundary claims. In 1861 the state seceded from the

Fort Worth: Texas Christian University (1873), Texas Wesleyan University (1890), Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (1908), and Tarrant County College (1967); the University of Texas at Arlington (1895) is just to the east. The Health Science Center of the University of North Texas is also in the city.

Texas Woman’s University, public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Denton, Texas, U.S. It focuses on liberal arts and professional studies. Texas Woman’s University is divided into the University General Divisions, the Institute of Health Sciences, and the Graduate School. The

U.S. state flag consisting of a vertical blue stripe at the hoist bearing a large white star; the fly end is horizontally divided white over red.Prior to the 1836 declaration of Texan independence from Mexico, the “Lone Star State” had a number of flags. English-speaking settlers and filibusters

Bonnie Blue flag: History and variants: The Republic of Texas adopted a version of the flag, called the Burnet flag, from 1836 to 1839. Designed by interim president David G. Burnet, this version had a gold five-pointed star on a darker blue background. The use of the single star motif underscored the…

University of Texas, state university system based in Austin, Texas, U.S. Branch campuses are located in Arlington (founded 1895), El Paso (1913), Edinburg (Pan American branch; 1927), Richardson (Dallas branch; 1961), Odessa (Permian Basin branch; 1969), San Antonio (1969), Tyler (1971), and

Jeff Bridges: The 1990s brought roles in Texasville (1990), a sequel to The Last Picture Show; The Fisher King (1991), about a bitter radio show host who embarks on a mystical journey to help a homeless man (played by Robin Williams); the touching story of an ex-con dad trying to relate to…

Larry McMurtry: …series that he continued with Texasville (1987), Duane’s Depressed (1999), When the Light Goes (2007), and Rhino Ranch (2009). McMurtry’s frontier epic, Lonesome Dove (1985; television miniseries 1989), won a Pulitzer Prize in 1986. A sequel, Streets of Laredo, appeared in 1993; Dead Man’s Walk (1995) and Comanche Moon (1997)…

Texcoco, city built in the present-day Valley of Mexico by the Acolhuas, a pre-Columbian people of the Nahuatl-speaking group of tribes, which gained mastery of the valley after the collapse of the Toltec hegemony in the mid-12th century ad. The rulers of Texcoco were the first among Nahuatl tribal

Lake Texcoco, lake in central Mexico. Originally one of the five lakes contained in Anáhuac, or the Valley of Mexico, Texcoco has been drained via channels and a tunnel to the Pánuco River since the early 17th century, until it now occupies only a small area surrounded by salt marshes 2 1 2 mi (4

Battle of Texel: …from the Dutch island of Texel, the French commander, Jean d’Estreés, was under secret orders from Louis XIV to avoid losing ships and so mostly kept out of the battle, retreating at the approach of a small Dutch squadron. The fighting between the Dutch and British fleets was disrupted by…

Battle of Texel, the last engagement of the Anglo-Dutch Wars, fought on August 21, 1673, between the Dutch navy and a combined British and French armada. It demonstrated the indomitable fighting spirit of the Dutch fleet, which was led by Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, and the fiery temperament of

Curry: The town of Texico, on the Texas border, became one of the most violent western towns in the early 20th century. Curry county was founded in 1909 and named for the then governor of New Mexico territory. The county’s residents lived by dry farming until the 1940s, when…

Boğazköy: Excavations: …1834 by the French explorer Charles Texier, who saw Yazılıkaya and those remains of the ancient city that were aboveground. After visits by British and German travelers, it was another Frenchman, Ernest Chantre, who in 1892–93 made the first soundings and found the first cuneiform tablets there. The language in…

Blake Shelton: The Voice and God’s Country: …If I’m Honest (2016), and Texoma Shore (2017)—all topping the country albums chart. The 2019 single “God’s Country” became his biggest hit to date, topping the country chart for seven weeks and garnering a Grammy nomination. The song appeared later that year on the compilation album Fully Loaded: God’s Country.

textual criticism: …criticism, the technique of restoring texts as nearly as possible to their original form. Texts in this connection are defined as writings other than formal documents, inscribed or printed on paper, parchment, papyrus, or similar materials. The study of formal documents such as deeds and charters belongs to the science…

