Belshazzar \bel-'sha-z3r\ (d. c. 539 bc) Coregent of Babylon. Though he is referred to in the book of Daniel as the son of Nebuchadrezzar, Babylonian inscriptions suggest that he was the eldest son of King Nabon- idus. When the king went into exile in 550 bc, the kingdom and most of its army were entrusted to Belshazzar. In the biblical story Belshazzar holds a last great feast at which he sees a hand writing on a wall the Ara¬ maic words “ mene , mene, tekel, upharsin ,” which Daniel interprets as a judgment from God foretelling the fall of Babylon. Belshazzar died after Babylon fell to the Persians in 539 bc.
belt drive Pair of pulleys attached to usually parallel shafts and con¬ nected by an encircling flexible belt (band) that can serve to transmit and modify rotary motion from one shaft to the other. Most belt drives con¬ sist of flat leather, rubber, or fabric belts running on cylindrical pulleys or of belts with a V-shaped cross section running on grooved pulleys. Another type of belt, used on some internal-combustion engines for con¬ necting the crankshaft and camshafts, is the toothed (or timing) belt, a flat belt with evenly spaced transverse teeth that fit in matching grooves on the periphery of the pulley.
Beltane Vbel-tan, 'bel-tin\ or Beltine \'bel-tin\ or Cetsamain Vket-.sau-inX In Celtic religion, a festival held on the first day of May, cel¬ ebrating the beginning of summer and open pasturing. Beltane was one of two turning points in the year, the other being November 1 (Samhain), the start of winter. At both, the bounds between the human and supernatural worlds were erased. On May Eve, witches and fairies roamed freely, and measures had to be taken against their enchantments. As late as the 19th century in Ireland, cattle were driven between two bonfires on Beltane as a magical means of protecting them from disease. See also Halloween.
Belter, John Henry orig. Johann Heinrich Belter (b. 1804, Germany—d. 1863, New York, N.Y., U.S.) German-born U.S. cabinet¬ maker and designer. Trained in Germany, he settled in New York City in 1833. He opened a fashionable shop specializing in rosewood, walnut, and mahogany furniture. In 1854 he patented his invention of processing rosewood in many layers to achieve thin panels that, once shaped in molds
through steam heating, could be finely carved. He opened a large factory in 1858, but soon competitive French imports and economic troubles associated with the American Civil War impaired his business, and the firm closed in 1867.
beluga \bo-Tu-g9\ or hausen \'hau-z 3 n\ Large species of sturgeon {Huso huso, or Acipenser huso ) that inhabits the Caspian and Black seas and the Sea of Azov. It reaches a length of 25 ft (7.5 m) and a weight of 2,900 lbs (1,300 kg), but its flesh and caviar are less valuable than those of smaller species.
beluga or white whale Species ( Delphinapterus leucas) of whale found in the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas, in both deep offshore and coastal waters. It may also enter rivers that empty into far northern seas. A toothed whale with a rounded forehead and no dorsal fin, the beluga is about 13 ft (4 m) long. Bom dark blue-gray or blackish, it fades to white or cream at 4-5 years of age. It feeds on fish, cephalopods, and crusta¬ ceans and usually lives in groups of five to 10. It has been hunted com¬ mercially for its oil, hide, and flesh, and is used in the Arctic as food for humans and dogs.
Beluga, or white whale [Delphinapterus leucas ).
E.R. DEGGINGER
belvedere Roofed architectural structure, freestanding or attached, and open on one or more sides. It is built in an elevated position to provide a view and capture daylight and fresh air. Used in Italy since the Renais¬ sance, it often assumes the form of a loggia. The term is often used for a gazebo on top of a building, especially the glazed viewing room of a Vic¬ torian dwelling.
