Tibbett \'tib-3t\, Lawrence orig. Lawrence Mervil Tibbet (b.
Nov. 16, 1896, Bakersfield, Calif., U.S.—d. July 15, 1960, New York,
Thyme ( Thymus vulgaris)
WALTER CHANDOHA
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Tiber River ► tick I 1907
N.Y.) U.S. baritone. He performed as a singing actor before moving into opera. After his 1923 Metropolitan Opera debut, his first major success came in 1925, when he played Ford in Giuseppe Verdi’s Falstaff. Over the next several years he sang most of the leading baritone roles at the Met¬ ropolitan, continuing with the company for 27 seasons. He also starred in several musical films and appeared on the popular radio show Your Hit Parade.
Tiber River Vtl-borX Italian Tevere \'ta-va-ra\ River, Italy. The coun¬ try’s second-longest river, it rises in the Tuscan Apennines, and flows south for 252 mi (405 km), ultimately passing through the city of Rome before entering the Mediterranean at Ostia. It was an important navigation route for trade in Roman times. Despite sporadic dredging over the centuries, its persistent silting has limited its use in modem times.
Tiberias \tl-'bir-e-3s\ Hebrew Teverya \t3-'ver-y9\ Town (pop., 2004 est.: 40,100) and resort, northeastern Israel. Located on Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee), at 689 ft (210 m) below sea level, it is one of the lowest-lying towns in the world. It was founded c. ad 20 by Herod Antipas and named for the Roman emperor Tiberius. After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in ad 70, it became a centre of Jewish learning and later the seat of the Sanhedrin and rabbinical schools. The Talmud was edited there in the 3rd-6th centuries. Saladin took the town from the Crusaders in 1187. The modern town was refounded under the British mandate in 1922 and became part of independent Israel in 1948. Historic sites include the tomb of the great Jewish scholar Moses Maimonides. Along with Hebron, Jerus¬ alem, and Zefat, it is one of the four holy cities of Judaism.
Tiberius in full Tiberius (Julius) Caesar Augustus orig. Tibe¬ rius Claudius Nero (b. Nov. 16,
42 bc —d. March 16, ad 37, Capreae, near Naples) Second Roman emperor (ad 14-37). He was raised by Augustus, who had married his mother, Livia Drusilla. In his first military command, at age 22, he recovered Roman legionary stan¬ dards lost for decades in Parthia and returned to great acclaim. He was forced to give up his beloved wife to marry Augustus’s daughter Julia (12 bc). Despite becoming tribune, he went into self-imposed exile on Rhodes (6 bc), becoming an angry recluse. By 4 bc Julia was exiled for promiscuity by Augustus, who recalled Tiberius and named him his heir. As emperor he initially ran the state efficiently and instituted some reforms, with only occasional sever¬ ity, such as exiling Rome’s Jewish population on a pretext. When his son Drusus died mysteriously, he gave his trust to Sejanus and was per¬ suaded to move to Capri (27). He became increasingly violent, killing and torturing at a whim. After Seja¬ nus became coconsul in 31, Tiberius became suspicious of his ambition and executed him, then named Caligula his heir. In 37 the Praetorian Guard declared its support for Caligula and killed Tiberius when he was on his sickbed.
Tiberias, Lake or Sea of Galilee Freshwater lake, northern Israel. It is 13 mi (21 km) long and 7 mi (11 km) wide; it lies about 700 ft (212 m) below sea level and receives most of its inflow from the Jordan River. The region has been inhabited for millennia: archaeological finds dating to some 500,000 years ago are among the oldest in the Middle East. In the 1st century ad, the region was rich and populated; Christians know it as the scene of many episodes in the life of Jesus. Today the lake’s waters irrigate the surrounding agricultural region. Modern health resorts have grown up, and the baths at Tiberias are among Israel’s winter resort attractions.
