raisin, dried fruit of certain varieties of grapes. Raisin grapes were grown as early as 2000 bce in Persia and Egypt, and dried grapes are mentioned in the Bible (Numbers 6:3) during the time of Moses. David (Israel’s future king) was presented with “a hundred clusters of raisins” (1 Samuel

A Raisin in the Sun, drama in three acts by Lorraine Hansberry, first published and produced in 1959. The play’s title is taken from “Harlem,” a poem by Langston Hughes, which examines the question “What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up / like a raisin in the sun?” This penetrating

A Raisin in the Sun, American film drama, released in 1961, that was based on Lorraine Hansberry’s acclaimed play of the same name about the urban African American experience. A Raisin in the Sun follows a poor Black family who receive $10,000 from a life insurance policy after the father’s death.

raisin tree, (species Hovenia dulcis), shrub or tree, of the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae), native to East Asia and sometimes cultivated in other regions. It is so-named because the fruit resembles a raisin in size and colour. The plant grows to about 7.5 m (about 25 feet) in height and has

Delhi: City layout: …existing city of Delhi, around Raisina Hill, was chosen for the new administrative centre. A well-drained, healthy area between the Delhi Ridge and the Yamuna River, it provided ample room for expansion. Raisina Hill, commanding a view of the entire area, stood about 50 feet (15 metres) above the plain,…

hollowware: Raising, a technique dating from at least the 3rd millennium bc, is commonly used for hollowware in silver, copper, and other malleable metals: a disk of sheet metal is gradually shaped into a hollow form over a stake or anvil by a series of hammer…

Coen brothers: Raising Arizona (1987) was an irreverent comedy about babies, Harley Davidsons, and high explosives, and the period drama Miller’s Crossing (1990) focused on gangsters. Barton Fink, about an edgy, neurotic would-be writer, claimed the best picture, best director, and best actor awards at the 1991…

Cloris Leachman: …Maw Maw on the series Raising Hope (2010–14) and was cast as a Slavic goddess in American Gods, which premiered in 2017. During this time she voiced characters on the animated series Creative Galaxy and Justice League Action.

Western painting: Germany: …and drawings, as in Overbeck’s “The Raising of Jairus’ Daughter” (1814). Only Joseph Anton Koch and Cornelius, who were both older and more experienced, achieved great vigour in their history paintings, combining medievalizing tendencies with the powerful classicism of Carstens (see above Neoclassicism: Germany and Austria), as seen in Cornelius’…

Henry Ossawa Tanner: The Raising of Lazarus (c. 1897), also biblical in theme, won a medal at the Paris Salon of 1897, a rare achievement for an American artist. Later that year the French government purchased the painting.

Battle of Iwo Jima: Battle: The second flag raising was photographed by Pulitzer Prize-winner Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press, and his photograph became one of the most famous combat images of World War II.

T Bone Burnett: Krauss and Roger Plant album Raising Sand and one award for B.B. King’s One Kind Favor.

Television in the United States: Prime time in the new century: (2005–12), Saving Grace (2007–10), and Raising the Bar (2008–09); USA Network’s Monk (2002–09) won seven Emmy Awards; and AMC’s Mad Men (begun 2007) won six in its first season, including that for Outstanding Drama Series.

tunnels and underground excavations: Shaft raising: Handling cuttings is simplified when the shaft can be raised from an existing tunnel, since the cuttings then merely fall to the tunnel, where they are easily loaded into mine cars or trucks. This advantage has long been recognized in mining; where once…

Gabby Douglas: …London Douglas and her teammates—Wieber, Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney, and Kyla Ross—captured the first U.S. women’s team gold medal since 1996. Douglas then competed in the all-around event, posting strong scores during each rotation to finish with the top overall score. Douglas also competed individually on the balance beam and…

