1.
Classical Arabic
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Classical Arabic is the form of the Arabic language used in Umayyad and Abbasid literary texts from the 7th century AD to the 9th century AD. While the lexis and stylistics of Modern Standard Arabic are different from Classical Arabic, in the Arab world, little distinction is made between CA and MSA, and both are normally called al-fuṣḥá in Arabic, meaning the most eloquent. During the first Islamic century the majority of Arabic poets and Arabic-writing persons spoke a form of Arabic as their mother tongue and their texts, although mainly preserved in far later manuscripts, contain traces of non-standardized Classical Arabic elements in morphology and syntax. The standardization of Classical Arabic reached completion around the end of the 8th century, by the 8th century, knowledge of Classical Arabic had become an essential prerequisite for rising into the higher classes throughout the Islamic world. Ibn Khaldun described the pronunciation of the ⟨ق⟩ as a voiced velar /g/ and he even described that the Islamic prophet Muhammad may have had the /g/ pronunciation. ^1 Allophone of short /a/ in certain imalah contexts ^2 In pre-Classical Arabic, some Arabs said banē for banā and zēda for zāda. This /eː/ merged with /aː/ in later Classical Arabic, besides dialects with no definite article, the Safaitic inscriptions exhibit about four different article forms, ordered by frequency, h-, ʾ-, ʾl-, and hn-. The Old Arabic of the Nabataean inscriptions exhibits almost exclusively the form ʾl-
2.
Berber languages
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Berber or the Berber languages or the Amazigh language are a family of similar and closely related languages and dialects indigenous to North Africa. Large Berber-speaking migrant communities, numbering today about 4 million, have been living in Western Europe, about half of this population was born in Europe. Berber constitutes a branch of the Afroasiatic language family, and has been attested since ancient times, the number of Berbers is much higher than the number of Berber speakers. The bulk of the populations of the Maghreb countries are considered to have Berber ancestors, in Algeria, for example, a majority of the population consists of Arabized Berbers. There is a cultural and political movement among speakers of the closely related varieties of Northern Berber to promote and unify them under a standard language, called. The name Tamaziɣt is the current native name of the Berber language in the Moroccan Middle-Atlas region, the Rif regions, in other Berber-speaking area this name was lost. There is historical evidence, from medieval Berber manusctipts, that all native North Africans from Libya to Morocco have called their language, Tamaziɣt. The name Tamaziɣt is currently being used by educated Berbers to refer to the written Berber language. Around 90 percent of the Berber-speaking population speak one of six major varieties of Berber and they are, in the order of demographic weight, Tashelhit, Kabyle, Atlas Tamazight, Riffian, Shawi and Tuareg. The Berber languages and dialects have had a tradition, on and off, for about 2,500 years, although the tradition has been frequently disrupted by cultural shifts. They were first written in the Libyco-Berber and Tifinagh abjad, still used by the Tuareg, the oldest dated inscription is from about 200 BCE. The Berber Latin alphabet was used by most European and Berber linguists during the 19th and 20th centuries. In the 19th and 20th century European and native Berber linguists, a modernized form of the Tifinagh alphabet, called Neo-Tifinagh, was adopted in Morocco in 2003 for writing Berber, but many Moroccan Berber publications still use the Berber Latin alphabet. Algerians mostly use the Berber Latin alphabet in Berber language education at public schools, Mali and Niger recognize a Tuareg-Berber Latin alphabet customized to the Tuareg phonological system. However, traditional Tifinagh is still used in those countries, the term Berber has been used in Europe since at least the 17th century, and is still used today. It was borrowed from Latin Barbari, the Latin word is also found in the Arabic designation for these populations, البربر, al-Barbar, see names of the Berber people. Etymologically, the Berber root Mazigh means free man, noble man, the feminine Tamazight traditionally referred specifically to the Riffian and Central Atlas Tamazight languages. European languages distinguish between the words Berber and barbaric, while Arabic has the same word al-barbari for both meanings, some other Berber writers, especially in Morocco, prefer to refer to Berber with Amazigh when writing about it in French or English
3.
Sunni Islam
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Sunni Islam is the largest group of Islam. Its name comes from the word Sunnah, referring to the behavior of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. According to Sunni tradition, Muhammad did not clearly designate a successor and this contrasts with the Shia view, which holds that Muhammad intended his son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib to succeed him. Political tensions between Sunnis and Shias continued with varying intensity throughout Islamic history and they have been exacerbated in recent times by ethnic conflicts, as of 2009, Sunni Muslims constituted between 87–90% of the worlds Muslim population. Sunni Islam is the worlds largest religious denomination, followed by Catholicism and its adherents are referred to in Arabic as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah or ahl as-sunnah for short. In English, its doctrines and practices are sometimes called Sunnism, while adherents are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis, Sunnites, Sunni Islam is sometimes referred to as orthodox Islam. The Quran, together with hadith and binding juristic consensus form the basis of all traditional jurisprudence within Sunni Islam, sunnī, also commonly referred to as Sunnīism, is a term derived from sunnah meaning habit, usual practice, custom, tradition. The Muslim use of this term refers to the sayings and living habits of the prophet Muhammad, in Arabic, this branch of Islam is referred to as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah, the people of the sunnah and the community, which is commonly shortened to ahl as-sunnah. One common mistake is to assume that Sunni Islam represents a normative Islam that emerged during the period after Muhammads death, and that Sufism and Shiism developed out of Sunni Islam. This perception is due to the reliance on highly ideological sources that have been accepted as reliable historical works. Both Sunnism and Shiaism are the end products of centuries of competition between ideologies. Both sects used each other to further cement their own identities and doctrines, the first four caliphs are known among Sunnis as the Rashidun or Rightly-Guided Ones. Sunni recognition includes the aforementioned Abu Bakr as the first, Umar who established the Islamic calendar as the second, Uthman as the third, Sunnis believe that the companions of Muhammad were the best of Muslims. Support for this view is found in the Quran, according to Sunnis. Sunnis also believe that the companions were true believers since it was the companions who were given the task of compiling the Quran, furthermore, narrations that were narrated by the companions are considered by Sunnis to be a second source of knowledge of the Muslim faith. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2010 and released January 2011 found that there are 1.62 billion Muslims around the world, Islam does not have a formal hierarchy or clergy. Leaders are informal, and gain influence through study to become a scholar of Islamic law, according to the Islamic Center of Columbia, South Carolina, anyone with the intelligence and the will can become an Islamic scholar. During Midday Mosque services on Fridays, the congregation will choose a person to lead the service
4.
Roman Catholicism
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The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church or the Universal Church, is the largest Christian church, with more than 1.28 billion members worldwide. As one of the oldest religious institutions in the world, it has played a prominent role in the history, headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope, the churchs doctrines are summarised in the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed. Its central administration is located in Vatican City, enclaved within Rome, the Catholic Church is notable within Western Christianity for its sacred tradition and seven sacraments. It teaches that it is the one church founded by Jesus Christ, that its bishops are the successors of Christs apostles. The Catholic Church maintains that the doctrine on faith and morals that it declares as definitive is infallible. The Latin Church, the Eastern Catholic Churches, as well as such as mendicant orders and enclosed monastic orders. Among the sacraments, the one is the Eucharist, celebrated liturgically in the Mass. The church teaches that through consecration by a priest the sacrificial bread and wine become the body, the Catholic Church practises closed communion, with only baptised members in a state of grace ordinarily permitted to receive the Eucharist. The Virgin Mary is venerated in the Catholic Church as Queen of Heaven and is honoured in numerous Marian devotions. The Catholic Church has influenced Western philosophy, science, art and culture, Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider of education and medical services in the world, from the late 20th century, the Catholic Church has been criticised for its doctrines on sexuality, its refusal to ordain women and its handling of sexual abuse cases. Catholic was first used to describe the church in the early 2nd century, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in the letter from Saint Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans, written about 110 AD. In the Catechetical Discourses of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, the name Catholic Church was used to distinguish it from other groups that call themselves the church. The use of the adjective Roman to describe the Church as governed especially by the Bishop of Rome became more widespread after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and into the Early Middle Ages. Catholic Church is the name used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church follows an episcopal polity, led by bishops who have received the sacrament of Holy Orders who are given formal jurisdictions of governance within the church. Ultimately leading the entire Catholic Church is the Bishop of Rome, commonly called the pope, in parallel to the diocesan structure are a variety of religious institutes that function autonomously, often subject only to the authority of the pope, though sometimes subject to the local bishop. Most religious institutes only have male or female members but some have both, additionally, lay members aid many liturgical functions during worship services
5.
Judaism
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Judaism encompasses the religion, philosophy, culture and way of life of the Jewish people. Judaism is an ancient monotheistic Abrahamic religion, with the Torah as its text, and supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Midrash. Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the relationship that God established with the Children of Israel. With between 14.5 and 17.4 million adherents worldwide, Judaism is the tenth-largest religion in the world, Judaism includes a wide corpus of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. Modern branches of Judaism such as Humanistic Judaism may be nontheistic, today, the largest Jewish religious movements are Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism. Major sources of difference between groups are their approaches to Jewish law, the authority of the Rabbinic tradition. Orthodox Judaism maintains that the Torah and Jewish law are divine in origin, eternal and unalterable, Conservative and Reform Judaism are more liberal, with Conservative Judaism generally promoting a more traditional interpretation of Judaisms requirements than Reform Judaism. A typical Reform position is that Jewish law should be viewed as a set of guidelines rather than as a set of restrictions and obligations whose observance is required of all Jews. Historically, special courts enforced Jewish law, today, these still exist. Authority on theological and legal matters is not vested in any one person or organization, the history of Judaism spans more than 3,000 years. Judaism has its roots as a religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age. Judaism is considered one of the oldest monotheistic religions, the Hebrews and Israelites were already referred to as Jews in later books of the Tanakh such as the Book of Esther, with the term Jews replacing the title Children of Israel. Judaisms texts, traditions and values strongly influenced later Abrahamic religions, including Christianity, Islam, many aspects of Judaism have also directly or indirectly influenced secular Western ethics and civil law. Jews are a group and include those born Jewish and converts to Judaism. In 2015, the world Jewish population was estimated at about 14.3 million, Judaism thus begins with ethical monotheism, the belief that God is one and is concerned with the actions of humankind. According to the Tanakh, God promised Abraham to make of his offspring a great nation, many generations later, he commanded the nation of Israel to love and worship only one God, that is, the Jewish nation is to reciprocate Gods concern for the world. He also commanded the Jewish people to one another, that is. These commandments are but two of a corpus of commandments and laws that constitute this covenant, which is the substance of Judaism
6.
