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Ibn Khalikan

(Encyclopedia)Ibn Khalikan ĭbn khăˈlēkăn [key] or Ahmad bin Muhammad al-Barmaki al-Irbili ash-Shafii, 1211–82, Arabic biographer, b. in Erbil, Iraq. Ibn Khallikan lived and served as a judge and scholar in M...

Gilboa

(Encyclopedia)Gilboa gĭlbōˈə [key], Arabic Jabal Faqquah, range of hills, eastern spur of the Samarian Hills, located at the southeastern edge of the Esdraelon plain, NE Israel; rising to 1,630 ft (497 m) at Mt...

Abu al-Faraj Ali of Esfahan

(Encyclopedia)Abu al-Faraj Ali of Esfahan äˈbo͞o äl-färajˈ älēˈ, ĕsfähänˈ [key], 897–967, Arabic scholar from Iran. He is mainly known for his invaluable Kitab al-Aghani (book of songs), which provid...

Zuhair

(Encyclopedia)Zuhair zo͞ohīrˈ [key], fl. 6th cent., Arab poet. Zuhair is often considered the greatest writer of Arabic poetry in pre-Islamic times. His work is represented in the Muallaqat. Zuhair's poems deal ...

Syrian Desert

(Encyclopedia)Syrian Desert, Arabic Badiyat Ash Sham, arid wasteland, SW Asia, between the cultivated lands along the E Mediterranean coast and the fertile Euphrates River valley. It extends N from the Nafud Desert...

V

(Encyclopedia)V, 22d letter of the alphabet (see U). It is a usual symbol for a voiced labiodental spirant, as in the English vat. In Roman numerals it corresponds to Arabic 5. In chemistry V is the symbol of the e...

Thousand and One Nights

(Encyclopedia)Thousand and One Nights or Arabian Nights, series of anonymous stories in Arabic, considered as an entity to be among the classics of world literature. The cohesive plot device concerns the efforts of...

Bengali

(Encyclopedia)Bengali bängˈlä [key], language belonging to the Indic group of the Indo-Iranian subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages. See Indo-Iranian languages. ...

Qur'an

(Encyclopedia)Qur'an or Koran kōrănˈ, –ränˈ [key] [Arab.,=reading, recitation], the sacred book of Islam. Revealed by God to the Prophet Muhammad in separate revelations over the major portion of the Prophet...

Pashto

(Encyclopedia)Pashto –to͞o [key], or Afghan, language belonging to the Iranian group of the Indo-Iranian subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages. See Indo-Iranian languages. ...