(Encyclopedia) MuawiyaMuawiyam&oomacr;äˈwēä [key], d. 680, 1st Umayyad caliph (661–80), one of the greatest Muslim statesmen; son of Abu Sufyan, a Koreish tribesman of Mecca. He submitted to…
(Encyclopedia) Mustafa or Kara MustafaKara Mustafakäräˈ [key]Kara Mustafa m&oobreve;stäfäˈ [key] [Turk. kara=black], d. 1683, Turkish grand vizier (chief executive officer) under Sultan Muhammad…
(Encyclopedia) Fath Ali ShahFath Ali Shahfäth älēˈ shäˈ, fät [key], also spelled Feth Ali Shah, 1762–1834, shah of Persia (1797–1834), nephew and successor of Aga Muhammad Khan, founder of the Qajar…
(Encyclopedia) UmarUmar&oomacr;märˈ [key] or OmarUmarōˈmär [key], c.581–644, 2d caliph (see caliphate). At first hostile to Islam, he was converted by 618, becoming an adviser to Muhammad. He…
(Encyclopedia) OmdurmanOmdurmanŏmdərmänˈ [key], Arab. Umm Durman, city (1993 pop. 1,271,403), E central Sudan, on the White Nile opposite Khartoum. It is the largest city and chief commercial center…
(Encyclopedia) Ahmed IAhmed Iäˈmĕd [key], 1589–1617, Ottoman sultan (1603–17), son and successor of Muhammad III to the throne of the Ottoman Empire. The chief event of his reign was the Treaty of…
(Encyclopedia) Vlad IV, 1431?–1476, prince of Walachia (1448, 1456–62, 1476), known as Vlad the Impaler. He was the son of Prince Vlad Dracul (Vlad the Devil) and is therefore also called Dracula or…
(Encyclopedia) BornuBornubôrˈn&oomacr; [key], former Muslim state, mostly in NE Nigeria, extending S and W of Lake Chad. It began its existence as a separate state in the late 14th cent. From the…