Encyclopedias attempt to summarize the state of knowledge in a field of inquiry. A good encyclopedia can be a valuable starting point for your research.
Two online reference collections that students often find useful are: Credo Reference, and Gale Virtual Reference Library.
The Asia collections in the International and Area Studies Library have several encyclopedias in addition to those listed below. For much more on library sources for the study of Islam, please visit our guide, Islam: Library Sources for Research.
Historical Dictionary of Egypt by Below are some sources of Indian biography. For more general information, visit the Reference Library's Biography guide.
Below is a list of major, recently-published sources. In general, to find historical atlases, a good approach is to search in the Online Catalog using the subject terms "historical geography". For example:
Or try subject words "history" and "maps". For example:
Not all of the books retrieved will be atlases, but many will be and most at least will include maps.
Historical Atlas of the Islamic World by 
