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Abd al-Aziz

(Encyclopedia)Abd al-Aziz Turk. äbdülˈäzēzˈ [key], 1830–76, Ottoman sultan (1861–76), brother and successor of Abd al-Majid. The economic and political reforms enacted under his rule could not outpace the...

Ras al-Khaimah

(Encyclopedia)Ras al-Khaimah räs äl-khīˈmä [key], sheikhdom (1995 pop. 144,430), c.650 sq mi (1,680 sq km), United Arab Emirates, SE Arabia, on the Persian Gulf; the northernmost of the seven sheikdoms in the ...

Umm al-Qaiwain

(Encyclopedia)Umm al-Qaiwain o͞om äl-kīwīnˈ [key], sheikhdom (1995 pop. 35,157), c.300 sq mi (780 sq km), part of the federation of seven United Arab Emirates, SE Arabia, on the Persian Gulf. It is the least p...

Sharpton, Rev. Al

(Encyclopedia) Sharpton, Rev. Al (Alfred Charles Sharpton), 1954- , African-American minister and civil rights activist, b, Brownsville, Brooklyn, N.Y. A child-prodi...

Shatt al Arab

(Encyclopedia)Shatt al Arab shät äl äˈräb [key], tidal river, 120 mi (193 km) long, formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, flowing SE to the Persian Gulf, forming part of the Iraq-Iran bo...

Bahr al Hulah

(Encyclopedia)Bahr al Hulah: see Hula, Lake.

Rub al Khali

(Encyclopedia)Rub al Khali ro͞ob äl khäˈlē [key] [Arab.,=empty quarter], great desert of the Arabian peninsula, c.225,000 sq mi (582,750 sq km); one of the largest sand deserts in the world. The desert occupie...

Abd al-Hafiz

(Encyclopedia)Abd al-Hafiz äbˌdäl-häfēdˈ [key], 1875?–1937, sultan of Morocco (1908–12). Placed on the throne by the revolution that deposed his brother Abd al-Aziz IV, he was soon confronted with uprisin...

Abd al-Hamid I

(Encyclopedia)Abd al-Hamid I Turk. äbdülˈhämēdˈ [key], 1725–89, Ottoman sultan (1774–89), brother and successor of Mustafa III. His reign, one of decline for the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), saw the end of th...

Abd al-Mumin

(Encyclopedia)Abd al-Mumin äbˌdäl-mŭˈmĭn [key], d. 1163, founder of the empire of the Almohads. He was the favorite of the Almohad religious reformer Ibn Tumart and became (1130) his successor. Even before hi...