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Babur

(Encyclopedia)Babur bäˈbər [key] [Turk.,=lion], 1483–1530, founder of the Mughal empire of India. His full name was Zahir ud-Din Muhammad. A descendant of Timur (Tamerlane) and of Jenghiz Khan, he succeeded (1...

Fazzan

(Encyclopedia)Fazzan fĕz– [key], historic region, SW Libya. Marzuq, Sabhha, Brak, and Zawilah, all situated in oases in the Sahara Desert, are the chief settlements. The population is largely Arab, with Berber a...

Abd al-Majid

(Encyclopedia)Abd al-Majid Turk. äbdülˈ mäjēdˈ [key], 1823–61, Ottoman sultan (1839–61), son and successor of Mahmud II to the throne of the Ottoman Empire. The rebellion of Muhammad Ali was checked by th...

Zia ur-Rahman, Khaleda

(Encyclopedia)Zia ur-Rahman, Khaleda, or Khaleda Zia käˈlĕdä zēˈä o͞or-rämänˈ [key], 1945–, Bangladesh political leader. In 1960 she married Zia ur-Rahman, an army officer who founded the Bangladesh Na...

oratorio

(Encyclopedia)oratorio ôrətôrˈēō [key], musical composition employing chorus, orchestra, and soloists and usually, but not necessarily, a setting of a sacred libretto without stage action or scenery. The imme...

Shah Jahan

(Encyclopedia)Shah Jahan or Shah Jehan both: shä jəhänˈ [key], 1592–1666, Mughal emperor of India (1628–58), son and successor of Jahangir. His full name was Khurram Shihab-ud-din Muhammad. He rebelled agai...

Gordon, Charles George

(Encyclopedia)Gordon, Charles George, 1833–85, British soldier and administrator. He served in the Crimean War, went to China in the expedition of 1860, taking part in the capture of Beijing, and in 1863 took ove...

Shiites

(Encyclopedia)Shiites shēˈītz [key] [Arab., shiat Ali,=the party of Ali], the second largest branch of Islam, Shiites currently account for 10%–15% of all Muslims. Shiite Islam originated as a political moveme...

Atatürk, Kemal

(Encyclopedia)Atatürk, Kemal kĕmälˈ ätätürkˈ [key], 1881–1938, Turkish leader, founder of modern Turkey. He took the name in 1934 in place of his earlier name, Mustafa Kemal, when he ordered all Turks to ...

Baha'i

(Encyclopedia)Baha'i bähäˈē, –hīˈ, bə– [key], religion founded by Baha Ullah (born Mirza Huseyn Ali Nuri) and promulgated by his eldest son, Abdul Baha (1844–1921). It is a doctrinal outgrowth of Babis...
 

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