Theocracy
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Theocracy is a form of government in which a deity is the source from which all authority derives. The Oxford English Dictionary has this definition,1, a system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a god. The commonwealth of Israel from the time of Moses until the election of Saul as King, an ecclesiocracy is a situation where the religious leaders assume a leading role in the state, but do not claim that they are instruments of divine revelation. For example, the prince-bishops of the European Middle Ages, where the bishop was also the temporal ruler, religiously endorsed monarchies fall between theocracy and ecclesiocracy, according to the relative strengths of the religious and political organs. Most forms of theocracy are oligarchic in nature, involving rule of the many by the few, some of whom so anointed under claim of divine commission. In some religions, the ruler, usually a king, was regarded as the favorite of God who could not be questioned, sometimes even being the descendant of. Today, there is also a form of government where clerics have the power, taken literally or strictly, theocracy means rule by God or gods and refers primarily to an internal rule of the heart, especially in its biblical application. The common, generic use of the term, as defined above in terms of rule by a church or analogous religious leadership, in a pure theocracy, the civil leader is believed to have a personal connection with the civilizations religion or belief. For example, Moses led the Israelites, and Muhammad led the early Muslims, there is a fine line between the tendency of appointing religious characters to run the state and having a religious-based government. According to the Holy Books, Prophet Joseph was offered an essential governmental role just because he was trustworthy, wise and knowledgeable. As a result of the Prophet Josephs knowledge and also due to his ethical and genuine efforts during a critical economic situation, when religions have a holy book, it is used as a direct message from God. Law proclaimed by the ruler is also considered a divine revelation, as to the Prophet Muhammad ruling, The first thirteen of the Prophets twenty-three year career went on totally apolitical and non-violent. Yet, interestingly, the Prophet did not establish a theocracy in Medina, instead of a polity defined solely by Islam, he founded a territorial polity based on religious pluralism. This is evident in a document called the ’Charter of Medina’, according to the Quran, Prophets were not after power or material resources. ”While, in theocracy many aspects of the holy book are overshadowed by material powers. Due to be considered divine, the regime entitles itself to interpret verses to its own benefit and abuse them out of the context for its political aims. An ecclesiocracy, on the hand, is a situation where the religious leaders assume a leading role in the state. For example, the prince-bishops of the European Middle Ages, where the bishop was also the temporal ruler, religiously endorsed monarchies fall between these two poles, according to the relative strengths of the religious and political organs. Theocracy is distinguished from other, secular forms of government that have a religion, or are influenced by theological or moral concepts
7.
Monarchy
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The actual power of the monarch may vary from purely symbolic, to partial and restricted, to completely autocratic. Traditionally and in most cases, the monarchs post is inherited and lasts until death or abdication, occasionally this might create a situation of rival claimants whose legitimacy is subject to effective election. Finally, there have been cases where the term of a reign is either fixed in years or continues until certain goals are achieved. Thus there are widely divergent structures and traditions defining monarchy, Monarchy was the most common form of government until the 19th century, but it is no longer prevalent. Currently,47 sovereign nations in the world have monarchs acting as heads of state,19 of which are Commonwealth realms that recognise Queen Elizabeth II as their head of state. The monarchs of Cambodia, Japan, and Malaysia reign, the word monarch comes from the Greek language word μονάρχης, monárkhēs which referred to a single, at least nominally absolute ruler. In current usage the word usually refers to a traditional system of hereditary rule. Depending on the held by the monarch, a monarchy may be known as a kingdom, principality, duchy, grand duchy, empire, tsardom, emirate, sultanate, khaganate. The form of societal hierarchy known as chiefdom or tribal kingship is prehistoric, the Greek term monarchia is classical, used by Herodotus. The monarch in classical antiquity is often identified as king, the Chinese, Japanese and Nepalese monarchs continued to be considered living Gods into the modern period. Since antiquity, monarchy has contrasted with forms of democracy, where power is wielded by assemblies of free citizens. In antiquity, monarchies were abolished in favour of such assemblies in Rome, much of 19th century politics was characterised by the division between anti-monarchist Radicalism and monarchist Conservativism. Many countries abolished the monarchy in the 20th century and became republics, advocacy of republics is called republicanism, while advocacy of monarchies is called monarchism. In the modern era, monarchies are more prevalent in small states than in large ones, most monarchs, both historically and in the modern day, have been born and brought up within a royal family, the centre of the royal household and court. Growing up in a family, future monarchs are often trained for the responsibilities of expected future rule. Different systems of succession have been used, such as proximity of blood, primogeniture, and agnatic seniority. While most monarchs have been male, many female monarchs also have reigned in history, rule may be hereditary in practice without being considered a monarchy, such as that of family dictatorships or political families in many democracies. The principal advantage of hereditary monarchy is the continuity of leadership
8.
Abd-ar-Rahman III
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Abd-ar-Rahman III was the Emir and Caliph of Córdoba of the Umayyad dynasty in al-Andalus. Called al-Nasir li-Din Allah, he ascended the throne in his early 20s, Abd ar-Rahman was born in Córdoba, the grandson of Abdullah, seventh independent Umayyad emir of Al-Andalus. His parents were Abdullahs son Muhammad and Muzna, a Christian concubine and his paternal grandmother was also a Christian, the royal infanta Onneca Fortúnez, daughter of the captive king Fortún Garcés of Pamplona. Abd ar-Rahman was thus nephew in the half-blood of queen Toda of Navarre, white skin, blue eyes and attractive face, good looking, although somewhat sturdy and stout. His legs were short, to the point that the stirrups of his saddle were mounted just one palm under it, when mounted, he looked tall, but on his feet he was quite short. Muhammad was assassinated by his brother Al-Mutarrif, who had grown jealous of the favour Muhammad had gained in the eyes of their father Abdallah. Al-Mutarrif had accused Muhammad of plotting with the rebel Umar ibn Hafsun, according to some sources, the emir himself was behind Muhammads fall, as well as Al-Mutarrifs death in 895. Abd ar-Rahman spent his youth in his mothers harem, Al-Mutarrifs sister, known as al-Sayyida, was entrusted with his education. She made sure that Abd ar-Rahmans education was conducted with some rigor, Emir Abdallah died at the age of 72. Despite the fact that four of his sons were alive at the time of his death, Abdallah instead chose as his successor his grandson, Abd al-Rahman III. Most importantly Abdallah gave Abd al-Rahman his ring, the symbol of power, Abd al-Rahman succeeded Abdallah the day after his death,16 October 912. Historiographers of the time, such as al-Bayan lMogrib and the Cronica anonima de Abd-ar-Rahman III, at the time, Abd al-Rahman was about 21 or 22 years old. He inherited an emirate on the verge of dissolution, his power extending not far beyond the vicinity of Córdoba, to the north, the Christian Kingdom of Asturias was continuing its program of Reconquista in the Duero valley. To the south in Ifriqiya, the Fatimids had created an independent caliphate that threatened to attract the allegiance of the Muslim population, on the internal front the discontented Muladi families represented a constant danger for the Córdoban emir. The most powerful of the latter was Umar ibn Hafsun, who, from his fortress of Bobastro. From the very early stages of his reign, Abd ar-Rahman showed a firm resolve to quash the rebels of Al-Andalus, consolidate centralized power, within 10 days of taking the throne, he exhibited the head of a rebel leader in Cordoba. From this point on he led expeditions against the northern and southern tribes to maintain control over them. To accomplish his aims he introduced into the court the saqalibah, the saqalibah represented a third ethnic group that could neutralize the endless strife between his subjects of Muslim Arab heritage, and those of Muslim Berber heritage
9.
Taifa
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The caliphate of Cordova, at this time among the richest and most powerful states in Europe, underwent civil war, known as fitna. As a result, it broke into taifas, small rival emirates fighting among themselves, however, the political decline and chaos was not immediately followed by cultural decline. Intense intellectual and literary activity continued in some of the larger taifas, there was a second period when taifas arose, toward the middle of the 12th century, when the Almoravid rulers were in decline. During the heyday of the taifas, in the 11th century and again in the mid 12th century, their emirs competed among themselves, not only militarily and they tried to recruit the most famous poets and artisans. Due to their weakness, taifa princes appealed for North African warriors to come fight Christian kings on two occasions. The Almoravids were invited after the fall of Toledo, and the Almohads after the fall of Lisbon and these warriors did not in fact help the taifa emirs but rather annexed their lands to their own North African empires. Taifas often hired Christian mercenaries to fight neighbouring realms, the most dynamic taifa, which conquered most of its neighbours before the Almoravid invasion, was Seville. Zaragoza was also powerful and expansive, but inhibited by the neighbour Christian states of the Pyrenees. Zaragoza, Toledo, and Badajoz had previously been the military districts of the Caliphate. After the fall of the Caliphate of Cordoba in 1031, about 33 taifas were independent after the civil war, the strongest and largest taifa in this first period were the Taifa of Zaragoza, Taifa of Toledo, Taifa of Badajoz and the Taifa of Seville. The only taifa which conquered most of the neighbours was Taifa of Seville under the Abbadid Dynasty ruler. Al-Tagr Al-Adna This region includes the Centro and Lisboa region of Portugal, Badajoz 1013-1022/1034-1094, 1027-1034,1094 Lisbon 1022-1034, 1034-1093 Al-Garb This region includes the Alentejo and Algarve region of Portugal. Toledo, 1010/1031–1085 Al-Musata This region only includes the provinces of Ciudad Real, Albacete, albarracín, 1011–1104 Alpuente, 1009–1106 Rueda, 1118–30 Tortosa, 1039–1060, 1081/1082–1092 Zaragoza, 1018–1046, 1046–1110 Al-Xarq This region includes the region of Valencia, Murcia and Baleares. Almería, 1011–1091 Denia, 1010/1012–1076 Jérica, 11th century Lorca, 1051–1091 Majorca, purchena, dates and destiny uncertain or unknown Ronda,1145 Santarém. –1147 Segura, 1147–
10.
