Ibrahim Pasha, Nevshehirli
Ibrahim Pasha, Nevshehirli (Nevshehirli Ibrahim Pasha) (Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha) (d. October 16, 1730) Ottoman Grand Vizier. His vizierate began in 1718 and is known as “The Tulip Period.”
Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha was married to the daughter of the sultan, Princess Hatice, who was reported to have a certain degree on influence on both him and her father; some sources even called her the real ruler of the Tulip Era.
The abilities of Sultan Ahmed’s Grand Vizier Ibrahim, who directed the government from 1718 to 1730, preserved an unusual internal peace in the empire, though the frontier provinces were often the scenes of disorder and revolt. This was repeatedly the case in Egypt and Arabia, and still more frequently in the districts northward and eastward of the Black Sea, especially among the fierce Noghai tribes of the Kuban. The state of the countries between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea was rendered still more unsettled by the rival claims of Russia and the Porte; it was difficult to define a boundary between the two empires in pursuance of the partition treaty of 1723.
Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha was executed in 1730 during the Patrona Halil rebellion.
The epithet "Nevşehirli" (meaning "from Nevşehir") is used to distinguish this Grand Vizier from another, Damat İbrahim Pasha (died 1601).
Nevshehirli Ibrahim Pasha see Ibrahim Pasha, Nevshehirli
Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha see Ibrahim Pasha, Nevshehirli
Ibrahim Pasha, Nevshehirli (Nevshehirli Ibrahim Pasha) (Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha) (d. October 16, 1730) Ottoman Grand Vizier. His vizierate began in 1718 and is known as “The Tulip Period.”
Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha was married to the daughter of the sultan, Princess Hatice, who was reported to have a certain degree on influence on both him and her father; some sources even called her the real ruler of the Tulip Era.
The abilities of Sultan Ahmed’s Grand Vizier Ibrahim, who directed the government from 1718 to 1730, preserved an unusual internal peace in the empire, though the frontier provinces were often the scenes of disorder and revolt. This was repeatedly the case in Egypt and Arabia, and still more frequently in the districts northward and eastward of the Black Sea, especially among the fierce Noghai tribes of the Kuban. The state of the countries between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea was rendered still more unsettled by the rival claims of Russia and the Porte; it was difficult to define a boundary between the two empires in pursuance of the partition treaty of 1723.
Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha was executed in 1730 during the Patrona Halil rebellion.
The epithet "Nevşehirli" (meaning "from Nevşehir") is used to distinguish this Grand Vizier from another, Damat İbrahim Pasha (died 1601).
Nevshehirli Ibrahim Pasha see Ibrahim Pasha, Nevshehirli
Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha see Ibrahim Pasha, Nevshehirli
Ibrahim, Samira
Samira Ibrahim (Arabic: سميرة إبراهيم) (born c. 1987) is an Egyptian activist who came to prominence during the Egyptian revolution .
On March 9, 2011, she participated in a sit-in at Tahrir Square in Cairo. The military violently dispersed protest participants, and Samira and other women were beaten, given electric shocks, strip searched, and videotaped by the soldiers. They were also subjected to virginity tests. The tests were allegedly carried out to protect the soldiers from claims of rape.
After succeeding in placing the case in front of a civilian court, a court order was issued in December 2011 to stop the practice of “virginity tests”. However in March 2012, a military court exonerated Dr. Adel El Mogy from charges laid in connection with the virginity testing of Ibrahim.
Ibrahim vowed to take her case to the international courts.
In early March 2013, Ibrahim came under criticism after Samuel Tadros, writing in The Weekly Standard, accused her of posting anti-Semitic and anti-American statements on her Twitter account. These statements included quoting Adolf Hitler, writing: "I have discovered with the passage of days, that no act contrary to morality, no crime against society, takes place, except with the Jews having a hand in it. Hitler.” In reaction to a suicide bombing of a bus of Israelis in Bulgaria, she wrote "Today is a very sweet day with a lot of very sweet news.” In 2012, on the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, she tweeted "Today is the anniversary of 9/11. May every year come with America burning".
The United States State Department subsequently announced that it would not be giving the International Women of Courage Award to Samira Ibrahim in light of these comments.
Initially, Ibrahim claimed that her Twitter account had been "previously stolen" and that "any tweet on racism and hatred is not me”. However, she later stated "I refuse to apologize to the Zionist lobby in America regarding my previous anti-Zionist statements under pressure from American government therefore they withdrew the award." The United States State Department later stated that Ibrahim had since left the United States to return to Egypt.
On March 8, 2013, a spokeswoman for the United States State Department stated that "Upon further review, the department has decided not to present her with the award" as American officials "didn't consider some of the public statements that she had made appropriate. They didn't comport with our values" while adding that "There were obviously some problems in our review process, and we're going to do some forensics on how that happened."
Ibrahim Shah Sharqi
Ibrahim Shah Sharqi. Ruler of the dynasty of the Sharqi Sultans of Jawnpur (r.1402-1440). He was a patron of art and letters and graced his capital with many fine buildings.
Shamsuddin Ibrahim Shah Sharqi was the Sultan of the Sharqi dynasty in South Asia.
Sultan Shamsuddin Ibrahim Shah Sharqi, the most noted ruler of this dynasty was a patron of Islamic learning and established a number of colleges for this purpose. A large number of scholarly works on Islamic theology and law was produced during his reign. He constructed a number of monuments in a new regional style of architecture known as the Sharqi. During his reign, Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah II Tughluq took refuge in Jaunpur in order to get rid of the control of Mallu Iqbal Khan over him. However, Sultan Shamsuddin Ibrahim Shah Sharqi did not treat Sultan Mahmud Shah well. As a result, his relations with the Sultan became bitter and Mahmud Shah occupied Kanauj. In 1407, Sultan Shamsuddin Ibrahim Shah Sharqi tried to recover Kanauj but failed. Sultan Shamsuddin Ibrahim Shah Sharqi attempts to conquer Bengal also failed. Sultan Shamsuddin Ibrahim Shah Sharqi was succeeded by his son Sultan Saifuddin Mahmud Shah Sharqi after his death.
The Jaunpur sultanate was ruled by the Sharqi dynasty. The Khwajah-i-Jahan Malik Sarwar, the first ruler of the dynasty was a Wazir (minister) under Sultan Nasiruddin Muhammad Shah III Tughluq (1390 – 1394 CE). In 1394 CE, he established himself as an independent ruler of Jaunpur and extended his authority over Awadh and a large part of Ganga-Yamuna doab. The dynasty founded by him was named so because of his title Malik-us-Sharq (the ruler of the east). The most acclaimed ruler of this dynasty was Ibrahim Shah. The last ruler Hussain Shah was overthrown by Bahlul Lodi, and Jaunpur sultanate was permanently annexed to Delhi sultanate by Sikandar Lodi.
Sharqi, Ibrahim Shah see Ibrahim Shah Sharqi.
Shamsuddin Ibrahim Shah Sharqi see Ibrahim Shah Sharqi.
Sharqi, Shamsuddin Ibrahim Shah see Ibrahim Shah Sharqi.
Ibrahim Shah Sharqi. Ruler of the dynasty of the Sharqi Sultans of Jawnpur (r.1402-1440). He was a patron of art and letters and graced his capital with many fine buildings.
Shamsuddin Ibrahim Shah Sharqi was the Sultan of the Sharqi dynasty in South Asia.
Sultan Shamsuddin Ibrahim Shah Sharqi, the most noted ruler of this dynasty was a patron of Islamic learning and established a number of colleges for this purpose. A large number of scholarly works on Islamic theology and law was produced during his reign. He constructed a number of monuments in a new regional style of architecture known as the Sharqi. During his reign, Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah II Tughluq took refuge in Jaunpur in order to get rid of the control of Mallu Iqbal Khan over him. However, Sultan Shamsuddin Ibrahim Shah Sharqi did not treat Sultan Mahmud Shah well. As a result, his relations with the Sultan became bitter and Mahmud Shah occupied Kanauj. In 1407, Sultan Shamsuddin Ibrahim Shah Sharqi tried to recover Kanauj but failed. Sultan Shamsuddin Ibrahim Shah Sharqi attempts to conquer Bengal also failed. Sultan Shamsuddin Ibrahim Shah Sharqi was succeeded by his son Sultan Saifuddin Mahmud Shah Sharqi after his death.
