Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Abu'l Hasan al-Uqlidisi, c. a.d. 920–c. a.d. 980, Arab mathematician working in Damascus and Baghdad. He wrote (952–53) a treatise on arithmetic and Arabic numerals that is the first known work to...

(Encyclopedia) Al-Biruni or Al Beruni, Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad äbo͞oˈ rīhänˈ məhămˈĭd ĭbˈən äˈməd ăl-bēro͞oˈnē, ăl bĕro͞oˈnē [key], b. 973, d. after 1050, Central Asian scientist. His...

(Encyclopedia) Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, 1980–, emir of Qatar (2013–). The fourth son of Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, he became heir apparent when his older brother Jasmin renounced his claim to the throne i...

(Encyclopedia) Saadia ben Joseph al-Fayumi säˈdēä, äl-fīyo͞oˈmē [key], 882–942, Jewish scholar, b. Egypt. He was known as Saadia Gaon. He was the head of the great Jewish Academy at Sura, Babylonia, which...

(Encyclopedia) Young, Al (Albert James), 1939-2021, Univ. of Calif., Berkeley (BA, 1969), African-American poet, b. Ocean Springs, Ms. The son of sharecroppers, Young'...

(Encyclopedia) Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud: see Ibn Saud. ...

(Encyclopedia) Abraj Al-Bait, complex of seven government-owned, mixed-use buildings in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The most impressive structure, the Makkah Royal Clock Tower, is the tallest building in Saudi Arabia, at 1...

(Encyclopedia) Al-Fasi, Isaac ben Jacob ha-Kohen äl-fäˈsē [key], 1013–1103, prominent Jewish Talmudic scholar of the very late Gaonic period, b. near Fès, N Africa. He headed the rabbinical school at Fès unt...

(Encyclopedia) Kadhimi, Mustafa al-, 1967–, Iraqi journalist, human-rights activist, government official, and political leader, b. as Mustafa Abdul-Latif Mishatat. A Shia Muslim, he opposed President Saddam Hussei...

(Encyclopedia) Mansur, al- (Muhammad ibn Abi-Amir al-Mansur billah), 914–1002, Moorish regent of Córdoba, known in Spanish as Almanzor. He became steward to Princess Subh, wife of the caliph Hakim II, and under h...