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Ali
(Encyclopedia)Ali älēˈ [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 regarded by...Villeneuve, Pierre de
(Encyclopedia)Villeneuve, Pierre de pyĕr də vēlnövˈ [key], 1763–1806, French admiral. He commanded the rear guard of the fleet in the disastrous battle of Abu Qir (1798). His defeat at the battle of Trafalga...Hamasa
(Encyclopedia)Hamasa hämäˈsä, 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 Hamadan, where...Greater and Lesser Tunb
(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). Located close ...Fujairah
(Encyclopedia)Fujairah fo͞ojīˈrä [key], sheikhdom, c.450 sq mi (1,170 sq km), part of the federation of ...Aishah
(Encyclopedia)Aishah īˈshə, 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. She was marr...Tabari
(Encyclopedia)Tabari (Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Jarir at-Tabari) täbäˈrē [key], c.839–c.923, Arab historian and commentator. The name Tabari was given him because he was born in Tabaristan, Persia. He traveled w...Islamic State
(Encyclopedia)Islamic State (IS), Sunni Islamic militant group committed to the establishment of an Islamic caliphate that would unite Muslims in a transnational, strict-fundamentalist Islamic state. IS has been ma...Mamun, al-
(Encyclopedia)Mamun, al- (Abu al-Abbas Abd Allah al-Mamun) mämo͞onˈ [key], 786–833, 7th Abbasid caliph (813–33); son of Harun ar-Rashid. He succeeded his brother al-Amin after a bitter civil war, but was una...Canopus, city, ancient Egypt
(Encyclopedia)Canopus kənōˈpəs [key], ancient city of N Egypt, 12 mi (19 km) E of Alexandria. Canopus, the pilot of Menelaus' ship, was said to have died there. In Hellenistic times Canopus was known as a pleas...Browse by Subject
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