The Jaunpur sultanate was ruled by the Sharqi dynasty. The Khwajah-i-Jahan Malik Sarwar, the first ruler of the dynasty was a Wazir (minister) under Sultan Nasiruddin Muhammad Shah III Tughluq (1390 – 1394 CE). In 1394 CE, he established himself as an independent ruler of Jaunpur and extended his authority over Awadh and a large part of Ganga-Yamuna doab. The dynasty founded by him was named so because of his title Malik-us-Sharq (the ruler of the east). The most acclaimed ruler of this dynasty was Ibrahim Shah. The last ruler Hussain Shah was overthrown by Bahlul Lodi, and Jaunpur sultanate was permanently annexed to Delhi sultanate by Sikandar Lodi.
Sharqi, Ibrahim Shah see Ibrahim Shah Sharqi.
Shamsuddin Ibrahim Shah Sharqi see Ibrahim Shah Sharqi.
Sharqi, Shamsuddin Ibrahim Shah see Ibrahim Shah Sharqi.
Ibshihi, al-
Ibshihi, al- (1388-c.1446). Egyptian author of one of the most famous anthologies of Arabic literature.
Ibshihi, al- (1388-c.1446). Egyptian author of one of the most famous anthologies of Arabic literature.
Idi Amin
Idi Amin (Idi Amin Dada Oumee) (1924/1925, Koboko, Uganda - August 16, 2003, Jiddah, Saudi Arabia). President of Uganda (1971-1979). Born in Koboko of Muslim parents, Amin received a primary education before joining the British colonial army in 1946. He was one of only two native officers in Uganda’s military forces when the country became independent in 1962. A supporter of President Milton Obote, Amin rose quickly through the ranks and was promoted to major general and commander of the armed forces in 1968. However, in January 1971, Amin overthrew Obote. As president, Amin followed an erratic, tyrannical, and increasingly bloody course that left the country in shambles. He expelled some 50,000 Asians in 1972, nationalized foreign companies, and had up to 300,000 Ugandans killed. The economy collapsed, and in 1979, Amin was overthrown by an invasion force from Tanzania supported by Ugandan rebels. Amin found refuge in Saudi Arabia.
A member of the small Kakwa ethnic group of northwestern Uganda, Amin had little formal education and joined the King’s African Rifles of the British colonial army in 1946 as an assistant cook. He quickly rose through the ranks, serving in the Allied forces’ Burma (Myanmar) campaign during World War II and in the British action against the Mau Mau revolt in Kenya (1952–56). Amin was one of the few Ugandan soldiers elevated to officer rank before Ugandan independence in 1962, and he became closely associated with the new nation’s prime minister and president, Milton Obote. He was made chief of the army and air force (1966–70). Conflict with Obote arose, however, and on January 25, 1971, Amin staged a successful military coup. He became president and chief of the armed forces in 1971, field marshal in 1975, and life president in 1976.
Amin ruled directly, shunning the delegation of power. He was noted for his abrupt changes of mood, from buffoonery to shrewdness, from gentleness to tyranny. He was often extreme in his nationalism. He expelled all Asians from Uganda in 1972, an action that led to the breakdown of Uganda’s economy, and he publicly insulted Great Britain and the United States as well as numerous world leaders. A Muslim, he reversed Uganda’s amicable relations with Israel and befriended Libya and the Palestinians. In July 1976 he was personally involved in the hijacking of a French airliner to Entebbe. He also took tribalism, a long-standing problem in Uganda, to its extreme by allegedly ordering the persecution of Acholi, Lango, and other ethnic groups. Amin came to be known as the “Butcher of Uganda” for his brutality, and it is believed that some 300,000 people were killed and countless others tortured during his presidency.
In October 1978 Amin ordered an attack on Tanzania. Aided by Ugandan nationalists, Tanzanian troops eventually overpowered the Ugandan army. As the Tanzanian-led forces neared Kampala, Uganda’s capital, on April 13, 1979, Amin fled the city. Escaping first to Libya, he finally settled in Saudi Arabia.
Amin stayed for a number of years on the top two floors of the Novotel Hotel on Palestine Road in Jeddah. Having covered the war for the BBC as chief Africa correspondent, in 1980 Brian Barron, in partnership with cameraman Mohammed Amin of Visnews in Nairobi, located Amin and secured the first interview with him since his deposition.
Amin held that Uganda needed him and never expressed remorse for the nature of his regime. In 1989, he attempted to return to Uganda, apparently to lead an armed group organized by Colonel Juma Oris. He reached Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), before Zairian President Mobutu forced him to return to Saudi Arabia.
On July 20, 2003, one of Amin's wives, Madina, reported that he was in a coma and near death at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She pleaded with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to allow him to return to die in Uganda. Museveni replied that Amin would have to "answer for his sins the moment he was brought back." Amin died in Saudi Arabia on August 16, 2003. He was buried in Ruwais Cemetery in Jeddah.
A polygamist, Idi Amin married at least six women, three of whom he divorced. He married his first and second wives, Malyamu and Kay, in 1966. The next year, he married Nora and then Nalongo Madina in 1972. On March 26, 1974, he announced on Radio Uganda that he had divorced Malyamu, Nora and Kay. Malyamu was arrested in Tororo on the Kenyan border in April 1974 and accused of attempting to smuggle a bolt of fabric into Kenya. She later moved to London. Kay died on August 13, 1974. Her body was found dismembered. In August 1975, during the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) summit meeting in Kampala, Amin married Sarah Kyolaba. Sarah's boyfriend, whom she had been living with before she met Amin, vanished and was never heard from again. According to The Monitor, Amin married again a few months before his death in 2003.
Sources differ widely on the number of children Amin fathered; most say that he had 30 to 45. Until 2003, Taban Amin, Idi Amin's eldest son, was the leader of West Nile Bank Front (WNBF), a rebel group opposed to the government of Yoweri Museveni. In 2005, he was offered amnesty by Museveni, and in 2006, he was appointed Deputy Director General of the Internal Security Organisation. Another of Amin’s sons, Haji Ali Amin, ran for election as Chairman (i.e. mayor) of Njeru Town Council in 2002 but was not elected. In early 2007, the award-winning film The Last King of Scotland prompted one of his sons, Jaffar Amin, to speak out in his father's defense. Jaffar Amin said he was writing a book to rehabilitate his father's reputation.
On August 3, 2007, Faisal Wangita, one of Amin's sons, was convicted for playing a role in a murder in London.
Idi Amin has been featured in a number of films, documentaries and books including the following:
Films
* Victory at Entebbe (1976), a TV film about Operation Entebbe. Julius Harris plays Amin in a comic, almost vaudeville-type, manner. Godfrey Cambridge had originally been cast as Amin in the production, but died of a heart attack on the set.
* Raid on Entebbe (1977), a film depicting the events of Operation Entebbe. Yaphet Kotto plays Amin as a charismatic, but short-tempered, political and military leader.
* Mivtsa Yonatan (1977) (also known as Operation Thunderbolt), an Israeli film about Operation Entebbe. Jamaican-born British actor Mark Heath plays Amin who first appears angered at the German terrorists for the airplane hijacking and setting up their base at Entebbe Airport, but he later changes his mood to supporting them over news of Israel's agreement to the hijackers' demands.
* Rise and Fall of Idi Amin (1981), a film recreating Idi Amin's atrocities. Amin is played by Kenyan actor Joseph Olita.
* The Naked Gun (1988), a comedy film which begins portraying Idi Amin (played by Prince Hughes) along with characters depicting other world leaders such as Yasser Arafat, Fidel Castro, Mikhail Gorbachev, Ruhollah Khomeini, and Muammar al-Gaddafi who are meeting in Beirut, Lebanon to conspire a plan to attack the United States.
* Mississippi Masala (1991), a film depicting the resettlement of an Indian family after the expulsion of Asians from Uganda by Idi Amin. Joseph Olita again plays Amin in a cameo.
* The Last King of Scotland (2006), a film adaptation of Giles Foden's 1998 fictional novel of the same name. For his portrayal of Idi Amin in this film, actor Forest Whitaker won the Academy Award for Best Actor, a BAFTA, the Screen Actors' Guild award for Best Actor (Drama), and a Golden Globe.
* In the 1989 Indian TV film, In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones, the character Kasozi sometimes makes an unusual noise while sleeping. There is a legend in the hostel that he did that when he was dreaming about Idi Amin, who 'had killed his pop or something...'
Documentaries
* General Idi Amin Dada: A Self Portrait (1974), directed by French filmmaker Barbet Schroeder.
