Britannica Concise 2005

Behrens, painting by Max Liebermann.

ARCHIV FUR KUNST UND GESCHICHTE, BERUN

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Bejart ► Belasco I 191

in 1943. It went on to flourish as the chief banking hub and a major cul¬ tural centre of the Middle East. It was severely damaged during the Leba¬ nese Civil War (1975-91) and during fighting between Israeli forces and those of the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1982. The city slowly began to rebuild after the end of the civil war.

Bejart \ba-'zhar\, Maurice orig. Maurice Jean Berger (b. Jan. 1, 1927, Marseille, Fr.) French-bom Belgian dancer, choreographer, and opera director. He studied in Paris, then toured with various companies before founding his own, Les Ballets de l’Etoile (later Ballet Theatre de Maurice Bejart), in Paris in 1954. In 1959 it moved to Brussels; renamed the Ballet of the 20th Century, it became one of the world’s foremost troupes. His productions have been noted for reworking tradition in unusual and often controversial ways. Since 1961 he has also worked in opera, staging Tales of Hoffmann and Berlioz’s Damnation of Faust , among other works. In 1987 the company moved to Switzerland and took the new name Bejart Ballet Lausanne.

Bejart \ba-'zhar\ family Seventeenth-century French theatrical family. Brothers Joseph (c. 1617-59) and Louis (1630-78) and their sisters Madeleine (1618-72) and Genevieve (c. 1622-75) were members of a traveling company directed by Madeleine. They joined Moliere’s first company, the Illustre Theatre, in 1643 and created many parts in his plays. Madeleine’s sister, or possibly daughter, Armande Bejart (1642-1700), joined the company in 1653. She married Moliere in 1662 and played most of his heroines. After his death, she led the company until it merged with another troupe to become the Comedie-Francaise in 1680.

Bekesy \'ba-,ka-she\, Georg von (b. June 3, 1899, Budapest, Hung.—d. June 13, 1972, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.) Hungarian-born U.S. physicist and physiologist. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1947 and taught at Harvard University in 1947-66. He discovered that sound vibrations travel along a membrane in the cochlea in waves, peaking at different places, where nerve receptors determine pitch and loudness. His research resulted in greatly expanded understanding of the hearing process, partly through instrumentation Bekesy had helped design, and the differentia¬ tion of forms of deafness, which permitted the selection of proper treat¬ ment. He received a 1961 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.

Bekhterev Vbyak-tir-yif\, Vladimir (Mikhaylovich) (b. Feb. 1, 1857, Sorali, Vyatka, Russia—d. Dec. 24, 1927, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) Russian neurophysiologist and psychiatrist. A competitor of Ivan Pavlov, Bekhterev independently developed a theory of conditioned reflexes. His most lasting work was in brain structure research and descriptions of nervous symptoms and illnesses. He discovered the supe¬ rior vestibular nucleus (Bekhterev nucleus) and other brain formations and described spinal numbness (spondylitis deformans, or Bekhterev disease) and other diseases. He founded the first Russian journal on nervous dis¬ eases. His approach to the study of behaviour influenced the growing movement toward behaviourism in the U.S.

Bel Akkadian god of the atmosphere and member of a triad including Anu (An) and Ea (Enki). His Sumerian counterpart was Enlil. His breath brought both severe storms and gentle spring winds. He was the god of agriculture and as such was more important than the high god Anu. As Bel he was known as the god of order and destiny. As Enlil, he was ban¬ ished to the underworld for raping his consort Ninlil (Belit), in a myth that explains the cycle of the seasons.

Bel See Marduk

Belafonte V.bel-o-'fan-taV Harry orig. Harold George Belafonte, Jr, (b. March 1, 1927, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. singer, actor, and producer. He was born to immigrants from Martinique and Jamaica, and he lived with his mother in Jamaica from 1935 to 1940. In the early 1950s he initiated a fad for calypso music with songs such as “Day-O (Banana Boat Song)” and “Jamaica Farewell.” He starred in the films Carmen Jones (1954) and Island in the Sun (1957) and later became the first black television producer. In the 1960s and ’70s he was a promi¬ nent civil-rights activist. From the 1970s onward his singing career was a secondary occupation, and he acted in films such as Uptown Saturday Night (1974) and Kansas City (1996).

