Historical Places, NAR-PET
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Historical Places Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Nara, city, Nara ken (prefecture), southern Honshu, Japan. The city of Nara, the prefectural capital, is located......
Narbonensis, ancient Roman province that lay between the Alps, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Cévennes Mountains.......
Nariokotome, site in northern Kenya known for the 1984 discovery of a nearly complete skeleton of African Homo......
Nassau, historical region of Germany, and the noble family that provided its hereditary rulers for many centuries.......
Naukratis, ancient Greek settlement in the Nile River delta, on the Canopic (western) branch of the river. An emporion......
Nauwalabila I, rock shelter archaeological site in the Northern Territory, Australia, that archaeological evidence......
Navajo National Monument, a complex of three prehistoric cliff dwellings near the town of Tonalea in northeastern......
Kingdom of Navarre, former independent kingdom of Spain (known until the last half of the 12th century as the Kingdom......
Naxos, the earliest Greek colony in Sicily, founded by Chalcidians under Theocles (or Thucles) about 734 bc. It......
Nazca Lines, groups of geoglyphs, large line drawings that appear, from a distance, to be etched into Earth’s surface......
Ndongo, historical African kingdom of the Mbundu people. The original core of the kingdom was in the highlands......
Ndutu, site in northern Tanzania known for a 400,000-year-old human cranium and associated Stone Age tools discovered......
Nelson’s Column, monument in Trafalgar Square in London. It honours Horatio Nelson, the greatest of English naval......
Nemrut Dağ, mountaintop in the Taurus Mountains near Adıyaman, Turkey, that is the site of the enormous 1st-century-BCE......
Neo-Babylonian empire, ancient Middle Eastern empire with its capital at Babylon. It dominated much of Southwest......
Neustria, during the Merovingian period (6th–8th century) of early medieval Europe, the western Frankish kingdom,......
New France, (1534–1763), the French colonies of continental North America, initially embracing the shores of the......
Viceroyalty of New Granada, in colonial Latin America, a Spanish viceroyalty—first established in 1717, suppressed......
New Hampshire Grants, in the period before the American Revolution, the territory that subsequently became the......
New Museum, museum in New York City dedicated to exhibiting work by contemporary and living artists. The museum......
Viceroyalty of New Spain, the first of the four viceroyalties that Spain created to govern its conquered lands......
Ngorongoro Conservation Area, national conservation area in the Arusha region of northern Tanzania, southeast of......
Ngoyo, former kingdom on the Atlantic coast of Africa, just north of the Congo River, in an area that is now part......
empire of Nicaea, independent principality of the fragmented Byzantine Empire, founded in 1204 by Theodore I Lascaris......
Nikkō, city, western Tochigi ken (prefecture), north-central Honshu, Japan. The city lies along the Daiya River,......
Nineveh, the oldest and most-populous city of the ancient Assyrian empire, situated on the east bank of the Tigris......
Nippur, ancient city of Mesopotamia, now in southeastern Iraq. It lies northeast of the town of Ad-Dīwānīyah. Although......
Nisa, first capital of the Parthians, located near modern Ashgabat in Turkmenistan. Nisa was traditionally founded......
Nivernais, in France, the area administered from Nevers during the ancien régime, and until the French Revolution......
Nora, ancient site about 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Cagliari (Caralis) on the island of Sardinia. Although tradition......
Noricum, region of Europe north of what is now Italy, roughly comprising modern central Austria and parts of Bavaria,......
Northern Sarkārs, group of four, later five or six, sarkārs (districts) into which the Afghan emperor Shēr Shah......
Northumbria, one of the most important kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England, lying north of the River Humber. During......
Northwest Territory, U.S. territory created by Congress in 1787 encompassing the region lying west of Pennsylvania,......
Norwich, city (district), administrative and historic county of Norfolk, England. It is located along the River......
Nubia, ancient region in northeastern Africa, extending approximately from the Nile River valley (near the first......
