1.
Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah
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At the beginning of the Abbasid realm in Baghdad, the Alids faced severe persecution by the ruling party as they were a direct threat to the Abbasid Caliphate. Owing to the complexities, the forefathers of Imam Abdullah opted to conceal themselves which helped them maintain the Dawas existence. As a result, these Imams travelled towards the Iranian Plateau to distance themselves from the epicentre of their political difficulties, Al Mahdis father, Imam al Husain al Mastoor returned in secrecy to Syria and began to control the Dawas affairs from there in complete concealment. He sent two Dais of great calibre, Abul Qasim and Abu Abdullah Al-Husayn Al-Shii to Yemen and North Africa, respectively, Imam al Husain al Mastoor died soon after the birth of his son, Al Mahdi. A trustworthy system of informers helped Al Mahdi to be updated on developments which were taking place across North Africa which was to be the launching pad of his Empire and it was Al-Shiis success which was the signal to Al Mahdi to set off from Salamyah disguised as a merchant. However, he was captured by the Aghlabid ruler Ziyadat-Allah due to his Ismaili beliefs, in early 909 Al-Shii sent a large expedition force to rescue the Mahdi, conquering the Khariji state of Tahert on its way there. After gaining his freedom, Al Mahdi became the leader of the state and assumed the position of imam. Al Mahdi then led the Kutama Berbers who captured the cities of Qairawan, by March 909, the Aghlabid Dynasty had been overthrown and replaced with the Fatimids. As a result, the last stronghold of Sunni Islam in North Africa was removed from the region, Al-Mahdi established himself at the former Aghlabid residence at Raqqada, Al-Qayrawan (in what is now Tunisia. At the time of his death he had extended his reign over Morocco, Al-Mahdi founded the capital of his empire, Al-Mahdiyyah, on the Tunisian coast sixteen miles south-east of Al-Qayrawan, which he named after himself. The city was located on a peninsula on an artificial platform reclaimed from the sea, the Great mosque of Mahdia was built in 916 on the southern side of the peninsula. Al-Mahdi took up residence there in 920 and it was proposed that all spoils would be divided equally, the Bulgarians would keep Constantinople and the Fatimids would gain the Byzantine territories in Sicily and South Italy. Although the Byzantines and the Fatimids had concluded a treaty in 914. Al-Mahdi accepted the proposal and sent back his own emissaries to conclude the agreement, on the way home the ship was captured by the Byzantines near the Calabrian coast and the envoys of both countries were sent to Constantinople. The Byzantines then sent their own embassy to North Africa to outbid Simeon I, after his death, Al-Mahdi was succeeded by his son, Abu Al-Qasim Muhammad Al-Qaim, who continued his expansionist policy. People claiming to be the Mahdi Imam al-Mahdi, the 11th Fatimi Imam
2.
Al Mahdi Mosque, Bradford
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The Al Mahdi Mosque is an Ahmadi Muslim mosque in Bradford, England. The mosque was built at a cost £2.5 million entirely from donations of British Ahmadi Muslim. The mosque was opened on 7 November 2008 by Mirza Masroor Ahmad, with a capacity of 2,000 worshippers, it is among the largest in the city. The inauguration was attended by many Ahmadi Muslims and over 300 guests, located in Rees Way, Bradford, the mosque lies on a plateau, and therefore the mosque is visible from miles around within the city. In 2014, the mosque was the host of BBC Radio 4s topical debate progaramme Any Questions, S. R. Valentine, Islam & the Ahmadiyya Jamaat, History, Faith and Practice, Hurst & Co, London,2008, ISBN1850659168,9781850659167
3.
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
4.
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
5.
Al-Mansur
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Al-Mansur or Abu Jafar Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Mansur was the second Abbasid Caliph reigning from 136 AH to 158 AH and succeeding his brother Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah. Al-Mansur is generally regarded as the founder of the Abbasid Caliphate, one of the largest polities in world history. He is also known for founding the city of Madinat al-Salam which was to become the core of imperial Baghdad. Al-Mansur was born at the home of the Abbasid family after their emigration from the Hejaz in 95 AH and he reigned from Dhu al-Hijjah 136 AH until Dhu al-Hijjah 158 AH. In 762 he founded as new residence and palace city Madinat as-Salam. Al-Mansur was concerned with the solidity of his regime after the death of his brother Abul Abbas, in 754 he defeated Abdallah ibn Alis bid for the Caliphate, and in 755 he arranged the assassination of Abu Muslim. When Isa ibn Musa, al-Mansurs intended successor, fell under suspicion of corruption, al-Mahdi was appointed in his stead, like his elder brother Saffah he wanted to unite the land, so he got rid of all of his opposition. It was under al-Mansur that a committee, mostly made up of Syriac-speaking Christians, was set up in Baghdad with the purpose of translating extant Greek works into Arabic. Due to the Abbasids orientation toward the East, many Persians came to play a role in the Empire. This was in contrast to the preceding Umayyad era, in which non-Arabs were kept out of these affairs. In 756, al-Mansur sent over 4,000 Arab mercenaries to assist the Chinese in the An Shi Rebellion against An Lushan, after the war, al-Mansur was referred to as A-pu-cha-fo in the Chinese Tang Annals. Al-Mansur died in 775 on his way to Mecca to make hajj and he was buried somewhere along the way in one of hundreds of graves dug in order to hide his body from the Umayyads. He was succeeded by his son, al-Mahdi, according to a number of sources, Abu Hanifa an-Numan was imprisoned by al-Mansur. There is also an account of foreboding verses al-Mansur saw written on the wall just before his death, when al-Mansur died, the caliphates treasury contained 600,000 dirhams and fourteen million dinars. In 2008, MBC1 depicted the life and leadership of al-Mansur in a series aired during the holy month of Ramadan. Masudi, The Meadows of Gold, The Abbasids, transl, Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone, Kegan Paul, London and New York,1989 Kennedy, Hugh, When Baghdad Ruled The Muslim World, Cambridge, Da Capo Press,2004
6.
Bilad al-Sham
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Bilad al-Sham was a Rashidun, Umayyad and later Abbasid Caliphate province in the region of Syria. The name Bilad aš-Šām means land to the north, or literally land on the left-hand, the name given to the Levant by the Arab conquerors was Aš-Šām The North. The population of the region did not become predominantly Muslim and Arab in identity until nearly a millennium after the conquest, following the Muslim conquest, Muawiyah ibn Abu Sufyan of the Banu Umayya governed Syria for twenty years and developed the province as his familys powerbase. Relying on Syrian military support, Muawiyah emerged as the victor in the First Fitna, during Umayyad times, al-Sham was divided into five junds or military districts. The initial districts were Jund al-Urdunn, Jund Dimashq, Jund Hims, Jund Filastin, later, Jund Qinnasrin was carved out of part of Jund Hims. Syria became much less important under the Abbasid Caliphate, which succeeded the Umayyads in 750, the Abbasids moved the capital first to Kufa and then to Baghdad and Samarra in Iraq, which now became the most important province. The mainly Arab Syrians were marginalized by Iranian and Turkish forces who rose to power under the Abbasids, from 878 until 905, Syria came under the effective control of the Tulunids of Egypt, but Abbasid control was re-established soon thereafter. It lasted until the 940s, when the province was partitioned between the Hamdanid Emirate of Aleppo in the north and Ikhshidid-controlled Egypt in the south. The division of Syria into northern and southern parts would persist, despite political changes, Palaestina Prima Syria Palaestina Aigle, Denise, ed. Le Bilād al-Šām face aux mondes extérieurs, la perception de lAutre et la représentation du Souverain
7.
