- published: 11 May 2008
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- author: classandtaste
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Akkadian Empire
Coordinates: 33°6′N 44°6′E / 33.1°N 44.1°E / 33.1; 44.1
The Akkadian Empire (Akkadian URUAkkad KI, Hittite KUR A.GA.DÈ.KI "land of Akkad"; Biblical Hebrew אַכַּד Akkad) was an empire centered in the city of Akkad (Sumerian: Agade) and its surrounding region in Mesopotamia.
During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed a very intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included widespread bilingualism.Akkadian gradually replaced Sumerian as a spoken language somewhere around the turn of the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BC (the exact dating being a matter of debate).
The Akkadian Empire reached its political peak between the 24th and 22nd centuries BC, following the conquests of its founder Sargon of Akkad (2334–2279 BC). Under Sargon and his successors, Akkadian language was briefly imposed on neighboring conquered states such as Elam. Akkad is sometimes regarded as the first empire in history, though there are earlier Sumerian claimants.[citation needed]
The precise archaeological site of the city of Akkad has not yet been found.[citation needed] The form Agade appears in Sumerian, for example in the Sumerian King List; the later Assyro-Babylonian form Akkadû ("of or belonging to Akkad") was likely derived from this. The etymology and meaning of Akkad (written a.ga.dèKI or URIKI) are unknown. Centuries later, the neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus mentioned in his archaeological records that Ishtar's worship in Agade was later superseded by that of the goddess Anunit, whose shrine was at Sippar—suggesting proximity of Sippar and Agade. Despite numerous searches, the city has never been found. One theory holds that Agade was situated opposite Sippar on the left bank of the Euphrates, and was perhaps the oldest part of the city of Sippar. Another theory is that the ruins of Akkad are to be found beneath modern Baghdad. Reputedly it was destroyed by invading Gutians with the fall of the Akkadian Empire.
wn.com/Akkadian_Empire -
Al Khazneh
Al Khazneh ("The Treasury"; Arabic: الخزنة) is one of the most elaborate buildings in the ancient Jordanian city of Petra. As with most of the other buildings in this ancient town, including the Monastery (Arabic: Ad Deir), this structure was also carved out of a sandstone rock face. It has classical Greek-influenced architecture, and it is a popular tourist attraction.
It is unknown as to why or exactly when Al Khazneh was originally built, probably between 100 BC and AD 200. Its Arabic name Treasury derives from one legend that bandits or pirates hid their loot in a stone urn high on the second level. Significant damage from bullets can be seen on the urn. Local lore attributes this to Bedouins, who are said to have shot at the urn in hopes of breaking it open and spilling out the "treasure" within (the decorative urn, however, is solid sandstone). Another is that it functioned as a treasury of the Egyptian Pharaoh of the time of Moses (Khaznet Far'oun).
Many of the building's architectural details have eroded away during the two thousand years since it was carved and sculpted from the cliff. The sculptures are thought to be those of various mythological figures associated with the afterlife. On top are figures of four eagles that would carry away the souls. The figures on the upper level are dancing Amazons with double-axes. The entrance is flanked by statues of the twins Castor and Pollux who lived partly on Olympus and partly in the underworld.
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Algeria
Coordinates: 28°N 2°E / 28°N 2°E / 28; 2
Algeria
i/ælˈdʒɪəriə/ (Arabic: الجزائر, al-Jazā'ir; Berber: ⴷⵣⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (الجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية, al-Jumhūriyyah al-Jazāʾiriyyah ad-Dīmuqrāṭiyyah ash-Shaʿbiyyah), also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a large country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.
When referring to its land area, Algeria is the largest country in Africa, Maghreb and the Arab World. It is also the largest of the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea; it is also the tenth-largest country in the world. The country is bordered in the northeast by Tunisia, in the east by Libya, in the west by Morocco, in the southwest by Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Mali, in the southeast by Niger, and in the north by the Mediterranean Sea. Its size is almost 2,400,000 square kilometres (926,645 sq mi) with an estimated population of 37.1 million as of 2012. Algeria is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, OPEC and the United Nations. The country is also a founding member of the Arab Maghreb Union.
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Arab League
The Arab League (Arabic: الجامعة العربية al-Jāmiʻa al-ʻArabiyya), officially called the League of Arab States (Arabic: جامعة الدول العربية Jāmiʻat ad-Duwal al-ʻArabiyya), is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia (Middle East). It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan (renamed Jordan in 1949), Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a member on 5 May 1945. The Arab League currently has 22 members (including Syria, whose participation was suspended in November 2011). The main goal of the league is to "draw closer the relations between member States and co-ordinate collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries."
Through institutions such as the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) and the Economic and Social Council of the Arab League's Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU), the Arab League facilitates political, economic, cultural, scientific and social programs designed to promote the interests of the Arab world. It has served as a forum for the member states to coordinate their policy positions, to deliberate on matters of common concern, to settle some Arab disputes, and to limit conflicts such as the 1958 Lebanon crisis. The League has served as a platform for the drafting and conclusion of many landmark documents promoting economic integration. One example is the Joint Arab Economic Action Charter which sets out the principles for economic activities in the region.
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Arabia Petraea
Arabia Petraea, also called Provincia Arabia or simply Arabia, was a frontier province of the Roman Empire beginning in the 2nd century; it consisted of the former Nabataean kingdom in modern Jordan, southern modern Syria, the Sinai Peninsula and northwestern Saudi Arabia. Its capital was Petra. It was bordered on the north by Syria, on the west by Iudaea and Aegyptus.
It was annexed by Trajan, like many other eastern frontier provinces of the Roman Empire, but held onto, unlike Armenia, Mesopotamia and Assyria, well after Trajan's rule – its desert frontier being called the Limes Arabicus. It produced no usurpers and no emperors (Philippus, though Arab, was from Shahbā, a Syrian city added to the province of Arabia at a point between 193 and 225—Philippus was born around 204). As a frontier province, it included a desert populated by the nomadic Saraceni, and bordering the Parthian hinterland.
Though subject to eventual attack and deprivation by the Parthians and Palmyrenes, it had nothing like the constant incursions faced in other areas on the Roman frontier, such as Germany and North Africa, nor the entrenched cultural presence that defined the other, more Hellenized, eastern provinces.
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Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula (Arabic: شبه الجزيرة العربية šibh al-jazīrat al-ʻarabīya or جزيرة العرب Ǧazīrat al 'Arab) is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2 (1,250,000 mi2). The area is an important part of the Asian continent and plays a critical geopolitical role of the Middle East and Arab World due to its vast reserves of oil and natural gas. The peninsula formed as a result of the rifting of the Red Sea between 56-23 million years ago, and is bordered by the Red Sea to the west, the Persian Gulf to the northeast, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast.
The Arabian Peninsula is located in the Asia continent and bounded by (clockwise) the Persian Gulf on the northeast, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman on the east, the Arabian Sea on the southeast and south, the Gulf of Aden on the south, the Bab-el-Mandeb strait on the southwest, and the Red Sea on the southwest and west. The northern portion of the peninsula merges with the Syrian Desert with no clear border line, although the northern boundary of the Arabian Peninsula is generally considered to be the northern borders of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
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Arabian peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula (Arabic: شبه الجزيرة العربية šibh al-jazīrat al-ʻarabīya or جزيرة العرب Ǧazīrat al 'Arab) is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2 (1,250,000 mi2). The area is an important part of the Asian continent and plays a critical geopolitical role of the Middle East and Arab World due to its vast reserves of oil and natural gas. The peninsula formed as a result of the rifting of the Red Sea between 56-23 million years ago, and is bordered by the Red Sea to the west, the Persian Gulf to the northeast, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast.
The Arabian Peninsula is located in the Asia continent and bounded by (clockwise) the Persian Gulf on the northeast, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman on the east, the Arabian Sea on the southeast and south, the Gulf of Aden on the south, the Bab-el-Mandeb strait on the southwest, and the Red Sea on the southwest and west. The northern portion of the peninsula merges with the Syrian Desert with no clear border line, although the northern boundary of the Arabian Peninsula is generally considered to be the northern borders of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
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Argentina
Argentinai/ˌɑrdʒənˈtiːnə/, officially the Argentine Republic (Spanish: República Argentina [reˈpuβlika aɾxenˈtina]), is a country in South America, the continent's second largest by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth-largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations.
Argentina's continental area is between the Andes mountain range in the west and the Atlantic Ocean in the east. It borders Paraguay and Bolivia to the north, Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast, and Chile to the west and south. Argentine claims over Antarctica, as well as overlapping claims made by Chile and the United Kingdom, are suspended by the Antarctic Treaty of 1961. Argentina also claims the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which are administered by the United Kingdom as British Overseas Territories.
A recognised middle power, Argentina is Latin America's third-largest economy, with a "very high" rating on the Human development index. Within Latin America, Argentina has the fifth highest nominal GDP per capita and the highest in purchasing power terms. Analysts have argued that the country has a "foundation for future growth due to its market size, levels of foreign direct investment, and percentage of high-tech exports as share of total manufactured goods", and it is classed by investors as middle emerging economy. Argentina is a founding member of the United Nations, Mercosur, the Union of South American Nations, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the World Bank Group and the World Trade Organization, and is one of the G-15 and G-20 major economies.
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Australia
Australia (
/əˈstreɪljə/), officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent as well as the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east.
For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of roughly 250 language groups. After discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored and an additional five self-governing Crown Colonies were established.
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Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (
i/ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn/ AZ-ər-by-JAHN; Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Respublikası) is the largest country in the Caucasus region located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south. The exclave of Nakhchivan is bounded by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, while having a short borderline with Turkey to the northwest.
Azerbaijan has an ancient and historic cultural heritage. Aside from having been the first Muslim-majority country to have operas, theater and plays, Azerbaijan today is among the Muslim-majority countries where support for secularism and tolerance is the highest. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the first democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world, was established in 1918, but was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1920. Azerbaijan regained independence in 1991. Shortly thereafter, during the Nagorno-Karabakh War, neighboring Armenia occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, its surrounding territories and the enclaves of Karki, Yukhary Askipara, Barkhudarly and Sofulu. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which emerged in Nagorno-Karabakh, continues to be not diplomatically recognized by any nation and the region is still considered a de jure part of Azerbaijan, despite being de facto independent since the end of the war. Azerbaijan has come under repeated international criticism for its record on human rights.
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Babylon
Coordinates: 32°32′11″N 44°25′15″E / 32.53639°N 44.42083°E / 32.53639; 44.42083
Babylon (Arabic: بابل, Babil; Akkadian: Bābili(m);Sumerian logogram: KÁ.DINGIR.RAKI;Hebrew: בָּבֶל, Bābel;Greek: Βαβυλών, Babylōn) was an Akkadian city-state (founded in 1867 BC by an Amorite dynasty) of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babylon Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers (55 mi) south of Baghdad. All that remains of the original ancient famed city of Babylon today is a mound, or tell, of broken mud-brick buildings and debris in the fertile Mesopotamian plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The city itself was built upon the Euphrates, and divided in equal parts along its left and right banks, with steep embankments to contain the river's seasonal floods.
Available historical resources suggest that Babylon was at first a small town which had sprung up by the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. The town flourished and attained independence with the rise of the First Amorite Babylonian Dynasty in 1894 BC. Claiming to be the successor of the ancient Eridu, Babylon eclipsed Nippur as the "holy city" of Mesopotamia around the time an Amorite king named Hammurabi first created the short lived Babylonian Empire; this quickly dissolved upon his death and Babylon spent long periods under Assyrian, Kassite and Elamite domination. Babylon again became the seat of the Neo-Babylonian Empire from 612 to 539 BC which was founded by Chaldeans and whose last king was an Assyrian. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. After the fall of Babylon it came under the rules of the Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian, Roman and Sassanid empires.
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Baghdad
Baghdad (Arabic: بغداد, Baġdād, IPA: [bæɣˈdæːd]) is the capital of Republic of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Province. The population of Baghdad as of 2011 is approximately 7,216,040, making it the largest city in Iraq, the second largest city in the Arab World (after Cairo, Egypt), and the second largest city in Western Asia (after Tehran, Iran).
Located along the Tigris River, the city was founded in the 8th century and became the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. Within a short time of its inception, Baghdad evolved into a significant cultural, commercial, and intellectual center for the Islamic World. This in addition to housing several key academic institutions (e.g. House of Wisdom) garnered the city a worldwide reputation as the "Center of Learning". Throughout the High Middle Ages, Baghdad was considered to be the largest city in the world with an estimated population of 1,200,000 people. The city was largely destroyed at the hands of the Mongol Empire in 1258, resulting in a decline that would linger through many centuries due to frequent plagues and multiple successive empires. With the recognition of Iraq as an independent state (formerly the British Mandate of Mesopotamia) in 1938, Baghdad gradually regained some of its former prominence as a significant center of Arabic culture.
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Bahrain
Bahrain ( pronunciation) (Arabic: البحرين, al-Baḥrayn) (Persian: بحرين, Baḥrain), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain (Arabic: مملكة البحرين, Mamlakat al-Baḥrayn), is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,234,571, including 666,172 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.
Bahrain is an archipelago of 33 islands, the largest being Bahrain Island, at 55 km (34 mi) long by 18 km (11 mi) wide. Saudi Arabia lies to the west and is connected to Bahrain by the King Fahd Causeway. The peninsula of Qatar is to the southeast across the Gulf of Bahrain. The planned Qatar Bahrain Causeway will link Bahrain and Qatar and become the world's longest marine causeway.
Known for its oil and pearls, Bahrain is also home to many large structures, including the Bahrain World Trade Center and the Bahrain Financial Harbour, with a proposal in place to build the 1,022 m (3,353 ft) high Murjan Tower. The Qal'at al-Bahrain (the harbour and capital of the ancient land of Dilmun) was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. The Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix takes place at the Bahrain International Circuit.
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Basra
Basra (Arabic: البصرة; BGN: Al Baṣrah) is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is handled at the port of Umm Qasr.
The city is part of the historic location of Sumer, the home of Sinbad the Sailor, and a proposed location of the Garden of Eden. It also played an important role in early Islamic history, being built in 636 CE, or 14 AH. It is Iraq's second largest and most populous city after Baghdad.
The city was called by many names throughout its history, Basrah being the most common. Although some Chaldean Christians argue that the name has Akkadian roots, other sources claim that the name is derived from the Persian word Bas-rah, which means "where many paths meet". During the pre-Islamic era, the area was known to the Arabs as al-Khariba due to the existence of an ancient city called al-Kharba. After the present city was built, it was called by many names, including "the mother of Iraq", "the reservoir of Arabs", "the prosperous city", and "al-Faiha".
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Battle of Qarqar
The Battle of Qarqar (or Ḳarḳar) was fought in 853 BC when the army of Assyria led by king Shalmaneser III encountered an allied army of twelve kings at Qarqar led by Hadadezer (also called Adad-idr and possibly to be identified with Benhadad II) of Damascus and King Ahab of Israel. This battle, fought during the 854 BC-846 BC Assyrian Conquest of Syria, is notable for having a larger number of combatants than any previous battle, and for being the first instance in which some peoples enter recorded history (such as the Arabs). The battle is recorded on The Kurkh Monolith. The ancient town of Qarqar at which the battle took place has generally been identified with the modern-day archaeological site of Tell Qarqur.
According to an inscription later erected by Shalmaneser, he had started his annual campaign, leaving Nineveh on the 14th day of Aiaru. He crossed both the Tigris and Euphrates without incident, receiving the submission and tribute of several cities along the way, including Aleppo. Once past Aleppo he encountered his first resistance from troops of Iruleni, king of Hamath, whom he defeated; in retribution, he plundered both the palaces and the cities of Iruleni's kingdom. Continuing his march after having sacked Qarqar, he encountered the allied forces near the Orontes River.
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Battle of the Zab
The Battle of the Zab (Arabic: معركة الزاب) took place on the banks of the Great Zab river in what is now Iraq on January 25, 750. It spelled the end of the Umayyad Caliphate and the rise of the Abbasids, a dynasty that would last (under various influences and with varying power) until the 13th century.
In 747 a major rebellion broke out against the Umayyad Caliphate which ruled most of the Middle East from 661 to 750. The principal cause of the rebellion was the increasing gap between the outlying peoples of the Caliphate and the Damascus-based Umayyad government. The Umayyad-appointed governors of the Caliphate's various provinces were corrupt and interested only with personal gains. Additionally, the Umayyads claimed no direct descent from Muhammad, while the Abbasids did (they descended from Muhammad's uncle Abbas)—a fact the latter used greatly during the revolution.
In 750, the army of the Umayyad caliph Marwan II fought a combined force of Persians, Shia and Abbasid soldiers at the Zab. Marwan's army was, on paper at least, far larger and more formidable than that of his opponents, as it contained many veterans of the Ummayyads' earlier campaigns against the Byzantine Empire, but its support for the caliph was only lukewarm. It is fair to say their morale had been damaged — whereas the Abbasid's armies had been increased — by the series of defeats inflicted on the Umayyads earlier in the rebellion.
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Beirut
Coordinates: 33°53′13″N 35°30′47″E / 33.88694°N 35.51306°E / 33.88694; 35.51306
Beirut (Arabic: بيروت Bayrūt, Greek: Βηρυττός, Latin: Berytus, French: Beyrouth, Hebrew: ביירות Beyrut) is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. As there has been no recent population census, the exact population is unknown; estimates in 2007 ranged from slightly less than 1 million to slightly more than 2 million. Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport. The Beirut metropolitan area consists of the city and its suburbs. The first mention of this metropolis is found in the ancient Egyptian Tell el Amarna letters, dating from the 15th century BC. The city has been inhabited continuously since then.
Beirut is Lebanon's seat of government and plays a central role in the Lebanese economy, with many banks and corporations based in its city centre, Hamra Street, Rue Verdun and Ashrafieh. The city is the focal point of the region's cultural life, renowned for its press, theatres, cultural activities and nightlife. After the destructive Lebanese Civil War, Beirut underwent major reconstruction, and the redesigned historic city centre, marina, pubs and nightlife districts have once again made it a tourist attraction. Beirut was named the top place to visit by The New York Times in 2009, and as one of the ten liveliest cities in the world by Lonely Planet in the same year.
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Brazil
Brazili/brəˈzɪl/ (Portuguese: Brasil, IPA: [bɾaˈziw]), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil, listen (help·info)), is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people. It is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas and the largest lusophone country in the world.
Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 km (4,655 mi). It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French overseas region of French Guiana; on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the southwest by Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. Numerous archipelagos form part of Brazilian territory, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz. It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile.
Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until 1815, when it was elevated to the rank of kingdom and the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was formed. The colonial bond was in fact broken in 1808, when the capital of the Portuguese colonial empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, after Napoleon invaded Portugal.Independence was achieved in 1822 with the formation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. The country became a presidential republic in 1889, when a military coup d'état proclaimed the Republic, although the bicameral legislature, now called Congress, dates back to the ratification of the first constitution in 1824. Its current Constitution, formulated in 1988, defines Brazil as a Federal Republic. The Federation is formed by the union of the Federal District, the 26 States, and the 5,564 Municipalities.
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British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1922 the British Empire held sway over about 458 million people, one-fifth of the world's population at the time, and covered more than 33,700,000 km2 (13,012,000 sq mi), almost a quarter of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its political, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was often said that "the sun never sets on the British Empire" because its span across the globe ensured that the sun was always shining on at least one of its numerous territories.
During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, England, France and the Netherlands began to establish colonies and trade networks of their own in the Americas and Asia. A series of wars in the 17th and 18th centuries with the Netherlands and France left England (and then, following union between England and Scotland in 1707, Great Britain) the dominant colonial power in North America and India. The loss of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after a war of independence deprived Britain of some of its oldest and most populous colonies.
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Cairo
Cairo ( /ˈkaɪroʊ/ KYE-roh; Arabic: القاهرة al-Qāhira, literally "The Vanquisher" or "The Conqueror"), is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Located near the Nile Delta, it was founded in the year 969 A.D. making it 1,043 years old. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life. Cairo was founded by the Fatimid dynasty in the 10th century AD.; but the land composing the present-day city was the site of national capitals whose remnants remain visible in parts of Old Cairo. Cairo is also associated with Ancient Egypt due to its proximity to the ancient cities of Memphis, Giza and Fustat which are nearby to the Great Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza.
Egyptians today often refer to Cairo as Maṣr (Arabic: مصر), the Arabic pronunciation of the name for Egypt itself, emphasizing the city's continued role in Egyptian influence. Cairo has the oldest and largest film and music industries in the Arab World, as well as the world's second-oldest institution of higher learning, al-Azhar University. Many international media, businesses, and organizations have regional headquarters in the city, and the Arab League has had its headquarters in Cairo for most of its existence.
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Canada
Canada ( /ˈkænədə/) is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean. Spanning over 9,900,000 km2 (3,800,000 sq mi), Canada is the world's second-largest country by total area, and its common border with the United States is the longest land border in the world.
The land that is now Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French colonial expeditions explored, and later settled, along the region's Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy; the Canada Act 1982 severed the vestiges of legal dependence on Britain.
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Carthage
Carthage (Latin: Carthago or Karthago, Ancient Greek: Καρχηδών Karkhēdōn, Arabic: قرطاج Qarṭāj, Berber: ⴽⴰⵔⵜⴰⵊⴻⵏ Kartajen, Etruscan: *Carθaza, Modern Hebrew: קרתגו Qartágo, from the Phoenician Qart-ḥadašt meaning New City (Aramaic: קרתא חדאתא, Qarta Ḥdatha), implying it was a 'new Tyre', is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC. It is currently a suburb of Tunis, Tunisia, with a population of 20,715 (2004 Census).
The first civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic (a form of the word "Phoenician") or Carthaginian. The city of Carthage is located on the eastern side of Lake Tunis across from the centre of Tunis. According to Greek historians it was founded by Canaanite-speaking Phoenician colonists from Tyre (in modern Lebanon) under the leadership of Elissa who was renamed (Queen Dido) in Virgil's Aeneid. It became a large and rich city and thus a major power in the Mediterranean. The resulting rivalry with Syracuse, Numidia, and Rome was accompanied by several wars with respective invasions of each other's homeland.
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Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia (for endonyms, see below), is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, which contain Europe's highest mountain, Mt. Elbrus. Politically, the Caucasus region is separated between northern and southern parts.
The northern portion of the Caucasus is known as the Ciscaucasus and the southern portion as the Transcaucasus.
The Ciscaucasus contains the larger majority of the Greater Caucasus Mountain range, also known as the Major Caucasus mountains. It includes Southwestern Russia and northern parts of Georgia and Azerbaijan.
The Transcaucasus is bordered on the north by Russia, on the west by the Black Sea and Turkey, on the east by the Caspian Sea, and on the south by Iran. It includes the Caucasus Mountains and surrounding lowlands. All of Armenia, Azerbaijan (excluding the northern parts) and Georgia (excluding the northern parts) are in South Caucasus.
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Chile
Chile (i/ˈtʃɪliː/ or /ˈtʃɪleɪ/), officially the Republic of Chile (Spanish: República de Chile [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈtʃile] (
listen)), is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Along with Ecuador, it is one of two countries in South America that do not border Brazil. Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas and Easter Island. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica, although all claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty.
Chile's distinctive shape—4,300 kilometres (2,700 mi) long and on average 175 kilometres (109 mi) wide—makes it the longest country in the world, north to south, with the fifth lengthiest coastline at over 78 thousand kilometers. The diverse climate of Chile ranges from the world's driest desert in the north—the Atacama—through a Mediterranean climate in the centre, humid subtropical in Easter Island, to an Oceanic climate, including alpine tundra and glaciers in the east and south. The northern desert contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. The relatively small central area dominates in terms of population and agricultural resources, and is the cultural and political center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century when it incorporated its northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands.
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China
China (i/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.
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Comoros
The Comorosi/ˈkɒməroʊz/ (Arabic: جزر القمر, Ǧuzur al-Qumur/Qamar), officially the Union of the Comoros (Comorian: Udzima wa Komori, French: Union des Comores, Arabic: الاتحاد القمري al-Ittiḥād al-Qumurī/Qamarī) is a sovereign, archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar. Other countries near to the Comoros are Tanzania to the northwest and the Seychelles to the northeast. The capital is Moroni on Grande Comore.
At 1,862 km2 (719 sq mi) (excluding Mayotte), the Comoros is the third-smallest African nation by area. The population (excluding Mayotte) is estimated at 798,000. Its name derives from the Arabic word قمر qamar ("moon"). The archipelago is notable for its diverse culture and history, as a nation formed at the crossroads of many civilizations. It is the southernmost member state of the Arab League. Though in the contested island of Mayotte the sole official language is French, the "Union of the Comoros" has three official languages: Comorian, Arabic, and French.
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Dagestan
The Republic of Dagestan ( /dɑːɡɨˈstɑːn/ or /dæɡɨˈstæn/; Russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respublika Dagestan; also spelled Daghestan) is a federal subject (a republic) of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea. Population: 2,910,249 (2010 Census).
Dagestan is ethnically very diverse, with several dozen ethnic groups and subgroups inhabiting the republic, most of which speak either Caucasian, Turkic, or Iranian languages. Largest among these ethnic groups are the Avar, Dargin, Kumyk, Azeri, Lezgin, and Laks. While Russians form only a small proportion (3.6%) of the population, Russian remains the primary official language and the lingua franca among the ethnic groups.
Dagestan has been a scene of low-level Islamic insurgency, occasional outbreaks of separatism, ethnic tensions and terrorism since the 1990s. According to International Crisis Group, the militant Islamist organization Shariat Jamaat is responsible for much of the violence. Much of the tension is rooted in an internal Islamic conflict between traditional Sufi groups advocating secular government and more recently introduced Salafist teachers preaching the implementation of Sharia law in Dagestan.
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Damascus
Damascus (Arabic: دِمَشق / ALA-LC: Dimashq; commonly known in Syria as al-Sham (Arabic: الشام / al-Shām), and as the City of Jasmine (Arabic: مدينة الياسمين / Madīnat al-Yāsmīn), is the capital and the second largest city of Syria. Both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major cultural and religious center of the Levant. The city has an estimated population of 1,711,000 (2009 est.).
Located in southwestern Syria, Damascus is the center of a large metropolitan area of 2.6 million people (2004). Geographically embedded on the eastern foothills of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range 80 kilometres (50 mi) inland from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean on a plateau 680 metres (2,230 ft) above sea-level, Damascus experiences a semi-arid climate due to the rain shadow effect. The Barada River flows through Damascus.
First settled in the 2nd millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad. Damascus saw a political decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. During Ottoman rule, the city decayed completely while maintaining a certain cultural prestige. Today, it is the seat of the central government and all of the government ministries. Damascus was chosen as the 2008 Arab Capital of Culture.
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Derbent
Derbent (Russian: Дербе́нт; Azerbaijani: Dərbənd; Lezgian: Кьвевар; Avar: Дербенд; Lak: Чурул, Churul; Persian: دربند; Judæo-Tat: דארבּאנד/Дэрбэнд/Dərbənd) is a city in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. It is on the Caspian Sea, north of the Azerbaijani border. It is the southernmost city in Russia, and it is the second most important city of Dagestan. Population: 119,961 (2010 Census preliminary results); 101,031 (2002 Census); 78,371 (1989 Census).
Often identified with the legendary Gates of Alexander, Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia (8th century BCE) . Since antiquity the value of the area as the gate to the Caucasus has been understood and Derbent has archaeological structures over 5,000 years old. As a result of this geographic particularity the city developed between two walls, stretching from the mountains to the sea. These fortifications were continuously employed for a millennium and a half, longer than any other extant fortress in the world. Over the years different nations gave the city different names, but all connected to the word 'gate'.
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Desert of Paran
The Desert of Paran or Wilderness of Paran (Hebrew מדבר פארן Midbar Par'an; Douay-Rheims: Pharan), is a Hebrew Bible place in which the Israelites spent part of their 40 years of wandering after the Exodus, and was also a home to Ishmael, and a place of refuge for David.
Then the Israelites set out from the Desert of Sinai and traveled from place to place until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran. (Numbers 10:12)
Associated with Mount Sinai in Egypt, there is some evidence that it may originally have referred to the southern portion of the Sinai Peninsula.
Paran is also said to be the place where Abraham's wife Hagar and his first son Ishmael were taken (Genesis 21):
Then God opened her [Hagar] eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt. At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his forces said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do." (Genesis 21:19-22)
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Djibouti
Djibouti (Arabic: جيبوتي Jībūtī, French: Djibouti, Somali: Jabuuti, Afar: Gabuuti), officially the Republic of Djibouti (Arabic: جمهورية جيبوتي Jumhūriyyat Jībūtī, French: République de Djibouti, Afar: Gabuutih Ummuuno, Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Jabuuti), is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east. Djibouti, which had a population of 818,159 at the 2009 census, is one of the least populous countries in Africa.Islam is the largest religion in the country, practiced by 94% of the population. The land was known as Obock and French Somaliland (Côte française des Somalis) in the 19th century; in 1967, it changed its name to Afars and Issas after new treaties with France. The territory was declared an independent nation in 1977 and changed its name to the "Republic of Djibouti" after its principal city. Djibouti joined the United Nations on September 20, 1977. While Djibouti is an independent sovereign state, it maintains deep French relations, and through various military and economic agreements with France, it receives continued security and economic assistance.
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Ebla
Ebla (Arabic: إبلا, modern Tell Mardikh, Idlib Governorate, Syria) was an ancient city about 55 km (34 mi) southwest of Aleppo. It was an important city-state in two periods, first in the late third millennium BC, then again between 1800 and 1650 BC.
The site is most famous for the Ebla tablets, an archive of about 20,000 cuneiform tablets found there, dated from around 2250 BC, written in Sumerian script to record the Eblaite language — a previously unknown language that is now the earliest attested Semitic language after the closely related Akkadian.
In 1964, Italian archaeologists from the University of Rome La Sapienza under the direction of Paolo Matthiae began excavating at Tell Mardikh. In 1968, they recovered a statue dedicated to the goddess Ishtar bearing the name of Ibbit-Lim, a king of Ebla. That identified the city, long known from Egyptian and Akkadian inscriptions. In the next decade the team discovered a palace dating ca. 2500 – 2000 BC. About 2,500 well-preserved cuneiform tablets were discovered in the ruins. About 80% of the tablets are written using the usual Sumerian combination of logograms and phonetic signs, while the others exhibited an innovative, purely phonetic representation using Sumerian cuneiform of a previously unknown Semitic language, which was called Eblaite. Bilingual Sumerian/Eblaite vocabulary lists were found among the tablets, allowing them to be translated. Giovanni Pettinato and Mitchell Dahood believed the Eblaite language was West Semitic, however I. J. Gelb and others believed it was an East Semitic dialect, closer to the Akkadian language. Now it is commonly accepted that Eblaite is part of the East Semitic branch of Semitic, and very close to the Akkadian language.
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Ecuador
Ecuador (i/ˈɛkwədɔr/ E-kwə-dawr), officially the Republic of Ecuador (Spanish: República del Ecuador [reˈpuβlika ðel ekwaˈðor], which literally translates to the "Republic of the Equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, (along with Chile), that do not have a border with Brazil. The country also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) west of the mainland.
The main spoken language in Ecuador is Spanish. Ecuador straddles the equator, from which it takes its name, and has an area of 275,830 km2 (106,500 sq mi). Its capital city is Quito, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the 1970s for having the best preserved and least altered historic center in Latin America. The country's largest city is Guayaquil. The historic center of Cuenca, the third largest city in the country, was also declared a World Heritage Site in 1999, for being an outstanding example of a planned inland Spanish style colonial city in the Americas. Ecuador is also home—despite its size—to a great variety of species, many of them endemic, like those of the Galápagos islands. This species diversity makes Ecuador one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world. The new constitution of 2008 is the first in the world to recognize legally enforceable Rights of Nature, or ecosystem rights.
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Egypt
Egypti/ˈiːdʒɪpt/ (Arabic: مصر, Miṣr, Egyptian Arabic: [mɑsˤɾ] ; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, Kīmi ; Sahidic Coptic: ⲕⲏⲙⲉ, Kēme), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: جمهوريّة مصر العربيّة (help·info), is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Covering an area of about 1,010,000 square kilometers (390,000 sq mi), Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. The great majority of its over 81 million people live near the banks of the Nile River, in an area of about 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 sq mi), where the only arable land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.
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Eritrea
Eritrea (
/ˌɛrɨˈtreɪ.ə/ or /ˌɛrɨˈtriːə/;Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritrīyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea is the Italian form of the Greek name Ἐρυθραίᾱ (Erythraíā), meaning "red [land]". The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeast and east of the country has an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands are part of Eritrea. Eritrea's size is approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi) with an estimated population of 6 million.
Together with northern Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and the Red Sea coast of Sudan, Eritrea is considered the most likely location of the land known to the ancient Egyptians as Punt (or "Ta Netjeru", meaning "God's Land"), whose first mention dates to the 25th century BC. The ancient Puntites were a nation of people that had close relations with Pharaonic Egypt during the times of Pharaoh Sahure and Queen Hatshepsut.
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Ethiopia
Ethiopia ( /ˌiːθiˈoʊpiə/) (Ge'ez: ኢትዮጵያ ʾĪtyōṗṗyā), officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With its capital at Addis Ababa, it is also the most populous landlocked nation in the world.
Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history, and the Ethiopian dynasty traces its roots to the 2nd century BC. Ethiopia is also one of the oldest sites of human existence known to scientists today, having yielded some of humanity's oldest traces. It may be the region from which Homo sapiens first set out for the Middle East and points beyond. Alongside Rome, Persia, China and India, the Ethiopian Aksum Empire was considered one of the great world powers of the 3rd century. During the Scramble for Africa, Ethiopia was the only African country beside Liberia that retained its sovereignty as a recognized independent country, and was one of only four African members of the League of Nations. After a brief period of Italian occupation, Ethiopia became a charter member of the United Nations. When other African nations received their independence following World War II, many of them adopted the colors of Ethiopia's flag, and Addis Ababa became the location of several international organizations focused on Africa.