* Idi Amin: Monster in Disguise (1997), a television documentary directed by Greg Baker.
* The Man Who Ate His Archbishop's Liver? (2004), a television documentary written, produced and directed by Elizabeth C. Jones for Associated-Rediffusion and Channel 4.
* The Man Who Stole Uganda (1971), World In Action first broadcast April 5, 1971.
* Inside Idi Amin's Terror Machine (1979), World In Action first broadcast June 13, 1979.
Books
* State of Blood: The Inside Story of Idi Amin (1977) by Henry Kyemba
* The General Is Up by Peter Nazareth
* Ghosts of Kampala: The Rise and Fall of Idi Amin (1980) by George Ivan Smith
* The Last King of Scotland (1998) by Giles Foden (fictional)
* Idi Amin Dada: Hitler in Africa (1977) by Thomas Patrick Melady
* General Amin (1975) by David Martin
* The Collected Bulletins of Idi Amin (1974) and Further Bulletins of President Idi Amin (1975) by Alan Coren, portraying Amin as an amiable, if murderous, buffoon in charge of a tin-pot dictatorship. Alan was also responsible in part for a music release - "The Collected Broadcasts of Idi Amin". It was a British comedy album parodying Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, released in 1975 on Transatlantic Records. It was performed by John Bird and written by Alan Coren, based on columns he wrote for Punch magazine.
* I Love Idi Amin: The Story of Triumph under Fire in the Midst of Suffering and Persecution in Uganda (1977) by Festo Kivengere
* Impassioned for Freedom: Uganda, Struggle Against Idi Amin (2006) by Eriya Kategaya
* The Feast of the Nine Virgins (2001) by Jameela Siddiqi
* Bombay Gardens (2006) by Jameela Siddiqi
* A Distant Grief (1979) by F. Kefa Sempangi
* Kahawa (1981) by Donald E. Westlake
* Confessions of Idi Amin: The chilling, explosive expose of Africa's most evil man - in his own words (1977) compiled by Trevor Donald
* Child of Dandelions, Governor General Award Finalist (2008) Shenaaz Nanji
Idi Amin Dada Oumee see Idi Amin
Oumee, Idi Amin Dada see Idi Amin
Idi Amin (Idi Amin Dada Oumee) (1924/1925, Koboko, Uganda - August 16, 2003, Jiddah, Saudi Arabia). President of Uganda (1971-1979). Born in Koboko of Muslim parents, Amin received a primary education before joining the British colonial army in 1946. He was one of only two native officers in Uganda’s military forces when the country became independent in 1962. A supporter of President Milton Obote, Amin rose quickly through the ranks and was promoted to major general and commander of the armed forces in 1968. However, in January 1971, Amin overthrew Obote. As president, Amin followed an erratic, tyrannical, and increasingly bloody course that left the country in shambles. He expelled some 50,000 Asians in 1972, nationalized foreign companies, and had up to 300,000 Ugandans killed. The economy collapsed, and in 1979, Amin was overthrown by an invasion force from Tanzania supported by Ugandan rebels. Amin found refuge in Saudi Arabia.
A member of the small Kakwa ethnic group of northwestern Uganda, Amin had little formal education and joined the King’s African Rifles of the British colonial army in 1946 as an assistant cook. He quickly rose through the ranks, serving in the Allied forces’ Burma (Myanmar) campaign during World War II and in the British action against the Mau Mau revolt in Kenya (1952–56). Amin was one of the few Ugandan soldiers elevated to officer rank before Ugandan independence in 1962, and he became closely associated with the new nation’s prime minister and president, Milton Obote. He was made chief of the army and air force (1966–70). Conflict with Obote arose, however, and on January 25, 1971, Amin staged a successful military coup. He became president and chief of the armed forces in 1971, field marshal in 1975, and life president in 1976.
Amin ruled directly, shunning the delegation of power. He was noted for his abrupt changes of mood, from buffoonery to shrewdness, from gentleness to tyranny. He was often extreme in his nationalism. He expelled all Asians from Uganda in 1972, an action that led to the breakdown of Uganda’s economy, and he publicly insulted Great Britain and the United States as well as numerous world leaders. A Muslim, he reversed Uganda’s amicable relations with Israel and befriended Libya and the Palestinians. In July 1976 he was personally involved in the hijacking of a French airliner to Entebbe. He also took tribalism, a long-standing problem in Uganda, to its extreme by allegedly ordering the persecution of Acholi, Lango, and other ethnic groups. Amin came to be known as the “Butcher of Uganda” for his brutality, and it is believed that some 300,000 people were killed and countless others tortured during his presidency.
In October 1978 Amin ordered an attack on Tanzania. Aided by Ugandan nationalists, Tanzanian troops eventually overpowered the Ugandan army. As the Tanzanian-led forces neared Kampala, Uganda’s capital, on April 13, 1979, Amin fled the city. Escaping first to Libya, he finally settled in Saudi Arabia.
Amin stayed for a number of years on the top two floors of the Novotel Hotel on Palestine Road in Jeddah. Having covered the war for the BBC as chief Africa correspondent, in 1980 Brian Barron, in partnership with cameraman Mohammed Amin of Visnews in Nairobi, located Amin and secured the first interview with him since his deposition.
Amin held that Uganda needed him and never expressed remorse for the nature of his regime. In 1989, he attempted to return to Uganda, apparently to lead an armed group organized by Colonel Juma Oris. He reached Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), before Zairian President Mobutu forced him to return to Saudi Arabia.
On July 20, 2003, one of Amin's wives, Madina, reported that he was in a coma and near death at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She pleaded with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to allow him to return to die in Uganda. Museveni replied that Amin would have to "answer for his sins the moment he was brought back." Amin died in Saudi Arabia on August 16, 2003. He was buried in Ruwais Cemetery in Jeddah.
A polygamist, Idi Amin married at least six women, three of whom he divorced. He married his first and second wives, Malyamu and Kay, in 1966. The next year, he married Nora and then Nalongo Madina in 1972. On March 26, 1974, he announced on Radio Uganda that he had divorced Malyamu, Nora and Kay. Malyamu was arrested in Tororo on the Kenyan border in April 1974 and accused of attempting to smuggle a bolt of fabric into Kenya. She later moved to London. Kay died on August 13, 1974. Her body was found dismembered. In August 1975, during the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) summit meeting in Kampala, Amin married Sarah Kyolaba. Sarah's boyfriend, whom she had been living with before she met Amin, vanished and was never heard from again. According to The Monitor, Amin married again a few months before his death in 2003.
Sources differ widely on the number of children Amin fathered; most say that he had 30 to 45. Until 2003, Taban Amin, Idi Amin's eldest son, was the leader of West Nile Bank Front (WNBF), a rebel group opposed to the government of Yoweri Museveni. In 2005, he was offered amnesty by Museveni, and in 2006, he was appointed Deputy Director General of the Internal Security Organisation. Another of Amin’s sons, Haji Ali Amin, ran for election as Chairman (i.e. mayor) of Njeru Town Council in 2002 but was not elected. In early 2007, the award-winning film The Last King of Scotland prompted one of his sons, Jaffar Amin, to speak out in his father's defense. Jaffar Amin said he was writing a book to rehabilitate his father's reputation.
On August 3, 2007, Faisal Wangita, one of Amin's sons, was convicted for playing a role in a murder in London.
Idi Amin has been featured in a number of films, documentaries and books including the following:
Films
* Victory at Entebbe (1976), a TV film about Operation Entebbe. Julius Harris plays Amin in a comic, almost vaudeville-type, manner. Godfrey Cambridge had originally been cast as Amin in the production, but died of a heart attack on the set.
* Raid on Entebbe (1977), a film depicting the events of Operation Entebbe. Yaphet Kotto plays Amin as a charismatic, but short-tempered, political and military leader.
* Mivtsa Yonatan (1977) (also known as Operation Thunderbolt), an Israeli film about Operation Entebbe. Jamaican-born British actor Mark Heath plays Amin who first appears angered at the German terrorists for the airplane hijacking and setting up their base at Entebbe Airport, but he later changes his mood to supporting them over news of Israel's agreement to the hijackers' demands.
* Rise and Fall of Idi Amin (1981), a film recreating Idi Amin's atrocities. Amin is played by Kenyan actor Joseph Olita.