Jordan
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Jordan, officially The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is an Arab kingdom in Western Asia, on the East Bank of the Jordan River. Jordan is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the east and south, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north, Israel, Palestine and the Dead Sea to the west, Jordan is strategically located at the crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe. The capital, Amman, is Jordans most populous city as well as the countrys economic, what is now Jordan has been inhabited by humans since the Paleolithic period. Three stable kingdoms emerged there at the end of the Bronze Age, Ammon, Moab, later rulers include the Nabataean Kingdom, the Roman Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. After the Great Arab Revolt against the Ottomans in 1916 during World War I, the Emirate of Transjordan was established in 1921 by the then Emir Abdullah I and became a British protectorate. In 1946, Jordan became an independent state known as The Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. Jordan captured the West Bank, which it later lost in 1967, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Jordan is a founding member of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and is one of two Arab states to have signed a peace treaty with Israel. The country is a monarchy, but the king holds wide executive and legislative powers. Jordan is a relatively-small, semi-arid, almost-landlocked country with a population numbering at 9.5 million, Sunni Islam, practiced by around 92% of the population, is the dominant religion in Jordan. It coexists with an indigenous Christian minority, Jordan is considered to be among the safest of Arab countries in the Middle East, and has avoided long-term terrorism and instability. The kingdom is also a refuge to thousands of Iraqi Christians fleeing the Islamic State, while Jordan continues to accept refugees, the recent large influx from Syria placed substantial strain on national resources and infrastructure. Jordan is classified as a country of high human development with a middle income economy. The Jordanian economy, one of the smallest economies in the region, is attractive to foreign investors based upon a skilled workforce, the country is a major tourist destination, and also attracts medical tourism due to its well developed health sector. Nonetheless, a lack of resources, large flow of refugees. Jordan is named after the Jordan River, where Jesus is said to have been baptized, the origin of the rivers name is debated, but the most common explanation is that it derives from the word yarad, found in Hebrew, Aramaic, and other Semitic languages. Others regard the name as having an Indo-Aryan origin, combining the words yor and don, another theory is that it is from the Arabic root word wrd, as in people coming to a major source of water. The name Jordan appears in an ancient Egyptian papyrus called Papyrus Anastasi I, the lands of modern-day Jordan were historically called Transjordan, meaning beyond the Jordan River. The name was Arabized into Al-Urdunn during the Muslim conquest of the Levant, during crusader rule, it was called Oultrejordain
8.
Harun al-Rashid
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Harun al-Rashid (/hɑːˈruːnɑːlrɑːˈʃiːd/ Arabic, هَارُون الرَشِيد, Hārūn Ar-Rašīd, in English, Aaron the Just,17 March 763 or February 766 —24 March 809 was the fifth Abbasid Caliph. His birth date is debated, with sources giving dates from 763 to 766. His surname translates to the Just, the Upright, or the Rightly-Guided, fully translated, Al-Rashid ruled from 786 to 809, during the peak of the Islamic Golden Age. His time was marked by scientific, cultural, and religious prosperity, Islamic art and music also flourished significantly during his reign. He established the legendary library Bayt al-Hikma in Baghdad in present-day Iraq, during his rule, the family of Barmakids, which played a deciding role in establishing the Abbasid Caliphate, declined gradually. In 796, he moved his court and government to Raqqa in present-day Syria, since Harun was intellectually, politically, and militarily resourceful, his life and his court have been the subject of many tales, some factual, but most believed to be fictitious. One factual tale is the story of the clock that was among various presents that Harun sent to Charlemagne, the presents were carried by the returning Frankish mission that came to offer Harun friendship in 799. Charlemagne and his retinue deemed the clock to be a conjuration for the sounds it emanated, among what is known to be fictional is The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, which contains many stories that are fantasized by Haruns magnificent court and even Harun al-Rashid himself. Amongst some of the Twelver sect of Shia Muslims he is disliked for his role in the murder of their 7th Imam, although Sunnis. Hārūn was born in Rey, then part of Jibal in the Abbasid Caliphate, in present-day Tehran Province, the latter expedition was a huge undertaking, and even reached the Asian suburbs of Constantinople. Hārūn became caliph in 786 when he was in his early twenties and he began his reign by appointing very able ministers, who carried on the work of the government so well that they greatly improved the condition of the people. It was under Hārūn ar-Rashīd that Baghdad flourished into the most splendid city of its period, tribute was paid by many rulers to the caliph, and these funds were used on architecture, the arts and a luxurious life at court. In 796, Hārūn decided to move his court and the government to Raqqa at the middle Euphrates, here he spent 12 years, most of his reign. Only once did he return to Baghdad for a short visit, several reasons might have influenced the decision to move to Raqqa. It was close to the Byzantine border, the communication lines via the Euphrates to Baghdad and via the Balikh river to the north and via Palmyra to Damascus were excellent. The agriculture was flourishing to support the new Imperial center, and from Raqqa any rebellion in Syria and the middle Euphrates area could be controlled. Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani pictures in his anthology of poems the splendid life in his court, in Raqqa the Barmekids managed the fate of the empire, and there both heirs, al-Amin and al-Mamun grew up. For the administration of the empire, he fell back on his mentor
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.
Islam
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Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion which professes that there is only one and incomparable God and that Muhammad is the last messenger of God. It is the worlds second-largest religion and the major religion in the world, with over 1.7 billion followers or 23% of the global population. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, and unique, and He has guided mankind through revealed scriptures, natural signs, and a line of prophets sealed by Muhammad. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, viewed by Muslims as the word of God. Muslims believe that Islam is the original, complete and universal version of a faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses. As for the Quran, Muslims consider it to be the unaltered, certain religious rites and customs are observed by the Muslims in their family and social life, while social responsibilities to parents, relatives, and neighbors have also been defined. Besides, the Quran and the sunnah of Muhammad prescribe a comprehensive body of moral guidelines for Muslims to be followed in their personal, social, political, Islam began in the early 7th century. Originating in Mecca, it spread in the Arabian Peninsula. The expansion of the Muslim world involved various caliphates and empires, traders, most Muslims are of one of two denominations, Sunni or Shia. Islam is the dominant religion in the Middle East, North Africa, sizable Muslim communities are also found in Horn of Africa, Europe, China, Russia, Mainland Southeast Asia, Philippines, Northern Borneo, Caucasus and the Americas. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world, Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, submission, safeness and peace. In a religious context it means voluntary submission to God, Islām is the verbal noun of Form IV of the root, and means submission or surrender. Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the verb form. The word sometimes has connotations in its various occurrences in the Quran. In some verses, there is stress on the quality of Islam as a state, Whomsoever God desires to guide. Other verses connect Islām and dīn, Today, I have perfected your religion for you, I have completed My blessing upon you, still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith. In the Hadith of Gabriel, islām is presented as one part of a triad that also includes imān, Islam was historically called Muhammadanism in Anglophone societies. This term has fallen out of use and is said to be offensive because it suggests that a human being rather than God is central to Muslims religion
11.
