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Yusuf ibn Tashfin

(Encyclopedia)Yusuf ibn Tashfin yo͞oso͝ofˈ ĭˈbən täshfēnˈ [key], d. 1106, ruler in the dynasty of the Almoravids (c.1059–1106). A Muslim, he led the Berbers in N Africa, continued the conquest of Morocco...

African Union

(Encyclopedia)African Union (AU), international organization established in 2002 by the nations of the former Organization of African Unity (OAU). The AU is the successor organization to the OAU, with greater power...

Gibraltar, Strait of

(Encyclopedia)Gibraltar, Strait of jĭbrôlˈtər [key], Lat. Fretum Herculeum or Fretum Gaditanum, passage, c.36 mi (58 km) long, connecting the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, between southernmost Spain and north...

Muhammad V, king of Morocco

(Encyclopedia)Muhammad V (Sidi Muhammad ibn Youssef), 1910–61, king of Morocco (1957–61). He succeeded his father, Moulay Youssef, as sultan in 1927. An ardent nationalist, he was deposed and exiled (1953) by t...

Muhammad VI, king of Morocco

(Encyclopedia)Muhammad VI, 1963–, king of Morocco (1999–), formerly Muhammad ben Al-Hassan, crown prince Sidi Muhammad. He studied at Muhammad V Univ., Rabat, where he received bachelor's (1985) and master's (1...

Ibn Batuta

(Encyclopedia)Ibn Batuta ĭˈbən bäto͞oˈtä [key], 1304?–1378?, Muslim traveler, b. Tangier. No other medieval traveler is known to have journeyed so extensively. In 30 years (from c.1325) he made a series of...

Hamites

(Encyclopedia)Hamites, African people of caucasoid descent who occupy the Horn of Africa (chiefly Somalia and Ethiopia), the western Sahara, and parts of Algeria and Tunisia. They are believed to be the original se...

Cameroons, former German colony

(Encyclopedia)Cameroons, Fr. Cameroun, Ger. Kamerun, former German colony, W Africa, on the Gulf of Guinea and extending N to Lake Chad. Germany's penetration of the area began in 1884 and by 1902 its possession wa...

Delcassé, Théophile

(Encyclopedia)Delcassé, Théophile tāôfēlˈ dĕlkäsāˈ [key], 1852–1923, French foreign minister. He began his career as a political journalist and then turned to politics. First undersecretary and then min...

Guinea, archaic term for Africa's west coast

(Encyclopedia)Guinea gĭnˈē [key], an archaic term for the west coast of Africa. In its widest sense it has been applied to the region from Angola to Senegal. Parts of the region bore names originating in early c...