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France
France (Englishi/ˈfræns/ FRANSS or /ˈfrɑːns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fʁɑ̃s] ( listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km2 / 4,383,000 sq mi).
Over the past 500 years, France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America and Southeast Asia; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest colonial empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
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Gaza
Gaza (Arabic: غزة Ġazzah, Arabic pronunciation: [ˈɣazːa]), also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories. Inhabited since at least the 15th-century BCE, Gaza has been dominated by several different peoples and empires throughout its history. The Philistines made it a part of their pentapolis after the Ancient Egyptians had ruled it for nearly 350 years. Under the Romans and later the Byzantines, Gaza experienced relative peace and its port flourished. In 635 CE, it became the first city in Palestine to be conquered by the Rashidun army and quickly developed into a centre of Islamic law. However, by the time the Crusaders invaded the city in the late 11th-century, it was in ruins. In later centuries, Gaza experienced several hardships—from Mongol raids to floods and locusts, reducing it to a village by the 16th-century when it was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire. During the first half of Ottoman rule, the Ridwan dynasty controlled Gaza and under them the city went through an age of great commerce and peace.
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Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (Arabic: قطاع غزة Qiṭāʿ Ġazzah, IPA: [qitˤaːʕ ɣazza]) lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, within the Middle East (at 31 25 N, 34 20 E). The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest, 11km long, and Israel on the east and north, 51km long. It is about 41 kilometres (25 mi) long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres (4–7.5 mi) wide, with a total area of 360 square kilometres (140 sq mi). It has a 40 km coastline onto the Mediterranean Sea, but has no maritime claims due to Israeli administration. The territory takes its name from Gaza-city, its main city and administrative center.
The Gaza Strip has a temperate climate, with mild winters, and dry and hot summers, subject to drought. The terrain is flat or rolling, with dunes near the coast. The highest point is Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda), at 105 metres above sea level. Main resources are arable land (about a third of the strip is irrigated), and recently discovered natural gas. Environmental issues include desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage treatment; water-borne disease; soil degradation; and depletion and contamination of underground water resources.
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Germany
Germany (i/ˈdʒɜrməni/), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant] ( listen)), is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With 81.8 million inhabitants, it is the most populous member state and the largest economy in the European Union. It is one of the major political powers of the European continent and a technological leader in many fields.
A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, was documented before AD 100. During the Migration Period, the Germanic tribes expanded southward, and established successor kingdoms throughout much of Europe. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation while southern and western parts remained dominated by Roman Catholic denominations, with the two factions clashing in the Thirty Years' War, marking the beginning of the Catholic–Protestant divide that has characterized German society ever since. Occupied during the Napoleonic Wars, the rise of Pan-Germanism inside the German Confederation resulted in the unification of most of the German states into the German Empire in 1871 which was Prussian dominated. After the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the subsequent military surrender in World War I, the Empire was replaced by the Weimar Republic in 1918, and partitioned in the Treaty of Versailles. Amidst the Great Depression, the Third Reich was proclaimed in 1933. The latter period was marked by Fascism and World War II. After 1945, Germany was divided by allied occupation, and evolved into two states, East Germany and West Germany. In 1990 Germany was reunified.
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Herodian kingdom
The Herodian kingdom or Herodian Judea was a client kingdom of the Roman Empire from 37 BCE, when Herod the Great was appointed "King of the Jews" by the Roman Senate. When Herod died in 4 BCE, the kingdom was divided among his four sons as a tetrarchy.
The first intervention of Rome in the region dates from 63 BCE, following the end of the Third Mithridatic War, when Rome created the province of Syria. After the defeat of Mithridates VI of Pontus, Pompey (Pompey the Great) remained there to secure the area.
The region at the time was not a peaceful place. The Hasmonean Queen of Judea, Salome Alexandra, had recently died and her sons, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, turned against each other in a civil war. In 63 BCE, Aristobulus was besieged in Jerusalem by his brother's armies. He sent an envoy to Marcus Aemilius Scaurus, Pompey's representative in the area. Aristobulus offered a massive bribe to be rescued, which Pompey promptly accepted. Afterwards, Aristobulus accused Scaurus of extortion. Since Scaurus was Pompey's brother in law and protégée, the general retaliated by putting Hyrcanus in charge of the kingdom as Prince and High Priest.
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Iran
Coordinates: 32°N 53°E / 32°N 53°E / 32; 53
Iran (i/ɪˈrɑːn/ or /aɪˈræn/;Persian: ایران [ʔiˈɾɒn] ( listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ایران Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān), is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran", which in Persian means "Land of the Aryans", has been in use natively since the Sassanian era. It came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia ( /ˈpɜrʒə/ or /ˈpɜrʃə/). Both "Persia" and "Iran" are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, "Iran" is the name used officially in political contexts.
The 18th-largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), Iran has a population of around 79 million. It is a country of particular geopolitical significance owing to its location in the Middle East and central Eurasia. Iran is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. As Iran is a littoral state of the Caspian Sea, which is an inland sea, Kazakhstan and Russia are also Iran's direct neighbors to the north. Iran is bordered on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by Iraq and on the northwest by Turkey. Tehran is the capital, the country's largest city and the political, cultural, commercial and industrial center of the nation. Iran is a regional power, and holds an important position in international energy security and world economy as a result of its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas. Iran has the second largest proven natural gas reserves in the world and the fourth largest proven petroleum reserves.
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Iraq
Iraq (/ɪˈræk/ ori/ɪˈrɑːk/; Arabic: العراق al-‘Irāq); officially the Republic of Iraq (Arabic: جمهورية العراق (help·info) Jumhūriyyat al-‘Irāq), is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.
Iraq borders Syria to the northwest, Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, Jordan to the southwest and Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south. Iraq has a narrow section of coastline measuring 58 km (36 mi) on the northern Persian Gulf. The capital city, Baghdad is in the center-east of the country.
Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run through the center of Iraq, flowing from northwest to southeast. These provide Iraq with agriculturally capable land and contrast with the steppe and desert landscape that covers most of Western Asia.
Historically, Iraq was the center of the Abbasid Arabic Islamic Empire. Iraq has been known to the west by the Greek toponym 'Mesopotamia' (Land between the rivers) and has been home to continuous successive civilizations since the 6th millennium BC. The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is often referred to as the cradle of civilization and the birthplace of writing, law and the wheel. At different periods in its history, Iraq was the center of the indigenous Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Abbasid empires. It was also part of the Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid, and Ottoman empires, and under British control as a League of Nations mandate.
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Israel
Coordinates: 31°N 35°E / 31°N 35°E / 31; 35
Israel, officially the State of Israel ( /ˈɪzriːəl/ or /ˈɪzreɪəl/; Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Medīnat Yisrā'el, IPA: [me̞diˈnät jisʁäˈʔe̞l] ( listen); Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل, Dawlat Isrāʼīl, IPA: [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a parliamentary republic in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, Egypt and the Gaza Strip on the southwest, and the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea to the south, and it contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel is defined as a Jewish and Democratic State in its Basic Laws and is the world's only Jewish-majority state.
Following the adoption of a resolution by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 29 November 1947 recommending the adoption and implementation of the United Nations plan to partition Palestine, on 14 May 1948 David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel, a state independent from the British Mandate for Palestine. Neighboring Arab states invaded the next day in support of the Palestinian Arabs. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Portions of these territories, including east Jerusalem, have been annexed by Israel, but the border with the neighboring West Bank has not yet been permanently defined.[neutrality is disputed] Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have so far not resulted in peace.
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Italy
Italyi/ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea–and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.
Rome, the capital of Italy, was for centuries a political and religious centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire and site of the Holy See. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Byzantines and later, the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of Maritime republics and the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.
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Jordan
Jordan ( /ˈdʒɔr.dən/;Arabic: اَلأُرْدُنّ, Al-'Urdunn), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Arabic: اَلمَمْلَكَة اَلأُرْدُنِيَّة اَلهَاشِمِيَّة), Al-Mamlakah Al-Urdaniyyah Al-Hashimiyyah) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing control of the Dead Sea with the latter. Jordan's only port is at its south-western tip, at the Gulf of Aqaba, which is shared with Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Over half of Jordan is covered by the Arabian Desert. However, the western part of Jordan is arable land and forests. Jordan is part of the Fertile Crescent. The capital city is Amman. According to the CIA World Factbook, Jordan has the second highest life expectancy in the Middle East, after Israel. The average life expectancy is one position behind the United Kingdom, although the age remains exactly the same (80.05 years).
The precursor to modern Jordan was founded in 1921 as the Hashemite Emirate, and it was recognized by the League of Nations as a state under the British mandate in 1922 known as The Emirate of Transjordan. In 1946, Jordan became an independent sovereign state officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. After capturing the West Bank area of Cisjordan during the 1948–49 war with Israel, Abdullah I took the title King of Jordan and Palestine, and he officially changed the country's name to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in April 1949.
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Kaaba
The Kaaba (or Qaaba; Arabic: الكعبة al-Kaʿbah IPA: [ʔælˈkæʕbɐ]; English: The Cube) is a cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. The Quran states that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic), and his son Ishmael (Ismaeel in Arabic), after the latter had settled in Arabia. The building has a mosque built around it, the Masjid al-Haram. All Muslims around the world face the Kaaba during prayers, no matter where they are. This is called facing the Qiblah.
One of the Five Pillars of Islam requires every Muslim to perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in his or her lifetime if able to do so. Multiple parts of the Hajj require pilgrims to walk seven times around the Kaaba in a counter-clockwise direction (as viewed from above). This circumambulation, the Tawaf, is also performed by pilgrims during the Umrah (lesser pilgrimage). However, the most dramatic times are during the Hajj, when about 6 million pilgrims gather to circle the building on the same day.
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Kairouan
Kairouan (Arabic: القيروان Al Qairawān), also known as Kirwan or al-Qayrawan, is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. Referred to as the Islamic Cultural Capital, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was founded by the nomads of Tunisia around 200 to 250 BC and soon Romans occupied it and built a huge Claussium which is still standing and is one of the most complete of its kind around the Mediterranean sea, The word Qir is in fact Persian and means Bitumen which at those days used to be a center for import and export of this material for ship making and has nothing to do with Caravan. Arabs later on demolished the central temple and made a mosque instead. Some of the stones are still visible with Roman alphabets hacked on them. Arabs around 670. In the period[citation needed] of Caliph Mu'awiya (reigned 661-680), it became an important centre for Islamic and Quranic learning, and thus attracting a large number of Muslims from various parts of the world, next only to Mecca and Medina. The holy Mosque of Uqba is situated in the city. It is considered by many Muslims to be Islam's fourth holiest city.
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Khuzestan Province
Khuzestan Province (Persian: استان خوزستان, Ostān-e Khūzestān is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq's Basra Province and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahwaz and covers an area of 63,238 km². Other major cities include Behbahan, Abadan, Andimeshk, Khorramshahr, Bandar Imam, Dezful, Shushtar, Omidiyeh, Izeh, Baq-e-Malek, Mah Shahr, Dasht-i Mishan/Dasht-e-Azadegan, Ramhormoz, Shadegan, Susa, Masjed Soleiman, Minoo Island and Hoveizeh.
Historically, Khuzestan is what historians refer to as ancient Elam, whose capital was in Susa. The Achaemenid Old Persian term for Elam was Hujiyā, which is present in the modern name. Khuzestan, meaning "the Land of the Khuz" refers to the original inhabitants of this province, the "Susian" people (Old Persian "Huza" or Huja (as in the inscription at the tomb of King Darius I at Naqsh-e Rostam, (the Shushan of the Hebrew sources) where it is recorded as inscription as "Hauja" or "Huja"). This is in conformity with the same evolutionary process where the Old Persian changed the name Sindh into Hind/Hindustan. In Middle Persian the term evolves into "Khuz" and "Kuzi" The pre-Islamic Partho-Sassanid Inscriptions gives the name of the province as Khwuzestan. As the most ancient Iranian province, it is often referred to as the "birthplace of the nation," as this is where the history of the Persian Empire begins.
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Kufa
Kufa (Arabic,الكوفة al-Kūfah) is a city in Iraq, about 170 kilometres (110 mi) south of Baghdad, and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000.
Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya and Najaf, Kufa is one of five Iraqi cities that are of great importance to Shia Muslims. The city was the final capital of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, and was founded within the first hundred years of the 622 Hijra[citation needed].
The city contains the Great Mosque of Kufa, one of the earliest mosques in Islam, built in the 7th century.
File:Kufa masjid.pdf
See Ancient Mesopotamia.
Ruled by Sassanian Empire as part of Suristan province. See Middle Bih-Kavad.
The Arabs, led by Caliph ʻUmar ibn Khattāb, conquer Iraq and begin ruling Suristan around 637.
ʻUmar ibn Khattāb became the second caliph in 634. After the Arab victory against the East Roman Empire at Battle of Yarmouk in 636, Kūfah was founded and given its name in 637–638 CE, about the same time as Basra. The Companion of the Prophet Saʻd ibn Abī Waqqas founded it as an encampment adjacent to the Lakhmid Arab city of al-Hīrah, and incorporated it as a city of seven divisions. The city was alternately known to non-Arabs as Hīrah and Aqulah before the consolidations of ʻAbdu l-Mālik in 691.
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Kuwait
Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwaiti/kuːˈweɪt/ (Arabic: دولة الكويت, Dawlat al-Kuwayt) is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the Arabic أكوات ākwāt, the plural of كوت kūt, meaning a fortress built near water. The country covers an area of 17,820 square kilometers (6,880 sq mi) and has a population of about 3.5 million.
Historically, the region was the site of Characene, a major Parthian port for trade between Mesopotamia and India. The Bani Utbah tribe were the first permanent Arab settlers in the region, and laid the foundation of the modern emirate. By the 19th century, Kuwait came under the influence of the Ottoman Empire, and after World War I, it emerged as an independent sheikhdom under the protection of the British Empire. Kuwait's large oil fields were discovered in the late 1930s.
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Lebanon
Lebanon (i/ˈlɛbənɒn/ or /ˈlɛbənən/; Arabic: لبنان Libnān or Lubnān, Lebanese Arabic: [lɪbˈneːn]), officially the Lebanese Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية اللبنانية al-Jumhūrīyah al-Libnānīyah, Lebanese Arabic: [elˈʒʊmhuːɾɪjje l.ˈlɪbneːnɪjje]), is a country in the East Mediterranean. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south. Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland has dictated its rich history, and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity.
The earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than 7,000 years—predating recorded history. Lebanon was the home of the Phoenicians, a maritime culture that flourished for nearly 2,500 years (3000–539 BC). Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, the five provinces that comprise modern Lebanon were mandated to France. The French expanded the borders of Mount Lebanon, which was mostly populated by Maronite Catholics and Druze, to include more Muslims. Lebanon gained independence in 1943, and established a unique political system, known as confessionalism, a power-sharing mechanism based on religious communities – Bechara El Khoury who became independent Lebanon's first President and Riad El-Solh, who became Lebanon's first prime minister, are considered the founders of the modern Republic of Lebanon and are national heroes for having led the country's independence. French troops withdrew from Lebanon in 1946.
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Libya
Libya (Arabic: ليبيا Lībyā), Berber: ⵍⵉⴱⵢⴰ) is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west.
With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometres (700,000 sq mi), Libya is the third largest country in Africa by area, and the 17th largest in the world. The largest city, Tripoli, is home to 1.7 million of Libya's 6.4 million people. The three traditional parts of the country are Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica.
In 2009 Libya had the highest HDI in Africa and the fourth highest GDP (PPP) per capita in Africa, behind Seychelles, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Libya has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves of any country in the world and the 17th-highest petroleum production.
As a result of the Libyan civil war, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, which had at that time been in existence for 34 years, collapsed and Libya entered a period of governance by a transitional administration called the National Transitional Council. The NTC has stated its intention to oversee the first phase of a transition to constitutional democracy, after which it claims it will dissolve in favor of a representative legislature.
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Maharashtra
Maharashtra /mɑːhəˈrɑːʃtrə/ (Marathi: महाराष्ट् mahārāṣṭra [məharaːʂʈrə] ( listen)) is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India. Maharashtra is the richest state in India, contributing 15% of the country's industrial output and 13.3% of its GDP (2006–2007 figures).
Maharashtra is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, Gujarat and the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli to the northwest, Madhya Pradesh to the northeast, Chhattisgarh to the east, Karnataka to the south, Andhra Pradesh to the southeast, and Goa to the southwest. The state covers an area of 307,731 km2 (118,816 sq mi) or 9.84% of the total geographical area of India. Mumbai, the capital city of the state, is India's largest city and the financial capital of the nation. Nagpur is the second capital of the state. Marathi is the official language.
Maharashtra is the world's second most populous first-level administrative country sub-division. Were it a nation in its own right, Maharashtra would be the world's tenth most populous country ahead of Mexico.
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Malta
Maltai/ˈmɒltə/, officially known as the Republic of Malta (Maltese: Repubblika ta' Malta), is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, 80 km (50 mi) south of Sicily, 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia and 333 km (207 mi) north of Libya, with Gibraltar 1,755 km (1,091 mi) to the west and Alexandria 1,508 km (937 mi) to the east. Malta covers just over 316 km2 (122 sq mi) in land area, making it one of the world's smallest states. It is also one of the most densely populated countries worldwide. The de facto capital city of Malta is Valletta; the largest town, Birkirkara. The main island comprises many towns, which together form one Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) with a population of 368,250 according to Eurostat. The country has two official languages, Maltese (constitutionally the national language) and English.
Throughout history, Malta's location has given it great strategic importance, and a succession of powers including the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, Habsburg Spain, Knights of St John, French and the British ruled the islands. Malta gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1964 and became a republic in 1974, whilst retaining membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. Malta was admitted to the United Nations in 1964 and to the European Union in 2004. Malta is also party to the Schengen Agreement and in 2008 it became part of the eurozone.
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Mauritania
Mauritaniai/mɔrɪˈteɪniə/ (Arabic: موريتانيا Mūrītānyā; Berber: Muritanya / Agawej; Wolof: Gànnaar; Soninke: Murutaane; Pulaar: Moritani; French: Mauritanie), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in West Africa and in the Maghreb. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara (controlled by Morocco) in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest. It is named after the ancient Berber Kingdom of Mauretania, which later became a province of the Roman Empire, even though the modern Mauritania covers a territory far to the south of the old Berber kingdom that had no relation with it. The capital and largest city is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast.
The government of Mauritania was overthrown on 6 August 2008, in a military coup d'état led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. On 16 April 2009, General Aziz resigned from the military to run for president in the 19 July elections, which he won. In Mauritania about 20% of the population live on less than US$1.25 per day.
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Mecca
Mecca ( /ˈmɛkə/; Arabic: مكة, Makkah, pronounced [ˈmækːɐ]) is a city in the Hejaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located 70 km (43 mi) inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of 277 m (909 ft) above sea level. Its resident population in 2012 was 2 million, although visitors more than triple this number every year during Hajj period held in the twelfth Muslim lunar month of Dhu al-Hijjah.
As the birthplace of Muhammad and a site of the composition of the Quran, Mecca is regarded as the holiest city in the religion of Islam and a pilgrimage to it known as the Hajj is obligatory upon all able Muslims. The Hijaz was long ruled by Muhammad's descendants, the sharifs, either as independent rulers or as vassals to larger empires. It was absorbed into Saudi Arabia in 1925. In its modern period, Mecca has seen tremendous expansion in size and infrastructure. Because of this Mecca has lost many thousand years old buildings and archaeological sites. Today, more than 15 million Muslims visit Mecca annually, including several million during the few days of the Hajj. As a result, Mecca has become one of the most cosmopolitan and diverse cities in the Muslim world, although non-Muslims remain prohibited from entering the city.
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Medina
Medina (/mɛˈdiːnə/; Arabic: اَلْمَدِينَة اَلْمَنَوَّرَة, al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah, “the radiant city” (officially), or اَلْمَدِينَة al-Madīnah; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. Medina is historically significant for being Muhammad's home after the Hijrah. Before the advent of Islam, the city was known as Yathrib, but was personally renamed by Muhammad.
Medina is home to the three oldest mosques in Islam, namely Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (The Prophet's Mosque), Quba Mosque (the first mosque in Islam's history), and Masjid al-Qiblatain (the mosque where the qibla was switched to Mecca).
Because of the Saudi government's religious policy and concern that historic sites could become the focus for idolatry, much of Medina's Islamic physical heritage has been destroyed since the beginning of Saudi rule.[citation needed]
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Mexico
Mexico (i/ˈmɛksɨkoʊ/; Spanish: México, IPA: [ˈmexiko] ( listen)), officially the United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos (help·info)), is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States of America; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometres (over 760,000 sq mi), Mexico is the fifth largest country in the Americas by total area and the thirteenth largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of over 113 million, it is the eleventh most populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, the capital city.
In Pre-Columbian Mexico many cultures matured into advanced civilizations such as the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, the Maya and the Aztec before the first contact with Europeans. In 1521, Spain conquered and colonized the territory from its base in México-Tenochtitlan, which was administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain. This territory would eventually become Mexico as the colony's independence was recognized in 1821. The post-independence period was characterized by economic instability, the Mexican-American War and territorial cession to the United States, a civil war, two empires and a domestic dictatorship. The latter led to the Mexican Revolution in 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the country's current political system. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time that an opposition party won the presidency from the Institutional Revolutionary Party.
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Moab
Moab (/ˈmoʊæb/; Moabite: 𐤌𐤀𐤁 Mʾb; Hebrew: מוֹאָב, Modern Mo'av Tiberian Môʼāḇ ; "seed of father"; Greek Μωάβ Mōav; Assyrian Mu'aba, Ma'ba, Ma'ab ; Egyptian Mu'ab) is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in Jordan. The land lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by numerous archeological findings, most notably the Mesha Stele, which describes the Moabite victory over an unnamed son of King Omri of Israel. The Moabite capital was Dibon. In Biblical times, the nation was often in conflict with its Israelite neighbours to the west.
Moab occupied a plateau about 3,000 feet (910 m) above the level of the Mediterranean, or 4,300 feet (1,300 m) above the Dead Sea, and rising gradually from north to south.
It was bounded on the west by the Dead Sea and the southern section of the Jordan River; on the east by Ammon and the Arabian desert, from which it was separated by low, rolling hills; and on the south by Edom. The northern boundary varied, but in general it may be said to have been represented by a line drawn some miles above the northern extremity of the Dead Sea.
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Morocco
Morocco (Arabic: المغرب al-Maghrib ; Berber: ⵍⵎⴻⵖⵔⵉⴱ / ⴰⵎⴻⵔⵔⵓⴽElmeɣrib / Amerruk), officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of about 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², including the disputed region of the Western Sahara, seen by and mostly administered by Morocco as the Southern Provinces. Morocco is part of the Maghreb region, in addition to Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, and Libya, with which it shares cultural, historical and linguistic ties.
Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco holds vast executive powers, including the power to dissolve the parliament. Executive power is exercised by the government but more importantly by the king himself. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Assembly of Representatives and the Assembly of Councillors. The king can also issue decrees called dahirs which have the force of law. The latest Parliamentary elections were held in November 25, 2011, and were considered by some neutral observers to be mostly free and fair. Voter turnout in these elections was estimated to be 43% of registered voters, but only about 25% of Moroccan adult citizens actually voted. The rest either chose not to vote or they were not registered as voters. The political capital is Rabat, but the largest city is Casablanca; other main cities include Marrakesh, Tetouan, Tangier, Salé, Fes, Agadir, Meknes, Oujda, Kenitra, and Nador.
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Mosque of Uqba
The Mosque of Uqba (Arabic: جامع عقبة), also known as the Great Mosque of Kairouan (جامع القيروان الأكبر), is one of the most important mosques in Tunisia, situated in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Kairouan.
Built by the Arab general Uqba ibn Nafi from 670 AD (the year 50 according to the Islamic calendar) at the founding of the city of Kairouan, the mosque is spread over a surface area of 9,000 square metres and it is one of the oldest places of worship in the Islamic world, as well as a model for all later mosques in the Maghreb. The Great Mosque of Kairouan is one of the most impressive and largest islamic monuments in North Africa, its perimeter is almost equal to 405 metres (1,328 feet). This vast space contains a hypostyle prayer hall, a huge marble-paved courtyard and a massive square minaret. In addition to its spiritual prestige, the Mosque of Uqba is one of the masterpieces of both architecture and Islamic art.
Under the Aghlabids (9th century), huge works gave the mosque its present aspect. The fame of the Mosque of Uqba and of the other holy sites at Kairouan helped the city to develop and repopulate increasingly. The university, consisting of scholars who taught in the mosque, was a centre of education both in Islamic thought and in the secular sciences. Its role can be compared to that of the University of Paris in the Middle Ages. With the decline of the city of Kairouan from the mid 11th century, the centre of intellectual thought moved to the University of Ez-Zitouna in Tunis.
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Mosul
Coordinates: 36°20′N 43°08′E / 36.34°N 43.13°E / 36.34; 43.13
Mosul (Arabic: الموصل al-Mawṣil; North Mesopotamian Arabic: el-Mōṣul; Syriac: ܢܝܢܘܐ Nînwe; Kurdish: Mûsil/Nînewe; Turkish: Musul), is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Nineveh Province, some 400 km (250 mi) northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial areas on both banks, with five bridges linking the two sides. The majority of its population is Arab (with Assyrians, Turcoman and Kurdish minorities). It is Iraq's third largest city after Baghdad and Basra.
The fabric Muslin, long manufactured here, is named after this city. Another historically important product of the area is Mosul marble.
In 1987, the city's population was 664,221 people; the 2002 population estimate was 1,740,000, and by 2008 was estimated to be 1,800,000. People from Mosul are called Maslawis.
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Near East
The Near East (French: Proche-Orient) is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other. The term originally applied to the maximum extent of the Ottoman Empire, which had been settled to the north by the Great Turkish War of the late 17th century, ending with the Treaty of Karlowitz, June 26, 1699. This war determined that Austria, Hungary and the Ukraine would not be in the Ottoman Empire and therefore ultimately would not be Near Eastern.
The term Near East was in use exclusively during the 2nd half of the 19th century. In the 1st half of the 20th century it began to share the geographical stage with the term, Middle East. Since then Near East and Middle East have been approximately synonymous. Near East is used in some historic contexts and Middle East in others with no major semantic difference.
At the beginning of the 19th century the Ottoman empire included all of the Balkan Peninsula north to the southern edge of the Hungarian plain, but by 1914 had lost all of it except Constantinople to the expansion of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the independence of Greece and various smaller wars of independence resulting in the creation of "the Balkan States". Some of these states were independent and some were still nominally under the Ottomans although occupied by Austro-Hungarian troops. Up until 1912 the Ottomans retained a band of territory including Albania, Macedonia and Thrace, which were lost in the two Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913.
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Netherlands
The Netherlands (i/ˈnɛðərləndz/; Dutch: Nederland [ˈneːdə(r)lɑnt] or [ˈneɪ̯də(r)lɑnt] (
listen); West Frisian: Nederlân; Papiamento: Hulanda) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with some islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. It is a parliamentary democracy organised as a unitary state. The country capital is Amsterdam and the seat of government is The Hague. The Netherlands in its entirety is often referred to as Holland, although North and South Holland are actually only two of its twelve provinces (a case of pars pro toto; see terminology of "the Netherlands").
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Nomad
Nomadic people (Greek: νομάδες, nomádes, "those who let pasture herds"), commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world.
Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but traditional nomadic behavior is increasingly rare in industrialized countries. Nomadic cultures are discussed in three categories according to economic specialization: hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads, and "peripatetic nomads".
Nomadic hunting and gathering, following seasonally available wild plants and game, is by far the oldest human subsistence method. Pastoralists raise herds, driving them or moving with them, in patterns that normally avoid depleting pastures beyond their ability to recover. Peripatetic nomads, who offer the skills of a craft or trade to those with whom they travel, are most common in industrialized nations.
Many groups of 'nomadic' hunter-gatherers (also known as foragers) moved from campsite to campsite, following game and wild fruits and vegetables. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were hunter-gatherers until around 10,000 years ago.
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Oman
Oman (i/oʊˈmɑːn/ oh-MAAN; Arabic: عمان ʻUmān), officially called the Sultanate of Oman (Arabic: سلطنة عُمان Salṭanat ʻUmān), is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the southeast and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. The Madha and Musandam enclaves are surrounded by the UAE on their land borders, with the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman forming Musandam's coastal boundaries.
For a period, Oman was a moderate regional power, formerly having a sultanate extending across the Strait of Hormuz to Iran, and modern day Pakistan, and far south to Zanzibar on the coat of south-east Africa. Over time, as its power declined, the sultanate came under heavy influence from the United Kingdom, though Oman was never formally part of the British Empire, or a British protectorate. The Omani royal family claim that Oman has been ruled by the Al Said dynasty since 1744, although without substantial proof. Oman has long-standing military and political ties with the United Kingdom and the United States, although it maintains an independent foreign policy.
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Pakistan
Pakistan (i/ˈpækɨstæn/ or i/pɑːkiˈstɑːn/; Urdu: پاکستان) (Urdu pronunciation: [paːkɪˈst̪aːn] ( listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکستان), is a sovereign country in South Asia. It sits at the crossroads of the strategically important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west and north, Iran to the southwest and China in the far northeast. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, and it shares a marine border with Oman.
The territory of modern Pakistan was the site of several ancient cultures, including the Neolithic Mehrgarh and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation, and has undergone invasions or settlements by Hindu, Persian, Indo-Greek, Islamic, Turco-Mongol, Afghan and Sikh cultures. Thus the area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Indian Mauryan Empire, the Persian Achaemenid Empire, the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, the Mongol Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Durrani Empire, the Sikh Empire and the British Empire. As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and India's struggle for independence, Pakistan was created in 1947 as an independent nation for Muslims from the regions in the east and west of India where there was a Muslim majority. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a new constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic. A civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh.
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Palmyra
Palmyra (Aramaic: ܬܕܡܘܪܬܐ;Hebrew: תדמור; tiḏmor, Greek: Παλμύρα, Arabic: تدمر; Tadmur, English pronunciation: /ˌpælˈmaɪrə/) was an ancient city in central Syria. In antiquity, it was an important city located in an oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus and 180 km southwest of the Euphrates at Deir ez-Zor. It had long been a vital caravan stop for travellers crossing the Syrian desert and was known as the Bride of the Desert. The earliest documented reference to the city by its Semitic name Tadmor, Tadmur or Tudmur (which means "the town that repels" in Amorite and "the indomitable town" in Aramaic) is recorded in Babylonian tablets found in Mari.
Though the ancient site fell into disuse after the 16th century, it is still known as Tadmor in Arabic (aka Tedmor), and there is a newer town of the same name next to the ruins. The Palmyrenes constructed a series of large-scale monuments containing funerary art such as limestone slabs with human busts representing the deceased.
Palmyrans bore Aramaic names, and worshipped a variety of deities from Mesopotamia (Marduk and Ruda), Syria (Hadad, Baʿal, Astarte), Arabia (Allāt) and Greece (Athena). Palmyrans were originally speakers of Aramaic but later shifted to the Greek language. At the time of the Islamic conquests Palmyra was inhabited by several Arab tribes, primarily the Qada'ah and Kalb.
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Palmyrene Empire
The Palmyrene Empire (260–273) was a splinter empire, that broke away from the Roman Empire during the Crisis of the Third Century. It encompassed the Roman provinces of Syria Palaestina, Egypt and large parts of Asia Minor.
The Palmyrene Empire was ruled by Queen Zenobia for her infant son Vaballathus. The capital of the short-lived empire was the city of Palmyra.
Despite a number of crises, the Roman Empire had stood firm since its inception under Augustus. But after Emperor Alexander Severus was murdered by soldiers in 235, Roman legions were defeated in a campaign against Sassanid Persia, and the Empire fell apart. General after general squabbled over control of the Empire, the frontiers were neglected and subjected to frequent raids by Carpians, Goths, Vandals and Alamanni, and outright attacks from aggressive Sassanids in the east.
Finally, by 258, the attacks were coming from within, when the Empire broke up in to three separate competing states. The Roman provinces of Gaul, Britain and Hispania broke off to form the Gallic Empire.
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Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf is located in Western Asia between Iran (Persia) and the Arabian Peninsula. It is an extension of the Indian Ocean.
The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers. In 1991, the Persian Gulf again was the background for what was called the "Persian Gulf War" or the "Gulf War" when Iraq invaded Kuwait and was subsequently pushed back, despite the fact that this conflict was primarily a land conflict.
The Persian Gulf has many good fishing grounds, extensive coral reefs, and abundant pearl oysters, but its ecology has come under pressure from industrialization, and in particular, oil and petroleum spillages during wars in the region.
Historically and internationally known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is sometimes controversially referred to as the Arabian Gulf or simply The Gulf by most Arab states, although neither of the latter two terms are recognized internationally. The name Gulf of Iran (Persian Gulf) is used by the International Hydrographic Organization.
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Phoenicia
Phoenicia (UK /fɨˈnɪʃə/, US /fəˈniːʃə/; from the Greek: Φοινίκη: Phoiníkē), was an ancient Semitic Canaanite civilization situated on the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. The major Phoenician cities were on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550 BC to 300 BC. The Phoenicians used the galley, a man-powered sailing vessel, and are credited with the invention of the bireme. They were famed in Classical Greece and Rome as 'traders in purple', referring to their monopoly on the precious purple dye of the Murex snail, used, among other things, for royal clothing, and for their spread of the alphabet (or abjad), upon which all major modern phonetic alphabets are derived.
In the Amarna tablets of the 14th century BC, people from the region called themselves Kenaani or Kinaani (Canaanites), although these letters predate the invasion of the Sea Peoples by over a century. Much later, in the 6th century BC, Hecataeus of Miletus writes that Phoenicia was formerly called χνα, a name Philo of Byblos later adopted into his mythology as his eponym for the Phoenicians: "Khna who was afterwards called Phoinix". Egyptian seafaring expeditions had already been made to Byblos to bring back "cedars of Lebanon" as early as the third millennium BC.
