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(Encyclopedia)Al-Battani ălˌbətēˈnēəs [key], b. before 858, d. 929, Arab astronomer and mathematician. He is best known in astronomy for his improvements and corrections of the Ptolemaic tradition. His Kitab...

Jazirah, Al

(Encyclopedia)Jazirah, Al, Sudan: see Gezira, Al. ...

Hasa, Al

(Encyclopedia)Hasa, Al äl häˈsä, hăˈsə [key], region, E Saudi Arabia, on the Persian Gulf. Administrated as the Eastern Province, Hofuf is the chief town. Dates, wheat, and rice are produced. It was taken fr...

Qayrawan, Al

(Encyclopedia)Qayrawan, Al kīrwänˈ, Fr. kĕrwäNˈ [key], city (1994 pop. 102,600), NE Tunisia. It is a sacred city of Islam. Founded in 670 by Uqbah bin Nafi, an Arab leader, it was the seat of Arab governors i...

Biqa, Al

(Encyclopedia)Biqa, Al ĕl bēkäˈ [key], upland valley of Lebanon and Syria, 75 mi (121 km) long and 5 to 9 mi (8–14.5 km) wide, between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon ranges; highest part of the Rift Valley comp...

Farabi, al-

(Encyclopedia)Farabi, al- äl-färäˈbē [key], d. 950, Islamic philosopher. He studied in Baghdad and later flourished in Aleppo as a sufi mystic (see Sufism). He died in Damascus. Al-Farabi was the author of an ...

Unser, Al

(Encyclopedia)Unser, Al (Alfred Unser, Sr.) ŭnˈsər [key] 1939–2021, American automobile racing driver, b. Albuquerque, ...

Mutanabbi, al-

(Encyclopedia)Mutanabbi, al-, 915–65, Arab poet, considered the greatest classical Arabic poet, b. Iraq. His early involvement with a religious cult earned him the sobriquet “the would-be prophet.” He was par...

Falluja, Al

(Encyclopedia)Falluja, Al äl fälo͞oˈjə [key], town, Anbar prov., central Iraq, on the Euphrates. A strategic city ...