Gabby Douglas: …London Douglas and her teammates—Wieber, Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney, and Kyla Ross—captured the first U.S. women’s team gold medal since 1996. Douglas then competed in the all-around event, posting strong scores during each rotation to finish with the top overall score. Douglas also competed individually on the balance beam and…

diplomacy: The development of the foreign ministry and embassies: …envoys as he pursued the raison d’état (national interest). Richelieu rejected the view that policy should be based on dynastic or sentimental concerns or a ruler’s wishes, holding instead that the state transcended crown and land, prince and people, and had interests and needs independent of all these elements. He…

Salzburg: …notable of the prince-archbishops were Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau (reigned 1587–1612), who brought Italian Renaissance architecture and styles to the city, notably by offering commissions to the Italian architect Vincenzo Scamozzi for public squares, a cathedral, and other buildings; Markus Sittikus von Hohenems (reigned 1612–19), who continued to rebuild the…

Bonnie Raitt is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose wide musical range encompassed blues, folk, rhythm and blues, pop, and country rock. Touring and recording with some of the leading session musicians and songwriters of her day, she became a successful recording artist in the 1970s

Bonnie Raitt is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose wide musical range encompassed blues, folk, rhythm and blues, pop, and country rock. Touring and recording with some of the leading session musicians and songwriters of her day, she became a successful recording artist in the 1970s

Gir Range: …because of the ancient Jaina temple of Girnar (historically called Raivata or Ujjayanta) situated on one of the hills; the temple is a major place of pilgrimage.

Oceanic art and architecture: The Austral (Tubuai) Islands: …lavish decoration covers carvings from Raivavae, including a few female figures with extremely summary facial features and indications of gorgets and headdresses. The same motifs cover small bowls, long-handled ladles, and broad-bladed ceremonial paddles—which exist in such numbers as to make it likely that many were made for sale soon…

Juana de Ibarbourou: …narcissism, are also present in Raíz salvaje (1922; “Savage Root”). The urgency and abundance in these early works gave way later, in La rosa de los vientos (1930; “Compass Rose”), to a sense of declining beauty and vitality and, finally, in Perdida (1950; “Lost”), to an expression of despair. She…

Gond: The most developed are the Raj Gond, who once had an elaborate feudal order. Local rajas, linked by ties of blood or marriage to a royal house, exercised authority over groups of villages. Aside from the fortified seats of the rajas, settlements were formerly of little permanence; cultivation, even though…

The Raj Quartet, series of four novels by Paul Scott. The tetralogy, composed of The Jewel in the Crown (1966), The Day of the Scorpion (1968), The Towers of Silence (1971), and A Division of the Spoils (1975), is set in India during the years leading up to that country’s independence from the

Indian philosophy: Texts and commentaries until Vachaspati and the Samkhya-sutras: …on the Samkhya-karika: that by Raja, much referred to but not extant; that by Gaudapada (7th century), on which there is a subcommentary Chandrika by Narayanatirtha; and the Tattva-kaumudi by Vachaspati (9th century). The Samkhya-sutras are a much later work (c. 14th century) on which Aniruddha (15th century) wrote a…

India: Early Vedic period: …a clan is called the raja; this term commonly has been translated as “king,” but more recent scholarship has suggested “chief” as more appropriate in this early context. If such a distinction is recognized, the entire corpus of Vedic literature can be interpreted as recording the gradual evolution of the…

Perak War: …through his influence to have Raja Abdullah accepted as sultan in Upper Perak and to modernize the traditional administrative system, under which government had been based on personal relationships between the sultan and the chiefs. Because of rapid and revolutionary administrative change, especially concerning revenue collection and slavery, the resident…

Dhar: …and a mosque known as Raja Bhoja’s school, built in the 14th or 15th century; the school’s name was a reference to its paved slabs covered with inscriptions giving Sanskrit grammatical rules. Just north stands a 14th-century fort, said to have been built by Muḥammad ibn Tughluq, which contains the…

chondrichthyan: Growth: The males of European thornback rays (Raja clavata) are about 50 cm (20 inches) wide when they reach first maturity, about seven years after birth; females are 60 to 70 cm (24 to 28 inches) at first maturity, nine years after birth.

