sweet potato, trailing perennial plant (Ipomoea batatas) of the family Convolvulaceae (morning glory family), native to the New World tropics. Cultivated from ancient times by the Aztecs for its edible tubers, it was introduced into Europe in the 16th cent. and later spread to Asia. It is now the most important of tropical root crops and is grown in many varieties (differentiated by their leaf shapes). In the United States it is cultivated chiefly in the South, though a few hardy varieties are grown as far north as Massachusetts. Sweet potatoes are used mostly for human consumption but are sometimes fed to swine. They yield starch, flour, glucose, and alcohol and are especially rich in vitamin A. The sweet potato is sometimes confused with the yam, which belongs to another family. Sweet potatoes are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Solanales, family Convolvulaceae.

sweet pea, annual climbing plant (Lathyrus odoratus) of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), a legume native to S Europe but, since its introduction to horticulture c.1700, widely cultivated for its fragrant flowers. There are three main types: dwarf, summer flowering (garden sweet peas), and winter flowering (florists' sweet peas). As cut flowers, sweet peas are one of the more important of florists' plants and are available in a wide range of shades. The vines climb by tendrils and require support. The sweet pea is also a honey plant and the source of an essential oil used in perfumery, although today this oil is more often made synthetically. The green pea and chickpea are related but of separate genera. The term pea is sometimes used generally for a seed in the pod of any leguminous plant. Sweet peas are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Rosales, family Leguminosae.

sweet gum: see witch hazel.

sweet gale: see bayberry.

sweet flag: see arum.

sweet fern, common name for several plants belonging to different botanical divisions. One is a shrub of the family Myricaceae (bayberry family) in the division Magnoliophyta; others are plants of the genus Dryopteris in the division Polypodiophyta (ferns).

sweet clover or melilot, Eurasian and North African leguminous herbs of the genus Melilotus of the family Leguminosae (pulse family). Sweet clovers, now widely naturalized in North America, are used as forage, cover, and soiling crops. Attractive to bees for their fragrant blossoms, they are also honey plants. Melilotus is a different genus from that of the true clovers. Sweet clover is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Rosales, family Leguminosae.

sweet cicely, name for the European herb Myrrhis odorata and for closely related American and Asian plants of the genus Osmorhiza, all of the family Umbelliferae (parsley family). Both sweet cicely plants are fragrant perennials having aromatic, licorice-flavored roots, once considered medicinal. They resemble the poison and water hemlocks but are usually distinguishable by their elongated, rather than rounded, seedlike fruits. The European sweet cicely, sometimes called myrrh, was formerly used for salads and greens, and an oil to polish oak was extracted from the seeds. Sweet cicely is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Apiales, family Umbelliferae.

sweet William: see pink.

Sweet, Henry, 1845-1912, English philologist and phonetician. An authority on Anglo-Saxon and the history of the English language, Sweet was also a pioneer in modern scientific phonetics. His History of English Sounds (1874) was a landmark in that study. In 1901 he was made a reader in phonetics at Oxford. Among his other writings are A Handbook of Phonetics (1877), A New English Grammar (2 parts, 1892-95), The History of Language (1900), The Sounds of English (1908), and works on Anglo-Saxon, Middle English, and Icelandic. Sweet was the model for Professor Higgins in G. B. Shaw's play Pygmalion.

Cereal grain plant of the family Poaceae (or Gramineae), probably native to Africa, and its edible starchy seeds. All types raised chiefly for grain belong to the species Sorghum vulgare, which includes varieties of grain sorghums and grass sorghums (grown for hay and fodder), and broomcorn (used in making brooms and brushes). The strong grass usually grows 2–8 ft (0.5–2.5 m) or higher. The seeds are smaller than those of wheat. Though high in carbohydrates, sorghum is of lower feed quality than corn. Resistant to drought and heat, sorghum is one of Africa's major cereal grains. It is also grown in the U.S., India, Pakistan, and northern and northeastern China. Substantial quantities are also grown in Iran, the Arabian Peninsula, Argentina, Australia, and southern Europe. The grain is usually ground into meal for porridge, flatbreads, and cakes.

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Food plant (Ipomoea batatas; family Convolvulaceae) native to tropical America and widely cultivated in tropical and warm temperate climates. Botanically unrelated to the white, or Irish, potato or the yam, sweet potatoes are oblong or pointed oval, tuberous roots. Skin colour ranges from light buff to brown to purplish red; the pulp may be white (highest in starch) to orange (also high in carotene) to purple. Long, trailing plant stems bear funnel-shaped flowers tinged with pink or rose violet. Sweet potatoes are served baked or mashed and used as pie filling.

