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Hoveida, Amir Abbas

(Encyclopedia)Hoveida, Amir Abbas ämērˈ äb-bäsˈ hōvāˈdä [key], 1919–79, Iranian political leader, prime minister of Iran (1965–77). After serving (1958–64) with the National Iranian Oil Company, he ...

Abbas

(Encyclopedia)Abbas äbäsˈ, ăbäsˈ, ăbˈəs [key], d. 653, uncle of Muhammad the Prophet and of Ali the caliph. A wealthy merchant of Mecca, he was at first opposed to the religious movement initiated by his n...

Abbas I

(Encyclopedia)Abbas I (Abbas the Great) äbäsˈ, ăbäsˈ, ăbˈəs [key], 1557–1629, shah of Persia (1587–1628), of the Safavid dynasty. In 1597 he ended the raids of the Uzbeks, and subsequently (1603–23) ...

Kiarostami, Abbas

(Encyclopedia)Kiarostami, Abbas ăbôˈsā kēyôˈrōmămēˌ [key], 1940–2016, Iranian filmmaker. Widely acclaimed as Iran's greatest film director, he typically explores the lives of ordinary Iranians in his f...

Bandar Abbas

(Encyclopedia)Bandar Abbas bändärˈ äb-bäsˈ [key], city, S Iran, on the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian ...

Abbas II

(Encyclopedia)Abbas II (Abbas Hilmi) , ăbäsˈ, ăbˈəs [key], 1874–1944, last khedive of Egypt (1892–1914); son and successor of Tewfik Pasha. Nominally he ruled in subordination to the Ottoman Empire, but i...

Abbas, Mahmoud

(Encyclopedia)Abbas, Mahmoud mäkhmo͞odˈ äbäsˈ, mämo͞odˈ [key], 1935–, Palestinian leader, also known as Abu Mazen. He was born in Saffed, Palestine (now in Israel), but his family fled during the 1948–...

Safavid

(Encyclopedia)Safavid säfäˈwēd [key], Iranian dynasty (1499–1736), that established Shiite Islam in Iran as an official state religion. The Safavid state provided both the territorial and societal foundations...

Abu al-Abbas as-Saffah

(Encyclopedia)Abu al-Abbas as-Saffah äˈbo͞o äl-äbäsˈ äs-säfäˈ [key], d. 754, 1st Abbasid caliph (749–54). Raised to the caliphate by the armed might of Abu Muslim, he took the reign name as-Saffah [she...

Buyid

(Encyclopedia)Buyid bo͞oˈyĭd [key], Shiite Islamic dynasty of N Persian descent that controlled Iraq and Persia from c.945 to 1060; founded by the sons of Buyeh. In the 930s, Buyeh's sons (Ali, Hasan, and Ahmad)...

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