* The Naked Gun (1988), a comedy film which begins portraying Idi Amin (played by Prince Hughes) along with characters depicting other world leaders such as Yasser Arafat, Fidel Castro, Mikhail Gorbachev, Ruhollah Khomeini, and Muammar al-Gaddafi who are meeting in Beirut, Lebanon to conspire a plan to attack the United States.
* Mississippi Masala (1991), a film depicting the resettlement of an Indian family after the expulsion of Asians from Uganda by Idi Amin. Joseph Olita again plays Amin in a cameo.
* The Last King of Scotland (2006), a film adaptation of Giles Foden's 1998 fictional novel of the same name. For his portrayal of Idi Amin in this film, actor Forest Whitaker won the Academy Award for Best Actor, a BAFTA, the Screen Actors' Guild award for Best Actor (Drama), and a Golden Globe.
* In the 1989 Indian TV film, In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones, the character Kasozi sometimes makes an unusual noise while sleeping. There is a legend in the hostel that he did that when he was dreaming about Idi Amin, who 'had killed his pop or something...'
Documentaries
* General Idi Amin Dada: A Self Portrait (1974), directed by French filmmaker Barbet Schroeder.
* Idi Amin: Monster in Disguise (1997), a television documentary directed by Greg Baker.
* The Man Who Ate His Archbishop's Liver? (2004), a television documentary written, produced and directed by Elizabeth C. Jones for Associated-Rediffusion and Channel 4.
* The Man Who Stole Uganda (1971), World In Action first broadcast April 5, 1971.
* Inside Idi Amin's Terror Machine (1979), World In Action first broadcast June 13, 1979.
Books
* State of Blood: The Inside Story of Idi Amin (1977) by Henry Kyemba
* The General Is Up by Peter Nazareth
* Ghosts of Kampala: The Rise and Fall of Idi Amin (1980) by George Ivan Smith
* The Last King of Scotland (1998) by Giles Foden (fictional)
* Idi Amin Dada: Hitler in Africa (1977) by Thomas Patrick Melady
* General Amin (1975) by David Martin
* The Collected Bulletins of Idi Amin (1974) and Further Bulletins of President Idi Amin (1975) by Alan Coren, portraying Amin as an amiable, if murderous, buffoon in charge of a tin-pot dictatorship. Alan was also responsible in part for a music release - "The Collected Broadcasts of Idi Amin". It was a British comedy album parodying Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, released in 1975 on Transatlantic Records. It was performed by John Bird and written by Alan Coren, based on columns he wrote for Punch magazine.
* I Love Idi Amin: The Story of Triumph under Fire in the Midst of Suffering and Persecution in Uganda (1977) by Festo Kivengere
* Impassioned for Freedom: Uganda, Struggle Against Idi Amin (2006) by Eriya Kategaya
* The Feast of the Nine Virgins (2001) by Jameela Siddiqi
* Bombay Gardens (2006) by Jameela Siddiqi
* A Distant Grief (1979) by F. Kefa Sempangi
* Kahawa (1981) by Donald E. Westlake
* Confessions of Idi Amin: The chilling, explosive expose of Africa's most evil man - in his own words (1977) compiled by Trevor Donald
* Child of Dandelions, Governor General Award Finalist (2008) Shenaaz Nanji
Idi Amin Dada Oumee see Idi Amin
Oumee, Idi Amin Dada see Idi Amin
Idris
Idris (Idriz) (Enoch) (Nabiyullah Idris). Non-biblical figure mentioned twice in the Qur‘an at Suras 19:57-58 and 21:85-86. Idris has been identified both with the biblical prophet Enoch and with Hermes of mythological fame. Hermes, in turn, was sometimes linked to Idris/Enoch by pseudo-scientific medieval Muslim commentators. Other times, Idris/Hermes was linked to a person who allegedly appeared in Babylonia after the flood and revived the study of talismanic and other esoteric sciences before migrating to Egypt. Idris/Hermes sparked the imagination of numerous Muslim writers and, through them, some early Renaissance scholars.
Enoch is a figure in the Generations of Adam. Enoch is described as Adam's greatx4 grandson, through Seth, and the text reads--uniquely in the Generations--that Enoch "walked with God: and he was not; for God took him," avoiding the mortal death ascribed to Adam's other descendants. Additionally, Enoch is described as the father of Methuselah and great-grandfather of Noah (Genesis 5:22-29).
Despite the brief descriptions of him, Enoch is one of the main two focal points for much of the 1st millennium BC Jewish mysticism, notably in the Book of Enoch.
In Islam, he is usually referred to as Idris and is regarded as a prophet. Additionally, Enoch is important in some Christian denominations: he features in the Latter Day Saint Movement, and is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Catholic Church on July 26.
The Qur'an refers to Enoch as Idris, meaning the instructor, regarding him as a man of truth and a prophet, as well as a model of patience. Popular Muslim traditions credit Idris as inventor of astronomy, writing, and arithmetic. Idris is often described as having been compelled to defend his life with the sword, against the depraved children of earth. Among his lesser inventions, in popular Muslim tradition, were said to be scales, to enable just weights, and tailoring.
He is mentioned twice in the Quran in the following verses:
19:56-57
21:85-86
The person whom the Qur’an mentions twice under the name Idris or Idriz is most frequently identified with the seventh patriarch in the book of Genesis, more rarely with Elijah or al-Khidr. Astrologers and alchemists identified him with Hermes (in Arabic, Hirmis).
Idris, or Idriz, is a prophet of Islam. There are four verses related to the Prophet Idris in the Qur'an. These are found as consecutive verses in the surahs Maryam (Mary) and Al-Anbiya (The Prophets).
In a hadith Idris is mentioned as one of the earlier prophets that spoke with the Prophet Muhammed in one of the heavens during Mi'raj.
In Islamic tradition, Idris is a predecessor prophet before Noah (Arabic: Nuh). Idris is credited with learning many useful skills or inventing things which humans now use such as writing, mathematics, astronomy, etc". According to Islamic tradition, his time was one when many people had forgotten God, and the world was thus punished with a drought. However, Idris prayed for them, and it began to rain, ending the drought.
In Islamic tradition, according to the book The Prophet of God Enoch: Nabiyullah Idris, Idris and Enoch are the same person. He is mentioned in the Qur'an as being so preferred by God that God raised Idris to Heaven. (In the Enoch book of the bible preserved by the Ethiopian church, we also read that he was raised up by God). Idris is said to have come back from heaven in the area of Gizan (current day Giza in Egypt) where he taught people writing, and he described how he saw in his journey the sources of water (i.e. the Snow caps of mountains, especially in the polar areas) and the reasons behind astronomy. He described different skies where he saw imprisoned devils and Jinns tormented by the angels, some of whom are awaiting punishment, and some awaiting release. Idris is a prominent prophet between Adam and Noah for Muslims.
One non-traditional explanation for the building of the pyramids is that they were built in reverence to him, since it is the area where he was said to have ascended back to heaven.
Enoch see Idris
Idriz see Idris
Nabiyullah Idris see Idris
Idris (Idriz) (Enoch) (Nabiyullah Idris). Non-biblical figure mentioned twice in the Qur‘an at Suras 19:57-58 and 21:85-86. Idris has been identified both with the biblical prophet Enoch and with Hermes of mythological fame. Hermes, in turn, was sometimes linked to Idris/Enoch by pseudo-scientific medieval Muslim commentators. Other times, Idris/Hermes was linked to a person who allegedly appeared in Babylonia after the flood and revived the study of talismanic and other esoteric sciences before migrating to Egypt. Idris/Hermes sparked the imagination of numerous Muslim writers and, through them, some early Renaissance scholars.
Enoch is a figure in the Generations of Adam. Enoch is described as Adam's greatx4 grandson, through Seth, and the text reads--uniquely in the Generations--that Enoch "walked with God: and he was not; for God took him," avoiding the mortal death ascribed to Adam's other descendants. Additionally, Enoch is described as the father of Methuselah and great-grandfather of Noah (Genesis 5:22-29).
Despite the brief descriptions of him, Enoch is one of the main two focal points for much of the 1st millennium BC Jewish mysticism, notably in the Book of Enoch.
In Islam, he is usually referred to as Idris and is regarded as a prophet. Additionally, Enoch is important in some Christian denominations: he features in the Latter Day Saint Movement, and is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Catholic Church on July 26.
