of high-priestly descent
41South Asian arts — Literary, performing, and visual arts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Myths of the popular gods, Vishnu and Shiva, in the Puranas (ancient tales) and the Mahabharata and Ramayana epics, supply material for representational and… …
42Iran, ancient — Introduction also known as Persia historic region of southwestern Asia that is only roughly coterminous with modern Iran. The term Persia was used for centuries, chiefly in the West, to designate those regions where Persian language and… …
43GENETIC ANCESTRY, JEWISH — Background The human genome refers to approximately three billion chemical letters (nucleotides) comprising the sequence of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in almost every cell of each human being. There are four different nucleotides (adenine,… …
44education — /ej oo kay sheuhn/, n. 1. the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life. 2. the act or process of… …
45ancient Rome — ▪ ancient state, Europe, Africa, and Asia Introduction the state centred on the city of Rome. This article discusses the period from the founding of the city and the regal period, which began in 753 BC, through the events leading to the… …
46Hinduism — /hin dooh iz euhm/, n. the common religion of India, based upon the religion of the original Aryan settlers as expounded and evolved in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, etc., having an extremely diversified character with many… …
47KING, KINGSHIP — (Heb. מלֶךְ, מַלְכוּת). In the Bible The term king in the biblical frame of reference and that of the Ancient Near East generally designates a governor and ruler, usually the sole authority over his subjects. This term is used to designate the… …
48Mormonism and Judaism — The doctrines of the Latter Day Saint movement, commonly referred to as Mormonism, teach that its adherents, Latter day Saints, are either direct descendants of the House of Israel, or are adopted into it. As such, Judaism is foundational to the… …
49Cultural and historical background of Jesus — Scholars examine the cultural and historical background of Jesus in order to better understand Jesus, his ministry, and the origins of Christianity. This examination treats the New Testament as one of many documents, written and perhaps later… …
50Maya priesthood — Until the discovery that Maya stelae depicted kings instead of high priests, the Maya priesthood and their preoccupations had been a main scholarly concern. In the course of the 1960s and over the following decades, however, dynastic research… …