Numidia, under the Roman Republic and Empire, a part of Africa north of the Sahara, the boundaries of which at......
Nuzu, ancient Mesopotamian city, located southwest of Kirkūk, Iraq. Excavations undertaken there by American archaeologists......
Oaxaca, city, capital of Oaxaca estado (state), southern Mexico, lying in the fertile Oaxaca Valley, 5,085 feet......
Offa’s Dyke, great English earthwork extending linearly, with some gaps, from the River Severn near Chepstow to......
Old Castile, historic provincial region, north-central Spain, generally including the limits reached by the kingdom......
The Old City of Jerusalem, adorned with its ancient stone structures and garnished with gray and gold-plated domes,......
Oldenburg, former German state, successively a countship, a duchy, a grand duchy, and a Land (state) before it......
Olduvai Gorge, paleoanthropological site in the eastern Serengeti Plain, within the boundaries of the Ngorongoro......
Olinda, city, eastern Pernambuco estado (state), northeastern Brazil. It is located atop a low hill on the Atlantic......
Olympia, ruined ancient sanctuary, home of the ancient Olympic Games, and former site of the massive Statue of......
Olympic National Park, ecologically diverse area occupying much of the Olympic Peninsula in northwestern Washington,......
Olynthus, ancient Greek city situated on the Chalcidice Peninsula of northwestern Greece. It lay about 1.5 miles......
Omo, site of paleoanthropological excavations along the southern part of the Omo River in southwestern Ethiopia;......
One World Trade Center (One WTC), skyscraper in New York, New York, that is the centerpiece of reconstruction at......
open range, in U.S. history, any of several areas of public domain north of Texas where from about 1866 to 1890......
Ophir, unidentified region famous in Old Testament times for its fine gold. The geographic list of Genesis 10 apparently......
Opis, lost city of Babylonia, in the southern part of modern Iraq. Although the location of the ancient city has......
Opus, in ancient Greece, the chief city of the Locri Opuntii. Its site may have been at modern Atalándi or at Kiparíssi.......
Orchomenus, ancient Boeotian town on a promontory on the north of the Copiac plain. The northernmost Mycenaean......
Orléanais, one of the généralités (“generalities”) into which France was divided before the Revolution of 1789.......
Osroëne, ancient kingdom in northwestern Mesopotamia, located between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and lying......
Ossory, an ancient kingdom of Ireland that won for itself a semi-independent position as a state within the kingdom......
Ottoman Empire, empire created by Turkish tribes in Anatolia (Asia Minor) that grew to be one of the most powerful......
- Introduction
- Osman, Orhan, Expansion
- Restoration, 1402-81, Expansion
- Mehmed II, Expansion, Legacy
- Institutions, Expansion, Reforms
- Military, Janissaries, Sipahis
- Expansion, Suleiman, Decline
- Selim I, Expansion, Reforms
- Suleyman I, Expansion, Legacy
- Classical Society, Administration, Reforms
- Decline, Reforms, Fall
- Expansion, Diplomacy, Trade
- Resistance, Reforms, Decline
- Expansion, Reforms, Collapse
- Tanzimat Reforms, Modernization, Equality
- 1875 Crisis, Reforms, Decline
- Abdulhamid II, Reforms, Autocracy
- Dissolution, Fall, Legacy
- Sultans, Dynasties, Legacy
Ouro Prêto, city, southeastern Minas Gerais estado (state), Brazil. It occupies a hilly site on the lower slopes......
Oxyrhynchus, ancient capital of the 19th Upper Egyptian nome (province), on the western edge of the Nile valley,......
Oyo empire, Yoruba state north of Lagos, in present-day southwestern Nigeria, that dominated, during its apogee......
Pachacamac, large pre-Columbian ruin located in the Lurin Valley on the central coast of present-day Peru. The......
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, former United Nations (UN) strategic-area trusteeship that was administered......
