Estate Agent Fitzrovia

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services. They are a specialist in estate agent fitzrovia, amongst other London areas such as Soho and Oxford Circus.

Ust-ilimsk

City and administrative centre of Ust-Ilimsk rayon (sector), Irkutsk oblast (province), south-central Russia. It became a city in 1973 in connection with the building of the nearby Ust-Ilimsk dam and hydroelectric-power station on the Angara River. A huge timber-processing complex was constructed there in the early 1980s. Pop. (1994 est.) 111,100.

Houbraken, Jacobus

The leading portrait engraver in 18th-century Holland. The son of the painter and art writer Arnold Houbraken, he settled in Amsterdam in 1707, and during his lifetime he engraved 400 portraits after paintings by contemporary Dutch painters.

Aquarium

The design of a large aquarium must take into account the requirements of the specimens, especially since exhibits at modern aquariums include all types of aquatic organisms: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates as well as fishes. Among the many factors that must be considered are traffic flow patterns of visitors, reflections off glass, acoustics,

Ribot, Théodule-armand

Ribot received his doctorate from the École Normale Supérieure.

Mu'tasim, Al-

Succeeding his brother al-Ma'mun in 833, al-Mu'tasim was the first caliph to employ the Turkish mercenaries who later came to dominate the 'Abbasid dynasty. In 837 he crushed a revolt of Persian schismatics led by the rebel Babak, who was cooperating with the Greeks. After the Byzantine emperor Theophilus had laid waste the Muslim

Burdett, Sir Francis, 5th Baronet

His marriage to a wealthy woman enabled Burdett to buy a seat in the House of Commons in 1796. Influenced by French Revolutionary

Ah Kin

(Mayan: “He of the Sun”), the regular clergy of the Yucatec Maya in pre-Columbian times. The Ah Kin are best known historically for their performance in the ritual sacrifice of victims, whose hearts were offered to the Mayan gods. The chief priest (Ah Kin Mai) served in the various capacities of administrator, teacher, healer, astronomer, adviser to the chief, and diviner. Priests

Azhari, Isma'il Al-

Educated at Gordon Memorial College at Khartoum and at the American University of Beirut, al-Azhari became president of the Graduates' General Congress in 1940. At first concerned primarily with educational and social reforms, the

United Arab Emirates

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the dominant tribal faction was the Al-Qawasim (singular: Qasimi), whose ships controlled the maritime commerce (notably fishing and pearling) concentrated in