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
12.
Tigris
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The Tigris is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq, the Tigris is 1,850 km long, rising in the Taurus Mountains of eastern Turkey about 25 km southeast of the city of Elazig and about 30 km from the headwaters of the Euphrates. The river then flows for 400 km through Turkish territory before becoming the border between Syria and Turkey and this stretch of 44 km is the only part of the river that is located in Syria. Close to its confluence with the Euphrates, the Tigris splits into several channels, First, the artificial Shatt al-Hayy branches off, to join the Euphrates near Nasiriyah. Second, the Shatt al-Muminah and Majar-al-Kabir branch off to feed the Central Marshes, further downstream, two other distributary channels branch off, which feed the Hawizeh Marshes. The main channel continues southwards and is joined by the Al-Kassarah, finally, the Tigris joins the Euphrates near al-Qurnah to form the Shatt-al-Arab. According to Pliny and other ancient historians, the Euphrates originally had its outlet into the sea separate from that of the Tigris, Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, stands on the banks of the Tigris. The port city of Basra straddles the Shatt al-Arab, in ancient times, many of the great cities of Mesopotamia stood on or near the Tigris, drawing water from it to irrigate the civilization of the Sumerians. Notable Tigris-side cities included Nineveh, Ctesiphon, and Seleucia, while the city of Lagash was irrigated by the Tigris via a canal dug around 2400 B. C, the Tigris has long been an important transport route in a largely desert country. Shallow-draft vessels can go as far as Baghdad, but rafts are needed for transport upstream to Mosul, General Francis Rawdon Chesney hauled two steamers overland through Syria in 1836 to explore the possibility of an overland and river route to India. One steamer, the Tigris, was wrecked in a storm which sank, Chesney proved the river navigable to powered craft. Later, the Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company was established in 1861 by the Lynch Brothers trading company and they had 2 steamers in service. By 1908 ten steamers were on the river, tourists boarded steam yachts to venture inland as this was the first age of archaeological tourism, and the sites of Ur and Ctesiphon became popular to European travelers. In the First World War, during the British conquest of Ottoman Mesopotamia, Indian, see Siege of Kut and the Fall of Baghdad. The Tigris Flotilla included vessels Clio, Espiegle, Lawrence, Odin, armed tug Comet, armed launches Lewis Pelly, Miner, Shaitan, Sumana, and stern wheelers Muzaffari/Mozaffir. These were joined by Royal Navy Fly-class gunboats Butterfly, Cranefly, Dragonfly, Mayfly, Sawfly, Snakefly, and Mantis, Moth, the Ancient Greek form Tigris was borrowed from Old Persian Tigrā, itself from Elamite Tigra, itself from Sumerian Idigna. The Sumerian form was borrowed into Akkadian as Idiqlat, and from there into the other Semitic languages, another name for the Tigris used in Middle Persian was Arvand Rud, literally swift river. Today, however, Arvand Rud refers to the confluence of the Euphrates, in Kurdish, it is also known as Ava Mezin, the Great Water
13.
Barmakids
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Khalid, the son of Barmak became the prime minister of Al Saffah, the first Caliph of the Abbasid dynasty. His son Yahya aided Harun Al-Rashid in capturing the throne and rose to power as the most powerful man in the Caliphate, the Barmakids were remarkable for their majesty, splendor and hospitality. They are mentioned in stories of the Arabian Nights. The family is back to the hereditary Buddhist administrators, Sanskrit प्रमुख Pramukha. The Pramukhas converted during the Arab invasion of the Sasanian Empire, the Barmakids were highly educated, respected and influential throughout Arabia, Persia, Central Asia and the Levant. In Baghdad, the Barmakid court became a centre of patronage for the Ulema, poets, Khalid al-Barmaki occupied distinguished positions under first two Abbasid Caliphs, al-Saffah and al-Mansur. He had risen to be the vizier, following death of Abu Salma, Khalid was on such intimate terms with al-Saffah that his daughter was nursed by the wife of the Caliph. Likewise, Caliphs daughter was nursed by Khalids wife, under Abbasid regime Khalid rose to the headship of the department of Finance This department was concerned with Taxation and Land Tenure. Genuine budgets began to be drawn up for the first time, the extensive staff of officials engaged in correspondence with the provinces and prepared estimates and accounts. An influential stratum of officialdom, the Irano-Islamic class of secretaries, was formed which considered itself as the support of the state. In 765, Khalid al-Barmaki received the governorship of Tabaristan, where he crushed a dangerous uprising, during his governorship of Upper Mesopotamia, Khalid, through a mix of firmness and justice, brought the province quickly into order and effectively curbed the unruly Kurds. Khalids son, Yaḥyá ibn Khālid, at one time Governor of Arminiya, was entrusted by Caliph al-Mahdi with the education of his son, Harun, yaḥyas sons al-Fadl and Jafar, both occupied high offices under Harun al-Rashid. The Barmakid family was a supporter of the Abbasid revolt against the Umayyads. This gave Khalid bin Barmak considerable influence, and his son Yaḥyá ibn Khālid was the vizier of the caliph al-Mahdi, Yahyas sons al-Fadl and Jafar, both occupied high offices under Harun. Many Barmakids were patrons of the sciences, which helped the propagation of Iranian science and scholarship into the Islamic world of Baghdad. They patronized scholars such as Gebir and Jabril ibn Bukhtishu and they are also credited with the establishment of the first paper mill in Baghdad. We know of Yahya ibn Khalid al-Barmaki as a patron of physicians and, specifically, in all likelihood however, his activity took place in the orbit of the caliphal court in Iraq, where at the behest of Hārūn al-Rashīd, such books were translated into Arabic. In 803, the family lost favor in the eyes of Harun al-Rashīd, according to Rit Nosotro, Harun al-Rashīd found his chief pleasure in the society of his sister ʿAbbāsa and Barmakid prince Jafar bin Yahya
14.
Al-Rusafa, Iraq
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Al Rusafa or Rasafa is the half of Baghdad, Iraq, on the eastern side of the river Tigris. The west side of the river is Al Karkh, in a more limited sense Rusafa is one of the nine administrative districts in Baghdad. This district is the area on the eastern side of Baghdad, its central commercial area. Neighborhoods of Rusafa district include Bab Al-Moatham and Al-Saadoon, List of places in Iraq List of neighborhoods and districts in Baghdad Public Domain army. mil shots of Clearing Rusafa Washington Post Article
15.