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Annual plant (Lathyrus odoratus) of the pea family (see legume), native to Italy and widely cultivated elsewhere for its beautiful, fragrant flowers. The long (4–6 ft, or 1.2–2 m), vinelike stem climbs by means of tendrils and bears featherlike leaves. White, pink, red, violet, or purple flowers, reminiscent of butterflies in shape, are borne singly or in clusters of two to four. The fruit is a hairy pod about 2 in. (5 cm) long. Hundreds of varieties of sweet pea have been developed. The plant was the subject of important genetics experiments by Reginald Crundall Punnett and William Bateson.

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or sweet marjoram

Perennial herb (Majorana hortensis) of the mint family, or its fresh or dried leaves and flowering tops. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, marjoram is cultivated as an annual where winter temperatures kill the plant. It is used to flavor many foods. Various other aromatic herbs or undershrubs of the genera Origanum (see oregano) and Majorana of the mint family are also called marjoram.

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Semicircular or nearly circular concavity, similar to a gulf but usually smaller. Bays may range from a few hundred yards to several hundred miles from side to side. They are usually located where easily eroded rocks, such as clays and sandstones, are bounded by harder, more erosion-resistant formations of igneous rocks, such as granite, or hard calcareous rocks, such as massive limestones. Some bays form excellent harbours.

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Former inlet of the Ross Sea, Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica. It was first seen by the British explorer James C. Ross in 1842. The bay was the continent's most southerly open harbour in summer and was the site of several important bases for Antarctic exploration. More than 10 mi (16 km) wide in 1911, it gradually narrowed as advancing ice sheets collided. It disappeared entirely in 1987 when an iceberg 99 mi (159 km) long broke off from the Ross Ice Shelf.

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Town (pop., 2001 prelim.: 40,849), west-central Namibia, on the Atlantic Ocean. A mid-19th-century rush to exploit guano deposits on nearby islands was followed by British annexation of the bay and the adjacent land in 1878. It was incorporated into Britain's Cape Colony in 1884. In 1910 it was included in the newly united South Africa. Administered as part of South West Africa (1922–77), it was then governed directly by South Africa, which retained the enclave after Namibia reached independence in 1990. The two countries administered the enclave jointly from 1992 to 1994; then South Africa transferred it to Namibia. Its harbour serves as Namibia's chief port.

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Inlet, southern Hudson Strait, northeastern Quebec, Canada. It is about 200 mi (320 km) long and 160 mi (260 km) wide at its mouth, with a maximum depth of 978 ft (298 m). Fed by several large rivers, including the Feuilles, Arnaud, Baleine, and George, it is ice-free only four months a year. At its mouth, Akpatok Island (551 sq mi [1,427 sq km]) rises to 930 ft (283 m).

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City (pop., 2001: 109,016), west-central Ontario, Canada. It is located on the northwestern shore of Lake Superior. Its first settlement was a French fur-trading post circa 1678. In the 1870s and '80s silver strikes and the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway brought prosperity to the twin towns of Port Arthur and Fort William that had grown up there. Their rivalry was resolved with the unification of their harbour facilities in 1906; the towns merged in 1970 and created the city of Thunder Bay. It is one of Canada's busiest ports, with grain storage and transshipment depots; other industries include shipbuilding.

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Inlet, Gulf of Mexico, western Florida, U.S. The bay is 25 mi (40 km) long and 7–12 mi (11–19 km) wide, and it serves the recreational and commercial activities of Saint Petersburg on the western shore and Tampa on the northeast. Hernando de Soto began his travels through the southeastern U.S. region when he reached Tampa Bay in 1539. Tampa Bay is spanned by the 15-mi (24-km) Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

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Inlet, Atlantic Ocean, forming the harbour of Cape Town, South Africa. It is 12 mi (19 km) long and 8 mi (12 km) wide. Although less sheltered than other bays along the coast, it became a port of call for ships traveling to India and the East because of the availability of fresh water. The shore was permanently settled by the Dutch in 1652.

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Large, nearly landlocked bay indenting west-central California, U.S. A drowned river valley paralleling the coastline, it is connected with the Pacific Ocean by the Golden Gate Strait, which is spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge. The bay is one of the world's finest natural harbours. Treasure, Yerba Buena, Angel, and Alcatraz islands are there; the cities of San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley are nearby.

