(Encyclopedia) BabismBabismbäˈbĭzəm [key], system of doctrines proclaimed in Persia in 1844 by Ali Muhammad of Shiraz. Influenced by the Shaykhi Shiite theology that viewed the Twelve Imams as…
(Encyclopedia) Ksar el KebirKsar el Kebirksär ĕl kĕbĭrˈ [key], city (1994 pop. 107,065), N Morocco. The name also appears as Alcazarquivir and Al Qasr al Kabir. Near the city on Aug. 4, 1578, the…
(Encyclopedia) GaurGaurgour [key], ruined city, West Bengal state, India. Known also as Lakhnauti, the city was an ancient Hindu capital of Bengal. It was captured (c.1200) by the Islamic rulers of…
(Encyclopedia) Prithvi RajPrithvi Rajprĭtˈvē räj [key], d. 1192, ruler of the Chauan dynasty of N India. A great warrior, he later became the subject of many romantic epics, including the Chand Raisa…
(Encyclopedia) Mahmud II, 1784–1839, Ottoman sultan (1808–39), younger son of Abd al-Hamid I. He was raised to the throne of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) upon the deposition of his brother, Mustafa IV…
(Encyclopedia) Muzaffar ad-DinMuzaffar ad-Dinm&oomacr;zäf-färˈ äd-dēnˈ [key], 1853–1907, shah of Persia (1896–1907), son of Nasir ad-Din. A weak ruler, he borrowed money from Russia and failed to…
(Encyclopedia) Mansur, al- (Muhammad ibn Abi-Amir al-Mansur billah), 914–1002, Moorish regent of Córdoba, known in Spanish as Almanzor. He became steward to Princess Subh, wife of the caliph Hakim II…
(Encyclopedia) Songhai or SonghaySonghaiboth: sŏngˈgīˈ [key], largest of the former empires in the western Sudan region of N Africa. The state was founded (c.700) by Berbers on the Middle Niger, in…
(Encyclopedia) Ahmad MirzaAhmad Mirzaäkhmädˈ mērzäˈ [key], 1898–1930, shah of Persia (1909–25), son of Muhammad Ali. The last of the Qajar dynasty, he came to power as a result of a coup against his…