Belarus Country, eastern Europe. Area: 80,200 sq mi (207,600 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 9,776,000. Capital: Minsk. The population is mainly Belarusian, with Russian and Ukrainian minorities. Languages: Belarusian, Russian (both official). Religion: Christianity (predominantly Eastern Orthodox; also Roman Catholic). Currency: rubel. The northern

part of the country is crossed by the West¬ ern Dvina (Dzvina) River; the Dnieper (Dnyapro) flows through eastern Belarus; the south has extensive marshy areas along the Pripet (Prypyats’) River; the upper course of the Neman (Nyoman) flows in the west; and the Bug (Buh) forms part of the boundary with Poland in the southwest. The chief cities, in addition to Minsk, are Homyel, Mahilyow, and Vitsyebsk. Agriculture, once the linchpin of the Belarusian economy, has diminished in importance, while manufacturing and the service sector have grown. Belarus is a republic with two legislative houses; its president is head of state and government. Although Belarusians share a distinct identity and language, they never previously enjoyed political sovereignty. The territory that is now Belarus underwent partition and changed hands often; as a result, its history is entwined with its neighbours’. In medieval times the region was ruled by Lithuanians and Poles. Following the Third Partition of Poland, Belarus was ruled by Russia. After World War I the western part was assigned to Poland, and the eastern part became Soviet territory. After World War II the Soviets expanded what had been the Belorussian S.S.R. by annexing more of Poland. Much of the area suffered radioactive con¬ tamination from the Chernobyl accident in 1986, which forced many to evacuate. Belarus declared its independence in 1991 and later joined the Commonwealth of Independent States. Amid increasing political turmoil in the 1990s, it moved toward closer union with Russia but continued to struggle economically and politically at the start of the 21st century.

Belarusian X.bya-b-'rU-se-onV language or Belarusan

\ l bya-b- , riis-3n\ language East Slavic language of Belarus, spoken by some 10.2 million people worldwide. Belarusian features begin to appear in Church Slavonic manuscripts from the 14th century (see Old Church Slavonic language). The chancery language of the grand duchy of Lithua¬ nia, used in the 15th—16th centuries, contains a substantial Belarusian ele¬ ment, mixed with Church Slavonic, Ukrainian, and Polish. Belarusian was not fully elaborated as a modern literary language until the early 20th century, when orthographic norms for writing it in Cyrillic were estab¬ lished. It has long struggled to maintain itself against Russian, particularly in Belarusian urban centres, where there is a high degree of Russification and Belarusian-Russian bilingualism.

Belasco \b9-'las-ko\, David (b. July 25, 1853, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.—d. May 14, 1931, New York, N.Y.) U.S. theatrical producer and playwright. He acted with traveling companies before becoming a theatre manager, first in San Francisco and later in New York City (from 1880). An independent producer from 1890, he built his own theatre in 1906; there he introduced changes in stage lighting, used realistic scenery, and demanded high production standards. He successfully fought against the

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

192 I Belau ► Belgrade

monopolistic Theatrical Syndicate. He wrote or collaborated on numer¬ ous plays, including Madame Butterfly (1900) and The Girl of the Golden West (1905), which were made into operas by the Italian composer Gia¬ como Puccini.

Belau See Palau

Belem \be-'lem\ City (pop., 2000 prelim.: metro, area , 1,271,615), northern Brazil. The capital of Para state, the port of Belem lies on the Para River in the vast Amazon River delta 90 mi (145 km) from the Atlan¬ tic Ocean. It began in 1616 as a fortified settlement; as it gradually became established, it helped consolidate Portuguese supremacy in northern Bra¬ zil. It was made the state capital in 1772. It enjoyed prosperity in the late 19th century as the main exporting centre of the Amazon rubber indus¬ try. After the rubber era ended in 1912, it continued to be northern Bra¬ zil’s commercial centre and a main port for Amazon River craft.

belemnoid Vbel-om-.noidX or belemnite Member of an extinct group of cephalopods, possessing a large internal shell, that first appeared c.

345 million years ago, in the Early Carboniferous Period, and became extinct during the Eocene Epoch, which ended c. 36.6 million years ago. The internal shell of most spe¬ cies is straight, but that of some spe¬ cies is loosely coiled. The shell served for support and muscle attachment and enabled the animal to compensate for depth and its own body weight. See also ammonoid.