Greater Khorasan
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Khorasan is a historical region lying in the northeast of Persia. Khorasan in its proper sense comprised principally the cities of Balkh and Herat, Mashhad and Nishapur, Merv and Nisa, and Bukhara and Samarkand. Some believe that at certain times Khorasan covered an area, which included parts of Transoxiana, Soghdiana, Sistan. Sources from the 14th to the 16th century report that areas in the south of the Hindu Kush mountain range formed a frontier between Khorasan and Hindustan, in the Islamic period, Persian Iraq and Khorasan were the two important territories. The boundary between these two was the surrounding the cities of Gurgan and Qumis. In particular, the Ghaznavids, Seljuqs, and Timurids divided their empires into Iraqi, the adjective Greater is added these days to distinguish the historical region from the Khorasan Province of Iran, which roughly encompassed the western half of the historical Greater Khorasan. The name Khorāsān is derived from Middle Persian Khwarāsān, a compound of khwar, thus the name Khorasan means land where the sun rises or east. The Persian word Khāvar-zamīn, meaning the land, has also been used as an equivalent term. First established as an entity by the Sassanids, the borders of the region have varied considerably during its 1. Initially the Khorasan province of Sassanid empire included the cities of Nishapur, Herat, Merv, Faryab, Taloqan, Balkh, Bukhara, Badghis, Abiward, Gharjistan, Tus or Susia, Sarakhs and Gurgan. It acquired its greatest extent under the Caliphs, for whom Khorasan was the name of one of the three political zones under their dominion. Under the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, Khorasan was divided into four sections or quarters, each section based on a single major city, Nishapur, Merv, Herat. In the Middle Ages, the term was applied in Persia to all its territories that lay east and north east of Dasht-e Kavir. Ghobar uses the terms Proper Khorasan and Improper Khorasan in his book to distinguish between the usage of Khorasan in its sense and its usage in a loose sense. Improper Khorasans boundaries extended to as far as Hazarajat and Kabul in the east, Sistan and Baluchistan in the south, Transoxiana and Khwarezm in the north, and Damghan and Gorgan in the west. It is mentioned in the Memoirs of Babur that, The people of Hindustān call every country beyond their own Khorasān, in the manner as the Arabs term all except Arabia. On the road between Hindustān and Khorasān, there are two great marts, the one Kābul, the other Kandahār. Caravans, from Ferghāna, Tūrkestān, Samarkand, Balkh, Bokhāra, Hissār and this country lies between Hindustān and Khorasān
16.
Tabaristan
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Tabaristan, also known as Tapuria, was the name applied to Mazandaran, a province in northern Iran. Although the natives of the region knew it as Mazandaran, the region was called Tabaristan from the Arab conquests to the Seljuk period, the Amardians are believed to have been the earliest inhabitants of the region where modern day Mazanderan and Gilan are located. The establishment of the great kingdom dates back to about the first millennium BCE when the Hyrcanian Kingdom was founded with Sadracarta as its capital. Its extent was so large that for centuries the Caspian Sea was called the Hyrcanian Ocean, the first known dynasty were the Faratatians, who ruled some centuries before Christ. During the indigenous Gushnaspian dynasty, many of the people adopted Christianity, in 418 CE, the Tapurian calendar was designed and its use implemented. The Gashnaspians ruled the region until 528 CE, when, after a period of fighting. He then chose Amol as capital of United Tapuria in 647 CE, the dynasty of Gil was known as Gavbareh in Gilan, and as the Dabuyids in eastern Tapuria. Tabaristan was one of the last parts of Persia to fall to the Muslim Conquest, maintaining resistance until 761, even after this, Tabaristan remained largely independent of direct control of the Caliphate, and underwent numerous power struggles and rebellions. In the early 9th century, for example, a Zoroastrian by the name of Mazyar rebelled, taking control of Tabaraistan, while the Dabuyids were in plain regions, the Sokhrayans governed the mountainous regions. Vandad Hormozd ruled the region for about 50 years until 1034 CE, after 1125 CE, an increase in conversion to Islam was achieved, not by the Arab Caliphs, but by the Imams ambassadors. Mazandaranis and Gilaks were one of the first groups of Iranians to convert directly to Shia Islam, pietro della Valle, who visited a town near Pirouzcow in Mazandaran, noted that Mazandarani women never wore the veil and didnt hesitate to talk to foreigners. He also noted the large amount of Circassians and Georgians in the region. Today, Persia proper, Fars, Mazanderan on the Caspian Sea, most of them remain Christian to this day, but in a very crude manner, since they have neither priest nor minister to tend them. After the Safavid period, the Qajars began to campaign south from Mazandaran with Agha Mohammad Khan who already incorporated Mazandaran into his empire in 1782, on 21 March 1782, Agha Mohammad Shah proclaimed Sari as his imperial capital. Sari was the site of local wars in those years, which led to the transfer of the capital from Sari to Tehran by Fath Ali Shah, inostranzev, M. Iranian Influence on Moslem Literature – Appendix I, Independent Zoroastrian Princes of Tabaristan
17.
Rey, Iran
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Rey or Ray, also known as Rhages and formerly as Arsacia, is the capital of Rey County in Tehran Province of Iran, and the oldest existing city in the province. Ray today has been absorbed into the Greater Tehran metropolitan area, Ray is connected via the Tehran Metro to the rest of Tehran and has many industries and factories in operation. Note on spelling, According to the Iranian Chamber Society, the spelling of the city in both English and Persian is Ray, though variations in spelling also exist. The city university also uses the spelling Ray, as does the Encyclopædia Iranica published by Columbia University, a settlement began here c 6,000 BCE as part of the Central Plateau Culture. The settlement was used as a capital by the Arsacids called Rhaga, in Classical Greco-Roman geography it was called Rhagae. It is mentioned several times in the Apocrypha and its name dates back to the pre-Median period. Some historians attribute its building to ancient mythological monarchs, and some believe that Ray was the seat of a dynasty of Zoroastrian leader. During the Seleucid period, Alexander the Greats general Seleucus I Nicator renamed the city as Europos, Rey is also shown on the 4th century Peutinger Map. It has been home to pillars of science like Rhazes, Rey was one of the capital cities of the Seljuq Empire in the 11th century. In the 13th century after the Mongol conquest the town was severely damaged, there is also a shrine there, dedicated to commemorate Princess Shahr Banu, eldest daughter of the last ruler of the Sassanid Empire. She gave birth to Ali Zayn al Abidin, the fourth holy Imam of the Shia faith and this was through her marriage to Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. A nearby mountain is named after her. In the middle of the 19th century Ray was described as place of ruins, being the only important pilgrimage site in vicinity to the royal court in the new capital Tehran brought more people to visit the shrine and a major restoration was sponsored by the court. Thus Ray was the first place in Iran to be connected to the capital by a railroad in 1888, the shrine contains the tomb of ‘Abdul ‘Adhīm ibn ‘Abdillāh al-Hasanī, a fifth generation descendant of Hasan ibn ‘Alī and a companion of Muhammad al-Taqī. He was entombed here after his death in the 9th century, some of the discovered objects are displayed at museums in Iran, Chicago, and Philadelphia. The hill, which is now leveled out and most artifacts unrecoverable due to real estate expansion in the 1980s and 1990s, was the home of Aryans about 6,000 years ago. Since Ray was used as a center due to its beautiful attractions under the reign of the Qajar dynasty. In 1831 his portrait and that of some Qajar princes were engraved on a rock at Cheshmeh Ali hill, Tuğrul Tower, constructed under the Seljuqs at the order of Tuğrul Beg in 1140, once he transferred the capital city from Nishapur to Ray
18.