Paeonia, the land of the Paeonians, originally including the whole Axius (Vardar) River valley and the surrounding......
Paestum, ancient city in southern Italy near the west coast, 22 miles (35 km) southeast of modern Salerno and 5......
Pagan, village, central Myanmar (Burma), situated on the left bank of the Irrawaddy River and approximately 90......
Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland, located at the eastern end......
Palatinate, in German history, the lands of the count palatine, a title held by a leading secular prince of the......
Pale of Settlement, the area of territory in the Russian Empire—ultimately including nearly 500,000 square miles......
Palenque, ruined ancient Mayan city of the Late Classic Period (c. 600–900 ce) in what is now Chiapas state, Mexico,......
Palmares, autonomous republic within Alagoas state in northeastern Brazil during the period 1630–94; it was formed......
Palmyra, ancient city in south-central Syria, 130 miles (210 km) northeast of Damascus. The name Palmyra, meaning......
Pamphylia, ancient maritime district of southern Anatolia, originally a narrow strip of land that curved along......
Panama City, capital of the Republic of Panama. It is located in the east-central part of the country near the......
Panathenaic Stadium, stadium built for the first of the modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens, Greece. Built on......
Panlongcheng, Chinese archaeological site dating to about the middle of the Shang dynasty period (c. 1600–1046......
Pannonia, province of the Roman Empire, corresponding to present-day western Hungary and parts of eastern Austria,......
Pantanal, floodplain in south-central Brazil that extends into northeast Paraguay and southeast Bolivia. It lies......
Papal States, territories of central Italy over which the pope had sovereignty from 756 to 1870. Included were......
Paphlagonia, ancient district of Anatolia adjoining the Black Sea, bounded by Bithynia in the west, Pontus in the......
Parhae, state established in the 8th century among the predominantly Tungusic-speaking peoples of northern Manchuria......
Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, the northern Italian cities of Parma and Piacenza, with their dependent territories,......
Parthenopean Republic, short-lived republic in Naples proclaimed on Jan. 23, 1799, after a popular uprising of......
Parthia, ancient land corresponding roughly to the modern region of Khorāsān in Iran. The term is also used in......
Pasargadae, first dynastic capital of the Persian Achaemenian dynasty, situated on a plain northeast of Persepolis......
Pashupatinath Temple, place of worship in the Kathmandu Valley on the Baghmati River, on the eastern outskirts......
Pazyryk, Scythian burial site in a dry valley opening on the Bolshoy Ulagan River valley in Kazakhstan. The site,......
Pedra Furada, Controversial archaeological site, northeastern Brazil. It was thought to contain hearths and stone......
Peeblesshire, historic county of southeastern Scotland that forms a triangle between the historic counties of Midlothian......
Pella, ancient capital of King Archelaus of Macedonia at the end of the 5th century bce and birthplace of Alexander......
Pelusium, ancient Egyptian city on the easternmost mouth of the Nile River (long silted up). The Egyptians likely......
Per Ramessu, ancient Egyptian capital in the 15th (c. 1630–c. 1530 bce), 19th (c. 1292–c. 1191 bce), and 20th (c.......
Pergamum, ancient Greek city in Mysia, situated 16 miles from the Aegean Sea on a lofty isolated hill on the northern......
Persepolis, an ancient capital of the kings of the Achaemenian dynasty of Iran (Persia), located about 30 miles......
Persia, historic region of southwestern Asia associated with the area that is now modern Iran. The term Persia......
Viceroyalty of Peru, the second of the four viceroyalties that Spain created to govern its domains in the Americas.......
Soke of Peterborough, historic region surrounding the town of Peterborough, now part of the city and unitary authority......
Petra, ancient city, center of an Arab kingdom in Hellenistic and Roman times, the ruins of which are in southwest......
Petworth, town (parish), Chichester district, administrative county of West Sussex, historic county of Sussex,......