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Qatar
Qatar (i/ˈkɑːtɑr/ or i/kəˈtɑr/;Arabic: قطر [ˈqɑtˤɑr]; local vernacular pronunciation: [ɡɪtˤɑr]), also known as the country or State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in Western Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its territory surrounded by the Persian Gulf. A strait of the Persian Gulf separates Qatar from the nearby island state of Bahrain.
Qatar has been ruled as an absolute monarchy by Al Thani family since the mid-19th century. Formerly a British protectorate noted mainly for pearling, it became independent in 1971, and has become one of the region's wealthiest states due to its enormous oil and natural gas revenues. In 1995, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani became Emir when he seized power from his father, Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, in a peaceful coup d'état. The most important positions in Qatar are held by the members of the Al Thani family, or close confidants of the al-Thani family. Beginning in 1992, Qatar has built intimate military ties with the United States, and is now the location of U.S. Central Command’s Forward Headquarters and the Combined Air Operations Center.
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Ramallah
Ramallah (Arabic: رام الله (help·info) Rāmallāh) (literally "Height of God") is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority. With a population of nearly 25,500, Ramallah was historically a Christian town, but today Muslims form the majority of the population, with a strong Christian minority.
Modern Ramallah was founded in the mid-16th century by the Haddadins, a Jordanian tribe of brothers descended from Ghassanid Christian Arabs. The Haddadins, led by Rashid Haddadin, arrived from east of the Jordan River near the Jordanian town of Shoubak. The Haddadin migration is attributed to fighting and unrest among clans in that area. According to modern living descendents of original Haddadin family members, Rashid's brother Sabra Haddadin was hosting Emir Ibn Kaysoom, head of a powerful Muslim clan in the region, when Sabra's wife gave birth to a baby girl. According to custom, the Emir proposed a betrothal to his own young son when they came of age. Sabra believed the proposal was in jest, as Muslim-Christian marriages were not customary, and gave his word. When the Emir later came to the Haddadins and demanded that they fulfill their promise, they refused. This set off bloody conflict between the two families. The Haddadins fled west and settled on the hilltops of Ramallah, where only a few Muslim families lived at the time. Today, a large community of people descended directly from the Haddadins live in the United States. The town is now predominately Muslim.
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Ramla
Ramla (Hebrew: רַמְלָה Ramlāh; Arabic: الرملة ar-Ramlah, also Ramlah,Ramle, Remle and sometimes Rama), is a city in central Israel. The city is predominantly Jewish with a significant Arab minority. Ramla was founded circa 705–715 AD by the Umayyad Caliph Suleiman ibn Abed al-Malik after the Arab conquest of the region. Ramla lies along the route of the Via Maris, connecting old Cairo (Fustat) with Damascus, at the intersection of the roads connecting the port of Jaffa with Jerusalem.
It was conquered many times in the course of its history, by the Abbasids, the Ikhshidids, the Fatamids, the Seljuqs, the Crusaders, the Mameluks, the Turks, the British, and the Israelis. After an outbreak of the Black Death in 1347, which greatly reduced the population, an order of Franciscan monks established a presence in the city. Under Arab and Ottoman rule the city became an important trade center. Napoleon's French Army occupied it in 1799 on its way to Acre.
Most of the town's Arab residents were expelled or fled during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War while others remained in the town. The town was subsequently repopulated by Jewish immigrants. In 2001, 80% of the population were Jewish and 20% Arab (16% Muslim Arabs and 4% Christian Arabs).
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Russia
Russiai/ˈrʌʃə/ or /ˈrʊʃə/ (Russian: Россия, tr. Rossiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə] ( listen)), also officially known as the Russian Federation (Russian: Российская Федерация, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə] ( listen)), is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the US state of Alaska by the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the eighth most populous nation with 143 million people. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning nine time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources and is the largest producer of oil and natural gas globally. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.
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Russian Empire
The Russian Empire (Pre-reform Russian orthography: Россійская Имперія, Modern Russian: Российская Империя, translit: Rossiyskaya Imperiya) was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the short-lived Russian Republic, which was succeeded by the Soviet Union. It was one of the largest empires in world history, surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongol empires: at one point in 1866, it stretched from eastern Europe across Asia and into North America.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire extended from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea on the south, from the Baltic Sea on the west to the Pacific Ocean and into North America on the east. With 125.6 million subjects registered by the 1897 census, it had the third largest population of the world at the time, after Qing China and the British Empire. Like all empires, it represented a large disparity in economic, ethnic and religious positions. Its government, ruled by the Emperor, was the last absolute monarchy in Europe at the time of its demise.
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Samarra
Sāmarrā (Arabic: سامَرّاء) is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Salah ad-Din Governorate, 125 kilometers (78 mi) north of Baghdad and, in 2003, had an estimated population of 348,700.
Medieval Islamic writers believed that the name “Samarra” is derived from the Arabic phrase “Sarra man ra’a” (Arabic: سر من رأى), which translates to “A joy for all who see”. Later when the city declined the name changed to “Sa'a man ra’a” (Arabic: ساء من رأى), which translates to “A sadness for all who see”. Eventually the two names merged to its current form Samarra' (Arabic: سامَرّاء).
In 2007, UNESCO named Samarra one of its World Heritage Sites.
The remains of ancient Samarra were first excavated between 1911 and 1914 by the German Archaeologist Ernst Herzfeld. Since 1946, the notebooks, letters, unpublished excavation reports and photographs have been in the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
Though the present archaeological site covered by mudbrick ruins is vast, the site of Samarra was only lightly occupied in ancient times, apart from the Chalcolithic Samarran Culture (ca 5500–4800 BC) identified at the rich site of Tell Sawwan, where evidence of irrigation—including flax— establishes the presence of a prosperous settled culture with a highly organized social structure. The culture is primarily known by its finely-made pottery decorated against dark-fired backgrounds with stylized figures of animals and birds and geometric designs. This widely-exported type of pottery, one of the first widespread, relatively uniform pottery styles in the Ancient Near East, was first recognized at Samarra. The Samarran Culture was the precursor to the Mesopotamian culture of the Ubaid period.
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Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia (i/ˌsaʊdi əˈreɪbi.ə/ or i/ˌsɔːdiː əˈreɪbi.ə/; Arabic: السعودية as-Su‘ūdīyah[citation needed] or incorrectly as-Sa‘ūdīyah, officially known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Arabic: المملكة العربية السعودية al-Mamlakah al-‘Arabīyah as-Su‘ūdīyah Arabic pronunciation (help·info)), is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab world, after Algeria. It is bordered by Jordan, and Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south. The Red Sea lies to its west, and the Persian Gulf lies to the east. Saudi Arabia has an area of approximately 2,250,000 km2 (870,000 sq mi), and it has an estimated population of 27 million, of which 9 million are registered foreign expatriates and an estimated 2 million are illegal immigrants. Saudi nationals comprise an estimated 16 million people.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded by Abdul-Aziz bin Saud (known for most of his career as Ibn Saud) in 1932, although the conquests which eventually led to the creation of the Kingdom began in 1902 when he captured Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family, the House of Saud, referred to in Arabic as the Al Saud. The Saudi Arabian government, which has been an absolute monarchy since its inception, refers to its system of government as being Islamic, though this is contested by many due to its strong basis in Salafism, a minority school of thought in Islam. The kingdom is sometimes called "The Land of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram (in Mecca), and Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (in Medina), the two holiest places in Islam.
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Semitic Museum
The Semitic Museum at Harvard University was founded in 1889, and moved into its present location at 6 Divinity Avenue in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1903.
From the beginning, it was the home of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, a departmental library, a repository for research collections, a public educational institute, and a center for archaeological exploration. Among the Museum's early achievements were the first scientific excavations in the Holy Land (at Samaria in 1907-1912) and excavations at Nuzi and Tell el-Khaleifeh in the Sinai, where the earliest alphabet was found.
The Museum's artifacts include pottery, cylinder seals, sculpture, coins, cuneiform tablets, and Egyptian mummy sarcophagi. Many are from museum-sponsored excavations in Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Cyprus, and Tunisia. The museum holds a replica of the Merneptah stele, as well as a full-scale model of an Iron Age Israelite house. The Museum is dedicated to the use of these collections for the teaching, research, and publication of Near Eastern archaeology, history, and culture.
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Somalia
Somalia ( /soʊˈmɑːliə/ soh-MAH-lee-ə; Somali: Soomaaliya; Arabic: الصومال aṣ-Ṣūmāl), officially the Somali Republic (Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, Arabic: جمهورية الصومال Jumhūriyyat aṣ-Ṣūmāl) and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory. The internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government controls only a small part of the country. Somalia has been characterized as a failed state and is one of the poorest and most violent states in the world.
Somalia lies in the easternmost part of Africa. It is bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden with Yemen to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west. It has the longest coastline on the continent, and its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. Hot conditions prevail year-round, along with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall.
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South Africa
Coordinates: 30°S 25°E / 30°S 25°E / -30; 25
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of Africa. It is divided into nine provinces and has 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline. To the north of the country lie the neighbouring territories of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland; while Lesotho is an enclave surrounded by South African territory.
South Africa is multi-ethnic and has diverse cultures and languages. Eleven official languages are recognised in the constitution. Two of these languages are of European origin: South African English and Afrikaans, a language which originated mainly from Dutch that is spoken by the majority of white and Coloured South Africans. Though English is commonly used in public and commercial life, it is only the fifth most-spoken home language. All ethnic and language groups have political representation in the country's constitutional democracy comprising a parliamentary republic; unlike most parliamentary republics, the positions of head of state and head of government are merged in a parliament-dependent President.
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Spain
Spain (i/ˈspeɪn/ SPAYN; Spanish: España, pronounced: [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a sovereign state and a member of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; to the north and north east by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal.
Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. Furthermore, the town of Llívia is a Spanish exclave situated inside French territory. With an area of 504,030 square kilometres (194,610 sq mi), it is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after France, and the fourth largest country in Europe after Russia, Ukraine and France.
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Sudan
Sudan (i/suːˈdæn/ or /suːˈdɑːn/;Arabic: السودان, as-Sūdān), officially the Republic of the Sudan (Arabic: جمهورية السودان, Jumhūrīyat as-Sūdān), sometimes called North Sudan, is an Arab state in North Africa (sometimes also considered to be part of the Middle East). It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, and Libya to the northwest. The population of Sudan is a combination of indigenous inhabitants of Nile Valley, and descendants of migrants from the Arabian Peninsula. Due to the process of Arabisation common throughout the rest of the Arab World, today Arab culture predominates in Sudan. The majority of the population of Sudan adheres to Islam. The Nile divides the country between east and west sides.
The people of Sudan have a long history extending from antiquity which is intertwined with the history of Egypt. Sudan suffered seventeen years of civil war during the First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972) followed by ethnic, religious and economic conflicts between the Muslim Arab northern Sudanese and the mostly animist and Christian Nilotes of Southern Sudan. This led to the Second Sudanese Civil War in 1983. Because of continuing political and military struggles, Sudan was seized in a bloodless coup d'état by colonel Omar al-Bashir in 1989, who thereafter proclaimed himself President of Sudan. The civil war ended with the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement which granted autonomy to what was then the southern region of the country. Following a referendum held in January 2011, South Sudan seceded on 9 July 2011 with the consent of Sudan's President al-Bashir.
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Sumatar Harabesi
Sumatar Harabesi (also, Sumatar Ruins or simply, Sumatar) was an ancient watering place for semi-nomadic peoples located in the Tektek Mountains, 60 kilometers (37 mi) southeast of Urfa (Edessa, Mesopotamia) and 40 kilometers (25 mi) northeast of Harran, in modern day Turkey. A now deserted oasis, it consists of a set of ruins and tombs situated around a central mount of rock 50 meters (160 ft) in height and width.
A series of Syriac inscriptions dating to the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE have been found at the site. Inscriptions that refer to the "Lord of the gods," are thought to be references to Sin. In nearby Edessa, worship of Sin, who was also the main deity in Harran, extended back to the beginning of the 1st millennium BCE, and continued until some time in the 4th century CE when solar worship began to predominate.
Sumatar is also described as, "the seat of the governors of 'Arab," who derived their authority from Sin. Five of the Syriac inscriptions at Sumatar Harabesi refer to "the 'Arab", only one of which has been dated (circa 165 CE). Jan Rëtso writes that these inscriptions confirm the presence of Arabs in the area around Edessa, as mentioned twice in the writings of Pliny the Elder. The governors of the 'Arab were thought to be members of the Edessene royal family, or closely related to them, appointed by Sin to look after the "blessed mountain" that served as his sanctuary. There, these religio-political officials had altars and baetyls erected in the god's honour. A large cave at Sumatar, known as Pognon's cave, is decorated with a horned pillar, Sin's symbol.
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Syria
Syria (/ˈsɪriə/ ( listen) SIRR-ee-ə; Arabic: سورية Sūriyya or سوريا Sūryā; Syriac: ܣܘܪܝܐ; Kurdish: Sûrî), officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية العربية السورية al-Jumhūriyyah al-‘Arabīyah as-Sūriyyah Arabic pronunciation (help·info)), is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest.
In English, the name Syria was formerly synonymous with the Levant, known in Arabic as Sham, while the modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the Eblan civilization of the third millennium BC. In the Islamic era, its capital city, Damascus, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate, and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt.
The population of Syria is 74% Sunni, 12% Alawi, 10% Christian, and 3% Druze. Combined, 87% of the Syrian population is Muslim, while the other 10% is Christian, which includes mainly Arab Christians but also Assyrians and Armenians. Major ethnic minorities in Syria include Kurds (9%), Assyrians, Armenians, Turkmens and Circassians. The majority of the population is Arab (90%).
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Syrian Desert
The Syrian Desert (Arabic: بادية الشام, bādiyat ash-shām), also known as the Syro-Arabian desert is a combination of steppe and true desert that is located in the northern Arabian Peninsula covering 200,000 square miles (over 500,000 square kilometers). The desert is very rocky and flat.
The Syrian desert is part of the Al-Hamad, which covers portions of Syria, Iraq, Jordan,and Saudi Arabia. Its border on the west is the Orontes Valley, and its border on the east is the Euphrates. In the north, the desert gives way to the more fertile areas of grass. In the south, it runs into the deserts of the southern Arabian Peninsula. Many mini-deserts exist in the Syrian Desert such as Palmyra. Damascus is located on an oasis. The desert's remarkable landscape was formed by lava flows from the volcanic region of the Jebel Druze in southern Syria. The Syrian Desert is the origin of the Syrian hamster.
The desert was historically inhabited by bedouin tribes, and many tribes still remain in the region, their members living mainly in towns and settlements built near oases. Some bedouin still maintain their traditional way of life in the desert. Safaitic inscriptions, proto-Arabic texts written by literate bedouin, are found throughout the Syrian Desert. These date approximately from the 1st century B.C. to the 4th century A.D.
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Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu /ˈtæmɨl ˈnɑːduː/ (Tamiḻ Nāṭu [t̪amɨɭ naːɖɯ] ( listen)) is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital is Chennai, the largest city. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. It is bound by the Eastern Ghats in the north, the Nilgiri, the Anamalai Hills, and Palakkad on the west, by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait in the south east, and by the Indian Ocean in the south.
Tamil Nadu is the eleventh largest state in India by area and the seventh most populous state. It is the fourth largest contributor (as of 2010) to India's GDP and ranks tenth in Human Development Index as of 2006. Tamil Nadu is also the most urbanised state in India. The state has the highest number (10.56%) of business enterprises and stands second in total employment (9.97%) in India, compared to the population share of about 6%.
The region has been the home of the Tamil people since at least 500 BCE. Its official language Tamil has been in use in inscriptions and literature for over 2000 years. Tamil Nadu is home to many natural resources, Hindu temples of Dravidian architecture, hill stations, beach resorts, multi-religious pilgrimage sites and eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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Tbilisi
Tbilisi (Georgian: თბილისი [tʰb̥ilisi] ( listen)) is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi (ტფილისი) and it was officially known as Tpilisi (in Georgian) or Tiflis (in Russian) until 1936. The city covers an area of 726 km2 (280 sq mi) and has 1,480,000 inhabitants.
Founded in the 5th century by Vakhtang Gorgasali, the monarch of Georgia's precursor Kingdom of Iberia, Tbilisi has served, with various intervals, as Georgia's capital for nearly 1500 years and represents a significant industrial, social, and cultural center of the country. Located near the southeastern edge of Europe, Tbilisi's proximity to lucrative east-west trade routes often made the city a point of contention between various rival empires throughout history and the city's location to this day ensures its position as an important transit route for global energy and trade projects. Tbilisi's varied history is reflected in its architecture, which is a mix of medieval, classical, and Soviet structures.
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Tunisia
Tunisia (USi/tuːˈniːʒə/ two-NEE-zhə or UK /tjuːˈnɪziə/ tew-NIZ-iə; Arabic: تونس Tūnis pronounced [ˈtuːnɪs]), officially the Republic of Tunisia (Arabic: الجمهورية التونسية al-Jumhūriyyah at-Tūnisiyyah), is the northernmost country in Africa. It is an Arab Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area is almost 165,000 square kilometres (64,000 sq mi), with an estimated population of just under 10.7 million. Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the northeast.
Tunisia is the smallest country in North Africa. The south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert, with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline.
Tunisia has relations with both the European Union—with whom it has an association agreement—and the Arab world. Tunisia is also a member of the Arab Maghreb Union, the Arab League, and the African Union. Tunisia has established close relations with France in particular, through economic cooperation, industrial modernization, and privatisation programs.
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Turkey
Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia (mostly in the Anatolian peninsula) and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between East Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.
Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The vast majority of the population are Muslims. The country's official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who constitute 18% of the population.
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Ugarit
Ugarit (Ugaritic: 𐎜𐎂𐎗𐎚, ʼUgrt; Arabic: أوغاريت) was an ancient port city on the eastern Mediterranean at the Ras Shamra headland some 11 kilometres (7 mi) north of Latakia in northern Syria. Ugarit sent tribute to Egypt and maintained trade and diplomatic connections with Cyprus (then called Alashiya), documented in the archives recovered from the site and corroborated by Mycenaean and Cypriot pottery found there. The polity was at its height from ca. 1450 BC until 1200 BC.
Though the site is thought to have been inhabited earlier, Neolithic Ugarit was already important enough to be fortified with a wall early on, perhaps by 6000 BC. Ugarit was important perhaps because it was both a port and at the entrance of the inland trade route to the Euphrates and Tigris lands.[citation needed]
The first written evidence mentioning the city comes from the nearby city of Ebla, ca. 1800 BC. Ugarit passed into the sphere of influence of Egypt, which deeply influenced its art. The earliest Ugaritic contact with Egypt (and the first exact dating of Ugaritic civilization) comes from a carnelian bead identified with the Middle Kingdom pharaoh Senusret I, 1971 BC – 1926 BC. A stela and a statuette from the Egyptian pharaohs Senusret III and Amenemhet III have also been found. However, it is unclear at what time these monuments got to Ugarit. Amarna letters from Ugarit ca. 1350 BC record one letter each from Ammittamru I, Niqmaddu II, and his queen.[citation needed]
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United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emiratesi/juːˌnaɪtɨd ˌærəb ˈɛmɪrɨts/ (Arabic: دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة, Al Imārāt al ‘Arabīyah al Muttaḥidah), sometimes simply called the Emirates or the UAE, is a country situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south, as well as sharing sea borders with Qatar to the west and Iran to the north.
The UAE is a federation of seven emirates (equivalent to principalities), each governed by a hereditary emir, with a single national president. The constituent emirates are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. The capital is Abu Dhabi, which is also the state's center of political, industrial, and cultural activities.
Prior to independence in 1971, the UAE was known as the Trucial States or Trucial Oman, in reference to a 19th-century truce between the local sheikhs, hereditary rulers of the territories, and the United Kingdom. The term Pirate Coast was also used by some to refer to the emirates from the 18th to the early 20th century, owing to the preponderance of pirates operating from Emirati ports.
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.
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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
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West Bank
The West Bank (Arabic: الضفة الغربية aḍ-Ḍaffah l-Ġarbiyyah, Hebrew: הגדה המערבית, HaGadah HaMa'aravit also known as Hebrew: יהודה והשומרון Yehuda ve-Ha'Shomron (Judea and Samaria)) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The West Bank also contains a significant coastline along the western bank of the Dead Sea. Since 1967, most of the West Bank has been under Israeli military occupation and is referred to as Judea and Samaria Area by Israel. A smaller part of the West Bank is administered by the Israeli civilian authorities as part of Jerusalem District.
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Yemen
The Republic of Yemen (Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhūrīyah al-Yamanīyah), commonly known as Yemeni/ˈjɛmən/ (Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman), is a country located in Western Asia, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east. Yemen is considered one of the poorest countries in the Arab world. Its capital and largest city is Sana'a. Yemen's territory includes over 200 islands, the largest of which is Socotra, about 415 km (258 mi) to the south of mainland Yemen, off the coast of Somalia. It is the only state in the Arabian Peninsula to have a purely republican form of government. Approximately 53% of Yemenis are Sunnis, while 45% are Zaydi Shias.
One etymology derives Yemen from yamin, meaning "on the right side", as the south is on the right when facing the sunrise. Another derives Yemen from yumn, meaning "felicity", as the region is fertile. The Romans called it Arabia Felix (Happy Arabia) as opposed to Arabia Deserta (Deserted Arabia), which was their term for northern Arabia.
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Ərəbocağı
Ərəbocag (also, Ərəbocaq and Arabodzhagy) is a village and municipality in the Agdash Rayon of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 891.
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Ərəbqədim
Ərəbqədim (also, Arabkadim and Arabkadym) is a village and municipality in the Gobustan Rayon of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 1,275.
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Ərəbyengicə
Ərəbyengicə (also, Ərəb Yengicə, Arab Yengidzha) is a village and municipality in the Sharur Rayon of Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan. It has a population of 872.
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Abbasgulu Bakikhanov
Abbasgulu Bakikhanov (Azerbaijani: Abbasqulu ağa Bakıxanov Qüdsi) (21 June 1794, Amirjan – January 1847, Wadi Fatima, near Jeddah), also known as Gudsi (Azeri: Qüdsi), was an Azerbaijani writer, historian, journalist, linguist, poet and philosopher; descendant of the ruling dynasty of the Baku Khanate, nephew of the last khan of Baku. He was an officer in the Imperial Russian Army since 1820 and participated in the Russo-Persian War of 1826-1828. He later retired and lived in Quba, but traveled extensively within Russia, meeting such important literary figures as Pushkin.
According to other sources, Bakikhanov was born on 10 June 1794. His childhood contemporized with a defining epoch in the history of the Caucasus—the era of battles between Russia and Persia over political domination in the region. Bakikhanov was the son of the 9th khan of Baku, Mirza Muhammed II and a Georgian lady Sofia. He began his academic studies at the age of 7 and soon excelled in Persian. In 1813, seven years after the loss of the khanate's sovereignty, the family moved to Quba, where Bakikhanov studied social and life sciences, humanities, and languages. Within the next ten years, he learned Arabic, Turkish, and Russian, followed later by French and Polish. In 1818, he established the first Azeri literary society Golestan-i Iram. His poetry at this early phase displayed Bakikhanov's deep moral and philosophical involvement in Islam. In 1820, he enlisted in the Russian army as an interpreter and got a commission for taking part in suppressing the rebellious Kazikumukh Khanate (present-day southern Dagestan).
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Abo of Tiflis
Saint Abo of Tiflis or Abo Tbileli (in Georgian: აბო თბილელი, Arabic: أبو تبليسي Abu al-Tiflisi) (ca. 756-January 6, 786) is a Christian martyr and the Patron Saint of the city of Tbilisi, Georgia.
Iraqi by origin, Abo grew up Muslim in Baghdad. At the age of seventeen or eighteen, he found himself in Tbilisi, having followed Georgian Prince Nerses, the ruler of Kartli. Nerses, having been slandered before the Caliph, spent three years in confinement; freed by a new Caliph, he took Abo with him.
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Abraham
Abraham (Hebrew: אַבְרָהָם (help·info), Modern: Avraham, Tiberian: ʼAḇrāhām, Ashkenazi Avrohom or Avruhom, Arabic: إبراهيم Ibrāhīm, Ge'ez: አብርሃም ʼAbrəham, Greek: Aβραάμ, Russian: Авраам), whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. According to both the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, through his sons Ishmael and Isaac, Abraham is the forefather of many tribes, namely the Ishmaelites, Israelites, Midianites and Edomites. Abraham was a descendant of Noah's son, Shem. Christians believe that Jesus was a descendant of Abraham through Isaac, and Muslims believe that Muhammad was a descendant of Abraham through Ishmael. Abraham is notable for his advocation and promotion of monotheism.
The Book of Genesis narrative that records the life of Abraham presents his role as one that could only be fulfilled through a monotheistic covenant established between him and God. The Qur'an has stories about Abraham and his offspring that are similar to the Bible's. In Islam, Abraham is recognised as a prophet, patriarch and messenger, archetype of the perfect Muslim, and reformer of the Kaaba.
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Adnan
Adnan (Arabic: عدنان) is the traditional ancestor of the Adnanite Arabs of northern, central and western Arabia, as opposed to the Qahtani of southern and south eastern Arabia who descend from Qahtan.
Adnan is the father of the Adnanite Arabs who are the northern Adahoe tribes that occupied Hijaz, Yamama regions as well as most parts of northern Arabia.
According to Islamic tradition, the Islamic prophet Muhammad was descended from Adnan. Tradition records the genealogy from Adnan to Muhammad comprises 21 generations. "The following is the list of chiefs who are said to have ruled the Hejaz and to have been the patrilineal ancestors of Muhammad."
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Akkadians
Coordinates: 33°6′N 44°6′E / 33.1°N 44.1°E / 33.1; 44.1
The Akkadian Empire (Akkadian URUAkkad KI, Hittite KUR A.GA.DÈ.KI "land of Akkad"; Biblical Hebrew אַכַּד Akkad) was an empire centered in the city of Akkad (Sumerian: Agade) and its surrounding region in Mesopotamia.
During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed a very intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included widespread bilingualism.Akkadian gradually replaced Sumerian as a spoken language somewhere around the turn of the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BC (the exact dating being a matter of debate).
The Akkadian Empire reached its political peak between the 24th and 22nd centuries BC, following the conquests of its founder Sargon of Akkad (2334–2279 BC). Under Sargon and his successors, Akkadian language was briefly imposed on neighboring conquered states such as Elam. Akkad is sometimes regarded as the first empire in history, though there are earlier Sumerian claimants.[citation needed]
The precise archaeological site of the city of Akkad has not yet been found.[citation needed] The form Agade appears in Sumerian, for example in the Sumerian King List; the later Assyro-Babylonian form Akkadû ("of or belonging to Akkad") was likely derived from this. The etymology and meaning of Akkad (written a.ga.dèKI or URIKI) are unknown. Centuries later, the neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus mentioned in his archaeological records that Ishtar's worship in Agade was later superseded by that of the goddess Anunit, whose shrine was at Sippar—suggesting proximity of Sippar and Agade. Despite numerous searches, the city has never been found. One theory holds that Agade was situated opposite Sippar on the left bank of the Euphrates, and was perhaps the oldest part of the city of Sippar. Another theory is that the ruins of Akkad are to be found beneath modern Baghdad. Reputedly it was destroyed by invading Gutians with the fall of the Akkadian Empire.
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Amhara people
The Amhara (Amharic: አማራ?, Ge'ez: አምሐራ) are an ethnic group (but see below) inhabiting the central highlands of Ethiopia. Numbering about 19.8 million people, they comprise 26% of the country's population according to the 2007 national census. They speak Amharic, an Afro-Asiatic tongue, which is the working language of the federal authorities of Ethiopia.
The derivation of the name "Amhara" is debated; according to some it comes from the word amari, meaning "pleasing, agreeable, beautiful and gracious" (also mehare, "gracious", containing the same m-h-r root as the verb to learn), while some Ethiopian historians such as Getachew Mekonnen Hasen say it is an ethnic name connected with Himyarites. Still others say that it derives from Ge'ez, meaning "free people" (i.e. from Ge'ez ዓም "ʿam" meaning "people," and ሓራ "h.ara", meaning "free" or "soldier"), though others, such as Donald Levine, have dismissed this as a folk etymology. Ultimately, however, the name for the language and ethnic group came from the medieval province of Amhara, located in central Ethiopia in modern Amhara Region and the pre-1995 province of Wollo.
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Amorite
Amorite (Sumerian 𒈥𒌅 MAR.TU, Akkadian Tidnum or Amurrūm, Egyptian Amar, Hebrew אמורי ʼĔmōrī) refers to an ancient Semitic people from ancient Syria who also occupied large parts of Mesopotamia from the 21st Century BC. The term Amurru in Akkadian and Sumerian texts refers to them, as well as to their principal deity.
In the earliest Sumerian sources, beginning about 2400 BC, the land of the Amorites ("the Mar.tu land") is associated not with Mesopotamia but with lands immediately to the West, including what is now modern Syria and Canaan. They appear as nomadic people in the Mesopotamian sources, and they are especially connected with the mountainous region of Jebel Bishri in Syria called the "mountain of the Amorites". The ethnic terms Amurru and Amar were used for them in the Akkadian Empire, Assyria and Egypt respectively. From the 21st century BC and likely triggered by the 22nd century BC drought, a large-scale migration of Amorite tribes infiltrated Mesopotamia. They were one of the instruments of the downfall of the Sumerian Third Dynasty of Ur, and acquiring a series of powerful kingdoms,including the founding of Babylon as a state, culminating in the triumph under Hammurabi of one of them, that of Babylon.
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Arab American
An Arab American (Arabic: عرب أمريكا) is a United States citizen or resident of Arab ethnic, cultural and linguistic heritage or identity, who identifies themselves as Arab. Arab Americans trace ancestry to any of the various waves of immigrants of the countries comprising the Arab World. Americans descended from immigrants of the Arab world via other countries are also included.
Countries of origin for Arab Americans include Lebanon, Syria, Palestine (mostly pre-1948 Palestine Christians as well as what since corresponds to the Gaza Strip and West Bank, plus Arab citizens of Israel), Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait in West Asia and Libya, Sudan, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Mauritania and Morocco (plus also Sahrawis from the disputed Western Sahara) in North Africa.
According to the 2008 ACS, there are 1,573,530 Arab Americans, accounting for 0.5% of the American population. The largest subgroup is by far the Lebanese Americans, with 501,907, nearly a third of the Arab American population. Over 1/4 of all Arab Americans claimed two ancestries, having not only Arab ancestry but also non-Arab. Some groups from the Arab World are non Arabs; Assyrians were listed in the US census under Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac. Arab Americans, and Arabs in general, comprise a highly diverse amalgam of groups with differing ancestral origins, religious backgrounds and historic identities. Instead, the ties that bind are a shared heritage by virtue of common linguistic, cultural, and political traditions.
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Arab Argentine
An Arab Argentine is an Argentine citizen or resident alien whose ancestry traces back to any of various waves of immigrants, largely of Arab cultural and linguistic heritage and/or identity, originating mainly from what is now Lebanon and Syria but also there are some individuals from the twenty-two countries which comprise the Arab world.
Although a highly diverse group of Argentines — in ancestral origins, religion and historic identities — Arab Argentines hold a heritage that shares common linguistic, cultural, and political traditions.
The majority of the Arab Argentines are from either Lebanese or Syrian background. Among Arab Argentines, 784,000 are Muslims. The interethnic marriage in the Arab community, regardless of religious affiliation, is very high; most community members have only one parent who has Arab ethnicity. As a result of this, the Arab community in Argentina shows marked language shift away from Arabic. Only a few speak any Arabic, and such knowledge is often limited to a few basic words. Instead the majority, especially those of younger generations, speak Spanish as a first language.
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Arab Australian
An Arab Australian is an Australian citizen or resident of Arab cultural and linguistic heritage and/or identity whose ancestry traces back to any of various waves of immigrants originating from one or more of the twenty-three countries comprised by the Arab World (from the northernmost Syria and westernmost Morocco in North Africa to the southernmost Sudan and easternmost Iraq in Southwest Asia).
Although Arab Australians comprise a highly diverse group of people, differing in ancestral origins, religious backgrounds and historic identities, Arab Australians hold a heritage that shares common linguistic, cultural, and political traditions, and it is these factors which are the ties that bind.
Arab Australians are people in Australia who have ancestry from the Arab World and are citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia, totaling approximately 308,104. The majority of Arab Australian originate from Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq and Morocco and other Arab nations, which are small in numbers but present nonetheless. The largest group of whom are the Lebanese numbering 199,640 or (0.92%), Palestinians who number 45,001 or (0.03%) , Syrian who number 20,213 or (0.08%), Iraqis who number 11,190 or (0.05%), Egyptians who number 50,001 or (0.12%), Sudanese who number 3,788 or (0.01%), Jordanians who number 2,687 or (0.01%), and Algerians who number 696 or (0.003%).
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Arab Brazilian
An Arab Brazilian is a Brazilian citizen born in an Arabic country, or a Brazilian-born person of Arab descent, who is aware of such ancestry and remains connected, in some degree, to Arabic culture.
Immigration of Arabs to Brazil started in the late 19th century, most of them coming from Lebanon, later from elsewhere in Ottoman Syria - Palestine and Iraq. When they were first processed in the ports of Brazil, they were classified as Turks because what is modern day Lebanon and Syria was a territory of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. The causes for Arabs to leave their homeland were an accelerated increase in population in Lebanon and the persecution by the Ottoman Turks. Arab immigration to Brazil grew in the 20th century, and was concentrated in the state of São Paulo, but also extended to Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Goiás, Rio de Janeiro and other parts of Brazil.
Most Arab immigrants in Brazil were Christians, the Muslims being a small minority in comparison to them. Intermarriage between Brazilians of Arab descent and other Brazilians, regardless of ethnic ancestry or religious affiliation, is very high; most Brazilians of Arab descent only have one parent of Arab origin. As a result of this, the new generations of Brazilians of Arab descent show marked language shift away from Arabic. Only a few speak any Arabic, and such knowledge is often limited to a few basic words. Instead the majority, especially those of younger generations, speak Portuguese as a first language.
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Arab Canadians
According to the latest 2006 census the Arab Canadian population is 470,580. The large majority of the Canadians of Arab origin population live in either Ontario or Quebec.
