1.
Caliphate
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A caliphate is an area containing an Islamic steward known as a caliph —a person considered a religious successor to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, and a leader of the entire Muslim community. During the history of Islam after the Rashidun period, many Muslim states, the Sunni branch of Islam stipulates that, as a head of state, a caliph should be elected by Muslims or their representatives. Followers of Shia Islam, however, believe a caliph should be an Imam chosen by God from the Ahl al-Bayt, before the advent of Islam, Arabian monarchs traditionally used the title malik, or another from the same root. The term caliph, derives from the Arabic word khalīfah, which means successor, steward, however, studies of pre-Islamic texts suggest that the original meaning of the phrase was successor selected by God. There was no specified procedure for this shura or consultation, candidates were usually, but not necessarily, from the same lineage as the deceased leader. Capable men who would lead well were preferred over an ineffectual heir, Sunni Muslims believe that Abu Bakr was chosen by the community and that this was the proper procedure. Sunnis further argue that a caliph should ideally be chosen by election or community consensus, the Shia believe that Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of Muhammad, was chosen by Muhammad as his spiritual and temporal successor as the Mawla of all Muslims in the event of Ghadir Khumm. The caliph was often known as Amir al-Muminin, Muhammad established his capital in Medina, after he died, it remained the capital during the Rashidun Caliphate, before Kufa was reportedly made the capital by Caliph Ali. At times there have been rival claimant caliphs in different parts of the Islamic world, according to Sunni Muslims, the first caliph to be called Amir al-Muminin was Abu Bakr, followed by Umar, the second of the Rashidun. Uthman and Ali also were called by the title, while the Shia consider Ali to have been the only truly legitimate caliph. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk officially abolished the system of Caliphate in Islam as part of his secular reforms, the Kings of Morocco still label themselves with the title Amir al-Muminin for the Moroccans, but lay no claim to the Caliphate. Some Muslim countries, including Somalia, Indonesia and Malaysia, were never subject to the authority of a Caliphate, with the exception of Aceh, consequently, these countries had their own, local, sultans or rulers who did not fully accept the authority of the Caliph. Abu Bakr, the first successor of Muhammad, nominated Umar as his successor on his deathbed, Umar, the second caliph, was killed by a Persian named Piruz Nahavandi. His successor, Uthman, was elected by a council of electors, Uthman was killed by members of a disaffected group. Ali then took control but was not universally accepted as caliph by the governors of Egypt and he faced two major rebellions and was assassinated by Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam, a Khawarij. Alis tumultuous rule lasted only five years and this period is known as the Fitna, or the first Islamic civil war. The followers of Ali later became the Shia minority sect of Islam, the followers of all four Rashidun Caliphs became the majority Sunni sect. Under the Rashidun each region of the Caliphate had its own governor, Muawiyah, a relative of Uthman and governor of Syria, succeeded Ali as Caliph
2.
Umayyad Caliphate
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The Umayyad Caliphate, also spelled Omayyad, was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. This caliphate was centred on the Umayyad dynasty, hailing from Mecca, Syria remained the Umayyads main power base thereafter, and Damascus was their capital. The Umayyads continued the Muslim conquests, incorporating the Caucasus, Transoxiana, Sindh, the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula into the Muslim world. At its greatest extent, the Umayyad Caliphate covered 11,100,000 km2 and 62 million people, the Umayyad Caliphate was secular by nature. At the time, the Umayyad taxation and administrative practice were perceived as unjust by some Muslims, Muhammad had stated explicitly during his lifetime that Abrahamic religious groups, should be allowed to practice their own religion, provided that they paid the jizya taxation. The welfare state of both the Muslim and the poor started by Umar ibn al Khattab had also continued, financed by the zakat tax levied only on Muslims. Muawiyas wife Maysum was also a Christian, the relations between the Muslims and the Christians in the state were stable in this time. Prominent positions were held by Christians, some of whom belonged to families that had served in Byzantine governments, the employment of Christians was part of a broader policy of religious assimilation that was necessitated by the presence of large Christian populations in the conquered provinces, as in Syria. This policy also boosted Muawiyas popularity and solidified Syria as his power base, the rivalries between the Arab tribes had caused unrest in the provinces outside Syria, most notably in the Second Muslim Civil War of AD 680–692 and the Berber Revolt of 740–743. During the Second Civil War, leadership of the Umayyad clan shifted from the Sufyanid branch of the family to the Marwanid branch. A branch of the family fled across North Africa to Al-Andalus, where they established the Caliphate of Córdoba, according to tradition, the Umayyad family and Muhammad both descended from a common ancestor, Abd Manaf ibn Qusai, and they originally came from the city of Mecca. Muhammad descended from Abd Manāf via his son Hashim, while the Umayyads descended from Abd Manaf via a different son, Abd-Shams, the two families are therefore considered to be different clans of the same tribe. However Muslim Shia historians suspect that Umayya was a son of Abd Shams so he was not a blood relative of Abd Manaf ibn Qusai. Umayya was later discarded from the noble family, Sunni historians disagree with this and view Shia claims as nothing more than outright polemics due to their hostility to the Umayyad family in general. While the Umayyads and the Hashimites may have had bitterness between the two clans before Muhammad, the rivalry turned into a case of tribal animosity after the Battle of Badr. The battle saw three top leaders of the Umayyad clan killed by Hashimites in a three-on-three melee and this fueled the opposition of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, the grandson of Umayya, to Muhammad and to Islam. Abu Sufyan sought to exterminate the adherents of the new religion by waging another battle with Muslims based in Medina only a year after the Battle of Badr and he did this to avenge the defeat at Badr. The Battle of Uhud is generally believed by scholars to be the first defeat for the Muslims, as they had incurred greater losses than the Meccans
3.
Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik
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Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik or Al-Walid I was an Umayyad Caliph who ruled from 705 until his death in 715. His reign saw the greatest expansion of the Caliphate, as successful campaigns were undertaken in Transoxiana in Central Asia, Sind, Hispania in far western Europe and he was born to Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan and his wife who was from the central Arabian region of Najd. Al-Walid was born in 668 and died in 715, Walid continued the expansion of the Islamic empire that was sparked by his father and was an effective ruler. His father Abd al-Malik had taken the oath of allegiance for Walid during his lifetime, as such the succession of Walid was not contested. His reign was marked by a number of conquests in both the east and west with historians considering his reign as the apex of Islamic power, Walid was married to his first cousin Umm Banin bint Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan. Walid was succeeded by his brother Sulayman and was buried in Bab al-Saghir cemetery in Damascus and his grave is still present to this date. Walid continued his fathers policies of expanding Islamic power through conquests, in 711, Muslim armies crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and began to conquer the Iberian Peninsula using North African Berber troops. By 716, the Visigoths of Iberia had been defeated and Iberia was under Muslim control, in the east, Islamic armies made it as far as the Indus River in 712. Under Walid, the Caliphate stretched from the Iberian Peninsula to India, Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf continued to play a crucial role in the organization and selection of military commanders in the East, serving as effectively the viceroy there. Walid paid great attention to the development and expansion of a well-organized military and he built the strongest navy of the Umayyad era which was a key element in Caliphates expansion into Iberia. Like his father, Walid continued to allow Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf free rein, musa ibn Nusayr and his retainer Tariq ibn Ziyad conquered Al-Andalus, whilst Mohammad Bin Qasim Conquered Sindh. Hajjaj was responsible for picking the generals who led the eastern campaigns. Others, such as Walids brother Maslamah, advanced against the Byzantines, muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari describes how Qutayba ibn Muslim, Khurasans governor, led forces extending the Caliphate to the east. Qutayba conquered Samarkand, advanced into Farghana and sent envoys to China, al-Tabari records how Hajjaj tortured Yazid ibn al-Muhallab. Yazid escaped and made his way to Walids brother Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik who granted him refuge, Hajjaj pressed Walid about this and Walid commanded Sulayman to send him Yazid in chains. Sulayman had his own son approach Walid chained to Yazid and spoke in favour of Yazids safety, Walid accepted this and told Hajjaj to desist. Walid began the first major building projects of Islam, the history of Islamic architecture can be said to have begun in earnest with Walid. Around 701, al-Walid ordered the building of Al-Aqsa Mosque, opposite his fathers Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, Walid repaired and refurbished Masjid al Nabawi in Medina
4.
Medina
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Medina, also transliterated as Madīnah, is a city in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia that is also the capital of the Al Madinah Region. The city contains al-Masjid an-Nabawi, which is the place of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It served as the base of Islam in its first century where the early Muslim community developed. Medina is home to the three oldest mosques, namely the Quba Mosque, al-Masjid an-Nabawi, and Masjid al-Qiblatayn, Muslims believe that the chronologically final surahs of the Quran were revealed to Muhammad in Medina, and are called Medinan surahs in contrast to the earlier Meccan surahs. Similar to Mecca, non-Muslims are forbidden from entering the core of Medina or the city centre by the national government. The Arabic word al-Madīnah simply means the city, before the advent of Islam, the city was known as Yathrib. The word Yathrib has been recorded in Surat al-Ahzab of the Quran, an alternative name is al-Madīnah an-Nabawīyah or al-Madīna-tu an-Nabī. As of 2010, the city of Medina has a population of 1,183,205, in addition to its Arab inhabitants, during the pre-Islamic era Yathrib was inhabited by Jewish tribes. Later the citys name was changed to al-Madīna-tu n-Nabī or al-Madīnatu l-Munawwarah, Medina is celebrated for containing al-Masjid an-Nabawi and also as the city which gave refuge to him and his followers, and so ranks as the second holiest city of Islam, after Mecca. Muhammad was buried in Medina, under the Green Dome, as were the first two Rashidun caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar, who were buried next to him in what used to be Muhammads house. Medina is 210 miles north of Mecca and about 120 miles from the Red Sea coast and it is situated in the most fertile part of all the Hejaz territory, the streams of the vicinity tending to converge in this locality. An immense plain extends to the south, in every direction the view is bounded by hills and mountains. The historic city formed an oval, surrounded by a wall,30 to 40 feet high, dating from the 12th century CE. Of its four gates, the Bab-al-Salam, or Egyptian gate, was remarkable for its beauty, beyond the walls of the city, west and south were suburbs consisting of low houses, yards, gardens and plantations. These suburbs also had walls and gates, almost all of the historic city has been demolished in the Saudi era. The rebuilt city is centred on the vastly expanded al-Masjid an-Nabawi, the graves of Fatimah and Hasan, across from the mosque at Jannat al-Baqi, and Abu Bakr, and of Umar, the second caliph, are also here. The mosque dates back to the time of Muhammad, but has been twice reconstructed, because of the Saudi governments religious policy and concern that historic sites could become the focus for idolatry, much of Medinas Islamic physical heritage has been altered. Medinas importance as a religious site derives from the presence of al-Masjid an-Nabawi, the mosque was expanded by the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I
5.
