mihrab \'me-rob\ Arabic mihrab Semicircular prayer niche in the qiblah wall (the wall facing Mecca) of a MOSQUE, reserved for the prayer leader {imam). The mihrab originated in the reign of the Umayyad caliph al-Walld I (705-715), when the famous mosques at Medina, Jerusalem, and Damascus were built. It was adapted from the prayer niches common in Coptic Christian monasteries. Mihrabs are usually ornately decorated.
MTka’Tl \mi-'kal\ In Islam, the counterpart of the biblical archangel Michael. Mika’il is mentioned only once in the Qur’an, but, according to legend, he and JibrTl were the first angels to obey God’s order to worship
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Adam. The two are credited with purifying Muhammad’s heart before his ascension to heaven (see mir'aj). Mika’Il is said to have been so shocked at the sight of hell when it was created that he never laughed again. He is also believed to have helped the Muslims win their first significant military victory in Arabia in 624.
Mikan Vml-konX, George (Lawrence) (b. June 18, 1924, Joliet, Ill., U.S.—d. June 1, 2005, Scottsdale, Ariz.) U.S. basketball player and executive. He was an outstanding centre at DePaul University, where he also took his law degree. Standing about 6 ft 10 in. (2.08 m) tall, he was the first of the dominant big men in post-World War II professional bas¬ ketball. He played for the Minneapolis Lakers (now the Los Angeles Lak¬ ers) in 1947-54 and 1955-56, leading them to six championships. He was later named the first commissioner of the American Basketball Associa¬ tion (1967-69). An Associated Press poll in 1950 named him the greatest basketball player of the first half of the 20th century.
Mikotajczyk \,me-k6l-'I-chik\, Stanisfaw (b. July 18, 1901, Hol- sterhausen, near Gelsenkirchen, Ger.—d. Dec. 13, 1966, Washington, D.C., U.S.) Polish statesman. He cofounded the Peasant Party and served as its leader (1931-39). After the German invasion of Poland (1939), he fled to London, where he served in the Polish govemment-in-exile as prime minister (1943-44). He returned in 1945 and became second deputy premier in the communist-dominated provisional government. He tried to effect a democratic government, but persecution of the noncommunist Peasant Party forced him to flee in 1947 to Britain and then the U.S.
Mikon See Micon
Mikoyan Vme-ko-'yanX, Anastas (Ivanovich) (b. Nov. 25, 1895, Sanain, Armenia—d. Oct. 21, 1978, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) Russian statesman. After joining the Bolsheviks in 1915, he became a party leader in the Caucasus. His support of Joseph Stalin earned him a post on the Communist Central Committee (1923). He was commissar of trade from 1926, a member of the Politburo from 1935, and deputy premier (1946- 64), directing the country’s trade. He supported Nikita Khrushchev’s rise to power and became his close adviser and a first deputy premier of the Soviet Union. He was chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
(1964-65).
milad See Mawlid
Milan Vmo-'lan, mo-'lanN Italian Milano \me-'la-no\ Capital (pop., 2001 prelim.: 1,182,693), Lombardy region, northern Italy. The area was settled by the Gauls c. 600 bc. Known as Mediolanum, it was conquered by the Romans in 222 bc. Attacked in ad 452 by Attila and in 539 by the Goths, it fell to Charlemagne in 774. Milan’s power grew in the 11th century, but it was destroyed by the Holy Roman Empire in 1162. Rebuilt as part of the Lombard League in 1167, Milan achieved independence in 1183. In 1450 Francesco Sforza founded a new dynasty there; after 1499 it was ruled alternately by the French and the Sforza family until 1535, when the Hab- sburgs obtained it. Napoleon took power in 1796, and in 1805 it became the capital of his kingdom of Italy. It was incorporated into unified Italy in 1860. Milan was heavily damaged during World War II but was rebuilt. It is Italy’s most important economic centre, with industrial development and textile manufacturing. It is noted for its fashion industry and produc¬ tion of electronic goods and is also Italy’s financial centre. Its historic sites include the medieval Duomo, Europe’s third largest cathedral; the Palazzo di Brera (1651); the 15th-century monastery that houses Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, and La Scala opera house.
Milan Decree (Dec. 17, 1807) Economic policy in the Napoleonic Wars. It was part of the Continental System invoked by Napoleon to block¬ ade trade with the British. It expanded the blockade of continental ports to those of neutral ships trading with Britain and eventually affected U.S. shipping.
mildew Conspicuous mass of threadlike hyphae (see mycelium) and fruit¬ ing structures produced by various fungi (division Mycota; see fungus). Mildew grows on cloth, fibres, leather goods, and plants, using these sub¬ stances as food for growth and reproduction. Downy mildew and pow¬ dery mildew are plant diseases that affect hundreds of species.
mile Any of various units of distance, including the statute mile of 5,280 ft (1.61 km). It originated from the Roman mille passus, or “thousand paces,” which measured 5,000 Roman ft (4,840 English ft [1,475 km]). A nautical mile is the length on the Earth’s surface of one minute of arc or, by international definition, 1,852 m (6,076.12 ft [1.1508 statute mi]);
it remains in universal use in both marine and air transportation. A knot is one nautical mile per hour. See also International System of Units; met¬ ric system.
Miletus \ml-'le-t3s\ Ancient Greek city of western Anatolia. Before 500 bc it was the greatest Greek city in the east. Distinguished as a commer¬ cial and colonial power, it was also known for its intellectual figures, including Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, and Hecataeus. Ruled by Greek tyrants, it later passed successively under the control of Lydia and the Persian Achaemenian dynasty. About 499 bc Miletus led the Ionian revolt that sparked the Persian Wars, and it was destroyed by the Persians in 494 bc. After the Greeks defeated the Persians, it joined the Delian League. It fell to Alexander the Great in 334 bc but retained its commer¬ cial importance. By the 6th century ad its two harbours had silted up, and it was eventually abandoned. Now an archaeological site, it is located near the mouth of the Menderes River.
Milford Sound Inlet of the Tasman Sea, southwestern coast of South Island, New Zealand. About 2 mi (3 km) wide, the sound extends inland for 12 mi (19 km). It was named by a whaler in the 1820s for its resem¬ blance to Milford Haven in Wales. It is the northernmost fjord in Fiord¬ land National Park and is the site of Milford Sound town, one of the region’s few permanently inhabited places.
Milhaud \me-'y6\, Darius (b. Sept. 4, 1892, Aix-en-Provence, France—d. June 22, 1974, Geneva, Switz.) French composer. Milhaud studied at the Paris Conservatoire, then at the Schola Cantorum with Vin¬ cent d'Indy. He became known as one of Les Six, a group of young French composers. His music is characterized by polytonality (simultaneous use of different keys), as in Saudades do Brazil (1921); though dissonant, his compositions retain a lyrical quality. The influence of jazz is audible in his best-known work, the ballet The Creation of the World (1923). He wrote many ballets, operas, and film scores in the 1920s, culminating in the grand opera Christophe Colomb (1928). Milhaud had a longtime asso¬ ciation with the Aspen Music Festival, which he helped found in 1949.