(Encyclopedia) AlmoravidsAlmoravidsălmôrˈəvĭdz [key], Berber Muslim dynasty that ruled Morocco and Muslim Spain in the 11th and 12th cent. The Almoravids may have originated in what is now Mauritania…
(Encyclopedia) Kitab al-AghaniKitab al-Aghanikētäbˈ äl-ägänēˈ [key] [Arab.,=book of songs], collection of poems in many volumes compiled by Abu al-Faraj Ali of Esfahan. It contains poems from the…
(Encyclopedia) AliAliälēˈ [key] (Ali ibn Abu Talib), 598?–661, 4th caliph (656–61). The debate over his right to the caliphate caused a major split in Islam into Sunni and Shiite branches, and he is…
(Encyclopedia) Villeneuve, Pierre deVilleneuve, Pierre depyĕr də vēlnövˈ [key], 1763–1806, French admiral. He commanded the rear guard of the fleet in the disastrous battle of Abu Qir (1798). His…
(Encyclopedia) Greater and Lesser Tunb, disputed islands, E Persian Gulf. Greater Tunb is approximately 6 sq mi (10 sq km) in area; Lesser Tunb, some 7 mi (11 km) to the west, about 1 sq mi (2 sq km…
(Encyclopedia) HamasaHamasahämäˈsä, həmäˈsə [key] [Arab.,=valor], one of the great anthologies of Arabic literature. It was gathered together in the 9th cent. by Abu Tammam when he was snowbound in…
(Encyclopedia) AishahAishahīˈshə, äˈĭshäˌ [key], c.614–678, third and favorite of the nine wives of Muhammad the Prophet. Her father was Abu Bakr, who became first caliph after the Prophet's death.…
(Encyclopedia) Tabari (Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Jarir at-Tabari)Tabaritäbäˈrē [key], c.839–c.923, Arab historian and commentator. The name Tabari was given him because he was born in Tabaristan, Persia…
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