Arab Canadians come from all of the countries of the Arab World including Lebanese, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Iraq, Sudan and Yemen.
The distribution of the Arab population of Canada according to the 2001 census was as follows
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Arab Chileans
Arab Chileans, are immigrants to Chile from the Arab world. Most are Christian and are the descendants of immigrants from the Ottoman Empire, from the lands that are now Occupied Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan, who arrived in Chile in the mid-19th to early-20th centuries to escape from poverty. Ethnically Arab Chileans are often called "Turks", (Spanish: Turcos) a term believed to derive from the fact that they arrived from the Ottoman Turkish Empire. Most arrived as members of the Eastern Orthodox church, but a minority became Roman Catholic. A minority are Muslim.
It is estimated that 800,000 Chileans or nearly 5% of the population is of Arab origin, chiefly descendants of immigrants from the Middle East (i.e. Palestinians, Syrians, Lebanese and Middle East Armenians).Chile is home to a large population of immigrants, mostly Christian, from the Levant. Roughly 500,000 Palestinian descendants are believed to reside in Chile. And the effects of their migration are widely visible. The earliest such migrants came in the 1850s, with others arriving during World War I and later the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. The Club Palestino is one of the most prestigious social clubs in Santiago. They are believed to form the largest Palestinian community outside of the Arab world. Aside from these migrants of previous decades, Chile has also taken in some Palestinian refugees in later years, as in April 2008 when they received 117 from the Al-Waleed refugee camp on the Syria–Iraq border near the Al-Tanf crossing. The situation in Gaza has caused tensions even thousands of miles away between the Israeli and Palestinian communities in Chile.
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Arab Indonesians
Arab Indonesians are citizens of Indonesia of Arab, mainly Hadrami, descent. Restricted under Dutch East Indies' law until 1919, the community elites later gained economic power through real estate investment and trading. Currently found mainly in Java and South Sumatra, they are almost all (generally orthodox) Muslims.
Indonesia has had contact with the Arab world for hundreds of years, prior to the emergence of Islam in Indonesia. Most contact was with spice traders, but the first Arab settlements in the archipelago may date from the fifth century. Some later founded dynasties, including the Sultanate of Pontianak, while others intermingled with existing kingdoms. These early communities adopted much of the local culture, and some disappeared entirely while others formed ethnically distinct communities.
Modern Arab Indonesians are generally descended from Hadramis who came to Indonesia during the Dutch colonial period and married native women. They were classified as "foreign orientals" along with Chinese Indonesians, which led to them being unable to attend certain schools and restricted from travelling, and having to settle in special Arab districts, or kampung Arab. These laws were repealed in 1919.
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Arab Mexican
An Arab Mexican is a Mexican citizen of Arabic-speaking origin who can be of various ancestral origins. The vast majority of Mexico's 1.1 million Arabs are from either Lebanese, Syrian, Iraqi, or Palestinian background.
The interethnic marriage in the Arab community, regardless of religious affiliation, is very high; most community members have only one parent who has Arab ethnicity. As a result of this, the Arab community in Mexico shows marked language shift away from Arabic. Only a few speak any Arabic, and such knowledge is often limited to a few basic words. Instead the majority, especially those of younger generations, speak Spanish as a first language. Today, the most common Arabic surnames in Mexico include Nader, Hayek, Ali, Haddad, Nasser, Malik, Salazar, Abed, Mansoor, Harb and Elias.
Arab immigration to Mexico started in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Roughly 100,000 Arabic-speakers settled in Mexico during this time period. They came mostly from Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Iraq and settled in significant numbers in Nayarit, Puebla, Mexico City and the Northern part of the country (mainly in the states of Baja California, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Durango, as well as the city of Tampico and Guadalajara . The term "Arab Mexican" may include ethnic groups that do not in fact identify as Arab.
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Arab people
Arab people, also known as Arabs (Arabic: عرب, ʿarab), are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing an important part of Arab identity.
The word "Arab" has had several different, but overlapping, meanings over the centuries (and sometimes even today). In addition to including all Arabized people of the world (with language tending to be the acid test), it has also at times been used exclusively for bedouin (Arab nomads [although a related word, "`a-RAB," with the Arabic letter "alif" in the second syllable, once was sometimes used when this specific meaning was intended] and their now almost entirely settled descendants). It is sometimes used that way colloquially even today in some places. Townspeople once were sometimes called "sons of the Arabs." As in the case of other ethnicities or nations, people identify themselves (or are identified by others) as "Arabs" to varying degrees. This may not be one's primary identity (it tends to compete with country, religion, sect, etc.), and whether it is emphasized may depend upon one's audience.
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Arab Singaporean
The majority of the Arabs in Singapore are Hadhramis tracing their ancestry from the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula called Hadhramaut, which is now part of the Republic of Yemen. The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen PDRY was formed on 30 November 1967 when it achieved independence after 129 years of British rule. Some of the people living there are known as “Hadhramis”. The land there is mostly desert region. The fertile areas, suitable for cultivation, are small and concentrated in the wadi region. This harsh natural environment drove the Hadhramis to travel out of the area to trade and acquire the necessary items they needed. They had travelled to and engaged in trade in several areas: Hyderabad, India (before 1947), Dar-es-Salaam and East Africa as well as Malaya and the Netherlands East Indies.
Ingram (1936) gave a description of the type of social classes of the Hadhramis. Among them were migrants from Iraq, the Seyyids (Syeds), who were descendants of the grandsons of Prophet Muhammad, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali. The Syeds were well known for their education and influence over religious matters. Another social class, Sheikhs, was also influential in matters concerning religion. Both the Syeds and the Sheikhs formed the top of the social class in Hadhramaut. The Arabs in Singapore are descended from the Syeds and Sheikhs. As such, they carry the title of “Syed” and “Sharifah” (for men and women respectively) and "Sheikh" (also spelled “Shaikh”) and "Shaykhah" (also spelled "Shaikha") (for men and women respectively).
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Arab Venezuelan
An Arab Venezuelan is a Venezuelan citizen of Arab origin or descent. There are around 600,000 Venezuelans of Arab origin, mainly from Lebanon, Syria and Palestine. Venezuela has one of the largest Arab populations in the Americas.[citation needed]
Arab immigration to Venezuela started as early as the 19th and 20th centuries. They came mostly from Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine, and are present in significant numbers in Caracas.
Immigration of Arabs in Venezuela has influenced Venezuelan culture, in particular Arabic food and music. Most Arab Venezuelans are of Lebanese descent with their number around 340,000 and additional 400,000 are descendants of people from mainly Syria but also Palestine.
In religion, the majority of Arab-Venezuelans are Christians who belong to the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Rite Catholic Churches. There are few Muslims.
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Arabs in Berlin
Most Arabs in Berlin came to Germany in the 1970s, partly as Gastarbeiter from Morocco, the Turkish Province of Mardin (see: Arabs in Turkey) and Tunisia. However, the majority of Arabs in Berlin are refugees of the conflicts in the Middle East, e.g. the Lebanon Wars and the recent Iraq War. The Arabs in Berlin aren't a homogeneous group, because they originate from about 20 countries.
The largest concentration of Arab people in Berlin, can be found in Neukölln, where they make up 7.5% of the population. The percentage is certainly higher around Sonnenallee, which is characterized by a high presence of Middle Eastern shops. Around 35,000 are of Palestinian and 15,000 of Lebanese origin. The rest of 20,000 are mostly of Moroccon, Iraqi, Algerian and Egyptian origin.
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Arabs in Bulgaria
Arabs in Bulgaria are the people from Arab countries, particularly Lebanon, Syria, the Palestinian Territories, and Iraq, who emigrated from their native nations and currently reside in Bulgaria. Most Arab Bulgarians are of Lebanese or Syrian origin. In the forty year history of this community, 10,000 Arabs have migrated to Bulgaria. According to other data from two teams of anthropologists and sociologists, the number of Arabs in Bulgaria who are legal residents and officially have work permits was 17,000 people in 2004. Approximately the same number of Arabs reside in Bulgaria without official status.
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Arabs in Europe
Arabs in Europe are people of Arab descent living in Europe.
Arabs in Europe have a long history beginning with the Arab Empire when the Arabs conquered the Iberian peninsula, including what is now Spain and Portugal, and the island of Sicily in Italy. However, most of the Arabs of that time were expelled after the Reconquista. Nevertheless, many of the people in the Iberian peninsula, Malta, and Sicily today retain some genetic ties to the Arabs that controlled these territories in the past. There were also brief periods of independent Arab-Islamic colonization and occupation, in modern-day France, Switzerland, and Italy, using Fraxinet in the Gulf of St. Tropez as a base for raids and colonization.
The post-World War II migration of Arabs to Europe began as many Arabs from former French colonies like Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon and Syria migrated permanently to France. Also another source of migration began with guest workers, particularly from Morocco, who arrived under the terms of a Labour Export Agreements between several European countries including Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and France. Also other events in the Arab world sent new immigration waives to Europe like the Palestinian exodus, the Lebanese Civil War, and the first and second Iraq war. Many other Arabs immigrated to Europe because of political issues in their native countries. Another source of migration are Arabs who studied in European universities and decided to stay.
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Arabs in France
Arabs in France are people of Arab descent living in France.
French people of Arab origin (predomintly from Maghreb but also some from Mashreq areas of the Arab world) in France form the largest ethnic group after French people of European origin.
According to Michel Tribalat, a researcher at INED, there were 3.5 million people of Arab Maghrebi origin (with at least one grandparent from Algeria, Morocco or Tunisia) but also Arab Mashreqi origin (with at least one grandparent from Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Iraq or Egypt) living in France in 2005 corresponding to 5.8% of the total French metropolitan population (60.7 millions in 2005). Arab Maghrebis/Mashreqis have settled mainly in the industrial regions in France, especially in the Paris region. Many famous French people like Edith Piaf,Isabelle Adjani, Arnaud Montebourg, Alain Bashung, Dany Boon have Arab Maghrebi ancestry and Éric Besson, Carlos Ghosn, Jacques Saadé, Élie Aboud, Abdel Rahman El Bacha, Antoine Sfeir, Philippe Aractingi, Andrée Chedid, Matthieu Chedid, RAmez, Henri Jibrayel and Reem Acra are of Lebanese ancestry.
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Arabs in Germany
Arabs in Germany are people of Arab descent living in Germany. They form the second-largest predominantly Muslim immigrant group in Germany after the large German - Turkish community. There is an estimated number of 400,000- 500,000 people of Arab origin residing in Germany. Most Arabs came to Germany in the 1970s, partly as Gastarbeiter from Morocco, the Turkish Province of Mardin (see: Arabs in Turkey) and Tunisia. However, the majority of Arabs are refugees of the conflicts in the Middle East, e.g the Lebanon Wars and the recent Iraq War. The Arabs in Germany aren't a homogenous group, because they originate from about 20 countries.
The largest concentration of Arab people in Germany, can be found in Berlin, where they make up 2%-3% (70,000 people) of the population. The percentage is significantly higher in the Berlin boroughs of Neukölln, Kreuzberg and Wedding. Other significant centres of Arab populations in Germany can be found in Frankfurt am Main, Cologne, Munich, in the Ruhrgebiet, Hanover, Bonn and Hamburg. Most Arabs reside in urban areas and cities in former West-Germany. The only place in former Eastern Germany with a sizeable number of Arabs is Leipzig, where people of any Arab descent make up 0.8% of the total population (4,000 out of 522,800).
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Arabs in Greece
Greece has a significant Arab population of about 200,000 people. There about 60,000 Egyptians, 40,000 Iraqis and around 30,000 Lebanese. There also many Arabs from Syria, Palestine and Jordan. The majority tend to live in Athens, however they can be found in all the parts of the country. The majority of Egyptians and Iraqis are Muslims,there also some Christians(Copts and Assyrians). Lebanese, Syrians, Palestinians and Jordanians are primarily Christians (mostly Greek Orthodox) with an important number of Muslims.
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Arabs in Pakistan
Arabs in Pakistan (Urdu: عربي) consist of migrants from different countries of the Arab world, especially Egypt, Oman, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Palestine and Yemen and have a long history. The first form of contact between the Arab people and modern-day Pakistan originally came in 711, when Muhammad bin Qasim, an Arab military general, was on a quest to free Muslims and their families who had apparently been arrested by Raja Dahir's soldiers while they were returning in a merchant ship to their homes in Iraq's city of Basra from Sri Lanka.
However, another version tells us about the migration of a number of the descendants of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, to Sindh, after the atrocities by the Omayya and Abassi caliphs against them. They have settled in the province of Sindh, Panjab and as far north as Murree.
The ship was hauled up by Dahir's men while it was passing a port located in the Sindh province of Pakistan and the people were taken as captives. At that time, Hajjaj bin Yusuf was the governor of present-day Iraq. Upon hearing the news, he wrote to Raja Dahir and demanded him to release the prisoners. Raja Dahir, who was the governor of Sindh at that time, refused to accept the request which tempted Yusuf to order Muhammad bin Qasim to proceed to Sindh along with an army unit of 6,000 troops in order to get the prisoners released. Qasim was hardly seventeen years of age at that time, however he was a ruthless and capable military commander, the main reason for which Yusuf may have recruited him.
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Arabs in Turkey
Arabs comprise the third largest ethnic group in Turkey. (Arabic: العرب في تركيا, Turkish: Türkiye Arapları) are a Semitic people.
Arabs in Turkey are mostly Muslims living along the southeastern border with Syria and Iraq in the provinces such as Batman, Bitlis, Gaziantep, Hatay, Mardin, Muş, Siirt, Şırnak and Şanlıurfa. The Arabs in eastern part of the border consist of many Bedouin tribes in addition to other Arabs who settled there before Turkic tribes came to Anatolia from Central Asia in the 11th century. Many of these Arabs have blood ties to Arabs of living in Syria, especially in the city of Ar Raqqah. The Arab society in Turkey is well integrated into the Turkish population. The majority of Arabic people who live in Turkey don't have knowledge of Arabic, especially the new generation.
The Treaty of Lausanne ceded to Turkey large areas that belonged to Ottoman Syria, especially within Aleppo Vilayet. Those areas were mostly inhabited by Arabs, who felt isolated within the new border.
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Arameans
The Arameans, or Aramaeans[pronunciation?] (Aramaic: ארמיא; ʼaramáyé) were a Northwest Semitic semi-nomadic and pastoralist people who originated in what is now modern Syria (Biblical Aram) during the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Large groups migrated to Mesopotamia where they intermingled with the native Akkadian (Assyrian and Babylonian) population.
The Arameans never had a unified nation; they were divided into small independent kingdoms across parts of the Near East, particularly in what is now modern Syria. After the Bronze Age collapse, their political influence was confined to a number of Syro-Hittite states, which were entirely absorbed into the Neo-Assyrian Empire by the 8th century BC.
By contrast, the Aramaic language came to be the lingua franca of the entire Fertile Crescent, by Late Antiquity developing into the literary languages such as Syriac and Mandaic. Scholars even have used the term "Aramaization" for the process by which the Akkadian/Assyro-Babylonian peoples became Aramaic-speaking during the later Iron Age.
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Argobba people
The Argobba are a Muslim people group that is spread out through isolated village networks and towns in the northeast and east of Ethiopia. The Argobba have typically been astute traders and merchants, and have adjusted to the economic trends in their area. These factors have led to the decline of the Argobba language.
Argobba communities can be found in the Afar, Amhara, and Oromia Regions, in and along the Great Rift Valley. They include Yimlawo, Gusa, Shonke, Berehet, Khayr Amba, Melkajillo, Metehara, Shewa Robit, and the surrounding rural villages.
In some places the Argobba language has homogenized with Amharic. In other places the people have shifted to neighboring languages for economic reasons. At this time there are only a few areas left where the Argobba are not at least bilingual in Amharic, Oromiffa or Afar. All of these languages have a literature that can be used to serve the Argobba, even though their current literacy rate in any language is low; the Argobba reportedly do not like to send their children to school because they will be influenced by the non-Moslem world. This is the same reason that the Argobba do not go to court.
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Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians (Armenian: հայեր, Armenian pronunciation: [hɑˈjɛɾ]) are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.
The largest concentration is in Armenia, having a nearly homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian. Because of wide-ranging and long-lasting diaspora, an estimated total of 3 million people of full or partial Armenian ancestry live outside of Armenia. As a result of the Armenian Genocide, a large number of survivors fled to many countries throughout the world, most notably the Russian Empire, the Near East, the United States, France, Iran, Georgia and other parts of Europe (see Armenian diaspora).
Christianity began to spread in Armenia soon after Jesus's death, due to the efforts of two of his apostles, St. Thaddeus and St. Bartholomew In the early 4th century, the Kingdom of Armenia became the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion. Most Armenians adhere to the Armenian Apostolic Church, a non-Chalcedonian church, which is also the world's oldest national church.
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Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (Hebrew: אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים, pronounced [ˌaʃkəˈnazim], singular: [ˌaʃkəˈnazi]; also יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכֲּנָז, Y'hudey Ashkenaz, "the Jews of Ashkenaz"), are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north.[citation needed]
The name Ashkenazi derives from the bibilical figure of Ashkenaz, the first son of Gomer, and a Japhetic patriarch in the Table of Nations (Genesis 10). In the Rabbinic literature, Ashkenaz's kingdom was first associated with the Scythian region, then later on with the Slavic territories, and from the 11th century onwards with Northern Europe and Germany. The Jews living in the northern regions, associated with Ashkenaz's kingdom, thus came to call themselves the Ashkenazi Jews. Later, Jews from Western and Central Europe also came to be called "Ashkenazi" because the main centers of Jewish learning were located in Germany.
Many Ashkenazi Jews later migrated, largely eastward, forming communities in non German-speaking areas, including Bohemia, Hungary, Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and elsewhere between the 11th and 19th centuries. With them, they took and diversified Yiddish, a High German language written using the Hebrew alphabet. It had developed in medieval times as the lingua franca among Ashkenazi Jews. The Jewish communities of three cities along the Rhine: Speyer, Worms and Mainz, created the SHUM league (SHUM after the first Hebrew letters of Shpira, Vermayza, and Magentza). The ShUM-cities are considered the cradle of the distinct Ashkenazi culture and liturgy.
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Ashurbanipal
Ashurbanipal ([pronunciation?]; Akkadian: Aššur-bāni-apli; Aramaic: "ܐܵܫܘܿܪ ܒܵܢܝܼ ܐܵܦܠܝܼ"; "Ashur is creator of an heir"; 685 BC – c. 627 BC), also spelled Assurbanipal or Ashshurbanipal, was an Assyrian king, the son of Esarhaddon and the last great king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (668 BC – c. 627 BC). He established the first systematically organized library in the ancient Middle East, the Library of Ashurbanipal, which survives in part today at Nineveh.
In the Bible he is called Asenappar (Ezra 4:10). Roman historian Justinus identified him as Sardanapalus.
Ashurbanipal was born toward the end of a fifteen-hundred-year period of Assyrian ascendancy.
His father, Esarhaddon, youngest son of Sennacherib, had become heir when the crown prince, Ashur-nadin-shumi, was deposed by rebels from his position as vassal for Babylon. Esarhaddon was not the son of Sennacherib's queen, Tashmetum-sharrat, but of the West Semitic/Aramean "palace woman" Zakutu "the pure', known by her native name, Naqi'a. The only queen known for Esarhaddon was Ashur-hamat, who died in 672 BC.
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Asmahan
Amal al-Atrash (Arabic: آمال الأطرش Āmāl al-Aṭrash; 25 November 1912 – 14 July 1944), better known by her stage name Asmahan (أسمهان Asmahān), was a Syrian Druze singer and actress. Having immigrated to Egypt in childhood, her family knew the composer Dawood Hosni, and she sang the compositions of Mohamed El Qasabgi and Zakariyya Ahmad. She also sang the compositions of Mohammed Abdel Wahab and her brother Farid al-Atrash, a then rising star musician in his own right. Hers was the only female voice in Arab music to pose serious competition to that of Umm Kulthum, who is considered to be one of the Arab world's most distinguished singers of the 20th century. Her mysterious death in an automobile accident shocked the public. Journalists spread gossip about her turbulent personal life and an alleged espionage role in World War II.
Asmahan was born to Fahd al-Atrash, a Syrian Druze from Suwayda, and 'Alia al-Mundhir, a Lebanese Druze from Hasbaya. Her father came from the Druze al-Atrash clan, well-known in Syria for its role in fighting against the French occupation.
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Assyrian flag
The Assyrian flag is the flag chosen by the Assyrian people to represent the Assyrian nation in the homeland and in the diaspora.
George Bit Atanus first designed the flag in 1968. The Assyrian Universal Alliance, Assyrian National Federation and Bet-Nahrain Democratic Party all adopted it in 1971. The flag has a white background with a golden circle at the center, surrounded by a four-pointed star in blue. Four triple-coloured (red-white-blue), widening, wavy stripes connect the center to the four corners of the flag. The Bet-Nahrain party added[citation needed] the figure of pre-Christian Assyrian god, Assur known from Iron Age iconography in red above the center.
The golden circle at the center that represents the sun, which, by its exploding and leaping flames, generates heat and light to sustain the earth and all its living things. The four pointed star surrounding the sun symbolizes the land, its light blue color symbolizing tranquility.
The wavy stripes extending from the center to the four corners of the flag represent the three major rivers of the Assyrian homeland: the Tigris, the Euphrates, and the Great Zab. The lines are small at the center and become wider as they spread out from the circle. The dark blue represents the Euphrates. The red stripes, whose blood red hue stands for courage, glory and pride, represent the Tigris. The white lines in between the two great rivers symbolizes the Great Zab; its white color stands for tranquility and peace. Some interpret the red, white and blue stripes as the highways that will take the scattered Assyrians back to their ancestral homeland. It is also said that when the stripes are reversed with the red stripes on top and the blue stripes on bottom, it symbolizes that the nation is at war.[dubious – discuss]
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Assyrian nationalism
Assyrian nationalism or Assyrianism increased in popularity in the late 19th century in a climate of increasing ethnic and religious persecution of the indigenous Assyrians of the Middle East.
Assyrian nationalism is the ideology of a united Assyrian people. Assyrianism is to a great degree geographically as well as ethnically and linguistically based. It is espoused by almost all Mesopotamian Aramaic speaking Assyrians (Also known as Chaldo-Assyrians) from Iraq, Iran, south eastern Turkey, north eastern Syria (in effect a region corresponding with ancient Assyria and Mesopotamia), diaspora communities that left these areas for Armenia, Georgia, southern Russia, Lebanon, Jordan and Azerbaijan and migrant Assyrians from all these lands now residing in Europe, North America and Australia.
The ideology of Assyrian nationalism advocates Assyrian independence, and is based on the political and national unification of ethnic Assyrian followers of a number of Syriac Christian Churches (mainly those originating in, or based in and around Mesopotamia) with classical Syriac as its cultural language. Its main proponents in the beginning of the 20th century were Naum Faiq, Freydun Atturaya and Farid Nazha.
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Assyrian people
The Assyrian people, most commonly known as Assyrians and other later names, such as: Chaldeans, Syrians, Syriacs (see names of Syriac Christians), are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia. They are Eastern Aramaic speaking Semites who trace their ancestry back to the Sumero-Akkadian civilisation that emerged in Mesopotamia circa 4000- 3500 BC, and in particular to the northern region of the Akkadian lands, which would become known as Assyria by the 24th Century BC. The Assyrian nation existed as an independent state, and often a powerful empire, from the 24th century BC until the end of the 7th century BC.
Today that ancient territory is part of several nations; Assyria remained a Geo-political entity after its fall, and was ruled as an occupied province under the rule of various empires from the late 7th century BC until the mid 7th century AD when it was dissolved, and the Assyrian people have gradually become a minority in their homelands since that time. They are indigenous to, and have traditionally lived all over what is now Iraq, north east Syria, north west Iran, and Southeastern Turkey. They are predominantly Christian.
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Azerbaijani people
The Azerbaijanis ( /ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːni/; Azerbaijani: Azərbaycanlılar, Азәрбајҹанлылар, آذربایجانلیلار ) or Azarbaijanis are Turkic-speaking people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as in the neighboring states, Georgia, Russia (Dagestan) and formerly Armenia. Also referred to as Azeris or Azaris (Azərilər, Азәриләр, آذریلر ) or Azerbaijani Turks (Azərbaycan türkləri), they also live in a wider area from the Caucasus to the Iranian plateau. The Azerbaijanis are predominantly Shi'a Muslim and have a mixed cultural heritage including Turkic, Iranic and Caucasian elements.
Following the Russo-Persian Wars of 1813 and 1828, the territories of the Qajar Persian Empire in the Caucasus were ceded to the Russian Empire and the treaties of Gulistan in 1813 and Turkmenchay in 1828 finalized the borders between Czarist Russia and Qajar Iran. The formation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918 established the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Despite living on two sides of an international border, the Azeris form a single ethnic group. However, northerners and southerners differ due to nearly two centuries of separate social evolution in Iranian Azerbaijan and Russian/Soviet-influenced Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani language unifies Azerbaijanis, and is mutually intelligible with Turkmen, Qashqai, Gagauz and Anatolian Turkish (including the dialects spoken by the Iraqi Turkmen), all of which belong to the Oghuz, or Western, group of Turkic languages.
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Bahrani people
> The Baharna (singular Bahrani, Arabic: بحراني ، بحارنة) are the indigenous inhabitants of the archipelago of Bahrain and the oasis of Qatif on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia (see historical region of Bahrain). The term is sometimes also extended to the Shi'a inhabitants of the al-Hasa oasis. They are all Arabic speaking, and claim descent from Arab tribes. Their dialect of Arabic is known as "Bahrani" or "Bahrani Arabic," and they are overwhelmingly adherents of Shia Islam.
The term Bahrani serves to distinguish the Bahrani people from other Shi'i in the region, such as the relatively recent immigrants from Iran who fall under the term Ajam, as well as from the Sunni immigrants in Bahrain who prefer the term Bahrayni or Ahl el-Bahrayn ("people of Bahrain"). In previous centuries, the term "Bahrani" often referred to any Arab inhabitant of the larger historical region of Bahrain.
In Arabic, bahrayn is the dual form of bahr ("sea"), so al-Bahrayn means "the Two Seas". However, which two seas were originally intended remains in dispute. The term appears five times in the Qur'an, but does not refer to the modern island — originally known to the Arabs as "Awal" — but rather to the oases of al-Katif and Hadjar (modern al-Hasa). It is unclear when the term began to refer exclusively to the Awal islands, but it was probably after the 15th century.
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Baloch people
The Baloch or Baluch (Balochi: بلوچ) are an ethnic group who mainly inhabit the Balochistan region in the southeast corner of the Iranian plateau in Western Asia.
The Baluch people mainly speak Baluchi, which is a branch of the Iranian languages, and more specifically of the North-western Iranian languages, that is highly influenced by that of Mesopotamia and shares similarities with Kurdish and other languages of the region. It also contains archaic features reminiscent of Old Persian and Avestan. They inhabit mountainous terrains and deserts, and maintain a very distinct cultural identity. The Baloch-speaking population worldwide is estimated to be in the range of 10 to 15 million.[citation needed] However, the exact number of Baloch and those who are or claim to be of Baloch ancestry is difficult to determine. In the Punjab province of Pakistan almost 10% of peoples are Balochi.[citation needed] Most of them speak Saraiki but in the Jhang area of Punjab, the majority of the Baloch population speak Punjabi also.[citation needed]
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Banu Hilal
The Banu Hilal (Arabic: بنو هلال) were a confederation of Arabian Bedouin tribes that migrated from Upper Egypt into North Africa in the 11th century, having been sent by the Fatimids to punish the Zirids for abandoning Shiism. Other authors suggest that the tribes left the grasslands on the upper Nile because of environmental degradation accompanying the Medieval Warm Period. The Banu Hilal quickly defeated the Zirids and deeply weakened the neighboring Hammadids. Their influx was a major factor in the linguistic, cultural and ethnic Arabization of the Maghreb, and in the spread of nomadism in areas where agriculture had previously been dominant.Ibn Khaldun noted that the lands ravaged by Banu Hilal invaders had become completely arid desert.
They were led by Abu Zayd al-Hilali. Their story is recounted in fictionalized form in Taghribat Bani Hilal.
There is a town in Morocco called Bani Hilal in the Doukkala region were the arab descendants of the ancient tribe still live, the dialect of the region is still very similar to the one from the origin of the tribe south of Hijaz in the Arabian peninsula
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Berber people
Berbers (Berber: ⵉⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⴻⵏ Imazighen / Imaziɣen) are the indigenous ethnic group of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch of the Afro-Asiatic linguistic family. Today, varieties of Maghrebi colloquial Arabic are spoken by a large portion of Berbers besides the Berber language itself. Foreign languages like French are used by the educated in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. Spanish is also known by some Berbers in Morocco and in the annexed Western Sahara and Italian in Libya. This presence of European languages was due to Europe's occupation and colonization of the Berber world. Today, most Berber-speaking people live in Morocco and Algeria, smaller Berber-speaking populations are scattered throughout Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Mali and Niger, as well as various diasporas living in Europe.
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Beur
Beur is a colloquial term to designate French-born people whose parents are immigrants from North Africa. The word was coined by reversing the syllables of the word arabe, which means Arabic or Arab in French. For example, "arabe" becomes "a-ra-beu" then "beu-ra-a" and "beur" by contraction. The term is slightly familiar and not advised in formal speech with respect to etiquette. Beurs have their origin in the countries of the Maghreb (Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria). In addition, the term Beur is also used to refer to all the Arabs from either Maghreb or Mashreq areas of the Arab world born in France.
Since the late 1990s, a lot of young people have used the twice-verlanised term rebeu as a synonym. A female beur can be called a beurette. The word beurgeois is derived from a combination of the words beur and bourgeois.
Since 2005, the BEUR.FM radio station has been broadcasting nationwide (106.7 FM in Paris). It specializes in Arab, particularly North African Arab music, discussion, and news.
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British Arabs
British Arabs are Arab people living or born in the United Kingdom. Unlike Black British or Asian British, the term is not one of those employed in government ethnicity categorisations used in the census and for national statistics. It is, however, the term used by the National Association of British Arabs and has also been employed by academics and in the media. It has been announced that the category 'Arab' will added to the 2011 UK Census for the first time ever.
Most Arabs live in the Greater London area, and many are either businesspeople, recent immigrants or students. Author Anthony McRoy suggests that there might be 500,000 British Arabs. The majority originate from Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Morocco, Palestine and Lebanon.
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Chaldea
Chaldea or Chaldaea ( /kælˈdiːə/), from Greek Χαλδαία, Chaldaia; Akkadian māt Kaldu; Hebrew כשדים, Kaśdim;Aramaic: ܟܐܠܕܘ, Kaldo) was a marshy land located in modern-day southern Iraq which came to rule Babylon briefly. Tribes of settlers who arrived in the region from the 8th Century BC became known as the Chaldeans or the Chaldees. The Hebrew Bible uses the term כשדים (Kaśdim) and this is translated as Chaldaeans in the Septuagint.
The short-lived 11th dynasty of the Kings of Babylon (6th century BC) is conventionally known to historians as the Chaldean Dynasty, although only the first four rulers of this dynasty were known to be Chaldeans, and the last ruler was known not to be. Their kingdom in the southern portion of Babylonia lay chiefly on the right bank of the Euphrates. Though the name came to be commonly used to refer to the whole of southern Mesopotamia, Chaldea proper was in fact the vast plain in the far south east formed by the deposits of the Euphrates and the Tigris, extending to about four hundred miles along the course of these rivers, and about a hundred miles in average width.
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Chaush
The Chaush are a Sunni Muslim community of Hadhrami Arab descent found in the Deccan region of India. An extension of these Arab descendants are also found in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro. It is a Turkish word used particularly during the Ottoman era of the Balkans, 'Chaush' or Čauši were military officers generally deputed as palace officers. They have a common origin with the Chavuse community of Gujarat.
Chaush is a Turkish word meaning military personnel, as many of them served in the armies of the Deccan rulers. They migrated to India in the 18th century, primarily from the Hadhrami people of the Hadhramaut region in Yemen. They have a big community mainly in the Deccan region of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. They have relatives living/working in the Persian Gulf region and many of them still holding Yemeni nationality. They came here in search of work especially from Yemen. They worked here with the Nizam of Hyderabad, serving in the armed forces or police. they have settled well over here and hold the Indian citizenship. They still have maintained the Arab culture in them. Most of them cannot speak Arabic but they still are Arabs. People who have migrated from Jizan(Saudi Arabia), They are the tribe known as Bin Munief Al Nahdi, and many more.
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Edom
Edom ( /ˈiː.dʌm/; Hebrew: אֱדוֹם, Modern Edom Tiberian ʼĔḏôm ; "red"; Assyrian: Udumi; Syriac: ܐܕܘܡ) or Idumea (Greek: Ἰδουμαία, Idoumaía; Latin: Idūmaea) was a Semitic inhabited historical region of the Southern Levant located south of Judea and the Dead Sea. It is mentioned in biblical records as a 1st millennium BC Iron Age kingdom of Edom, and in classical antiquity the cognate name Idumea was used to refer to a smaller area in the same region. The name Edom means "red" in Hebrew, and was given to Esau once he ate the "red pottage". (Genesis 25:30 KJV)
The Bible and The Torah describe the Edomites as descendants of Esau the eldest son of the Jewish patriarch Isaac, although no written records of the time have been discovered that support this claim.
The Edomites may have been connected with the Shasu and Shutu, nomadic raiders mentioned in Egyptian sources. Indeed, a letter from an Egyptian scribe at a border fortress in the Wadi Tumilat during the reign of Merneptah reports movement of nomadic "shasu-tribes of Edom" to watering holes in Egyptian territory. The earliest Iron Age settlements—possibly copper mining camps—date to the 9th century BCE. Settlement intensified by the late 8th century BC and the main sites so far excavated have been dated between the 8th and 6th centuries BC. The last unambiguous reference to Edom is an Assyrian inscription of 667 BC; it has thus been unclear when, how and why Edom ceased to exist as a state, although many scholars point to scriptural references in the Bible, specifically the historical book of Obadiah, to explain this phenomenon.