Taifa of Seville
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The Taifa of Seville was an Arab kingdom which belonged to the Abbadid family. It originated in 1023 and lasted until 1091, in what is today southern Spain, the first king of Seville was Abu al-Qasim. He was qadi of Seville and declared independence of the province of Seville from Caliphate of Córdoba after its downfall in 1031, the second king was his son Abbad II al-Mutadid, the last ruler being Muhammad al-Mutamid. The kingdom reached its largest territorial extent in 1078 with the capture of Murcia in 1078 by poet Abu Bakr ibn Ammar, nevertheless, the Abbad family was still subject to taxation by the King of Castile, to whom they were vassals. The drain of these taxes weakened the power, al-Mutamids decision to stop paying these taxes caused King Alfonso VI to besiege Seville. Al-Mutamid asked help from the Almoravids of Morocco against the Castilian king, the Moroccans established themselves at Algeciras, and after defeating the Christians occupied all the Islamic taifas, included, in 1091, Seville itself. After they ravaged the city, al-Mutamid ordered his sons to give up the fortress in order to save their lives. He was taken prisoner to Aghmat, Morocco, where he was assassinated in 1095, al-Mutadid also was a remarkable poet, having been taught by Ibn Ammar. On the other hand, he had a cruel personality. His son al-Mutamid was even more dedicated to poetry than his father and he was friend of the poet Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn al-Ammâr, who was famous at that time after defeating the Castilian king Alfonso VI in a chess contest. Al-Mutamid was lover of the future queen Itimad and this is supposedly the origin of the current Andalusian flag, currently used as the autonomous region flag, called Arbonaida or Arbondaira. Al-Andalus History of Islam History of Spain Taifa List of Sunni Muslim dynasties Brief history of Seville War upon Iberia
11.
Gibraltar
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Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It has an area of 6.7 km2 and shares its border with Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the landmark of the region. At its foot is a populated city area, home to over 30,000 Gibraltarians. An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession on behalf of the Habsburg claim to the Spanish throne, the territory was subsequently ceded to Great Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Today Gibraltars economy is based largely on tourism, online gambling, financial services, the sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations as Spain asserts a claim to the territory. Gibraltarians overwhelmingly rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum, under the Gibraltar constitution of 2006, Gibraltar governs its own affairs, though some powers, such as defence and foreign relations, remain the responsibility of the British government. The name Gibraltar is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq, earlier, it was known as Mons Calpe, a name of Phoenician origin and one of the Pillars of Hercules. The pronunciation of the name in modern Spanish is, evidence of Neanderthal habitation in Gibraltar between 28,000 and 24,000 BP has been discovered at Gorhams Cave, making Gibraltar possibly the last known holdout of the Neanderthals. Within recorded history, the first inhabitants were the Phoenicians, around 950 BC, subsequently, Gibraltar became known as one of the Pillars of Hercules, after the Greek legend of the creation of the Strait of Gibraltar by Heracles. The Carthaginians and Romans also established semi-permanent settlements, after the collapse of the Roman Empire, Gibraltar came briefly under the control of the Vandals. The area later formed part of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania from 414 AD until the Islamic conquest of Iberia in 711 AD, in 1160, the Almohad Sultan Abd al-Mumin ordered that a permanent settlement, including a castle, be built. It received the name of Medinat al-Fath, on completion of the works in the town, the Sultan crossed the Strait to look at the works and stayed in Gibraltar for two months. The Tower of Homage of the Moorish Castle remains standing today, from 1274 onwards, the town was fought over and captured by the Nasrids of Granada, the Marinids of Morocco and the kings of Castile. In 1462, Gibraltar was finally captured by Juan Alonso de Guzmán, after the conquest, King Henry IV of Castile assumed the additional title of King of Gibraltar, establishing it as part of the comarca of the Campo Llano de Gibraltar. In 1501, Gibraltar passed back to the Spanish Crown, the occupation of the town by Alliance forces caused the exodus of the population to the surrounding area of the Campo de Gibraltar. As the Alliances campaign faltered, the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht was negotiated and ceded control of Gibraltar to Britain to secure Britains withdrawal from the war. Unsuccessful attempts by Spanish monarchs to regain Gibraltar were made with the siege of 1727 and again with the Great Siege of Gibraltar, during the American War of Independence
12.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
13.
Morocco
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Morocco, officially known as the Kingdom of Morocco, is a sovereign country located in the Maghreb region of North Africa. Geographically, Morocco is characterized by a mountainous interior, large tracts of desert. Morocco has a population of over 33.8 million and an area of 446,550 km2 and its capital is Rabat, and the largest city is Casablanca. Other major cities include Marrakesh, Tangier, Tetouan, Salé, Fes, Agadir, Meknes, Oujda, Kenitra, a historically prominent regional power, Morocco has a history of independence not shared by its neighbours. Marinid and Saadi dynasties continued the struggle against foreign domination, the Alaouite dynasty, the current ruling dynasty, seized power in 1666. In 1912 Morocco was divided into French and Spanish protectorates, with a zone in Tangier. Moroccan culture is a blend of Arab, indigenous Berber, Sub-Saharan African, Morocco claims the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara as its Southern Provinces. Morocco annexed the territory in 1975, leading to a war with indigenous forces until a cease-fire in 1991. Peace processes have thus far failed to break the political deadlock, Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco holds vast executive and legislative powers, especially over the military, foreign policy, the king can issue decrees called dahirs which have the force of law. He can also dissolve the parliament after consulting the Prime Minister, Moroccos predominant religion is Islam, and the official languages are Arabic and Tamazight. The Moroccan dialect, referred to as Darija, and French are also widely spoken, Morocco is a member of the Arab League, the Union for the Mediterranean, and the African Union. It has the fifth largest economy of Africa, the full Arabic name al-Mamlakah al-Maghribiyyah translates to Kingdom of the West, although the West in Arabic is الغرب Al-Gharb. The basis of Moroccos English name is Marrakesh, its capital under the Almoravid dynasty, the origin of the name Marrakesh is disputed, but is most likely from the Berber words amur akush or Land of God. The modern Berber name for Marrakesh is Mṛṛakc, in Turkish, Morocco is known as Fas, a name derived from its ancient capital of Fes. The English name Morocco is an anglicisation of the Spanish Marruecos, the area of present-day Morocco has been inhabited since Paleolithic times, sometime between 190,000 and 90,000 BC. During the Upper Paleolithic, the Maghreb was more fertile than it is today, twenty-two thousand years ago, the Aterian was succeeded by the Iberomaurusian culture, which shared similarities with Iberian cultures. Skeletal similarities have been suggested between the Iberomaurusian Mechta-Afalou burials and European Cro-Magnon remains, the Iberomaurusian was succeeded by the Beaker culture in Morocco
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Portugal
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Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, to the west and south it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and to the east and north by Spain. The Portugal–Spain border is 1,214 kilometres long and considered the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union, the republic also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. The territory of modern Portugal has been settled, invaded. The Pre-Celts, Celts, Carthaginians and the Romans were followed by the invasions of the Visigothic, in 711 the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Moors, making Portugal part of Muslim Al Andalus. Portugal was born as result of the Christian Reconquista, and in 1139, Afonso Henriques was proclaimed King of Portugal, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global empire, becoming one of the worlds major economic, political and military powers. Portugal monopolized the trade during this time, and the Portuguese Empire expanded with military campaigns led in Asia. After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic was established, democracy was restored after the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution in 1974. Shortly after, independence was granted to almost all its overseas territories, Portugal has left a profound cultural and architectural influence across the globe and a legacy of over 250 million Portuguese speakers today. Portugal is a country with a high-income advanced economy and a high living standard. It is the 5th most peaceful country in the world, maintaining a unitary semi-presidential republican form of government and it has the 18th highest Social Progress in the world, putting it ahead of other Western European countries like France, Spain and Italy. Portugal is a pioneer when it comes to drug decriminalization, as the nation decriminalized the possession of all drugs for use in 2001. The early history of Portugal is shared with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula located in South Western Europe, the name of Portugal derives from the joined Romano-Celtic name Portus Cale. Other influences include some 5th-century vestiges of Alan settlements, which were found in Alenquer, Coimbra, the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Neanderthals and then by Homo sapiens, who roamed the border-less region of the northern Iberian peninsula. These were subsistence societies that, although they did not establish prosperous settlements, neolithic Portugal experimented with domestication of herding animals, the raising of some cereal crops and fluvial or marine fishing. Chief among these tribes were the Calaicians or Gallaeci of Northern Portugal, the Lusitanians of central Portugal, the Celtici of Alentejo, a few small, semi-permanent, commercial coastal settlements were also founded in the Algarve region by Phoenicians-Carthaginians. Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC, during the last days of Julius Caesar, almost the entire peninsula had been annexed to the Roman Republic. The Carthaginians, Romes adversary in the Punic Wars, were expelled from their coastal colonies and it suffered a severe setback in 150 BC, when a rebellion began in the north
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Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
16.