The Qur'an refers to Enoch as Idris, meaning the instructor, regarding him as a man of truth and a prophet, as well as a model of patience. Popular Muslim traditions credit Idris as inventor of astronomy, writing, and arithmetic. Idris is often described as having been compelled to defend his life with the sword, against the depraved children of earth. Among his lesser inventions, in popular Muslim tradition, were said to be scales, to enable just weights, and tailoring.
He is mentioned twice in the Quran in the following verses:
19:56-57
21:85-86
The person whom the Qur’an mentions twice under the name Idris or Idriz is most frequently identified with the seventh patriarch in the book of Genesis, more rarely with Elijah or al-Khidr. Astrologers and alchemists identified him with Hermes (in Arabic, Hirmis).
Idris, or Idriz, is a prophet of Islam. There are four verses related to the Prophet Idris in the Qur'an. These are found as consecutive verses in the surahs Maryam (Mary) and Al-Anbiya (The Prophets).
In a hadith Idris is mentioned as one of the earlier prophets that spoke with the Prophet Muhammed in one of the heavens during Mi'raj.
In Islamic tradition, Idris is a predecessor prophet before Noah (Arabic: Nuh). Idris is credited with learning many useful skills or inventing things which humans now use such as writing, mathematics, astronomy, etc". According to Islamic tradition, his time was one when many people had forgotten God, and the world was thus punished with a drought. However, Idris prayed for them, and it began to rain, ending the drought.
In Islamic tradition, according to the book The Prophet of God Enoch: Nabiyullah Idris, Idris and Enoch are the same person. He is mentioned in the Qur'an as being so preferred by God that God raised Idris to Heaven. (In the Enoch book of the bible preserved by the Ethiopian church, we also read that he was raised up by God). Idris is said to have come back from heaven in the area of Gizan (current day Giza in Egypt) where he taught people writing, and he described how he saw in his journey the sources of water (i.e. the Snow caps of mountains, especially in the polar areas) and the reasons behind astronomy. He described different skies where he saw imprisoned devils and Jinns tormented by the angels, some of whom are awaiting punishment, and some awaiting release. Idris is a prominent prophet between Adam and Noah for Muslims.
One non-traditional explanation for the building of the pyramids is that they were built in reverence to him, since it is the area where he was said to have ascended back to heaven.
Enoch see Idris
Idriz see Idris
Nabiyullah Idris see Idris
Idris
Idris (1849-1916). Sultan of Perak. He was the son of a bendahara (chief minister) and great-grandson of a sultan of Perak, Idris at first supported his cousin, Sultan Abdullah, against James W. W. Birch, a British officer who had been appointed as an “adviser” to Perak, but did not join the Perak rising in November 1875. Idris later served on the State Council and as judge of the Supreme Court. In 1887, although he was not in direct line according to the Perak custom of rotation, Idris succeeded his father-in-law, Yusuf, to the throne. A staunch believer in British “protection,” Idris was much respected by the British, but at the 1903 durbar (official reception), he deprecated the increasing centralization of the Federated Malay States.
Idris (1849-1916). Sultan of Perak. He was the son of a bendahara (chief minister) and great-grandson of a sultan of Perak, Idris at first supported his cousin, Sultan Abdullah, against James W. W. Birch, a British officer who had been appointed as an “adviser” to Perak, but did not join the Perak rising in November 1875. Idris later served on the State Council and as judge of the Supreme Court. In 1887, although he was not in direct line according to the Perak custom of rotation, Idris succeeded his father-in-law, Yusuf, to the throne. A staunch believer in British “protection,” Idris was much respected by the British, but at the 1903 durbar (official reception), he deprecated the increasing centralization of the Federated Malay States.
Idris I
Idris I (Idris ibn Abdullah) (al-Akbar) (d. 793). Founder of the Idrisid dynasty (r.788-793). Of ‘Alid descent, he escaped the massacre at Fakhkh in 786 and settled at Walila (Volubilis), from where he consolidated his authority in the valley of the Wargha.
Proclaimed imam by Berber tribes in northern Morocco, Idris I extended his territory as far as Tlemcen in 789 and founded Fez. Poisoned in 793, probably at the instigation of Harun al-Rashid, he is regarded as the national saint of Morocco. His son, Idris II (r. 793-828, ruling imam from 804) settled more and more Andalusian and Tunisians, developed Fez into the capital, and consolidated political power. When the son of Idris II, Muhammad (828-836), divided the realm between his eight brothers in 836, the dynasty fell apart, and was destroyed by internal power struggles.
In 788, Idris I became involved in an anti-‘Abbasid revolt near Mecca and was forced into exile to escape the persecution of Harun al-Rashid, the ‘Abbasid caliph of Baghdad. Idris sought refuge in present day Morocco, which some fifty years earlier had shaken caliphal rule. There he was welcomed by a recently converted Berber tribe, the Banu Awrabah. These Berbers were impressed with the idea of having a descendant of the Prophet to lead them and soon made Idris their chief. He rapidly united the Berber tribes of the area into a confederacy, and from this union emerged the first independent Islamic dynasty in Morocco.
Idris’s rule was short-lived. He was poisoned in 793 by an agent of Harun al-Rashid. Idris left no male heir at the time of his death, but he did leave behind a pregnant concubine, and it was her child, Idris II, who was to continue his father’s work.
Akbar, al- see Idris I
Idris ibn Abdullah see Idris I
Idris I (Idris ibn Abdullah) (al-Akbar) (d. 793). Founder of the Idrisid dynasty (r.788-793). Of ‘Alid descent, he escaped the massacre at Fakhkh in 786 and settled at Walila (Volubilis), from where he consolidated his authority in the valley of the Wargha.
Proclaimed imam by Berber tribes in northern Morocco, Idris I extended his territory as far as Tlemcen in 789 and founded Fez. Poisoned in 793, probably at the instigation of Harun al-Rashid, he is regarded as the national saint of Morocco. His son, Idris II (r. 793-828, ruling imam from 804) settled more and more Andalusian and Tunisians, developed Fez into the capital, and consolidated political power. When the son of Idris II, Muhammad (828-836), divided the realm between his eight brothers in 836, the dynasty fell apart, and was destroyed by internal power struggles.
In 788, Idris I became involved in an anti-‘Abbasid revolt near Mecca and was forced into exile to escape the persecution of Harun al-Rashid, the ‘Abbasid caliph of Baghdad. Idris sought refuge in present day Morocco, which some fifty years earlier had shaken caliphal rule. There he was welcomed by a recently converted Berber tribe, the Banu Awrabah. These Berbers were impressed with the idea of having a descendant of the Prophet to lead them and soon made Idris their chief. He rapidly united the Berber tribes of the area into a confederacy, and from this union emerged the first independent Islamic dynasty in Morocco.
Idris’s rule was short-lived. He was poisoned in 793 by an agent of Harun al-Rashid. Idris left no male heir at the time of his death, but he did leave behind a pregnant concubine, and it was her child, Idris II, who was to continue his father’s work.
Akbar, al- see Idris I
Idris ibn Abdullah see Idris I
Idris I
Idris I (Sayyid Muhammad Idris bin Sayyid Muhammad al-Mahdi al-Senussi) (March 12, 1890 – May 25, 1983). King of Libya from 1951 until the coup of 1969. Idris was born on March 13, 1890, in Jarabub, Cyrenaica. In 1902, he succeeded his father as leader of the Sufi brotherhood Sanusiyya in Cyrenaica. Due to his being underage, the active rule rested with his cousin, Ahmadu ash-Sharif.
In 1916, Idris became the ruler of the Sanusiyya, and in 1917, with the agreement of Arcoma with the Italians, Idris obtained support for his rule in inland Cyrenaica.
In 1919, a Cyrenaican parliament was established, and Idris began to receive financial support from the Italians. In 1922, Idris went into exile in Egypt, after the Italians had started to wage military campaigns against the Libyan hinterland. From Egypt, Idris directed his followers.
In 1942, Idris returned to Libya after Great Britain had occupied Libya. Idris then formed an official government. In December 1951, after representatives from Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and Fezzan had decided to establish a constitutional monarchy, Idris became king of Libya. Libya then declared its independence.
On September 1, 1969, while Idris was in Turkey for medical treatment, he was deposed by the Libyan army under the leadership of Colonel Gadhafi in a bloodless coup. Idris eventually went into exile in Egypt.
In 1974, Idris was convicted in absentia for corruption by a Libyan court.
On May 25, 1983, Idris died in Cairo, Egypt.
Idris‘ politics were very conservative, and he was not active in the pan-Arab identification and with Arab nationalism, ideologies that were very strong during this period.