Tibet \ti-'bet\ Tibetan Bod Vbod\ Chinese Xizang \'she-'dzaq\ or Hsi- tsang Autonomous region (pop., 2002 est.: 2,670,000), western China. It is bordered by India (including the Kashmir region), Nepal, Bhutan, and
Myanmar, the provinces of Yunnan, Sichuan, and Qinghai, and Xinjiang autonomous region. It has an area of 471,700 sq mi (1,221,600 sq km), and its capital is Lhasa. Before the 1950s it was a unique entity, with its own Buddhist culture and religion, that sought isolation from the rest of the world. Situated on a plateau averaging 15,000 ft (4,500 m) above sea level, it is the highest region in the world. Its surrounding mountain ranges include the Kunlun Mountains and the Himalayas; Mount Everest rises on its border with Nepal. Tibet emerged as a powerful Buddhist kingdom in the 7th-9th century ad. It came under the control of the Mongols in the 13th century and the Qing (Manchu) dynasty in the 18th century. After the 1911-12 Chinese revolution it gained a measure of autonomy. The Chi¬ nese People’s Liberation Army entered Tibet in 1950, and Chinese author¬ ity was subsequently established over the region. The 14th Dalai Lama, Bstan-’dzin-rgya-mtsho, led an abortive rebellion in 1959, after which he fled to India and set up a government-in-exile. The Tibet Autonomous Region was established in 1965. Many of Tibet’s cultural treasures were destroyed or badly damaged during the Cultural Revolution, but restora¬ tion work has been underway since then.
Tibetan Buddhism Form of Mahayana Buddhism that evolved from the 7th century in Tibet. Based on Madhyamika and Yogacara philosophies, it incorporates the rituals of Vajrayana, the monastic disciplines of early Theravada, and the shamanistic features of Bon. The predominant Tibetan sect for the past three centuries has been Dge-lugs-pa. Its spiritual head is the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan canon is divided into the Bka ’gyur (“Trans¬ lation of the Word”), consisting of canonical texts translated mostly from Sanskrit, and Bstan- ’gyur (“Transmitted Word”), consisting of commen¬ taries by Indian masters. After the Chinese communist takeover in 1959, Tibetans began a massive emigration that has spread Tibetan Buddhism around the globe.
Tibetan language Sino-Tibetan language spoken by more than five million people in Tibet (Xizang), Qinghai, Sichuan, and Gansu provinces in China; Bhutan; northern Nepal; and the Kashmir region of India and Pakistan. Since the occupation of Tibet by China in 1959, enclaves of Tibetan speakers have dispersed to India and other parts of the world. Spoken Tibetan comprises a very diverse range of dialects, convention¬ ally divided into several groups: Western, including Balti and Ladakhi in Jammu and Kashmir; Central, including the speech of Lhasa and most of the Nepalese dialects (including Sherpa); Southern, including the dialects of Sikkim and Bhutan; Khams, or Southeastern, including the dialects of the interior plateau, southern Qinghai, eastern Tibet, and parts of western Sichuan; and Amdo or Northeastern, including the dialects of northern Qinghai, southern Gansu, and northern Sichuan. Most Tibetans share a common literary language, written in a distinctive script of disputed ori¬ gin first attested in the 8th century ad.
tic Sudden rapid, recurring muscle contraction—usually a blink, sniff, twitch, or shrug—always brief, irresistible, and localized. Frequency decreases from head to foot. Unlike a spasm, a cramp, or the movements of chorea or epilepsy, it does not interfere with other movement and can be held off for a time. It can become ingrained as a habit of which the person (most often a nervous child 5-12 years old) is unaware. Most tics are probably psychological, but similar movements occur in some physi¬ cal disorders (e.g., late-stage encephalitis). People with tics have some control over the movement but feel impelled to go through with it to feel better. Tension increases the movement’s likelihood, and distraction reduces it. Psychotherapy, relaxation training, and biofeedback training have had some success in treating tics.