Gabriel Josipovici: …Book of God (1988), and Text and Voice (1992). His novels grew progressively experimental. The first three—The Inventory (1968), Words (1971), and The Present (1975)—were written mostly in dialogue, whereas Migrations (1977) and The Air We Breathe (1981) were composed of a series of images and

word processor: Programs known as text formatters give more control over document layout and appearance, especially for scientific and mathematical documents, than do word processors. On the other hand, these programs, like TeX and LaTeX, are much more difficult to learn, requiring an author to embed formatting commands directly in…

word processor: Programs known as text formatters give more control over document layout and appearance, especially for scientific and mathematical documents, than do word processors. On the other hand, these programs, like TeX and LaTeX, are much more difficult to learn, requiring an author to embed formatting commands directly in…

texting, act of sending short messages with cell phones, usually using the Short Messaging Service (SMS). SMS was developed in the United Kingdom in the late 1980s, and the first text message was sent on December 3, 1992. An SMS commercial service was launched in the United Kingdom in 1995. Text

texting, act of sending short messages with cell phones, usually using the Short Messaging Service (SMS). SMS was developed in the United Kingdom in the late 1980s, and the first text message was sent on December 3, 1992. An SMS commercial service was launched in the United Kingdom in 1995. Text

On September 17, 1787, the United States Constitution—the oldest written constitution still in effect today—was approved and signed in Philadelphia by thirty-nine delegates to the federal convention. The document has been hailed as the most successful work of its kind in modern history. The

history of publishing: The early 20th century: Specialization became frequent, particularly in educational books, as the needs of the new school populations were realized. Some companies, such as Macmillan, in both its British and American houses, had begun to issue schoolbooks almost by chance; then, as their sales grew most profitably, they developed separate departments for school…

Louis Valentine Pirsson: …and Rock Minerals (1908) and Textbook of Geology (1915), which by 1929 was the most widely used geology textbook in the world.

structuralism: In his major treatise, A Textbook of Psychology (1909–10), he stated that the only elements necessary to describe the conscious experience are sensation and affection (feeling). The thought process essentially was deemed an occurrence of sensations of the current experience and feelings representing a prior experience.

textile, any filament, fibre, or yarn that can be made into fabric or cloth, and the resulting material itself. The term is derived from the Latin textilis and the French texere, meaning “to weave,” and it originally referred only to woven fabrics. It has, however, come to include fabrics produced

Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union: …men’s clothing industry, with the Textile Workers Union of America, a smaller union founded in 1939. The ACWA was originally formed when militant elements within the United Garment Workers, a relatively conservative union, broke away in 1914 to form their own union under the leadership of Sidney Hillman (q.v.). He…

texting, act of sending short messages with cell phones, usually using the Short Messaging Service (SMS). SMS was developed in the United Kingdom in the late 1980s, and the first text message was sent on December 3, 1992. An SMS commercial service was launched in the United Kingdom in 1995. Text

weaver: …species in Africa is the village weaver (Ploceus, formerly Textor, cucullatus). The baya weaver (P. philippinus) is abundant from Pakistan to Sumatra.

Textron Inc., American multi-industry company that pioneered the conglomerate concept. Its present-day core organization includes aircraft, automotive, and industrial manufacturing segments. The firm was established in 1923 as a textile maker and acquired its present name in 1956. Headquarters are

writing: Literacy and schooling: ” A textual community consisted of a band of believers formed around an interpreter who read and interpreted religious texts. Because the authority of the teacher rested in the text rather than in the church, members of the community came to know certain general truths about texts…

paleography: Textual corruptions: Textual corruptions are another obstacle to correct elucidation. A legal document is certain to have been checked at the time of writing, but one cannot be sure in the case of a literary, philosophical, or theological text. Scribes were fallible, and, if there…

textual criticism, the technique of restoring texts as nearly as possible to their original form. Texts in this connection are defined as writings other than formal documents, inscribed or printed on paper, parchment, papyrus, or similar materials. The study of formal documents such as deeds and

textual criticism: …of the processes of their transmission is necessary for understanding and control of the scholar’s basic materials. For the advanced student the criticism and editing of texts offers an unrivalled philological training and a uniquely instructive avenue to the history of scholarship; it is broadly true that all advances in…