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
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Rashidun Caliphate
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The Rashidun Caliphate was the Islamic caliphate in the earliest period of Islam, comprising the first five caliphs—the Rightly Guided or Rashidun caliphs. It was founded after Muhammads death in 632 CE, after Muhammads death in 632 CE, the Medinan Ansar debated which of them should succeed him in running the affairs of the Muslims while Muhammads household was busy with his burial. Umar and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah pledged their loyalty to Abu Bakr, with the Ansar, Abu Bakr thus became the first Khalīfatu Rasūli l-Lāh successor of the Messenger of God, or caliph, and embarked on campaigns to propagate Islam. First he would have to subdue the Arabian tribes which had claimed that although they pledged allegiance to Muhammad and accepted Islam, as a caliph, Abu Bakr was not a monarch and never claimed such a title, nor did any of his three successors. Rather, their election and leadership were based upon merit, as for the fifth Caliph, ‘Alis son Al-Hasan, as a son of Fatimah, he was a grandson of Muhammad. Furthermore, according to other hadiths in Sunan Abu Dawood and Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, towards the end times, Abu Bakr, the oldest companion of Muhammad, was caliph for only 2 years before he died. When Muhammad died, Abu Bakr and Umar, his two companions, were in the Saqifah meeting to select his successor while the family of Muhammad was busy with his funeral, controversy among the Muslims emerged about whom to name as Caliph. There was disagreement between the Meccan followers of Muhammad who had emigrated with him in 622 and the Medinans who had become followers, the Ansar, considering themselves being the hosts and loyal companions of Muhammad, nominated Sad bin Ubadah as their candidate for the Caliphate. In the end, however, Muhammads closest friend, Abu Bakr, was named the khalifa or Successor of Muhammad, a new circumstance had formed a new, untried political formation, the caliphate. Troubles emerged soon after Muhammads death, threatening the unity and stability of the new community, Apostasy spread to every tribe in the Arabian Peninsula with the exception of the people in Mecca and Medina, the Banu Thaqif in Taif and the Bani Abdul Qais of Oman. In some cases, entire tribes apostatised, others merely withheld zakat, the alms tax, without formally challenging Islam. Many tribal leaders made claims to prophethood, some made it during the lifetime of Muhammad, the news of his death reached Medina shortly after the death of Muhammad. The apostasy of al-Yamama was led by another supposed prophet, Musaylimah, many tribes claimed that they had submitted to Muhammad and that with Muhammads death, their allegiance was ended. Caliph Abu Bakr insisted that they had not just submitted to a leader, the result of this situation was the Ridda wars. Abu Bakr planned his strategy accordingly and he divided the Muslim army into several corps. The strongest corps, and the force of the Muslims, was the corps of Khalid ibn al-Walid. This corps was used to fight the most powerful of the rebel forces, other corps were given areas of secondary importance in which to bring the less dangerous apostate tribes to submission. After a series of successful campaigns Khalid ibn Walid defeated Musaylimah in the Battle of Yamama, the Campaign on the Apostasy was fought and completed during the eleventh year of the Hijri
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Umayyad Caliphate
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The Umayyad Caliphate, also spelled Omayyad, was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. This caliphate was centred on the Umayyad dynasty, hailing from Mecca, Syria remained the Umayyads main power base thereafter, and Damascus was their capital. The Umayyads continued the Muslim conquests, incorporating the Caucasus, Transoxiana, Sindh, the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula into the Muslim world. At its greatest extent, the Umayyad Caliphate covered 11,100,000 km2 and 62 million people, the Umayyad Caliphate was secular by nature. At the time, the Umayyad taxation and administrative practice were perceived as unjust by some Muslims, Muhammad had stated explicitly during his lifetime that Abrahamic religious groups, should be allowed to practice their own religion, provided that they paid the jizya taxation. The welfare state of both the Muslim and the poor started by Umar ibn al Khattab had also continued, financed by the zakat tax levied only on Muslims. Muawiyas wife Maysum was also a Christian, the relations between the Muslims and the Christians in the state were stable in this time. Prominent positions were held by Christians, some of whom belonged to families that had served in Byzantine governments, the employment of Christians was part of a broader policy of religious assimilation that was necessitated by the presence of large Christian populations in the conquered provinces, as in Syria. This policy also boosted Muawiyas popularity and solidified Syria as his power base, the rivalries between the Arab tribes had caused unrest in the provinces outside Syria, most notably in the Second Muslim Civil War of AD 680–692 and the Berber Revolt of 740–743. During the Second Civil War, leadership of the Umayyad clan shifted from the Sufyanid branch of the family to the Marwanid branch. A branch of the family fled across North Africa to Al-Andalus, where they established the Caliphate of Córdoba, according to tradition, the Umayyad family and Muhammad both descended from a common ancestor, Abd Manaf ibn Qusai, and they originally came from the city of Mecca. Muhammad descended from Abd Manāf via his son Hashim, while the Umayyads descended from Abd Manaf via a different son, Abd-Shams, the two families are therefore considered to be different clans of the same tribe. However Muslim Shia historians suspect that Umayya was a son of Abd Shams so he was not a blood relative of Abd Manaf ibn Qusai. Umayya was later discarded from the noble family, Sunni historians disagree with this and view Shia claims as nothing more than outright polemics due to their hostility to the Umayyad family in general. While the Umayyads and the Hashimites may have had bitterness between the two clans before Muhammad, the rivalry turned into a case of tribal animosity after the Battle of Badr. The battle saw three top leaders of the Umayyad clan killed by Hashimites in a three-on-three melee and this fueled the opposition of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, the grandson of Umayya, to Muhammad and to Islam. Abu Sufyan sought to exterminate the adherents of the new religion by waging another battle with Muslims based in Medina only a year after the Battle of Badr and he did this to avenge the defeat at Badr. The Battle of Uhud is generally believed by scholars to be the first defeat for the Muslims, as they had incurred greater losses than the Meccans
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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
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Ottoman Caliphate
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The Ottoman Caliphate, under the Ottoman dynasty of the Ottoman Empire, was the last Sunni Islamic caliphate of the late medieval and the early modern era. During the period of Ottoman growth, Ottoman rulers claimed caliphal authority since Murad Is conquest of Edirne in 1362, strengthened by the Peace of Westphalia and the Industrial Revolution, European powers regrouped and challenged Ottoman dominance. The Ottoman state defaulted on its loans in 1875-6, part of a financial crisis affecting much of the globe. Sultan Abdul-Hamid II, who ruled 1876–1909, felt that the Empires desperate situation could only be remedied through strong and determined leadership. Taking a hard-line against Western involvement in Ottoman affairs, he emphasized the Empires Islamic character, reasserted his status as the Caliph, refused to join the insurrectionists and had placed themselves under the control of our army, thereby recognizing American sovereignty. The Ottoman Sultan used his position as caliph to order the Sulu Sultan not to resist, collaboration between the American military and Sulu sultanate was due to the Sulu Sultan being persuaded by the Ottoman Sultan. As the Moros have never asked more than that, it is not surprising, if the reader will pause to consider what this means in men and also the millions in money, he will appreciate this wonderful piece of diplomacy, in averting a holy war. The Moro Rebellion then broke out in 1904 with war raging between the Americans and Moro Muslims and atrocities committed against Moro Muslim women and children such as the Moro Crater Massacre, the coup by the three Pashas in 1909 marked the end of his reign. Western-inclined Turkish military officers opposed to Abdul-Hamids rule had steadily organized in the form of secret societies within and outside Turkey. By 1906, the movement enjoyed the support of a significant portion of the army, the Young Turks sought to remodel administration of the Empire along Western lines. Their ideology was nationalist in character, and was a precursor of the movement that would seize control of Turkey following World War I, CUP leaders presented their ideas to the public as a revival of true Islamic principles. Under the leadership of Enver Pasha, a Turkish military officer, a counter-coup launched by soldiers loyal to the Sultan threatened the new government but ultimately failed. Many aspects of this revolt, which started within certain sections of the army in Constantinople, are still yet to be analyzed. Its generally admitted perception of a movement has sometimes been challenged. Abdul-Hamid was deposed on 13 April 1909 and he was replaced by his brother Rashid Effendi, who was proclaimed Sultan Mehmed V on 27 April. In 1911 Italy warred with the Ottomans over Libya, and Turkeys failure to defend these regions demonstrated the weakness of the Ottoman military. In 1912 Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece formed the Balkan League, the ensuing Balkan Wars eliminated what little presence the Ottomans had left in Europe, and only infighting between the Balkan League allies prevented them from advancing into Anatolia. Internally, the Ottomans continued to be troubled by political instability, nationalist uprisings that had plagued the Empire sporadically for the past fifty years intensified
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Fatimid Caliphate