Arabian Peninsula
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The Arabian Peninsula, simplified Arabia is a peninsula of Western Asia situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian plate. From a geological perspective, it is considered a subcontinent of Asia and it is the largest peninsula in the world, at 3,237,500 km2. The Arabian Peninsula consists of the countries Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the Arabian Peninsula plays a critical geopolitical role in the Middle East and the Arab world due to its vast reserves of oil and natural gas. Before the modern era, it was divided into four regions, Hejaz, Najd, Southern Arabia. Hejaz and Najd make up most of Saudi Arabia, Southern Arabia consists of Yemen and some parts of Saudi Arabia and Oman. Eastern Arabia consists of the coastal strip of the Persian Gulf. The most prominent feature of the peninsula is desert, but in the southwest there are mountain ranges, harrat ash Shaam is a large volcanic field that extends from the northwestern Arabian Peninsula into Jordan and southern Syria. The peninsulas constituent countries are Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the island nation of Bahrain lies off the east coast of the peninsula. Six countries form the Gulf Cooperation Council, however, this is a disputed term. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia covers the part of the peninsula. The majority of the population of the live in Saudi Arabia. The peninsula contains the worlds largest reserves of oil, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are economically the wealthiest in the region. Qatar, a peninsula in the Persian Gulf on the larger peninsula, is home of the Arabic-language television station Al Jazeera. Kuwait, on the border with Iraq, is an important country strategically, though historically lightly populated, political Arabia is noted for a high population growth rate - as the result of both very strong inflows of migrant labor as well as sustained high birth rates. The population tends to be young and heavily skewed gender ratio dominated by males. In many states, the number of South Asians exceeds that of the local citizenry, the four smallest states, which have their entire coastlines on the Persian Gulf, exhibit the worlds most extreme population growth, roughly tripling every 20 years. In 2014, the population of the Arabian Peninsula was 77,983,936. Listed here are the human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups in Arabia Haplogroup J is the most abundant component in the Arabian peninsula and its two main subclades, show opposite latitudinal gradients in the Middle East
6.
Al-Walid I
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Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik or Al-Walid I was an Umayyad Caliph who ruled from 705 until his death in 715. His reign saw the greatest expansion of the Caliphate, as successful campaigns were undertaken in Transoxiana in Central Asia, Sind, Hispania in far western Europe and he was born to Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan and his wife who was from the central Arabian region of Najd. Al-Walid was born in 668 and died in 715, Walid continued the expansion of the Islamic empire that was sparked by his father and was an effective ruler. His father Abd al-Malik had taken the oath of allegiance for Walid during his lifetime, as such the succession of Walid was not contested. His reign was marked by a number of conquests in both the east and west with historians considering his reign as the apex of Islamic power, Walid was married to his first cousin Umm Banin bint Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan. Walid was succeeded by his brother Sulayman and was buried in Bab al-Saghir cemetery in Damascus and his grave is still present to this date. Walid continued his fathers policies of expanding Islamic power through conquests, in 711, Muslim armies crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and began to conquer the Iberian Peninsula using North African Berber troops. By 716, the Visigoths of Iberia had been defeated and Iberia was under Muslim control, in the east, Islamic armies made it as far as the Indus River in 712. Under Walid, the Caliphate stretched from the Iberian Peninsula to India, Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf continued to play a crucial role in the organization and selection of military commanders in the East, serving as effectively the viceroy there. Walid paid great attention to the development and expansion of a well-organized military and he built the strongest navy of the Umayyad era which was a key element in Caliphates expansion into Iberia. Like his father, Walid continued to allow Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf free rein, musa ibn Nusayr and his retainer Tariq ibn Ziyad conquered Al-Andalus, whilst Mohammad Bin Qasim Conquered Sindh. Hajjaj was responsible for picking the generals who led the eastern campaigns. Others, such as Walids brother Maslamah, advanced against the Byzantines, muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari describes how Qutayba ibn Muslim, Khurasans governor, led forces extending the Caliphate to the east. Qutayba conquered Samarkand, advanced into Farghana and sent envoys to China, al-Tabari records how Hajjaj tortured Yazid ibn al-Muhallab. Yazid escaped and made his way to Walids brother Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik who granted him refuge, Hajjaj pressed Walid about this and Walid commanded Sulayman to send him Yazid in chains. Sulayman had his own son approach Walid chained to Yazid and spoke in favour of Yazids safety, Walid accepted this and told Hajjaj to desist. Walid began the first major building projects of Islam, the history of Islamic architecture can be said to have begun in earnest with Walid. Around 701, al-Walid ordered the building of Al-Aqsa Mosque, opposite his fathers Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, Walid repaired and refurbished Masjid al Nabawi in Medina
7.
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik
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Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik 10th Umayyad caliph who ruled from 724 until his death in 743. When he was born in 691 his mother named him after her father, inheriting the caliphate from his brother Yazid II, Hisham was ruling an empire with many different problems. He would, however, be effective in attending to these problems and his long rule was an effective one, and it saw a rebirth of reforms that were originated by Umar bin Abd al-Aziz. Like his brother al-Walid I, Hisham was a patron of the arts. He also encouraged the growth of education by building more schools and he returned to a stricter interpretation of the Sharia as Umar had, and enforced it, even upon his own family. His ability to stand up to the Umayyad clan may have been an important factor in his success, on the military front his empire suffered a series of setbacks, especially in the Caucasus against the Khazars and in Transoxiana against the Turgesh. Hisham sent armies to end the Hindu rebellion in Sindh, and was successful when the Hindu ruler Jai Singh was killed and this allowed the Umayyads to reassert their rule over some portions of their provinces in India. Under Hishams rule, regular raids against the Byzantine Empire continued, one regular commander of Arab forces was the redoubtable Maslama, Hishams half-brother. He fought the Byzantines in A. H.107 and the year captured Caesarea Mazaca. He also fought the Khazars in the Caucasus, in A. H.110 he fought for a month against the Khaqan there and defeated him. Hishams son Muawiyah ibn Hisham was another Arab commander in the almost annual raids against the Byzantine Empire, in A. H.110 he took the fort of Samalu in Cilicia. The next year Muawiyah thrust left and Said ibn Hisham right, in addition there was also a sea raid. In A. H.112 Muawiyah captured Kharsianon in Cappadocia, Muawiyah raided the Byzantine Empire in A. H.113. The next year he captured Aqrun, while Abdallah al-Battal took a Byzantine commander prisoner, Muawiyah raided Byzantium in A. H.115,116,117 and 118. In A. H.119 al Walid ibn al Qaqa al-Absi led the raid against the Byzantines, the next year Sulayman ibn Hisham captured Sindirah. In A. H.121 Maslama captured some of Cappadocia, theophanes the Confessor states that while some Arabs raided successfully in 739 and returned home safely, others were soundly defeated at the Battle of Akroinon. He records that internal Byzantine strife facilitated Arab raids by Sulayman ibn Hisham in 741-742 that resulted in many Byzantines made Arab captives, al-Tabari refers to the same raid. In North Africa, Kharijite teachings combined with local restlessness to produce a significant Berber revolt
8.
Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik
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Maslama was the son of the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan and half-brother of the caliphs al-Walid I, Sulayman, Yazid II and Hisham. Maslama himself was excluded from the line of succession as his mother was a slave and he is first mentioned as leading, along with his nephew al-Abbas ibn al-Walid, the annual summer campaign against the Byzantine Empire in 705. The siege lasted through winter and the Arab army faced great hardship, but after the Arabs defeated a Byzantine relief force in spring 708, the city surrendered. A few months later, in the summer, Maslama led another expedition into Asia Minor and defeated a Byzantine army near Amorium, in the same year, Maslama was appointed military governor of Armenia and Azerbaijan, succeeding his uncle Muhammad ibn Marwan. This he added to the post of governor of Jund Qinnasrin in northern Syria, together, command of these provinces effectively gave him complete control of the Caliphates entire northwestern border. From this position he launched campaigns against the Byzantines, devastating Galatia and sacking Amaseia in 712. He was also the first to establish the Caliphates presence north of the Caucasus, in 710 and again in 714, he marched his army up to Bab al-Abwab, which he took and destroyed during the latter expedition. Maslama led an army, which sources report to have numbered 120,000 men and 1,800 ships. In late 715, the Arab vanguard crossed the Taurus Mountains into Byzantine territory, Maslama following in spring 716 with the main army, as a result, Maslama marched further west, to the coastlands of the Thracesian Theme. There he spent the winter, while Leo marched onto Constantinople, in early summer 717, Maslama with his army crossed from Asia into Europe over the Dardanelles, and proceeded to besiege Constantinople from land and sea. The Byzantines also defeated an Arab army marching to aid the besiegers through Asia Minor, while Maslamas men had to contend with attacks by the Bulgars as well, the siege had clearly failed, and the new Caliph, Umar II, ordered Maslama to retreat. On 15 August 718, after thirteen months of siege, the Arabs departed, the tales of the siege influenced similar episodes in Arabic epic literature, where Maslama appears associated with another legendary Arab hero of the wars against Byzantium, Abdallah al-Battal. In reality, the mosque near the praetorium was most likely erected in about 860, after his failure at Constantinople, Maslama was dispatched to Iraq to quell the Kharijites. Following Umars death and the accession of his brother Yazid II in 720, he was tasked with the suppression of the revolt of Yazid ibn al-Muhallab, whom he defeated and killed in August 720. Yazid soon recalled Maslama from his post, ostensibly because he had failed to deliver his provinces tax haul to Damascus, initially, however, Maslama was mostly active in the Byzantine front, and the war against the Khazars was delegated to al-Harith ibn Amr al-Tai. In winter 725, Maslama led an expedition against Asia Minor from Melitene, along with the capture of Gangra by Abdallah al-Battal in 727, this was one of the major successes of Arab arms against the Byzantines in the 720s. A few months later, he led the otherwise unremarkable northern summer expedition into Byzantine territory. In 727–728, his attention was diverted by Khazar attacks which reached deep into Azerbaijan, although Maslama was able to drive them back and recover control of the Darial Pass, his 728 campaign across the Caucasus was difficult, bloody and indecisive
9.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
10.