Federalist Society: …statutory interpretation—known as originalism and textualism, respectively—that supposedly prevent judicial misreadings of the law by emphasizing the public meanings of the words in which a constitutional or legal provision was expressed at the time it was written rather than the intentions of the provision’s drafters. Notably, the Federalist Society does…

calligraphy: The black-letter, or Gothic, style (9th to 15th century): …to its generic name of textura. In some books the more formal black-letter looks stiff and narrow, and the lines forming the letters attain the perfect regularity of a picket fence; the rigidity is relieved only by hairlines made with the corner of the square-cut nib, which add a playful…

sedimentary rock: Texture: …this property, a scale of textural maturity that involved four textural stages was devised in 1951. These stages are described as follows.

acoustics: Acoustic criteria: “Texture” refers to the time interval between the arrival of the direct sound and the arrival of the first few reverberations. To obtain good texture, it is necessary that the first five reflections arrive at the observer within about 60 milliseconds of the direct sound.…

architecture: Texture: Texture plays a dual role in architecture: it expresses something of the quality of materials, and it gives a particular quality to light. Although one absorbs both qualities simultaneously by eye, the first has tactile, the second visual associations.

texture, in rocks, the size, shape, and arrangement (or fabric) of the mineral grains and crystals. Also important in rock texture are the extent of homogeneity (i.e., uniformity of composition throughout) and the degree of isotropy (i.e., uniformity in all directions of such properties as

texture, the concrete, physical elements of prose or poetry that are separate from the structure or argument of the work. Such elements include metaphor, imagery, metre, and rhyme. The distinction between structure and texture is associated particularly with the New Critics, especially John Crowe

man-made fibre: Texturing: Texturing is the formation of crimp, loops, coils, or crinkles in filaments. Such changes in the physical form of a fibre (several examples of which are shown in Figure 3) affect the behaviour and hand of fabrics made from them. Hand, or handle, is…

Josephine Tey was a Scottish playwright and author of popular detective novels praised for their warm and readable style. A physical education teacher for eight years, Tey became a full-time writer with the successful publication of her first book, The Man in the Queue (1929). She wrote some novels

Teyateyaneng, village, northwestern Lesotho, 19 miles (31 km) northeast of Maseru, on the country’s main north-south road. Teyateyaneng was named after the Teja-Tejane (“Quicksands”) River, which flows south of the village, and is often abbreviated as TY. The village is on a hilltop, the site of a

Dame Maggie Teyte was an English soprano, a well-known opera, concert, and recording artist who was considered one of the 20th century’s foremost interpreters of French song. Teyte studied at the Royal College of Music in London as a child, and in 1903 she moved to Paris to study voice with Jean de

Tezcatlipoca, god of the Great Bear constellation and of the night sky, one of the major deities of the Aztec pantheon. Tezcatlipoca’s cult was brought to central Mexico by the Toltecs, Nahua-speaking warriors from the north, about the end of the 10th century ad. Numerous myths relate how

Johann Tetzel was a German Dominican friar whose preaching on indulgences, considered by many of his contemporaries to be an abuse of the sacrament of penance, sparked Martin Luther’s reaction. After entering the Dominican order, probably at Leipzig, Tetzel was appointed inquisitor for Poland

zhong: …body shape), is considered a tezhong (“special bell”).

Teziutlán, city, northeastern Puebla estado (state), east-central Mexico. It lies at 6,530 feet (1,990 metres) above sea level in the Sierra Madre Oriental, near the border of Veracruz state. The city is a commercial and manufacturing centre for a region in which apples and other fruits, corn

Yelü Dashi was the founder and first emperor (1124–43) of the Xi (Western) Liao dynasty (1124–1211) of Central Asia. Yelü was a member of the imperial family of the Liao dynasty (907–1125), which had been established by the Khitan (Chinese: Qidan) tribes and ruled much of Mongolia and Manchuria

Tezpur, town, north-central Assam state, northeastern India. It is situated along the right (north) bank of the Brahmaputra River (there bridged), about 20 miles (32 km) north-northeast of Nagaon. Pop. (2001) 80,575; (2011) 58,559. Tezpur is a trade center for tea, rice, and other crops grown in

Ōsaka-Kōbe metropolitan area: Settlement patterns: Thus, Tezukayama, a residential development in Ōsaka south of the castle, is built over a number of ancient mounds.