Amir al-hajj
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Amir al-hajj was the position and title given to the commander of the annual Hajj pilgrim caravan by successive Muslim empires, from the 7th century until the 20th century. Since the Abbasid period, there were two main caravans, departing from Damascus and Cairo, each of the two caravans was annually assigned an amir al-hajj. The main duties entrusted to an amir al-hajj were securing funds and provisions for the caravan, according to historian Thomas Philipp, the office of amir al-hajj was an extremely important one, which brought with it great political influence and religious prestige. Given the significance of the Hajj pilgrimage in Islam, the protection of the caravan, any mishandling of the caravan or harm done to the pilgrims by Bedouin raiders would often be made known throughout the Muslim world by returning pilgrims. The leader of the Muslim world, or the ruler aspiring to this position, was required to ensure the pilgrimages safety, thus, talented and successful Hajj commanders were crucial. In Ottoman times, the importance of successful umara al-hajj generally rendered them immune from punitive measures by the Ottoman authorities for abuses they committed elsewhere, the main threat to a Hajj caravan was Bedouin raiding. The procurement of supplies, namely water and foodstuffs, and transportation, namely camels, were also the responsibility of the amir al-hajj, the funds mostly came from province revenues specifically designated for the Hajj. The Cairene commander was responsible for the kiswah, which was the cloth that is annually draped over the Kaaba in Mecca. According to Singer and Philipp, an amir al-hajj needed to possess logistical capabilities in addition to military skills, to procure supplies and ensure safe transportation for the caravan, the amir al-hajj often maintained a network of connections to various Ottoman officials and local community leaders. Muslim tradition ascribes the first Hajj caravan to the lifetime of Muhammad, with the Muslim conquests, large numbers of pilgrims converged from all the corners of the expanding Muslim world. Under the Abbasids, the tradition began of annual, state-sponsored caravans setting out from Damascus and Cairo, furthermore, Caliph Harun al-Rashid led the caravan in person several times. The Mamluk Sultanate was established two years later, according to historian Jane Hathaway, it was under the Mamluks that the amir al-hajj assumed its classical form. During the Mamluk era, the main pilgrimage caravan left from Cairo and its amir al-hajj was always appointed by the sultan. The amir al-hajj of Damascus was either appointed by the sultan or his viceroy in Syria, a few Mamluk sultans made the pilgrimage themselves, but usually their symbolic presence was represented by a palanquin, escorted by musicians. The role of amir al-hajj was continued by the Ottoman Empire when they gained control over the Mamluks territories in 1517, the first amir al-hajj for Damascus was the provinces former Mamluk viceroy-turned Ottoman governor, Janbirdi al-Ghazali. In 1708, the Ottoman imperial government adopted a new policy whereby the wali of Damascus would serve as the amir al-hajj, with this change in policy also came an elevation of the Damascene commanders rank. From then on, his rank was superior to that of the Cairene commander, any imperial Ottoman official traveling with the caravan, the Ottoman governor of the Hejaz in Jeddah, and the Meccan sharifs. The Arab al-Azm family of Damascus were able to hold on as governors of Damascus for lengthy periods partly due to their success commanding the caravan, when the Saudis recaptured the Hejaz in 1925, the ban was re-applied
19.
Fire temple
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A fire temple in Zoroastrianism is the place of worship for Zoroastrians, often called dar-e mehr or agiyari. In the Zoroastrian religion, fire, together with water, are agents of ritual purity. For, one who sacrifices unto fire with fuel in his hand, as of 2010, there were 50 fire temples in Mumbai,100 in the rest of India, and 27 in the rest of the world. First evident in the 4th century BCE, the Zoroastrian cult of fire is much younger than Zoroastrianism itself and it appears at approximately the same time as the shrine cult and is roughly contemporaneous with the introduction of Atar as a divinity. There is no allusion to a cult of fire in the Avesta proper. That the cult of fire was a modification and absent from early Zoroastrianism is also evident in the later Atash Nyash. In the oldest passages of that liturgy, it is the fire that speaks to all those for whom it cooks the evening and morning meal. The temple cult is a later development, from Herodotus it is known that in the mid-5th century BCE the Zoroastrians worshipped to the open sky. The second, the atroshan, were the places of burning fire which became more and more prevalent as the movement gained support. Following the rise of the Sassanid dynasty, the shrines to the Yazatas continued to exist, also, as Schippman observed, there is no evidence even during the Sassanid era that the fires were categorized according to their sanctity. It seems probable that there were only two, namely the Atash-i Vahram, and the lesser Atash-i Adaran, or Fire of Fires. The faith was practiced largely by the aristocracy but large numbers of fire temples did not exist, some fire temples continued with their original purpose although many Zoroastrians fled. The oldest remains of what has been identified as a temple are those on Mount Khajeh. Only traces of the foundation and ground-plan survive and have been dated to the 3rd or 4th century BCE. The temple was rebuilt during the Parthian era, and enlarged during Sassanid times, the characteristic feature of the Sassanid fire temple was its domed sanctuary where the fire-altar stood. This sanctuary always had a ground plan with a pillar in each corner that then supported the dome. Archaeological remains and literary evidence from Zend commentaries on the Avesta suggest that the sanctuary was surrounded by a passageway on all four sides. On a number of sites the gombad, made usually of masonry with courses of stone, is all that survives
20.
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
21.
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
22.
Alids
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The Alids are the dynasties descended from Ali ibn Abi Talib, son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Shia Muslims consider him the First Imam appointed by Muhammad and the first rightful caliph, primarily Sunnis in the Arab world reserve the term sharif or sherif for descendants of Hasan ibn Ali, while sayyid is used for descendants of Husayn ibn Ali. Both Hasan and Husayn are grandchildren of Prophet Muhammad, through the marriage of his cousin Ali, however ever since the post-Hashemite era began, the term sayyid has been used to denote descendants from both Hasan and Husayn. Arab Shiites use the terms sayyid and habib to denote descendants from both Hasan and Husayn, see also ashraf. Although not 100% complete in its scope the resulting Kitab al-Ashraf, many scholars have cast doubt on this claim, and there seems to be consensus among scholars that the Safavid family hailed from Persian Kurdistan. Al Qasimi dynasty of Sharjah and Ras al-Khaimah, claims descent from the 10th Imam, the Alid Dynasty of the Isaaq clan or Banu Isaaq clan of Somalia, who are descended from Ali through their ancestor Isaaq ibn Ahmad al Hashimi. Today, the Isaaq clan form the majority of the territory of Somaliland. The Alid Dynasty of the Muse clan or Banu Muse clan of Somalia, today, the Muse clan formed the minority of the northern territory of Somaliland. This is a table of the interrelationships between the different parts of the Alid dynasties, Below is a family tree of Husayn ibn Ali. For the ancestors of ibn Ali see the tree of Muhammad. People in italics are considered by the majority of Shia and Sunni Muslims to be Ahl al-Bayt, twelver Shia also see the 4th to 12th Imamah as Ahl al-Bayt
23.
