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An Najaf

(Encyclopedia)An Najaf än näˈjäf [key], city (2020 pop. 874,000), S central Iraq, on a lake near the Euphrates River. The city, one of Shi'a Islam's holiest, is also called Mashad A...

Hariri

(Encyclopedia)Hariri (Abu Muhammad al-Kasim al-Hariri) härēˈrē [key], 1054–1122, Arab writer of Basra. His principal work is one of the most popular of Arabic books. It is called Makamat [literary assemblies]...

Ghor

(Encyclopedia)Ghor, Ghowr go͝or [key], mountainous region and province (1979 est. pop. 341,000), 14,085 sq mi (36,479 sq km), W central Afghanistan, including a ruined medieval city of the same name. Chagcharan i...

Marrakech

(Encyclopedia)Marrakech or Marrakesh both: märäˈkĕsh, mə– [key], city (1994 pop. 672,478), W central Morocco. The city, renowned for leather goods, is one of the principal commercial centers of Morocco and a...

Alp Arslan

(Encyclopedia)Alp Arslan älp ärslänˈ [key], 1029–72, Seljuk sultan of Persia (1063–72). In 1065 he led the Seljuks in an invasion of Armenia and Georgia and in 1066 attacked the Byzantine Empire. The succes...

Abdul Rahman, Tunku

(Encyclopedia)Abdul Rahman, Tunku, to͝onˈko͞o äbˈdo͝ol räˈmän [key], 1903–90, Malaysian political leader. A prince (tunku), he was the fifth son of Sultan Abdul Halim Shah of Kedah and was educated in En...

Bangka

(Encyclopedia)Bangka or Banka both: bängˈkä, băngˈkə [key], island, c.4,600 sq mi (11,910 sq ...

Surakarta

(Encyclopedia)Surakarta or Soerakarta both: so͞oräkärˈta [key], city (1990 pop. 503,827), on central Java, Indonesia, on the Solo River. Connected by rail with Surabaya and Jakarta, it is a trade center for an ...

Abd al-Aziz IV

(Encyclopedia)Abd al-Aziz IV, 1880–1943, sultan of Morocco (1894–1908), son of Hassan. His weak control was evident after the death (c.1900) of the regent Ba Ahmed. His submissiveness to foreign influence, his ...

Mingrelia

(Encyclopedia)Mingrelia mĭn-grēˈlēə [key], lowland region, W Georgia, bordering the Black Sea. Tea and grapes are the chief products. Poti is the main port. The Colchis of the ancients, Mingrelia was a vassal ...