Salvador or Bahia City (pop., 2002 est.: 2,519,500), port, and capi¬ tal of Bahia state, northeastern Brazil. Located at the southern tip of a pen¬ insula that separates All Saints Bay from the Atlantic Ocean, it is one of Brazil’s oldest cities, founded in 1549 as the Portuguese colonial capital. At the centre of the sugar trade along the bay, it became a prize for pri¬ vateers, and the Dutch captured it briefly in 1624. Retaken by the Portu¬ guese, it became a major centre for the African slave trade. It has grown continuously since 1940, and its port is one of the country’s finest. Impor¬ tant industries include food and tobacco processing, ceramics, and ship¬ building.
salvation In religion, deliverance from fundamentally negative condi¬ tions, such as suffering, evil, death, or samsara, or the restoration or eleva¬ tion of the natural world to a higher, better state. Eastern religions tend to stress self-help through individual discipline and practice, sometimes over the course of many lifetimes, though in Mahayana Buddhism bodhi- sattvas and certain buddhas may act as intervening divine agents. In Chris¬ tianity, Jesus is the source of salvation and faith in his saving power is stressed. Islam emphasizes submission to God. Judaism posits collective salvation for the people of Israel.
Salvation Army International Christian charitable movement. It was founded in 1865 by William Booth, with the aim of feeding and housing the poor of London. He adopted the name Salvation Army in 1878 and established the organization on a military pattern. Members are called soldiers, and officers earn ranks that range from lieutenant to brigadier. Converts are required to sign Articles of War and to volunteer their ser¬ vices. Doctrines are similar to those of other evangelical Protestant denominations, though Booth saw no need for sacraments. The meetings are characterized by singing and hand clapping, instrumental music, per¬ sonal testimony, free prayer, and an open invitation to repentance. Head¬ quartered in London, the Salvation Army now provides a wide variety of social services in more than 100 countries.
salvia \'sal-ve-9\ Any of about 700 species of herbaceous and woody plants that make up the genus Salvia, in the mint family. Some members (e.g., sage) are important as sources of flavouring. Easy to propagate, transplant, and grow in poor soil and drought conditions, salvias are a garden staple. Best-known is the 1-3-ft (30-90-cm) annual scarlet sage (S . splendens) from Brazil, whose blazing spikes contrast with dark green, oval leaves from midsummer to frost. Blue sage ( S. farinacea ), of south¬ western North America, is a favourite in dried winter bouquets.
Salween River \'sal-,wen\ Chinese Nu Jiang River, Southeast Asia. Rising in eastern Tibet, it flows generally south for about 1,500 mi (2,400 km) through Yunnan province, China, and eastern Myanmar (Burma), emptying into the Gulf of Martaban of the Andaman Sea at Moulmein. In its lower course, it forms the frontier between Myanmar and Thailand for about 80 mi (130 km). It is the longest river in Myanmar and is navigable by small craft in certain sections, but dangerous rapids hinder its use as a major waterway.
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Salyut ► Samoa I 1675
Salyut \sal-'yut\ Any of a series of seven Soviet space stations (of two designs) placed into Earth orbit in the 1970s and early ’80s that served as living quarters and scientific laboratories or military reconnaissance platforms. Manned Soyuz spacecraft and robotic Progress cargo ferries routinely rendezvoused and docked with the Salyuts to transfer cosmo¬ nauts and supplies. Salyut 1 (launched 1971) was the world’s first space station; after staying aboard 23 days, the inaugural crew died while return¬ ing to Earth. Salyut 6 (1977), the first with an improved design, was a highly successful scientific station that hosted a series of international visitors. Salyut 7 (1982) was succeeded by Mir.
Salzburg ancient Juvavum City (pop., 2001: city, 142,662; urban agglom., 210,276), north-central Austria. Located on the Salzach River, it began as a Celtic settlement and later became the site of a Roman town. It was made a bishopric by St. Boniface in 739 and was raised to an arch¬ bishopric in 798. Its archbishops became princes of the Holy Roman Empire in 1278; Salzburg became the seat of their powerful ecclesiastical prin¬ cipality. A music centre for centuries, it is the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; the annual Salzburg Festival is held there. Notable buildings include Renaissance and Baroque houses, archiepiscopal pal¬ aces, and a 17th-century cathedral.
sama \sa-'ma\ In Sufism, the practice of listening to music, chanting, and dancing as a means of producing a state of religious ecstasy and mystical trance. Practitioners hold that music prepares the soul for a deeper com¬ prehension of divine realities and a better appreciation of divine music. God, as the source of beauty, is taken to be approachable through these activities because they contain or exemplify beauty. It is stressed that music is only a means to approach the spiritual realm, and strong ascetic training is required to ensure that music so employed does not arouse base instincts.
samadhi \so-'ma-de\ State of intense concentration or absorption of consciousness, the product of meditation. In Hinduism, it is achieved through Yoga, in which the consciousness is absorbed in the object of meditation. In Buddhism, samadhi is the result of mind-development as distinct from insight-development (see vipassana), and is attainable by non-Buddhists as well as Buddhists. In Zen Buddhism, samadhi allows the meditator to overcome dualistic subject-object awareness through unity with the object of meditation.
Samar Vsa-,mar\ Island (pop., 2000: 1,517,585), east-central Philip¬ pines. The third largest Philippine island after Luzon and Mindanao, it has an area of 5,050 sq mi (13,080 sq km) and is one of the Visayan group. In World War II it was occupied by the Japanese in 1942 and was retaken by the U.S. in 1944. The rugged interior is sparsely settled; permanent settlements are generally coastal. Coconuts and abaca are the main cash crops. The island is well forested, and there are logging and sawmill operations on the eastern coast.
Samara \s9-'ma-r formerly (1935-91) Kuybyshev Yku-e-bs-shafX City (pop., 2002: 1,158,100) and river port, western Russia. Located on the left bank of the Volga River at its confluence with the Samara River, it was founded in 1586 as a fortress protecting the Volga trade route. It was the scene of the rebellion of Yemelyan Pugacfiov against Catherine II in 1773-74. Samara later became a major trade centre. Its growth was stimulated during World War II by the relocation there of numerous gov¬ ernment functions when Moscow was threatened by German attack. It is highly industrialized and is the centre of a network of pipelines. Oil and petrochemicals are the major industries.
Samaria \so-'mar-e-3\ Central region, ancient Palestine. Extending about 40 mi (65 km) north-south and 35 mi (55 km) east-west, it was bounded by Galilee to the north, Judaea to the south, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and the Jordan River to the east. It corresponds roughly to the northern portion of the modern West Bank territory. Ancient Shechem (near modern Nabulus) was the region’s crossroads and politi¬ cal centre until the Assyrian conquest of Israel in the 8th century bc. The town of Samaria, its capital, was built by King Omri c. 880 bc. It was taken by Sargon II in c. 724-721 bc, and its inhabitants were transported into captivity. It was rebuilt by Herod the Great, who renamed it Sebaste in honour of the Roman emperor Augustus (Greek, Sebastos). In ad 6 the region became part of the Roman province of Judaea.
Samaritan Member of a now nearly extinct Jewish community. Call¬ ing themselves Bene-Yisrael (“Children of Israel”), or Shamerim (“Obser¬ vant Ones”), they claim to be related to those Jews of ancient Samaria who were not deported from Israel by the Assyrians in 722 bc. The Pen¬