Teach for America (TFA), nonprofit educational organization formed in 1990 to address underachievement in American public schools. Teach for America (TFA) was founded by Wendy Kopp, who first conceived of the idea in her senior thesis at Princeton University. With the goal of getting highly

al-Shabaab: …waged an insurgency against Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

phylactery, in Jewish religious practice, one of two small black leather cube-shaped cases containing Torah texts written on parchment, which, in accordance with Deuteronomy 6:8 (and similar statements in Deuteronomy 11:18 and Exodus 13:9, 16), are to be worn by male Jews 13 years of age and older

fertility rate: …in population growth is the total fertility rate (TFR). If, on average, women give birth to 2.1 children and these children survive to the age of 15, any given woman will have replaced herself and her partner upon death. A TFR of 2.1 is known as the replacement rate. Generally…

Cyprus: Efforts toward reunification: …proclaimed the Turkish-occupied area the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus (a body calling itself the Provisional Cyprus-Turkish Administration had been in existence among Turkish Cypriots since 1967); Denktash announced that their purpose was not independence but federation. Talks were resumed in Vienna in 1975 and 1976 under UN auspices, and…

liquid crystal display: Thin-film transistor displays: …of this complexity by using thin-film transistor (TFT) TN displays, in which each pixel has associated with it a silicon transistor that acts as an individual electronic switch. (A cutaway portion of a TFT display is illustrated in the figure.) The use of a transistor for each pixel makes the…

fusion reactor: Magnetic confinement: …Energy Research Institute; and the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in New Jersey, respectively.

mobile telephone: Airborne cellular systems: …APC system known as the terrestrial flight telephone system (TFTS) in 1992. This system employs digital modulation methods and operates in the 1,670–1,675- and 1,800–1,805-megahertz bands. In order to cover most of Europe, the ground stations must be spaced every 50 to 700 km (30 to 435 miles).

Mars: Spacecraft exploration: …and consisted of two spacecraft—the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and the Schiaparelli lander. Schiaparelli ejected its parachute early and crashed into the surface. The TGO mapped the vertical distribution of dust and water vapor in the atmosphere. It did not detect any methane, which conflicted with Curiosity’s detection and suggests…

Geneva: Transportation: …trains à grande vitesse (TGV), providing a three-hour connection with Paris. Local transportation is provided by an extensive bus, trolley, and streetcar system.

Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU), labour union that was the largest in Great Britain throughout much of the 20th century. It originated in 1889 with the formation of the Dockers’ Union. In 1922 that union led the merger of 14 unions to form an organization representing more than 300,000

thorium (Th), radioactive chemical element of the actinoid series of the periodic table, atomic number 90; it is a useful nuclear reactor fuel. Thorium was discovered (1828) by Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius. It is silvery white but turns gray or black on exposure to air. It is about half as

immune system: Helper-T-cell activation: …divided into two general subpopulations—TH1 and TH2 cells—that have significantly different chemistry and function. These populations can be distinguished by the cytokines they secrete. TH1 cells primarily produce the cytokines gamma interferon, tumor necrosis factor-beta, and interleukin-2 (IL-2), while TH2 cells mainly synthesize the interleukins IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-9,

immune system: Helper-T-cell activation: …into two general subpopulations—TH1 and TH2 cells—that have significantly different chemistry and function. These populations can be distinguished by the cytokines they secrete. TH1 cells primarily produce the cytokines gamma interferon, tumor necrosis factor-beta, and interleukin-2 (IL-2), while TH2 cells mainly synthesize the interleukins IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-9, IL-10, and…

Lil Wayne: ) His first solo LP, Tha Block Is Hot, arrived later in 1999 and sold more than a million copies, but two subsequent releases, Lights Out (2000) and 500 Degreez (2002), were less popular with the public.

Lil Wayne: His 2004 album Tha Carter reached number five on the Billboard 200 chart and spawned a hit single, “Go D.J.” During this time Lil Wayne came into his own as an artist, with lyrics that were both profound and clever and that spoke to a wide range of…

Lil Wayne: …released the critically praised album Tha Carter II (2005), which sold more than one million copies.

Lil Wayne: …than a million copies of Tha Carter III, featuring the ubiquitous singles “A Milli” and “Lollipop,” were sold in its initial week of release in the United States. By the end of December, it had sold more than 2.8 million, which made it the country’s best-selling album of the year.…

Lil Wayne: … Video Music Awards, he released Tha Carter IV, which featured guest performances by John Legend, Busta Rhymes, and OutKast’s Andre 3000. I Am Not a Human Being II followed in 2013. By then, some critics had begun to suspect that Lil Wayne’s creative peak was behind him, although he remained…

Lil Wayne: Tha Carter VI dropped in 2025, boasting a long guest list of contributors, including Bono (of U2), Lin-Manuel Miranda (of Hamilton fame), Machine Gun Kelly, Jelly Roll, and Wyclef Jean. However, the album received mixed reviews from critics.