Belvedere Torso Hellenistic marble torso of a male figure 5 ft 3 in. (1.6 m) high seated on a rock. It is named after the Belvedere court in Vatican City, where it once stood; it is now in the Vatican Museum. It is signed by the Greek sculptor Apollonius and possibly dates from the 1 st century bc. Well known by 1500, it had a profound influence on Michel¬ angelo and other Renaissance artists.
bema \'be-mo\ (Greek: “step”) Raised stone platform originally used in Athens as a tribunal where orators addressed the citizens and courts of law. In modern times it is usually a rectangular wooden platform. The bema became a standard fixture in Eastern Orthodox churches, function¬ ing as a stage for the altar and clergy. In synagogues, the bema (or bimah) is a raised platform with a reading desk from which the Torah and pas¬ sages from the Prophets are read.
Bembo \'bem-,bo\, Pietro (b. May 20, 1470, Venice—d. Jan. 18, 1547, Rome) Italian prelate and linguist. Born into an aristocratic family, he became librarian of St. Mark’s Cathedral and was created a cardinal in 1539. After writing lyric poetry in Latin, he turned to the vernacular, pro¬ ducing Italian poems in imitation of Petrarch and an Italian history of Venice. His Discussions of the Vernacular Language (1525) was one of the earliest books to codify Italian spelling and grammar, and it helped establish the Italian literary language. Bembo successfully advocated the adoption of 14th-century Tuscan as a model for literary Italian.
Ben Ali \ben-'a-le\, Zine el-Abidine (b. Sept. 3, 1938, near Sousse, Tun.) President of Tunisia (from 1987). Trained as a soldier, he headed the defense ministry’s military intelligence section for 10 years (1964-
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Ben Bella ► Benedict XIII I 197
74) before entering the foreign service. He served as ambassador to Poland before returning home to hold several domestic government posts, which culminated in a dual appointment as prime minister and interior minister. In 1987 he replaced President Habib Bourguiba, who had been declared medically unfit. He was returned to office in elections in 1989, 1994, 1999, and 2004.
Ben Bella, Ahmed (b. Dec. 25, 1918?, Maghnia, Alg.) First elected president of Algeria. After a French education, he entered the French army and was decorated during World War II (1939—45). After the war he took up arms to fight French rule. In 1954 he helped found the National Lib¬ eration Front (FLN) and became its political leader. He was imprisoned (1956-62) while the FLN fought for Algerian independence. He took control of the FLN’s Political Bureau after his release and was elected president in 1963. He was deposed in a coup in 1965 and imprisoned until 1980. Thereafter he spent 10 years in exile, returning to Algeria in 1990. See also Mohamed Boudiaf; Houari Boumedienne.
Ben-Gurion \ben-'gur-e-on\, David orig. David Gruen (b. Oct. 16, 1886, Plonsk, Pol., Russian Empire—d. Dec. 1, 1973, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel) First prime minister of Israel (1948-53, 1955-63). Introduced to Zionism by his father, Ben-Gurion immigrated to Palestine, then part of the Ottoman Empire, in 1906, hoping to fulfill the Zionist aspiration of building a Jewish state in historic Israel. Expelled by the Ottomans at the outbreak of World War I (1914-18), he traveled to New York, where he married. Following the issuance of the Balfour Declaration, he joined the British army’s Jewish Legion and returned to the Middle East. In the 1920s and ’30s he led several political organizations, including the Jew¬ ish Agency, world Zionism’s highest directing body. As Britain became more sympathetic to the interests of the Palestinian Arabs, thereafter restricting Jewish immigration to Palestine, he called on the Jewish com¬ munity to rise against Britain. However, he again called for Jews to sup¬ port the Allies during World War II (1939-45), while continuing the clandestine immigration of Jews to Palestine. On the establishment of the State of Israel (1948), he became prime minister and minister of defense. He succeeded in fusing the underground Jewish militias that had fought the British into a national army, which he used successfully to defend against Arab attacks. Unpopular with Britain and the U.S., he found an ally in France—then embroiled in its own war in the Arab world—which helped arm Israel in the period leading to the Suez Crisis (1956). He retired from the premiership in 1963 and from the Knesset (parliament) in 1970. See also Arab-Israeli wars.