plagioclase: The rarest plagioclase is bytownite, which occurs in basic igneous rocks and in stony meteorites.

fruitworm beetle, any of a few genera of insects in the family Byfuridae (order Coleoptera) whose larvae feed on fruit. A common example of this family of small, hairy, oval beetles is the raspberry fruitworm (Byturus rubi). The small, pale larva, which is covered with short fine hairs, attacks the

fruitworm beetle: …hairy, oval beetles is the raspberry fruitworm (Byturus rubi). The small, pale larva, which is covered with short fine hairs, attacks the raspberry fruit. The adult, which ranges in colour from reddish yellow to black, is about 4 mm (0.16 inch) long. It feeds on the flowers and leaves of…

North Africa: Later Roman Empire: …the western part of Libya; Byzacena, covering southern Tunisia and governed from Hadrumetum; and the northern part of Tunisia, which retained the name Africa and its capital, Carthage. In addition, the eastern part of Mauretania Caesariensis became a separate province (capital Sitifis). In the far west the Romans gave up…

Al-Sāḥil, coastal plain in the eastern Mediterranean littoral of Tunisia that includes a sandy coast with large bays and lagoons of the Mediterranean and is situated between the sea and the steppe country of central Tunisia. The region extends from the town of Al-Nafīdah on the central coast of the

Byzantine architecture, building style of Constantinople (now Istanbul, formerly ancient Byzantium) after ad 330. Byzantine architects were eclectic, at first drawing heavily on Roman temple features. Their combination of the basilica and symmetrical central-plan (circular or polygonal) religious

Byzantine art, architecture, paintings, and other visual arts produced in the Middle Ages in the Byzantine Empire (centred at Constantinople) and in various areas that came under its influence. The pictorial and architectural styles that characterized Byzantine art, first codified in the 6th

Byzantine chant, monophonic, or unison, liturgical chant of the Greek Orthodox church during the Byzantine Empire (330–1453) and down to the 16th century; in modern Greece the term refers to ecclesiastical music of any period. Although Byzantine music is linked with the spread of Christianity in

Byzantine Empire, the eastern half of the Roman Empire, which survived for a thousand years after the western half had crumbled into various feudal kingdoms and which finally fell to Ottoman Turkish onslaughts in 1453. The very name Byzantine illustrates the misconceptions to which the empire’s

Byzantine Greek language, an archaic style of Greek that served as the language of administration and of most writing during the period of the Byzantine, or Eastern Roman, Empire until the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453. During the Byzantine period the spoken language continued to

Greek literature: Byzantine literature: Byzantine literature may be broadly defined as the Greek literature of the Middle Ages, whether written in the territory of the Byzantine Empire or outside its borders. By late antiquity many of the classical Greek genres, such as drama and choral…

Nicephorus Gregoras: …philosopher, and theologian whose 37-volume Byzantine History, a work of erudition, constitutes a primary documentary source for the 14th century.

Greek literature: Byzantine literature: Byzantine literature may be broadly defined as the Greek literature of the Middle Ages, whether written in the territory of the Byzantine Empire or outside its borders. By late antiquity many of the classical Greek genres, such as drama and choral…

classical scholarship: The first Byzantine renaissance: …a new cursive script, the Byzantine minuscule, which was in its early forms the most elegant that the Greeks ever invented. The earliest surviving specimen, the Uspenskij Gospel, dates from 835, but this displays such accomplished writing that the new script probably originated some 50 years earlier. The invention greatly…

Byzantine chant: Documents with Byzantine neumatic notation date only from the 10th century. Earlier, there was in use an “ecphonetic” notation based on the accent marks of Greek grammarians from Alexandria, Egypt, giving only a vague direction of upward or downward voice movement; the intoned readings to which the…

Byzantine rite, the system of liturgical practices and discipline observed by the Eastern Orthodox Church and by the majority of Eastern rite churches, which are in communion with Rome. The Byzantine rite originated in the Greek city of Antioch (now in southern Turkey), one of the earliest and most

Byzantine Empire: Bulgarian wars: The trade with Constantinople that followed the missionaries whetted the appetites of the Slavs and Bulgars for a larger share in the material wealth of Byzantium. Simeon (Symeon) I of Bulgaria, who succeeded his father Boris in 893 and who had been educated…

Istanbul, largest city and principal seaport of Turkey. It was the capital of both the Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Empire. The old walled city of Istanbul stands on a triangular peninsula between Europe and Asia. Sometimes as a bridge, sometimes as a barrier, Istanbul for more than 2,500 years

Byzantine Empire, the eastern half of the Roman Empire, which survived for a thousand years after the western half had crumbled into various feudal kingdoms and which finally fell to Ottoman Turkish onslaughts in 1453. The very name Byzantine illustrates the misconceptions to which the empire’s

Istanbul: …may derive from that of Byzas, leader of the Greeks from the city of Megara who, according to legend, captured the peninsula from pastoral Thracian tribes and built the town about 657 bce. In 196 ce, having razed the town for opposing him in a civil war, the Roman emperor…

chemical weapon: Incapacitants: … compounds—for instance, 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate (BZ), LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), mescaline, and methaqualone—and at one time the U.S. Army fielded BZ weapons. Those chemical weapons are designed not to kill; however, even incapacitants can cause permanent injury or loss of life if employed in high dosages or if they cause…

Abkhazia: History: …after a key opposition candidate, Aslan Bzhania, fell suddenly ill, allegedly from poisoning. After a close runoff election held on September 8, Khajimba won a plurality of votes and was declared the winner, though neither candidate received 50 percent of the vote. In January 2020 the election was nullified, and…

Bulgarian Agrarian National Union, Bulgarian political party founded under the name Bulgarian Agrarian Union in 1899. The party controlled the government between 1919 and 1923 and introduced extensive land reforms. Originally a professional organization, it became a peasants’ political party by

Austria: Political process: …form a new party, the Alliance for the Future of Austria (Bündnis Zukunft Österreich; BZÖ), which entered the legislature in 2006. While the FPÖ remained a significant, if controversial, force in national politics in the 21st century, electoral support for the BZÖ declined greatly after Haider’s death in 2008.