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Abu Nuwas

(Encyclopedia)Abu Nuwas äˈbo͞o no͞owäsˈ [key], c.750–c.810, Arab poet, b. Ahvaz, Persia. He spent most of his life in Baghdad. High in favor with the caliphs Harun ar-Rashid and Amin, he lived a courtier's ...

Yakub I

(Encyclopedia)Yakub I yäko͝obˈ [key], 1160?–1199, ruler of Morocco (1184–99) and Moorish Spain. He was known as Yakub al-Mansur [the victorious] after his victory over Alfonso VIII of Castile at Alarcos (119...

Wazed, Hasina

(Encyclopedia)Wazed, Hasina häˌsēnäˈ wäzĕdˈ [key], 1947–, Bangladeshi political leader, grad. Univ. of Dhaka (1973). Popularly known as Sheikh Hasina, she is the daughter of Bangladesh's first prime minis...

Hassan II

(Encyclopedia)Hassan II häˈsän [key], 1929–99, king of Morocco (1961–99). Formerly crown prince Moulay Hassan ben Mohammed Alaoui, he ascended the throne on the death (1961) of his father, Muhammad V. A grad...

Spanish Africa

(Encyclopedia)Spanish Africa, historical name for the Spanish possessions in Africa—Ceuta and Melilla (enclaves in Morocco), the Canary Islands, and Western Sahara. Spain also formerly held Ifni (now part of Moro...

Szigetvár

(Encyclopedia)Szigetvár sĭˈgĕtvär [key], town (1991 est. pop. 12,280), SW Hungary. A medieval fortress, it was defended in 1566 by Nicholas Zrinyi against the Ottoman sultan Sulayman I, who died during the sie...

Rabat

(Encyclopedia)Rabat räbätˈ [key], city (1994 pop. 787,745), capital of Morocco, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Bou Regreg estuary, opposite Salé. Silting problems have diminished the city's role as a...

Primo de Rivera, Miguel

(Encyclopedia)Primo de Rivera, Miguel, 1870–1930, Spanish general and dictator. After a rapid and brilliant military career in Cuba, the Philippines, and Morocco, he became governor of Cádiz (1915), then in turn...

Abdul Razak

(Encyclopedia)Abdul Razak, äbˈdo͝ol räˈzäk [key], 1922–76, prime minister of Malaysia (1970–76). Elected to the national legislature in 1959, he was deputy prime minister and minister of defense from 195...

Atlas Mountains

(Encyclopedia)Atlas Mountains, system of ranges and plateaus in NW Africa, extending c.1,500 mi (2,410 km) from SW Morocco, through N Algeria, to N Tunisia; Jebel Toubkal (13,671 ft/4,167 m), in SW Morocco, is the ...