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The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shia Islamic caliphate that spanned a large area of North Africa, from the Red Sea in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west. The dynasty ruled across the Mediterranean coast of Africa and ultimately made Egypt the centre of the caliphate, at its height the caliphate included in addition to Egypt varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz. The Fatimids claimed descent from Fatima bint Muhammad, the daughter of Islamic prophet Muhammad, in 921 the Fatimids established the Tunisian city of Mahdia as their new capital. In 948 they shifted their capital to Al-Mansuriya, near Kairouan in Tunisia, in 969 they conquered Egypt and established Cairo as the capital of their caliphate, Egypt became the political, cultural, and religious centre of their empire. The ruling class belonged to the Ismaili branch of Shiism, as did the leaders of the dynasty, the existence of the caliphate marked the only time the descendants of Ali through Fatimah were united to any degree and the name Fatimid refers to Fatimah. The different term Fatimite is sometimes used to refer to the caliphates subjects, after the initial conquests, the caliphate often allowed a degree of religious tolerance towards non-Ismaili sects of Islam, as well as to Jews, Maltese Christians, and Egyptian Coptic Christians. The Fatimid caliphate was also distinguished by the role of Berbers in its initial establishment and in helping its development, especially on the military. During the late eleventh and twelfth centuries the Fatimid caliphate declined rapidly and he founded the Ayyubid dynasty and incorporated the Fatimid state into the Abbasid Caliphate. The Fatimid regime lasted until the twelfth century, though its leaders made little headway in persuading the Egyptian population. The Fatimid Caliphates religious ideology originated in an Ismaili Shia movement launched in the 9th century in Salamiyah, Syria by their eighth Imam and he claimed descent through Ismail, the seventh Ismaili Imam, from Fatimah and her husband ʻAlī ibn-Abī-Tālib, the first Shīʻa Imām. Thus his name was al-Fātimiyyūn Fatimid, the eighth to tenth Imams, remained hidden and worked for the movement against the periods times rulers. According to legend, Abdullah and his son were fulfilling a prophecy that the mahdi would come from Mesopotamia to Sijilmasa. They hid among the population of Sijilmasa, then an independent emirate, for four years under the countenance of the Midrar rulers, al-Mahdi was supported by dedicated Shiite Abu Abdullah al-Shii, and al-Shii started his preaching after he encountered a group of Muslim North African during his hajj. These men bragged about the country of the Kutama in western Ifriqiya, and the hostility of the Kutama towards, and their independence from. This triggered al-Shii to travel to the region, where he started to preach the Ismaili doctrine, the Berber peasants, who had been oppressed for decades by the corrupt Aghlabid rule, would prove themselves to be a perfect basis for sedition. Instantly, al-Shii began conquering cities in the region, first Mila, then Sétif, Kairouan, and eventually Raqqada, in 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, Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah became the leader of the state and assumed the position of imam. The Fatimids existed during the Islamic Golden Age, the dynasty was founded in 909 by the eleventh Imam ʻAbdullāh al-Mahdī Billah
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Almohad Caliphate
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The Almohad Caliphate was a Moroccan Berber Muslim movement founded in the 12th century. The Almohad movement was founded by Ibn Tumart among the Berber Masmuda tribes of southern Morocco, around 1120, the Almohads first established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains. They succeeded in overthrowing the ruling Almoravid dynasty governing Morocco by 1147 and they then extended their power over all of the Maghreb by 1159. Al-Andalus followed the fate of North Africa and all Islamic Iberia was under Almohad rule by 1172, nearly all of the Moorish dominions in Iberia were lost soon after, with the great Moorish cities of Cordova and Seville falling to the Christians in 1236 and 1248 respectively. The Almohads continued to rule in Africa until the loss of territory through the revolt of tribes and districts enabled the rise of their most effective enemies. The Almohad movement originated with Ibn Tumart, a member of the Masmuda, at the time, Morocco, and much of the rest of North Africa and Spain, was under the rule of the Almoravids, a Sanhaja Berber dynasty. Early in his life, Ibn Tumart went to Spain to pursue his studies, in Baghdad, Ibn Tumart attached himself to the theological school of al-Ashari, and came under the influence of the teacher al-Ghazali. He soon developed his own system, combining the doctrines of various masters, Ibn Tumarts main principle was a strict unitarianism, which denied the independent existence of the attributes of God as being incompatible with His unity, and therefore a polytheistic idea. Ibn Tumart represented a revolt against what he perceived as anthropomorphism in Muslim orthodoxy and his followers would become known as the al-Muwahhidun, meaning those who affirm the unity of God. After his return to the Maghreb c.1117, Ibn Tumart spent some time in various Ifriqiyan cities, preaching and agitating, heading riotous attacks on wine-shops and on other manifestations of laxity. He laid the blame for the latitude on the dynasty of the Almoravids. His antics and fiery preaching led fed-up authorities to him along from town to town. After being expelled from Bejaia, Ibn Tumart set up camp in Mellala, in the outskirts of the city, where he received his first disciples - notably, al-Bashir and Abd al-Mumin. In 1120, Ibn Tumart and his band of followers proceeded to Morocco, stopping first in Fez. He even went so far as to assault the sister of the Almoravid emir Ali ibn Yusuf, in the streets of Fez, because she was going about unveiled, after the manner of Berber women. After the debate, the scholars concluded that Ibn Tumarts views were blasphemous and the man dangerous, but the emir decided merely to expel him from the city. Ibn Tumart took refuge among his own people, the Hargha, in his village of Igiliz. He retreated to a cave, and lived out an ascetic lifestyle, coming out only to preach his program of puritan reform
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Sokoto Caliphate
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The Sokoto Caliphate was an independent Islamic Caliphate, in West Africa. Founded during the jihad of the Fulani War in 1809 by Usman dan Fodio, it was abolished when the British defeated the caliph in 1903, the caliphate was a loose confederation of emirates that recognized the suzerainty of the commander of the faithful, the sultan or caliph. The caliphate brought decades of growth throughout the region. An estimated one to 2.5 million non-Muslim slaves were captured during jihad, however, slavery in the Caliphate was not the more common chattel slavery, slaves provided labor for plantations and were provided an opportunity to become Muslims. Though the British abolished the political authority of the Caliph the title of Sultan was retained, the major power in the region in the 17th and 18th centuries had been the Bornu Empire. However, revolutions and the rise of new powers decreased the power of the Bornu empire and by 1759, its rulers had lost control over the town of Bilma. Vassal cities of the empire gradually became autonomous, and the result by 1780 was an array of different, independent states in the region. The Fall of the Songhai Empire in the 1500s had also freed much of the central Bilad as-Sudan, three of the most significant to develop were the Sultanates of Gobir, Kebbi, and Zamfara, all in present-day Nigeria. These kingdoms engaged in warfare against each other, especially conducting slave raids. The region between the Niger River and Lake Chad was largely populated with the Hausa, the Fulani, much of the Hausa population had settled in the cities throughout the region. The Fulani, in contrast, had remained a pastoral community, herding cattle, goats and sheep. With increasing trade, a number of Fulani settled in towns. Much of the population had converted to Islam in the centuries before, however, nationalist, in the end of the 1700s, an increase in Islamic preaching occurred throughout the Hausa Kingdoms. A number of the preachers were linked in a shared Tariqa of Islamic study, Usman dan Fodio, an Islamic scholar and an urbanized Fulani, had been actively educating and preaching in the city of Gobir with the approval and support of the Hausa leadership of the city. However, when Yunfa, a student of dan Fodio, became the Sultan of Gobir he restricted dan Fodios activities. A large number of peoples left Gobir to join dan Fodio and as a response on February 21,1804, despite some early losses at the Battle of Tsuntua and elsewhere, the forces of dan Fodio began taking over some of the key cities starting in 1805. The war lasted from 1804 until 1808 and the forces of dan Fodio were able to capture the states of Katsina and Daura, the Caliphate was founded in February 1804 at Gudu when Dan-Fodio was proclaimed Amir al-Muminin, defender of the faithful. Usman dan Fodio then declared a number of flag bearers amongst those following him, in 1809, Muhammed Bello, the son of dan Fodio, founded the city of Sokoto, which became the capital of the Sokoto Caliphate
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Qedarite
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The Qedarites, and sometimes referred to as the Kingdom of Qedar, were a largely nomadic, ancient Arab tribal confederation. Described as the most organized of the Northern Arabian tribes, at the peak of its power in the 6th century BCE, the earliest extrabiblical inscriptions discovered by archaeologists that mention the Qedarites are from the Neo-Assyrian Empire. It is unclear when the Qedarites ceased to exist as a separately defined confederation or people, allies with the Nabataeans, it is likely that they were absorbed into the Nabataean state around the 2nd century CE. It has been suggested that the name of the Qedarites is derived from the name for Ishamels second son Qedar, though the tribal name is Arabic, it was first transcribed in Assyrian and Aramaic, as the Arabic alphabet had not yet been developed. In the Mareshah onomasticon, the Qedarites are listed as a group whose name in Aramaic transliteration is QDRYN. The Arabic triliteral root means to measure, compute, estimate, to decree, appoint, ordain. Qidr, a derived from the same root, means cauldron, kettle. As this etymology is a deduction based solely on the prominence of the Qedar among the Šumuil tribes, the Qedarites were an Arab tribal confederation, or alliance of nomadic Arab tribes. According to Philip J. King, theologian and historian, they lived in the northwest Arabian desert and were a force from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE. Geoffrey Bromiley, historical theologist and translator, transcribes their name as Kedar and states they lived in an area southeast of Damascus, 8th century BCE Assyrian inscriptions place the Qedarites as living in the area to the east of the western border of Babylon. Moving further east into areas of the Transjordan and southern Syria in the 7th century BCE, by the 5th century BCE they had spread into the Sinai, Qedarite domination of northwest Arabia involved alliances between the kings of Qedar and the kings of Dedan. Historian Israel Ephal writes that the breadth of Qedarite distribution suggests a federation of tribes with various sub-divisions. Oases in the desert region lived in by the Qedarites - such as Dedan, Tayma, and Dumah - played an important role as sites of settlement, trade. Dumah, a desert city to the west, known later as Dumat Al-Jandal and today as al-Jawf, was the most important of these. The first documented mention of Qedar is from a stele of Tiglath-Pileser III, a king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, to the Assyrians, the Qedarites were known as Qidri or qi-id-ri with other cuneiform inscriptions also using Qadri, Qidarri, Qidari and Qudari. Zabibe is listed among those paying tribute under the queen of the Qidri. Also mentioned in Assyrian royal inscriptions is Zabibes successor Yatie, who sent forces headed by her brother Baasqanu to aid Merodach-Baladan in his bid to hold power in Babylon. Together with an army from Elam, this faced the forces of Sennacherib
25.
Lihyan
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Lihyan or Dadan or Dedan is an Ancient North Arabian kingdom. It was located in northwestern Arabia, and is known for its Ancient North Arabian inscriptions dating to ca. the 6th to 4th centuries BC, the Lihyanites later became the enemies of the Nabataeans. The Romans invaded the Nabataeans and destroyed their kingdom in 106 AD and this encouraged the Lihyanites to establish an independent Kingdom to manage their country. This was headed by the King, one of the royal family. The Arab genealogies consider the Banu Lihyan to be descended from the Ishmaelite Arabs from Ishmael, the descendants of Lihyan founded the Arab kingdom of Lihyan, and presently live in the desert between Mecca and Jeddah. Présence arabe dans le croissant fertile avant lHégire, paris, Éditions Recherche sur les Civilisations. Werner Caskel, Lihyan und Lihyanisch F. V, winnett A Study of the Lihyanite and Thamudic Inscriptions, University of Toronto Press, Oriental Series No.3. Al-Hijaz Madain Saleh Thamudic Safaitic Invasion of Banu Lahyan Nabataean http, //www. mnh. si. edu/epigraphy/e_pre-islamic/lihyanite. htm
26.
