Balash

Balash (Persian: بلاش یکم‎‎), (in the Greek authors, Balas; the later form of the name Vologases), was the nineteenth king of the Sasanian Empire from 484 to 488. He was the brother and successor of Peroz I (457–484), who had died in a battle against the Hephthalites who invaded Iran from the east.

Reign

Balash was made King of Persia following the death of his brother Peroz fighting the Hephthalites at the Battle of Herat. Immediately after ascending the throne, he sought peace with the Hephthalites, which cost the Sasanians a heavy tribute. Little is known about Balash, but he is perceived by eastern sources as a mild and tolerant ruler. He was very tolerant of Christianity, which earned him a reputation among Christian authors, who described him as a mild and generous monarch. Nevertheless, it would seem that Balash was only a nominee to the powerful nobleman Sukhra.

At the announcement of the death of Peroz, the Iranian nobles of Persian Armenia became eager to go to Ctesiphon to elect a new sovereign. This allowed the Armenians under Vahan Mamikonian to liberate Armenia from the Sasanians. Given the situation of the weakness in Persia, Balash did not send an army to fight the rebels, which forced him to conclude peace with the Armenians. The conditions of the peace were as follows:

Mohammed Atef

Mohammed Atef Al-Masri (Arabic: عاطف المصرى‎, Atef Al-Masri) (born Sobhi Abu Setta, also known as Abu Hafs al-Masri) was the military chief of al-Qaida, and was considered one of Osama Bin Laden's two deputies, the other being Ayman Al Zawahiri. although his role in the organization was not well known by intelligence agencies for years. He was killed in a US drone strike in November 2001.

Atef served two years in the Egyptian Air Force and became an agricultural engineer. He was also a police officer and a member of the group Egyptian Islamic Jihad before he moved to Afghanistan to repel the Soviet invasion, while operating from Peshawar. He has been credited as having convinced Abdullah Azzam to abandon his life and devote himself to preaching jihad at this time.

Atef was sent to an Afghan training camp where he met Ayman al-Zawahiri, who later introduced him to Osama bin Laden.

He attended two meetings from August 11–20 in 1988, along with Bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, Jamal al-Fadl, Wael Hamza Julaidan, and Mohammed Loay Bayazid and eight others, to discuss the founding of "al-Qaeda". Bin Laden later sent a letter to Mohammed Loay Bayazid informing him that Atef and Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri were to each be given 6,500 Saudi riyals monthly, the same as they had been given for their work in Maktab al-Khidamat.

Amr Diab

Amr Abd El-Basset Abd El-Azeez Diab (Arabic: عمرو عبد الباسط عبد العزيز دياب‎  pronounced [ˈʕɑm.ɾe ʕæbdelˈbɑːsetˤ ʕæbdelʕæˈziːz deˈjæːb]; born 11 October 1961) is an Egyptian popstar and composer of Pop music. He is widely considered the god father of Mediterranean music and the best selling Middle Eastern artist of all time. He has been awarded the World Music Award for Best Selling Middle Eastern Artist four times: 1996 for album Nour El Ain, 2001 for album Akter Wahed, 2007 for album El Lillady and 2013 for El Leila album. He has also won (Best Egyptian Artist, Best Male Arab Artist and World's Best Arab Male Artist Voted Online) at the World Music Awards 2014. Amr Diab is the only Middle Eastern artist to have received 7 World Music Awards. He also won The African Music Awards 2009 as Artist Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Video Of The Year And Best Male Act, and won The 2010 African Music Awards as best male act and best artist of North Africa. He is the only African artist to have received 6 African Music Awards in his career. He has had five platinum records:Matkhafiesh (1990), Habiby (1991), Ayyamna (1992),Ya Omrena (1993) and Nour El Ain (1997, triple platinum). Diab won Big Apple Music Awards 2009 as Lifetime Achievements Awards and Best Singer of The Year and also won The Global Icon Award, Most Popular Artist and Best Arabic Male Artist in 2014.