Arabic
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
11.
Hejaz
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The Hejaz, also Al-Hijaz, is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. The region is so called as it separates the land of the Najd in the east from the land of Tihamah in the west and it is also known as the Western Province. It is bordered on the west by the Red Sea, on the north by Jordan, on the east by the Najd and its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina. As the site of Islams holiest places, the Hejaz has significance in the Arab, historically, the Hejaz has always seen itself as separate from the rest of Saudi Arabia. The Hejaz is the most populated region in Saudi Arabia,35 % of all Saudis live in Hejaz, hejazi Arabic is the most widely spoken dialect in the region. Saudi Hejazis are of diverse origins. The Hejaz is the most cosmopolitan region in the Arabian Peninsula, people of Hejaz have the most strongly articulated identity of any regional grouping in Saudi Arabia. Their place of origin alienates them from the Saudi state, which invokes different narratives of the history of the Arabian Peninsula, thus, Hejazis experienced tensions with people of Najd. One or possibly two megalithic dolmen have been found in Al-Hijaz, the Hejaz includes both the Mahd adh-Dhahab and a water source, now dried out, that used to flow 600 miles north east to the Persian Gulf via the Wadi Al-Rummah and Wadi Al-Batin system. Archaeological research led by of Boston University and the University of Qassim indicates that the system was active in 8000 BCE. The northern part of the Hejaz was part of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea, Saudi Arabias first World Heritage Site that was recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is that of Al-Hjir. The name Al-Hijr occurs in the Qur’an, and the site is known for having structures carved into rocks, construction of the structures is credited to the people of Thamud. Despite their rather Polytheistic nature, a member of folk was a Monotheistic preacher called Salih. After the disappearance of Thamud from Mada’in Saleh, it came under the influence of people, such as the Nabataeans. Later, it would lie in a used by Muslim Pilgrims going to Mecca. According to Islamic sources, the civilization of Mecca started after Ibrahim brought his son Isma‘il and wife Hajar here and it was during such an occasion that Muhammad met some Medinans who would allow him to migrate to Medina, to escape persecution by his opponents in Mecca. Given that he had followers and enemies here, a number of battles or expeditions were carried out in this area. They involved both Meccan companions, such as Hamzah ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib, Ubaydah ibn al-Harith and Sad ibn Abi Waqqas, the Hijaz fell under Muhammads influence as he emerged victorious over his opponents, and was thus a part of his empire
12.
Ibn Khaldun
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Ibn Khaldun was a North African Arab historiographer and historian. He is claimed as a forerunner of the disciplines of sociology. He is best known for his book, the Muqaddimah or Prolegomena, the book influenced 17th-century Ottoman historians like Kâtip Çelebi, Ahmed Cevdet Pasha and Mustafa Naima who used the theories in the book to analyze the growth and decline of the Ottoman Empire. 19th-century European scholars also acknowledged the significance of the book and considered Ibn Khaldun as one of the greatest philosophers of the Middle Ages, Ibn Khalduns life is relatively well-documented, as he wrote an autobiography in which numerous documents regarding his life are quoted word-for-word. His family, which many high offices in Andalusia, had emigrated to Tunisia after the fall of Seville to the Reconquista in AD1248. Under the Tunisian Hafsid dynasty some of his family held office, Ibn Khaldūns father and grandfather however withdrew from political life. His brother, Yahya Khaldun, was also a historian who wrote a book on the Abdalwadid dynasty, and who was assassinated by a rival for being the official historiographer of the court. In his own words, And our ancestry is from Hadhramaut, from the Arabs of Yemen, via Wail ibn Hujr also known as Hujr ibn Adi, from the best of the Arabs, well-known and respected. However, the biographer Mohammad Enan questions his claim, suggesting that his family may have been Muladis who pretended to be of Arab origin in order to gain social status. Enan also mentions a well documented past tradition, concerning certain Berber groups, the motive of such an invention was always the desire for political and societal ascendancy. Some speculate this of the Khaldun family, they elaborate that Ibn Khaldun himself was the product of the same Berber ancestry as the majority of his birthplace. Even in the times when Berbers were ruling, the reigns of Al-Marabats and al-Mowahids, the Ibn Khalduns did not reclaim their Berber heritage. Khalduns tracing of his own genealogy and surname are thought to be the strongest indication of Arab Yemenite ancestry and his familys high rank enabled Ibn Khaldun to study with the best teachers in Maghreb. He received a classical Islamic education, studying the Quran which he memorized by heart, Arabic linguistics and he received certification for all these subjects. The mathematician and philosopher, Al-Abili of Tlemcen, introduced him to mathematics, logic and philosophy, at the age of 17, Ibn Khaldūn lost both his parents to the Black Death, an intercontinental epidemic of the plague that hit Tunis in 1348–1349. Following family tradition, Ibn Khaldūn strove for a political career, Ibn Khaldūns autobiography is the story of an adventure, in which he spends time in prison, reaches the highest offices and falls again into exile. In 1352, Abū Ziad, the Sultan of Constantine, marched on Tunis, Ibn Khaldūn, in any case unhappy with his respected but politically meaningless position, followed his teacher Abili to Fez. Here the Marinid sultan Abū Inan Fares I appointed him as a writer of royal proclamations, in 1357 this brought the 25-year-old a 22-month prison sentence
13.
Umar
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Umar, also spelled Omar, was one of the most powerful and influential Muslim caliphs in history. He was a senior Sahabi of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and he succeeded Abu Bakr as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate on 23 August 634. He was an expert Islamic jurist known for his pious and just nature and he is sometimes referred to as Umar I by historians of Islam, since a later Umayyad caliph, Umar II, also bore that name. Under Umar, the caliphate expanded at a rate, ruling the Sasanian Empire and more than two-thirds of the Byzantine Empire. His attacks against the Sasanian Empire resulted in the conquest of Persia in less than two years, according to Jewish tradition, Umar set aside the Christian ban on Jews and allowed them into Jerusalem and to worship. Umar is revered in the Sunni tradition as a ruler and paragon of Islamic virtues. He is viewed adversely in Shia Islam, Umar was born in Mecca to the Banu Adi clan, which was responsible for arbitration among the tribes. His father was Khattab ibn Nufayl and his mother was Hantama bint Hisham and he is said to have belonged to a middle-class family. In his youth he used to tend to his fathers camels in the plains near Mecca and his merchant father was famed for his intelligence among his tribe. Umar himself said, My father, Al-Khattab was a ruthless man and he used to make me work hard, if I didnt work he used to beat me and he used to work me to exhaustion. Despite literacy being uncommon in pre-Islamic Arabia, Umar learned to read, though not a poet himself, he developed a love for poetry and literature. According to the tradition of Quraish, while still in his years, Umar learned martial arts. He was tall, physically powerful and a renowned wrestler and he was also a gifted orator who succeeded his father as an arbitrator among the tribes. Umar became a merchant and made journeys to Rome and Persia. As a merchant he was unsuccessful, like others around him, Umar was fond of drinking in his pre-Islamic days. In 610 Muhammad started preaching the message of Islam, like many others in Mecca, Umar opposed Islam and he even threatened to kill Muhammad. He resolved to defend the traditional religion of Arabia. He was adamant and cruel in opposing Muhammad and very prominent in persecuting Muslims and he firmly believed in the unity of the Quraish and saw the new faith of Islam as a cause of division and discord
14.
Byzantine Empire
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It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
15.
Justinian II
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Justinian II, surnamed the Rhinotmetos or Rhinotmetus, was the last Byzantine Emperor of the Heraclian Dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711. His second reign was even more despotic than the first, and it too saw his eventual overthrow in 711, Justinian II was eldest son of Emperor Constantine IV and Anastasia. His father raised him to the throne as joint emperor in 681 on the fall of his uncles Heraclius and Tiberius, in 685, at the age of sixteen, Justinian II succeeded his father as sole emperor. Due to Constantine IVs victories, the situation in the Eastern provinces of the Empire was stable when Justinian ascended the throne. After a preliminary strike against the Arabs in Armenia, Justinian managed to augment the sum paid by the Umayyad Caliphs as an annual tribute, the incomes of the provinces of Armenia and Iberia were divided among the two empires. In 687, as part of his agreements with the Caliphate, Justinian removed from their native Lebanon 12,000 Christian Maronites, additional resettlement efforts, aimed at the Mardaites and inhabitants of Cyprus allowed Justinian to reinforce naval forces depleted by earlier conflicts. Justinian took advantage of the peace in the East to regain possession of the Balkans, in 687 Justinian transferred cavalry troops from Anatolia to Thrace. With a great campaign in 688–689, Justinian defeated the Bulgars of Macedonia and was finally able to enter Thessalonica. The subdued Slavs were resettled in Anatolia, where they were to provide a force of 30,000 men. Emboldened by the increase of his forces in Anatolia, Justinian now renewed the war against the Arabs, with the help of his new troops, Justinian won a battle against the enemy in Armenia in 693, but they were soon bribed to revolt by the Arabs. The result was that Justinian was comprehensively defeated at the Battle of Sebastopolis, caused by the defection of most of his Slavic troops, while he himself was forced to flee to the Propontis. There, according to Theophanes, he took out his frustration by slaughtering as many of the Slavs in and around Opsikion as he could lay his hands on. In the meantime, a Patrician by the name of Symbatius proceeded to rebel in Armenia, and opened up the province to the Arabs, meanwhile, the Emperors bloody persecution of the Manichaeans and suppression of popular traditions of non-Orthodox origin caused dissension within the Church. In 692 Justinian convened the so-called Quinisext Council at Constantinople to put his religious policies into effect, the emperor ordered Pope Sergius I arrested, but the militias of Rome and Ravenna rebelled and took the Popes side. If his land policies threatened the aristocracy, his tax policy was no more popular with the common people, through his agents Stephen and Theodotos, the emperor raised the funds to gratify his sumptuous tastes and his mania for erecting costly buildings. This, ongoing religious discontent, conflicts with the aristocracy, in 695 the population rose under Leontios, the strategos of Hellas, and proclaimed him Emperor. Justinian was deposed and his nose was cut off to prevent his again seeking the throne and he was exiled to Cherson in the Crimea. Leontius, after a reign of three years, was in turn dethroned and imprisoned by Tiberius Apsimarus, who assumed the throne
16.