Barmakid
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Khalid, the son of Barmak became the prime minister of Al Saffah, the first Caliph of the Abbasid dynasty. His son Yahya aided Harun Al-Rashid in capturing the throne and rose to power as the most powerful man in the Caliphate, the Barmakids were remarkable for their majesty, splendor and hospitality. They are mentioned in stories of the Arabian Nights. The family is back to the hereditary Buddhist administrators, Sanskrit प्रमुख Pramukha. The Pramukhas converted during the Arab invasion of the Sasanian Empire, the Barmakids were highly educated, respected and influential throughout Arabia, Persia, Central Asia and the Levant. In Baghdad, the Barmakid court became a centre of patronage for the Ulema, poets, Khalid al-Barmaki occupied distinguished positions under first two Abbasid Caliphs, al-Saffah and al-Mansur. He had risen to be the vizier, following death of Abu Salma, Khalid was on such intimate terms with al-Saffah that his daughter was nursed by the wife of the Caliph. Likewise, Caliphs daughter was nursed by Khalids wife, under Abbasid regime Khalid rose to the headship of the department of Finance This department was concerned with Taxation and Land Tenure. Genuine budgets began to be drawn up for the first time, the extensive staff of officials engaged in correspondence with the provinces and prepared estimates and accounts. An influential stratum of officialdom, the Irano-Islamic class of secretaries, was formed which considered itself as the support of the state. In 765, Khalid al-Barmaki received the governorship of Tabaristan, where he crushed a dangerous uprising, during his governorship of Upper Mesopotamia, Khalid, through a mix of firmness and justice, brought the province quickly into order and effectively curbed the unruly Kurds. Khalids son, Yaḥyá ibn Khālid, at one time Governor of Arminiya, was entrusted by Caliph al-Mahdi with the education of his son, Harun, yaḥyas sons al-Fadl and Jafar, both occupied high offices under Harun al-Rashid. The Barmakid family was a supporter of the Abbasid revolt against the Umayyads. This gave Khalid bin Barmak considerable influence, and his son Yaḥyá ibn Khālid was the vizier of the caliph al-Mahdi, Yahyas sons al-Fadl and Jafar, both occupied high offices under Harun. Many Barmakids were patrons of the sciences, which helped the propagation of Iranian science and scholarship into the Islamic world of Baghdad. They patronized scholars such as Gebir and Jabril ibn Bukhtishu and they are also credited with the establishment of the first paper mill in Baghdad. We know of Yahya ibn Khalid al-Barmaki as a patron of physicians and, specifically, in all likelihood however, his activity took place in the orbit of the caliphal court in Iraq, where at the behest of Hārūn al-Rashīd, such books were translated into Arabic. In 803, the family lost favor in the eyes of Harun al-Rashīd, according to Rit Nosotro, Harun al-Rashīd found his chief pleasure in the society of his sister ʿAbbāsa and Barmakid prince Jafar bin Yahya
24.
As-Saffah
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Abu al-‘Abbās ‘Abdullāh ibn Muhammad al-Saffāḥ, or Abul Abbas as-Saffaḥ was the first caliph of the Abbasid caliphate, one of the longest and most important caliphates in Islamic history. The title also had Messianic connotations, because he wanted to be seen as the mahdi, the new caliph appropriated this messianic title in his first sermon in Kufa in 749 AD. However, the meaning of the verb yasfaH has in fact shifted to mean to pour out blood or to shed blood in Modern Arabic and this indirect link to Muhammads larger clan formed sufficient basis for As-Saffahs claim to the title caliph. However, the tradition that Abbās himself never converted to Islam, or only did so halfheartedly, the half-hearted policies of the late Umayyads to tolerate non-Arab Muslims and Shias had failed to quell unrest among these minorities. During the reign of late Umayyad Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik this unrest led to mutiny and revolt in Kufa in southern Iraq, mainly from the slaves of the town. Shiites revolted in 736 and held the city until 740, led by Zayd ibn Ali, zayds rebellion failed, and was put down by Umayyad armies in 740. The revolt in Kufa indicated both the strength of the Umayyads and the growing unrest in the Muslim world, in 743, the death of the Umayyad Caliph Hishām provoked a rebellion in the east. In Shiite works such as the Al-Jafr faithful Muslims were told that the civil war was the great conflict between good and evil. The choice of the Umayyads to enter battle with white flags, the color white, however, was regarded in much of Persia as a sign of mourning. In early October 749, Abu al-Abbās as-Saffāhs rebel army entered Kufa, a major Muslim center in Southern Iraq and his first or maybe second or third priority was to eliminate his Umayyad rival, caliph Marwan II. The latter was defeated in February 750 at a battle on the Zab river north of Baghdad, effectively ending the Umayyad caliphate, Marwan II fled back to Damascus, which didnt welcome him, and was ultimately killed on the run in Egypt that August. The only survivor, Abd al-Rahman ibn Muawiya, escaped to the province of al-Andalus, another version is that as-Saffāḥs new governor to Syria, Abd Allāh ibn Ali, hunted down the last of the family dynasty, with only Abd al-Rahmān escaping. Ultimately, Abbasid rule was accepted even in Syria, and the beginning of the new Islamic dynasty was free from internal dissensions. As-Saffāhs four-year reign was marked with efforts to consolidate and rebuild the caliphate and his supporters were represented in the new government, but apart from his policy toward the Umayyad family, as-Saffāh is widely viewed by historians as having been a mild victor. Jews, Nestorian Christians, and Persians were well represented in his government, education was also encouraged, and the first paper mills, staffed by skilled Chinese prisoners captured at the Battle of Talas, were set up in Samarkand. Equally revolutionary was as-Saffāhs reform of the army, which came to include non-Muslims, as-Saffāh selected the gifted Abu Muslim as his military commander, an officer who would serve until 755 in the Abbasid army. Not all Muslims accept the legitimacy of his caliphate, however, according to later Shiites, as-Saffāh turned back on his promises to the partisans of the Alids in claiming the title caliph for himself. The Shia had hoped that their imam would be named head of the caliphate, inaugurating the era of peace, the betrayal alienated as-Saffāhs Shia supporters, although the continued amity of other groups made Abbasid rule markedly more solvent than that of the Umayyads
25.
