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Mutanabbi, al-

(Encyclopedia)Mutanabbi, al-, 915–65, Arab poet, considered the greatest classical Arabic poet, b. Iraq. His early involvement with a religious cult earned him the sobriquet “the would-be prophet.” He was par...

Pan-Arabism

(Encyclopedia)Pan-Arabism, general term for the modern movement for political unification among the Arab nations of the Middle East. Since the Ottoman Turks rose to power in the 14th cent., there have been stirring...

Hail, city, Saudi Arabia

(Encyclopedia)Hail häˈēl, hīl [key], city, N central Saudi Arabia. The city grew because of its location ...

Yazidi

(Encyclopedia)Yazidi or Yezidi Middle Eastern religious community whose beliefs incorporate elements of Zoroastrianism, Sufism, Christianity, Manichaeism, and Judaism. Its members, numbering between 200,000 and one...

Nuzi

(Encyclopedia)Nuzi no͞oˈzē [key], site near Kirkuk, N Iraq. Thousands of clay tablets unearthed there bear inscriptions said to have been made by the Horims (or Horites) of the Bible. The tablets, which are in A...

Mesopotamia

(Encyclopedia)Mesopotamia mĕsˌəpətāˈmēə [key] [Gr.,=between rivers], ancient region of Asia, the territory about the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, included in modern Iraq. The region extends from the Persian...

An Nasiriyah

(Encyclopedia)An Nasiriyah än näsĭrĭˈyä [key], city (1987 pop. 265,937), provincial capital, SE Iraq, on the Euphrates River. It is the center of a date-growing region. Founded in 1870, the city was captured ...

Sulaimaniyah

(Encyclopedia)Sulaimaniyah so͞oˌlāmänˈēə [key], town (1987 pop. 364,096), NE Iraq. The town, founded in 1789, is a trade center inhabited by Kurds and has long been a center of Kurdish nationalism. Since 199...

Sippar

(Encyclopedia)Sippar sĭpärˈ [key], ancient city of N Babylonia, on the Euphrates in present Iraq, 20 mi (32 km) SW of Baghdad. It was one of the capitals of Sargon and had a great temple to the sungod Shamash. E...

Middle East

(Encyclopedia)Middle East, term traditionally applied by western Europeans to the countries of SW Asia and NE Africa lying W of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. Thus defined it includes Cyprus, the Asian part of T...