The political structures under Idris were based upon tribal structures. Townsmen and tribal leaders were strong in each of their regions, but they all supported the king. Stability was further helped by political and military support from his Western allies.
Sayyid Muhammad Idris bin Sayyid Muhammad al-Mahdi al-Senussi see Idris I
Idris I (Sayyid Muhammad Idris bin Sayyid Muhammad al-Mahdi al-Senussi) (March 12, 1890 – May 25, 1983). King of Libya from 1951 until the coup of 1969. Idris was born on March 13, 1890, in Jarabub, Cyrenaica. In 1902, he succeeded his father as leader of the Sufi brotherhood Sanusiyya in Cyrenaica. Due to his being underage, the active rule rested with his cousin, Ahmadu ash-Sharif.
In 1916, Idris became the ruler of the Sanusiyya, and in 1917, with the agreement of Arcoma with the Italians, Idris obtained support for his rule in inland Cyrenaica.
In 1919, a Cyrenaican parliament was established, and Idris began to receive financial support from the Italians. In 1922, Idris went into exile in Egypt, after the Italians had started to wage military campaigns against the Libyan hinterland. From Egypt, Idris directed his followers.
In 1942, Idris returned to Libya after Great Britain had occupied Libya. Idris then formed an official government. In December 1951, after representatives from Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and Fezzan had decided to establish a constitutional monarchy, Idris became king of Libya. Libya then declared its independence.
On September 1, 1969, while Idris was in Turkey for medical treatment, he was deposed by the Libyan army under the leadership of Colonel Gadhafi in a bloodless coup. Idris eventually went into exile in Egypt.
In 1974, Idris was convicted in absentia for corruption by a Libyan court.
On May 25, 1983, Idris died in Cairo, Egypt.
Idris‘ politics were very conservative, and he was not active in the pan-Arab identification and with Arab nationalism, ideologies that were very strong during this period.
The political structures under Idris were based upon tribal structures. Townsmen and tribal leaders were strong in each of their regions, but they all supported the king. Stability was further helped by political and military support from his Western allies.
Sayyid Muhammad Idris bin Sayyid Muhammad al-Mahdi al-Senussi see Idris I
Idris II
Idris II (al-Ashgar) (al-Azhar) (793-828). Ruler of the Idrisid dynasty of North Africa, and especially Morocco. He attempted to end the Berber predominance near Fez. He refounded the city of Fez and began to unify the Maghrib under Islam. His tomb in the mosque of the Chorfa remains the object of veneration.
Proclaimed imam by Berber tribes in northern Morocco, Idris I extended his territory as far as Tlemcen in 789 and founded Fez. Poisoned in 793, probably at the instigation of Harun al-Rashid, he is regarded as the national saint of Morocco. His son, Idris II (r. 793-828, ruling imam from 804) settled more and more Andalusian and Tunisians, developed Fez into the capital, and consolidated political power. When the son of Idris II, Muhammad (828-836), divided the realm between his eight brothers in 836, the dynasty fell apart, and was destroyed by internal power struggles.
In 788, Idris I became involved in an anti-‘Abbasid revolt near Mecca and was forced into exile to escape the persecution of Harun al-Rashid, the ‘Abbasid caliph of Baghdad. Idris sought refuge in present day Morocco, which some fifty years earlier had shaken caliphal rule. There he was welcomed by a recently converted Berber tribe, the Banu Awrabah. These Berbers were impressed with the idea of having a descendant of the Prophet to lead them and soon made Idris their chief. He rapidly united the Berber tribes of the area into a confederacy, and from this union emerged the first independent Islamic dynasty in Morocco.
Idris’s rule was short-lived. He was poisoned in 793 by an agent of Harun al-Rashid. Idris left no male heir at the time of his death, but he did leave behind a pregnant concubine, and it was her child, Idris II, who was to continue his father’s work.
Idris II was the true founder of the modern Moroccan state. Although his father had subjugated and converted many tribes adhering to Christianity, Judaism, or indigenous religions, he still remained dependent on the Awrabah tribe. Idris II stressed the Islamic-Arab character of Morocco in an attempt to detach himself from the Awrabah, inviting Arab chiefs and warriors from Spain to his court. In 809, Idris II achieved what could be considered one of the most durable and important results of the dynasty – the refounding of the city of Fez. Originally founded in 789 by Idris I, Fez was still a Berber market town when Idris II decided to establish his authority independently from the Awrabah and make Fez his capital city. The arrival of several waves of immigrants, first from Cordoba and later from Tunisia, gave Fez a definitive Arab character.
Among his political achievements, Idris II managed to consolidate under his rule most of what is today northern Morocco. To stabilize the government he organized Morocco’s first true makhzan (central government), an Arabic concept hitherto unknown to the Berber tribes of the region. In addition, the construction of the Qarawiyin and Andalus mosques as well as the Qarawiyin University, the oldest in the Muslim world, helped make Fez an important cultural and religious center.
Idris II was succeeded by his son Muhammad II. While retaining the title of imam and rule over the capital, Muhammad divided his father’s kingdom among his brothers, demonstrating a departure from the political sagacity that had been evident in both his father and grandfather. This also effectively undermined centralized control held by the Idrisids, as sections of the royal family and tribal groups engaged in a long struggle for power that characterized later Idrisid rule. Although a strong centralized state was not established in the Idrisid era, the political role of the sharifs was confirmed and has remained a significant element in Moroccan politics ever since. {See also Idrisids.}
Idris II (791 - 828 AD) was son of Idris I, the founder of the Idrisid dynasty in North Africa. He was born in Volubilis (nowadays in Morocco) two months after the death of his father.
[edit] History
The death of Idris I, and the resulting destabilisation of the fledgling Idrisid dynasty state, delighted the Caliph in Baghdad. However, two months later, Kenza, the wife of Idris I who was the daughter of Ishaq ben Mohammed the chief of the Awarba tribe, gave birth to Idriss II, who became a quick prodigy. In reference to Idris II, the historian Rom Landau, says: "In the lore of the Moroccans, Idris II was a being of almost magical attributes. An exceptional young man he certainly must have been. At many points we are reminded of one of the greatest sages of Islam, Ibn Sina or Avicenna. At the age of four, Idris apparently could read, at five write, at eight he knew the Koran by heart, and by then is said to have mastered the wisdom of all the outstanding savants. He was of real physical strength as well, and when he became officially sovereign in 805 at the age of thirteen, he had already accomplished feats of endurance that men twice his age could not emulate. His profound Islamic faith enhanced all these advantages and increased the veneration accorded him."
Twenty years after his father had done so, Idris II refounded the city Fez on the left bank of the River Fez, opposite to where his father had founded it on the right bank. From there, Idris II began to unify Magreb under Islam, establishing its firm allegiance to the belief. After spending 19 years pursuing such purposes, this prodigy died at 35 in 828. For twelve hundred years after, the tradition of monarchy, established by Idris I and II, were continued. Idris II, who married a descendant of Suleyman the sultan of Tlemcen (a brother of Idriss I) was the father of twelve sons: Muhammed, Abdullah, Aïssa, Idriss, Ahmed, Jaâfar, Yahia, Qassim, Omar, Ali, Daoud and Hamza.
Preceded by
Idris I Idrisid dynasty
802–828 Succeeded by
Muhammad ibn Idris
Stub icon This Moroccan biogra
Ashgar, al- see Idris II
Azhar, al- see Idris II
Idris II (al-Ashgar) (al-Azhar) (793-828). Ruler of the Idrisid dynasty of North Africa, and especially Morocco. He attempted to end the Berber predominance near Fez. He refounded the city of Fez and began to unify the Maghrib under Islam. His tomb in the mosque of the Chorfa remains the object of veneration.
Proclaimed imam by Berber tribes in northern Morocco, Idris I extended his territory as far as Tlemcen in 789 and founded Fez. Poisoned in 793, probably at the instigation of Harun al-Rashid, he is regarded as the national saint of Morocco. His son, Idris II (r. 793-828, ruling imam from 804) settled more and more Andalusian and Tunisians, developed Fez into the capital, and consolidated political power. When the son of Idris II, Muhammad (828-836), divided the realm between his eight brothers in 836, the dynasty fell apart, and was destroyed by internal power struggles.