Nabataean Kingdom
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The Nabataean Kingdom, also named Nabatea, was a political state of the Arab Nabataeans during classical antiquity. Nabataea remained independent from the 4th century BC until it was annexed by the Roman Empire in AD106, the Nabataeans were one among several nomadic Bedouin tribes that roamed the Arabian Desert and moved with their herds to wherever they could find pasture and water. They became familiar with their area as seasons passed, and they struggled to survive during bad years when seasonal rainfall diminished, although the Nabataeans were initially embedded in Aramaic culture, theories about them having Aramean roots are rejected by modern scholars. Instead, archaeological, religious and linguistic evidence confirm that they are a northern Arabian tribe, the precise origin of the specific tribe of Arab nomads remains uncertain. One hypothesis locates their original homeland in todays Yemen, in the southwest of the Arabian peninsula, another hypothesis argues that they came from the eastern coast of the peninsula. The Nabataeans might have originated there and migrated west between the 6th and 4th centuries BC into northwestern Arabia and much of what is now modern-day Jordan. Nabataeans have been associated with other groups of people. A people called the Nabaiti, who were defeated by the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, were associated by some with the Nabataeans because of the temptation to link their similar names. Another misconception is their identification with the Nebaioth of the Hebrew Bible, unlike the rest of the Arabian tribes, the Nabataeans later emerged as vital players in the region during their times of prosperity. However, their influence then faded, and the Nabataeans were forgotten, although the Nabataeans were literate, they left no lengthy historical texts. However, there are thousands of inscriptions still found today in places where they once lived, including graffiti. The first historical reference to the Nabataeans is by Greek historian Diodorus Siculus who lived around 30 BC and he uses a source by Hieronymus of Cardia, one of Alexander the Greats generals who had a first-hand encounter with the Nabataeans. Diodorus relates how the Nabataeans survive in a desert and how they managed to defeat any enemies by hiding in the desert until the latter would surrender for lack of water. The Nabataeans dug cisterns that were covered and left signs known only to themselves and they never brought their attempts to a successful conclusion. - Diodorus After Alexander the Greats death in 323 BC, his empire split among his generals, during the conflict between Alexanders generals, Antigonus I conquered the Levant and this brought him to the borders of Edom, just north of Petra. This wealth distinguished the Nabataeans from other Arab tribes, Antigonus appointed one of his officers to attack the Nabataean barbarians and take their herds as booty. The three raids either came to nothing or ended up in disaster for the Greeks. In the first raid, the Greeks managed to loot tonnes of spices and silver from Petra in 312 BC, although the year is regarded as the start of Nabataean history
27.
Kindah
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Kindah is the name of a tribal kingdom by the Kindah tribe, the tribes existence dates back to the second century BCE. Their first capital was Qaryat Dhāt Kāhil, today known as Qaryat al-Fāw, the Kindites were polytheistic until the 6th century CE, with evidence of rituals dedicated to the idols Athtar and Kāhil found in their ancient capital in south-central Arabia. Ancient South Arabian inscriptions mention a tribe settling in Najd called kdt, who had a king called rbˁt from ḏw ṯwr-m and they played a major role in the Himyarite-Ḥaḑramite war. Following the Himyarite victory, a branch of Kindah established themselves in the Marib region, the first Classical author to mention Kindah was the Byzantine ambassador Nonnosos, who was sent by the Emperor Justinian I to the area in the middle of the 6th century. He refers to the people in Greek as Khindynoi, and mentions that they and he calls the king of Kindah Kaïsos, the nephew of Arethas. When some of the Kindites returned to Yemen in the 4th century CE, the Ḥimyarites were at the height of their power, having annexed Ḥaḑramawt, the last rival South Arabian kingdom. The Kindites had historic feuds with the tribes of the southern Wadi. From this point on, some Arab historians consider Kindah to have part of the Ḥimyarite tribal federation. In the 5th century CE, the tribes of North Arabia became a threat to the trade line between Yemen and Syria. The Ḥimyarites decided to establish a state that controlled Central. The Kindites gained strength and numbers to play that role, in the 5th and 6th centuries CE the Kindites made the fist real concerted effort to unite all the tribes of Central Arabia through alliances, and focused on wars with the Lakhmids. Al-Ḥārith ibn Amr, the most famous of their kings, finally succeeded in capturing the Lakhmid capital of al-Ḥirah in southern modern day Iraq, later however in about 529, al-Mundhir recaptured the city and put King Ḥārith and about fifty members of the royal family to death. In 525 CE, the Aksumites invaded Ḥimyar, and this Kindites, had an effect with the Kindites who lost the support of the Ḥimyarites. Within three years the Kindite kingdom had split into four groups, Asad, Taghlib, Qays and Kinānah and these small principalities were then overthrown in the 530s and 540s in a series of uprisings of the Adnānī tribes of Najd and Ḥijāz. Among the most famous Kindites is Imru al-Qays, who was not only a son of one of the last Kindite kings, but also the most prominent pre-Islamic Arab poet. It was during Al-Qais time, in 540 CE, that the Lakhmids destroyed all the Kindite settlements in Nejd, the Kindites and most of the Arab tribes switched their alliances to the Lakhmids. The Kindites converted to Judaism following the conversion of the kings in the late 5th century CE. However, Kindite Judaism was weakened by the rise of the Christian Aksumites in Yemen around 525 CE, today, most people of Kindite ancestry live in Yemen, Oman, Arabia, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates
28.
Osroene
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By the 5th century Edessa had become a center of Syriac literature and learning. In 608 the Sāsānid Khosrow II took Osroëne, and in 638 it fell to Muslim conquest of Persia, Osroene, or Edessa, acquired independence from the collapsing Seleucid Empire through a dynasty of the nomadic Nabatean tribe called Orrhoei from 136 BC. The name Osroene derives from Osroes of Orhai, a Nabatean malka who in 120 BC wrested control of this region from the Seleucids in Syria, most of the kings of Osroene are called Abgar or Manu who settled in urban centers. Under its Nabatean dynasties, Osroëne became increasingly influenced by Syriac culture and was a centre of national reaction against Hellenism, Osroene was one of several kingdoms arising from the dissolution of the Seleucid Empire. The kingdom occupied an area on what is now the border between Syria and Turkey and it was in this region that the legend of Abgar of Edessa originated. Osroene was absorbed into the Roman Empire in 114 as a vassal state, after a period under Arsacid rule. There is a legend that Osroene was the first state to have accepted Christianity as state religion. The independence of the state ended in 244 when it was incorporated in the Roman Empire and it was a frontier province, lying close to the Persian empires with which the Romans were repeatedly at war. It was taken and retaken several times, being a province on the frontier it had a Roman legion stationed there, Legio III Parthica and its Castrum may have been Resaena, though there are some doubts on that fact. Following Emperor Diocletians Tetrarchy reforms during his reign 284-305 CE, it was part of the diocese of Oriens, Equites Promoti indigenae, Banasam Equites Promoti indigenae, Sina Iudaeorum. Apatna. as well as, on the roll, apparently auxiliaries, Ala Septima Valeria Praelectorum. Ala Prima Victoriae, Tovia -contra Bintha, Ala Prima nova Diocletiana, inter Thannurin et Horobam. In his writings Pliny refers to the natives of Osroene and Commagene as Arabs, according to Pliny, a nomadic Arab tribe called Orrhoei occupied Edessa about 130 BC. Orrhoei founded a state ruled by their chieftains with the title of kings. This name eventually changed into Osroene, in assimilation to the Parthian name Osroes or Chosroes, the area of the kingdom was perhaps roughly coterminous with that of the Roman province of Osrhoene. The great loop of the Euphrates was a frontier to the north. In the south Batnae was capital of the principality of Anthemusia until its annexation by Rome in A. D.115. Edessa, capital of the ancient kingdom, was a fortress of considerable strength, inevitably Edessa figured prominently on the international stage
29.
Characene
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Characene, also known as Mesene or Meshan, was a kingdom within the Parthian Empire located at the head of the Persian Gulf. Its capital, Charax Spasinou, was an important port for trade between Mesopotamia and India, and also provided facilities for the city of Susa further up the Karun River. Characene was part of the Sassanid Empire and was located primarily within the part of present-day Iraq. At one point Characene included Tylos, the country of Bahrain. Characene was founded around 127 BC under Aspasine, known in classical writings as Hyspaosines, after the Parthian conquest, Characene remained a semi-autonomous country with its own kings. Its tenure as a kingdom ended with the fall of the Parthian Empire. The kings of Characene are known mainly by their coins, consisting mainly of silver tetradrachms with Greek and these coins are dated after the Seleucid era, providing a secure framework for chronological succession. Charax, the capital of Characene, was founded by Alexander the Great, the city was constructed on an artificial mound to protect the site from the floodwaters of the nearby rivers. The new town served as a commercial port for the eastern capital of Babylon. Charax flourished under the Seleucid Empire, controlling the trade in the Persian Gulf and it was also a center for pearl diving. The Roman emperor Trajan visited Charax in 116 AD during his invasion of Parthia, after it was destroyed by a flood, Charax was rebuilt by Seleucid king Antiochus III the Great and was briefly called Antiochia. After the Parthian invasion of Mesopotamia in 141 AD, Charax became independent, the state kept its independence and sometimes joined the Romans in their struggle against the common enemy, the Parthian king. In his Natural History, Pliny the Elder praises the port of Charax, The embankments extend in length a distance of nearly 4½ kilometers and it stood at first at a distance of 1¾ km from the shore, and even had a harbor of its own. A famous Characenian, a man named Isidore, was the author of a treatise on Parthian trade routes, the inhabitants of Palmyra had a permanent trading station in Characene. In 221-22 AD, an ethnic Persian, Ardašēr, who was satrap of Fars, led a revolt against the Parthians, according to later Arab histories, he defeated Characene forces, killed its last ruler, rebuilt the town, and renamed it Astarābād-Ardašīr. The area around Charax that had been the Characene state was known by the Aramaic/Syriac name Maysān. Charax continued, under the name Maysān, with Persian texts making various mention of governors throughout the fifth century, a Nestorian Church was mentioned there in the sixth century. The Charax mint appears to have continued throughout the Sassanid empire and into the Umayyad empire, minting coins as late as AD715
30.