Delhi: …the city was named for Raja Dhilu, a king who reigned in the region in the 1st century bce. The names by which the city has been known—including Delhi, Dehli, Dilli, and Dhilli, among others—likely are corruptions of his name. Area Old Delhi, 360 square miles (932 square km); national…

skate: …little, or hedgehog, skate (Leucoraja erinacea) of the western Atlantic, for example, is adult at a length of 50–54 cm (20–21.3 inches) or less. In contrast, both the big skate (Beiringraja binoculata) of the eastern North Pacific Ocean and the common skate (Dipturus batis) of the western North Atlantic…

Dadasaheb Phalke: …released India’s first silent film, Raja Harishchandra, a work based on Hindu mythology. The film, scripted, produced, directed, and distributed by Phalke, was a huge success and an important milestone in Indian cinematic history. Likewise important, he introduced a female actor in the leading role in his film Bhasmasur Mohini…

Daing Parani: Daing Parani helped one Raja Kechil win the throne of the kingdom of Johore and then in 1722 shifted allegiance and aided Sulaiman, son of the deposed sultan, in winning back his father’s throne. In return, the Buginese were put in control of a specially created office of under-king,…

conservation: Fishing: One species, the barn-door skate (Raja laevis), was an incidental catch of western North Atlantic fisheries in the second half of the 20th century. As the name suggests, this is a large fish, too big to go unrecorded. Its numbers fell every year, until by the 1990s none…

Selangor Civil War: Raja Mahdi, the dispossessed son of the previous ruler in Klang (now Kelang), seized and held the prosperous town of Klang for two years with tacit approval of dissident upper-river chiefs. When the sultan granted favours to his son-in-law Zia-ud-din, brother of the sultan of…

Indian philosophy: Raja Yoga and Hatha Yoga: Patanjali’s Yoga is known as Raja Yoga (that in which one attains to self-rule), and Hatha Yoga emphasizes bodily postures, regulation of breathing, and cleansing processes as means to spiritual perfection (hatha = “violence,” “violent effort”: ha = “sun,” tha…

Indian philosophy: Early theories of kingship and state: …origin of kingship and of rajadharma, or the dharma (law) of the king as king. Bhishma, who is discoursing, refers with approval to two different theories of the origin of kingship, both of which speak of a prior period in which there were no kings. According to one account, this…

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was the only Indian governor-general of independent India. He was a founder and leader of the Swatantra (Independent) Party in 1959. Leaving a lucrative law practice, Rajagopalachari edited Mohandas K. Gandhi’s paper Young India while Gandhi was in prison in the early

India: Magadhan ascendancy: …defenses of the Magadhan capital, Rajagrha, and built a small fort on the Ganges at Pataligrama, which was to become the famous capital Pataliputra (modern Patna). He then attacked and annexed Kashi and Koshala. He still had to subdue the confederacy of the Vrijji state, and this turned out to…

Rogers Hornsby was an American professional baseball player, generally considered the game’s greatest right-handed hitter. His major league career batting average of .358 is second only to Ty Cobb’s .366. Hornsby made his major league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1915 at age 19. After

Rajahmundry, city, eastern Andhra Pradesh state, southern India. It lies at the head of the Godavari River delta, about 30 miles (50 km) west of Kakinada. In 1449 Rajahmundry was captured by Kapileshvara, the Orissa ruler. In 1757 it was ceded to the British. A short distance downstream, at

rājākariya, traditional system of land tenure in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) until the early 19th century in which land was granted in exchange for services rendered. The services expected were of two kinds: (1) public works, such as road and bridge building or, in earlier days, the construction of

Tripura: History: …legendary period described in the Rajamala, a chronicle of the supposed early maharajas (kings) of Tripura, and the period since the reign of the great king Dharma Manikya (reigned c. 1431–62). The Rajamala, written in Bengali verse, was compiled by the Brahmans in the court of Dharma Manikya. During his…

South Asian arts: Modern theatre: …theatre was the actor-producer-proprietor Nawab Rajamanickam Pillai, who specialized in mythological plays with an all-male cast, using horses, chariots, processions, replicas of temples, and even elephants.