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Egyptians
Egyptians (Egyptian Arabic: مَصريين IPA: [mɑsˤɾejˈjiːn]; Arabic: مِصريّون miṣriyūn) are the inhabitants and citizens of Egypt sharing a common culture and a dialect of Arabic.
Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to the Mediterranean and enclosed by desert both to the east and to the west. This unique geography has been the basis of the development of Egyptian society since antiquity. If regarded as a single ethnic group, the Egyptian people constitute one of the world's largest.
The daily language of the Egyptians is the local variety of Arabic, known as Egyptian Arabic or Masri, Also a sizable minority of Egyptian speak Sa'idi Arabic in Upper Egypt. Egyptians are predominantly adherents of Sunni Islam with a Shia minority and a significant proportion who follow native Sufi orders. A sizable minority of Egyptians belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church, whose liturgical language, Coptic, is the last stage of the indigenous Egyptian language.
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Faisal I of Iraq
Faisal bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashemi, (Arabic: فيصل بن حسين بن علي الهاشمي Fayṣal ibn Ḥusayn; 20 May 1885 – 8 September 1933) was for a short time King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria or Greater Syria in 1920, and was King of the Kingdom of Iraq (today Iraq) from 23 August 1921 to 1933. He was a member of the Hashemite dynasty.
Faisal encouraged overcoming cleavage between Sunni and Shiite to foster common loyalty and promote pan-Arabism in the goal of creating an Arab state that would include Iraq, Syria and the rest of the Fertile Crescent. While in power, Faisal tried to diversify his administration by including different ethnic and religious groups in offices. He faced great challenges in achieving this because the region was under European, specifically French and British, control and other Arab leaders of the time were hostile to his ideas as they pursued their own political aspirations for power. In addition, Faisal’s attempt at pan-Arab nationalism inevitably isolated certain religious groups.
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Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (Arabic: جمال عبد الناصر حسين, IPA: [ɡæˈmæːl ʕæbdenˈnɑːsˤeɾ ħeˈseːn]; 15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of modernization, and socialist reform in Egypt together with a profound advancement of pan-Arab nationalism, including a short-lived union with Syria.
Nasser is seen as one of the most important political figures in both modern Arab history and politics in the 20th century. Under his leadership, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal Company and came to play a central role in anti-imperialist efforts in the Arab World and Africa. The imposed ending to the Suez Crisis made him a hero throughout the Arab world. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the international Non-Aligned Movement. He is well known for his nationalist policies and version of pan-Arabism, also referred to as Nasserism, which won a great following in the Arab World during the 1950s and 1960s. Although his status as "leader of the Arabs" was badly damaged by the Israeli victory over the Arab armies in the Six-Day War, as well as Egypt's failure to win the subsequent War of Attrition against Israel, many in the general Arab population still view Nasser as a symbol of Arab dignity and freedom.
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Gindibu
Gindibu led the Arab forces at the Battle of Qarqar (853 BCE), as an ally of Ben Haddad the king of the Aramean state of Damascus, as they fought against Assyria. He appears on the Kurkh Monolith, on which an Assyrian scribe recorded a description of the size of the enemy forces facing king Shalmaneser III, and a record containing "the first known reference to the Arabs as a distinct group". Little else is known of Gindibu or the Arabs of his time.
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Gnawa
The Gnawa (or Gnaoua, Ghanawa, Ghanawi, Gnawi) people originated from North and West Africa; to be precise the ancient Ghanaian Empire of Ouagadougou (present day Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Burkino Faso and 85% of Mali (pre Gnawi/Mali Wars)).
This name Gnawa is taken from one of the indigenous languages of the Sahara Desert called Tamazight. The phonology of this term according to the grammatical principles of Tamazight is as follows: Gnawi (singular), Gnawa (collective) and Gnawn (plural rarely used).
The Gnawa are an ethnic group whom, with the passing of time became a part of the Sufi order in Morocco. This kingdom bordered Morocco and Algeria's southern borders, and had a 300 year blood war with Morocco, prior to both countries forging a long lasting peace accord (conducted between the Monarchs of both countries alone with a scribe). Evidence of this is found is the tribal oral tradition of both countries (Soussi, Riffi, & Ashanti tribes). The result of which saw unprecedented levels of marriages between the Gnawis (ancient Ghanaians) and Soussis of Morocco. A small percentage of this community (Gnawa/Ghanawa) were given to Morocco's monarch (Mulay: to mean Emperor) as workers as a token and seal of the aforementioned accord. They traveled to Morocco by way of tribal caravans during (and external to) the hours of trade Trans-Saharan trade.
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Gurage people
Gurage is an ethnic group in Ethiopia. According to the 2007 national census, its population is 1,867,377 people (or 2.53% of the total population of Ethiopia), of whom 792,659 are urban dwellers. This is 2.53% of the total population of Ethiopia, or 7.52% of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (SNNPR). The Gurage people inhabit a fertile, semi-mountainous region in southwest Ethiopia, about 150 miles southwest of Addis Ababa, bordering the Awash River in the north, the Gibe River (a tributary of the Omo) to the southwest, and Lake Zway in the east. The Gurage nation consists of three dialectically varied subgroups, Northern, Eastern and Western. However, the largest group within the Eastern subgroup, known as the Silt'e, identify foremost as Muslims. In 2000, the Silt'e, refusing to identify as Gurage, voted overwhelmingly for the establishment of a separate special administrative unit within SNNPR by the EPRDF government.
According to the historian Paul B. Henze, their origins are explained by traditions of a military expedition to the south during the last years of the Aksumite Empire, which left military colonies that eventually became isolated from both northern Ethiopia and each other.
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Habesha people
The term Habesha (Ge'ez: ሐበሻ Ḥabaśā, Amharic (H)ābešā, Tigrinya: ? Ḥābešā; Arabic: الحبشة al-Ḥabašah) refers to the South Semitic-speaking group of people whose cultural, linguistic, and in certain cases, ancestral origins trace back to those people who ruled the Axumite Empire and the kingdom known as DʿMT (usually vocalized Diʿamat).
Peoples referred to as "Habesha" today include the Amhara, Tigray-Tigrinya and Tigre ethnic groups of Ethiopia and Eritrea, who are predominantly Oriental Christians and have been since AD 332, with exception to Tigre who are predominantly Muslim. The Amhara and Tigray ethnicities combined make up about 33% of Ethiopia's population (ca. 24.6 million Amhara, 5.5 million Tigray), while the Tigrinya & Tigre combined make up 85% (55% plus 30% respectively) of Eritrea's population (ca. 5 of 5.9 million).
The term also includes the Semitic-speaking Gurage and Harari people in Ethiopia, due to their common descent from the Ge'ez speaking Axumite civilization, and strong historical links to the Amhara and Tigray. While the term Habesha has come to be associated with adherents of the Orthodox Christian faith, the term actually predates the conversion of Axum to Christianity, and refers generally to speakers of Ethiopic (Ethiosemitic) regardless of religion. Thus the Harari who are almost exclusively Muslim are still considered Habesha.
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Habib Hassan Touma
Habib Hassan Touma Arabic: حبيب حسن توما) (December 12, 1934 – 1998) was a Palestinian composer and ethnomusicologist. He authored a number of books, essays and articles on Arabic music.
He was also a book review editor at the International Institute for Traditional Music in Berlin, Germany.
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Hadhrami people
The Hadhrami (Arabic: حضرمي) or Hadharem (Arabic: الحضارم) are people from the Hadhramaut and their descendants in diaspora communities around the world. They speak Hadhrami Arabic.
Though most of the Muslim peoples of the Arabian peninsula speak Arabic and have similar ancestry and dress, they are not all one people. Among the two million inhabitants of Democratic Yemen, there are 1,300 distinct Arab tribes. Even unity among the 151,000 Hadrami people is not very strong. Antagonism between townsfolk and wandering tribesmen has been so bitter that the towns are surrounded by stone walls to protect them from attack by their tribal countrymen.
Many Hadramis still practice the nomadic lifestyle of their ancient ancestors. But today approximately half of the Hadramis live in the towns and villages scattered through the deep valleys of their region. Even among these settled peoples, there are sharp distinctions, the highest social prestige belonging to the wealthy, educated Sadahs, who claim to be direct descendants of Muhammed. Hadramis rarely marry outside their own social level, and often live in segregated groups in separate parts of town.
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Hagar
Hagar ([pronunciation?]; Hebrew: הָגָר, Modern Hagar Tiberian Hāḡār, "stranger"; Greek: Άγαρ Agar; Latin: Agar; Arabic: هاجر; Hājar), according to the Abrahamic faiths, was the second wife of Abraham, (Genesis 16:3) and the mother of his first son, Ishmael. Her story is recorded in the Book of Genesis, mentioned in Hadith, and alluded to in the Qur'an. Hagar's son, Ishmael, is the patriarch of the Ishmaelites.
This is a summary of the account of Hagar from Genesis 16,21
Hagar was an Egyptian handmaiden of Sarai, the first wife of Abraham, who served her mistress less than ten years since coming out of Egypt. Hagar was offered, by her mistress, to Abram to be as a second wife.[Gen.16:3] Sarai presented this offering to her husband because she had been barren for so long and sought a way to fulfill God's promise, especially since they were getting older. (Genesis 16:1-3)
When Hagar realized that she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Sarai sensed her slave's attitude which caused her to suffer greatly. Sarai then consulted her husband about the matter who gave her permission to do with Hagar as she saw fit. Sarai dealt with her harshly, which resulted in Hagar fleeing from Abram’s settlement. (Genesis 16:4-6)
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Harari people
The Harari people, also called Geyusu ("People of the City"), are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group in the Horn of Africa. They traditionally inhabit Harar in the Harari Region of eastern Ethiopia.
Studies have shown Hararis are said to be connected with the ancient Harla tribe. Revelations of this was made by observing the similarities of the architecture and technology used in Harar city and ancient Harla sites. Although proof of language is currently unavailable, data suggests that Hararis were spread outside the city walls, occupying large regions from Karkaar mountains, and Middle Awash as well as the eastern region of Jijiga. To this day the region between Harar and Dire Dawa is still called Harla. The oromo migration is said to have assimilated the Harla-Harari population evidence of this was that blocks of semetic speakers were spread from Gurageland, islands of Lake Zway and the city of Harar. Before the major Adal-Ethiopian conflict it can be assumed that a Harari-Harla semetic group existed in vast regions across present day Ethiopia and Somalia.
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Himyarite Kingdom
The Himyarite Kingdom or Himyar (in Arabic مملكة حِمْيَر mamlakat ħimyâr) (r. 110 BC–520s), historically referred to as the Homerite Kingdom by the Greeks and the Romans, was a kingdom in ancient Yemen. Established in 110 BC, it took as its capital the modern day city of Sana'a after the ancient city of Zafar. The Kingdom conquered neighbouring Saba (Sheba) in c.25 BC, Qataban in c.200 CE, and Hadramaut c.300 CE. Its political fortunes relative to Saba changed frequently until it finally conquered the Sabaean Kingdom around 280 CE.
The Himyarite Kingdom was the dominant polity in Arabia until 525 AD. Its economy was based on agriculture, and foreign trade centered on the export of frankincense and myrrh. For many years, the kingdom was also the major intermediary linking East Africa and the Mediterranean world. This trade largely consisted of exporting ivory from Africa to be sold in the Roman Empire. Ships from Himyar regularly traveled the East African coast, and the state also exerted a large amount of Influence both cultural religious and political to the trading cities of East Africa whilst the cities of East Africa remained independent. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes the trading empire of Himyar and its ruler Charibael (Karab Il Watar Yuhan'em II), who is said to have been on friendly terms with Rome:
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Hyksos
The Hyksos ([pronunciation?]Egyptian heqa khasewet, "foreign rulers"; Greek Ὑκσώς, Ὑξώς, Arabic: الملوك الرعاة, shepherd kings) were an Asiatic people who took over the eastern Nile Delta and ending the the thirteenth dynasty, initiating the Second Intermediate Period of ancient Egypt.
The Hyksos first appeared in Egypt during the eleventh dynasty, began their climb to power in the thirteenth dynasty, and came out of the second intermediate period in control of Avaris and the Delta. By the fifteenth dynasty, they ruled Lower Egypt, and at the end of the seventeenth dynasty, they were expelled.
The historian Josephus maintains that the Hyksos where in fact the children of Jacob who joined his son Joseph to escape the famine in the land of Canaan.
There are various hypotheses as to the Hyksos ethnic identity. Most archeologists[who?] describe the Hyksos as multi-ethnic, to include all of the peoples who occupied the emporia of the delta. Some were warlords seeking employment by the Egyptians as mercenaries. Some were unemployed agricultural workers looking for work helping produce food and resorting to banditry, theft and other crimes when they did not get it. Some were skilled tradesmen, professionals, doctors, lawyers, scribes, priests, diplomats, accountants. Some were merchants importing raw materials: timber from Byblos, semi-precious stones from as far away as Afghanistan, tin, copper, bronze, medicines for the doctors, perfumes for the wigmakers, bitumen, natron, linen, frankincense and myrrh for the mummification industry at Karnak or exporting grain and beer to as far away as Greece.
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Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldūn or Ibn Khaldoun (full name, Arabic: أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي , Abū Zayd ‘Abdu r-Raḥmān bin Muḥammad bin Khaldūn Al-Ḥaḍrami, May 27, 1332 AD/732 AH – March 19, 1406 AD/808 AH) was a Muslim historiographer and historian who is often viewed as one of the forerunners of modern historiography,sociology and economics.
He is best known for his Muqaddimah (known as Prolegomenon in English), which was discovered, evaluated and fully appreciated first by 19th century European scholarship, although it has also had considerable influence on 17th-century Ottoman historians like Ḥajjī Khalīfa and Mustafa Naima who relied on his theories to analyze the growth and decline of the Ottoman empire. Later in the 19th century, Western scholars recognized him as one of the greatest philosophers to come out of the Muslim world.
Ibn Khaldun's life is relatively well-documented, as he wrote an autobiography (التعريف بابن خلدون ورحلته غربا وشرقا; Al-Taʻrīf bi Ibn-Khaldūn wa Riħlatuhu Gharbān wa Sharqān) in which numerous documents regarding his life are quoted word-for-word. However, the autobiography has little to say about his private life, so little is known about his family background. Generally known as "Ibn Khaldūn" after a remote ancestor, he was born in Tunis in AD 1332 (732 A.H.) into an upper-class Andalusian family, the Banū Khaldūn. His family, which held many high offices in Andalusia, had emigrated to Tunisia after the fall of Seville to Reconquista forces around the middle of the 13th century. Under the Tunisian Hafsid dynasty some of his family held political office; Ibn Khaldūn's father and grandfather however withdrew from political life and joined a mystical order. His brother, Yahya Ibn Khaldun, was also a historian who wrote a book on the Abdalwadid dynasty, and who was assassinated by a rival for being the official historiographer of the court.
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Iraqi people
The Iraqi people (Arabic: العراقيون ʿIrāqīyūn, Kurdish: گهلی عیراق Îraqîyan, Aramaic: ܥܡܐ ܥܝܪܩܝܐ ʿIrāqāyā) or Mesopotamian people (Arabic: شعب بلاد ما بين النهرين) are the native inhabitants of the country of Iraq, (also known as Mesopotamia), and their related diaspora. From late Assyrian and Babylonian times until the early Islamic era, the Iraqi people spoke Aramaic but also witnessed a minority Arab presence.
Arabic had been a minority language in Iraq since the 8th century BC, it was spoken in Hatra in the 1st and 2nd centuries, and by Iraqi Christians in Al-Hirah from the 3rd century, and from the 8th century following the Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia it became the common language of Iraqi Muslims, due to Arabic being the language of the Qur'an and the Caliphate. This change was facilitated by the fact that Arabic being a Semitic language, shared a close resemblance to Iraq's traditional languages of Akkadian and Aramaic. Some of Iraq's Christians and Mandaeans retained dialects of Aramaic, since it remained the liturgical language of their faiths. Kurdish-speaking Iraqis live in the mountainous Zagros region of northeast Iraq to the east of the upper Tigris. The Kurds and Arabs of Mesopotamia have interacted and intermarried for well over a millennium. Modern genetic studies indicate that Iraqi Arabs and Kurds are very closely related. Arabic and Kurdish are Iraq's national languages.
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Ishmael
Ishmael (Hebrew: יִשְׁמָעֵאל, Modern Yishma'el Tiberian Yišmāʻēl ISO 259-3 Yišmaˁel; Greek: Ισμαήλ Ismaēl; Latin: Ismael; Arabic: إسماعيل ʾIsmāʿīl) is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, and was Abraham's first son according to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Ishmael was born of Abraham's marriage to Sarah's handmaiden Hagar (Genesis 16:3). According to the Genesis account, he died at the age of 137 (Genesis 25:17).
Cognates of Hebrew Yishma'el existed in various ancient Semitic cultures, including early Babylonian and Minæan. It is translated literally as "God has hearkened", suggesting that "a child so named was regarded as the fulfillment of a divine promise".
This is the account of Ishmael from Genesis Chapters 16, 17, 21, 25
In Genesis 16, the birth of Ishmael was planned by the Patriarch Abraham’s first wife, who at that time was known as Sarai. She and her husband Abram (Abraham), sought a way to have children in order to fulfill the Abrahamic covenant that was established in Genesis 15. Since Sarai had yet to bear Abram a child, her idea was to offer her Egyptian handmaiden Hagar to Abram, so that they could have a child by her. Abram consented to a marital arrangement taking Hagar as his second wife when he was in his late 85th year of age. Customs of that time dictated that, although Hagar was the birth mother, any child conceived would belong to Sarai and Abram (Sarah and Abraham).
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Israelites
The Israelites (בני ישראל, Standard: Bnai Yisraʾel; Tiberian: Bnai Yiśrāʾēl; ISO 259-3: Bnai Yiśraˀel) were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East, who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the tribal and monarchic periods (15th to 6th centuries BCE), later evolving into Jews and Samaritans of the classic period, inhabiting Judea and Samaria respectively. In Modern Hebrew usage, an Israelite is, broadly speaking, a lay member of the Jewish ethnoreligious community, as opposed to the priestly orders of Kohanim and Levites.
The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew word "Israel". Although most literary references to Israelites are located in the Hebrew Bible, there is also abundant non-biblical archaeological and historical evidence of ancient Israel and Judah. The ethnonym is attested as early as the 13th century BCE in an Egyptian inscription. The Hebrew Bible etymologizes the name as from yisra "to prevail over" or "to struggle/wrestle with", and el, "God, the divine". The eponymous biblical patriarch of the Israelites is Jacob, who wrestled with God who gave him a blessing and renamed him "Israel" because he had "striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." (Genesis 32:24-32) According to the Hebrew Bible, Israelites were the "chosen people" of God. The name Hebrews is sometimes used synonymously with "Israelites". The Qurʾānic term is for Israelites is Banī Israʾīl (children of Israel).
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Jews
The Jews (Hebrew: יְהוּדִים ISO 259-3 Yhudim Israeli pronunciation [jehuˈdim]), also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and an ethnoreligious group, originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation.Converts to Judaism, whose status as Jews within the Jewish ethnos is equal to those born into it, have been absorbed into the Jewish people throughout the millennia.
In Jewish tradition, Jewish ancestry is traced to the Biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the second millennium BCE. The modern State of Israel defines itself as a Jewish state in its Basic Laws, and Israel's Law of Return states: "Every Jew has the right to come to this country as an oleh." Israel is the only country where Jews are a majority of the population. Jews achieved political autonomy twice before in ancient history. The first of these periods lasted from 1350 to 586 BCE, and encompassed the periods of the Judges, the United Monarchy, and the Divided Monarchy of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, ending with the destruction of the First Temple. The second was the period of the Hasmonean Kingdom spanning from 140 to 37 BCE. Since the destruction of the First Temple, most Jews have lived in diaspora. A minority in every country in which they live (except Israel), they have frequently experienced persecution throughout history, resulting in a population that has fluctuated both in numbers and distribution over the centuries.
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John of Damascus
Saint John of Damascus (Greek: Ἰωάννης ὁ Δαμασκηνός Iōannēs ho Damaskēnos; Latin: Iohannes Damascenus; also known as John Damascene, Χρυσορρόας/Chrysorrhoas, "streaming with gold"—i.e., "the golden speaker") (c. 645 or 676 – 4 December 749; Arabic: يوحنا الدمشقي Yuḥannā Al Demashqi) was a Syrian monk and priest. Born and raised in Damascus, he died at his monastery, Mar Saba, near Jerusalem.
A polymath whose fields of interest and contribution included law, theology, philosophy, and music, he is said by some sources to have served as a Chief Administrator to the Muslim caliph of Damascus before his ordination. He wrote works expounding the Christian faith, and composed hymns which are still used liturgically in Eastern Christian practice throughout the world. He is considered "the last of the Fathers" of the Eastern Orthodox church and is best known for his strong defense of icons. The Catholic Church regards him as a Doctor of the Church, often referred to as the Doctor of the Assumption due to his writings on the Assumption of Mary.
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Keturah
According to the Hebrew Bible, Keturah or Ketura (Hebrew: קְטוּרָה, Modern Ktura Tiberian Qəṭûrā ; "Incense") was the woman whom Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites, married after the death of his wife, Sarah. Keturah bore Abraham six sons, Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. The spelling of the sons' names vary as can be seen in 1st century CE Historian Flavius Josephus, who mentions Keturah and her sons in Antiquities of the Jews 1.238.
Keturah is referred to at different times as either Abraham's wife in Genesis 25:1 or Abraham's concubine in 1 Chronicles 1:32. While Abraham left everything to Isaac, he made grants to his sons by his concubine during his lifetime, and sent them east away from Isaac. He died at the age of 175. Keturah's six sons represent Arabian tribes south and east of Canaan.[citation needed]
Some, but not all, Jewish philosophers identify Keturah with Hagar, stating that Abraham sought her out after Sarah's death, and that Hagar's change of name to Keturah (a reference to incense used in worship) was symbolic of the pleasantness of her teshuvah (repentance) from her sinfulness during her exile. This interpretation is set forth in the Midrash and is supported by Rashi, Gur Aryeh, Keli Yakar, and Obadiah of Bertinoro. The contrary view (that Keturah was someone other than Hagar) is advocated by Rashbam, Abraham ibn Ezra, Radak, and Ramban.[citation needed] In the genealogy of 1 Chronicles, Keturah and Hagar are listed as two different people:
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Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds (Kurdish: کورد Kurd), are an Iranic people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. They speak the Kurdish language, which is a member of the Iranian branch of Indo-European languages. The Kurds number about 30 million, the majority living in the Middle East, with significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey, in Armenia, Georgia, Israel, Azerbaijan, Russia, Lebanon and, in recent decades, some European countries and the United States. The Kurds are an indigenous ethnic minority in countries where the Kurdistan region is located, although they have enjoyed partial autonomy in Iraqi Kurdistan since 1991. An irredentist movement pushes for the creation of a Kurdish nation state.
The exact origins of the name, "Kurd", are unclear. Reynolds believes that the term Kurd is most likely related to the ancient term Qardu. The common root of Kurd and Qardu is first mentioned in a Sumerian tablet from the third millennium B.C. as the "land of Kar-da." Qardu is etymologically related to the Assyrian term Urartu corresponding to Ararat. According to Asatrian, the most reasonable explanation of this ethnonym is its possible connections with the Cyrtii (Cyrtaei)
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Lebanese people
The Lebanese people (Arabic: الشعب اللبناني el shaab el libnene, Lebanese Arabic pronunciation: [eʃˈʃaʕb ellɪbˈneːne]) are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state.
The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Lebanese people is a rich blend of both indigenous elements and the foreign cultures that have come to rule the land and its people over the course of thousands of years.
Lebanon does not collect official census data on ethnic background and therefore is difficult to have an exact demographic analysis of Lebanese society, with the last census conducted by the French Mandate government in 1932. The largest concentration or people of Lebanese ancestry is in Brazil having an estimated population of 6 to 7 million. As with their predecessors, the Lebanese have always travelled the world, many of them settling permanently, most notably in the last two centuries.
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Maltese people
The Maltese (Maltese: Maltin) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Southern European nation of Malta, and identified with the Maltese language. Malta is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Included within the ethnic group defined by the Maltese people are the Gozitans (Maltese: Għawdxin) who inhabit Malta's sister island, Gozo.
Malta has been inhabited from around 5200 BC, since the arrival of settlers from the island of Sicily. A significant prehistoric Neolithic culture marked by Megalithic structures, which date back to c. 3600 BC, existed on the islands, as evidenced by the temples of Mnajdra, Ggantija and others. The Phoenicians colonized Malta from about 1000 BC, bringing their Semitic language and culture. They used the islands as an outpost from which they expanded sea explorations and trade in the Mediterranean until their successors, the Carthaginians, were ousted by the Romans in 216 BC with the help of the Maltese inhabitants, under whom Malta became a municipium.
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Maronites
Maronites (Arabic: الموارنة; al-mawārinah, Syriac: ܡܪ̈ܘܢܝܐ; maronāyé) are a 'Pre-Arab' Semitic Christian ethnoreligious group in the Levant. They derive their name from the Syriac saint Mar Maron whose followers moved to Mount Lebanon from northern Syria establishing the Maronite Church.
The Maronite were able to maintain an independent status in Greater Syria after the Arab Islamic conquest, maintaining their religion and language until the 13th century.
The Ottoman Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate and later the Republic of Lebanon were created under the auspice of European powers with the Maronites as their main ethnic component. Mass immigration to the Americas at the wake of the 20th century and the Lebanese Civil War decreased their numbers greatly in the Levant. The Maronites today form less than one quarter of the total population in the country of Lebanon.
A number of Maronite historians claim that the Maronites were the descendants of the Canaanite/Phoenician Marada (ܡܪܕܐ), residents in parts of Greater Syria, who kept their identity under both Byzantine and Arab authorities. The reason for their adoption of the name is disputed and historian disagree whether this is attributed to Mar Maron, a 4th century Syriac Christian saint, or to John Maron, the first bishop of Lebanon.
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Marsh Arabs
The Marsh Arabs (Arabic: عرب الأهوار ʻArab al-Ahwār "Arabs of the Marshlands"), also known as the Maʻdān (Arabic: معدان), are inhabitants of the Tigris-Euphrates marshlands in the south and east of Iraq and along the Iranian border.
Comprising members of many different tribes and tribal confederations, such as the Āl Bū Muḥammad, Ferayghāt, Shaghanbah and Banī Lām, the Maʻdān had developed a unique culture centred around the marshes' natural resources. Many of the marshes' inhabitants were displaced when the wetlands were drained during and after the 1991 uprisings in Iraq.
Madan means "dweller in the plains (ʻadan)" and was used disparagingly by desert tribes to refer to those inhabiting the Iraqi river basins, and by those who farmed in the river basins to refer to the population of the marshes. There was a considerable historic prejudice against the Maʻdān, partly as they were considered to have Persian or other "mixed" origin and partly due to their practice of temporary marriage.
Some historians and archaeologists provide circumstantial evidence to posit that Iraq's Marsh Arabs share the strongest link to the ancient Sumerians.[citation needed] Although this is to do with their lifestyle and culture, more than any proven ethnic link, the Sumerians disappeared as a race circa 1800 BC, long before Arabs entered the region.
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May Ziade
May Ziade (née Marie, with Ziade also written Ziadé, Ziyada or Ziadeh) (Arabic: مي زيادة) (February 11, 1886. – 1941), was a prolific ChristianLebanese-Palestinian poet, essayist and translator.
A writer for the Arabic newspapers and periodicals, Ziade also wrote a number of poems and books. She was a key figure of the Nahda in the early 20th century Arab literary scene, and is known for being an "early Palestinian feminist" and a "pioneer of Oriental feminism."
Ziade was born in Nazareth in Palestine to a Lebanese Maronite father (from the Chahtoul family) and a Palestinian mother. Her father, Elias Ziade, was editor of al-Mahrūsah.
Ziade attended primary school in Nazareth. As her father came to the Kesrouan region of Lebanon, at 14 years of age she was sent to Aintoura to pursue her secondary studies at a French convent school for girls. Her studies in Aintoura had exposed her to French literature, and Romantic literature, to which she took a particular liking. She attended several Roman Catholic schools in Lebanon and in 1904, returned to Nazareth to be with her parents. She is reported to have published her first articles at age 16.
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Mhallami
The Mhallami, or Mhalmites, (Arabic: محلّمى, Mḥallamī; Syriac: ܡܚܠܡܝ̈ܐ, Mḥallmāye/Mḥallmoye; Turkish: Mıhellemi) are a Semitic people originating from the Assyrian/Syriac people. They originally spoke Aramaic and were Eastern Rite Christians, but are now primarily speakers of North Mesopotamian Arabic (qiltu variant) and Sunni Muslims of Shafi`i madh'hab.
"A small minority of the Syriacs, around 1%, has converted to Islam, but remain Syriac in culture and language... The flag of the Muslim Syriac minority is a vertical tricolor of violet, yellow and green, bearing a white crescent moon and five-pointed star on the upper hoist."Sir Mark Sykes, in his book 'The Caliph’s Last Heritage', p. 578 says that 'the Mahallemi' became Muslim to be able to eat meat during a Lenten famine. He writes, 'They speak a bastard Arabic, and their women wear red clothes and do not veil. Ibrahim Pasha says they are now a mixed race of Arabs and Kurds. Some families are supposed to be Christians.
Lebanon had a population of 70,000 to 100,000 Mhallami prior to Lebanese Civil War. Their origin and legal status became a particular concern when they started to seek asylum in Western European countries en masse in early 1980s.
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Mizrahi Jews
Mizrahi Jews or Mizrahim (Hebrew: מזרחים), also referred to as Adot HaMizrach (עֲדוֹת-הַמִּזְרָח) (Communities of the East; Mizrahi Hebrew: ʿAdot(h) Ha(m)Mizraḥ) are Jews descended from the Jewish communities of the Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus. The term Mizrahi is used in Israel in the language of politics, media and some social scientists for Jews from mostly Arab-ruled geographies and adjacent, primarily Muslim-majority countries. This includes Jews from Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Azerbaijan, Iran/Persia, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kurdish areas, Northern and Eastern Sudan, as well as Ethiopia, and within and nearby Israel. Sometimes, Sephardi Jews such as Jews from Morocco, Algeria, or Turkey are erroneously grouped into the Mizrahi category for some historical reasons.
Despite their heterogeneous origins, Mizrahi Jews generally practice rites identical or similar to traditional Sephardic Judaism, although with some differences among the minhagim of the particular communities. This has resulted in a conflation of terms, particularly in Israel, and in religious usage, where "Sephardi" is used in a broad sense to include Mizrahi Jews as well as Sephardim proper. Indeed, from the point of view of the official Israeli rabbinate, the Mizrahi rabbis in Israel are under the jurisdiction of the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel who, in most cases, is a Mizrahi Jew. Today they make up more than half of Israel's Jewish population, but before the mass immigration of 1,000,000 mostly Ashkenazi immigrants from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s they made up over 70% of Israel's Jewish population.
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Moab
Moab (/ˈmoʊæb/; Moabite: 𐤌𐤀𐤁 Mʾb; Hebrew: מוֹאָב, Modern Mo'av Tiberian Môʼāḇ ; "seed of father"; Greek Μωάβ Mōav; Assyrian Mu'aba, Ma'ba, Ma'ab ; Egyptian Mu'ab) is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in Jordan. The land lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by numerous archeological findings, most notably the Mesha Stele, which describes the Moabite victory over an unnamed son of King Omri of Israel. The Moabite capital was Dibon. In Biblical times, the nation was often in conflict with its Israelite neighbours to the west.
Moab occupied a plateau about 3,000 feet (910 m) above the level of the Mediterranean, or 4,300 feet (1,300 m) above the Dead Sea, and rising gradually from north to south.
It was bounded on the west by the Dead Sea and the southern section of the Jordan River; on the east by Ammon and the Arabian desert, from which it was separated by low, rolling hills; and on the south by Edom. The northern boundary varied, but in general it may be said to have been represented by a line drawn some miles above the northern extremity of the Dead Sea.
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Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of Berber, Black African and Arab descent from Northern Africa, who came to conquer, occupy and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years.[citation needed] At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed other religions. They called the territory Al Andalus, comprising most of what is now Spain and Portugal.
" Moors" are not a distinct or self-defined people. Medieval and early modern Europeans applied the name primarily to Berbers, but also at various times to Arabs, Muslim Iberians and West Africans from Mali and Niger who had been absorbed into the Almoravid dynasty. Mainstream scholars observed in 1911 that "The term 'Moors' has no real ethnological value."
The Andalusian Moors of the late Medieval era inhabited the Iberian Peninsula after the Moorish conquests of the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates, and the final Umayyad conquest of Hispania.[citation needed] The Moors' rule stretched at times as far as modern-day Mauritania, West African countries, and the Senegal River. Earlier, the Classical Romans interacted with (and later conquered) parts of Mauretania, a state that covered northern portions of modern Morocco and much of north western and central Algeria during the classical period. The people of the region were noted in Classical literature as the Mauri.
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Muhammad
Muhammad (c. 26 April 570 – 8 June 632; also transliterated as Mohammad, Mohammed, or Muhammed; Arabic: محمد), full name: Muhammad Ibn `Abd Allāh Ibn `Abd al-Muttalib (Arabic: محمد بن عبدالله بن عبد المطلب ) was a leader from Mecca who unified the tribes of Arabia into a single religious polity under Islam. He is believed by Muslims and Bahá'ís to be a messenger and prophet of God. Muslims believe that Islam was not his own invention but was revealed by God, and most consider him to be the last prophet of God Muslims thus consider him the restorer of an uncorrupted original monotheistic faith (islām) of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other prophets.
Born in 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca, he was orphaned at an early age and brought up under the care of his uncle Abu Talib. He later worked mostly as a merchant, as well as a shepherd, and was first married by age 25. Being in the habit of periodically retreating to a cave in the surrounding mountains for several nights of meditation and prayer, he later reported that it was there, at age 40, that he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. islām) is the only way (dīn) acceptable to God, and that he himself was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as other Islamic prophets.