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Arm of Lake Ontario, southeastern Ontario, Canada. It extends for 75 mi (121 km) from its entrance near Amherst Island to Murray Canal at the western end. A resort area, it is a scenic, narrow bay with many small inlets. Among the major settlements around the bay are Trenton, Belleville, Deseronto, and Picton. The bay's name was derived from Kenté, an Indian village on the bay's western shore.

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Small inlet of the Beaufort Sea, northern Alaska, U.S. It has been the centre of oil-drilling activities since the discovery in 1968 of vast petroleum deposits on Alaska's North Slope. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline links the area to Valdez on Prince William Sound.

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Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, southeastern Rhode Island, U.S. It extends north for 28 mi (45 km) into the state, almost dividing it into two parts. The bay includes Rhode, Prudence, and Conanicut islands and Mount Hope Bay, which is crossed by one of New England's longest bridges. Since colonial times it has been an active shipping centre; its chief ports are Providence and Newport. Much of the bay's area is devoted to fishing and recreation.

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Inlet of the Pacific Ocean, southeastern coast of Queensland, Australia. It is 65 mi (105 km) long and 20 mi (32 km) wide, and it serves as the gateway to Brisbane. In 1770 British navigator Capt. James Cook named the bay (misspelling it) for the earl of Morton. The first settlement on the mainland was a penal colony established at Redcliffe in the early 19th century.

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Seaport (pop., 2000 est.: 89,859), northwestern Jamaica, located northwest of Kingston. It lies on the site of a large Arawak village visited by Christopher Columbus in 1494. The Spanish, ousted by the British after 150 years, destroyed most of the original buildings. One of Jamaica's largest cities, it is a commercial centre and busy port. It is also a popular tourist resort noted for its white sandy beaches.

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Inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, extending 35 mi (56 km) north to the mouth of the Mobile River in southwestern Alabama, U.S. It is 8–18 mi (13–29 km) wide and enters the gulf through a dredged channel between Dauphin Island and Mobile Point. During the American Civil War it was the scene of the Battle of Mobile Bay.

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Inlet of the South China Sea extending into southwestern Luzon island, Philippines. Considered one of the world's great harbours, it forms a nearly landlocked body of water with an area of 770 sq mi (2,000 sq km). It measures 36 mi (58 km) across at its widest point. The decisive Battle of Manila Bay, in the Spanish-American War, took place there in 1898. The Japanese gained control of the bay in 1942 during World War II, but it was recaptured by U.S. forces in 1945. Corregidor Island, the scene of intense fighting in the war, divides the bay's entrance into the South Channel and the North Channel.

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Inlet of the Tasman Sea, southeastern New South Wales, Australia. It is about 10 mi (16 km) long and 6 mi (10 km) wide. It was discovered in 1770 and named Long Nose by Capt. James Cook, but in 1791 it was renamed for Adm. John Jervis. In 1915 it was transferred from the jurisdiction of New South Wales to the Australian Commonwealth to provide the Australian Capital Territory with access to the sea. The bay is a resort area and the site of the Royal Australian Naval College (founded 1915).

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Extension of Hudson Bay, located between northern Ontario and Quebec, Can. Generally less than 200 ft (60 m) deep, it is 275 mi (443 km) long and 135 mi (217 km) wide. It contains numerous islands, of which the largest is Akimiski Island. The many rivers that empty into the bay, including the Moose, are the cause of its low salinity. Visited by Henry Hudson in 1610, it is named for Capt. Thomas James, who explored it in 1631.

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Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean. It occupies about 20 sq mi (50 sq km) along the southwestern shore of Long Island, in southeastern New York, U.S. Part of the Port of New York, it is sheltered on the south by Rockaway Peninsula and connects with the ocean through Rockaway Inlet. Near the entrance channel is Coney Island. On the northeastern shore, at Idlewild, is the John F. Kennedy International Airport.

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Corporation prominent in Canadian economic and political history. It was incorporated in England (May 2, 1670) to seek the Northwest Passage to the Pacific, to occupy lands adjacent to Hudson Bay, and to carry on commerce. The lands granted to the company, known as Rupert's Land, extended from Labrador west to the Rocky Mountains and from the headwaters of the Red River on the southern Canadian border north to Chesterfield Inlet on Hudson Bay. The company first engaged in the fur trade and established trading posts around Hudson Bay. By 1783 competitors had formed the North West Co., and armed clashes continued until the two companies merged in 1821. The company was given exclusive fur-trade rights until 1858, when the monopoly was not renewed and independent companies entered the fur trade. In 1870 the company sold its territories to the government in exchange for £300,000 and mineral rights to lands around the posts and a fertile portion of western Canada. It remained a large fur-collecting and marketing agency until 1991, with extensive real-estate interests and many department stores.