Rajang River, river in East Malaysia (northwest Borneo), rising in the Iran Mountains and flowing southwest to Kapit, where it turns westward to complete its 350-mile (563-kilometre) course to the South China Sea. Its large, swampy delta includes Beruit Island, with a lighthouse at Sirik Point. In

Kshatriya, second highest in ritual status of the four varnas, or social classes, of Hindu India, traditionally the military or ruling class. The earliest Vedic texts listed the Kshatriya (holders of kshatra, or authority) as first in rank, then the Brahmans (priests and teachers of law), next the

Madagascar: Return to constitutional order: …Robinson, supported by Ravalomanana, and Hery Martial Rakotoarimanana Rajaonarimampianina, seen as an ally of Rajoelina, received the most votes—about 21 percent and 16 percent, respectively—and they advanced to a runoff election held on December 20, 2013. Voting was relatively peaceful, and international observers did not note any significant problems. Provisional…

Gotabaya Rajapaksa is a Sri Lankan military officer and politician who served as secretary to the Ministry of Defense (2005–15) during the final years of the country’s civil war and later as president (2019–22). Rajapaksa played an instrumental role in bringing the civil war (1983–2009) to an end

Gotabaya Rajapaksa is a Sri Lankan military officer and politician who served as secretary to the Ministry of Defense (2005–15) during the final years of the country’s civil war and later as president (2019–22). Rajapaksa played an instrumental role in bringing the civil war (1983–2009) to an end

Mahinda Rajapaksa is a Sri Lankan politician who served as president of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015, during which time he oversaw the end of the country’s civil war (1983–2009), and later served as prime minister (2019–22). Rajapaksa was born into a large upper-caste family and was brought up as a

Mahinda Rajapaksa is a Sri Lankan politician who served as president of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015, during which time he oversaw the end of the country’s civil war (1983–2009), and later served as prime minister (2019–22). Rajapaksa was born into a large upper-caste family and was brought up as a

Rajapalayam, city, southwestern Tamil Nadu state, southern India. It lies on a lowland plain at the eastern foot of the Western Ghats, about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Madurai. The city is named for its Raju inhabitants, Telugu speakers who migrated there during the Vijayanagar (1336–1565)

Rajapalayam, city, southwestern Tamil Nadu state, southern India. It lies on a lowland plain at the eastern foot of the Western Ghats, about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Madurai. The city is named for its Raju inhabitants, Telugu speakers who migrated there during the Vijayanagar (1336–1565)

South Asian arts: Medieval temple architecture: South Indian style of Tamil Nadu (7th–18th century): A royal dedication of Rājarāja I, the temple was begun around 1003 and completed about seven years later. The main walls are raised in two stories, above which the superstructure rises to a height of 190 feet (60 metres). It has 16 stories, each of which consists of a…

Ganga dynasty: Rajaraja III ascended the throne in 1198 and did nothing to resist the Muslims of Bengal, who invaded Orissa in 1206. Rajaraja’s son Anangabhima III, however, repulsed the Muslims and built the temple of Megheshvara at Bhuvaneshvara. Narasimha I, the son of Anangabhima, invaded southern…

South Indian temple architecture: …fully realized in the splendid Bṛhadīśvara temple at Thanjāvūr, built about 1003–10 by Rājarāja the Great, and the great temple at Gaṅgaikoṇḍacōḻapuram, built about 1025 by his son Rājendra Cōla. Subsequently, the style became increasingly elaborate—the complex of temple buildings enclosed by the court became larger, and a number of…