Royal family of Emesa
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The Emesani dynasty or the Sempsigerami of Emesa, sometimes known as the Sampsiceramids were a ruling Roman client dynasty of priest-kings in Emesa, Syria Province. Emesa was famous for the worship of the ancient pagan cult El-Gebal. The city was renowned for El-Gebal’s place of worship the Temple of the Sun, El-Gebal was worshipped in the form of a conical black stone. El-Gebal was the Aramaic name for the Syrian Sun God and means God of the Mountain, a resident of Emesa could be called an Emesan, Emesani or Emesene. Sampsiceramus I was the founding Priest-King of the Emesani dynasty who lived in the 1st century BC and was an Aramean chieftain or Phylarch. The ancestors of Sampsiceramus I were Bedouins who had travelled the Syrian terrain, before deciding to settle in the Orontes Valley, Sampsiceramus I, his family and his ancestors in Syria had lived under the Greek rule of the Seleucid Empire. Sampsiceramus I was a son of Aziz, paternal grandson of Iamblichus, in Emesa, Aramaic and Greek were commonly spoken languages and later Latin was probably commonly spoken in the city. Through the rule and influence of the Seleucid dynasty and Greek settlement in the Seleucid Empire, Emesa was assimilated into the Greek language, hence, Sampsiceramus I and his ancestors became Hellenized through the Greek rule of Syria and the surrounding territories. The father of Sampsiceramus I, Aziz also known as Azizus the Arab, Aziz is associated with the rule of the Seleucid Kings Philip I Philadelphus and his brother Demetrius III Eucaerus. Aziz may had assisted Philip I some years before about 87 BC, Aziz assisted in putting the last Seleucid King Philip II Philoromaeus, the son of Philip I on the throne, by arranging to meet him and putting the Diadem on his head. However Philip II realised that Aziz befriended him to him to gain a portion of a divided Syrian Kingdom, realised the plot. Sampsiceramus I like his father, continued to an ally to the last Seleucid Greek Monarchs of Syria, like his father, Sampsiceramus I was also known as the Phylarch of the Arabs. By this time, the Seleucid Empire had become very weak, around 64 BC, the Roman General and Triumvir, Pompey had reorganised Syria and the surrounding countries into Roman provinces. Pompey had installed client kings in the region, who would become allies to Rome, among those client kings was Sampsiceramus I. The Roman politician Marcus Tullius Cicero, nicknamed Pompey ‘Sampsiceramus’ to make fun of Pompey’s pretensions as an eastern potentate, at the request of Pompey, Sampsiceramus I captured and killed in 64 BC, the second last Seleucid King Antiochus XIII Asiaticus. After the death of Antiochus XIII, Sampsiceramus I was confirmed in power, Client rulers such as Sampsiceramus I could police routes and preserve the integrity of Rome without cost to Roman manpower or to the Roman treasury, they were probably paid for the privilege. Emesa was added to the domains of Sampsiceramus I, but the first Emesani capital was Arethusa, the kingdom of Sampsiceramus I was the first of Rome’s client kingdoms on the desert’s fringes. The kingdom’s boundaries extended from the Beqaa Valley in the West to the border of Palmyra in the East, from Yabrud in the South to Arethusa in the North and Heliopolis
31.
Kingdom of Araba
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The Kingdom of Araba was a 2nd-century, semi-autonomous buffer kingdom between the Roman Empire and the Parthian Empire, mostly under Parthian influence, located in modern Iraq. The city of Hatra was probably founded in the 3rd or 2nd century BCE, arabs were common in Mesopotamia at the time of the Seleucids. In the 1st and 2nd century, Hatra was ruled by a dynasty of Arabian princes and it rose to prominence as the capital of Araba. Hatra would become an important religious center as a result of its position along caravan trade routes. Araba is sometimes identified as the first Arab state to be established outside of Arabia, for others, that distinction is accorded to Al-Hirah, a vassal of the Sassanid Empire
32.
Ghassanids
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After settling in the Levant, the Ghassanids became a client state to the Eastern Roman Empire and fought alongside the Byzantine Empire against the Persian Sassanids and Arab Lakhmids. The lands of the Ghassanids also acted as a buffer zone protecting lands that had been annexed by the Romans against raids by Bedouin tribes, oral tradition holds that the Ghassanids came from the city of Marib in South Arabia and its surrounding cities and towns, modern day Yemen. Tradition holds that their exodus from the area was due to the destruction of the Marib Dam. The Arabic proverb “They were scattered like the people of Saba” refers to that exodus in history. The date of the migration to the Levant is unclear, and he apparently became Chalcedonian at this time. By the year 510, the Ghassanids were no longer Monophysite and they became the leading tribe among the Arab foederati, such as Banu Amela and Banu Judham. After originally settling in the Levant, the Ghassanids became a client state to the Eastern Roman Empire, the Romans found a powerful ally in the Ghassanids who acted as a buffer zone against the Lakhmids. In addition, as kings of their own people, they were also phylarchs, the capital was at Jabiyah in the Golan Heights. Geographically, it occupied much of the eastern Levant, and its authority extended via tribal alliances with other Azdi tribes all the way to the northern Hijaz as far south as Yathrib, the Ghassanids fought alongside the Byzantine Empire against the Persian Sassanids and Arab Lakhmids. The lands of the Ghassanids also continually acted as a buffer zone, among their Arab allies were the Banu Judham and Banu Amela. The Byzantine Empire was focused more on the East and a war with the Persians was always their main concern. The Ghassanids maintained their rule as the guardian of trade routes, in addition to that, al-Harith ibn Jabalah was given the rule over all the Arab allies of the Byzantine Empire. Al-Harith was a Miaphysite Christian, he helped to revive the Syrian Miaphysite Church, later Byzantine mistrust and persecution of such religious unorthodoxy brought down his successors, al-Mundhir and Numan. After the fall of the first kingdom of Ghassan, King Jabalah ibn-al-Aiham established a Government-in-exile in Byzantium. The Ghassanids remained a Byzantine vassal state until its rulers and the eastern Byzantine Empire were overthrown by the Muslims in the 7th century and it is worth noting that a significant percentage of the Muslim armies in the Battle of Mutah were Christian Arabs. Several of those Christian Arab tribes in todays modern Jordan who sided with the Muslim armies were recognized by exempting them from paying jizya, jizya is a form of tax paid by non-Muslims - Muslims paid another form of tax called Zakah. Later those who remained Christian joined Melkite Syriac communities, the remnants of the Ghassanids were dispersed throughout Asia Minor. There are different opinions why Jabalah and his followers didnt convert to Islam, some opinions go along the general idea that the Ghassanids were not interested yet in giving up their status as the lords and nobility of Syria
33.
Lakhmids
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The Lakhmids or Banu Lakhm were an Arab kingdom of southern Iraq with al-Hirah as their capital, from about 300 to 602 CE. They were generally but intermittently the allies and clients of the Sassanian Empire, the Lakhmid Kingdom was founded by the Lakhum tribe that emigrated from Yemen in the second century and ruled by the Banu Lakhm, hence the name given it. The founder of the dynasty was Amr, whose son Imru al-Qais is claimed to have converted to Christianity according to Western authors, Imru al-Qais dreamt of a unified and independent Arab kingdom and, following that dream, he seized many cities in the Arabian Peninsula. He then formed an army and developed the Kingdom as a naval power. In 325, the Persians, led by Shapur II, began a campaign against the Arab kingdoms, when Imru al-Qais realised that a mighty Persian army composed of 60,000 warriors was approaching his kingdom, he asked for the assistance of the Byzantine Empire. Constantius II promised to assist him but was unable to provide that help when it was needed, the Persians advanced toward Hira and a series of vicious battles took place around and in Hira and the surrounding cities. Shapur IIs army defeated the Lakhmid army and captured Hira, in this, the young Shapur acted much more violently. He installed Aws ibn Qallam and retreated his army, with him ended the dream of a united Arab kingdom until after the advent of Islam. When he died he was entombed at al-Nimarah in the Syrian desert, Imru al-Qais funerary inscription is written in an extremely difficult type of script. Recently there has been a revival of interest in the inscription, two years after his death, in the year 330, a revolt took place where Aws ibn Qallam was killed and succeeded by the son of Imru al-Qais, Amr. Thereafter, the Lakhmids main rivals were the Ghassanids, who were vassals of the Sasanians arch-enemy, the Lakhmid kingdom could have been a major centre of the Church of the East, which was nurtured by the Sasanians, as it opposed the Eastern Orthodox Church of the Byzantines. The Lakhmids remained influential throughout the sixth century, at that point, the city was abandoned and its materials were used to reconstruct Kufa, its exhausted twin city. The Battle of Dhi Qar pitted the Arabs of southern Iraq against the Sasanian army around 609. According to the Arab historian Abu ʿUbaidah, Khosrow II was angry with the king, al-Numan III ibn al-Mundhir, for refusing to give him his daughter in marriage, Hira stood just south of what is now the Iraqi city of Kufa. Al-Hirah became the cradle of the Arabic alphabet, poets born in the Kingdom included, al-Nabigha, Laqete ibn Yaamur al-Ayadi, Alqama ibn Abada and Uday ibn Zaid al-Abbadi. Other great poets visited, like Tarafa and Amr ibn Kulthum, the military of the Sasanian Empire, along with al-Mundhir III ibn al-Numan himself and his army, defeated the famed Byzantine general Belisarius at the Battle of Callinicum. After the death of al-Numan III, the Arabs defeated the Persians in the Battle of Dhi Qar, bahram V lived in Hira and was educated at the court of al-Mundhir I, whose support helped him gain the throne after the assassination of his father. The founder and most of the rulers of the kingdom were from the Banu Lakhm dynasty
34.
Emirate of Crete
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The Emirate of Crete was a Muslim state that existed on the Mediterranean island of Crete from the late 820s to the Byzantine reconquest of the island in 961. Although the emirate recognized the suzerainty of the Abbasid Caliphate and maintained ties with Tulunid Egypt. A group of Andalusian exiles conquered Crete in c.824 or in 827/828, the Byzantines launched a campaign that took most of the island back in 842 and 843 under Theoktistos, but the reconquest was not completed and was soon reversed. Later attempts by the Byzantine Empire to recover the island failed, and for the approximately 135 years of its existence, the emirate was one of the major foes of Byzantium. Crete commanded the sea lanes of the Eastern Mediterranean and functioned as a forward base, the emirates internal history is less well-known, but all accounts point to considerable prosperity deriving not only from piracy but also from extensive trade and agriculture. The emirate was brought to an end by Nikephoros Phokas, who launched a campaign against it in 960–961. Crete had been the target of Muslim attacks since the first wave of the Muslim conquests in the mid-7th century and it had suffered a first raid in 654 and again in 674/675, and parts of the island were temporarily occupied during the reign of the Umayyad Caliph al-Walid I. At some point in the half of the reign of Byzantine Emperor Michael II. These exiles had a history of wanderings behind them. Traditionally they have described as the survivors of a failed revolt against the emir al-Hakam I of Córdoba in 818. In the aftermath of its suppression, the citizens of the Córdoban suburb of al-Rabad were exiled en masse, the exact chronology of the Andalusians landing in Crete is uncertain. Following the Muslim sources, it is dated to 827 or 828. Byzantine sources however seem to contradict this, placing their landing soon after the suppression of the revolt of Thomas the Slav. Under the terms of their agreement with Ibn Tahir, the Andalusians, historian Warren Treadgold estimates them at some 12,000 people, of whom about 3,000 would be fighting men. According to Byzantine historians, the Andalusians were already familiar with Crete and they also claim that the Muslim landing was initially intended as a raid, and was transformed into a bid for conquest when Abu Hafs himself set fire to their ships. However, as the Andalusian exiles had brought their families along, the first expedition, under Photeinos, strategos of the Anatolic Theme, and Damian, Count of the Stable, was defeated in open battle, where Damian was killed. The next expedition was sent a year later and comprised 70 ships under the strategos of the Cibyrrhaeots Krateros and it was initially victorious, but the overconfident Byzantines were then routed in a night attack. Krateros managed to flee to Kos, but there he was captured by the Arabs, makrypoulias suggests that these campaigns must have taken place before the Andalusians completed their construction of Chandax, where they transferred the capital from the inland site of Gortyn
35.