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Inland sea, indenting east-central Canada. With an area of 480,000 sq mi (1,243,000 sq km), it is bounded by Nunavut, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. It is connected with the Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson Strait and with the Arctic Ocean via the Foxe Channel. Named for Henry Hudson, who navigated its eastern coast in 1610, the bay and the surrounding area, known as Rupert's Land, were controlled by the Hudson's Bay Company (1821–69). Hudson Bay is shallow, with an average depth of 330 ft (100 m); the coast is mainly a marshy lowland. The islands it contains are administratively part of Nunavut. For conservation purposes, the Canadian government has designated the whole Hudson Bay basin a “mare clausum” (closed sea).

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City (pop., 2000: 102,313), northeastern Wisconsin, U.S. Located on the Fox River at Green Bay, an inlet of Lake Michigan, it was the site of French trading posts from 1634 until the War of 1812. The U.S. took possession when the army built Fort Howard there in 1816. With the decline of the fur trade and the opening of the Erie Canal, it developed as a lumbering and agricultural centre. A Great Lakes port of entry with heavy shipping, it has a large wholesale and distributing business. The city is famous for its professional football team, the Green Bay Packers, which it has supported since 1919. It is the site of a University of Wisconsin branch and a technical college.

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Northeast arm of Lake Michigan, indenting northwestern Michigan, U.S. Located off the coast of the Lower Peninsula, the head of the bay is 32 mi (52 km) long and 12 mi (19 km) wide. It is divided into the east and west arms by Old Mission Peninsula, with Traverse City at its base. The Leelanau Peninsula lies west of the bay, which is noted for its year-round fishing. The area is an important summer resort region.

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Natural area, southeastern Alaska, U.S. Located on the Gulf of Alaska, it was proclaimed a national monument in 1925, established as a national park and preserve in 1980, and designated a World Heritage site in 1992. It covers 5,040 sq mi (13,053 sq km). It includes Glacier Bay, much of Mount Fairweather, and the U.S. portion of the Alsek River. Among its great tidewater glaciers is Muir Glacier, which rises 265 ft (81 m) above the water and is nearly 2 mi (3 km) wide. The park also includes a dramatic range of plant species and such wildlife as brown and black bears, mountain goats, whales, seals, and eagles.

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Inlet, Lake Huron, southeastern Ontario, Canada. Sheltered from the rest of the lake by Manitoulin Island and the Bruce Peninsula, it is 120 mi (190 km) long and 50 mi (80 km) wide; its maximum depth is 540 ft (165 m). The Georgian Bay Islands National Park, established in 1929, comprises some 40 islands in the southeastern and western parts of the bay. The Thirty Thousand Islands along the bay's eastern shore constitute a popular summer resort area.

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Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, southeastern Canada. Located between the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, it extends 94 mi (151 km) inland and is 32 mi (52 km) wide at its entrance. It is noted for its fast-running tides, which may produce rises as great as 70 ft (21 m), the highest in the world. Noted also for the spectacular rock formations and forests of its shorelines, it has several deepwater harbours, including one at St. John, N.B. In 1948 a 51,000-acre (20,700-hectare) section of the bay's New Brunswick coast was set aside as Fundy National Park.

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Inlet of the North Atlantic Ocean. Extending northwest from the southeastern tip of Baffin Island, Can., it is about 150 mi (240 km) long and 20–40 mi (32–64 km) wide and has a maximum depth of 400 ft (120 m). It was discovered in 1576 by Martin Frobisher. The town of Iqaluit at the head of the bay is the capital of Nunavut.

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Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean. Forming part of the New Jersey-Delaware state border, it extends southeast for 52 mi (84 km) from the junction of the Delaware River with Alloway Creek to its entrance between Cape May and Cape Henlopen. Bordered by marshy lowlands, the bay is an important link in the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.

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Bay, southeastern coast of Mozambique. Some 19 mi (31 km) long and 16 mi (26 km) wide, with Inhaca Island, a tourist resort, at its mouth, it also is the site of Maputo, the nation's capital. First explored by the Portuguese in 1544, it was important as an outlet for ivory and slaves, a way station for Indian Ocean trade, and a route to the South African diamond mines and goldfields. Ownership was contested by the Portuguese, Dutch, English, and Boers until it was awarded by arbitration to Portugal in 1875.