India: Rise of the peshwas: His younger brother, Rajaram, who succeeded him, faced with a Mughal army that was now on the ascendant, moved his base into the Tamil country, where Shivaji too had earlier kept an interest. He remained in the great fortress of Jinji (earlier the seat of a Nayaka dynasty…

Sri Lanka: Social and economic changes: The once-flourishing Rajarata became a devastated ruin of depopulated villages, overgrown jungle, and dried-up tank beds as the centres of Sinhalese population arose in the monsoon-watered lands of the south, the southwest, and the Central Highlands. Consequent changes in agricultural techniques, land use, ownership patterns, and ways…

Raj Rajaratnam is an American investor who was convicted in 2011 of securities fraud and conspiracy in one of the largest prosecutions of insider trading (trading on information not available to the public) in U.S. history and the first such case to rely on evidence obtained from wiretaps (see

Purushottam Das Tandon was an Indian politician who was a prominent figure in the Indian National Congress in its early years. He was an enthusiastic campaigner for the use of Hindi as India’s national language. Tandon graduated from Muir Central College, Allahabad, in 1904 with a law degree and an

Samkhya: …and inertia; the second is rajas (“passion”), which is energy, emotion, and expansiveness; and the highest is sattva (“goodness”), which is illumination, enlightening knowledge, and lightness. To these correspond personality types: to tamas, that of the ignorant and lazy person; to rajas, that of the impulsive and passionate person; and…

Hayam Wuruk was the ruler of the Javan Hindu state of Majapahit at the time of its greatest power. Hayam Wuruk inherited the throne in 1350 at the age of 16, when the great patih (“prime minister”) Gajah Mada was at the height of his career. Under the two leaders, Majapahit extended its power

Kannada literature: …famous Kannada works is the Rājaśekharavilāsa, a fictional tale written in 1657 by Ṣaḍakṣaradeva in verse interspersed with prose. This work is a morality tale in which the divine intervention of Śiva saves a royal family from self-inflicted tragedy in their efforts to uphold the law.

Buddhism: Sri Lanka: …the 18th century, however, King Kittisiri Rajasiah (1747–81), who ruled in the upland regions, invited monks from Siam (Thailand) to reform Buddhism and restore the higher ordination lineages.

Sri Lanka: The expansion of Portuguese control: After Mayadunne’s death, his son Rajasinha continued these wars successfully on land, though, like his father, he had no way of combating Portuguese sea power.

Sri Lanka: Kandy and its struggle with European powers: …was succeeded by his son Rajasinha II. The Dutch were now firmly established in Batavia (now Jakarta) in Java and were developing their trade in southern Asia. The king sent emissaries to meet the admiral of the Dutch fleet, Adam Westerwolt, who was then blockading Goa, India. The fleet came…

Rajasthan, state of northwestern India, located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. It is bounded to the north and northeast by the states of Punjab and Haryana, to the east and southeast by the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, to the southwest by the state of Gujarat,

Thar Desert: Economy: The Indira Gandhi Canal irrigates a vast amount of land in the Indian portion of the Thar. The canal begins at the Harike Barrage—at the confluence of the Sutlej and Beas rivers in the Indian Punjab—and continues in a southwesterly direction for some 290 miles (470…

Indian Premier League: …Kolkata Knight Riders, and the Rajasthan Royals (Jaipur). In late 2010 two franchises, Rajasthan and Punjab, were expelled from the league by the BCCI for breaches of ownership policy, but they were later reinstated in time for the 2011 tournament. Two new franchises, the Pune Warriors India and the Kochi…

Rajasthan Steppe, desert in west-central Rajasthan state, northwestern India. The steppe has an area of about 54,800 square miles (142,000 square km). The region was ruled successively in ancient times by the Mauryas, Guptas, and Gurjar Pratiharas. Later it was ruled by Rajput dynasties before

Banswara: …there is affiliated with the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur. The area around Banswara is comparatively flat and fertile, drained mainly by the Mahi. Corn (maize), wheat, and gram (chickpeas) are the chief crops. Iron ore, lead, zinc, silver, and manganese deposits are worked. Pop. (2001) 85,665; (2011) 99,969.