Belfast District, seaport, and capi¬ tal (pop., 1999 est.: 297,200) of Northern Ireland. On the River Lagan, the site was occupied in the Stone and Bronze ages, and the remains of Iron Age forts can still be seen. Bel¬ fast’s modern history began in the early 17th century when Sir Arthur Chichester developed a plan for colonizing the area with English and Scottish settlers. Having survived the Irish insurrection of 1641, the town grew in economic importance, especially after a large immigration of French Huguenots arrived after the rescinding of the Edict of Nantes (1685) and strengthened the linen trade. It became a centre of Irish Prot¬ estantism, setting the stage for sectarian conflict in the 19th-20th centu¬ ries. Fighting was renewed in the 1960s and did not subside until a peace agreement was reached in 1998. The city is Northern Ireland’s educational and commercial hub.

belfry Bell tower, either freestanding or attached to another structure. More particularly it refers to the room, usually at the top of such a tower, where the bells and their supporting timberwork are hung. The belfry is a prominent feature of Belgian Gothic architecture, especially in Flanders. The Halles (Market Hall) and belfry in Brugge (late 13th century) is a typical example. The term derives from the medieval siege tower ( ber- frei), a tall wooden structure that could be rolled up to a fortification wall so that the warriors hidden inside could storm the battlements.

Belgae \'bel-,gi\ Inhabitants of Gaul north of the Sequana (Seine) and Matrona (Marne) rivers. The term was apparently first applied by Julius Caesar, whose Gallic victories (54-51 bc) sent many Belgae into Britain, where they formed kingdoms, the most important of which were at Cam- ulodunum (Colchester), Verulamium (St. Albans), and Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester).

Belgian Congo See Democratic Republic of the Congo

Belgica Vbel-ji-koX Ancient country, northeastern Gallia (Gaul). One of the administrative areas into which Augustus divided Gaul, it stretched from the Seine River to the Rhine and included the Low Countries. Its capi¬ tal was Durocortorum Remorum (now Reims). Part of the area became Germania Inferior and Germania Superior under Domitian, and later, under Diocletian, the remainder was divided into Belgica Prima and Belgica Secunda. In the 5th century ad, Belgica was absorbed by the Franks. See also Belgium.

Belgium officially Kingdom of Belgium Country, northwestern Europe. Area: 11,787 sq mi (30,528 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 10,432,000. Capital: Brussels. The population consists mostly of Flemings and Walloons. The Flemings, more than half of the population, speak

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BELGIUM

Flemish (Dutch) and live in the northern half of the country; the Walloons, about one-third of the population, speak French and inhabit the southern half. Languages: Dutch, French, German (all official). Reli¬ gions: Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholic); also Islam. Cur¬ rency: euro. Belgium can be divided into several geographic regions. The southeast consists of the forested Ardennes highland, which extends south of the Meuse River valley and includes Belgium’s highest point, Mount Botrange (2,277 ft [694 m]). Middle Belgium is a fertile region crossed by tributaries of the Schelde River. Lower Belgium comprises the flat plains of Flanders in the northwest with their many canals. Maritime Flanders borders the North Sea and is agriculturally prosperous; the chief North Sea port is Ostende, but Antwerp, near the mouth of the Schelde, handles more trade. Belgium has minimal natural resources, so the manufacture of goods from imported raw materials plays a major role in the economy, and the country is highly industrialized. It is a monarchy with a parlia¬ ment composed of two legislative houses; the chief of state is the mon¬ arch, and the head of government is the prime minister. Inhabited in ancient times by the Belgae, a Celtic people, the area was conquered by Julius Caesar in 57 bc; under Augustus it became the Roman province of Belgica. Conquered by the Franks, it later broke up into semi-independent territories, including Brabant and Luxembourg. By the late 15th century the territories of the Netherlands, of which the future Belgium was a part, gradually united and passed to the Habsburgs. In the 16th century it was a centre for European commerce. The basis of modern Belgium was laid in the southern Catholic provinces that split from the northern provinces after the Union of Utrecht in 1579 (see The Netherlands). Overrun by the French and incorporated into France in 1801, the area was reunited with Holland and with it became the independent Kingdom of The Netherlands in 1815. After the revolt of its citizens in 1830, it became the indepen¬ dent Kingdom of Belgium. Under Leopold II it acquired vast lands in Africa. Overrun by the Germans in World Wars I and II, it was the scene of the Battle of the Bulge (1944-45). Internal discord led to legislation in the 1970s and ’80s that created three nearly autonomous regions in accor¬ dance with language distribution: Flemish Flanders, French Wallonia, and bilingual Brussels. In 1993 Belgium became a federation comprising the three regions, which gained greater autonomy at the outset of the 21st century. It is a member of the European Union.

