(Encyclopedia) Sultan HusaynSultan Husayns&oobreve;ltänˈ h&oomacr;sānˈ [key], d. 1729, Safavid shah of Persia (1694–1722). A weak and superstitious man, Shah Sultan Husayn was surrounded by…
(Encyclopedia) Afghanistan War, 1978–92, conflict between anti-Communist Muslim Afghan guerrillas (mujahidin) and Afghan government and Soviet forces. The conflict had its origins in the 1978 coup…
(Encyclopedia) Aga Muhammad Khan or Agha Muhammad KhanAgha Muhammad Khanboth: äˈgäm&oomacr;hämˈmäd khän [key], 1742–97, shah of Persia, founder of the Qajar dynasty. He was emasculated by family…
(Encyclopedia) Persian language, member of the Iranian group of the Indo-Iranian subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Indo-Iranian languages). The official language of Iran, it has…
(Encyclopedia) Firdausi or FerdowsiFirdausiboth: fərdouˈsē [key], c.940–1020, principal Persian poet, author of the Shah Namah [the book of kings], the great Persian epic. His original name was Abul…
(Encyclopedia) SafavidSafavidsäfäˈwēd [key], Iranian dynasty (1499–1736), that established Shiite Islam in Iran as an official state religion. The Safavid state provided both the territorial and…
(Encyclopedia) Iran-Iraq War, 1980–88, protracted military conflict between Iran and Iraq. It officially began on Sept. 22, 1980, with an Iraqi land and air invasion of western Iran, although Iraqi…
(Encyclopedia) Firishta or FerishtaFirishtaboth: fĭrĭshtăˈ [key], c.1560–c.1620, Indian Muslim historian. His given name was Muhammad Kasim Hindu Shah. Under the patronage of the shah of Bijapur, he…
(Encyclopedia) Nasir ad-DinNasir ad-Dinnäˈsər äd-dēn [key], 1831?–1896, shah of Persia (1848–96). He and his able vizier, Mirza Taqi Khan, were responsible for shaking Persia from a long period of…