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formerly Marshfield Bay

Town (pop., 2000: 15,374), southwestern Oregon, U.S. Located on Coos Bay, an inlet of the Pacific, it was settled as Marshfield in 1854 and developed early shipbuilding industries. In the early 1900s it became a major lumber-shipping port. A port of entry, it also processes seafood products and is the heart of a seaside resort area. Incorporated in 1874, it was renamed Coos Bay (after an Indian tribal name) in 1944.

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Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, eastern U.S. With its lower section in Virginia and its upper section in Maryland, it is 193 mi (311 km) long and 3–25 mi (5–40 km) wide and has an area of about 3,230 sq mi (8,365 sq km). It receives many rivers, including the Susquehanna, Patuxent, Potomac, and James. Jamestown, the area's first European settlement, was founded in 1607; a year later, Capt. John Smith explored and mapped the bay. The bay's waters had supported vast amounts of marine life, but by the 1970s development of the surrounding area led to alarming pollution of the bay; fishing dropped off sharply. Efforts have since been made to reverse the damage.

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Inlet of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, southeastern Canada. It extends about 90 mi (145 km) between northern New Brunswick and the Gaspé Peninsula. It receives many rivers, including the Restigouche. The bay is famous as a fishing ground, especially for mackerel. It was navigated and named in July 1534 by Jacques Cartier.

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Vietnamese Vinh Cam Ranh

Inlet of the South China Sea, south-central Vietnam. Located between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, it was a French colonial naval base. It was used by the Japanese in World War II. From 1965 it was a major U.S. base in the Vietnam War. It later was a major Soviet naval base, and Russia maintained a presence there after the dissolution of the U.S.S.R.

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Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, southeastern Massachusetts, U.S. Connected to Cape Cod Bay by the Cape Cod Canal on the northeast and bordered on the southeast by the Elizabeth Islands, it is 30 mi (48 km) long and 5–10 mi (8–16 km) wide. Its coastline is dotted with fishing villages and summer resorts. Buzzards Bay town (pop., 2000: 3,549) is the site of Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

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Inlet of the South Pacific Ocean, southeastern Australia. Lying south of Sydney off Port Jackson, it is about 5 mi (8 km) at its widest. It was the scene of the first Australian landing by Capt. James Cook in 1770; he named the bay for its great variety of plants. It was selected in 1787 as the site for a penal settlement, but the settlement was soon transferred inland. Its shores are now ringed by Sydney's suburbs.

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Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, southeastern U.S. Located along southeastern Florida, it is about 40 mi (64 km) long and 2–10 mi (3–16 km) wide; it forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. It is bordered by Miami on the northwest and the Florida Keys on the east. The bay was named for the early explorer El Biscaino, of Viscaya (Biscaya) province, Spain. Seealso Biscayne National Park.

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or Gulf of Gascony French Golfe de Gascogne Spanish Golfo de Vizcaya

Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, bounded by southwestern France and northwestern Spain. It has an area of about 86,000 sq mi (223,000 sq km) and a maximum depth of 15,525 ft (4,735 m). It is known for its rough seas. Rivers flowing into the bay include the Loire, Adour, and Garonne. Its ports include (in France) Brest, Nantes, and Bordeaux, and (in Spain) Bilbao, Santander, and Avilés; none can accommodate large vessels. French coastal resorts include La Baule, Biarritz, and Saint-Jean-de–Luz.

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Part of the Indian Ocean. Occupying about 839,000 sq mi (2,173,000 sq km), it is bordered by Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and the northern Malay Peninsula. It is about 1,000 mi (1,600 km) wide, with an average depth exceeding 8,500 ft (2,600 m). Many large rivers, including the Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri (Cauvery), Ganges (Ganga), and Brahmaputra, flow into it. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the bay's only islands, separate it from the Andaman Sea to the southeast. It has long been crossed by Indian and Malaysian traders; Chinese maritime trading dates from the 12th century. Vasco da Gama led the first European voyage into the bay in 1498.

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Inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, southeastern Louisiana, U.S. The bay is about 15 mi (24 km) long and 12 mi (19 km) wide, and its entrance is a narrow channel, navigable through connecting waterways into the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway system. The area is noted for its shrimp industry and natural-gas and oil wells. Jean Laffite and his brother organized a colony of pirates around its coast in 1810–14, and it is sometimes called Laffite Country.