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Nabataeans
The Nabataeans, also Nabateans (Arabic: الأنباط al-ʾAnbāṭ), were ancient peoples of Jordan, whose oasis settlements in the time of Josephus (AD 37 – c. 100), gave the name of Nabatene to the borderland between Syria and Arabia, from the Euphrates to the Red Sea. Their loosely-controlled trading network, which centered on strings of oases that they controlled, where agriculture was intensively practiced in limited areas, and on the routes that linked them, had no securely defined boundaries in the surrounding desert. Trajan conquered the Nabataean kingdom, annexing it to the Roman Empire, where their individual culture, easily identified by their characteristic finely-potted painted ceramics, became dispersed in the general Greco-Roman culture and was eventually lost.
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Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, (Arabic: الشعب الفلسطيني, ash-sha‘b al-Filasṭīnī) also referred to as Palestinians (Arabic: الفلسطينيون, al-Filasṭīniyyūn), are descendants of the peoples who have lived in Palestine over the centuries. Today, Palestinians are largely culturally and linguistically Arab. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one half of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and Israel. In this combined area, as of 2004, Palestinians constituted 49% of all inhabitants, encompassing the entire population of the Gaza Strip (1.6 million), the majority of the population of the West Bank (approximately 2.3 million versus close to 500,000 Jewish Israeli citizens which includes about 200,000 in East Jerusalem), and 16.5% of the population of Israel proper as Arab citizens of Israel.
Throughout the aforementioned combined area, many are Palestinian refugees or internally displaced Palestinians, including more than a million in the Gaza Strip, three-quarters of a million in the West Bank,, and about a quarter of a million in Israel proper. Of the Palestinian population who live abroad, making up what is known as the Palestinian diaspora, more than half of these are stateless refugees lacking citizenship in any country. About 2.6 million of the diaspora population live in neighboring Jordan where they make up approximately half the population, 1.5 million live between Syria and Lebanon, a quarter of a million in Saudi Arabia, with Chile's half a million representing the largest concentration outside the Arab world.
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Palestinian Peruvian
A Palestinian Peruvian is a Peruvian citizen of Palestinian descent. The phrase may refer to someone born in Peru of Palestinian descent or to someone who has immigrated to Peru from Palestine. An estimated 10,000 Palestinians live in Peru[citation needed] alone, many of these families who arrived after the first Israel wars in 1948-49 had reestablished and bettered themselves in Peru when it comes to socioeconomic status.
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Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians. The synonymous usage of Iranian and Persian has persisted over the centuries although some modern Western sources use Iranic/Iranian as a wider term that includes the term Persian as well as related Iranian languages and ethnic groups. However, these terms have been used both synonymously as well as in a complementary fashion since ancient times; as the Ancient Iranian peoples such as the Old Persians, Medes, Bactrians, Parthians and Avesta peoples considered themselves to be part of the greater Iranian ethnic stock.
The term Persian translates to "from or of Persis" which is a region north of the Persian Gulf located in Pars, Iran. It was from this region that Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid empire, united all other Iranian empires (such as the Medes and the Elamites), and expanded the Persian cultural and social influences by incorporating the Babylonian empire, and the Lydian empire. Although not the first Iranian empire, the Achaemenid empire is the first Persian empire well recognized by Greek and Persian historians for its massive cultural, military and social influences going as far as Athens, Egypt, and Libya.
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Philip the Arab
Philip the Arab (Latin: Marcus Julius Philippus Augustus; c. 204 – 249), also known as Philip or Philippus Arabs, was Roman Emperor from 244 to 249. He came from Syria, and rose to become a major figure in the Roman Empire. He achieved power after the death of Gordian III, quickly negotiating peace with the Sassanid Empire. During his reign, Rome celebrated its millennium.
Among early Christian writers Philip had the reputation of being sympathetic to the Christian faith. It was even claimed that he converted to Christianity, becoming the first Christian emperor, but this is disputed. He supposedly tried to celebrate Easter with Christians in Antioch, but the bishop Babylas made him stand with the penitents. Philip and his wife received letters from Origen.
Philip was overthrown and killed following a rebellion led by his successor Decius.
Little is known about Philip's early life and political career. He was born in what is today Shahba, about 55 miles (89 km) southeast of Damascus, in the Trachonitis district, then in the Roman province of Arabia. Philip, who received the nickname "the Arab" because his family hailed from the Roman province of Arabia, was the son of a Julius Marinus, a local Roman citizen, possibly of some importance.
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Phoenicia
Phoenicia (UK /fɨˈnɪʃə/, US /fəˈniːʃə/; from the Greek: Φοινίκη: Phoiníkē), was an ancient Semitic Canaanite civilization situated on the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. The major Phoenician cities were on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550 BC to 300 BC. The Phoenicians used the galley, a man-powered sailing vessel, and are credited with the invention of the bireme. They were famed in Classical Greece and Rome as 'traders in purple', referring to their monopoly on the precious purple dye of the Murex snail, used, among other things, for royal clothing, and for their spread of the alphabet (or abjad), upon which all major modern phonetic alphabets are derived.
In the Amarna tablets of the 14th century BC, people from the region called themselves Kenaani or Kinaani (Canaanites), although these letters predate the invasion of the Sea Peoples by over a century. Much later, in the 6th century BC, Hecataeus of Miletus writes that Phoenicia was formerly called χνα, a name Philo of Byblos later adopted into his mythology as his eponym for the Phoenicians: "Khna who was afterwards called Phoinix". Egyptian seafaring expeditions had already been made to Byblos to bring back "cedars of Lebanon" as early as the third millennium BC.
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Phoenicians
Phoenicia (UK /fɨˈnɪʃə/, US /fəˈniːʃə/; from the Greek: Φοινίκη: Phoiníkē), was an ancient Semitic Canaanite civilization situated on the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. The major Phoenician cities were on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550 BC to 300 BC. The Phoenicians used the galley, a man-powered sailing vessel, and are credited with the invention of the bireme. They were famed in Classical Greece and Rome as 'traders in purple', referring to their monopoly on the precious purple dye of the Murex snail, used, among other things, for royal clothing, and for their spread of the alphabet (or abjad), upon which all major modern phonetic alphabets are derived.
In the Amarna tablets of the 14th century BC, people from the region called themselves Kenaani or Kinaani (Canaanites), although these letters predate the invasion of the Sea Peoples by over a century. Much later, in the 6th century BC, Hecataeus of Miletus writes that Phoenicia was formerly called χνα, a name Philo of Byblos later adopted into his mythology as his eponym for the Phoenicians: "Khna who was afterwards called Phoinix". Egyptian seafaring expeditions had already been made to Byblos to bring back "cedars of Lebanon" as early as the third millennium BC.
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Qahtanite
The terms Qahtanite and Qahtani (Arabic: قحطان; transliterated: Qahtan or Qaḥṭān or Kahtan) refer to Semitic peoples either originating in, or claiming genealogical descent from the southern extent of the Arabian Peninsula, especially from Yemen.
The rival group to the Qahtan are variously known as Adnan, Ma'add or Nizar.
The Qahtani people are divided into the two sub-groups of Himyar and Kahlan, with the Himyar branch as Himyarites and the Kahlan branch as Kahlanis.
Arab tradition maintains that a semi-legendary ancestral figure named Qahtan and his 24 sons are the progenitors of the southern inhabitants of the Arabian peninsula known as Qahtani.
Early Islamic historians identified Qahtan with the Yoqtan (Joktan) son of Eber of the Hebrew Bible (Gen. 10:25-29).
Among the sons of Qahtan are noteworthy figures like A'zaal (believed by Arabs to have been the original name of Sana'a, although its current name has been attested since the Iron Age) and Hadhramaut. Another son is Ya'rub, and his son Yashjub is the father of 'Abd Shams, who is also called Saba. All Yemeni tribes trace their ancestry back to this "Saba", either through Himyar or Kahlan, his two sons.
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Rashidun
The Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs (الخلفاء الراشدون al-Khulafā’u r-Rāshidūn) is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the first four Caliphs who established the Rashidun Caliphate. The concept of "Rightly Guided Caliphs" originated with the Abbasid Dynasty. It is a reference to the Sunni tradition, "Hold firmly to my example (sunnah) and that of the Rightly Guided Caliphs" (Ibn Majah, Abu Dawood).
The first four Caliphs who ruled after the death of Muhammad are often quoted as the Khulafah Rashidun.
The Rashidun were either elected by a council (see The election of Uthman and Islamic democracy) or chosen based on the wishes of their predecessor. In the order of succession, the rashidun were:
Hasan ibn Ali was appointed as Caliph in 661 following the death of Ali and is also regarded as a righteous ruler by Sunni Muslims, although he was recognized by only half of the Islamic state and his rule was challenged and eventually ended by the Governor of Syria, Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan.
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Rashidun Caliphate
The Rashidun Caliphate (Arabic: الخلافة الراشدية al-khilāfat ar-Rāshidīyah), (c. 632-661) comprising the first four caliphs in Islam's history, was founded after Muhammad's death in 632 (Year 10 A.H. in the Islamic calendar). At its height, the Caliphate extended from the Arabian Peninsula, to the Levant, Caucasus and North Africa in the west, to the Iranian highlands and Central Asia in the east. At its greatest extent it was one of the largest empires in history. It is also known as the Patriarchal Caliphate.
After Muhammad's death in 632, the Medinan Ansar debated which of them should succeed him in running the affairs of the Muslims while Muhammad's household was busy with his burial. Umar (a Quraish) and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah pledged their loyalty to Abu Bakr, with the Ansar and the Quraish soon following suit. Abu Bakr thus became the first Khalifa Rasul Allah (Successor of the Messenger of God), and embarked on campaigns to propagate Islam. First, though, he would have to subdue the Arabian tribes which had gone back on their oaths of allegiance to Islam and the Islamic community. As a Khalifa or Caliph he was not a monarch and never claimed such a title nor did his three successors do so.
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Sabaeans
The Sabaeans or Sabeans (Arabic: السبأيون as-Saba’iyūn) were an ancient people speaking an Old South Arabian language who lived in what is today Yemen, in the south west of the Arabian Peninsula.
Some scholars suggest a link between the Sabaeans and the Biblical land of Sheba, and would dismiss any link or confusion with the Sabians.
The ancient Sabaean Kingdom established power in the early 1st millennium BC. In the 1st century BC it was conquered by the Himyarites, but after the disintegration of the first Himyarite empire of the Kings of Saba' and Dhu-Raydan, the Middle Sabaean Kingdom reappeared in the early 2nd century. It was finally conquered by the Himyarites in the late 3rd century. Its capital was Ma'rib. The kingdom was located along the strip of desert called Sayhad by medieval Arab geographers, which is now named Ramlat al-Sab`atayn.
The Sabaean people were South Arabian people. Each of these had regional kingdoms in ancient Yemen, with the Minaeans in the north in Wadi al-Jawf, the Sabeans on the south western tip, stretching from the highlands to the sea, the Qatabanians to the east of them and the Hadramites east of them.
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Saracen
Saracen is an historical term for a certain group of people but the meaning changed during its history. In the early centuries AD in Greek and Latin it referred to a people who lived in desert areas in and near the Roman province of Arabia, and who were specifically distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Early Middle Ages, the term began to be used to describe Arab tribes. By the 12th century, "Saracen" had become synonymous with "Muslim" in Medieval Latin literature. This expansion of the meaning had begun centuries earlier among the Byzantine Greeks, as evidenced in Byzantine Greek documents from the era of the Muslim Umayyad Caliphate.
Ptolemy's Geography from the second century CE describes Sarakene as a region in the northern Sinai peninsula. Ptolemy also mentions a people called the Sarakenoi living in north-western Arabia (near neighbor to the Sinai).Eusebius of Caesarea references Saracens in his Ecclesiastical history, in which he narrates an account wherein Dionysus, Bishop of Alexandria mentions Saracens in a letter while describing the Roman emperor Decius' persecution: "Many were, in the Arabian mountain, enslaved by the barbarous sarkenoi." The Historia Augusta also refers to an attack by Saraceni on Pescennius Niger's army in Egypt in 193 CE but provides little information on who they might have been.
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Sayyid
Sayyid (pronounced [ˈsæjjɪd], or [ˈsæjjed], Arabic: سيد; meaning Mister; plural Sadah Arabic: سادة, Sādah) is an honorific title, it denotes males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali, sons of the prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib.
Daughters of sayyids are given the titles Sayyida, Alawiyah, Syarifah, or Sharifah. Children of a Sayyida mother but a non-Sayyid father cannot be attributed the title of Sayyid, however they may claim the title Mirza for males or Mirziya for females. Sayyids are by definition a branch of the tribe of Banu Hashim, a clan from the tribe of Quraish that traces its lineage to Adnan and thence to the Prophet Ismael.
In the Arab world, it is the equivalent of the English word "liege-lord" or "master" when referring to a descendant of Muhammad, as in Sayyid John Smith. This is the reason the word sidi (from the contracted form sayyidī, 'my liege') is used in the Moroccan dialect of Arabic.
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Semitic
In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic (from the Biblical "Shem", Hebrew: שם, translated as "name", Arabic: ساميّ) was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages. This family includes the ancient and modern forms of; Akkadian, Aramaic, Hebrew, Arabic, Ge'ez, Maltese, Canaanite/Phoenician, Amorite, Eblaite, Ugaritic, Sutean, Chaldean, Mandaic, Old Persian, Ahlamu, Amharic, Tigre and Tigrinya among others.
As language studies are interwoven with cultural studies, the term also came to describe the extended cultures and ethnicities, as well as the history of these varied peoples as associated by close geographic and linguistic distribution.
The term Semite means a member of any of various ancient and modern Semitic-speaking peoples originating in southwestern Asia, including; Akkadians (Assyrians and Babylonians), Eblaites, Ugarites, Canaanites, Phoenicians (including Carthaginians), Hebrews (Israelites, Judeans and Samaritans), Ahlamu, Arameans, Chaldeans, Amorites, Moabites, Edomites, Hyksos, Arabs, Nabateans, Maganites, Shebans, Sutu, Ubarites, Dilmunites, Maltese, Mandaeans, Sabians, Syriacs, Mhallami, Amalekites and Ethiopian Semites. It was proposed at first to refer to the languages related to Hebrew by Ludwig Schlözer, in Eichhorn's "Repertorium", vol. VIII (Leipzig, 1781), p. 161. Through Eichhorn the name then came into general usage (cf. his "Einleitung in das Alte Testament" (Leipzig, 1787), I, p. 45). In his "Geschichte der neuen Sprachenkunde", pt. I (Göttingen, 1807) it had already become a fixed technical term.
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Semitic studies
Semitic studies or Semitology is the academic field dedicated to the studies of Semitic languages and literatures and the history of the Semitic peoples.
It includes Assyriology, Hebraist and Syriacist studies as well as comparative studies of Semitic languages aiming at the reconstruction of Proto-Semitic.
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Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews (Hebrew: סְפָרַדִּי, Modern Sfaraddi Tiberian Səp̄āraddî) is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and traditions which originated in the Iberian Peninsula. Accordingly, the term Sephardic Jew refers to the Jews following the Sephardic Halakha.
The term essentially means "Spanish". It comes from Sepharad (Hebrew: סְפָרַד, Modern Sfarád Tiberian Səp̄āráḏ), a Biblical location. This location is disputed, but "Sepharad" was identified by later Jews as the Iberian Peninsula, and still means "Spain" in modern Hebrew.[citation needed]
In other languages and scripts, "Sephardi" translates as plural Hebrew: סְפָרַדִּים, Modern Sfaraddim Tiberian Səp̄āraddîm; Spanish: Sefardíes; Portuguese: Sefarditas; Catalan: Sefardites; Basque: Sefardiak; Galician: Sefardís; Italian: Sefarditi; Greek: Σεφαρδίτες Sefardites; Bulgarian: Сефаради Sefaradi; Bosnian: Sefardi; Serbian: Сефарди Sefardi; Turkish: Sefarad, Judaeo-Spanish: Sefaradies/Sefaradim; and Arabic: سفارديون Safārdīyyūn.
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Shabak people
Shabak people are an ethnic and religious minority group living in northern Iraq, who live mainly in the villages of Ali Rash, Khazna, Yangidja, and Tallara in Sinjar district in the province of Ninawa in northern Iraq. Their language, Shabaki, is a Northwestern Iranian language very close to Gorani Kurdish. Their population was estimated at around 15,000 in the 1970s., However it is believed to be more like 60,000 today. Shabaks consist of three different ta'ifs or sects: the Bajalan, Dawoody and Zengana (two Kurdish tribal confederations that also encompass some Shabak communities) and the Shabak proper. Shabaks follow an independent religion, related to but distinct from orthodox Islam and Christianity. It is also claimed that they are descendants of Qizilbash from the army of Shah Ismail.
The origin of the word shabak is not clear. One view maintains that shabak is an Arabic word شبك meaning intertwine, reflecting their diverse society. The name of Shabekan is available among the Zaza tribes in Tunceli/ Dersim Turkey[citation needed] and as Shabakanlu in Khorasan northern east of Iran.
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Shalmaneser III
Shalmaneser III (Šulmānu-ašarēdu, "the god Shulmanu is pre-eminent") was king of Assyria (859 BC – 824 BC), and son of the previous ruler, Ashurnasirpal II[1].
His long reign was a constant series of campaigns against the eastern tribes, the Babylonians, the nations of Mesopotamia and Syria, as well as Kizzuwadna and Urartu. His armies penetrated to Lake Van and the Taurus Mountains; the Hittites of Carchemish were compelled to pay tribute, and the kingdoms of Hamath and Aram Damascus were subdued.
In 853 BC a coalition which was formed by the kingdoms of Egypt, Hamath, Arvad, the Ammonites, "Ahab of Israel" and other neighboring states, under the leadership of king Hadadezer of Damascus, fought the Assyrian king at Battle of Qarqar. However, the Assyrian king persevered in his attempts to subjugate Israel and Syria[citation needed]. Other battles soon followed in 849 BC and 846 BC.
In 842 BC, Shalmaneser campaigned against Hadadezer's successor Hazael, forcing him to take refuge within the walls of his capital. While Shalmaneser was unable to capture Damascus, he devastated its territory, and Jehu of Israel (whose ambassadors are represented on the Black Obelisk now in the British Museum), together with the Phoenician cities, prudently sent tribute to him in 841 BC. Babylonia had already been conquered as far as the marshes of the Chaldaeans in the south, and the Babylonian king put to death. It was the Assyrian king who defeated the Western coalition at Qarqar.
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Shem
Shem (Hebrew: שם, Modern Shem Tiberian Šēm ; Greek: Σημ Sēm; Arabic: سام Sām; Ge'ez: ሴም, Sēm; "renown; prosperity; name") was one of the sons of Noah in the Hebrew Bible as well as in Islamic literature. He is most popularly regarded as the eldest son, though some traditions regard him as the second son. Genesis 10:21 refers to relative ages of Shem and his brother Japheth, but with sufficient ambiguity to have yielded different translations. The verse is translated in the KJV as "Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.". However, the New American Standard Bible gives, "Also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, and the older brother of Japheth, children were born."
Genesis 11:10 records that Shem was still 100 years old at the birth of Arpachshad, (but nearly 101 - see Chronology note,) two years after the flood, making him barely 99 at the time the flood began; and that he lived for another 500 years after this, making his age at death 600 years.
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Siddiqui
Siddiqui, (also rendered as Siddiqi, Siddique, Siddiquee, Siddighi, Sadighi, Seddighi, Sidiki or Siddiquie) (Arabic: صدیقی) is a Muslim family name, found in the South Asia and the Middle East. Shaikh is an additional title used occasionally by Siddiqui/Siddique to signify their Arab heritage. People having surname "Siddiqui" are offspring of Abu Bakr Siddiq (Arabic: ابو بكر الصديق), the first Caliph and an early companion and a close friend of the Prophet Muhammad.
The name "Siddiqui" derives from the word Siddiq, which means "truthful" in Arabic. "Al-Siddiq" was the title accorded to Abu Bakr (Arabic: ابو بكر الصديق), the first Caliph and friend of the Prophet Muhammad. The surname "Siddiqui/Siddiqi" signifies ancestry from Abu Bakr Siddiq.
Abu Bakr belonged to the Banu Taym clan of the Quraish. The genealogy of Abu Bakr joined that of the Prophet Muhammad in the eighth degree in their common ancestor Murrah ibn Ka'b. Four generations of the family of Abu Bakr Siddiq had the distinction of being the companions (Sahaba) of the Prophet Muhammad namely Abu Bakr, his father Uthman Abu Quhafa, his eldest son Abdu'l-Rahman and his grandson Abu Atiq Muhammad. No other family had this honour. Many Siddiqui families descend from this particular lineage. On the other hand, the Siddiqui families who are the progeny of Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, the youngest son of Abu Bakr descend from three generations of Sahaba. The lineage of Abu Bakr did not continue through his middle son Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr who was wounded during the Siege of Taif and later died of these wounds.
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Sons of Noah
The Sons of Noah, or Table of nations, is an extensive list of descendants of Noah appearing in Genesis 10 of the Hebrew Bible, representing a traditional ethnology. The significance of Noah in this context is that, according to Genesis, the population of the Earth was completely destroyed during the Flood because of the wickedness of the inhabitants, and Noah and his family were the sole eight survivors to continue the human race. The view of history presented by the Bible is thus that all humans on Earth are descended from Noah's family.
A literal interpretation of Genesis 10 suggests that the present population of the world was descended from Noah's three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives. Until the mid-19th century, this was taken by many as historical fact, and still is by many Orthodox Jews, and Christians.[citation needed]
There are disputes about how many of the peoples of the Earth this story was intended to cover, and as to its accuracy. Many Jews and Christians retain the belief that the table applies to the entire population of the earth, while others read it as a guide only to local ethnic groups.[citation needed]
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Spanish people
The term Spanish people (or Spaniards) has two distinct meanings: Traditionally, it applies to people native to any part of Spain. More recently, it has also come to have a legal meaning, referring to people who hold Spanish citizenship.
Within Spain there are a number of nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history. The official language of Spain is Spanish (also known as Castilian), a standard language based on the mediaeval dialect of the Castilians of north-central Spain. There are several commonly spoken regional languages. With the exception of Basque, the languages native to Spain are Romance languages.
There are substantial populations outside Spain with ancestors who emigrated from Spain; most notably in Latin America.
The earliest modern humans inhabiting Spain are believed to have been Neolithic peoples who may have arrived in the Iberian Peninsula as early as 35,000–40,000 years ago. In more recent times the Iberians are believed to have arrived or developed in the region between the 4th millennium BC and the 3rd millennium BC, initially settling along the Mediterranean coast. Celts settled in Spain during the Iron Age. Some of those tribes in North-central Spain, which had cultural contact with the Iberians, are called Celtiberians. In addition, a group known as the Tartessians and later Turdetanians inhabited southwestern Spain and who are believed to have developed a separate civilization of Phoenician influence. The seafaring Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians successively founded trading colonies along the Mediterranean coast over a period of several centuries. The Second Punic War between the Carthaginians and Romans was fought mainly in what is now Spain and Portugal.
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Syrian people
The Syrian people (Arabic: الشعب السوري / ALA-LC: al-sha‘ab al-Sūrī) are the inhabitants and citizens of Syria and are, overall an indigenous Eastern Mediterranean people. While modern-day Syrians are commonly described as Arabs by virtue of their modern-day language and bonds to Arab culture and history, they are, in fact, largely a blend of the various Aramaic speaking groups indigenous to the region who were Arabized when Muslim Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula arrived and settled following the Arab expansion. Syrians are tied together by geography, linguistic heritage, religion, and similar Eastern Mediterranean ethnicities. Most Syrians reside primarily in Syria; however 17 million Syrians live outside of Syria and they stay connected to their cultural roots by watching Syrian satellite television, listening to Syrian music and preparing Syrian cuisine.
Damascus, the capital of Syria, is one of the most continuously inhabited cities in the world (for 8000 years straight, Syrians inhabited Damascus), and a large percentage of Damascenes are the descendents of the early inhabitants of Damascus.
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Thamud
The Thamūd (Arabic: ثمود) were a people of ancient Arabia who were known from the 1st millennium BC to near the time of Muhammad. Although they are thought to have originated in southern Arabia, Arabic tradition has them moving north to settle on the slopes of Mount Athlab near Mada'in Saleh. According to the Qur'an, the Thamud were punished and destroyed by a soundwave (rajfa).
Numerous Thamudic rock writings and pictures have been found on Mount Athlab and throughout central Arabia.
The oldest known reference to Thamud is a 715 BC inscription of the Assyrian king Sargon II which mentions them as being among the people of eastern and central Arabia subjugated by the Assyrians.
They are referred to as "Tamudaei" in the writings of Aristo of Chios, Ptolemy, and Pliny.
The Qur'an mentions Thamud in Sura Al-A'raf in the context of several prophets who warned their people of coming judgement. Verse 74 says of Thamud, "Ye build for yourselves palaces and castles in (open) plains, and carve out homes in the mountains". This could refer to the rock-cut tombs of Mada'in Saleh (the Cities of Saleh)
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Tigre people
The Tigre are an ethnic group residing in Eritrea and Sudan. They are a nomadic and pastoralist people, related to the Tigray-Tigrinya people of Eritrea and Ethiopia and to the Beja people of Sudan.
The Tigre are a predominantly Muslim nomadic people who inhabit the northern, western, and coastal lowlands of Eritrea (Gash-Barka, Anseba and Northern Red Sea regions of Eritrea), as well as areas in eastern Sudan. 99.5% of the Tigre people adhere to the Islamic religion Sunni Islam, but there are a considerable amount of Christians among them as well (often referred to as the Mensaï in Eritrea).
The first Tigre converts to Islam were those who lived on islands in the Red Sea and were converted in the seventh century. Mainland Tigre were not converted to Islam until the nineteenth century.
They suffered persecution from both the Imperial and the Marxist governments of Ethiopia in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, since they were both nomadic and Muslim. The Ethiopian government's efforts to settle the Tigre, combined with the Eritrean–Ethiopian War, resulted in the resettling of tens of thousands of Tigre in Sudan.
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Turkmen people
The Turkmen (Turkmen: Türkmen/Түркмен, plural Türkmenler/Түркменлер) are a Turkic people located primarily in the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, Syria, Iraq and North Caucasus (Stavropol Krai). They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Western Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages family together with Turkish, Azerbaijani, Qashqai, Gagauz and Salar.
Originally, all Turkic tribes that were not part of the Turkic dynastic mythological system (for example, Uigurs, Karluks, Kalaches and a number of other tribes) were designated "Turkmens". Only later did this word come to refer to a specific ethnonym. The etymology of the term derives from Türk plus the Sogdian affix of similarity -myn ,-men, and means "resembling a Türk" or "co-Türk". A prominent Turkic scholar, Mahmud Kashgari, also mentions the etymology Türk manand (like Turks). The language and ethnicity of the Turkmen were much influenced by their migration to the west. Kashgari calls the Karluks Turkmen as well, but the first time the etymology Turkmen was used was by Makdisi in the second half of the 10th-century AD. Like Kashgari, he wrote that the Karluks and Oghuz Turks were called Turkmen. Some modern scholars have proposed that the element -man/-men acts as an intensifier, and have translated the word as "pure Turk" or "most Turk-like of the Turks". Among Muslim chroniclers such as Ibn Kathir the etymology was attributed to the mass conversion of two hundred thousand households in AH 349 (971 CE), causing them to be named Turk Iman, which is a combination of "Turk" and "Iman" إيمان (faith, belief), meaning "believing Turks", with the term later dropping the hard-to-pronounce hamza.
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Umar II
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (c. 682 - February, 720) (Arabic: عمر بن عبد العزيز) was an Umayyad caliph who ruled from 717 to 720. He was also a cousin of the former caliph, being the son of Abd al-Malik's younger brother, Abd al-Aziz. He was also a great-grandson of the companion of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, Umar bin Al-Khattab.
Umar was born around 682. Some traditions state that he was born in Medina while others claim that he was born in Egypt.
According to a Sunni Muslim tradition, Umar's lineage to Umar ibn al-Khattab stems from a famous event during the second Caliph's rule. During one of his frequent disguised journeys to survey the condition of his people, Umar overheard a milkmaid refusing to obey her mother's orders to sell adulterated milk. The mother reportedly told her daughter to add water to the milk as Caliph Umar is not there looking at them. The girl shot back that though Caliph Umar is not looking at them, Allah is always watching over everyone. He sent an officer to purchase milk from the girl the next day and learned that she had kept her resolve; the milk was unadulterated. Umar summoned the girl and her mother to his court and told them what he had heard. As a reward, he offered to marry the girl to his son Asim. She accepted, and from this union was born a girl named Layla that would in due course become the mother of Umar ibn Abdulaziz.
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Uzbeks
The Uzbeks (Oʻzbek, pl. Oʻzbeklar) are a major Turkic-speaking ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. Smaller diaspora populations of Uzbeks from Central Asia, mainly from Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, are also found in Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, North America, and Western Europe.
The origin of the name Uzbek remains disputed. One view holds that it is eponymously named after Uzbeg Khan. Another states that the name means independent or the lord itself, from Oʻz (self) and Bek/Bey/Beg (from the Turkic root meaning a noble title). However there is another theory that the pronunciation of Uz comes from one of the Oghuz Turks variously known as Uz or Uguz united with the word Bey or Bek to form uguz-bey, meaning "leader of an oguz".
Although Turko-Mongol infiltration into Central Asia had started early, as late as the 13th century AD when Turkic and Mongol armies finally conquered the entire region, the majority of Central Asia's peoples were Iranic peoples such as Sogdians, Bactrians and, more ancient, the Saka–Massagetae tribes. It is generally believed that these ancient Indo-European-speaking peoples were linguistically assimilated by smaller but dominant Turkic-speaking groups while the sedentary population finally adopted the Persian language, the traditional lingua franca of the eastern Islamic lands. The language-shift from Middle Iranian to Turkic and New Persian was predominantly the result of an elite dominance process. This process was dramatically boosted during the Mongol conquest when millions were either killed or pushed further south to the Pamir region.
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World War I
World War I (WWI), which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939 (World War II), and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. It involved all the world's great powers, which were assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (based on the Triple Entente of the United Kingdom, France and Russia) and the Central Powers (originally centred around the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy; but, as Austria–Hungary had taken the offensive against the agreement, Italy did not enter into the war). These alliances both reorganised (Italy fought for the Allies), and expanded as more nations entered the war. Ultimately more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history. More than 9 million combatants were killed, largely because of enormous increases in lethality of weapons, thanks to new technology, without corresponding improvements in protection or mobility. It was the sixth-deadliest conflict in world history, subsequently paving the way for various political changes such as revolutions in the nations involved.
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Ziya Bunyadov
Ziya Musa oglu Bunyadov (Azerbaijani: Ziya Bünyadov sometimes spelled in English as Zia Buniatov or Bunyatov) (24 December 1921, Astara – 21 February 1997, Baku) was an Azerbaijani historian, academician, and Vice-President of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan. As a historian, he also headed the Institute of History of the Azerbaijani Academy of Sciences for many years. Bunyadov was a World War II veteran and Hero of the Soviet Union.
Ziya Bunyadov was born on December 21, 1923 in the town of Astara in Azerbaijan. His father, originally from Bibiheybat village of Baku, was a Custom Officer and, due to his work, the Bunyadov family changed their residence several times. After finishing secondary (high) school in Goychay in 1939, he joined Baku military school. In 1942 he was sent to World War II to fight on the Caucasus Front, near the town of Mozdok. The Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star), the official newspaper of the Soviet Army, wrote about Bunyadov in 1942: "sly, swift as a tiger, the intelligence officer Ziya Bunyadov, who under the improbable conditions, in the most complex situation could clearly orient himself, bring precise data about the number, the armament and the dislocation of the enemy. He was valued in the battalion for the romantic soul and the literary erudition" [1]. He went on to fight on the European Front and participated in the Soviet capture of Warsaw and Berlin.
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ʿĀd
ʿĀd (Arabic عاد) was an ancient Arab tribe and a district in South Arabia that was led by 'Ad ibn Kin'ad.
The ʿĀd are thought[by whom?] to have lived in what is now eastern Yemen and western Oman, running from the Arabian Sea up into the Dhofar Mountains and to the edge of the Rub' al Khali. Some speculate that this was the first site of camel domestication.Ubar, located in ʿĀd, was a major transshipment point for ancient frankincense trade.
The ʿĀd tribe settled in an area to the East of the Qahtan tribe and established the Kingdom of ʿĀd in South Arabia sometime between 10th century BC and 3rd century AD. The rulers of ʿĀd included Ad ibn Kin'ad, the first leader of 'Ad, who lived some time between the 23rd and 10th century BC; Aldahn Khuljan, who lived some time in the 4th to 3rd centuries BC; and, according to legend, Shaddad, known to the Himyarites as the last leader of 'Ad, who lived in the 6th to 4th centuries AD.
Claudius Ptolemy's Geographos includes mention of the inhabitants of 'Ad's capital, Ubar.
