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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...

Fujairah

(Encyclopedia)Fujairah fo͞ojīˈrä [key], sheikhdom, c.450 sq mi (1,170 sq km), part of the federation of ...

Kannur

(Encyclopedia)Kannur kănˈənōrˌ, –nôrˌ [key], town (1991 urban agglomeration pop. 463,962), Kerala state, SE India. Formerly the capital of the Kolattiri Raja, it traded with Arabia and Persia in the 12th a...

Doha

(Encyclopedia)Doha dōˈhä [key], city (2021 est. metro area pop. 646,000), capital of Qatar, SE Arabia, o...

Midian

(Encyclopedia)Midian –īts [key], in the Bible, a nomadic Bedouin people of N Arabia in what is S Jordan. They were associated with the Moabites and the Israelites. Moses took refuge with them and married the dau...

lost tribes

(Encyclopedia)lost tribes, 10 Israelite tribes that, according to the Bible, were transported to Assyria by Tiglathpileser III or Shalmaneser after the conquest of Israel in 722 b.c. Numerous conjectures have been ...

Kuraish

(Encyclopedia)Kuraish ko͞orīshˈ [key], ancient Bedouin tribe near Mecca to which Muhammad belonged. At one time camel drivers and caravan guides, they became, after acquiring custody of the Kaaba (5th cent.), on...

Khosrow I

(Encyclopedia)Khosrow I (Khosrow Anüshirvan) khŏsrōˈ; ăno͞oshĭrvänˈ [key], d. 579, king of Persia (531–79), greatest of the Sassanid, or Sassanian, monarchs. He is also known as Chosroes I or Khosru I. H...

Nestorianism

(Encyclopedia)Nestorianism, Christian heresy that held Jesus to be two distinct persons, closely and inseparably united. In 428, Emperor Theodosius II named an abbot of Antioch, Nestorius (d. 451?), as patriarch of...

Petra

(Encyclopedia)Petra pēˈtrə [key], ancient city, in present-day Jordan, known to the Arabs as Wadi Musa for the stream that flows through it. A narrow, winding pass between towering walls leads to the flat, open ...