The larger temple displays four 67-ft (20-m) seated figures of Ramses; the smaller was dedicated to Queen Nefertari. When the reservoir created by the building of Aswan High Dam threatened to submerge the site in the early 1960s, an international team disassembled both temples and reconstructed them 200 ft (60 m) above the riverbed.
Abu Zabi or Abu Dhabi Larg¬ est constituent emirate (pop., 2003 est.: 1,591,000) of the United Arab Emirates. Bounded to the north and west by the Persian Gulf, to the south and southwest by Saudi Arabia, and to the east by Oman, it has an area of 28,210 sq mi (73,060 sq km). It has numerous offshore islands, and inter¬ nally it partially surrounds Dubayy and has a short boundary with Al-Shariqah (Sharjah). Since the 18th century the A1 Bu Falah, a clan of the Banu Yas confederation, has held power. In 1761 they found wells of potable water at the site of Abu Dhabi city, and they made their headquar¬ ters there from 1795. In the 19th century territorial conflicts with Muscat (Masqat) and Oman and with the ancestors of the Sa‘0d dynasty (which now rules Saudi Arabia) led to border disputes that have remained largely unsettled. Abu Zabi signed an agreement with Great Britain in 1892, placing its foreign affairs under British control. When Britain withdrew from the Persian Gulf in 1968, the emirate and the other Trucial States formed the United Arab Emirates. Its rich oil fields make it and Dubayy the federation’s two most prosperous emirates.
Abu Zayd \ab-u-'zld\, Nasr Hamid (b. Oct. 7, 1943, Tanta, Egypt) Egyptian scholar. He attended Cairo University and received a Ph.D. in Arab and Islamic studies. His research and writings on Quranic exegesis, including his well-known Critique of Islamic Discourse (1995), offended some Islamic fundamentalists. In 1993 a colleague denounced him in a major Cairo mosque, and Islamic radicals successfully sought a nullifi¬ cation of his marriage from an Egyptian family court on the grounds that his writings demonstrated his apostasy (and under Egyptian law a Mus¬ lim woman may not be married to a non-Muslim man). Though the court declined to pass judgment, an appeals court divorced Abu Zayd and his wife, a decision confirmed by the Egyptian Supreme Court. The case attracted widespread concern among intellectuals and human rights groups. Since 1995 Abu Zayd and his wife have lived in exile in The Netherlands.
Abuja \a-'bii-ja\ City (pop., 2003 est.: 452,000), federal capital of Nige¬ ria. Construction of the city, at a site chosen for its healthful climate and central location about 300 mi (480 km) northeast of Lagos, began in 1976 under the architect Tange Kenzo. It officially replaced Lagos as the capi¬ tal in 1991.
Abydos \3-'bi-d9s\ Sacred city, one of the most important archaeologi¬ cal sites of ancient Egypt. It was a royal necropolis of the first two dynas¬ ties and later a pilgrimage centre for the worship of Osiris. The pharaohs, including Thutmose III and Ramses III, embellished the temple to Osiris, and some pharaohs had cenotaphs at Abydos. The temple of Seti I, one of the most beautiful, has helped decode Egyptian history: in a long gallery is a
relief, the so-called Abydos list of kings, showing Seti and his son Ram¬ ses making offerings to the cartouches of 76 dead predecessors.
Abydos Ancient Anatolian town northeast of modern Qanakkale, Tur¬ key, on the eastern side of the Dardanelles. It was colonized c. 670 bc by the Milesians (see Miletus). Xerxes I crossed the strait on a bridge of boats to invade Greece in 480 bc. Abydos is celebrated for its resistance to Philip V of Macedon in 200 bc and for the legend of Hero and Leander.
abyssal plain \3-'bis-3l\ Flat seafloor area at a depth of 10,000-20,000 ft (3,000-6,000 m), generally adjacent to a continent. The larger plains are hundreds of miles wide and thousands of miles long. The plains are largest and most common in the Atlantic Ocean, less common in the Indian Ocean, and even rarer in the Pacific Ocean, where they occur mainly as small, flat floors of marginal seas or as long, narrow bottoms of trenches. They are thought to be the upper surfaces of land-derived sediment that accumulates in abyssal depressions.
