1.
Rafic Hariri
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Rafic Baha El Deen Al Hariri was a Lebanese business tycoon and the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 until his resignation on 20 October 2004. He headed five cabinets during his tenure, Hariri dominated the countrys post-war political and business life and is widely credited with reconstructing the capital Beirut after the 15-year civil war. Hariri was assassinated on 14 February 2005 when explosives equivalent to around 1800 kg of TNT were detonated as his motorcade drove past the St. George Hotel in Beirut, Hariris killing was a catalyst for dramatic political change in Lebanon. The massive protests of the Cedar Revolution helped achieve the withdrawal of Syrian troops and security forces from Lebanon, Hariri was born on 1 November 1944 to a modest Sunni Muslim family in the Lebanese port city of Sidon. He had two siblings He attended elementary and secondary school in Sidon, and graduated in business administration from Beirut Arab University, in 1965, Hariri went to Saudi Arabia to work. There, he taught for a period of time before shifting to the construction industry. In 1978, he gained Saudi Arabian citizenship, in addition to his Lebanese citizenship, in 1969, Hariri established Ciconest, a small subcontracting firm, which soon went out of business. He then went in business with the French construction firm Oger for the construction of a hotel in Ta’if, Saudi Arabia, Hariri took over Oger, forming Saudi Oger, which became the main construction firm used by the Saudi Royal family for all their important developments. As a result, a few years after his first contract with King Khaled, having accumulated his wealth, Hariri started a number of philanthropic projects, including the building of educational facilities in Lebanon. His first initiative in Lebanon was the Islamic Association for Culture and Education, the association was later renamed the Hariri Foundation. Hariri became progressively more embroiled in politics and his appeals to the United Nations and services as an emissary to the Saudi Royal family won him international recognition on the political stage for his humanitarian efforts. In 1982, Hariri donated $12 million to Lebanese victims of the 1978 South Lebanon conflict, after the conflict, he acted as an envoy of the Saudi royal family to Lebanon. He laid the groundwork that led to the 1989 Taif Accord, Taif put an end to the civil war, building goodwill for Hariri politically. Hariri returned to Lebanon in the early 1980s as a man and began to build a name for himself by making large donations and contributions to various groups in Lebanon. However, he continued to serve as an advisor to Prince Bandar bin Sultan in 1983. As a former Saudi diplomatic representative, he played a significant role in constructing the 1990 Taif Agreement that ended Lebanons sixteen-year civil war, in 1992, Hariri became the first post-civil war prime minister of Lebanon under president Elias Hrawi. His first premiership lasted until 1998, and Hariri was replaced by Salim Hoss as prime minister, in fact, as a result of the power struggle between Hariri and newly elected president Émile Lahoud, he left office. In October 2000, Hariri was again appointed minister, replacing Salim Hoss
2.
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
3.
Abbasid Caliphate
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The Abbasid Caliphate was the third of the Islamic caliphates to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The Abbasid dynasty descended from Muhammads youngest uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib and they ruled as caliphs, for most of their period from their capital in Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, after assuming authority over the Muslim empire from the Umayyads in 750 CE. The Abbasid caliphate first centered its government in Kufa, but in 762 the caliph Al-Mansur founded the city of Baghdad, the political power of the caliphs largely ended with the rise of the Buyids and the Seljuq Turks. Although Abbasid leadership over the vast Islamic empire was reduced to a ceremonial religious function. The capital city of Baghdad became a center of science, culture, philosophy and this period of cultural fruition ended in 1258 with the sack of Baghdad by the Mongols under Hulagu Khan. The Abbasid line of rulers, and Muslim culture in general, though lacking in political power, the dynasty continued to claim authority in religious matters until after the Ottoman conquest of Egypt. The Abbasid caliphs were Arabs descended from Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, one of the youngest uncles of Muhammad, the Abbasids claimed to be the true successors of Prophet Muhammad in replacing the Umayyad descendants of Banu Umayya by virtue of their closer bloodline to Muhammad. The Abbasids also distinguished themselves from the Umayyads by attacking their moral character, according to Ira Lapidus, The Abbasid revolt was supported largely by Arabs, mainly the aggrieved settlers of Marw with the addition of the Yemeni faction and their Mawali. The Abbasids also appealed to non-Arab Muslims, known as mawali, Muhammad ibn Ali, a great-grandson of Abbas, began to campaign for the return of power to the family of Prophet Muhammad, the Hashimites, in Persia during the reign of Umar II. During the reign of Marwan II, this culminated in the rebellion of Ibrahim the Imam. On 9 June 747, Abu Muslim successfully initiated a revolt against Umayyad rule. Close to 10,000 soldiers were under Abu Muslims command when the hostilities began in Merv. General Qahtaba followed the fleeing governor Nasr ibn Sayyar west defeating the Umayyads at the Battle of Nishapur, the Battle of Gorgan, after this loss, Marwan fled to