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Nadir Shah

(Encyclopedia)Nadir Shah or Nader Shah both: näˈdēr shä [key], 1688–1747, shah of Iran (1736–47), sometimes considered the last of the great Asian conquerors. He was a member of the Afshar tribe. Although t...

Mughal

(Encyclopedia)Mughal mōˈgəl, mōgŭlˈ [key], Muslim empire in India, 1526–1857. The dynasty was founded by Babur, a Turkic chieftain who had his base in Afghanistan. Babur's invasion of India culminated in th...

Lahore

(Encyclopedia)Lahore ləhôrˈ [key], city (1998 pop. 5,063,499), capital of Punjab prov., E central Pakistan, on the Ravi River. It is the second largest city of Pakistan. A railway and air transport center near t...

Khwarazm

(Encyclopedia)Khwarazm khərĕzˈəm [key], ancient and medieval state of central Asia, situated in and around the basin of the lower Amu Darya River; now a region, NW Uzbekistan. Khwarazm is one of the oldest cent...

Iran

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Iran ēränˈ, ĭrănˈ [key], officially Islamic Republic of Iran, republic (2015 est. pop. 79,360,000), 636,290 sq mi (1,648,000 sq km), SW Asia. The country's name was changed from Persia to...

Sunni

(Encyclopedia)Sunni so͞oˈnī [key] [Arab. Sunna,=tradition], from ahl al-sunnah wa-l-jamaa [Arab.,=the people of the custom of the Prophet and community], the largest division of Islam. Sunni Islam is the heir to...

Thököly, Imre

(Encyclopedia)Thököly, Imre ĭmˈrĕ töˈkölyə [key], 1656–1705, Hungarian rebel, of a noble family of N Hungary. His father, Stephen Thököly, took an important part in the unsuccessful conspiracy of Franc...

Hangzhou

(Encyclopedia)Hangzhou hăngˈchou [key], city (1994 est. pop. 1,184,300), capital of Zhejiang prov., E China. It is on the Fuchun River at the head of Hangzhou Bay and handles river traffic through its port. It is...

Naipaul, V. S.

(Encyclopedia)Naipaul, V. S. (Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul) nīpôlˈ [key], 1932–2018, English writer, b. Chaguanas, Trinidad; grad. University College, Oxford, 1953. Naipul, whose family descended from Ind...

nomad

(Encyclopedia)nomad nōˈmădˌ [key], one of a group of people without fixed habitation, especially pastoralists. (Some authorities prefer the terms “nonsedentary” or “migratory” rather than “nomadic” ...