The World's Most Notorious Despots by Borgna Brunner Top Ten Despots TamerlaneIvan the TerribleRobespierreJoseph StalinAdolph HitlerMao ZedongFrancois DuvalierNicolae…
(Encyclopedia) Abdullah bin Abdul AzizAbdullah bin Abdul Azizäbd&oobreve;lˈlä ĭbˈən ăbd&oobreve;lˈ ăzēzˈ [key], 1924–2015, king of Saudi Arabia (2005–15), b. Riyadh. Like his predecessor,…
(Encyclopedia) FazzanFazzanfäz-zänˈ [key] or FezzanFazzanfĕz– [key], historic region, SW Libya. Marzuq, Sabhha, Brak, and Zawilah, all situated in oases in the Sahara Desert, are the chief…
(Encyclopedia) immortality, attribute of deathlessness ascribed to the soul in many religions and philosophies. Forthright belief in immortality of the body is rare. Immortality of the soul is a…
(Encyclopedia) Kaaba or CaabaCaababoth: käˈbə or käˈəbə [key] [Arab.,=cube], the central, cubic, stone structure, covered by a black cloth, within the Great Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The sacred…
(Encyclopedia) Mubarak, Muhammad HosniMubarak, Muhammad Hosnihōsˈnē m&oomacr;bəˈrək [key], 1928–2020, president of Egypt (1981–2011). Air force commander (1972–75) and vice president (1975–81) of…
(Encyclopedia) AverroësAverroësəvĕrˈōēz [key], Arabic Ibn Rushd, 1126–98, Spanish-Arab philosopher. He was far more important and influential in Jewish and Christian thought than in Islam. He was a…
(Encyclopedia) asceticismasceticisməsĕtˈĭsĭzəm [key], rejection of bodily pleasures through sustained self-denial and self-mortification, with the objective of strengthening spiritual life.…
(Encyclopedia) KanoKanokäˈnō [key], city (1991 est. pop. 595,000), N Nigeria. It is the trade and shipping center for an agricultural region where cotton, cattle, and about half of Nigeria's peanuts…
(Encyclopedia) Scanderbeg or SkanderbegScanderbegboth: skănˈdərbĕg [key], c.1404–1468, Albanian national hero. His original name was George Castriota or Kastriotes, but the Ottomans called him…