In 788, Idris I became involved in an anti-‘Abbasid revolt near Mecca and was forced into exile to escape the persecution of Harun al-Rashid, the ‘Abbasid caliph of Baghdad. Idris sought refuge in present day Morocco, which some fifty years earlier had shaken caliphal rule. There he was welcomed by a recently converted Berber tribe, the Banu Awrabah. These Berbers were impressed with the idea of having a descendant of the Prophet to lead them and soon made Idris their chief. He rapidly united the Berber tribes of the area into a confederacy, and from this union emerged the first independent Islamic dynasty in Morocco.
Idris’s rule was short-lived. He was poisoned in 793 by an agent of Harun al-Rashid. Idris left no male heir at the time of his death, but he did leave behind a pregnant concubine, and it was her child, Idris II, who was to continue his father’s work.
Idris II was the true founder of the modern Moroccan state. Although his father had subjugated and converted many tribes adhering to Christianity, Judaism, or indigenous religions, he still remained dependent on the Awrabah tribe. Idris II stressed the Islamic-Arab character of Morocco in an attempt to detach himself from the Awrabah, inviting Arab chiefs and warriors from Spain to his court. In 809, Idris II achieved what could be considered one of the most durable and important results of the dynasty – the refounding of the city of Fez. Originally founded in 789 by Idris I, Fez was still a Berber market town when Idris II decided to establish his authority independently from the Awrabah and make Fez his capital city. The arrival of several waves of immigrants, first from Cordoba and later from Tunisia, gave Fez a definitive Arab character.
Among his political achievements, Idris II managed to consolidate under his rule most of what is today northern Morocco. To stabilize the government he organized Morocco’s first true makhzan (central government), an Arabic concept hitherto unknown to the Berber tribes of the region. In addition, the construction of the Qarawiyin and Andalus mosques as well as the Qarawiyin University, the oldest in the Muslim world, helped make Fez an important cultural and religious center.
Idris II was succeeded by his son Muhammad II. While retaining the title of imam and rule over the capital, Muhammad divided his father’s kingdom among his brothers, demonstrating a departure from the political sagacity that had been evident in both his father and grandfather. This also effectively undermined centralized control held by the Idrisids, as sections of the royal family and tribal groups engaged in a long struggle for power that characterized later Idrisid rule. Although a strong centralized state was not established in the Idrisid era, the political role of the sharifs was confirmed and has remained a significant element in Moroccan politics ever since. {See also Idrisids.}
Idris II (791 - 828 AD) was son of Idris I, the founder of the Idrisid dynasty in North Africa. He was born in Volubilis (nowadays in Morocco) two months after the death of his father.
[edit] History
The death of Idris I, and the resulting destabilisation of the fledgling Idrisid dynasty state, delighted the Caliph in Baghdad. However, two months later, Kenza, the wife of Idris I who was the daughter of Ishaq ben Mohammed the chief of the Awarba tribe, gave birth to Idriss II, who became a quick prodigy. In reference to Idris II, the historian Rom Landau, says: "In the lore of the Moroccans, Idris II was a being of almost magical attributes. An exceptional young man he certainly must have been. At many points we are reminded of one of the greatest sages of Islam, Ibn Sina or Avicenna. At the age of four, Idris apparently could read, at five write, at eight he knew the Koran by heart, and by then is said to have mastered the wisdom of all the outstanding savants. He was of real physical strength as well, and when he became officially sovereign in 805 at the age of thirteen, he had already accomplished feats of endurance that men twice his age could not emulate. His profound Islamic faith enhanced all these advantages and increased the veneration accorded him."
Twenty years after his father had done so, Idris II refounded the city Fez on the left bank of the River Fez, opposite to where his father had founded it on the right bank. From there, Idris II began to unify Magreb under Islam, establishing its firm allegiance to the belief. After spending 19 years pursuing such purposes, this prodigy died at 35 in 828. For twelve hundred years after, the tradition of monarchy, established by Idris I and II, were continued. Idris II, who married a descendant of Suleyman the sultan of Tlemcen (a brother of Idriss I) was the father of twelve sons: Muhammed, Abdullah, Aïssa, Idriss, Ahmed, Jaâfar, Yahia, Qassim, Omar, Ali, Daoud and Hamza.
Preceded by
Idris I Idrisid dynasty
802–828 Succeeded by
Muhammad ibn Idris
Stub icon This Moroccan biogra
Ashgar, al- see Idris II
Azhar, al- see Idris II
Idris Aloma
Idris Aloma (c. 1542-1619[?]). Ruler of the Kanuri Empire of Bornu. He rebuilt the declining state, introduced new military administrative tactics, and encouraged the spread of Islam. He is the most famous mai (ruler) in the 1000 year history of the Sefawa dynasty of Kanem-Bornu, largely because he had his own chronicler, Imam Ahmed ibn Fartua, who recorded an “official” history.
Idris‘ father, mai ‘Ali, had died after ruling only one year (c.1545). The throne then passed to another branch of the family. Idris‘ mother was a princess of the Bulala people who had driven the Kanuri out of Kanem years before. Fearing that the reigning mai would make an attempt on Idris‘ life, she sent him to her family at Kanem to be raised. According to Kanuri tradition, the throne finally fell to a woman Aisa Kili Ngirmaramma who, although from the other branch of the family, handed over the crown to Idris around 1570.
Idris ascended during a difficult period. Externally, the Bulala remained strong antagonists, the Hausa states regularly raided Bornu, and Taureg and Tega nomads harassed the northern frontiers of the empire. Internally, Bornu was recovering from a long famine, and there was a continuing threat of interdynastic strife. Idris solved his problems by building a strong army. Early in his reign, he made the pilgrimage to Mecca, where he was impressed with firearms. After his return, he brought Turkish musketeers into his army to train an elite corps. He also built up a large infantry and a cavalry of the nobility, impressively uniformed. For long range expeditions, he created a special camel cavalry. Idris personally led many military campaigns and was generally successful. His most important victory was against the Bulala of Kanem. Although he was unable to reintegrate Kanem into the empire, Bornu became suzerain over it, and formal boundaries were established.
Idris’s administrative reforms reduced the possibility of revolt. The territories outside his immediate control were ruled by trustworthy appointees, rather than by relatives who might try to break away, as had happened earlier in the history of the empire. He financed the state through taxes, tribute, and the slave trade. Although he did not design his administration to conform with Islamic law, his chronicler depicts him as a devout Muslim who instituted an Islamic judicial system, built mosques, and established a hostel in Mecca. He made diplomatic contacts with the sultans of Turkey and Morocco, apparently to obtain aid in defending Bornu’s northern borders. Scholars have placed his death at various times between 1603 and 1619. It is believed that he died while putting down a revolt. He was succeeded by three of his sons.
Aloma, Idris see Idris Aloma
Idris Aloma (c. 1542-1619[?]). Ruler of the Kanuri Empire of Bornu. He rebuilt the declining state, introduced new military administrative tactics, and encouraged the spread of Islam. He is the most famous mai (ruler) in the 1000 year history of the Sefawa dynasty of Kanem-Bornu, largely because he had his own chronicler, Imam Ahmed ibn Fartua, who recorded an “official” history.
Idris‘ father, mai ‘Ali, had died after ruling only one year (c.1545). The throne then passed to another branch of the family. Idris‘ mother was a princess of the Bulala people who had driven the Kanuri out of Kanem years before. Fearing that the reigning mai would make an attempt on Idris‘ life, she sent him to her family at Kanem to be raised. According to Kanuri tradition, the throne finally fell to a woman Aisa Kili Ngirmaramma who, although from the other branch of the family, handed over the crown to Idris around 1570.
Idris ascended during a difficult period. Externally, the Bulala remained strong antagonists, the Hausa states regularly raided Bornu, and Taureg and Tega nomads harassed the northern frontiers of the empire. Internally, Bornu was recovering from a long famine, and there was a continuing threat of interdynastic strife. Idris solved his problems by building a strong army. Early in his reign, he made the pilgrimage to Mecca, where he was impressed with firearms. After his return, he brought Turkish musketeers into his army to train an elite corps. He also built up a large infantry and a cavalry of the nobility, impressively uniformed. For long range expeditions, he created a special camel cavalry. Idris personally led many military campaigns and was generally successful. His most important victory was against the Bulala of Kanem. Although he was unable to reintegrate Kanem into the empire, Bornu became suzerain over it, and formal boundaries were established.