Egypt, where he was subsequently assassinated. The remainder of his family, barring one male, were also eliminated, immediately after their victory, As-Saffah sent his forces to Central Asia, where his forces fought against Tang expansion during the Battle of Talas. Barmakids, who were instrumental in building Baghdad, introduced the worlds first recorded paper mill in Baghdad, As-Saffah focused on putting down numerous rebellions in Syria and Mesopotamia. The Byzantines conducted raids during these early distractions, the first change the Abbasids, under Al-Mansur, made was to move the empires capital from Damascus, in Syria, to Baghdad in Iraq. Baghdad was established on the Tigris River in 762, a new position, that of the vizier, was also established to delegate central authority, and even greater authority was delegated to local emirs. During Al-Mansurs time control of Al-Andalus was lost, and the Shiites revolted and were defeated a year later at the Battle of Bakhamra, the Abbasids had depended heavily on the support of Persians in their overthrow of the Umayyads
4.
Basra Governorate
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Basra Governorate is a governorate in southern Iraq, bordering Kuwait to the south and Iran to the east. The capital is the city of Basra, other districts of Basra include Al-Qurnah, Az Zubayr, Al Midaina, Shatt Al Arab, Abu Al Khaseeb and Al Faw located on the Persian Gulf. The mandate was succeeded by the Kingdom of Iraq in 1932, the Shiite population suffered long and hard under Saddams rule. It was started in Basra by angry soldiers, according to legend after they fired at a giant public portrait of Saddam Hussein. Mass support on the streets followed, shouting slogans, executing Baath party members, leaders and secret police, the participants had expected support from American troops. But the Allied army at the time was occupied despite the 24th Infantry Division stationed only several miles from the city. The city of Basra didnt completely succumb to the rebels, a counterattack by some 6,000 loyalists from the Republican Guard held out against 5,000 defectors of the Iraqi army. From 2003 the governorate was one of the centres of warfare during the invasion of the British, the Battle of Basra took place between March 23 and April 7 between the British 1st Armoured Division forces under Major General Robin Brims, and Iraqi forces under General Ali Hassan al-Majid. Much of the heaviest combat in the war took place in the province in subsequent weeks, following the example of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region in northern Iraq, Basra has proposed uniting with the other provinces of Dhi Qar and Maysan as an autonomous region. On October 15,2005,691,024 people, some 96. 02%, voted for the new constitution
5.
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
6.
Arabs
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Arabs are an ethnic group inhabiting the Arab world. They primarily live in the Arab states in Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Arabs are first mentioned in the mid-ninth century BCE as a tribal people dwelling in the central Arabian Peninsula. The Arabs appear to have been under the vassalage of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, tradition holds that Arabs descend from Ishmael, the son of Abraham. The Arabian Desert is the birthplace of Arab, there are other Arab groups as well that spread in the land and existed for millennia. Before the expansion of the Caliphate, Arab referred to any of the largely nomadic Semitic people from the northern to the central Arabian Peninsula and Syrian Desert. Presently, Arab refers to a number of people whose native regions form the Arab world due to spread of Arabs throughout the region during the early Arab conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries. The Arabs forged the Rashidun, Umayyad and the Abbasid caliphates, whose borders reached southern France in the west, China in the east, Anatolia in the north, and this was one of the largest land empires in history. The Great Arab Revolt has had as big an impact on the modern Middle East as the World War I, the war signaled the end of the Ottoman Empire. They are modern states and became significant as distinct political entities after the fall and defeat, following adoption of the Alexandria Protocol in 1944, the Arab League was founded on 22 March 1945. The Charter of the Arab League endorsed the principle of an Arab homeland whilst respecting the sovereignty of its member states. Beyond the boundaries of the League of Arab States, Arabs can also be found in the global diaspora, the ties that bind Arabs are ethnic, linguistic, cultural, historical, identical, nationalist, geographical and political. The Arabs have their own customs, language, architecture, art, literature, music, dance, media, cuisine, dress, society, sports, the total number of Arabs are an estimated 450 million. This makes them the second largest ethnic group after the Han Chinese. Arabs are a group in terms of religious affiliations and practices. In the pre-Islamic era, most Arabs followed polytheistic religions, some tribes had adopted Christianity or Judaism, and a few individuals, the hanifs, apparently observed monotheism. Today, Arabs are mainly adherents of Islam, with sizable Christian minorities, Arab Muslims primarily belong to the Sunni, Shiite, Ibadi, Alawite, Druze and Ismaili denominations. Arab Christians generally follow one of the Eastern Christian Churches, such as the Maronite, Coptic Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic, or Chaldean churches. Listed among the booty captured by the army of king Shalmaneser III of Assyria in the Battle of Qarqar are 1000 camels of Gi-in-di-buu the ar-ba-a-a or Gindibu belonging to the Arab
7.
