Karachi \ka-'ra-che\ City (pop., 1998: 9,269,265), Pakistan. Located in southern Pakistan on the Arabian Sea northwest of the mouth of the Indus River, it was a small fishing village when traders arrived in the early 18th century. It was captured by the British in 1839 and was a major port of the British Empire by 1914. The provincial capital of Sind from 1936, it was also the first capital of independent Pakistan (1947-59). It is Paki¬ stan’s principal seaport and a major industrial and commercial centre, and it is one of the world’s most populous cities. It is the seat of the Univer¬ sity of Karachi and the terminus of Pakistan’s railway system.
Karadjordjevic \ l kar-9- , jor-j3- l vich\ dynasty Rulers descended from the Serbian rebel leader Karadjordje (1762-1817). It rivaled the Obrenovic dynasty for control of Serbia during the 19th century and ruled that country and its successor state, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia), in 1842-58 and 1903-45. See also Alexander I; Peter I; Peter II.
Karadzic \ka-'ra-jet y ,\ English \ka-'rad-zich\, Radovan (b. June 19, 1945, Petnijca, Yugos.) Bosnian Serb politician. He trained as a psychia¬ trist and also wrote poetry and children’s books. In 1990 he helped found the Serbian Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1992, when the Bosnian Serbs declared an independent state, he became its president. With the support of Yugoslav Pres. Slobodan Milosevic and with Bosnian Serb military leader Gen. Ratko Mladic, Karadzic undertook a campaign of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia to purge it of non-Serbian peoples. In 1995 he was indicted by a UN war crimes tribunal. He was pressured into sign¬ ing the Dayton peace accords and forced to resign as state president and party head in 1996. However, he continued to influence the Serb- controlled part of Bosnia and Herzegovina from a mountain hideaway outside Sarajevo. Despite attempts to arrest him, he was able to evade capture through the 1990s and into the early 21st century.
Karadzic \ka-'ra-jet y ,\ English \ka-'rad-zich\, Vuk Stefanovic (b. Nov. 6, 1787, Trsic, Serbia, Ottoman Empire—d. Feb. 6, 1864, Vienna) Serbian language scholar and folklorist. He was largely self-taught as a writer. After the failure of a Serb revolt against Turkish rule, he left for Vienna (1813), where he was introduced to formal scholarship by the Slavist Jernej Kopitar. In 1814 he published a grammar of Serbian (see Serbo-Croatian language) and in 1818 a dictionary; both promulgated a reformed Cyrillic alphabet and a new literary language based on colloquial Serbian rather than the prevailing literary language, which mixed archaic Serbian with Russian Church Slavic (see Old Church Slavonic language). After decades of resistance and polemicizing, the renascent Serbian state accepted his reforms in 1868.
Karaganda See Qaraghandy
Karaism or Qaraism Vkar-o-.i-zsirA Jewish religious movement that denied the authenticity of the oral law and defended the Hebrew Bible as the only basis of doctrine and practice. It originated in 8th-century Per¬ sia, where its members were called Ananites after Anan ben David, who worked out a code of life independent of the Talmud. Members later adopted the name Karaites from the Hebrew qara (“to read”), emphasiz¬ ing their reliance on a personal reading of the Bible. The movement spread through Egypt and Syria, winning only small numbers of followers and enduring many schisms. It still has about 10,000 members in Israel.
Karajan Vkar-3-,yan\, Herbert von (b. April 5, 1908, Salzburg, Austria—d. July 16, 1989, Anif, near Salzburg) Austrian conductor. A child prodigy on the piano, he attended Salzburg’s Mozarteum. He took his first conducting post in Ulm in 1929. In 1933 he joined the Nazi Party, and under the Third Reich his reputation grew swiftly. After World War II he initially was not allowed to conduct, but in 1947 he began record-
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ing with the Vienna Philharmonic, the start of a legacy of some 800 recordings. His U.S. debut in 1955 was attended by controversy over his Nazi-era activities. That same year he became Wilhelm Furtwangler’s suc¬ cessor at the Berlin Philharmonic, and he headed the Salzburg Festival from 1964 until his death.