Abyssinia See Ethiopia
Abyssinian cat \,ab-3-'si-ne-3n\ Breed of domestic cat, considered more similar to the sacred cat of ancient Egypt than any other living cat. It is lithe and has slender legs and a long, tapering tail. Its short, finely textured coat is ruddy reddish brown, with individual hairs distinctively ticked, or tipped, with bands of black or brown. The nose is red, and the tail tip and backs of the hindlegs are black. The Abyssinian is affection¬ ate and quiet, though generally shy with strangers.
Abzug Vab-z3g\, Bella orig. Bella Savitzky (b. July 24, 1920, New York, N.Y., U.S.—-d. March 31, 1998, New York City) U.S. lawyer and politician. She studied law at Columbia University and subsequently took on numerous union, civil liberties, and civil rights cases, representing several people charged by Sen. Joseph McCarthy. She founded and chaired (1961-70) the antiwar Women Strike for Peace and later the National Women’s Political Caucus. In the House of Representatives (1971-77), she was known for her flamboyant style, her opposition to the Vietnam War, and her outspoken support for the Equal Rights Amendment, abor¬ tion rights, and child-care legislation.
AC See ALTERNATING CURRENT
acacia \9-'ka-sh3\ Any of the approximately 800 species of trees and shrubs that make up the genus Aca¬ cia, of the mimosa family. Acacias are native to tropical and subtropical regions of the world, particularly Australia and Africa. Sweet acacia (A. farnesiana ) is native to the south¬ western U.S. Acacias have distinc¬ tive, finely divided leaflets, and their leafstalks may bear thorns or sharp spines at their base. Their small, often fragrant, yellow or white flow¬ ers have many stamens apiece, giv¬ ing each a fuzzy appearance. On the plains of southern and eastern Africa, acacias are common features of the landscape. Several species are important economically, yielding substances such as gum arabic and tannin, as well as valuable timber.
academic degree See academic
DEGREE
Academie Francaise \a-ka-da- 'me-fra n -'sez\ Literary academy in France. The Academie Frangaise was established by Cardinal Richelieu in 1634 to maintain standards of liter¬ ary taste and to establish the literary language. In modern times it has endeavoured (somewhat absurdly) to purify French of foreign loanwords. Its membership is limited to 40. Despite its conservatism, most of France’s great writers, including Pierre Corneille, Jean Racine, Voltaire, and Victor Hugo, have been members.
academy Society of learned individuals organized to advance art, sci¬ ence, literature, music, or some other cultural or intellectual area of endeavour. The word comes from the name of an olive grove outside
Sandstone figures of Ramses II in front of the main temple at Abu Simbel near Aswan, Egypt.
© SPECTRUM COLOUR LIBRARY/HERITAGE-IMAGES
Spreading wattle (Acacia genistifolia), an Australian acacia in which the leaf¬ stalks are flattened and function as leaves
C. RALPH AND DAPHNE KELLER/AUSTRALASIAN NATURE TRANSPARENCIES
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Academy Awards ► account receivable I 9
ancient Athens, the site of Plato’s famous school of philosophy in the 4th century bc. Academies appeared in Italy in the 15th century and reached their greatest influence in the 17th—18th centuries. Their purpose gener¬ ally was to provide training and, when applicable, to create exhibiting or performance opportunities for their members or students. Most European countries now have at least one academy sponsored by or otherwise con¬ nected with the state. See also Academie Francaise.
Academy Awards Annual awards of merit in the U.S. presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Academy was formed in 1927 by Louis B. Mayer and others to raise the standards of film production, and its first awards were presented in 1929. The awards (nick¬ named Oscars) recognize excellence in acting, directing, screenwriting, and other activities related to film production.