Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Safavid säfäˈwēd [key], Iranian dynasty (1499–1736), that established Shiite Islam in Iran as an official state religion. The Safavid state provided both the territorial and societal foundations...

(Encyclopedia) miracle, preternatural occurrence that is viewed as the expression of a divine will. Its awe and wonder lie in the fact that the cause is hidden. The idea of the miracle occurs especially with the evo...

(Encyclopedia) Mustafa or Kara Mustafa mo͝ostäfäˈ [key] [Turk. kara=black], d. 1683, Turkish grand vizier (chief executive officer) under Sultan Muhammad IV of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). He succeeded his brot...

(Encyclopedia) Muawiya mo͞oäˈwēä [key], d. 680, 1st Umayyad caliph (661–80), one of the greatest Muslim statesmen; son of Abu Sufyan, a Koreish tribesman of Mecca. He submitted to Islam the year of the surren...

(Encyclopedia) Omdurman ŏmdərmänˈ [key], Arab. Umm Durman, city (1993 pop. 1,271,403), E central Sudan, on the White Nile opposite Khartoum. It is the largest city and chief commercial center of Sudan and part o...

(Encyclopedia) Ahmed I äˈmĕd [key], 1589–1617, Ottoman sultan (1603–17), son and successor of Muhammad III to the throne of the Ottoman Empire. The chief event of his reign was the Treaty of Zsitvatorok (1606...

(Encyclopedia) Vlad IV, 1431?–1476, prince of Walachia (1448, 1456–62, 1476), known as Vlad the Impaler. He was the son of Prince Vlad Dracul (Vlad the Devil) and is therefore also called Dracula or son of the D...

(Encyclopedia) Umar ōˈmär [key], c.581–644, 2d caliph (see caliphate). At first hostile to Islam, he was converted by 618, becoming an adviser to Muhammad. He succeeded Abu Bakr as caliph without opposition in ...

(Encyclopedia) Fath Ali Shah fäth älēˈ shäˈ, fät [key], also spelled Feth Ali Shah, 1762–1834, shah of Persia (1797–1834), nephew and successor of Aga Muhammad Khan, founder of the Qajar dynasty. Most of ...

(Encyclopedia) Alexandria, Arabic Al Iskandariyah, city, N Egypt, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is at the western extremity of the Nile River delta, situated on a narrow isthmus between the sea and Lake ...