Maracaibo, Lake Inlet of the Caribbean Sea, northwestern Venezuela. The largest natural lake in South America, it occupies an area of 5,130 sq mi (13,280 sq km), extending southward for 130 mi (210 km) from the Gulf of Venezuela and reaching a width of 75 mi (121 km). Many rivers flow into the lake, notably the Catatumbo River. It is in one of the world’s richest oil-producing regions, which supplies about two-thirds of Venezu¬ ela’s total petroleum output. Its oil fields are located along the eastern shore, extending 20 mi (32 km) into the lake.
Maradona, Diego Armando (b. Oct. 30, 1960, Villa Fiorito, near Buenos Aires, Arg.) Argentine football (soccer) player. A midfielder renowned for his ability to create scoring chances for himself and others, he led club teams to championships in Argentina, Italy, and Spain. He starred for the Argentine national team that won the 1986 World Cup. His perfor¬ mance included two memorable goals against England, one scored with his hand (the referee mistakenly thought the ball struck his head) and now remembered as the “Hand of God,” and another that saw him dribble through a pack of defenders. He was twice suspended for use of banned substances. An Internet poll conducted by the Federation Internationale de Football Association named Maradona the top player of the 20th century.
Mara jo \,ma-ra-'zho\ Island in the Amazon River delta, Brazil. The world’s largest fluvial island, it is 183 mi (295 km) long and 124 mi (200 km) wide, with an area of about 15,500 sq mi (40,100 sq km). The main flow of the Amazon passes north of Marajo, but numerous narrow chan¬ nels direct part of its water into the ParA River, an estuary that separates the island from the mainland to the south. Archaeological remains in the eastern savanna are similar to those of pre-Columbian Andean civilization.
Maranon \,ma-ra-'nyon\ River River, central Peru. Rising in the Andes Mountains, it is part of the headwaters of the Amazon River. It flows north¬ west at elevations of about 12,000 ft (3,650 m) and descends through
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Marat ► Marcel I 1191
jungles in unnavigable rapids and falls; emerging from the most spectacu¬ lar of these rapids, the Pongo de Manseriche, it is only 575 ft (175 m) above sea level. For the rest of its 879-mi (1,415-km) course, it meanders eastward, receiving the Huallaga River and then joining the Ucayau River to form the Amazon.
Marat \ma-'ra\, Jean-Paul (b. May 24, 1743, Boudry, near Neucha- tel, Switz.—d. July 13, 1793, Paris,
France) French politician and a leader of the radical Montagnard faction in the French Revolution. He was a well-known doctor in London in the 1770s. Returning to France in 1777, he was appointed physician at the court of Louis XVI’ s brother, the count d’Artois (later Charles X).
Marat wrote scientific publications as well as political pamphlets. From 1789, as editor of the newspaper L’Ami du Peuple, he became an influential voice for radical measures against the aristocrats. He criticized moderate revolutionary leaders and warned against the emigre nobility, then advocated the execution of counterrevolutionaries. One of the most influential members of the National Convention (1792), he was actively supported by Parisians in street demonstrations. In April 1793 the Girondins brought him before a Revolutionary tribunal, but he was acquitted. In July a young Girondin supporter, Charlotte Corday, gained admittance to his room and stabbed him to death in his bath, making him a martyr to the people’s cause.
Maratha \ma-r3-'ta\ confederacy Maratha alliance formed in the 18th century in western India after Shivaji’s Maratha kingdom collapsed under Mughal pressure. Under Shivaji’s grandson, power fell to peshwas (chief ministers) from leading Maratha families, who ruled effectively in the early 18th century but quarreled as the century waned. The confed¬ eracy fell to the British in 1818.
Maratha Wars Three conflicts between the British and the Maratha confederacy in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. At the time, the con¬ federacy controlled large portions of the Deccan and of the western coast of the Indian peninsula. The British lost the first conflict (1775-82), in which they supported one contender’s bid for the office of peshxvci (chief minister). They won the second (1803-05), defeating members of the confederacy who challenged their restoration of an ousted peshwa. The third war (1817-18) started after the British invaded Maratha territory in pursuit of robber bands. When Maratha forces rose against the British, they were defeated, Maratha territory was annexed, and British supremacy in India became complete.
marathon Long-distance footrace run on an open course of 26 miles 385 yards (42.2 km). First held at the revived Olympic Games in 1896, it commemorates the legendary feat of a Greek soldier who is said to have run from Marathon to Athens in 490 bc, a distance of about 25 mi (40 km), to report the Greek victory at the Battle of Marathon, after which he dropped dead. Marathons today are usually open events for both men and women, often run by thousands of participants, including the vener¬ able Boston Marathon (established 1897). The women’s marathon became an Olympic event in 1984.
Marathon, Battle of (490 bc) Decisive battle on the plain of Mara¬ thon outside Athens in the Persian Wars. Darius I led his enormous army against a much smaller Athenian force led by Miltiades. The Athenians attacked with great speed, while the Persian cavalry was absent, devas¬ tating the Persian line and resulting in Darius’s departure from Greece. The victory was overwhelming: 6,400 Persians but only 192 Athenians died. It is said that a messenger ran about 25 mi (40 km) back to Athens, where he announced the victory before dying of exhaustion (see mara¬ thon). In another version, an Athenian runner was sent to Sparta before the battle to ask for help, running 150 mi (240 km) in two days; Sparta refused, so Athens fought with help only from Plataea.
Maravi confederacy Vma-ro-veX Centralized system of government established in southern Africa c. 1480. It was created by members of related ethnolinguistic groups who had migrated from the north into what
is now central and southern Malawi. Its seat was southwest of Lake Malawi, and at its peak in the 17th century it ruled an area stretching from the Zambezi River to the Mozambique coast. Its leaders traded with the Portuguese and Arabs in ivory, slaves, and iron. By 1720 it split into sev¬ eral autonomous factions.
marble Granular limestone or dolomite that has recrystallized under the influence of heat, pressure, and aqueous solutions. The main mineral in marble is calcite. Commercially, “marble” includes all decorative calcium- rich rocks that can be polished, as well as some serpentines. Marbles are used principally for buildings and monuments, interior decoration, statu¬ ary, tabletops, and novelties. Colour and appearance are their most impor¬ tant qualities. Statuary marble, the most valuable variety, must be pure white and of uniform grain size.
Marblehead Town (pop., 2000: 20,377), northeastern Massachusetts, U.S. Its harbour is sheltered by Marblehead Neck, a promontory about 1.5 mi (2.5 km) long. Settled in 1629 as a part of Salem, it was incorporated as a town in 1649 and developed as a fishing and shipbuilding centre. The port declined after the War of 1 812. It is now a resort centre.
Marbury v. Madison (1803) First decision of the Supreme Court of the United States to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional, thus estab¬ lishing the doctrine of judicial review. In 1801 newly elected Pres. Thomas Jefferson ordered Secretary of State James Madison to withhold from Wil¬ liam Marbury the commission of his appointment by former Pres. John Adams as justice of the peace in the District of Columbia. Marbury then requested that the Supreme Court compel Madison to deliver his com¬ mission. In denying his request, the court held that it lacked jurisdiction because the section of the Judiciary Act passed by Congress in 1789 that authorized the Court to issue such a writ was unconstitutional and thus invalid. Chief Justice John Marshall, writing for the Court, declared that the Constitution must always take precedence in any conflict between it and a law passed by Congress.