Rājasthānī languages, group of Indo-Aryan languages and dialects spoken in the state of Rājasthān, India, and adjoining areas. There are four major groups: northeastern Mewātī, southern Mālvī, western Māṛwāṛī, and east-central Jaipurī. Māṛwāṛī is the most extensive geographically. Rājasthān is a

South Asian arts: Rajasthani: It is generally agreed that modern Rajasthani literature began with the works of Suryamal Misrama. His most important works are the Vamsa Bhaskara and the Vira satsaī. The Vamsa Bhaskara contains accounts of the Rājput princes who ruled in what was then Rājputāna (at…

Rājasthānī painting, the style of miniature painting that developed mainly in the independent Hindu states of Rājasthān in western India in the 16th–19th century. It evolved from Western Indian manuscript illustrations, though Mughal influence became evident in the later years of its development.

Rājasthānī puppet, string marionette found in the state of Rājasthān in northwestern India. It is controlled by one string that passes from the top of the puppet’s head, over the manipulator’s hand, and down to one shoulder and controls the body. The shrill voices characteristic of the Rājasthānī

Hinduism: The Brahmanas and Aranyakas: …of the royal consecration, the rajasuya, emphasized royal power and endowed the king with a divine charisma, raising him, at least for the duration of the ceremony, to the status of a god. Typical of this period was the elaborate ashvamedha, the horse sacrifice, in which a consecrated horse was…

Rajatarangini, historical chronicle of early India, written in Sanskrit verse by the Kashmiri Brahman Kalhana in 1148, that is justifiably considered to be the best and most authentic work of its kind. It covers the entire span of history in the Kashmir region from the earliest times to the date of

Rajouri, town, western Jammu and Kashmir union territory, northern India, in the Kashmir region of the Indian subcontinent. The town is situated in a deep valley of the southern flank of the Pir Panjal Range on the Tawi River. It was referred to as Rajpuri in Kalhana’s Rajatarangini (12th century

Rājāvaliya, 17th-century historical chronicle of Sri Lanka, covering the history of the island from its legendary beginnings up to the accession of King Vimaladharmasūrya II in 1687. It is the only continuous history of the island written in the Sinhalese language prior to the British period.

Abolhasan Bani-Sadr: …where—along with Mojāhedīn-e Khalq leader Massoud Rajavi—he helped establish the National Council of Resistance, a group dedicated to overthrowing the Khomeini regime. In 1984 Bani-Sadr left the coalition because of a dispute with Rajavi.

Arabic literature: Categories and forms: …the metre and genre of rajaz provided another form of the poetic (possibly emerging out of the earlier category of sajʿ, or rhyming prose). This form of poem served several functions, as is evident in, for example, camel drivers’ songs, known as al-ḥidāʾ. The urjūzah (a poem composed in rajaz)…

Mohammad Ali Rajaʾi was an Iranian politician who was prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran from 1980 to 1981. Born into poverty, Rajaʾi enlisted in the Iranian Air Force at age 16 and later earned a teacher’s diploma from Tehrān’s Teachers’ College. In 1960 he joined the Iranian

Mohammad Ali Rajaʾi was an Iranian politician who was prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran from 1980 to 1981. Born into poverty, Rajaʾi enlisted in the Iranian Air Force at age 16 and later earned a teacher’s diploma from Tehrān’s Teachers’ College. In 1960 he joined the Iranian

Koch, ethnic group dispersed over parts of India (mainly Assam and West Bengal states) and Bangladesh. While their original language is a Tibeto-Burman dialect, large sections of the group in the 21st century spoke Bengali or other Indo-Aryan languages. In the 16th century a Koch chief established

Burdwan: Of historic interest are the Rajbari (the maharaja’s palace and gardens), several ancient Muslim tombs, and 108 Shiva linga in a cluster of 18th-century temples. The Rajbari houses the University of Burdwan, founded in 1960, with several affiliated colleges in the city. The city was constituted a municipality in 1865.

