Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Sadat, Anwar al-

(Encyclopedia)Sadat, Anwar al- änwärˈ äl-sädätˈ [key], 1918–81, Egyptian political leader and president (1970–81). He entered (1936) Abbasia Military Academy, where he became friendly with Gamal Abdal Na...

Muhammad II, Ottoman sultan

(Encyclopedia)Muhammad II or Mehmet II (Muhammad the Conqueror), 1429–81, Ottoman sultan (1451–81), son and successor of Murad II. He is considered the true founder of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). He completed ...

Ayub Khan, Muhammad

(Encyclopedia)Ayub Khan, Muhammad məhămˈĭd äˈyo͝ob kän [key], 1907–74, military leader and president (1958–69) of Pakistan. He was commissioned in the British Indian army in 1928 and saw active service ...

Abu Tammam Habib ibn Aus

(Encyclopedia)Abu Tammam Habib ibn Aus täm-mämˈ häbēbˈ ĭˈbən ous [key], c.805–c.845, Arab poet, compiler of the Hamasa. His poems of valor, often describing historical events, are important as source mat...

Baghdadi, Abu Bakr al-

(Encyclopedia)Baghdadi, Abu Bakr al-, nom de guerre of Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai, 1971–2019, Iraqi jihadist leader. Following the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, he helped found a Sunni militia. Arres...

Chaudhry, Iftikhar Muhammad

(Encyclopedia)Chaudhry, Iftikhar Muhammad ĭftĭkärˈ məhäˈməd chôˈdrē [key], 1948–, chief justice of the Pakistan Supreme Court (2005–7, 2009–13). He established a private practice in 1974 and became...

Qaddafi, Muammar al-

(Encyclopedia)Qaddafi, Muammar al- mo͞oäm-märˈ äl-käd-däˈfē [key], 1942–2011, Libyan army officer and dictator. He graduated from the Univ. of Libya in 1963 and became an army officer in 1965. In 1969 he...

Abd al-Hamid II

(Encyclopedia)Abd al-Hamid II, 1842–1918, Ottoman sultan (1876–1909). His uncle, Abd al-Aziz, was deposed from the throne of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) in 1876 by the Young Turks, a liberal reformist group. Ab...

Ibn Gabirol, Solomon ben Judah

(Encyclopedia)Ibn Gabirol, Solomon ben Judah ĭˈbən gäbēˈrôl [key], c.1021–1058, Jewish poet and philosopher, known also as Avicebron, b. Malaga. His secular poetry deals partly with nature and love, but mo...

Abd el-Krim

(Encyclopedia)Abd el-Krim äbˌdĕl-krĭmˈ [key], 1882?–1963, leader of the Rif tribes of Morocco, called in full Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi. An important figure in the administration of the Spanish Z...