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Khalid bin Abd al-Aziz al-Saud

(Encyclopedia)Khalid bin Abd al-Aziz al-Saud khälēdˈ ĭbˌən äbd ăl-äzēzˈ ăl-säo͞odˈ [key], 1913–82, king of Saudi Arabia (1975–82). He became king after the assassination of his half-brother Faisa...

Masudi, Abd al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn

(Encyclopedia)Masudi, Abd al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn mäso͞oˈdē [key], d. 956, Arab historian, geographer, and philosopher, b. Baghdad. He traveled in Spain, Russia, India, Sri Lanka, and China and spent his las...

Nimeiri, Muhammed Jaafar al-

(Encyclopedia)Nimeiri or Nimeiry, Muhammed Jaafar al- mo͞ohämˈmäd jäfärˈ äl-nĭmārˈē [key], 1930–, Sudanese army officer and politician. Early active in the Sudanese nationalist movement, he was tempor...

Abu'l Hasan al-Uqlidisi

(Encyclopedia)Abu'l Hasan al-Uqlidisi, c. a.d. 920–c. a.d. 980, Arab mathematician working in Damascus and Baghdad. He wrote (952–53) a treatise on arithmetic and Arabic numerals that is the first known work to...

Majid, Ali Hassan al-

(Encyclopedia)Majid, Ali Hassan al- äˈlē hāˈsän äl-mäjēdˈ [key], 1941–2010, Iraqi general and Ba'athist, cousin of Saddam Hussein. After Hussein took power (1979), Majid played a pivotal role in the Ba'...

Maliki, Nuri Kamal al-

(Encyclopedia)Maliki, Nuri Kamal al- no͞orˈē kämälˈ äl-mälˈĭkē [key], 1950–, Iraqi political leader. A Shiite who worked as an education official in Hilla, he was a member and, later, deputy leader of ...

Bakr, Ahmad Hasan al-

(Encyclopedia)Bakr, Ahmad Hasan al- äkhmädˈ häsänˈ äl-bäkˈər [key], 1914–82, president of Iraq (1968–79). He served as an officer in the Iraqi army but was forced to retire (1958) because of his parti...

Abd al-Aziz IV

(Encyclopedia)Abd al-Aziz IV, 1880–1943, sultan of Morocco (1894–1908), son of Hassan. His weak control was evident after the death (c.1900) of the regent Ba Ahmed. His submissiveness to foreign influence, his ...

Abd al-Hamid II

(Encyclopedia)Abd al-Hamid II, 1842–1918, Ottoman sultan (1876–1909). His uncle, Abd al-Aziz, was deposed from the throne of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) in 1876 by the Young Turks, a liberal reformist group. Ab...

Turabi, Hassan Abdallah al-

(Encyclopedia)Turabi, Hassan Abdallah al- häˈsän äbdäˈlä äl-to͞oräˈbē [key], 1932–2016, Sudanese religious and political leader, b. Kassala, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (now Sudan). He studied law in Sudan a...