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Almería

(Encyclopedia)Almería älmārēˈä [key], city, capital of Almería prov., SE Spain, in Andalusia, on the Gulf of Almería. A busy Mediterranean port, it exports the celebrated grapes...

Mansfield, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Mansfield, Edward, d. 1667, West Indian buccaneer. Possibly born in Curaçao of Dutch parentage, he is also called Edward Mansveld. He was engaged (1665) by the British governor of Jamaica, Sir Thomas...

Al-Biruni, Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad

(Encyclopedia)Al-Biruni or Al Beruni, Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad äbo͞oˈ rīhänˈ məhămˈĭd ĭbˈən äˈməd ăl-bēro͞oˈnē, ăl bĕro͞oˈnē [key], b. 973, d. after 1050, Central Asian scientist. His...

Sialkot

(Encyclopedia)Sialkot syälˈkōt [key], city (1998 pop. 417,597), near the Indian border, Pakistan. It is a rail junction and a major trade and processing center. Manufactures include sporting goods, processed foo...

İstanbul

(Encyclopedia)İstanbul ĭsˌtănbo͞olˈ, ĭstanˈbo͞ol [key], city and metropolitan muncipality,...

Aishah

(Encyclopedia)Aishah īˈshə, äˈĭshäˌ [key], c.614–678, third and favorite of the nine wives of Muhammad the Prophet. Her father was Abu Bakr, who became first caliph after the Prophet's death. She was marr...

harem

(Encyclopedia)harem hârˈəm [key] [Arabic], term applied to women's apartments in a Muslim household. In the ancient Arab world women enjoyed a certain amount of freedom. However, with the advent of Islam, the ve...

Orkhan

(Encyclopedia)Orkhan ôr-khänˈ [key], 1288?–1362?, Ottoman sultan (1326–1362?), son and successor of Osman I as leader of the Ottoman Turks. He defeated Byzantine Emperor Andronicus III and conquered large pa...

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...

Shaanxi

(Encyclopedia)Shaanxi shĕnˈsēˈ [key] [west of the mountain passes], province (2010 pop. 37,327,378), c.76,000 sq mi (196,840 sq km), N central China. Xi'an is the capital. From north to south Shaanxi has four m...