Vizier
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A vizier is a high-ranking political advisor or minister. In modern usage, the term has been used for ministers in the Arab world, Iran, Turkey, East Africa Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It is also used in the only absolute Asian monarchy. It is given to the current King Hassanal Bolkiahs second brother, in Brunei, an ordinary vizier is known as Pengiran Temenggong. The word entered into English in 1562 from the Turkish vezir, Wazir itself has two possible etymologies, The most accepted etymology is that it is derived from the Arabic wazara, from the Semitic root W-Z-R. The word is mentioned in the Quran, where Aaron is described as the wazir of Moses, on the other hand, the presence of a Middle Persian word vizīr or vicīr, cognate to the Avestan vīcira, meaning decreer or arbitrator, could possibly indicate an Indo-European origin. In modern Turkey, there is no usage of vezir for any ministry as suggested in the description above, the Muslim office of vizier, which spread from the Persians, Turks, Arabs and Mongols and neighboring peoples, arose under the first Abbasid caliphs. The vizier stood between sovereign and subjects, representing the former in all matters touching the latter, if one such vizier is the prime minister, he may hold the title of Grand Vizier or another title. In Al-Andalus appointed by the Caliph of Cordoba, similarly in many of the emirates and sultanates of the taifas which the caliphate was broken up into. In Muslim Egypt, the most populous Arab country, Under the Fatimid Caliphs. Again since the end of Ottoman rule, remarkably since 1857 (i. e. before the last Wali, Ismail Pasha, was raised Khedive. During the days of the Ottoman Empire, the Grand Vizier was the—often de facto minister, second only to the Sultan and was the leader of the Divan. Vizier was also the title of some Ottoman provincial governors, use of the title indicating a greater degree of autonomy for the province involved. In the Sherifian kingdom of Morocco, a Sadr al-Azam was in office until 22 November 1955, Grand Vizier, Chief Minister or Prime Minister. Wazir al-Amala, Minister for the Interior, Wazir al-Bahr, Minister of the Sea, i. e. for the Navy/ Marine. Wazir al-Harb, Minister for the Army or Minister for War, Wazir al-Qalam, Minister of the Pen. In Oman the Hami/Sultans Chief minister was styled Wazir till 1966, Viziers to the Sultans of Zanzibar, since 1890 filled by British, also known as First ministers, the British Resident s, an extremely direct form of indirect rule. Grand Viziers to the Sultan of Sokoto – this is however disputed, the title Waziri is apparently a derivative of this word, and is a highly regarded chieftaincy title in most of northern Nigeria
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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
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Dirham
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Dirham, dirhem or dirhm is a unit of currency in several Arab states and formerly, the related unit of mass in the Ottoman Empire and Persian states. The name derives from the ancient Greek currency the drachma, in the late Ottoman Empire, the standard dirham was 3.207 g,400 dirhem equal one oka. In Egypt in 1895, it was equivalent to 47.661 troy grains, there is currently a movement within the Islamic world to revive the Dirham as a unit of mass for measuring silver, although the exact value is disputed. The word dirham comes from drachma, the Greek coin, the Greek-speaking Byzantine Empire controlled the Levant and traded with Arabia, circulating the coin there in pre-Islamic times and afterward. It was this currency which was adopted as an Arab word, then near the end of the 7th century the coin became an Islamic currency bearing the name of the sovereign
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Kirman
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Kerman is the capital city of Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 821,374, in 221,389 households and it is the largest and most developed city in Kerman Province and the most important city in the southeast of Iran. It is also one of the largest cities of Iran in terms of area, Kerman is famous for its long history and strong cultural heritage. The city is home to many mosques and Zoroastrian fire temples. Kerman is also on the recent list of the worlds 1000 cleanest cities, Kerman became capital city of Iranian dynasties several times during its history. It is located on a large, flat plain,1,036 km south of Tehran, Kerman was founded as a defensive outpost, with the name Veh-Ardashir, by Ardeshir I, founder of the Sassanid Empire, in the 3rd century AD. After the Battle of Nahāvand in 642, the city came under Muslim rule, at first the citys relative isolation allowed Kharijites and Zoroastrians to thrive there, but the Kharijites were wiped out in 698, and the population was mostly Muslim by 725. Already in the century the city was famous for its manufacture of cashmere wool shawls. The name Kerman was adopted at some point in the tenth century, under the rule of the Seljuk Turks in the 11th and 12th centuries, Kerman remained virtually independent, conquering Oman and Fars. When Marco Polo visited Kerman in 1271, it had become a major trade emporium linking the Persian Gulf with Khorasan, subsequently, however, the city was sacked many times by various invaders. Kerman expanded rapidly during the Safavid Dynasty, carpets and rugs were exported to England and Germany during this period. In 1793 Lotf Ali Khan defeated the Qajars, and in 1794 he captured Kerman, but soon after he was besieged in Kerman for six months by Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar. Many women and children were sold into slavery, and in ninety days the city turned into ruins, however, the Zoroastrians of Kerman who had been strong supporters of Lotf Ali Khan suffered the wrath of the founder of Qajar dynasty the most during this period. The present city of Kerman was rebuilt in the 19th century to the northwest of the old city, Kerman is located on a high margin of Kavir-e Lut in the south-central part of Iran. The city is surrounded by mountains, Kerman is also located along the Saheb Al Zman mountain. The city is 1,755 m above sea level, making it third in elevation among provincial capitals in Iran, winter brings very cold nights to Kerman. Mountains in the south and southeast Jftan Joopar and Plvar and Kerman have snow all year round, Kerman is located at latitude 30.29 and longitude 57.06. The citys many districts are surrounded by mountains that bring variety to Kermans year-round weather pattern, the northern part of the city is located in an arid desert area, while the highland of the southern part of the city enjoys a more moderate climate
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Baghdad
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Baghdad is the capital of the Republic of Iraq. The population of Baghdad, as of 2016, is approximately 8,765,000 making it the largest city in Iraq, the second largest city in the Arab world, and the second largest city in Western Asia. Located along the Tigris River, the city was founded in the 8th century, within a short time of its inception, Baghdad evolved into a significant cultural, commercial, and intellectual center for the Islamic world. This, in addition to housing several key institutions, garnered the city a worldwide reputation as the Centre of Learning. Throughout the High Middle Ages, Baghdad was considered to be the largest city in the world with a population of 1,200,000 people. The city was destroyed at the hands of the Mongol Empire in 1258, resulting in a decline that would linger through many centuries due to frequent plagues. With the recognition of Iraq as an independent state in 1938, in contemporary times, the city has often faced severe infrastructural damage, most recently due to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and the subsequent Iraq War that lasted until December 2011. In recent years, the city has been subjected to insurgency attacks. As of 2012, Baghdad was listed as one of the least hospitable places in the world to live, the site where the city of Baghdad developed has been populated for millennia. By the 8th century AD, several villages had developed there, including a Persian hamlet called Baghdad, the name is of Indo-European origin and a Middle Persian compound of Bagh god and dād given by, translating to Bestowed by God or Gods gift. In Old Persian the first element can be traced to boghu and is related to Slavic bog god, a similar term in Middle Persian is the name Mithradāt, known in English by its Hellenistic form Mithridates, meaning gift of Mithra. There are a number of locations in the wider region whose names are compounds of the word bagh, including Baghlan. The name of the town Baghdati in Georgia shares the same etymological origins, when the Abbasid caliph, al-Mansur, founded a completely new city for his capital, he chose the name Madinat al-Salaam or City of Peace. This was the name on coins, weights, and other official usage. By the 11th century, Baghdad became almost the exclusive name for the world-renowned metropolis, after the fall of the Umayyads, the first Muslim dynasty, the victorious Abbasid rulers wanted their own capital whence they could rule. They chose a site north of the Sassanid capital of Ctesiphon, on 30 July 762, the caliph Al-Mansur commissioned the construction of the city, mansur believed that Baghdad was the perfect city to be the capital of the Islamic empire under the Abbasids. Mansur loved the site so much he is quoted saying, This is indeed the city that I am to found, where I am to live, and where my descendants will reign afterward. The citys growth was helped by its excellent location, based on at least two factors, it had control over strategic and trading routes along the Tigris, the abundance of water in a dry climate
