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Songhai

(Encyclopedia)Songhai or Songhay both: sŏngˈgīˈ [key], largest of the former empires in the western Sudan region of N Africa. The state was founded (c.700) by Berbers on the Middle Niger, in what is now central...

Ahmad Mirza

(Encyclopedia)Ahmad Mirza äkhmädˈ mērzäˈ [key], 1898–1930, shah of Persia (1909–25), son of Muhammad Ali. The last of the Qajar dynasty, he came to power as a result of a coup against his father. A regent...

Ibn al-Arabi, Muhyi ad-Din Muhammad bin Ali al-Hatimi at-Tai

(Encyclopedia)Ibn al-Arabi or Ibn Arabi, Muhyi ad-Din Muhammad bin Ali al-Hatimi at-Tai ĭbˌən äl äräˈbē [key], 1165–1240, a Muslim Sufi mystic b. in Murcia, Spain. As a child in Seville, Ibn al-Arabi had ...

Selim III

(Encyclopedia)Selim III, 1761–1808, Ottoman sultan (1789–1807), nephew and successor of Abd al-Hamid I to the throne of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). He suffered severe defeats in the second of the Russo-Turkish...

Hoveida, Amir Abbas

(Encyclopedia)Hoveida, Amir Abbas ämērˈ äb-bäsˈ hōvāˈdä [key], 1919–79, Iranian political leader, prime minister of Iran (1965–77). After serving (1958–64) with the National Iranian Oil Company, he ...

National Museum of African American History and Culture

(Encyclopedia)National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C., a division of the Smithsonian Institution. Devoted to the collection, presentation, and preservation of the culture of Africa...

Kasala

(Encyclopedia)Kasala or Kassala both: käsäˈlä, kăsˈəlä [key], city (1993 pop. 234,622), E Sudan. It is a market center and rail transport hub and has extensive fruit gardens. Founded in 1840 as a military c...

Karim Khan

(Encyclopedia)Karim Khan kärēmˈ khän [key], d. 1779, ruler of Persia (1750–79), founder of the Zand dynasty. He emerged victorious from a contest for power and ruled under the title Vakil [representative]. Hi...

Abd ar-Rahman Khan

(Encyclopedia)Abd ar-Rahman Khan kän, khän [key], 1844?–1901, emir of Afghanistan (1880–1901); grandson of Dost Muhammad. He opposed his uncle, Sher Ali, and was forced into exile in 1869. He was, however, re...

Gottheil, Richard James Horatio

(Encyclopedia)Gottheil, Richard James Horatio, 1862–1936, American Orientalist and Semitic scholar, b. Manchester, England; son of Gustav Gottheil. He taught Semitic languages at Columbia from 1886 and was head o...