Leontios
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Leontios was Byzantine emperor from 695 to 698. He came to power by overthrowing the Emperor Justinian II, but was overthrown in his turn by Tiberios III and his actual and official name was Leo, but he is known by the name used for him in Byzantine chronicles. A professional soldier from an age, he rose swiftly through the ranks and was appointed strategos of the Anatolic theme during the reign of Emperor Constantine IV. In 686 Leontios was chosen by Justinian II to lead the Byzantine army against the Arabs in Georgia and Armenia, ruthless even by the standards of the day, Leontios carried the war further into Iranian Azerbaijan and Caucasian Albania. His successes eventually forced the negotiation of a treaty between Byzantium and the Arabic Caliph Abd al-Malik with substantial Arabic concessions and tributes to the Byzantine Emperor, Leontios was less successful when war against the Arabs was renewed in 692. Leading a substantial Byzantine army, he was defeated at the Battle of Sebastopolis when a large Slavic contingent deserted, furious at the loss of the army, the Emperor Justinian imprisoned Leontius for two years. The Emperor freed Leontios in 695 and appointed him strategos of the Helladic theme, instead he organized a revolt against the emperor, led largely by his former prison comrades. With the help of the Blue charioteers faction, the Patriarch Kallinikos, justinians nose and tongue were slit and he was exiled to Cherson in the Crimea. During his unpopular reign, Leontios refrained from most military operations and this inactivity and defensive posture led to Abd al-Malik dispatching an expedition to take Carthage which fell in 697. Leontios had sent a fleet to retake the city but it failed at the Battle of Carthage, rather than return to report their failure, the Byzantine army rebelled, overthrowing their admiral and naming a Germanic sailor named Apsimaros as their leader. Apsimaros hastily changed his name to Tiberios III and the returned to Constantinople where, with the support of the Green faction. In what had by now become a tradition for deposed emperors, Leontios had his nose, when the previous Emperor Justinian returned to the throne in 705, both Tiberios and Leontios were paraded through the streets while the citizenry pelted them with ordure. They were then led to the Hippodrome where they were sentenced to death, kazhdan, Alexander, ed. Scott, Leontius, De Imperatoribus Romanis Warren Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society ISBN 0-8047-2630-2 Bury, J. B. A History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene, Vol. II, MacMillan & Co.1889 List of Byzantine emperors
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Gold dinar
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The gold dinar is an Islamic medieval gold coin first issued in AH77 by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. The weight of the dinar is 1 mithqal, the word dinar stems from the Latin denarius aureus or gold coin. The name dinar is in use for Sasanid gold coins, and also for Kushan and it is not known how these coins were named in their day. The first dinars were issued by the Umayyad Caliphate, under the dynasties that followed the use of the dinar spread from Islamic Spain to Central Asia. These corresponded in weight to only 20 carats, but matched with the weight of the worn solidi that were circulating in those areas at the time, the two coins circulated together in these areas for a time. The first dated coins that can be assigned to the Muslims are copies of silver Dirhams of the Sassanian ruler Yazdegerd III and these coins differ from the original ones in that an Arabic inscription is found in the obverse margins, normally reading in the Name of Allah. The subsequent series was issued using types based on drachmas of Khosrau II, historical evidence makes it clear that most of these coins bear Hijra dates. The earliest Muslim copper coins are anonymous and undated but a series exists which may have been issued during the Caliphates of Uthman or Ali and these are crude copies of Byzantine 12-nummus pieces of Heraclius from Alexandria. By the year AH75 Abd al-Malik had decided on changes to the coinage, a scattering of patterned pieces in silver exist from this date, based on Sassanian prototypes but with distinctive Arabic reverses. Unlike the contemporary coinage, this figure does not seem to have been achieved in practice. The average weight of sixty undamaged specimens of AH 79–84 is only 2.71 grams and these new coins which bore the name of dirham, established the style of the Arab-Sassanian predecessors at 25 to 28 mm in diameter. Their design is composed of Arabic inscriptions surrounded by circles and annulets, on each side there is a three- or four-line legend with a single circular inscription. Outside this are three circles with, at first, five annulets surrounding them. The side normally taken as the obverse has as its central legend the Kalima or shahada, There is no god except Allah alone, around it is the mint and date formula reading In the Name of Allah, this Dirham was struck in the year. Dated coins exist from AH74 and are named as Dinars and this type was used without appreciable change for the whole of Umayyad period, the coins being struck to a new and carefully controlled standard of 4.25 grams. This weight was reputed to be based on the average of the current Byzantine solidi, was called a Mithqal, evidence of the importance attached to the close control of the new Dinars is provided by the existence of glass weights, mainly from Egypt. They usually show the name, sometimes the date but all marked with coin denomination. The issues in gold from North Africa began as copies of the coins of Heraclius and his son, Dinars, halves and thirds were struck, all to the new weight standard
18.
Fiqh
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Figuratively, fiqh means, knowledge about Islamic legal rulings from their sources. He must look deep down into a matter and not suffice himself with just the apparent meaning, a person who only knows the appearance of a matter is not a faqīh. Conceptually, the attempt to understand divine law. Whereas shariah is immutable and infallible, fiqh is fallible and changeable, fiqh is distinguished from usul al-fiqh, the methods of legal interpretation and analysis. Fiqh is the product of application of usul al-fiqh, the product of human efforts at understanding the divine will. A hukm is a ruling in a given case. Fiqh deals with the observance of rituals, morals and social legislation in Islam, in the modern era, there are four prominent schools of fiqh within Sunni practice, plus two within Shia practice. A person trained in fiqh is known as a Faqih, the word fiqh is an Arabic term meaning deep understanding or full comprehension. Technically it refers to the body of Islamic law extracted from detailed Islamic sources and this definition is consistent amongst the jurists. In Modern Standard Arabic, fiqh has come to mean jurisprudence in general and it is separated in Sunni, shia and others. Qiyas, i. e. analogy which is deployed if Ijma or historic collective reasoning on the issue is not available. For example, the Quran states one needs to engage in prayers and fast during the month of Ramadan. Details about these issues can be found in the traditions of Muhammad, so Quran, some topics are without precedent in Islams early period. In those cases, Muslim jurists try to arrive at conclusions by other means, Sunni jurists use historical consensus of the community, a majority in the modern era also use analogy and weigh the harms and benefits of new topics, and a plurality utilizes juristic preference. The conclusions arrived at with the aid of additional tools constitute a wider array of laws than the Sharia consists of. Thus, in contrast to the sharia, fiqh is not regarded as sacred and this division of interpretation in more detailed issues has resulted in different schools of thought. This wider concept of Islamic jurisprudence is the source of a range of laws in different topics that guide Muslims in everyday life, Islamic jurisprudence covers two main areas, Rules in relation to actions, and, Rules in relation to circumstances surrounding actions. The Sunni schools are Hanafi Maliki Shafii Hanbali see Wahhabism Zahiri Qurtubi No longer exists Laythi No longer exists, the schools of Shia Islam comprise, Jafari Zaydi Entirely separate from both the Sunni and Shia traditions, Khawarij Islam has evolved its own distinct school
19.
Damascus
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Damascus is the capital and likely the largest city of Syria, following the decline in population of Aleppo due to the ongoing battle for the city. It is commonly known in Syria as ash-Sham and nicknamed as the City of Jasmine, in addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major cultural and religious centre of the Levant. The city has an population of 1,711,000 as of 2009. Located in south-western Syria, Damascus is the centre of a metropolitan area of 2.6 million people. The Barada River flows through Damascus, first settled in the second millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad, Damascus saw a political decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. Today, it is the seat of the government and all of the government ministries. The name of Damascus first appeared in the geographical list of Thutmose III as T-m-ś-q in the 15th century BC, the etymology of the ancient name T-m-ś-q is uncertain, but it is suspected to be pre-Semitic. It is attested as Dimašqa in Akkadian, T-ms-ḳw in Egyptian, Dammaśq in Old Aramaic, the Akkadian spelling is found in the Amarna letters, from the 14th century BC. Later Aramaic spellings of the name include a intrusive resh, perhaps influenced by the root dr. Thus, the English and Latin name of the city is Damascus which was imported from originated from the Qumranic Darmeśeq, and Darmsûq in Syriac, meaning a well-watered land. In Arabic, the city is called Dimašqu š-Šāmi, although this is shortened to either Dimašq or aš-Šām by the citizens of Damascus, of Syria and other Arab neighbours. Aš-Šām is an Arabic term for Levant and for Syria, the latter, the Anti-Lebanon mountains mark the border between Syria and Lebanon. The range has peaks of over 10,000 ft. and blocks precipitation from the Mediterranean sea, however, in ancient times this was mitigated by the Barada River, which originates from mountain streams fed by melting snow. Damascus is surrounded by the Ghouta, irrigated farmland where many vegetables, cereals, maps of Roman Syria indicate that the Barada river emptied into a lake of some size east of Damascus. Today it is called Bahira Atayba, the hesitant lake, because in years of severe drought it does not even exist, the modern city has an area of 105 km2, out of which 77 km2 is urban, while Jabal Qasioun occupies the rest. The old city of Damascus, enclosed by the city walls, to the south-east, north and north-east it is surrounded by suburban areas whose history stretches back to the Middle Ages, Midan in the south-west, Sarouja and Imara in the north and north-west. These neighbourhoods originally arose on roads leading out of the city and these new neighbourhoods were initially settled by Kurdish soldiery and Muslim refugees from the European regions of the Ottoman Empire which had fallen under Christian rule
20.