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Hilarious Arab People
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:05
- Updated: 26 Dec 2012
All in 1 stupid guy in gym on tredmill funny arab praying man gets slapped Ali baba
http://wn.com/Hilarious_Arab_People
All in 1 stupid guy in gym on tredmill funny arab praying man gets slapped Ali baba
Crazy arab people panic over snake
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:16
- Updated: 17 Dec 2012
a little group of arab men sitting outside discussing something when a snake appears, pretty funny reaction from the man in the middle
http://wn.com/Crazy_arab_people_panic_over_snake
a little group of arab men sitting outside discussing something when a snake appears, pretty funny reaction from the man in the middle
- published: 12 Dec 2007
- views: 470188
- author: Liquidstinger
Reel Bad Arabs - How Hollywood Vilifies a People
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 50:11
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
This groundbreaking documentary dissects a slanderous aspect of cinematic history that has run virtually unchallenged from the earliest days of silent film to today's biggest Hollywood blockbusters. Featuring acclaimed author Dr. Jack Shaheen, the film explores a long line of degrading images of Arabs--from Bedouin bandits and submissive maidens to sinister sheikhs and gun-wielding "terrorists"--along the way offering devastating insights into the origin of these stereotypic images, their development at key points in US history, and why they matter so much today. Shaheen shows how the persistence of these images over time has served to naturalize prejudicial attitudes toward Arabs and Arab culture, in the process reinforcing a narrow view of individual Arabs and the effects of specific US domestic and international policies on their lives. By inspiring critical thinking about the social, political, and basic human consequences of leaving these Hollywood caricatures unexamined, the film challenges viewers to recognize the urgent need for counter-narratives that do justice to the diversity and humanity of Arab people and the reality and richness of Arab history and culture. www.mediaed.org
http://wn.com/Reel_Bad_Arabs_How_Hollywood_Vilifies_a_People
This groundbreaking documentary dissects a slanderous aspect of cinematic history that has run virtually unchallenged from the earliest days of silent film to today's biggest Hollywood blockbusters. Featuring acclaimed author Dr. Jack Shaheen, the film explores a long line of degrading images of Arabs--from Bedouin bandits and submissive maidens to sinister sheikhs and gun-wielding "terrorists"--along the way offering devastating insights into the origin of these stereotypic images, their development at key points in US history, and why they matter so much today. Shaheen shows how the persistence of these images over time has served to naturalize prejudicial attitudes toward Arabs and Arab culture, in the process reinforcing a narrow view of individual Arabs and the effects of specific US domestic and international policies on their lives. By inspiring critical thinking about the social, political, and basic human consequences of leaving these Hollywood caricatures unexamined, the film challenges viewers to recognize the urgent need for counter-narratives that do justice to the diversity and humanity of Arab people and the reality and richness of Arab history and culture. www.mediaed.org
- published: 17 Apr 2011
- views: 30917
- author: conspirates
Black Guys Love Arab Girls - FTD Street
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:24
- Updated: 26 Dec 2012
Interracial dating is something that more people are doing. So I hit the streets to find out what people thought about interracial relationships. Watch part 1: tinyurl.com ****************************** FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com TWITTER: twitter.com GOOGLE+ : plus.google.com 2nd CHANNEL (FTDNews): www.youtube.com WEBSITE: www.freshtildeathtv.com ****************************** Music by DJ ViperVexx www.youtube.com ********* street interviews girls interracial dating fresh til death freshtildeathonline black girls white girls relationship jamaican black guys
http://wn.com/Black_Guys_Love_Arab_Girls_FTD_Street
Interracial dating is something that more people are doing. So I hit the streets to find out what people thought about interracial relationships. Watch part 1: tinyurl.com ****************************** FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com TWITTER: twitter.com GOOGLE+ : plus.google.com 2nd CHANNEL (FTDNews): www.youtube.com WEBSITE: www.freshtildeathtv.com ****************************** Music by DJ ViperVexx www.youtube.com ********* street interviews girls interracial dating fresh til death freshtildeathonline black girls white girls relationship jamaican black guys
- published: 22 Jun 2012
- views: 39231
- author: freshtildeathonline
MIDDLE EASTERN APPLE...MICROSOFT STORE DANCE - arab men
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:15
- Updated: 24 Dec 2012
http://wn.com/MIDDLE_EASTERN_APPLEMICROSOFT_STORE_DANCE_arab_men
What Do You Think of Arabs? | The Epic Interview
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:00
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
Follow me on TWITTER :) @Saif_Shawaf twitter.com Like my FACEBOOK page: www.facebook.com Instagram: SaifShawaf I went out to downtown Toronto and asked random people walking on the street what they think of Arabs and this is what they said. Please subscribe to my channel for more arabness :) Song played at the end: Kulle Mara - Melhim Zain
http://wn.com/What_Do_You_Think_of_Arabs?_|_The_Epic_Interview
Follow me on TWITTER :) @Saif_Shawaf twitter.com Like my FACEBOOK page: www.facebook.com Instagram: SaifShawaf I went out to downtown Toronto and asked random people walking on the street what they think of Arabs and this is what they said. Please subscribe to my channel for more arabness :) Song played at the end: Kulle Mara - Melhim Zain
- published: 18 Dec 2012
- views: 12126
- author: SaifShawaf
funny arab and pakistani people's moment
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:41
- Updated: 26 Dec 2012
crazy people displaying extreme stupidity, it's very interesting and funny to watch.
http://wn.com/funny_arab_and_pakistani_people's_moment
crazy people displaying extreme stupidity, it's very interesting and funny to watch.
- published: 23 Sep 2009
- views: 3856389
- author: utubekhiladi
Maz Jobrani Persians vs Arabs
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:15
- Updated: 26 Dec 2012
http://wn.com/Maz_Jobrani_Persians_vs_Arabs
Stupid Arab People
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:15
- Updated: 13 Oct 2012
that's all about stupid things... LOL
http://wn.com/Stupid_Arab_People
arab driving fun by ibrar Kuwait
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:51
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
http://wn.com/arab_driving_fun_by_ibrar_Kuwait
Crazy arab wheel change!!!
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:48
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
Arab guys with great skills ride on two wheels in the desert and changing the other two!!!
http://wn.com/Crazy_arab_wheel_change!!!
Arab guys with great skills ride on two wheels in the desert and changing the other two!!!
- published: 12 Mar 2011
- views: 750849
- author: mic21ha
Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (part 2)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:57
- Updated: 24 Nov 2012
Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People . This groundbreaking documentary dissects a slanderous aspect of cinematic history that has run virtually unchallenged form the earliest days of silent film to today's biggest Hollywood blockbusters. Featuring acclaimed author Dr. Jack Shaheen, the film explores a long line of degrading images of Arabs--from Bedouin bandits and submissive maidens to sinister sheikhs and gun-wielding "terrorists"--a long the way offering devastating insights into the origin of these stereotypic images, their development at key points in US history, and why they matter so much today. Shaheen shows how the persistence of these images over time has served to naturalize prejudicial attitudes toward Arabs and Arab culture, in the process reinforcing a narrow view of individual Arabs and the effects of specific US domestic and internationl policies on their lives. By inspiring critical thinking about the social, political, and basic human consequences of leaving these Hollywood caricatures unexamined, the film challenges viewers to recognize the urgent need for counter-narratives that do justice to the diversity and humanity of Arab people and the reality and richness of Arab history and culture. Director: Sut Jhally Biographical Summary: Dr. Jack Shaheen, Professor Emeritus of Mass Communication at Southern Illinois University, is a leading scholar of Arab representations in US popular culture. Shaheen is the author of the groundbreaking study ...
http://wn.com/Reel_Bad_Arabs_How_Hollywood_Vilifies_a_People_part_2
Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People . This groundbreaking documentary dissects a slanderous aspect of cinematic history that has run virtually unchallenged form the earliest days of silent film to today's biggest Hollywood blockbusters. Featuring acclaimed author Dr. Jack Shaheen, the film explores a long line of degrading images of Arabs--from Bedouin bandits and submissive maidens to sinister sheikhs and gun-wielding "terrorists"--a long the way offering devastating insights into the origin of these stereotypic images, their development at key points in US history, and why they matter so much today. Shaheen shows how the persistence of these images over time has served to naturalize prejudicial attitudes toward Arabs and Arab culture, in the process reinforcing a narrow view of individual Arabs and the effects of specific US domestic and internationl policies on their lives. By inspiring critical thinking about the social, political, and basic human consequences of leaving these Hollywood caricatures unexamined, the film challenges viewers to recognize the urgent need for counter-narratives that do justice to the diversity and humanity of Arab people and the reality and richness of Arab history and culture. Director: Sut Jhally Biographical Summary: Dr. Jack Shaheen, Professor Emeritus of Mass Communication at Southern Illinois University, is a leading scholar of Arab representations in US popular culture. Shaheen is the author of the groundbreaking study ...
- published: 24 Jun 2008
- views: 14270
- author: neversaidb4
Arab zawj Dating 4 Arab Singles testimonial www.arabElove.com موقع زواج عربي مجاني
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:41
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
www.arabElove.com (testimonial) موقع زواج عربي مجاني ArabElove.com is an online community for Free Arab dating and marriage zawaj that connects Arab Single men and Arab Single women through a safe, discreet, friendly and trusted environment for meeting other people with similar backgrounds. ArabElove.com is for Arab singles, people who are married and anyone who wants to make new friends. It is the complete free Arab dating site. with over 350K Arab Singles. ArabElove.com where the Arabs click. http twitter.com www.arabElove.com
http://wn.com/Arab_zawj_Dating_4_Arab_Singles_testimonial_wwwarabElovecom_موقع_زواج_عربي_مجاني
www.arabElove.com (testimonial) موقع زواج عربي مجاني ArabElove.com is an online community for Free Arab dating and marriage zawaj that connects Arab Single men and Arab Single women through a safe, discreet, friendly and trusted environment for meeting other people with similar backgrounds. ArabElove.com is for Arab singles, people who are married and anyone who wants to make new friends. It is the complete free Arab dating site. with over 350K Arab Singles. ArabElove.com where the Arabs click. http twitter.com www.arabElove.com
- published: 29 Nov 2012
- views: 34842
- author: arabEloveDotCom
CRIBS-Arab American Style (FUNNY SPOOF) --Full Version--
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 12:47
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
This is a second upload of the same video. We took down the first one because it had the real MTV logo. The first had a total of 600000 hits. www.EdandMoeShow.com CRIBS visits the house of an Arab American named Mohamad, who lives with his mother in Dearborn, Michigan. This episode was never aired. Subscribe to our newest show "The Ed and Moe Show" @ http For a list of songs in this video follow this link... mikeeshaq.com Eshaq Films Arab Money
http://wn.com/CRIBS-Arab_American_Style_FUNNY_SPOOF_--Full_Version--
This is a second upload of the same video. We took down the first one because it had the real MTV logo. The first had a total of 600000 hits. www.EdandMoeShow.com CRIBS visits the house of an Arab American named Mohamad, who lives with his mother in Dearborn, Michigan. This episode was never aired. Subscribe to our newest show "The Ed and Moe Show" @ http For a list of songs in this video follow this link... mikeeshaq.com Eshaq Films Arab Money
- published: 23 Jul 2009
- views: 895653
- author: eatsnax
How to be an Arab
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:29
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
Subscribe and keep in touch! :) TWITTER - twitter.com TUMBLR - substerrr.tumblr.com FACEBOOK - www.facebook.com
http://wn.com/How_to_be_an_Arab
Subscribe and keep in touch! :) TWITTER - twitter.com TUMBLR - substerrr.tumblr.com FACEBOOK - www.facebook.com
- published: 03 Sep 2012
- views: 144655
- author: subeeTube
Arabian Peacock: Colorful Arab makeup tutorial (by MissChievous)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 12:33
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
Black gel eyeliner is from this shop on ebay: stores.shop.ebay.com Full product list and pics on my blog: mizzchievouz.blogspot.com Subscribe to my new channel: www.youtube.com Add me on Facebook: www.facebook.com Follow me on Twitter for updates, sneak previews: twitter.com Nailpolish: Illamasqua - Whack *********************** Music: Ben Othman www.jamendo.com
http://wn.com/Arabian_Peacock_Colorful_Arab_makeup_tutorial_by_MissChievous
Black gel eyeliner is from this shop on ebay: stores.shop.ebay.com Full product list and pics on my blog: mizzchievouz.blogspot.com Subscribe to my new channel: www.youtube.com Add me on Facebook: www.facebook.com Follow me on Twitter for updates, sneak previews: twitter.com Nailpolish: Illamasqua - Whack *********************** Music: Ben Othman www.jamendo.com
- published: 11 Aug 2009
- views: 2261754
- author: MissChievous
Best Arab Song(Milk And Honey)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:39
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
Best Arab Song(Milk And Honey)
http://wn.com/Best_Arab_SongMilk_And_Honey
Egyptian Arab Makeup المكياج العربي CAIRO + Bloopers!
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:40
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
Pictures and more details can be found on my website: www.misschievous.tv Suscribe to my other channel! www.youtube.com Eyebrow Tutorial: www.youtube.com Add me on Twitter and Facebook for giveaways, questions, updates, pictures, and much more! twitter.com www.facebook.com apps.facebook.com This video was filmed before the revolution in Egypt which toppeled Mubarak. I followed the events very closely on the news and was joyous of the news of Mubarak's resignation. I dedicate this video to all people of the Middle East/Maghreb and beyond who struggle for political freedom. Music is from Apple iLife
http://wn.com/Egyptian_Arab_Makeup_المكياج_العربي_CAIRO_+_Bloopers!
Pictures and more details can be found on my website: www.misschievous.tv Suscribe to my other channel! www.youtube.com Eyebrow Tutorial: www.youtube.com Add me on Twitter and Facebook for giveaways, questions, updates, pictures, and much more! twitter.com www.facebook.com apps.facebook.com This video was filmed before the revolution in Egypt which toppeled Mubarak. I followed the events very closely on the news and was joyous of the news of Mubarak's resignation. I dedicate this video to all people of the Middle East/Maghreb and beyond who struggle for political freedom. Music is from Apple iLife
- published: 24 Feb 2011
- views: 215840
- author: MissChievous
Arabs in the Cold + Mail Time!
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:02
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
PALESTINIAN BRACELET: www.facebook.com ANTI-BULLYING BRACELET: www.signaturesanaa.storenvy.com Subscribe and keep in touch! TWITTER - twitter.com TUMBLR - substerrr.tumblr.com FACEBOOK - www.facebook.com
http://wn.com/Arabs_in_the_Cold_+_Mail_Time!
PALESTINIAN BRACELET: www.facebook.com ANTI-BULLYING BRACELET: www.signaturesanaa.storenvy.com Subscribe and keep in touch! TWITTER - twitter.com TUMBLR - substerrr.tumblr.com FACEBOOK - www.facebook.com
- published: 13 Dec 2012
- views: 26300
- author: subeeTube
End Time Destruction Of The Arabs By Sheikh Imran Hosein
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 77:50
- Updated: 25 Dec 2012
http://wn.com/End_Time_Destruction_Of_The_Arabs_By_Sheikh_Imran_Hosein
YOU KNOW YOU'RE ARAB WHEN...
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:57
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
Please Subscribe to my channel to be up to date with all my newest Videos! :] Social Networks: Follow: twitter.com Like: www.facebook.com Instagram: fouseyTUBE Want more fouseyTUBE? Second Channel: www.youtube.com Fitness Channel: www.youtube.com Shirts and Hoodies: Buy: www.districtlines.com Fan Mail: PO Box 2797 Union City CA, 94587 subscribe. :]
http://wn.com/YOU_KNOW_YOU'RE_ARAB_WHEN
Please Subscribe to my channel to be up to date with all my newest Videos! :] Social Networks: Follow: twitter.com Like: www.facebook.com Instagram: fouseyTUBE Want more fouseyTUBE? Second Channel: www.youtube.com Fitness Channel: www.youtube.com Shirts and Hoodies: Buy: www.districtlines.com Fan Mail: PO Box 2797 Union City CA, 94587 subscribe. :]
- published: 24 Feb 2012
- views: 1627581
- author: fouseyTUBE
Arab Dads
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:19
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
Subscribe and keep in touch! :) FACEBOOK - www.facebook.com TWITTER - twitter.com TUMBLR - substerrr.tumblr.com
http://wn.com/Arab_Dads
Subscribe and keep in touch! :) FACEBOOK - www.facebook.com TWITTER - twitter.com TUMBLR - substerrr.tumblr.com
- published: 30 Jan 2012
- views: 104660
- author: subeeTube
Empire - The post-American Middle East
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 47:28
- Updated: 17 Dec 2012
Follow on Twitter: twitter.com Follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com Will the US continue to try to dictate its own agenda with hard power? Or will it 'lead from behind', accepting a more multilateral role working with the Arab people and their leaders? The Middle East has served as a setting for the grand narratives of American imperial power for generations. But with revolutions and attacked embassies, the Arab world is quickly and deftly slipping out of US control and the power the US has enjoyed in the Middle East may finally be reaching an end. As the Arab people begin to proactively tell their leaders and the world what they want, the question now becomes how the US, so accustomed to directing the region as it pleases, will deal with its diminishing power. Interviewees: Anne-Marie Slaughter: Princeton professor and former director of policy planning for the US State Department Robert Kaplan: national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine Francis Fukuyama: political scientist and author of nine books Pankaj Mishra: noted essayist and novelist. Guests: Steven Clemons: Washington editor-at-large of The Atlantic Marwan Muasher: vice president of studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author John Esposito: professor of international affairs and Islamic studies at Georgetown University and the author of over 30 books Patrick Tyler: a journalist and author For more Empire: www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Empire_The_post-American_Middle_East
Follow on Twitter: twitter.com Follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com Will the US continue to try to dictate its own agenda with hard power? Or will it 'lead from behind', accepting a more multilateral role working with the Arab people and their leaders? The Middle East has served as a setting for the grand narratives of American imperial power for generations. But with revolutions and attacked embassies, the Arab world is quickly and deftly slipping out of US control and the power the US has enjoyed in the Middle East may finally be reaching an end. As the Arab people begin to proactively tell their leaders and the world what they want, the question now becomes how the US, so accustomed to directing the region as it pleases, will deal with its diminishing power. Interviewees: Anne-Marie Slaughter: Princeton professor and former director of policy planning for the US State Department Robert Kaplan: national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine Francis Fukuyama: political scientist and author of nine books Pankaj Mishra: noted essayist and novelist. Guests: Steven Clemons: Washington editor-at-large of The Atlantic Marwan Muasher: vice president of studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author John Esposito: professor of international affairs and Islamic studies at Georgetown University and the author of over 30 books Patrick Tyler: a journalist and author For more Empire: www.youtube.com
- published: 19 Oct 2012
- views: 3839
- author: AlJazeeraEnglish
"Arab" and "Arabs" redirect here. For other uses, see Arab (disambiguation).
 |
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| Philip the Arab • John of Damascus • Al-Kindi • Al-Khansa Faisal I of Iraq • Gamal Abdel Nasser • Asmahan • May Ziade |
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| approx. 300 million[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Predominantly Islam; largest minority: Christianity; other religions |
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Jews, other Afro-Asiatic groups |
Arab people, also known as Arabs (Arabic: عرب, ʿarab), are a panethnicity[13] primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds,[14] with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing an important part of Arab identity.[15]
The word "Arab" has had several different, but overlapping, meanings over the centuries (and sometimes even today). In addition to including all Arabized people of the world (with language tending to be the acid test), it has also at times been used exclusively for bedouin (Arab nomads [although a related word, "`a-RAB," with the Arabic letter "alif" in the second syllable, once was sometimes used when this specific meaning was intended] and their now almost entirely settled descendants). It is sometimes used that way colloquially even today in some places. Townspeople once were sometimes called "sons of the Arabs." As in the case of other ethnicities or nations, people identify themselves (or are identified by others) as "Arabs" to varying degrees. This may not be one's primary identity (it tends to compete with country, religion, sect, etc.), and whether it is emphasized may depend upon one's audience.
If the diverse Arab pan-ethnicity is regarded as a single ethnic group, then it constitutes one of the world's largest after Han Chinese.
Contents |
Etymology[link]
Further information: Arab (etymology)
The earliest documented use of the word "Arab" to refer to a people appears in the Monolith Inscription, an Akkadian language record of the 9th century BC Assyrian Conquest of Syria (Arabs had formed part of a coalition of forces opposed to Assyria).[16] Listed among the booty captured by the army of king Shalmaneser III of Assyria in the Battle of Qarqar are 1000 camels of "Gi-in-di-bu'u the ar-ba-a-a" or "[the man] Gindibu belonging to the ʕarab" (ar-ba-a-a being an adjectival nisba of the noun ʕarab).[16]
The most popular Arab account holds that the word 'Arab' came from an eponymous father called Yarab, who was supposedly the first to speak Arabic. Al-Hamdani had another view; he states that Arabs were called GhArab (West in Semitic) by Mesopotamians because Arabs resided to the west of Mesopotamia; the term was then corrupted into Arab. Yet another view is held by Al-Masudi that the word Arabs was initially applied to the Ishmaelites of the "Arabah" valley.
The root of the word has many meanings in Semitic languages including "west/sunset," "desert," "mingle," "merchant," "raven" and are "comprehensible" with all of these having varying degrees of relevance to the emergence of the name. It is also possible that some forms were metathetical from ʿ-B-R "moving around" (Arabic ʿ-B-R "traverse"), and hence, it is alleged, "nomadic."
Identity[link]
Arab identity is defined independently of religious identity, and pre-dates the rise of Islam, with historically attested Arab Christian kingdoms and Arab Jewish tribes. Today, however, most Arabs are Muslim, with a minority adhering to other faiths, largely Christianity. Arabs are generally Sunni, Shia, or Ismaili Muslims, but currently, 7.1 percent to 10 percent of Arabs are Arab Christians.[17] This figure does not include Christian ethnic groups such as Assyrians, Syriacs and those designated as Arameans or Phoenicians.
The early Arabs were the tribes of Northern Arabia speaking proto Arabic dialects. Although since early days other people became Arabs through an Arabization process that could mean intermarriage with Arabs, adopting the Arabic language and culture, or both. For example, the Ghassanids and the Lakhmids which originated from Southern Semitic speaking Yemen made a major contribution in the creation of the Arabic language. The same process happened all over the Arab world after the spread of Islam by the mixing of Arabs with several other peoples. The Arab cultures went through a mixing process. Therefore every Arab country has cultural specificities which constitute a cultural mix which also originate in local novelties achieved after the arabization took place. However, all Arab countries do also share a common culture in most Aspects: Arts (music, literature, poetry, calligraphy...), Cultural products (Handicrafts, carpets, henne, bronze carving...), Social behaviour and relations (Hospitality, codes of conduct among friends and family...), Customs and superstitions, Some dishes (Shorba, Mloukhia), Traditional clothing, Architecture...
Muslim but non-Arab people, who are about 80 percent of the world's Muslim population, do not form part of the Arab world, but instead comprise what is the geographically larger, and more diverse, Muslim World.
Arabs have historically been racially classified as white/Caucasian[18][19] and, since 1997, by the U.S. Census as well.[20][21]
Arabic, the main unifying feature among Arabs, is a Semitic language originating in Arabia. From there it spread to a variety of distinct peoples across most of West Asia and North Africa,[22] resulting in their acculturation and eventual denomination as Arabs. Arabization, a culturo-linguistic shift, was often, though not always, in conjunction with Islamization, a religious shift.
With the rise of Islam in the 7th century, and as the language of the Qur'an, Arabic became the lingua franca of the Islamic world. (See Anwar G. Chegne, "Arabic: Its Significance and Place in Arab-Muslim Society," Middle East Journal 19 (Autumn 1965), pp. 447–470. It was in this period that Arabic language and culture was widely disseminated with the early Islamic expansion, both through conquest and cultural contact.[23]
Arabic culture and language, however, began a more limited diffusion before the Islamic age, first spreading in West Asia beginning in the 2nd century, as Arab Christians such as the Ghassanids, Lakhmids and Banu Judham began migrating north from Arabia into the Syrian Desert, south western Iraq and the Levant.[24][25]
In the modern era, defining who is an Arab is done on the grounds of one or more of the following two criteria:
- Genealogical: someone who can trace his or her ancestry to the tribes of Arabia – the original inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula – and the Syrian Desert. This was the definition used in medieval times, for example by Ibn Khaldun, but has decreased in importance over time, as a portion of those of Arab ancestry lost their links with their ancestors' motherland. In the modern era, however, DNA tests have at times proved reliable in identifying those of Arab genealogical descent. For example, it has been found that the frequency of the "Arab marker" Haplogroup J1 collapses suddenly at the borders of Arabic speaking countries.[26]
- Linguistic: someone whose first language, and by extension cultural expression, is Arabic, including any of its varieties. This definition covers more than 300 million people. Certain groups that fulfill this criterion reject this definition on the basis of non-Arab ancestry; such an example may be seen in the way that Egyptians identified themselves in the early 20th century.[27][28]
The relative importance of these factors is estimated differently by different groups and frequently disputed. Some combine aspects of each definition, as done by Palestinian Habib Hassan Touma,[29] who defines an Arab "in the modern sense of the word", as "one who is a national of an Arab state, has command of the Arabic language, and possesses a fundamental knowledge of Arab tradition, that is, of the manners, customs, and political and social systems of the culture." Most people who consider themselves Arab do so based on the overlap of the political and linguistic definitions. Few people consider themselves Arab based on the political definition without also having Arabic as a first or primary language. Thus Kurds, the Assyrian Christians and Mandeans of Iraq and its surrounds (who primarily speak Mesopotamian Aramaic), Armenians, Shabak, Turcoman, Circassians and Baluch do not identify as Arab, and some Berbers have also rejected the label.[30] Some other ethno-religious minorities within Western Asia and North Africa who do speak Arabic as their primary community language also do not identify with the Arab identity, most notably the Syriac Christian communities such as Maronites of Syria and Lebanon and the Copts of Egypt.
The Arab League, a regional organization of countries intended to encompass the Arab world, defines an Arab as:
An Arab is a person whose language is Arabic, who lives in an Arabic-speaking country, and who is in sympathy with the aspirations of the Arabic-speaking peoples.[31]
The relation of ʿarab and ʾaʿrāb is complicated further by the notion of "lost Arabs" al-ʿArab al-ba'ida mentioned in the Qur'an as punished for their disbelief. All contemporary Arabs were considered as descended from two ancestors, Qahtan and Adnan.
Versteegh (1997) is uncertain whether to ascribe this distinction to the memory of a real difference of origin of the two groups, but it is certain that the difference was strongly felt in early Islamic times. Even in Islamic Spain there was enmity between the Qays of the northern and the Kalb of the southern group. The so-called Sabaean or Himyarite language described by Abū Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdānī (died 946) appears to be a special case of language contact between the two groups, an originally north Arabic dialect spoken in the south, and influenced by Old South Arabian.[citation needed][dubious – discuss]
During the Muslim conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries, the Arabs forged an Arab Empire (under the Rashidun and Umayyads, and later the Abbasids) whose borders touched southern France in the west, China in the east, Asia Minor in the north, and the Sudan in the south. This was one of the largest land empires in history. In much of this area, the Arabs spread Islam and the Arabic culture, Science, and Language (the language of the Qur'an) through conversion and cultural assimilation.
Two references valuable for understanding the political significance of Arab identity: Michael C. Hudson, Arab Politics: The Search for Legitimacy (Yale University Press, 1977), especially Chs. 2 and 3; and Michael N. Barnett, Dialogues in Arab Politics: Negotiations in Regional Order (Columbia University Press, 1998).
Arab population[link]
The table below shows the number of Arab people, including expatriates and some groups that may not be identified as Arabs.
| Flag | Country | Total Population | % Arabs | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Egypt | 82,079,636[32] | 90%[33] | The classification as Arab is only cultural as Egyptians are not ethnically Arabs nor do they consider themselves as such. | [34][35] |
 |
Sudan | 45,047,502 | 70%[36] | ||
 |
Algeria | 35,423,000 | 80%[37] | Classification as arab is cultural[38], not ethnic. although almost all Algerians are Berber in origin (not Arab)[39]. | |
 |
Morocco | 32,381,000 | 66%[40] | The high level of mixing between Arabs and Berbers makes differentiating between the two ethnicities in Morocco difficult. This figure includes Arabs of Berber descent. | |
 |
Saudi Arabia | 26,246,000 | 90%[41] | ||
 |
Iraq | 31,467,000 | 75%-80%[42] | ||
 |
Yemen | 24,256,000 | 100%[43] | ||
 |
Syria | 22,505,000 | 90%[44] | ||
 |
Tunisia | 10,374,000 | 98%[45] | Almost all of Tunisia's citizenry has Arab and Berber background. Because of the high degree of assimilation Tunisians are often referred to as Arab-Berber.[46] | |
 |
Libya | 6,546,000 | 97%[47] | Almost all of Libya's citizenry has Arab and Berber background. Because of the high degree of assimilation Libyans are often referred to as Arab-Berber.[48] | |
 |
Jordan | 6,472,000 | 98%[49] | ||
 |
Lebanon | 4,255,000 | 95%[50] | ||
 |
Palestinian territories | 4,225,710 | 90% | Gaza Strip: 1,657,155, 100% Palestinian Arab,[51] West Bank: 2,568,555, 83% Palestinian Arab and other[52] | |
 |
Israel | 1,500,000 | 20.5%[53] | ||
 |
Kuwait | 3,030,000 | 80%[54] | ||
 |
UAE | 4,707,000 | 19%[55] | Less than 20% of the population in the Emirates are citizens, the majority are foreign workers and expatriates. Those holding Emirati citizenship are overwhelmingly Arab. | |
 |
Oman | 3,090,150 | 81%[56] | ||
 |
Mauritania | 3,343,000 | 80%[43] | The majority of Mauritania's population are ethnic Moors, an ethnicity with a mix of Arab and Berber ancestry, with a smaller Black African ancestry. Moors make up 80% of the population in Mauritania, the remaining 20% are members of a number of Black African ethnic groups.[43][dubious – discuss] | |
 |
Qatar | 1,508,000 | 55%[41] | The native population is a minority in Qatar, making up 20% of the population. The native population is ethnically Arab. An additional 35% of the population is made up of Arabs, mostly Egyptian and Palestinian workers. The remaining population is made up of other foreign workers.[41] | |
 |
Bahrain | 1,234,571 | 51.4%[57] | 46.0% of the Bahrain's population are native Bahrainis. Bahrainis are ethnically Arabs.[58] 5.4% are Other Arabs (inc. GCC)[57] |
Arab diaspora[link]
The Arab diaspora is a global diaspora distributed across many continents.
| Flag | Country | Number of Arabs | Total Population | % Arabs | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Brazil | 6,000,000 | 191,241,714 | 3.0% | [59] | |
 |
Canada | 470,000 | 34,190,000 | 1.4% | [60] | |
 |
France | 3,500,000 | 65,073,482 | 5.4% | [61] | |
 |
United States | 311,965,000 | ||||
 |
Netherlands | 418,000 | 17,196,000 | 2.5% | ||
 |
Argentina | 1,336,000 | 40,482,000 | 3.3% | [62] | |
 |
Italy | 60,234,000 | ||||
 |
Australia | 21,885,016 | ||||
 |
United Kingdom | 61,113,205 | ||||
 |
Turkey | 78,785,548 | ||||
 |
Mexico | 111,211,789 | ||||
 |
Chile | 700,000 | 16,928,873 | 4.2% | [63] | |
 |
South Africa | 26,814,843[citation needed] | ||||
 |
Germany | 82,060,000 | ||||
 |
Ecuador | 13,625,000 | ||||
 |
Russia | 142,008,838 | ||||
| – | Total | – | – |
According to the International Organization for Migration, there are 13 million first-generation Arab migrants in the world, of which 5.8 reside in Arab countries. Arab expatriates contribute to the circulation of financial and human capital in the region and thus significantly promote regional development.[citation needed] In 2009 Arab countries received a total of 35.1 billion USD in remittance in-flows and remittances sent to Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon from other Arab countries are 40 to 190 per cent higher than trade revenues between these and other Arab countries.[64]
Central Asia and Caucasus
Further information: Arabs in the Caucasus, Emirate of Tbilisi, Emirate of Armenia, and History of Arabs in Afghanistan
In 1728, a Russian officer described a group of Sunni Arab nomads who populated the Caspian shores of Mughan (in present-day Azerbaijan) and spoke a mixed Turkic-Arabic language.[65] It is believed that these groups migrated to the Caucasus in the 16th century.[66] The 1888 edition of Encyclopædia Britannica also mentioned a certain number of Arabs populating the Baku Governorate of the Russian Empire.[67] They retained an Arabic dialect at least into the mid-19th century,[68] but since then have fully assimilated with the neighbouring Azeris and Tats. Today in Azerbaijan alone, there are nearly 30 settlements still holding the name Arab (for example, Arabgadim, Arabojaghy, Arab-Yengija, etc.).
From the time of the Arab conquest of the Caucasus, continuous small-scale Arab migration from various parts of the Arab world was observed in Dagestan influencing and shaping the culture of the local peoples. Up until the mid-20th century, there were still individuals in Dagestan who claimed Arabic to be their native language, with the majority of them living in the village of Darvag to the north-west of Derbent. The latest of these accounts dates to the 1930s.[66] Most Arab communities in southern Dagestan underwent linguistic Turkicisation, thus nowadays Darvag is a majority-Azeri village.[69][70]
According to the History of Ibn Khaldun, the Arabs that were once in Central Asia have been either killed or have fled the Tatar invasion of the region, leaving only the locals .[71] However, today many people in Central Asia identify as Arabs. Most Arabs of Central Asia are fully integrated into local populations, and sometimes call themselves the same as locals (for example, Tajiks, Uzbeks) but they use special titles to show their Arabic origin such as Sayyid, Khoja or Siddiqui.[72]
Iranian Arab communities are also found in Khuzestan Province.
South Asia
Further information: Ashraf and Caste system among South Asian Muslims
There are only two communities with the self-identity Arab in South Asia, the Chaush of the Deccan region and the Chavuse of Gujerat,[73][74] who are by and large descended of Hadhrami migrants who settled in these two regions in the 18th Centuries. However, both these communities no longer speak Arabic, although with the Chaush, there has been re-immigration to the Gulf States, and re-adoption of Arabic by these immigrants.[75] In South Asia, claiming Arab ancestry is considered prestigious, and many communities have origin myths with claim to an Arab ancestry. Examples include the Mappilla of Karela, Labbai of Tamil Nadu and Kokan of Maharashtra. These communities all allege an Arab ancestry, but none speak Arabic and follow the customs and traditions of the Hindu majority.[76] Among Muslims of North India and Pakistan, there are groups who claim the status of Sayyid, have origin myths that allege descent from the Prophet Mohammmad. None of these Sayyid families speak Arabic or follow Arab customs or traditions.[77]
History[link]
Pre-Islamic[link]
Main article: Pre-Islamic Arabia
Semitic origin[link]
There is a consensus that the Semitic peoples originated from Arabian peninsula,[78] deriving[clarification needed] the entire population of Mesopotamia from population movements out of Jazirat al-Arab ("island of the Arabs") – an area between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, with Hadramawt its southern perimeter, extending northward up to the area just east of the Dead Sea (Jordan).[79] It should be pointed out that these settlers were not Arabs or Arabic speakers. Early non Arab Semitic peoples from the Ancient Near East, such as the Arameans, Akkadians (Assyrians and Babylonians), Amorites, Israelites, Eblaites, Ugarites and Canaanites, built civilizations in Mesopotamia and the Levant; genetically, they often interlapped and mixed.[80] Slowly, however, they lost their political domination of the Near East due to internal turmoil and attacks by non-Semitic peoples. Although the Semites eventually lost political control of Western Asia to the Persian Empire, the Aramaic language remained the lingua franca of Assyria, Mesopotamia and the Levant. Aramaic itself was replaced by Greek as Western Asia's prestige language following the conquest of Alexander III of Macedon, though it survives to this day among Assyrian (aka Chaldo-Assyrian) Christians and Mandeans in Iraq, northeast Syria, southeast Turkey and northwest Iran.