Karak See Kaya
Karakoram Range Mountain system, south-central Asia. Extending 300 mi (480 km) from eastern Afghanistan to the Kashmir region, it is one of the highest mountain systems in the world; its loftiest peak is K2, at 28,251 ft (8,611 m), the world’s second highest peak. Surrounded by other steep mountain ranges, the Karakorams are virtually inaccessible, although the completion of the Karakoram Highway in 1978 improved transportation in the region. Because of the harsh environment, the area is thinly populated.
Karakorum \,ka-ra-'kor-3m\ Ancient capital, Mongol empire. Its ruins lie on the upper Orhon River in north-central Mongolia. It was settled c. 750. Genghis Khan established his headquarters there in 1220. In 1235 his son and successor, Ogodei, enclosed the city with walls and built a palace. Chinese forces invaded Mongolia and destroyed Karakorum in 1388. It was later partially rebuilt but was abandoned by the 16th century. The ruins are included in a regional UNESCO World Heritage site designated in 2004.
Karakul Vkar-o-kolX Breed of sheep that originated in central or west¬ ern Asia. They are raised chiefly for the skins of very young lambs, which have a glossy, tightly curled black coat (the “Persian lamb” of the fur trade). The wool of mature Karakul sheep, classified as carpet wool, is a mixture of coarse and fine fibres 6-10 in. (15-25 cm) long and varies from black to brown and gray.
Karakum Desert or Kara-Kum Desert \ l kar-3-'kum\ Desert area, Central Asia. Located in Turkmenistan, it is bounded to the east by the Amu Darya valley. It can be divided into three major regions: the elevated and wind-eroded Trans-Unguz in the north, the low-lying central plain, and the salt marshes of the southeast. It is populated by formerly nomadic Turkmen, who live by fishing in the Caspian Sea or raising livestock.
Karamanlis \,kar-9-man-Tes\, Konstantinos or Constantine Caramanlis (b. March 8, 1907, Proti, near Serrai, Macedonia, Otto¬ man Empire—d. April 23, 1998, Athens, Greece) Greek prime minister (1955—63, 1974-80) and president (1980-85, 1990-95). In various cabi¬ net posts after World War II (1946-55), he helped rebuild Greece’s war- torn economy. Chosen prime minister in 1955, he formed a government and a new conservative party, the National Radical Union. In 1960 he established an independent republic on Cyprus to ease tensions with Brit¬ ain and Turkey over the island. He resigned in 1963 and lived in exile in Paris until 1974. Recalled as prime minister, he subordinated the military to civilian authority to restore democracy, averted war with Turkey over Cyprus, and oversaw the adoption of a new constitution that strengthened the presidency. In 1975 he held a referendum that resulted in the aboli¬ tion of the monarchy. In 1980 he resigned as prime minister and was elected president. He helped effect Greece’s entry into the European Com¬ munity in 1981. He resigned in 1985, then was reelected president in 1990.
karaoke \,kar-e-'o-ke\ Japanese "empty orchestra" Use of a device that plays instrumental accompaniments to songs with the vocal tracks removed, permitting the user to sing the lead. Karaoke apparently first appeared in the amusement quarter of Kobe, Japan, where it became popular among businessmen in the late 1970s. It gained widespread popu¬ larity in the U.S. in the late 1980s. It is usually featured at bars, where patrons can perform on a stage and sing popular hits by reading lyrics elec¬ tronically displayed on a monitor. A video film often accompanies the music.
karate Martial art in which an attacker is disabled by crippling kicks and punches. Emphasis is on concentration of as much of the body’s power as possible at the point and instant of impact. Striking surfaces include the hand (particularly the knuckles and the hand’s outer edge), ball of the foot, heel, forearm, knee, and elbow. In sporting matches (usu¬ ally lasting about three minutes) and in sparring, blows and kicks are stopped short of contact. Performances are scored by a panel of judges. Karate evolved in East Asia over a period of centuries, becoming sys¬ tematized in Okinawa in the 17 th century, probably by people forbidden to carry weapons. It was imported into Japan in the 1920s and spread from there to other countries. See also tae kwon do.