Basra
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Basra, also al-Baṣrah, is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab between Kuwait and Iran. It had an population of 1.5 million in 2012. Basra is also Iraqs main port, although it not have deep water access. The city is part of the location of Sumer, one of the ports from which Sinbad the Sailor journeyed. It played an important role in early Islamic history and was built in 636, Basra is consistently one of the hottest cities in Iraq, with summer temperatures regularly exceeding 50 °C. The city was called by many throughout its history, Basrah being the most common. In Arabic the word means the overwatcher, which might have been an allusion to the citys origin as an Arab military base against the Sassanids. Some sources claim that the name is derived from the Persian word Bas-rah, others have argued that the name is derived from the Aramaic word basratha, meaning place of huts, settlement. During the pre-Islamic era, the area was known to the Arabs as al-Khariba due to the existence of an ancient city called al-Kharba. After the present city was built, it was called by names, including the mother of Iraq, the reservoir of Arabs, the prosperous city. The name Al-Basrah, which in Arabic means the over watching or the seeing everything, was given to it because of its role as a base against the Sassanid Empire. However, other sources claim the name originates from the Persian word Bas-rāh or Bassorāh meaning where many ways come together, in 639 Umar established this encampment as a city with five districts, and appointed Abu Musa al-Ashari as its first governor. Abu Musa led the conquest of Khuzestan from 639 to 642 and was ordered by Umar to aid Uthman ibn Abu al-ʿAs, then fighting Iran from a new, more easterly miṣr at Tawwaj. In 650, the Rashidun Caliph Uthman reorganised the Persian frontier, installed ʿAbdullah ibn Amir as Basras governor, Ibn Amir led his forces to their final victory over Yazdegerd III, the Sassanid King of Kings. In 656, Uthman was murdered and Ali was appointed Caliph, Ali first installed Uthman ibn Hanif as Basras governor, who was followed by ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAbbas. These men held the city for Ali until the death in 661. The Sufyanids held Basra until Yazid Is death in 683, the Sufyanids first governor was Umayyad ʿAbdullah, a renowned military leader, commanding fealty and financial demands from Karballah, but poor governor. In 664, Muʿawiyah I replaced him with Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan, often called ibn Abihi, on Ziyads death in 673, his son ʿUbaydullah ibn Ziyad became governor
21.
Shia Islam
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Shia is a branch of Islam which holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor. Shia Islam primarily contrasts with Sunni Islam, whose adherents believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor, instead they consider Abu Bakr to be the correct Caliph. Adherents of Shia Islam are called Shias of Ali, Shias or the Shia as a collective or Shii individually, Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam, in 2009, Shia Muslims constituted 10–13% of the worlds Muslim population. Twelver Shia is the largest branch of Shia Islam, in 2012 it was estimated that perhaps 85 percent of Shias were Twelvers. Shia Islam is based on the Quran and the message of Muhammad attested in hadith, Shia consider Ali to have been divinely appointed as the successor to Muhammad, and as the first Imam. The word Shia means follower and is the form of the historic phrase shīʻatu ʻAlī, meaning followers of Ali, faction of Ali. Shia and Shiism are forms used in English, while Shiite or Shiite, as well as Shia, the term for the first time was used at the time of Muhammad. At present, the word refers to the Muslims who believe that the leadership of the community after Muhammad belongs to Ali, nawbakhti states that the term Shia refers to a group of Muslims that at the time of Muhammad and after him regarded Ali as the Imam and Caliph. Al-Shahrastani expresses that the term Shia refers to those who believe that Ali is designated as the Heir, Imam and caliph by Muhammad, for the Shia, this conviction is implicit in the Quran and history of Islam. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing, Shia search for the true meaning of the revelation to get the purpose of the life blood and the human destiny. Shia Muslims believe that just as a prophet is appointed by God alone and they believe God chose Ali to be Muhammads successor, infallible, the first caliph of Islam. The Shias believe that Muhammad designated Ali as his successor by Gods command, Ali was Muhammads first cousin and closest living male relative as well as his son-in-law, having married Muhammads daughter Fatimah. Ali would eventually become the fourth Muslim caliph, after the Farewell Pilgrimage, Muhammad ordered the gathering of Muslims at the pond of Khumm and it was there that Shia Muslims believe Muhammad nominated Ali to be his successor. The hadith of the pond of Khumm was narrated on 18th of Dhu al-Hijjah of 10 AH in the Islamic calendar at a place called Ghadir Khumm, located near the city of al-Juhfah, Saudi Arabia. Muhammad there stated, Shia Muslims believe this to be Muhammads appointment of Ali as his successor, when Muhammad died in 632 CE, Ali and Muhammads closest relatives made the funeral arrangements. While they were preparing his body, Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali and his family accepted the appointment for the sake of unity in the early Muslim community. Alis rule over the early Muslim community was often contested, as a result, he had to struggle to maintain his power against the groups who betrayed him after giving allegiance to his succession, or those who wished to take his position. This dispute eventually led to the First Fitna, which was the first major civil war within the Islamic Caliphate, the Fitna began as a series of revolts fought against Ali ibn Abi Talib, caused by the assassination of his political predecessor, Uthman ibn Affan
22.
Mecca
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Mecca or Makkah is a city in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia that is also capital of the Makkah Region. The city is located 70 km inland from Jeddah in a valley at a height of 277 m above sea level. Its resident population in 2012 was roughly 2 million, although more than triple this number every year during the hajj period held in the twelfth Muslim lunar month of Dhu al-Hijjah. Mecca is home to the Kaaba, by majority description Islams holiest site, Mecca was long ruled by Muhammads descendants, the sharifs, acting either as independent rulers or as vassals to larger polities. It was conquered by Ibn Saud in 1925, during this expansion, Mecca has lost some historical structures and archaeological sites, such as the Ajyad Fortress. Today, more than 15 million Muslims visit Mecca annually, including several million during the few days of the Hajj, as a result, Mecca has become one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the Muslim world, despite the fact that non-Muslims are prohibited from entering the city. The Saudi government adopted Makkah as the spelling in the 1980s. The full official name is Makkah al-Mukarramah or Makkatu l-Mukarramah, which means Mecca the Honored, the ancient or early name for the site of Mecca is Bakkah. An Arabic language word, its etymology, like that of Mecca, is obscure, the form Bakkah is used for the name Mecca in the Quran in 3,96, while the form Mecca is used in 48,24. In South Arabic, the language in use in the portion of the Arabian Peninsula at the time of Muhammad. Other references to Mecca in the Quran call it Umm al-Qurā, another name of Mecca is Tihamah. Arab and Islamic tradition holds that the wilderness of Paran, broadly speaking, is the Tihamah, yaqut al-Hamawi, the 12th century Syrian geographer, wrote that Fārān was an arabized Hebrew word. One of the names of Mecca mentioned in the Torah, Mecca is governed by the Municipality of Mecca, a municipal council of fourteen locally elected members headed by a mayor appointed by the Saudi government. As of May 2015, the mayor of the city was Dr. Osama bin Fadhel Al-Bar, Mecca is the capital of the Makkah Region, which includes neighboring Jeddah. The provincial governor was prince Abdul Majeed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud from 2000 until his death in 2007, on 16 May 2007, prince Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud was appointed as the new governor. The early history of Mecca is still disputed, as there are no unambiguous references to it in ancient literature prior to the rise of Islam. The Roman Empire took control of part of the Hejaz in 106 AD, ruling cities such as Hegra, even though detailed descriptions were established of Western Arabia by Rome, such as by Procopius, there are no references of a pilgrimage and trading outpost such as Mecca. The first direct mention of Mecca in external literature occurs in 741 AD in the Byzantine-Arab Chronicle, claims have been made this could be a reference to the Kaaba in Mecca
23.
Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf
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Al-Hajjaj was born in ca.661 in the city of Taif in the Hijaz, in modern-day Saudi Arabia. His ancestry was not particularly distinguished, he came of a poor family and his mother, al-Faria, had married, and been divorced by, al-Mughira ibn Shuba, appointed governor of Kufa by the first Umayyad caliph, Muawiya. As a boy, al-Hajjaj acquired the nickname Kulayb, with which he was derisively referred to. His early life is obscure, except for his having been a schoolmaster in his home town—another source of derision to his enemies and he participated in the Second Fitna, fighting in the battles of Harra near Medina and of al-Rabadha, but apparently without particular distinction. His first public post, as governor of Tabala in the Tihama region, was also unremarkable, soon after Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan assumed the throne, al-Hajjaj left his home town and went to the capital, Damascus, where he entered the security force of the Caliph. As a result, the Caliph entrusted him with command of the armys rear-guard, in late 691 he set out from Kufa at the head of 2,000 Syrian troops. Ibn al-Zubayr however rejected the Umayyad offers, and al-Hajjaj, after receiving reinforcements, the Umayyad troops bombarded the city with catapults from Mount Abu Qubays, not letting up even during the hajj, even the Kaaba was not spared, despite the presence of the assembled pilgrims. When a sudden thunderstorm broke out, which his soldiers interpreted as wrath, he was able to rally them. As a reward, Abd al-Malik gave al-Hajjaj the governorship of the Hijaz, Yemen, Al-Hajjaj was able to restore peace in the Hijaz, but his severity occasioned the frequent personal intervention of the Caliph. In early 694, Caliph Abd al-Malik sent al-Hajjaj to govern Iraq and this involved combining the governorships of Kufa and Basra, which had not been done since the days of Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan twenty years earlier. e. Persia, Khurasan and the eastern provinces of the Caliphate. In addition, the post was of particular political sensitivity due to the history of Kharijism and political dissent in Iraq. This discontent was driven by various tribal, economic, and political factors, the population of Kufa contained people from almost all Arab tribes, but also many of those undesired elsewhere, such as the vanquished of the Ridda wars. Al-Hajjajs purview originally excluded Khurasan and Sistan, but in 697/8 he received these two provinces as well, expanding his rule over the eastern half of the Caliphate. Al-Hajjaj was, in the words of A. Dietrich, the most loyal servant that a dynasty could wish for and this close relationship is further evidenced by the many surviving letters exchanged between the two men. Al-Hajjajs relationship with Abd al-Malik was much different than with the successor, al-Walid. If his meddling in the succession had secured him the favour of al-Walid, Sulayman furthermore had championed the cause of Yazid ibn al-Muhallab, whom al-Hajjaj had imprisoned. The possibility of Sulaymans accession so frightened al-Hajjaj that he wished not to outlive al-Walid, arriving at Kufa, al-Hajjaj gave an inaugural sermon at the local mosque that has become famous and is often cited as an example of Arab eloquence
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Sahabah
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The term aṣ-ṣaḥābah refers to the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. This form is definite plural, the singular is masculine sahabi. Later scholars accepted their testimony of the words and deeds of Muhammad, the testimony of the companions, as it was passed down through trusted chains of narrators, was the basis of the developing Islamic tradition. The most widespread definition of a companion is someone who met Muhammad, believed in him and died as a Muslim. ”Anyone who died after rejecting Islam and those who saw him but held off believing in him until after his passing are not considered Sahaba but Tabiin. In their view, the Quran has outlined a high level of faith as one of the qualities of the Sahabah. Hence, they admit to this list only those individuals who had contact with Muhammad, lived with him. This view has implications in Islamic law since narrations of Muhammad transmitted through the Sahabah acquire a status of authenticity. Lists of prominent companions usually run to 50 or 60 names, the book entitled Istîâb fî marifat-il-Ashâb by Hafidh Yusuf bin Muhammad bin Qurtubi consists of 2,770 biographies of male and 381 biographies of female Sahabah. According to an observation in the book entitled Mawâhib-i-ladunniyya, a number of persons had already converted to Islam by the time Muhammad died. There were 10,000 by the time Mecca was conquered and 70,000 during the Battle of Tabouk in 630. Some Muslims assert that they were more than 200,000 in number, indeed, He was to them Kind and Merciful. In Islam, there are three types of Sahabah, The people who were Muslims at the time of Badr, but those who believed and did not emigrate - for you there is no guardianship of them until they emigrate. And if they seek help of you for the religion, then you must help, and Allah is Seeing of what you do. Quran, sura 8, ayah 72 And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, and you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating, seeking bounty from Allah and their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration. That is their description in the Torah, Allah has promised those who believe and do righteous deeds among them forgiveness and a great reward. The people who were Muslims before victory at Mecca and went into exile and they are also high in degree, especially those who were present at Hudabiyah
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Ta'if
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Taif is a city in Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia at an elevation of 1,879 m on the slopes of Sarawat Mountains. It has a population of 1,200,000 people and is the summer capital. The city is the center of an area known for its grapes, pomegranate, figs, roses. The inhabitants of Taif are largely made up of Saudi Arabians who are Hanbali, there are also significant foreign populations, primarily from Asia, Turkey, and other Arab countries that are also present in Taif. In the 6th century the city of Tāif was dominated by the Banu Thaqif tribe and it has been suggested that Jewish tribes who were displaced by Ethiopian Christians in the Himyarite Kingdom wars settled near Taif. The town is about 100 km southeast of Mecca, the walled city was a religious centre as it housed the idol of the goddess Allāt, who was then known as the lady of Tāif. Its climate marked the city out from its dry and barren neighbours closer to the Red Sea, wheat, vines, and fruit were grown around Tāif and this is how the city earned its title the Garden of the Hejaz. During the Year of the Elephant, this city was involved in the events, both Taif and Mecca were resorts of pilgrimage. Taif was more pleasantly situated than Mecca itself and the people of Taif had close relations with the people of Mecca. The people of Taif carried on agriculture and fruit‑growing in addition to their trade activities, in AD630, the Battle of Hunayn took place at Hunayn, close to this city. Shortly after that, the unsuccessful Siege of Taif took place, the city was assaulted by catapults from Banu Daws, but it repelled the attacks. The Battle of Tabouk in 631 left Tāif completely isolated, so members of Thaqīf arrived in Mecca to negotiate the conversion of the city to Islam, the idol of Al-lāt was destroyed along with all of the other signs of the citys previously pagan existence. On 17 July 1517 the Sharif of Mecca capitulated to the Ottoman Sultan Selim I, as a sign of this, he surrendered to him the keys of the Islamic cities of Mecca and Medina. As part of the Hejaz, Taif was also given over to Ottoman control, the city remained Ottoman for a further three centuries, until in 1802, when it was retaken by rebels in alliance with the House of Saud. These forces then proceeded to take Mecca and Medina, the loss was keenly felt by the Ottoman Empire, which viewed itself as the protector of the Holy Cities. The Ottoman sultan, Mahmud II, called upon his nominal viceroy in Egypt, Muhammad Ali, in 1813, the Swiss traveller and orientalist Johann Ludwig Burckhardt visited Taif. He has left an account on the city just after its recapture by the Muhammad Ali. Burckhardt says that the wall and ditch around the city had built by Othman el Medhayfe
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Catapult
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A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of explosive devices—particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. Although the catapult has been used since ancient times, it has proven to be one of the most effective mechanisms during warfare, in modern times the term can apply to devices ranging from a simple hand-held implement to a mechanism for launching aircraft from a ship. The word catapult comes from the Latin catapulta, which in turn comes from the Greek Ancient Greek, καταπέλτης, itself from κατά, downwards + πάλλω, to toss, Catapults were invented by the ancient Greeks. The catapult and crossbow in Greece are closely intertwined, primitive catapults were essentially “the product of relatively straightforward attempts to increase the range and penetrating power of missiles by strengthening the bow which propelled them”. The historian Diodorus Siculus, described the invention of a mechanical arrow-firing catapult by a Greek task force in 399 BC, the weapon was soon after employed against Motya, a key Carthaginian stronghold in Sicily. Diodorus is assumed to have drawn his description from the highly rated history of Philistus, a detailed description of the gastraphetes, or the “belly-bow”, along with a watercolor drawing, is found in Herons technical treatise Belopoeica. Zopyrus has been equated with a Pythagorean of that name who seems to have flourished in the late 5th century BC. He probably designed his bow-machines on the occasion of the sieges of Cumae, the bows of these machines already featured a winched pull back system and could apparently throw two missiles at once. Philo of Byzantium provides probably the most detailed account on the establishment of a theory of belopoietics circa 200 BC. The central principle to this theory was that parts of a catapult. This kind of innovation is indicative of the rate at which geometry. An extant inscription from the Athenian arsenal, dated between 338 and 326 BC, lists a number of stored catapults with shooting bolts of varying size and this move to torsion springs was likely spurred by the engineers of Philip II of Macedonia. Another Athenian inventory from 330 to 329 BC includes catapult bolts with heads, as the use of catapults became more commonplace, so did the training required to operate them. Many Greek children were instructed in catapult usage, as evidenced by “a 3rd Century B. C. inscription from the island of Ceos in the Cyclades catapult shooting competitions for the young”, arrow firing machines in action are reported from Philip IIs siege of Perinth in 340 BC. At the same time, Greek fortifications began to feature high towers with shuttered windows in the top, projectiles included both arrows and stones that were sometimes lit on fire. Onomarchus of Phocis first used catapults on the battlefield against Philip II of Macedon, philips son, Alexander the Great, was the next commander in recorded history to make such use of catapults on the battlefield as well as to use them during sieges. The Romans started to use catapults as arms for their wars against Syracuse, Macedon, Sparta, the Roman machine known as an arcuballista was similar to a large crossbow. Later the Romans used ballista catapults on their warships, ajatshatru is recorded in Jaina texts as having used a catapult in his campaign against the Licchavis
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Abu Qubays