Whirlwind: …Jay Forrester of MIT and Jan Aleksander Rajchman of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), who had come up with a new kind of memory based on magnetic cores that was fast enough to enable real-time operation.

Vasundhara Raje is an Indian politician and government official, who rose to become a senior leader in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She twice served (2003–08 and 2013–18) as the chief minister (head of government) of Rajasthan state in northwestern India. Raje was born into the wealthy Scindia

Chola dynasty: His son Rajendracola Deva I (reigned 1014–44) outdid Rajaraja’s achievements. He placed a son on the throne at Madurai, completed the conquest of Sri Lanka, overran the Deccan (c. 1021), and in 1023 sent an expedition to the north that penetrated to the Ganges (Ganga) River and…

Chola dynasty: His son Rajendracola Deva I (reigned 1014–44) outdid Rajaraja’s achievements. He placed a son on the throne at Madurai, completed the conquest of Sri Lanka, overran the Deccan (c. 1021), and in 1023 sent an expedition to the north that penetrated to the Ganges (Ganga) River and…

Cambodia: Angkorean civilization: …abandoned for nearly 30 years—Rajendravarman II (ruled 944–968) restored the capital and set in motion a period of peace and prosperity that lasted nearly a century. During the reign of his successor, Jayavarman V (968–c. 1000), the rose-coloured sandstone shrine of Banteai Srei—arguably the loveliest temple at Angkor—was built…

Rajgarh, town, northwestern Madhya Pradesh state, central India. It is situated on the Malwa Plateau between the Newaj and Parbati rivers. The town was founded about 1640 and served as the capital of Rajgarh princely state, established by Umat Rajputs (a warrior caste). It is an agricultural market

Rajgir Hills, small isolated upland region of central Bihar state, northeastern India. The hills are known for their scenic beauty and as a historical and religious centre for Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains. The formation, composed of massive quartzites, rises sharply from the South Bihar Plains. The

skate: …25 genera across three families—Rajidae, Arynchobatidae, and Anacanthobatidae—while others place all skates into family Rajidae.

skate, (order Rajiformes), in zoology, any of numerous flat-bodied cartilaginous fishes constituting the order Rajiformes. Skates are found in most parts of the world, from tropical to near-Arctic waters and from the shallows to depths of more than 2,700 metres (8,900 feet). Most classifications

India: Mauryan government: …rural areas, such as the rajjukas (surveyors), combined judicial functions with assessment duties. Fines constituted the most common form of punishment, although capital punishment was imposed in extreme cases. Provinces were subdivided into districts and these again into smaller units. The village was the basic unit of administration and has…

Hungary: Political developments: …leader of this latter group, László Rajk, was executed on questionable charges in October 1949, and his chief adherents were similarly executed or imprisoned. Meanwhile, hundreds were executed or imprisoned as war criminals, many of them for no offense other than loyalty to the Horthy regime. Many thousands more were…

Rajkot, city, west-central Gujarat state, west-central India. It lies near the centre of the Kathiawar Peninsula, about 45 miles (72 km) southeast of Jamnagar. The city was the capital of the former princely state of Rajkot and of the former Western India States Agency. It is now an important

rajm, in Islam, ritual stoning as a punishment, especially as prescribed for fornication. The term also refers to the ritual casting of stones at the Devil during the hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). That particular rite co-occurs with Eid al-Adha, the Muslim festival commemorating Abraham’s willingness

Rajmahal, historic town, far northeastern Jharkhand state, northeastern India. It lies west of the Ganges (Ganga) River. The town is located in the Rajmahal Hills, which run in a broad northeast–southwest-trending arch for some 120 miles (190 km) from the Ganges southward almost to Dumka. They rise