Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Muhammad XI, sultan of Granada

(Encyclopedia)Muhammad XI, d. 1538, last sultan of Granada in Spain (1482–92); also called Boabdil by the Spanish. He seized the throne from his father and thus plunged Granada into civil war at the time the Cast...

Khalid

(Encyclopedia)Khalid khäˈlēd [key] (Khalid ibn al-Walid), d. 642, Arab warrior. He assisted the Meccans in attacking (625) Muhammad and the inhabitants of Medina after the battle of Badr. Khalid and the Meccans ...

Mamluk

(Encyclopedia)Mamluk or Mameluke mămˈəlo͞ok [key] [Arab.,=slaves], a warrior caste dominant in Egypt and influential in the Middle East for over 700 years. Islamic rulers created this warrior caste by collectin...

Larissa, Greece

(Encyclopedia)Larissa läˈrēsä [key], city (1991 pop. 113,090), capital of Larissa prefecture, E Greece, in Thessaly on the Piniós River. It is an agricultural trade center and a transportation hub, linked by r...

Shiites

(Encyclopedia)Shiites shēˈītz [key] [Arab., shiat Ali,=the party of Ali], the second largest branch of Islam, Shiites currently account for 10%–15% of all Muslims. Shiite Islam originated as a political moveme...

Gjirokastër

(Encyclopedia)Gjirokastër gyēnô– [key], Gr. Argyrokastron, It. Argirocastro, town (1989 pop. 24,207), capital of Gjirokastër dist., S Albania. A commercial center, it produces foodstuffs, leather, and textile...

Beirut

(Encyclopedia)Beirut bāro͞otˈ [key], Arab. Bayrut, Fr. Beyrouth, city (1996 est. pop. 1,200,000), W Lebanon, capital of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean Sea, at the foot of the Lebanon Mts. Beirut is an important p...

Montazeri, Hossein Ali

(Encyclopedia)Montazeri, Hossein Ali, 1922–2009, Iranian Islamic scholar and political leader. A follower of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Montazeri objected to Khomeini's arrest and exile, and became involved in ...

Cleopatra's Needles

(Encyclopedia)Cleopatra's Needles, name in popular use for two obelisks of red granite from Egypt. Originally erected at Heliopolis (c.1475 b.c.) by Thutmose III, they were transported to Alexandria (c.14 b.c.) und...

Abbas II

(Encyclopedia)Abbas II (Abbas Hilmi) , ăbäsˈ, ăbˈəs [key], 1874–1944, last khedive of Egypt (1892–1914); son and successor of Tewfik Pasha. Nominally he ruled in subordination to the Ottoman Empire, but i...