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Abu Qubays is a former medieval castle and currently an inhabited village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located northwest of Hama. It is situated in the plain, west of the Orontes River. Nearby localities include Daliyah 21 kilometers to the west, al-Laqbah to the south, Deir Shamil to the southeast, Tell Salhab to the northeast, according to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Abu Qubays had a population of 758 in the 2004 census. Abu Qubays was originally built by the Arabs during the Abbasid era and was strengthened by the Byzantines in the late 10th century. The castle was round, relatively small and overlooks the Orontes River, during a second campaign against Muslim-held Syria by Byzantine emperor Basil II, Abu Qubays was burned along with a number of other fortresses in the province of Homs. The rulers of Abu Qubays, namely Iftikhar and his family, maintained a high income, the Ismailis purchased Abu Qubays, as well as Qadmus and al-Kahf, from Ibn Amrun, the local ruler of the Banu Munqidh family, in the 1130s. The Crusaders referred to it as Bokabeis, Khumartekin, who was in Saladins camp, was killed by the group of assassins after questioning them as they approached the camp. Saladin managed to avoid being harmed when they rushed towards him afterward, by 1182, Mankarus, a son of Khumartekin, was lord of Abu Qubays and served as the commander of Saladins troops in Hama. One of the fortresses he captured during the ensuing conquest was Abu Qubays and he was allowed to keep his properties Aleppo in return for not putting up resistance to the Ayyubid army. Damascus-born Arab geographer al-Dimashqi noted in 1300, during Mamluk rule, that Abu Qubays was one of several held by the Ismailis. The Levant was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1516 after Sultan Selim Is forces decisively defeated the Mamluk Sultanate at Marj Dabiq, selims strategy ultimately failed in the long-term as many of these tribes, particularly the Shia Muslim Turks of Khurasan, assimilated with the Alawite population. The Turks who originally resided in Abu Qubays, and who are Alawites in the present-day, later known as Qaratila. The castle at Abu Qubays is currently in a ruinous state and it is circular in shape and consists of an exterior defensive wall with five towers, a small interior area for provisions and residence and numerous subterranean storage chambers. The interior storage area is made up of a number rooms, a vaulted chamber, the castle itself, situated on an eastern slope of the An-Nusayriyah Mountains, is surrounded by olive trees and overlooks the al-Ghab plain below
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Hajj
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It is one of the five pillars of Islam, alongside Shahadah, Salat, Zakat, and Sawm. The Hajj is the largest annual gathering of people in the world, the state of being physically and financially capable of performing the Hajj is called istitaah, and a Muslim who fulfills this condition is called a mustati. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, the word Hajj means to intend a journey, which connotes both the outward act of a journey and the inward act of intentions. The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th of Dhu al-Hijjah, because the Islamic calendar is lunar and the Islamic year is about eleven days shorter than the Gregorian year, the Gregorian date of Hajj changes from year to year. Ihram is the given to the special spiritual state in which pilgrims wear two white sheets of seamless cloth and abstain from certain actions. The pilgrims then shave their heads, perform a ritual of animal sacrifice, Pilgrims can also go to Mecca to perform the rituals at other times of the year. This is sometimes called the lesser pilgrimage, or Umrah, the present pattern of Hajj was established by Muhammad. However, according to the Quran, elements of Hajj trace back to the time of Abraham, according to Islamic tradition, Abraham was ordered by God to leave his wife Hagar and his son Ishmael alone in the desert of ancient Mecca. In search of water, Hagar desperately ran seven times between the two hills of Safa and Marwah but found none, returning in despair to Ishmael, she saw the baby scratching the ground with his leg and a water fountain sprang forth underneath his foot. Later, Abraham was commanded to build the Kaaba and to people to perform pilgrimage there. The Quran refers to incidents in verses 2, 124-127 and 22. It is said that the archangel Gabriel brought the Black Stone from Heaven to be attached to the Kaaba, in pre-Islamic Arabia, a time known as jahiliyyah, the Kaaba became surrounded by pagan idols. In 630 CE, Muhammad led his followers from Medina to Mecca, cleansed the Kaaba by destroying all the pagan idols, in 632 CE, Muhammad performed his only and last pilgrimage with a large number of followers, and instructed them on the rites of Hajj. It was from this point that Hajj became one of the five pillars of Islam. During the medieval times, pilgrims would gather in big cities of Syria, Egypt and this was done in order to protect the caravan from Bedouin robbers or natural hazards, and to ensure that the pilgrims were supplied with the necessary provisions. Muslim travelers like Ibn Jubayr and Ibn Battuta have recorded detailed accounts of Hajj-travels of medieval time, the caravans followed well-established routes called in Arabic darb al-hajj, lit. Pilgrimage road, which usually followed ancient routes such as the Kings Highway, the date of Hajj is determined by the Islamic calendar, which is based on the lunar year. Every year, the events of Hajj take place in a period, starting on 8 and ending on 12 Dhu al-Hijjah
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Kaaba
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The Kaaba, also referred as Al Kaaba Al Musharrafah, is a building at the center of Islams most sacred mosque, Al-Masjid al-Haram, in Mecca, al-Hejaz, Saudi Arabia. It is the most sacred site in Islam and it is considered the House of Allah and has a similar role to the Tabernacle and Holy of Holies in Judaism. Wherever they are in the world, Muslims are expected to face the Kaaba when performing salat, from any point in the world, the direction facing the Kaaba is called the qibla. The sanctuary around the Kaaba is called Al-Masjid al-Haram, one of the Five Pillars of Islam requires every Muslim who is able to do so to perform the hajj pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime. Multiple parts of the hajj require pilgrims to make tawaf, the seven times around the Kaaba in a counter-clockwise direction. Tawaf is also performed by pilgrims during the umrah, however, the most significant times are during the hajj, when millions of pilgrims gather to circle the building within a 5-day period. In 2013, the number of pilgrims coming from outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform hajj was officially reported as 1,379,531. In 2014, Saudi Arabia reported having completed Hajj permits for 1,389,053 international pilgrims and 63,375 for residents. The building is called by names in the Quran and Hadith, such as Bait, Bait ul Haram, Bait Ullah, Bait al-Ateeq. The Arabic word Bait is cognate to the Hebrew Bait, also meaning House, the Arabic word Kaaba means square or cube. The Quran also mentions Bait al-Mamur, the House of God in Heavens which the Kaaba symbolizes, the Kaaba is a stone cube structure made of granite. The Kaaba is approximately 13.1 m high, with sides measuring 11.03 m by 12.86 m, inside the Kaaba, the floor is made of marble and limestone. The interior walls, measuring 13 m by 9 m, are clad with tiled, white marble halfway to the roof, the floor of the interior stands about 2.2 m above the ground area where tawaf is performed. The wall directly adjacent to the entrance of the Kaaba has six tablets inlaid with inscriptions, along the top corners of the walls runs a green cloth embroidered with gold Quranic verses. Caretakers anoint the marble cladding with the same scented oil used to anoint the Black Stone outside, three pillars stand inside the Kaaba, with a small altar or table set between one and the other two. Lamp-like objects hang from the ceiling, the ceiling itself is of a darker colour, similar in hue to the lower trimming. A golden door—the Babut Taubah —on the right opens to an enclosed staircase that leads to a hatch. Both the roof and ceiling are made of stainless steel-capped teak wood, each numbered item in the following list corresponds to features noted in the diagram image
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Iraq
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The capital, and largest city, is Baghdad. The main ethnic groups are Arabs and Kurds, others include Assyrians, Turkmen, Shabakis, Yazidis, Armenians, Mandeans, Circassians, around 95% of the countrys 36 million citizens are Muslims, with Christianity, Yarsan, Yezidism, and Mandeanism also present. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish, two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab near the Persian Gulf. These rivers provide Iraq with significant amounts of fertile land, the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, historically known as Mesopotamia, is often referred to as the cradle of civilisation. It was here that mankind first began to read, write, create laws, the area has been home to successive civilisations since the 6th millennium BC. Iraq was the centre of the Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian and it was also part of the Median, Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, Ayyubid, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid, and Ottoman empires. Iraqs modern borders were mostly demarcated in 1920 by the League of Nations when the Ottoman Empire was divided by the Treaty of Sèvres, Iraq was placed under the authority of the United Kingdom as the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. A monarchy was established in 1921 and the Kingdom of Iraq gained independence from Britain in 1932, in 1958, the monarchy was overthrown and the Iraqi Republic created. Iraq was controlled by the Arab Socialist Baath Party from 1968 until 2003, after an invasion by the United States and its allies in 2003, Saddam Husseins Baath Party was removed from power and multi-party parliamentary elections were held in 2005. The American presence in Iraq ended in 2011, but the Iraqi insurgency continued and intensified as fighters from the Syrian Civil War spilled into the country, the Arabic name العراق al-ʿIrāq has been in use since before the 6th century. There are several suggested origins for the name, one dates to the Sumerian city of Uruk and is thus ultimately of Sumerian origin, as Uruk was the Akkadian name for the Sumerian city of Urug, containing the Sumerian word for city, UR. An Arabic folk etymology for the name is rooted, well-watered. During the medieval period, there was a region called ʿIrāq ʿArabī for Lower Mesopotamia and ʿIrāq ʿajamī, for the region now situated in Central and Western Iran. The term historically included the south of the Hamrin Mountains. The term Sawad was also used in early Islamic times for the region of the plain of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. In English, it is either /ɪˈrɑːk/ or /ɪˈræk/, the American Heritage Dictionary, the pronunciation /aɪˈræk/ is frequently heard in U. S. media. Since approximately 10,000 BC, Iraq was one of centres of a Caucasoid Neolithic culture where agriculture, the following Neolithic period is represented by rectangular houses. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gypsum, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations
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Kufa