Writer
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A writer is a person who uses written words in various styles and techniques to communicate their ideas. Writers texts are published across a range of media, skilled writers who are able to use language to express ideas well often contribute significantly to the cultural content of a society. The word is used elsewhere in the arts – such as songwriter – but as a standalone term. Some writers work from an oral tradition, Writers can produce material across a number of genres, fictional or non-fictional. Other writers use multiple media – for example, graphics or illustration – to enhance the communication of their ideas, some writers may use images or multimedia to augment their writing. In rare instances, creative writers are able to communicate their ideas via music as well as words, as well as producing their own written works, writers often write on how they write, why they write, and also comment on the work of other writers. Writers work professionally or non-professionally, that is, for payment or without payment and may be either in advance. Payment is only one of the motivations of writers and many are never paid for their work, Writers choose from a range of literary genres to express their ideas. Most writing can be adapted for use in another medium, for example, a writers work may be read privately or recited or performed in a play or film. Satire for example, may be written as a poem, an essay, a film, the writer of a letter may include elements of criticism, biography, or journalism. The genre sets the parameters but all kinds of creative adaptation have been attempted, novel to film, poem to play, Writers may begin their career in one genre and change to another. For example, historian William Dalrymple began in the genre of travel literature, many writers have produced both fiction and non-fiction works and others write in a genre that crosses the two. For example, writers of romances, such as Georgette Heyer, invent characters. In this genre, the accuracy of the history and the level of detail in the work both tend to be debated. Some writers write both fiction and serious analysis, sometimes using different names to separate their work. Dorothy Sayers, for example, wrote crime fiction but was also a playwright, essayist, translator, poets make maximum use of the language to achieve an emotional and sensory effect as well as a cognitive one. To create these effects, they use rhyme and rhythm and they also exploit the properties of words with a range of techniques such as alliteration. A common theme is love and its vicissitudes, Shakespeares famous love story Romeo and Juliet, for example, written in a variety of poetic forms, has been performed in innumerable theatres and made into at least eight cinematic versions
8.
Scholarly method
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It is the methods that systemically advance the teaching, research, and practice of a given scholarly or academic field of study through rigorous inquiry. Scholarship is noted by its significance to its particular profession, and is creative, can be documented, can be replicated or elaborated, the primary purpose of scholasticism is to find the answer to a question or to resolve a contradiction. It was once known for its application in medieval theology but was eventually applied to classical philosophy. The historical method comprises the techniques and guidelines by which historians use primary sources and other evidence to research, the question of the nature, and indeed the possibility, of sound historical method is raised in the philosophy of history, as a question of epistemology. History guidelines commonly used by historians in their work require external criticism, internal criticism, the empirical method is generally taken to mean the collection of data on which to base a hypothesis or derive a conclusion in science. It is part of the method, but is often mistakenly assumed to be synonymous with other methods. The empirical method is not sharply defined and is contrasted with the precision of experiments. The experimental method investigates causal relationships among variables, an experiment is a cornerstone of the empirical approach to acquiring data about the world and is used in both natural sciences and social sciences. An experiment can be used to solve practical problems and to support or negate theoretical assumptions. The scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, to be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering observable, empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning. A scientific method consists of the collection of data through observation and experimentation, there are numerous examples of ethical concerns, including, Confidentiality of information used, Participants’ anonymity, Consent by participants, Security and benefits to individuals
9.
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
"Discussion Near a Village", a miniature illustrating the 43rd maqāmah of a 1237 edition of al-Hariri's Maqamat al-Hariri, painted by Yaḥyā ibn Maḥmūd al-Wāsiṭī. Painting in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. MS Arabe 5847 fol. 138v.