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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
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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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Syria
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Syrias capital and largest city is Damascus. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Sunni Arabs make up the largest religious group in Syria. Its capital Damascus and largest city Aleppo are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, in the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a number of military coups. In 1958, Syria entered a union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1970 to 2000. Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favours the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate Ἀσσυρία, Assyria, in the past, others believed that it was derived from Siryon, the name that the Sidonians gave to Mount Hermon. However, the discovery of the inscription in 2000 seems to support the theory that the term Syria derives from Assyria. The area designated by the word has changed over time, since approximately 10,000 BC, Syria was one of centers of Neolithic culture where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. The following Neolithic period is represented by houses of Mureybet culture. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gyps, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations. Cities of Hamoukar and Emar played an important role during the late Neolithic, archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth, perhaps preceded by only those of Mesopotamia. The earliest recorded indigenous civilisation in the region was the Kingdom of Ebla near present-day Idlib, gifts from Pharaohs, found during excavations, confirm Eblas contact with Egypt. One of the earliest written texts from Syria is an agreement between Vizier Ibrium of Ebla and an ambiguous kingdom called Abarsal c.2300 BC. The Northwest Semitic language of the Amorites is the earliest attested of the Canaanite languages, Mari reemerged during this period, and saw renewed prosperity until conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon. Ugarit also arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, close to modern Latakia, Ugaritic was a Semitic language loosely related to the Canaanite languages, and developed the Ugaritic alphabet. The Ugarites kingdom survived until its destruction at the hands of the marauding Indo-European Sea Peoples in the 12th century BC, Yamhad was described in the tablets of Mari as the mightiest state in the near east and as having more vassals than Hammurabi of Babylon. Yamhad imposed its authority over Alalakh, Qatna, the Hurrians states, the army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as Dēr on the border of Elam
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Iran
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Iran, also known as Persia, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2, it is the second-largest country in the Middle East, with 82.8 million inhabitants, Iran is the worlds 17th-most-populous country. It is the country with both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline. The countrys central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran is the countrys capital and largest city, as well as its leading economic and cultural center. Iran is the site of to one of the worlds oldest civilizations, the area was first unified by the Iranian Medes in 625 BC, who became the dominant cultural and political power in the region. The empire collapsed in 330 BC following the conquests of Alexander the Great, under the Sassanid Dynasty, Iran again became one of the leading powers in the world for the next four centuries. Beginning in 633 AD, Arabs conquered Iran and largely displaced the indigenous faiths of Manichaeism and Zoroastrianism by Islam, Iran became a major contributor to the Islamic Golden Age that followed, producing many influential scientists, scholars, artists, and thinkers. During the 18th century, Iran reached its greatest territorial extent since the Sassanid Empire, through the late 18th and 19th centuries, a series of conflicts with Russia led to significant territorial losses and the erosion of sovereignty. Popular unrest culminated in the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906, which established a monarchy and the countrys first legislative body. Following a coup instigated by the U. K. Growing dissent against foreign influence and political repression led to the 1979 Revolution, Irans rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 21 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the third-largest number in Asia and 11th-largest in the world. Iran is a member of the UN, ECO, NAM, OIC. Its political system is based on the 1979 Constitution which combines elements of a democracy with a theocracy governed by Islamic jurists under the concept of a Supreme Leadership. A multicultural country comprising numerous ethnic and linguistic groups, most inhabitants are Shia Muslims, the largest ethnic groups in Iran are the Persians, Azeris, Kurds and Lurs. Historically, Iran has been referred to as Persia by the West, due mainly to the writings of Greek historians who called Iran Persis, meaning land of the Persians. As the most extensive interactions the Ancient Greeks had with any outsider was with the Persians, however, Persis was originally referred to a region settled by Persians in the west shore of Lake Urmia, in the 9th century BC. The settlement was then shifted to the end of the Zagros Mountains. In 1935, Reza Shah requested the international community to refer to the country by its native name, opposition to the name change led to the reversal of the decision, and Professor Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, propagated a move to use Persia and Iran interchangeably
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Afghanistan
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Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located within South Asia and Central Asia. It has a population of approximately 32 million, making it the 42nd most populous country in the world. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north and its territory covers 652,000 km2, making it the 41st largest country in the world. The land also served as the source from which the Kushans, Hephthalites, Samanids, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Khiljis, Mughals, Hotaks, Durranis, the political history of the modern state of Afghanistan began with the Hotak and Durrani dynasties in the 18th century. In the late 19th century, Afghanistan became a state in the Great Game between British India and the Russian Empire. Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, King Amanullah unsuccessfully attempted to modernize the country and it remained peaceful during Zahir Shahs forty years of monarchy. A series of coups in the 1970s was followed by a series of wars that devastated much of Afghanistan. The name Afghānistān is believed to be as old as the ethnonym Afghan, the root name Afghan was used historically in reference to a member of the ethnic Pashtuns, and the suffix -stan means place of in Persian. Therefore, Afghanistan translates to land of the Afghans or, more specifically in a historical sense, however, the modern Constitution of Afghanistan states that he word Afghan shall apply to every citizen of Afghanistan. An important site of historical activities, many believe that Afghanistan compares to Egypt in terms of the historical value of its archaeological sites. The country sits at a unique nexus point where numerous civilizations have interacted and it has been home to various peoples through the ages, among them the ancient Iranian peoples who established the dominant role of Indo-Iranian languages in the region. At multiple points, the land has been incorporated within large regional empires, among them the Achaemenid Empire, the Macedonian Empire, the Indian Maurya Empire, and the Islamic Empire. Archaeological exploration done in the 20th century suggests that the area of Afghanistan has been closely connected by culture and trade with its neighbors to the east, west. Artifacts typical of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, urban civilization is believed to have begun as early as 3000 BCE, and the early city of Mundigak may have been a colony of the nearby Indus Valley Civilization. More recent findings established that the Indus Valley Civilisation stretched up towards modern-day Afghanistan, making the ancient civilisation today part of Pakistan, Afghanistan, in more detail, it extended from what today is northwest Pakistan to northwest India and northeast Afghanistan. An Indus Valley site has found on the Oxus River at Shortugai in northern Afghanistan. There are several smaller IVC colonies to be found in Afghanistan as well, after 2000 BCE, successive waves of semi-nomadic people from Central Asia began moving south into Afghanistan, among them were many Indo-European-speaking Indo-Iranians. These tribes later migrated further into South Asia, Western Asia, the region at the time was referred to as Ariana