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Kufa is a city in Iraq, about 170 kilometres south of Baghdad, and 10 kilometres northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River, the estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya and Najaf, Kufa is one of five Iraqi cities that are of importance to Shiite Muslims. The city was the capital of Ali ibn Abu Talib. It is also related that, Muslims after conquest of Al-Madain were searching to have a place for habitation. Likewise others, Salman and Hudhayfa bin al-Yamman were also looking for, just choosing the land they offered prayers there. Since that day the foundation of Kufa had taken place, the city contains the Great Mosque of Kufa, one of the earliest mosques in Islam, built in the 7th century. The town has produced several Shiite Muslim scholars, the Arabs, led by Caliph ʻUmar ibn Khattāb, conquered Iraq and began ruling Suristan around 637. Umar, who assigned the land of the Jews in Arabia to his warriors, Umar became the second caliph in 634. After the Arab victory against the East Roman Empire at Battle of Yarmouk in 636, Kūfah was founded and given its name in 637–638 CE, about the same time as Basra. The Companion of the Prophet Saʻd ibn Abī Waqqas founded it as an encampment adjacent to the Lakhmid Arab city of al-Hīrah, non-Arabs knew the city under alternate names, Hīrah and Aqulah, before the consolidations of ʻAbdu l-Mālik in 691. In the 640s, the Kūfan commons agitated that the Caliph ʻUmars governor was distributing the spoils of war unfairly, in 642 ʻUmar summoned Saʻd to Medina with his accusers. Despite finding Sad to be innocent, ʻUmar deposed Saʻd to avert ill feelings, at first, ʻUmar appointed Ammar ibn Yasir and secondly Basras first Governor Abū Mūsā al-Ashʻarī, but the Kūfan instigators accepted neither. ʻUmar and the Kūfans finally agreed on al-Mughīra ibn Shuʻbah, following Umars death, his successor Uthman replaced Mughira with al-Walid ibn Uqba in 645. While this was going on, the Arabs were continuing their conquest of western Persia under Uthman ibn hakam from Tawwaj, but late in the 640s these forces suffered setbacks. Uthman in 650 reorganised the Iranian frontier, both Basra and Kufa received new governors, and the east came under Basras command while north of that remained under Kufas. The few but noticeable trouble makers in Kufa sought in 654 and had Said deposed and instead showed satisfaction with the return of Abu Musa, Kufa remained a source of instigations albeit from a minority. In 656 when the Egyptian instigators, in co-operation with those in Kufa, marched onto the Caliph Uthman in Medina, upon Uthmans assassination by rebels, governor Abu Musa attempted to restore a non-violent atmosphere in Kufa
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Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath
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The scion of a distinguished family of the Kindaite tribal nobility, he played a minor role in the Second Fitna and then served as governor of Rayy. During the campaign, al-Hajjajs overbearing behaviour caused Ibn al-Ashath and the army to rebel, after patching up an agreement with the Zunbīl, the army started on its march back to Iraq. On the way, a mutiny against al-Hajjaj developed into a full-fledged anti-Umayyad rebellion, al-Hajjaj initially retreated before the rebels superior numbers, but quickly defeated and drove them out of Basra. Nevertheless, the rebels seized Kufa, where supporters started flocking, the revolt gained widespread support among those who were discontented with the Umayyad regime, especially the religious scholars known as qurrāʾ. Caliph Abd al-Malik tried to negotiate terms, including the dismissal of al-Hajjaj, in the subsequent Battle of Dayr al-Jamajim, the rebel army was decisively defeated by al-Hajjajs Syrian troops. Al-Hajjaj pursued the survivors, who under Ibn al-Ashath fled to the east, most of the rebels were captured by the governor of Khurasan, while Ibn al-Ashath himself fled to Zabulistan. Later revolts, under Yazid ibn al-Muhallab and Zayd ibn Ali, also failed, Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ashath was a descendant of a noble family from the Kinda tribe in the Hadramawt. His grandfather Madikarib, better known by his nickname al-Ashath, was an important chieftain who submitted to Muhammad, defeated, he was pardoned and married Caliph Abu Bakrs sister. Like his father at Siffin, he is denigrated by pro-Alid sources for his ambiguous role in the Battle of Karbala in 680, being responsible for the arrests of Muslim ibn Aqil. Ibn al-Ashaths mother, Umm Amr, was the daughter of Said ibn Qays al-Hamdani and he had four brothers, Ishaq, Qasim, Sabbah, and Ismail, of whom the first three also fought in the campaigns in Tabaristan. In early 692, Abd al-Maliks brother Bishr put him in command of over 5,000 Kufans for a campaign against the Kharijites threatening al-Ahwaz. The Kharijites retreated before the far larger army, led by Khalid ibn Abdallah ibn Khalid ibn Asid. In 694, Abd al-Malik appointed the trusted and capable al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf as the new governor of Iraq, in 697, his remit was expanded to cover the entirety of the eastern Caliphate, including Khurasan and Sistan. In 695, al-Hajjaj entrusted Ibn al-Ashath with 6,000 horsemen, although not large, this group benefited from Shabibs tactical skill and inflicted a number of defeats on Umayyad forces. Advised by the general al-Jazl Uthman ibn Said, Ibn al-Ashath pursued the Kharijites, as a result, the governor of al-Madain, Uthman ibn Qatan, wrote to al-Hajjaj criticizing Ibn al-Ashaths leadership. There he remained in hiding until al-Hajjaj granted him pardon, despite his setback, relations between Ibn al-Ashath and al-Hajjaj were friendly initially, and al-Hajjajs son married one of Ibn al-Ashaths sisters. Gradually, however, the two men became estranged, in addition, he claimed to be the Qaḥṭānī, a messianic figure in South Arab tribal tradition who was expected to raise them to domination. Ibn al-Ashaths pretensions irked al-Hajjaj, whose hostile remarks—such as Look how he walks, how I should like to cut off his head. —were conveyed to Ibn al-Ashath and served to deepen their hostility to outright mutual hatred
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Turkestan
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Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan, literally means Land of the Turks in Persian. It refers to an area in Central Asia between Siberia to the north and Tibet, India and Afghanistan to the south, the Caspian Sea to the west, of Persian origin, the term Turkestan has never referred to a single national state. Muslim geographers first used the word to describe the place of Turkic peoples, Turkestan was used to describe any place where Turkic peoples lived. Anatolia during Ottoman rule was referred to as Turkestan by Ottoman writers, on their way southward during the conquest of Central Asia in the course of the 19th century, the Russians took the city of Turkestan in 1864. Mistaking its name for that of the region, they adopted the name of Turkestan for their new territory. It includes present-day Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang. Often, the history of Turkestan dates back to at least the third millennium BC. Many artifacts were produced in that period, and much trade was conducted, the region was a focal point for cultural diffusion, as the Silk Road traversed it. Turkestan covers the area of Central Asia and acquired its Turkic character from the 4th to 6th centuries AD with the incipient Turkic expansion, Huns conquered the area after they conquered Kashgaria in the early 2nd century BC. With the dissolution of the Huns empire, Chinese rulers took over Eastern Turkestan, arab forces captured it in the 8th century. The Persian Samanid dynasty subsequently conquered it and the area experienced economic success, the entire territory was held at various times by Turkic forces, such as the Göktürks until the conquest by Genghis Khan and the Mongols in 1220. Genghis Khan gave the territory to his son, Chagatai and the became the Chagatai Khanate. Timur took over the portion of Turkestan in 1369 and the area became part of the Timurid Empire. Eastern portion of Turkestan was also called Mogulistan, and continued to be ruled by descendants of Genghis Khan, known as Turan to the Persians, western Turkestan has also been known historically as Sogdiana, Ma waraun-nahr, and Transoxiana by Western travellers. Tajiks and Russians form sizable non-Turkic minorities and it is subdivided into Afghan Turkestan and Russian Turkestan in the West, and Xinjiang in the East. Aladdin, an Arabic Islamic story which is set in China, the title Malik al-Mashriq wal-Ṣīn was bestowed by the Abbāsid Caliph upon the Tamghaj Khan, the Samarqand Khaqan Yūsuf b. Western Liaos rule over Muslim Central Asia reinforced these Muslims view that Central Asia was a Chinese territory. For example, Turkestan and Chīn were identified with each other by Fakhr al-Dīn Mubārak Shāh, with China being identified as the country where the cities of Balāsāghūn, the Liao Chinese traditions and the Qara Khitais clinging helped the Qara Khitai avoid Islamization and conversion to Islam. The Qara Khitai used Chinese and Central Asian features in their administrative system, although in modern Urdu Chin means China, Chin referred to Central Asia in Muhammad Iqbals time, which is why Iqbal wrote that Chin is ours in his song Tarana-e-Milli
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Maghreb
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The Maghreb, or the Greater Maghreb, is usually defined as much or most of the region of western North Africa or Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. Historical terms for the region or various portions of the Maghreb include Mauretania, Numidia, Libya, the term maghrib is Arabic for west, from the verb gharaba. In the strict sense, the definite form al-maghrib denotes the country of Morocco in particular and it identified the westernmost territories that fell to the Islamic conquests of the 7th century. Today, it is a noun for the present region of the Maghreb. The Berber languages alternative term for the region, Tamazgha, has been popularized by Berber activists since the second half of the 20th century. As recently as the late 19th century it was used to refer to the Western Mediterranean region of coastal North Africa in general, and to Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia in particular. The region was unified as an independent political entity during the rule of the Berber kingdom of Numidia. The most enduring rule was that of the local Berber empires of the Almoravids, Almohads, Hammadids, Zirids, Marinids, Saadi, the Ottoman Turks ruled the region as well. Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya established the Maghreb Union in 1989 to promote cooperation and it was envisioned initially by Muammar Gaddafi as a superstate. The union included Western Sahara implicitly under Moroccos membership, putting Moroccos long cold war with Algeria to a rest, however, this progress was short-lived, and the union is now frozen. Tensions between Algeria and Morocco over Western Sahara re-emerged strongly, reinforced by the unsolved borderline issue between the two countries and these two main conflicts have hindered progress on the unions joint goals and practically made it inactive as a whole. Around 3,500 BC a tilt in the Earths orbit created a rapid desertification of the Sahara, the Maghreb or western North Africa is believed to have been inhabited by Berbers since from at least 10,000 BC. Maghreb coast ports were predominantly occupied or constructed by the Phoenicians, the main Phoenician settlements centered in the Gulf of Tunis along the North African littoral between the Pillars of Hercules and the Libyan coast east of ancient Cyrenaica. They dominated the trade and intercourse of the Western Mediterranean for centuries, Rome was greatly helped by the defection of King Massinissa and Carthaginians eastern Numidian Massylii client-allies. A century later, the Byzantine emperor Justinian I sent a force under General Belisarius that succeeded in destroying the Vandal kingdom, the Berbers contested outside-the-area control although after the 640s-700 AD period the Arabs controlled the entire region. The Arabs reached the Maghreb in early Umayyad times, Arab expansion and the spread of Islam pushed the development of trans-Saharan trade. While restricted due to the cost and dangers, the trade was highly profitable, commodities traded included such goods as salt, gold, ivory, and slaves. Arab control over the Maghreb was quite weak, various Islamic variations, such as the Ibadis and the Shia, were adopted by some Berbers, often leading to scorning of Caliphal control in favour of their own interpretation of Islam
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Justinian II.". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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