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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...

Tabari

(Encyclopedia)Tabari (Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Jarir at-Tabari) täbäˈrē [key], c.839–c.923, Arab historian and commentator. The name Tabari was given him because he was born in Tabaristan, Persia. He traveled w...

Nimeiri, Muhammed Jaafar al-

(Encyclopedia)Nimeiri or Nimeiry, Muhammed Jaafar al- mo͞ohämˈmäd jäfärˈ äl-nĭmārˈē [key], 1930–, Sudanese army officer and politician. Early active in the Sudanese nationalist movement, he was tempor...

Kurdufan

(Encyclopedia)Kurdufan kôrˌdəfănˈ [key], region (1983 pop. 3,093,294), S central Sudan. Kurdufan is divided into Northern and Southern Kurdufan states. Its terrain, generally level in the north, rises in the s...

Idrisids

(Encyclopedia)Idrisids ĭdˈrĭsĭdzˌ [key], two historic Muslim families. 1 An Arab Shiite dynasty of Morocco (788–974), founded by Idris I, a descendant of caliph Ali. It was the first Shiite dynasty in the hi...

Omdurman

(Encyclopedia)Omdurman ŏmdərmänˈ [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 of Sudan and part o...

Salman bin Abdul Aziz

(Encyclopedia)Salman bin Abdul Aziz, 1935–, king of Saudi Arabia (2015–), b. Riyadh. Like his predecessor, King Abdullah, he is a son—by a different wife—of Saudi Arabia's founder, Ibn Saud. Salman served a...

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...

Essaouira

(Encyclopedia)Essaouira ĕsəwērˈə [key], city, W Morocco, on the Atlantic Ocean. Essaouira's pleasant climate and picturesque location, buildings, and ruins have made it a tourist resort. Fishing and cabinetry ...

Mahdi, Sadiq al-

(Encyclopedia)Mahdi, Sadiq al-, 1936–2020, Sudanese political and religious leader. A descendent of Muhammad Ahmad (see Mahdi), Mahdi succeeded (1964) to the leadership of the Ansar, the Sufi order (see Sufism) f...