Early history[link]
The first written attestation of the ethnonym "Arab" occurs in an Assyrian inscription of 853 BCE, where Shalmaneser III lists a King Gindibu of mâtu arbâi (Arab land) as among the people he defeated at the Battle of Karkar. Some of the names given in these texts are Aramaic, while others are the first attestations of Ancient North Arabian dialects. In fact several different ethnonyms are found in Assyrian texts that are conventionally translated "Arab": Arabi, Arubu, Aribi and Urbi. Many of the Qedarite queens were also described as queens of the aribi. The Hebrew Bible occasionally refers to Aravi peoples (or variants thereof), translated as "Arab" or "Arabian." The scope of the term at that early stage is unclear, but it seems to have referred to various desert-dwelling Semitic tribes in the Syrian Desert and Arabia.[citation needed] Arab tribes came into conflict with the Assyrians during the reign of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, and he records military victories against the powerful Qedar tribe among others.
Medieval Arab genealogists divided Arabs into three groups:
- "Ancient Arabs", tribes that had vanished or been destroyed, such as ʿĀd and Thamud, often mentioned in the Qur'an as examples of God's power to destroy those who did not believe and follow their prophets and messengers.
- "Pure Arabs" of South Arabia, descending from Qahtan. The Qahtanites (Qahtanis) are said to have migrated from the land of Yemen following the destruction of the Ma'rib Dam (sadd Ma'rib).
- The "Arabized Arabs" (musta`ribah) of center and North Arabia, descending from Ishmael, the elder son of Abraham. The Book of Genesis narrates that God promised Hagar to beget from Ishmael twelve princes and turn him to a great nation.(Genesis 17:20) The Book of Jubilees, in the other hand, claims that the sons of Ishmael intermingled with the 6 sons of Keturah, from Abraham, and their descendants were called Arabs and Ishmaelites:
Book of Jubilees 20:13 And Ishmael and his sons, and the sons of Keturah and their sons, went together and dwelt from Paran to the entering in of Babylon in all the land which is towards the East facing the desert. And these mingled with each other, and their name was called Arabs, and Ishmaelites.
Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddima distinguishes between sedentary Muslims who used to be nomadic Arabs and the Bedouin nomadic Arabs of the desert. He used the term "formerly-nomadic" Arabs and refers to sedentary Muslims by the region or city they lived in, as in Egyptians, Spaniards and Yemenis.[81] The Christians of Italy and the Crusaders preferred the term Saracens for all the Arabs and Muslims of that time.[82] The Christians of Iberia used the term Moor to describe all the Arabs and Muslims of that time. Muslims of Medina referred to the nomadic tribes of the deserts as the A'raab, and considered themselves sedentary, but were aware of their close racial bonds. The term "A'raab' mirrors the term Assyrians used to describe the closely related nomads they defeated in Syria.
The Qur'an does not use the word ʿarab, only the nisba adjective ʿarabiy. The Qur'an calls itself ʿarabiy, "Arabic", and Mubin, "clear". The two qualities are connected for example in ayat 43.2–3, "By the clear Book: We have made it an Arabic recitation in order that you may understand". The Qur'an became regarded as the prime example of the al-ʿarabiyya, the language of the Arabs. The term ʾiʿrāb has the same root and refers to a particularly clear and correct mode of speech. The plural noun ʾaʿrāb refers to the Bedouin tribes of the desert who resisted Muhammad, for example in ayat 9.97, alʾaʿrābu ʾašaddu kufrān wa nifāqān "the Bedouin are the worst in disbelief and hypocrisy".
Based on this, in early Islamic terminology, ʿarabiy referred to the language, and ʾaʿrāb to the Arab Bedouins, carrying a negative connotation due to the Qur'anic verdict just cited. But after the Islamic conquest of the 8th century, the language of the nomadic Arabs became regarded as the most pure by the grammarians following Abi Ishaq, and the term kalam al-ʿArab, "language of the Arabs", denoted the uncontaminated language of the Bedouins.
Classical kingdoms[link]
Proto-Arabic, or Ancient North Arabian, texts give a clearer picture of the Arabs' emergence. The earliest are written in variants of epigraphic south Arabian musnad script, including the 8th century BCE Hasaean inscriptions of eastern Saudi Arabia, the 6th century BCE Lihyanite texts of southeastern Saudi Arabia and the Thamudic texts found throughout Arabia and the Sinai (not in reality connected with Thamud).
The Nabataeans were nomadic newcomers[83][dubious – discuss] who moved into territory vacated by the Edomites – Semites who settled the region centuries before them. Their early inscriptions were in Aramaic, but gradually switched to Arabic, and since they had writing, it was they who made the first inscriptions in Arabic. The Nabataean Alphabet was adopted by Arabs to the south, and evolved into modern Arabic script around the 4th century. This is attested by Safaitic inscriptions (beginning in the 1st century BCE) and the many Arabic personal names in Nabataean inscriptions. From about the 2nd century BCE, a few inscriptions from Qaryat al-Faw (near Sulayyil) reveal a dialect which is no longer considered "proto-Arabic", but pre-classical Arabic. Five Syriac inscriptions mentioning Arabs have been found at Sumatar Harabesi, one of which has been dated to the 2nd century CE.
Late kingdoms[link]
The Ghassanids, Lakhmids and Kindites were the last major migration of non-Muslims out of Yemen to the north.
- The Ghassanids increased the Semitic presence in the then Hellenized Syria, the majority of Semites were Aramaic peoples. They mainly settled in the Hauran region and spread to modern Lebanon, Palestine and East Jordan.
Greeks and Romans referred to all the nomadic population of the desert in the Near East as Arabi. The Romans called Yemen "Arabia Felix".[84] The Romans called the vassal nomadic states within the Roman Empire "Arabia Petraea" after the city of Petra, and called unconquered deserts bordering the empire to the south and east Arabia Magna.
- The Lakhmids as a dynasty inherited their power from the Tanukhids, the mid Tigris region around their capital Al-Hira they ended up allying with the Sassanid against the Ghassanids and the Byzantine Empire. The Lakhmids contested control of the Central Arabian tribes with the Kindites with the Lakhmids eventually destroying Kinda in 540 after the fall of their main ally Himyar. The Persians Sassanids dissolved the Lakhmid dynasty in 602, being under puppet kings, then under their direct control.[85]
- The Kindites migrated from Yemen along with the Ghassanids and Lakhmids, but were turned back in Bahrain by the Abdul Qais Rabi'a tribe. They returned to Yemen and allied themselves with the Himyarites who installed them as a vassal kingdom that ruled Central Arbia from "Qaryah Dhat Kahl" (the present-day called Qaryat al-Faw) in Central Arabia. They ruled much of the Northern/Central Arabian peninsula, till they were destroyed by the Lakhmid king Al-Mundhir, and his son 'Amr
Islamic[link]
Further information: Muslim conquests
Arab Caliphate[link]
Expansion under Muhammad, 622–632/A.H. 1–11
Expansion during the Rashidun Caliphate, 632–661/A.H. 11–40
Expansion during the Umayyad Caliphate, 661–750/A.H. 40–129
Rashidun Era (632-661)
Main article: Rashidun Caliphate
After the death of Prophet Muhammad in 632, Rashidun armies launched campaigns of conquest, establishing the Caliphate, or Islamic Empire, one of the largest empires in history. It was larger and lasted longer than the previous Arab empires of Queen Mawia or the Palmyrene Empire which was predominantly Syriac rather than Arab. The Rashidun state was a completely new state and not a mere imitation of the earlier Arab kingdoms such as the Himyarite, Lakhmids or Ghassanids, although it benefited greatly from their art, administration and architecture.
Umayyad Era (661-750)
Main article: Umayyad Caliphate
In 661 Caliphate turned to the hands of the Umayyad dynasty, Damascus was established as the Muslim capital. They were proud of their Arab ancestry and sponsored the poetry and culture of pre-Islamic Arabia. They established garrison towns at Ramla, ar-Raqqah, Basra, Kufa, Mosul and Samarra, all of which developed into major cities.[87]
Caliph Abd al-Malik established Arabic as the Caliphate's official language in 686.[88] This reform greatly influenced the conquered non-Arab peoples and fueled the Arabization of the region. However, the Arabs' higher status among non-Arab Muslim converts and the latter's obligation to pay heavy taxes caused resentment. Caliph Umar II strove to resolve the conflict when he came to power in 717. He rectified the situation, demanding that all Muslims be treated as equals, but his intended reforms did not take effect as he died after only three years of rule. By now, discontent with the Umayyads swept the region and an uprising occurred in which the Abbasids came to power and moved the capital to Baghdad.
Umayyads expanded their Empire westwards capturing North Africa from the Byzantines. Prior to the Arab conquest, North Africa was inhibited by various people including Punics, Vandals and Greeks. It was not until the 11th century that the Maghreb saw a large influx of ethnic Arabs. Starting with the 11th century, the Arab bedouin Banu Hilal tribes migrated to the West. Having been sent by the Fatimids to punish the Berber Zirids for abandoning Shiism, they travelled westwards. The Banu Hilal quickly defeated the Zirids and deeply weakened the neighboring Hammadids. Their influx was a major factor in the Arabization of the Maghreb, Although Berbers would rule the region until the 16th century (under such powerful dynasties as the Almoravids, the Almohads, Hafsids, etc.), the arrival of these tribes would eventually help to Arabize much of it ethnically in addition to the linguistic and political impact on the none-Arabs there. With the collapse of the Umayyad state in 1031 AD, Islamic Spain was divided into small kingdoms.
Abbassid Era (750-1513)
Main article: Abbasid Caliphate
Abbasids let a revolt against the Umayyads and defeated them in the Battle of the Zab effectively ending their rule in all part of the Empire except Al-Andalus. The Abbasids descendants of Muhammad's uncle Abbas, but unlike the Ummayads, they had the support of non-Arab subjects of the Umayyads.[87] where Umayyads treated non-Arabs in contempt. Abbasids ruled for 200 years before they lost their central control when Wilayas began to fracture, afterwards in the 1190s there was a revival for their power which was put to end by the Mongols who conquered Baghdad and killed the Caliph, members of the Abbasid royal family escaped the massacre and resorted to Cairo, which fractured from the Abbasid rule two years earlier, the Mamluk generals were taking the political side of the kingdom while Abbasid Caliphs were engaged in civil activities and continued patronizing science, arts and literature.
- Fractured Entities:
- Fatimids
- Ayyubid dynasty
Ottoman Caliphate[link]
Arabs were ruled by Ottoman sultans from 1513 to 1918. Ottomans defeated the Mamluk Sultanate in Cairo, and ended the Abbasid Caliphate when they choose to bear the title of Caliph. Arabs did not feel the change of administration because Ottomans modeled their rule after the previous Arab administration systems.[citation needed] After World War I when the Ottoman Empire was overthrown by the British Empire, former Ottoman colonies were divided up between the British and French as Mandates.
Modern[link]
Arabs in modern times live in the Arab world, which comprises 22 countries. They are all modern states and became significant as distinct political entities after the fall of the Ottoman Empire.[citation needed]
Religion[link]
Arab Muslims are generally Sunni or Shia, one exception being the Ibadis, who predominate in Oman and can be found as small minorities in Algeria and Libya (mostly Berbers). Arab Christians generally follow Eastern Churches such as the Coptic Orthodox, Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches and the Maronite church and others. In Iraq most Christians are Assyrians rather than Arabs, and follow the Assyrian Church of the East, Syriac Orthodox and Chaldean Church.[89][90] The Greek Catholic churches and Maronite church are under the Pope of Rome, and a part of the larger worldwide Catholic Church. There are also Arab communities consisting of Druze and Baha'is.[91][92]
Before the coming of Islam, most Arabs followed a pagan religion with a number of deities, including Hubal,[93] Wadd, Allāt,[94] Manat, and Uzza. A few individuals, the hanifs, had apparently rejected polytheism in favor of monotheism unaffiliated with any particular religion. Some tribes had converted to Christianity or Judaism. The most prominent Arab Christian kingdoms were the Ghassanid and Lakhmid kingdoms.[95] When the Himyarite king converted to Judaism in the late 4th century,[96] the elites of the other prominent Arab kingdom, the Kindites, being Himyirite vassals, apparently also converted (at least partly). With the expansion of Islam, polytheistic Arabs were rapidly Islamized, and polytheistic traditions gradually disappeared.[97][98]
Today, Sunni Islam dominates in most areas, overwhelmingly so in North Africa. Shia Islam is dominant in southern Iraq and Lebanon. Substantial Shi'a populations exist in Saudi Arabia,[99] Kuwait, northern Syria, the al-Batinah region in Oman, and in northern Yemen. The Druze community, concentrated in Lebanon, Israel, and Syria. Many Druze claim independence from other major religions in the area and consider their religion more of a philosophy. Their books of worship are called Kitab Al Hikma (Epistles of Wisdom). They believe in reincarnation and pray to five messengers from God.
Christians make up 5.5% of the population of the Near East.[17] In Lebanon they number about 39% of the population.[100] In Syria, Christians make up 16% of the population.[101] In British Palestine estimates ranged as high as 25%, but is now 3.8% due largely to the 1948 Palestinian exodus or Nakba. In West Bank and in Gaza, Arab Christians make up 8% and 0.8% of the populations, respectively.[102][103] In Iraq, Christians constitute today up 3%, the number dropped from 5% after Iraq war, few of these are Arabs.[104] In Israel, Arab Christians constitute 2.1% (roughly 9% of the Arab population).[105] Arab Christians make up 6% of the population of Jordan.[106] Most North and South American Arabs are Christian,[107] as are about half of Arabs in Australia who come particularly from Lebanon, Syria, and the Palestinian territories. One well known member of this religious and ethnic community is Saint Abo, martyr and the patron saint of Tbilisi, Georgia.[108]
Jews from Arab countries – mainly Mizrahi Jews and Yemenite Jews – are today usually not categorised as Arab. Sociologist Philip Mendes asserts that before the anti-Jewish actions of the 1930s and 1940s, overall Iraqi Jews "viewed themselves as Arabs of the Jewish faith, rather than as a separate race or nationality".[109] Also, prior to the massive Sephardic emigrations to the Middle East in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Jewish communities of what are today Syria, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Egypt and Yemen were known by other Jewish communities as Musta'arabi Jews or "like Arabs". Prior to the emergence of the term Mizrahi, the term "Arab Jews" was sometimes used to describe Jews of the Arab world. The term is rarely used today. The few remaining Jews in the Arab countries reside mostly in Morocco and Tunisia. From the late 1940s to the early 1960s, following the creation of the state of Israel, most of these Jews fled their countries of birth and are now mostly concentrated in Israel. Some immigrated to France, where they formed a large Jewish community, that outnumbered Jews in the United States, but relatively small compared to European Jews. See Jewish exodus from Arab lands.
Urbanization[link]
Dozens of large cities and hundreds of towns reflect pronounced urban character of the Arab world; in most of the countries about 70 percent of people are urban dwellers.
Science[link]
The Islamic Golden Age was inaugurated by the middle of the 8th century by the ascension of the Abbasid Caliphate and the transfer of the capital from Damascus to the newly founded city Baghdad. The Abbassids were influenced by the Qur'anic injunctions and hadith such as "The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of martyrs" stressing the value of knowledge. During this period the Muslim world became an intellectual centre for science, philosophy, medicine and education as the Abbasids championed the cause of knowledge and established the "House of Wisdom" (Arabic: بيت الحكمة) in Baghdad. Rival Muslim dynasties such as the Fatimids of Egypt and the Umayyads of al-Andalus were also major intellectual centres with cities such as Cairo and Córdoba rivaling Baghdad.[110]
Culture[link]
Arab culture is a term that draws together the common themes and overtones found in the Arab countries, especially those of the Middle-Eastern countries. This region's distinct religion, art, and food are some of the fundamental features that define Arab culture.
Art[link]
Arabic Art includes a wide range or artistic components, it can be Arabic miniature, calligraphy or Arabesque.
Architecture[link]
Arab Architecture has a deep diverse history, it dates to the dawn of the history in pre-Islamic Arabia. Each of it phases largely an extension of the earlier phase, it left also heavy impact on the architecture of other nations.
Music[link]
Arabic music is the music of Arab people or countries, especially those centered on the Arabian Peninsula. The world of Arab music has long been dominated by Cairo, a cultural center, though musical innovation and regional styles abound from Morocco to Saudi Arabia. Beirut has, in recent years, also become a major center of Arabic music. Classical Arab music is extremely popular across the population, especially a small number of superstars known throughout the Arab world. Regional styles of popular music include Algerian raï, Moroccan gnawa, Kuwaiti sawt, Egyptian el gil and Arabesque-pop music in Turkey.
Literature[link]
Arabic literature spans for over two millennium, it has three phases, the pre-Islamic, Islamic and modern. Arabic literature had contributions by thousands of figures, many of them are not only poets but are celebrates in other fields such as politicians, scientists and scholars among others.
References[link]
- Notes
- ^ Margaret Kleffner Nydell Understanding Arabs: a guide for modern times, Intercultural Press, 2006, ISBN 1931930252
- ^ Michèle Tribalat , « Mariages « mixtes » et immigration en France », Espace populations sociétés [En ligne] , 2009/2 | 2009 , mis en ligne le 01 avril 2011
- ^ Argentina. Worldstatesmen.org. Retrieved on 2011-01-03.
- ^ CIA – The World Factbook. Cia.gov. Retrieved on 2011-01-03.
- ^ Selected Social Characteristics in the United States: 2006
- ^ Iran, CIA factbook (1% Arabic-speakers and 3% ethnic Arabs)
- ^ WorldStatesmen.org – Mexico
- ^ 5,598,691 foreign population in Spain (2009), Spanish National Statitistic Institute press report, INE (Spain). June 3, 2009. (Spanish)
- ^ toplumsal yapı araştırması 2006: Bu düzenlemeyle ortaya çıkan tabloda Türkiye’de yetişkinlerin (18 yaş ve üstündekilerin) etnik kimliklerin dağılımı ... % 0,7 Arap ... şeklindedir.
- ^ Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística
- ^ Kister, M.J. "Ķuāḍa." Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman , Th. Bianquis , C.E. Bosworth , E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2008. Brill Online. 10 April 2008: "The name is an early one and can be traced in fragments of the old Arab poetry. The tribes recorded as Ķuḍā'ī were: Kalb [q.v.], Djuhayna , Balī, Bahrā' [q.v.], Khawlān [q.v.], Mahra , Khushayn, Djarm, 'Udhra [q.v.], Balkayn [see al-Kayn ], Tanūkh [q.v.] and Salīh"
- ^ Serge D. Elie, "Hadiboh: From Peripheral Village to Emerging City", Chroniques Yéménites: "In the middle, were the Arabs who originated from different parts of the mainland (e.g., prominent Mahrî tribes10, and individuals from Hadramawt, and Aden)". Footnote 10: "Their neighbours in the West scarcely regarded them as Arabs, though they themselves consider they are of the pure stock of Himyar.”
- ^ "Ghazi Tadmouri - Abstract". Hgm2011.org. 2011-03-15. http://www.hgm2011.org/ghazi_tadmouri_-_abstract.html. Retrieved 2011-07-18.
- ^ Francis Mading Deng War of visions: conflict of identities in the Sudan, Brookings Institution Press, 1995, ISBN 0-8157-1793-8 p. 405
- ^ Nicholas S. Hopkins, Saad Eddin Ibrahim eds., Arab society: class, gender, power, and development, American University in Cairo Press, 1997, p.6
- ^ a b Jan Retsö The Arabs in antiquity: their history from the Assyrians to the Umayyads, Routledge, 2003, ISBN 0-7007-1679-3, p. 105, 119, 125-127.
- ^ a b Andrea Pacini, ed. (1998). Christian Communities in the Middle East. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-829388-7.
- ^ The Races of Europe by Carlton Stevens Coon. From Chapter XI: The Mediterranean World - Introduction: "This third racial zone stretches from Spain across the Straits of Gibraltar to Morocco, and thence along the southern Mediterranean shores into Arabia, East Africa, Mesopotamia, and the Persian highlands; and across Afghanistan into India."
- ^ Grolier Incorporated, Encyclopedia Americana, Volume 6, (Grolier Incorporated, 2001), p.85
- ^ US Census, "About Race", [1]
- ^ US Census, "Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin 2010" [2]
- ^ "Arab". Dictionary.reference.com. 1945-03-22. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Arab. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
- ^ "Islam and the Arabic language". Islam.about.com. 2009-11-03. http://islam.about.com/library/weekly/aa032300a.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
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- ^ (Regueiro et al.) 2006; found agreement by (Battaglia et al.) 2008
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- ^ Quoted in Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press. 2003, ISBN 0-691-12272-5, p. 99
- ^ 1996, p.xviii
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- ^ "CIA World Factbook: Sudan". 26 Sep 2011. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/su.html.
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- ^ a b c Levinson 1998, p. 275
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- ^ (Spanish) En Chile viven unas 700.000 personas de origen árabe y de ellas 500.000 son descendientes de emigrantes palestinos que llegaron a comienzos del siglo pasado y que constituyen la comunidad de ese origen más grande fuera del mundo árabe.
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- ^ "CIA The World Factbook – West Bank". Cia.gov. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html. Retrieved 2011-07-18.
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- ^ "The Arab American Institute | Arab Americans". Aaiusa.org. http://www.aaiusa.org/arab-americans/22/demographics. Retrieved 2010-03-10.
- ^ Mgaloblishvili, Tamila (1998). Ancient Christianity in the Caucasus. Routledge. p. 272. ISBN 0-7007-0633-X.
- ^ "THE FORGOTTEN REFUGEES: the causes of the post-1948 Jewish Exodus from Arab Countries By Philip Mendes". Palestineremembered.com. http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General/Story2127.html#Iraqi%20Jews%20in%20the%20pre-1948%20period. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
- ^ Vartan Gregorian, "Islam: A Mosaic, Not a Monolith", Brookings Institution Press, 2003, pg 26–38 ISBN 0-8157-3283-X
- Bibliography
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This article contains Arabic text, written from right to left in a cursive style with some letters joined. Without proper rendering support, you may see unjoined Arabic letters written left-to-right instead of right-to-left or other symbols instead of Arabic script. |
- Cragg, Kenneth (1991). The Arab Christian: A History in the Middle East. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 0-664-22182-3, 978-0-664-22182-9. http://books.google.ca/books?id=pMuxLlWih04C&pg=PP1&dq=%22arab+christian%22#v=onepage&q=&f=false.
- Deng, Francis Mading (1995). War of Visions: Conflict of Identities in the Sudan. Brookings Institution Press.
- Touma, Habib Hassan. The Music of the Arabs. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus P, 1996. ISBN 0-931340-88-8.
- Lipinski, Edward. Semitic Languages: Outlines of a Comparative Grammar, 2nd ed., Orientalia Lovanensia Analecta: Leuven 2001
- Kees Versteegh, The Arabic Language, Edinburgh University Press (1997)
- The Catholic Encyclopedia, Robert Appleton Company, 1907, Online Edition, K. Night 2003: article Arabia
- History of Arabic language(1894), Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
- The Arabic language, National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education web page (2006)
- Ankerl, Guy (2000) [2000]. Global communication without universal civilization. INU societal research. Vol.1: Coexisting contemporary civilizations : Arabo-Muslim, Bharati, Chinese, and Western. Geneva: INU Press. ISBN 2-88155-004-5.
- Hooker, Richard. "Pre-Islamic Arabic Culture." WSU Web Site. 6 June 1999. Washington State University.
- Owen, Roger. "State Power and Politics in the Making of the Modern Middle East 3rd Ed" Page 57 ISBN 0-415-29714-1
- Levinson, David (1998), Ethnic groups worldwide: a ready reference handbook, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 978-1-57356-019-1, http://books.google.com/books/reader?id=uwi-rv3VV6cC&printsec=frontcover
External links[link]
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This article is about the people from Pakistan as an ethnic group and nation. For information on the population of Pakistan, see Demography of Pakistan. For other uses, see Pakistani (disambiguation).
| 1st row: Muhammad Ali Jinnah · Muhammad Iqbal · Mushaf Ali Mir 2nd row: Zaka Ashraf · Abdul Sattar Edhi · Abdul Qadeer Khan 3rd row: Mahira Khan · Benazir Bhutto · Imran Khan 4th row: Shahid Afridi · Sayeeda Warsi · Zayn Malik 5th row: Rahim Shah · Atif Aslam · Nadia Ali |
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| 187 million approx. 2.7% of the world's population |
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| Regions with significant populations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Pakistan: 187,000,000 (2011) |
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Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi, Saraiki, Persian, Kashmiri, Balti and others |
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Islam 97% (Sunni majority, 20% Shia) with Christian, Zorastrian Hindu, Sikh and Bahai minorities |
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Pakistani people or Pakistanis (Urdu: پاکستانی قوم) (Pakistani Qaum) are a nationality and pan-ethnic group who are the native citizens and residents of Pakistan. Pakistan's estimated population in 2011 is over 187 million[1][2] making it the world's sixth most-populous country. Pakistan is in essence a multi-ethnic and multilingual nation that is home to people of diverse regional ethnicities and nationalities, reflecting the rich and complex demographics and history of Pakistan. As a result, Pakistanis do not consider their nationality as an ethnicity but as a citizenship of a Muslim state with various ethnicities comprising the "Pakistani people".
Contents |
Ethnic groups[link]
Main article: Ethnic groups in Pakistan
Pakistan has one of the world's fastest growing populations. Being a land mass that is transitionally localed both in South Asian, the Greater Middle East and Central Asia, the Pakistani people are a mixture of various ethnic groups. Furthermore, various ethnic groups, invading armies and the migrations to the region by people passing through on their way to and from South Asia have left their imprint on the population.
In the west, the Pashtun people are an indigenous Eastern Iranic group who have been settled the western banks of the Indus and are believed to have originated from the Sulaiman Mountains of Pakistan. The Baloch people are a western Iranic ethnic group who inhabit the southwest of the country and are believed to be settlers from far off Aleppo (in modern day Syria) who arrived to the region and assimilated into the local peoples and gave their name to the province of Balochistan.[3] The Punjabi people, the largest ethnic group, reside in the northeast and have been the primary inhabitants of the historical Punjab region which derives its name from the Persian Panj meaning five (5) and Ab meaning water(s); hence the land of five rivers or Panj-Ab. The Sindhi people on the other hand have been settled in the southeast of the country and gave their name to the mighty Indus/Sindhus river, while regional groups such as the Seraiki people have inhabited the regions between Punjab and Sindh.[3] Groups in the west of the country share cultural ties with neighboring Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia regions. The Kashmiri people are an important ethnic group of the Kashmir region in the north. Their other important indigenous people like the Balti, Hunzakots and Gilgiti people(s) of the northern territories of Gilgit through whose territory ran the ancient Silk Route connecting Asia and Europe. The Chitrali people are another indigenous people who live high up in the mountains in the north west. Along with these main groups, there are smaller communities of Sheedi's who are descendants of African sailors and warriors who are believed to have arrived from the horn of Africa as well as Urdu-speaking Muhajir people who came as refugees from India when Pakistan attained its independence from Britain in 1947. There are countless other ethnic groups that make up part of Pakistani's mosaic such as the Burmese, Hazara, Tajik, Persian, Arabic and Hakka; the hakka are an interesting group that trace their origin to China and were banished to the Panjab region quite some time ago.[3]
See also[link]
Culture[link]
Main article: Culture of Pakistan
Languages[link]
Main article: Languages of Pakistan
Urdu is the national language of Pakistan although there are numerous regional and provincial languages which are spoken as first languages by the ethno-linguistic groups making up the country. English is spoken at an official level and is a legacy of the long British Raj colonial rule in the region.
Religion[link]
Main article: Religion in Pakistan
Further information: Islam in Pakistan
National identity[link]
Main article: Pakistani nationalism
According to Pakistan Studies curriculum, Muhammad bin Qasim is often referred to as the first Pakistani.[4] Muhammad Ali Jinnah also acclaimed the Pakistan movement to have started when the first Muslim put a foot in the Gateway of Islam.[5]
Diaspora[link]
Main article: Pakistani diaspora
There are large populations of Pakistani ancestry around the world, due to emigration. The population of Pakistanis abroad is considered to exceed seven million and can be found in the Middle East, North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Notable people[link]
Main article: List of Pakistanis
References[link]
- ^ http://www.spdc.org.pk/pubs/rr/rr73.pdf
- ^ Information on other countries: http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_20072008_EN_Complete.pdf
- ^ a b c Pakistani people
- ^ "History books contain major distortions". Daily Times. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_30-3-2004_pg7_16.
- ^ "Pakistan Movement". cybercity-online.net. http://www.cybercity-online.net/pof/pakistan_movement.html.
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http://wn.com/Pakistani_people
Related pages:
http://hi.wn.com/पाकिस्तानी
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistani_people
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Maz Jobrani | |
|---|---|
 Maz Jobrani, May 2007 |
|
| Born | (1972-02-26) February 26, 1972 (age 40) Tehran, Iran |
| Medium | Stand-up |
| Nationality | Iranian |
| Genres | Observational comedy, Satire |
| Subject(s) | Racism/Race relations, Islamophobia, Muslim-Americans, Iranian Americans |
| Website | mazjobrani.com |
Maziar “Maz” Jobrani (Persian: مازیار جبرانی; born February 26, 1972) is an Iranian-born American comedian who is part of the "Axis of Evil" comedy group. The group appeared on a comedy special on Comedy Central.[1] Jobrani has also appeared in numerous films, television shows, including Better Off Ted, on radio, and in comedy clubs. His filmography includes roles in The Interpreter, Friday After Next, and Dragonfly.
Contents |
Life and career[link]
Born in Tehran, Iran,[2] Jobrani and his parents moved to California when he was six years old.[3] He was raised in Tiburon in the San Francisco Bay area. He attended Redwood High School in Larkspur. Jobrani studied political science and Italian at UC Berkeley, where he received a B.A. degree. He was enrolled in a Ph.D. program at UCLA when he decided to pursue his childhood dream of acting and performing comedy.[4]
He has since made appearances on shows like The Colbert Report, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Talkshow with Spike Feresten, and regularly performs at top comedy clubs (in California and New York) such as The Comedy Store. He made an appearance as a dental patient on an episode of Still Standing, in the pilot episodes of Better Off Ted, The Knights of Prosperity, and on an episode of Cedric the Entertainer Presents. He also made an appearance in 13 Going on 30. Jobrani will play Mohammed Jazeyeri in the upcoming ABC sitcom Funny in Farsi, based on the book of the same name.[5] He has toured with the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour. He provided the voice of Ahmed Farahnakian in the audiobook version of World War Z. Jobrani has written a movie with a friend called Jimmy Vestvood: American Hero.[6]
Jobrani's jokes focuses on race, while outwardly poking fun at his own ethnic group, Iranians.
He is married to an Indian-American woman, an attorney.[3] They reside in California.
Jobrani has been a cultural ambassador with the Levantine Cultural Center in Los Angeles since 2005. He served as the presenter for a joint public program with the Levantine Cultural Center and PEN USA in September 2005, "Strange Times My Dear", which celebrated Iran and freedom of expression. In November 2009, Jobrani moderated a public forum for the Levantine Cultural Center, "Dismantling the Axis of Evil," which included on the panel comedian/actor Ahmed Ahmed, author and Islamic scholar Reza Aslan, actor and activist Shiva Rose, and author/attorney John Tehranian. On December 1, 2010, Jobrani performed at the Levantine Cultural Center's 9th Anniversary event, the East-West Awards, where Jodie Evans of CODEPINK: Women for Peace, Roxana Saberi, and Bana Hilal all received awards.
He makes occasional appearances on NPR's news quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ "The Axis of Evil Comedy Tour". Comedy Central. http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/player.jhtml?ml_video=&ml_collection=77843&ml_gateway=&ml_gateway_id=&ml_comedian=&ml_runtime=&ml_context=show&ml_origin_url=%252Fmotherload%252Findex.jhtml%253Fml_collection%253D77843&ml_playlist=&lnk=&is_large=true. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
- ^ Rezaian, Jason (2007-09-08). "Talking with Maz Jobrani". The San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/persianality/detail?blogid=36&entry_id=20080. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
- ^ a b Maz Jobrani Comedy Central Special
- ^ Subramaniam, Gourishankar (2007). "ABC's The Knights of Prosperity bio". ABC. http://www.mazjobrani.com. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
- ^ "Iranian comic to star in ABC family sitcom". Reuters. 2010-01-11. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60A0KA20100111?type=peopleNews.
- ^ Downs, Gordon (2011). "Interview With Comedian Maz Jobrani". SanDiego.com. http://www.sandiego.com/comedy/interview-with-comedian-maz-jobrani. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
Further reading[link]
- Bakshi, Amar (2007). "Maz Jobrani and Jack Bauer in How the World Sees America". Washington Post/Newsweek. http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/america/2007/08/jack_bauer.html. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
- Interview and photos
- Maz Jobrani speaks out about Democracy for Iranians
- Interview with SanDiego.com, 2/14/2011
External links[link]
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Jobrani, Maz |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | February 26, 1972 |
| Place of birth | Tehran, Iran |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Maz_Jobrani
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maz_Jobrani
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
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