Belgrade Serbian Beograd \ba-'6-,grad\ City (pop., 2002: 1,120,092), capital of the republic of Serbia and administrative centre of Serbia and Montenegro. Lying at the juncture of the Danube and Sava riv¬ ers, it is one of the Balkans’ most important commercial and transporta¬ tion centres. Inhabited by Celts in the 4th century bc, it was later taken by the Romans and named Singidunum. It was destroyed by Huns in the

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Belgrade ► bell I 193

5th century. In the 11th century it became a frontier town of Byzantium and in the 13th century came under the rule of Serbia. The Ottoman Empire besieged the city in the 15th century, and the forces of SOleyman I finally took it in 1521; it was held almost continuously by the Turks into the 19th century. It became the capital of the kingdom of Serbia in 1867 and, after World War I, of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (renamed Yugoslavia in 1929). It suffered severely under Nazi occupation (1941—44). It was damaged by NATO bombers in the Kosovo conflict (1999). Yugoslavia underwent many border changes in the 20th century and was renamed Serbia and Montenegro in 2003.

Belgrade, Peace of (1739) Either of two peace settlements that ended the Ottoman empire’s four-year war with Russia and its two-year war with Austria. In 1735 Russia had attempted to establish itself on the northern Black Sea. Austria entered the war as Russia’s ally in 1737, but military failures prompted it to make a separate peace in September 1739, ceding northern Serbia (including Belgrade) and Little Walachia to the Ottomans. With Austria’s defection, the Russians had to make a disappointing peace that same month. Under its terms, Russia could not have warships on the Black Sea and had to depend on Ottoman shipping for its Black Sea com¬ merce.

Belhadj \bel-'haj\, Ali also spelled ‘All Bel Hajj (b. c. 1956, Tunisia) Deputy leader of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), an Algerian political party. Bom to Algerian parents, he became a high-school teacher and an imam. He and the more moderate Abbasi al-Madani registered FIS as a political party in 1989. In 1990 FIS won a majority of votes in local elec¬ tions; in 1991 the Algerian government announced martial law and impris¬ oned Belhadj and al-Madani. In 1994 Belhadj was transferred to house arrest.

Belidor \ba-le-'dor\, Bernard Forest de (b. 1698, Catalonia, Spain—d. Sept. 8, 1761, Paris, France) French military and civil engi¬ neer. After serving in the French army, he worked on measuring an arc of the Earth. As professor of artillery at a French military school, he wrote notable books on engineering, artillery, ballistics, and fortifications, but his fame rests primarily on his classic Architecture hydraulique (4 vol., 1737-53), covering engineering mechanics, mills and waterwheels, pumps, harbours, and sea works.

Belinsky \by9l-'yen-ske\, Vissarion (Grigoryevich) (b. May 30,

1811, Sveaborg, Fin., Russian Empire—d. May 26, 1848, St. Petersburg, Russia) Russian literary critic. Expelled from the University of Moscow in 1832, he worked as a journalist, making his reputation with critical articles that expounded nationalist doctrine. His argument that literature should express political and social ideas had a major impact on Soviet literary criticism, and he was often called the father of the Russian radi¬ cal intelligentsia.

Belisarius (b. c. 505, Germania, Illyria?—d. March 565) Byzantine general. While serving in the bodyguard of Emperor Justinian I, he was appointed (c. 525) to command in the eastern armies, and he defeated the Persians in the Battle of Dara (530). In 532 Belisarius further gained Jus¬ tinian’s confidence by commanding the troops that ended the Nika Insur¬ rection that nearly toppled the emperor. He led expeditions to overthrow the Vandals in North Africa (533) and regain Sicily and southern Italy from the Ostrogoths (535-537), defending Rome (537-538). He was offered a kingship by the Goths, which caused Justinian to recall him in disfavour. He was sent again to Rome (544-548) but with inadequate forces, and he was replaced by Narses in 548. Still loyal to Justinian, he was recalled in 559 to repel Hun invaders.

Belit \'ba-lit\ Akkadian goddess of destiny, consort of Bel, and mother of the moon god. Sin. Her Sumerian counterpart was Ninlil. Assyrians some¬ times identified her with Ishtar. Ninlil was a grain goddess, and the story of her rape by Enlil, the Lord of the Wind, reflects the seasonal cycle of pollination, ripening, and withering.

Belitung See Billiton

Beliveau \'bel-i-vo\, Jean (Marc A.) (b. Aug. 31, 1931, Trois- Rivieres, Que., Can.) Canadian ice-hockey centre. He played for the Mon¬ treal Canadiens from 1953 to 1971. His career record of 79 goals and 176 points made during play-off games, including 17 Stanley Cup champion¬ ships, stood until 1987.

Belize \bo-Tez \ formerly (1840-1973) British Honduras Country, Central America. Area: 8,867 sq mi (22,965 sq km). Population (2005

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