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Large inlet, Atlantic Ocean, between western Greenland and eastern Baffin Island. With an area of 266,000 sq mi (689,000 sq km), it extends 900 mi (1,450 km) southward from the Arctic and is connected to the Atlantic by Davis Strait. It was visited by the English captain Robert Bylot in 1615 and named for his lieutenant, William Baffin. Its climate is severe, and icebergs are dense even in August.

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Herb consisting of the dried leaves of Ocimum basilicum, an annual herb of the mint family, native to India and Iran. The dried large-leaf varieties have a fragrant aroma faintly reminiscent of anise, with a warm, sweet, aromatic, mildly pungent flavour. The dried leaves of common basil are less fragrant and more pungent. Basil is widely grown as a kitchen herb. Tea made from basil leaves is a stimulant. The heart-shaped basil leaf is a symbol of love in Italy.

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(born Oct. 31, 1895, Paris, France—died Jan. 29, 1970, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Eng.) British military historian and strategist. He left Cambridge University to join the British army at the outbreak of World War I and retired as a captain in 1927. He was an early advocate of air power and mechanized tank warfare. He wrote for London newspapers from 1925 to 1945. His writings on strategy, which emphasized the elements of mobility and surprise, were more influential in Germany than in France or England; his “expanding torrent” theory of attack became the basis for German blitzkrieg warfare in 1939–41. The author of more than 30 books, he was knighted in 1966.

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(born AD 329, Caesarea Mazaca, Cappadocia—died Jan. 1, 379, Caesarea; Western feast day January 2; Eastern feast day January 1) Early church father. Born into a Christian family in Cappadocia, he studied at Caesarea, Constantinople, and Athens and later established a monastic settlement on the family estate at Annesi. He opposed Arianism, which was supported by the emperor Valens and his own bishop Dianius, and organized resistance to it after 365. He succeeded Eusebius as bishop of Caesarea in 370. He died shortly after Valens, whose death in battle opened the way for the victory of Basil's cause. More than 300 of his letters survive; several of his Canonical Epistles have become part of canon law in Eastern Orthodoxy.

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known as Basil Bulgaroctonus (“Slayer of the Bulgars”)

(born 957/958—died Dec. 15, 1025) Byzantine emperor (976–1025). Crowned coemperor with his brother in 960, he had to exile the grand chamberlain (985) and defeat rival generals (989) in order to gain the authority to rule. Basil became one of the strongest Byzantine emperors, winning territory in the Balkans, Mesopotamia, Armenia, and Georgia. He was noted for his victory (1014) in the war with Bulgaria, which ended with his blinding all the soldiers in the defeated Bulgarian army. He increased his domestic authority by attacking the landed interests of the military aristocracy and of the church. Because Basil left no able successor, the gains of his rule were soon undone.

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known as Basil the Macedonian

(born 826/835, Thrace—died Aug. 29, 886) Byzantine emperor (867–86) and founder of the Macedonian dynasty. Born into a peasant family in Macedonia, he won employment in official circles in Constantinople and was made chamberlain by the reigning emperor, Michael III. He became coemperor with Michael in 866 and murdered him the next year. Basil won victories against Muslim forces along the eastern borders of Asia Minor and asserted control over Slavs in the Balkans. He gained ground in southern Italy but lost Syracuse (878) and other key cities in Sicily to the Muslims. He also formulated the Greek legal code known as the Basilica. In later life Basil showed signs of madness.

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Garden plant (Dianthus barbatus) in the pink family, grown for its clusters of small, brightly coloured flowers. It usually grows as a biennial, with seed sown the first year producing spring-flowering plants the second year. The plants grow about 2 ft (60 cm) high and produce numerous flowers with fringed petals in white, pink, or rose to violet, sometimes also bicoloured.

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Sweet sugar- or chocolate-based confection. The Egyptians made candy from honey (combined with figs, dates, nuts, and spices), sugar being unknown. With the spread of sugarcane cultivation in the 15th century, the industry began to grow. In the late 18th century the first candy-manufacturing machinery was produced. The main ingredients are cane and beet sugars combined with other carbohydrate foods such as corn syrup, cornstarch, honey, molasses, and maple sugar. To the sweet base are added chocolate, fruits, nuts, peanuts, eggs, milk, flavours, and colours. Common varieties include hard candies (crystallized sugar), caramels and toffees, nougats, jellies, fondants, marshmallows, marzipans, truffles, cotton candies, licorices, and chewing gums.

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