Tha River, river in northwestern Laos, one of the 12 principal tributaries of the Mekong River. The Tha River rises on the Chinese frontier and flows generally southwestward in deep, narrow valleys for about 134 miles (215 km) to join the Mekong River at a point some 20 miles (32 km) southeast of

Eli Cohen was an Egyptian-born Israeli spy who infiltrated the highest ranks of the Syrian military and government by posing as a Syrian businessman. Between 1961 and 1965, Cohen passed Syrian secrets to the Israeli government in what is remembered as one of the most daring and productive

Moon Jae-In: The Moon presidency: to deploy the full Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. Moon had opposed THAAD, a controversial theater missile defense network, during the campaign, and he had suspended the installation of additional launchers in June. Such close cooperation with the U.S. carried its own costs, however. Moon risked alienating…

radar: Ballistic missile defense and satellite-surveillance radars: Army’s Theater High Altitude Area Defense Ground Based Radar (THAAD GBR). This is a mobile solid-state active-aperture phased-array radar that operates within the X-band of the spectrum. A different approach to ballistic missile defense is the Israeli tactical system known as Arrow, which employs an L-band…

Thaba Bosiu, site and sandstone plateau (elevation 5,919 feet [1,804 metres]) in the foothills of the Southern African country of Lesotho. It is located about 15 miles (24 km) east of Maseru, capital of Lesotho. The plateau forms a natural fortress nearly 400 feet (120 metres) above the surrounding

Thaba Bosiu, site and sandstone plateau (elevation 5,919 feet [1,804 metres]) in the foothills of the Southern African country of Lesotho. It is located about 15 miles (24 km) east of Maseru, capital of Lesotho. The plateau forms a natural fortress nearly 400 feet (120 metres) above the surrounding

South Africa: Disputes in the north and east: …were forced to sign the Treaty of Thaba Bosiu (1866), and only British annexation of Sotho territory in 1868 prevented their complete collapse.

Maloti Mountains: …border by another range, the Thaba Putsoa (Blue-Gray) Mountains; it is extended nearly to the southeastern border by the Central Range. All these mountains belong geologically to the Stormberg Series (Upper Triassic Period) of the Karoo System; they are composed of sandstone and shale overlain by basalt. Their rugged terrain…

Thabana Ntlenyana, mountain peak (11,424 feet [3,482 metres]) in the Drakensberg and the highest in Africa south of Kilimanjaro. The peak lies in Lesotho, an independent country entirely within South Africa, just west of the border with the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Nearby are the headwaters of

Lesotho: Challenges in the 21st century: …of the party’s prominent ministers, Motsoahae Thomas Thabane, leaving to form the All Basotho Convention (ABC); many other LCD ministers followed Thabane to the ABC. Nevertheless, the LCD managed to maintain control of the parliament after early elections were called in February 2007. Although the elections were generally viewed as…

Thabana Ntlenyana, mountain peak (11,424 feet [3,482 metres]) in the Drakensberg and the highest in Africa south of Kilimanjaro. The peak lies in Lesotho, an independent country entirely within South Africa, just west of the border with the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Nearby are the headwaters of

Thabazimbi, iron ore mine and town, Limpopo province, South Africa, near the Botswana border. The name means “mountain of iron.” Thabazimbi is situated in remote, semiarid country, and its superior-grade hematite was first discovered in 1919 and mined in 1931. The iron ore deposits there are

Mazyadid Dynasty: Meanwhile, the third brother, Thābit, enlisted the aid of Arslān al-Basāsīrī of Baghdad in his bid for power and defeated Dubays twice in about 1033, forcing him to relinquish parts of the province to him. About 1057 Dubays himself allied with al-Basāsīrī against an invasion by the Seljuqs under…

Thābit ibn Qurrah was an Arab mathematician, astronomer, physician, and philosopher, a representative of the flourishing Arab-Islamic culture of the 9th century. Thābit was a scion of a prominent family settled in Ḥarrān, a city noted as the seat of a Hellenized Semitic astronomical cult of which