Dulafid dynasty
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The Dulafid or Dolafid dynasty was an Arab dynasty that served as governors of Jibal for the Abbasid caliphs in the 9th century. During the weakening of the authority of the caliphs after 861, in the last decade of the 9th century, however, they were defeated by the Abbasids who proceeded to reincorporate Jibal into their empire. The Dulafids belonged to the Arab tribe of Ejl ibn Lojaym, the brothers were imprisoned by the Umayyad authorities, but the exact reason is unclear, either a trade dispute, or, according to al-Baladhuri, support for the Abbasid cause. Idris eventually amassed some wealth, and later moved to the Zagros region, buying land at Mass near Hamadan and his son Isa, however, moved with his sons to Isfahan, where they resorted to highway robbery according to al-Samani. Eventually, sometime in the reign of al-Mahdi, they adopted a more legitimate lifestyle, over time their holdings around Karaj became extensive, and by the 9th century they possessed large tracts of cultivated land, palaces and fortresses. The first Dulafid to become governor of Jibal was Isas son Abu Dulaf al-Qasim and his brother Maqel was also a member of the Abbasid court, serving as a military commander and earning some distinction as a poet. After Abu Dulafs death, his son Abd al-Aziz succeeded him in his position as governor of Jibal, while another brother, Hisham, served the caliphal court as a general in ca. Ahmad had a precarious and ambivalent relationship with the central Abbasid government, a subject of the Saffarid ruler Amr ibn al-Layth since 879, Ahmad sided with the Abbasids after the break between the Saffarids and the Abbasid regent, al-Muwaffaq, in 884/85. Later, the new Abbasid caliph, al-Mutadid charged him with taking Rayy from the renegade general Rafi ibn Harthama, finally, in 896 the Dulafids were deposed outright and a caliphal governor, Isa al-Nushari, was installed at Isfahan. Umars brothers launched a war against the Abbasids for a while. The last Dulafid, Abu Layla al-Harith, was killed accidentally with his own sword in a battle in 897/98, the Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 4, From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs. The New Islamic Dynasties, A Chronological and Genealogical Manual, New York City, Columbia University Press. The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates, The Islamic Near East from the 6th to the 11th Century, the Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume II, C–G
36.
Shirvanshah
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Shirvanshah, also spelled as Shīrwān Shāh or Sharwān Shāh, was the title of the rulers of Shirvan, located in modern Azerbaijan, from the mid-9th century to the early 16th century. The title remained in a family, the Yazidids, an originally Arab but gradually Persianized dynasty. The Shirvanshah established a state in Shirvan. The title Shirvanshah dates back to pre-Islamic times, ibn Khordadbeh mentions the Shirvanshah as one of the local rulers who received their title from the first Sassanid emperor, Ardashir I. From the late 8th century, Shirvan was under the rule of the members of the Arab family of Yazid ibn Mazyad al-Shaybani and his descendants, the Yazidids, would rule Shirvan as independent princes until the 14th century. By origin, the Yazidids were Arabs of the Shayban tribe and belonged to high ranking generals, in the chaos that engulfed the Abbasid Caliphate after the death of the Caliph al-Mutawakkil in 861, the great-grandson of Yazid b. Mazyad Shaybani, Haytham ibn Khalid, declared independent and assume the ancient title of Shirvanshah. The dynasty continuously ruled the area of Shirvan either as an independent state or a state until the Safavid times. A translation of important work into English language was published by the orientalist Vladimir Minorsky in 1958. We can also discern the progressive Persianisation of this originally Arab family, according to Encyclopedia of Islam, After the Shah Yazid b. Ahmad, Arab names give way to Persian ones like Manūčihr, Ḳubādh, Farīdūn, according to Vladimir Minorsky, the most likely explanation of the Iranicisation of this Arab family could be marriage link with the family of the ancient rulers of Shabaran. He further states, The attraction of a Sassanian pedigree proved stronger than the recollection of Shaybani lineage. The coat of arms with two lions could be a reminder of the story of Bahrām Gur in Shahnama where Bahrām had to claim the crown from between two lions to be recognized as the king. In 1120 King David IV of Georgia, entered the neighbouring Shirvan and took the town of Qabala and In 1124, David finally conquered Shirvan. In 1167, George III of Georgia marched to defend his vassal Shah Akhsitan of Shirvan against the Khazar and Kipchak assaults and strengthened the Georgian dominance in the area. Early in the 1190s, the Georgian government began to interfere in the affairs of the Ildenizids and of the Shirvanshahs, aiding rivaling local princes and reducing Shirvan to a tributary state. The Ildenizid atabeg Abu Bakr attempted to stem the Georgian advance, although Abu Bakr was able to resume his reign a year later, the Ildenizids were only barely able to contain further Georgian forays. Shirvanshahs built many defensive castles across all of Shirvan to resist many foreign invasions, however, Shirvan was greatly devastated by Mongol invasion in 1235, from which it was not able to fully recover for the next century
37.
Alid dynasties of northern Iran
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The first and most powerful Zaydi emirate was established in Tabaristan in 864 and lasted until 928. It was interrupted by Samanid occupation in 900, but restored in 914 by another Alid branch. The second period of the Alid emirate was plagued by internal dissensions, local Zaydi rulers survived in Daylam and Gilan until the 16th century. Hasan ibn Zayd, adopted the regnal name al-Dai ilal-Haqq and he was forced to abandon Tabaristan briefly for Daylam in 869 and 874 due to invasions Muhammad ibn Zayd, also adopted the regnal name al-Dai ilal-Haqq. Rule in Tabaristan proper was usurped by Abul-Husayn Ahmad ibn Muhammad for a few months as Muhammad was in Gurgan at the time of Hasans death. Tabaristan was overrun briefly by Rafi ibn Harthama in 891–893, and in 900 Muhammad tried to conquer Khurasan, the Samanids captured Tabaristan, and the Alavids fled to Daylam in exile. Hasan ibn Ali al-Utrush, adopted the regnal name al-Nasir lil-Haqq, a Husaynid from Medina, he converted the Gilites and Daylamites to the Zaydi doctrine, recovered Tabaristan. Abu Muhammad Hasan ibn Qasim, also adopted the regnal name al-Dai ilal-haq, a Hasanid, he was the commander of the army under al-Utrush and named by the latter as his heir. His rule was challenged by al-Utrushs sons and their numerous supporters, regained the throne with the help of Makan ibn Kaki, ruled until he was killed in battle with Asfar ibn Shiruya. Abu l-Husayn Ahmad ibn Hasan, surnamed Nasir, reigned jointly with his brother in 919, thereafter reconciled himself with Abu Muhammad Hasan al-Dai until 923, when he reigned briefly until his death. Abu l-Qasim Jafar ibn Hasan, surnamed Nasir, reigned jointly with his brother in 919 and from 923 until his death. Abu Ali Muhammad ibn Abu l-Husayn Ahmad, surnamed Nasir, son of Ahmad ibn Hasan, he was chosen as emir after Jafar died. Deposed briefly by Makan ibn Kaki, who installed Ismail ibn Jafar as a puppet ruler, Abu Jafar Husayn ibn Abu l-Husayn Ahmad, surnamed Nasir. Brother of Abu Ali Muhammad, he was deposed by Makan ibn Kaki, installed once more as imam briefly by Asfar ibn Shiruya under Samanid suerainty, but later removed to the Samanid court at Bukhara. Tried to recover Tabaristan in 931 with the help of Mardavij, History of Iran Muslim dynasties of Iran List of Shia Muslim dynasties Madelung, W. The Minor Dynasties of Northern Iran, the Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 4, From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs. Madelung, W. ʿALIDS OF ṬABARESTĀN, DAYLAMĀN, AND GĪLĀN
38.
Hamdanid dynasty
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The Hamdanid dynasty was a Shia Muslim Arab dynasty of northern Iraq and Syria. They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib Christian tribe of Mesopotamia, the Hamdanid dynasty was founded by Hamdan ibn Hamdun, when he was appointed governor of Mardin in SE Anatolia by the Abbasid Caliphs in 890. His son Abdallah was in turn appointed governor of Mosul in northern Iraq and his sons were installed as governors in Mosul and Aleppo. The rule of Hassan Nasir al-Dawla, governor of Mosul and Diyar Bakr, was sufficiently tyrannical to cause him to be deposed by his own family and his lineage still ruled in Mosul, a heavy defeat by the Buyids in 979 notwithstanding, until 990. After this, their area of control in northern Iraq was divided between the Uqaylids and the Marwanids, ali Sayf al-Dawla Sword of the State ruled Northern Syria from Aleppo, and became the most important opponent of the Christian Byzantine Empires re-expansion. His court was a centre of culture, thanks to its nurturing of Arabic literature, to stop the Byzantine advance, Aleppo was put under the suzerainty of the Fatimids in Egypt, but in 1003 the Fatimids deposed the Hamdanids anyway. The Hamdanid Dynasty of Mesopotamia and North Syria 254–404/868–1014, histoire de la dynastie des Hamdanides de Jazîra et de Syrie. Freytag, G. W. Geschichte der Dynastien der Hamdaniden in Mosul und Aleppo, freytag, G. W. Geschichte der Dynastien der Hamdaniden in Mosul und Aleppo. The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates, The Islamic Near East from the 6th to the 11th Century
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