Idris’s administrative reforms reduced the possibility of revolt. The territories outside his immediate control were ruled by trustworthy appointees, rather than by relatives who might try to break away, as had happened earlier in the history of the empire. He financed the state through taxes, tribute, and the slave trade. Although he did not design his administration to conform with Islamic law, his chronicler depicts him as a devout Muslim who instituted an Islamic judicial system, built mosques, and established a hostel in Mecca. He made diplomatic contacts with the sultans of Turkey and Morocco, apparently to obtain aid in defending Bornu’s northern borders. Scholars have placed his death at various times between 1603 and 1619. It is believed that he died while putting down a revolt. He was succeeded by three of his sons.
Aloma, Idris see Idris Aloma
Idrisi, Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
Idrisi, Abu ‘Abd Allah al-(Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Idrisi) (al-Sharif al-Idrisi) (Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Idres Ash-Sharif) (Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani al-Sabti) (al-Sharif al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi) (Dreses) (1100-1165/1166). Arab geographer, scientist, and author of one of the greatest geographic works of the medieval world.
Widely travelled throughout the Mediterranean region, he joined the court of Roger II of Sicily in about 1145 and worked in Palermo the remainder of his life. His major works include a silver planisphere showing a world map, a sectional map of the world, and a geography text (the Book of Roger) that contains information about his own travels and reports from persons sent from Sicily to obtain new information.
Al-Idrisi owes his fame to The Book of Roger, which he produced in 1154 on the orders of Roger II, the Norman king of Sicily. Al-Idrisi is best known in the West as a geographer, who made a globe of silver -- a sphere weighing 400 kilograms for King Roger II of Sicily. Some scholars regard him as the greatest geographer and cartographer of the Middle Ages. He also made original contributions in the study of medicinal plants.
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Idres Ash-Sharif was born in 1100 in Ceuta (North Africa) but he was raised and educated in Cordova in Spain. He is also known by his short name al-Sharif al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi.
Al-Idrisi was educated in Cordova. As was common with Muslim geographers, he traveled to many distant places, including Europe, to gather geographical data. The Muslim geographers by his time had already made accurate measurements of the Earth’s surface, and several maps of the whole world were available. Al-Idrisi added this available knowledge to his own findings. It is for this comprehensive knowledge of all parts of the known world that he became famous and began to get the attention of European sea navigators and military planners.
Al-Idrisi’s fame and competence eventually led to the attention of Roger II, the Norman King of Sicily, who invited him to produce an up-to-date world map. Sicily was under Muslim rule before King Roger, and Muslim works were freely available for transmission to Europe through the Latin West. Al-Idrisi procured a ball of silver weighing approximately 400 kilograms and meticulously recorded on it the known continents with trade routes, lakes and rivers, major cities, and plains and mountains. His globe was accompanied by his book Al-Kitab al-Rujari (Roger’s Book). He also made a representation of the known world on a disk.
Al-Idrisi’s book Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi Ikhtiraq al-Afaq (The Delight of Him Who Desires to Journey Through the Climates) is a geographical encyclopedia which contains detailed maps and information on European countries, Africa and Asia. Later, he compiled a more comprehensive encyclopedia, entitled Rawd-Unnas wa-Nuzhat al-Nafs (Pleasure of Men and Delight of Souls). Al-Idrisi’s knowledge of the Niger above Timbuktu, the Sudan, and of the head waters of the Nile was remarkable for its accuracy.
Al-Idrisi also made major contributions in the science of medicinal plants and wrote several books. The most popular among them is entitled Kitab al-Jami-li-Sifat Ashtat al-Nabatat. He reviewed and synthesized all the literature on the subject of medicinal plants and associated drugs available to him from Muslim scientists and added to it his research collected from his travels. He contributed this material to the subject of botany with emphasis on medicinal plants. He describes the names of the drugs in several languages including Berber, Syriac, Persian, Hindi, Greek, and Latin. Idrisi also wrote on zoology and fauna.
Al-Idrisi became famous in Europe more than other Muslim geographers because ships and navigators from the North Sea, the Atlantic and the Mediterranenan frequented Sicily, which is located near the middle of the Mediterranean. Several of al-Idrisi’s books were translated into Latin and his books on geography were popular for several centuries. The translation of one of his books was published in 1619 in Rome. This translation was an abridged edition and the translator did not give credit to al-Idrisi. It is interesting that Europe took several centuries to make use of his globe and the world map. Christopher Columbus used the map which was originally taken from al-Idrisi’s work.
Al-Idrisi wrote about the empires of the western and central Sudanic regions of Africa and the east African city-states in his most famous work of world geography, The Book of Roger. The work, named for its commissioner Roger II, the Norman king of Sicily, was completed in 1154. Al-Idrisi was the first Arabic author to impute a European origin to the Sudanic states, perhaps because he wrote shortly after the conquests of Ghana by the north African Muslim Almoravids. He incorrectly reported that the Niger River flowed to the west, thereby creating much confusion among later geographers and explorers.
A world traveler, al-Idrisi’s collaboration with the Norman king of Sicily, Roger II, produced a major geography and several significant maps of the medieval world. These works served as models for productions in the field for more than five hundred years.
Al-Idrisi, whose full name was Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ‘Abd Allah ibn Idris al-Hammudi al-Hasani al-Idrisi, was born in 1100 in Sabtah (now Ceuta), Morocco. As his full name indicates, he was a Shi‘a Muslim, descended from the Prophet Muhammad, of the noble house of Alavi Idris, claimants to the caliphate. His family had migrated from Malaga and Algeciras in Spain to Sabtah and Tangiers in the eleventh century, and al-Idrisi studied in Cordoba, the capital of Islamic Spain.
Al-Idrisi was a student of medicine, a poet, a world traveler, and a merchant-adventurer. His wanderings, which began at age sixteen, eventually took al-Idrisi on the routes of many of the historic Muslim conquests. He traveled far and wide across much of the known world -- west to Madeira and the Canary Islands, north to France and England, and east to Asia Minor and Central Asia -- meticulously gathering information along the way about what he saw and what lay beyond.
A natural curiosity about the world, along with the wealth and freedom to satisfy it, was probably the principal motivation behind these journeys. Al-Idrisi’s identity as a great noble and a descendant of Muhammad periodically put his life in danger from assassins hired by rival Islamic noble houses or religious factions. This ever present danger probably kept him on the move. Whatever the cause of his wanderings, they gradually gained for him the reputation of a worldly-wise and learned man. Under the pretext of offering him protection from his enemies, but probably because of his growing fame as a scholar and traveler, in 1140 the Norman Christian king of Sicily, Roger II, invited al-Idrisi to join his court. Al-Idrisi’s acceptance of the offer led to a twenty-year stay at the Sicilian court and initiated a fifteen-year geographic and cartographic collaboration with Roger.
Sicily had been granted to Roger II and the Normans under the Treaty of Saint-Germain in 1139, and he promptly made Palermo his capital. Before the coming of the Normans, Palermo also had been the capital of Islamic Sicily. During the Middle Ages, under both the Muslims and the Normans, Palermo was a major crossroads of the Mediterranean world. It was a traditional meeting place for sailors, merchants, pilgrims, crusaders, scholars, adventurers, and other travelers.
During Roger’s reign, Palermo also became an intellectual center of medieval Europe. Roger was interested in fostering learning of any kind, and he was generous with his patronage. Perhaps for pragmatic reasons of expansionism and trade, Roger was devoted to geography. Undoubtedly, he believed that al-Idrisi’s princely status might help him further his own political aims. In any case, he seems to have been dissatisfied with the existing Arabic and Greek works on geography and cartography. Thus, one of the major reasons for the summons to al-Idrisi.
At Roger’s court, al-Idrisi was honored as a noble, scholar, and traveler, and it was there that his real fame as a geographer and cartographer came. During the fifteen years of their collaboration, al-Idrisi produced a celestial globe, a disk-shaped 1.5 by 3.5 meter tablet map of the known world, and many other maps. The globe and the world map were made of solid silver, weighing 450 Roman pounds. The globe and map in turn were based on al-Idrisi’s encyclopedic geography, Kitab nuzhat al-mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq (The Book of the Pleasure Excursion of One Who is Eager to Traverse the Regions of the World -- 1154, also known as Kitab ar-Rujari, or Book of Roger), which was completed under Roger’s patronage.
The world map and presumably also the globe fell into the hands of a mob in 1160 and were smashed, but many of the seventy manuscript maps made by al-Idrisi from the world map shortly before Roger’s death in 1154 luckily survived. Sadly, no complete version of Kitab nuzhat al-mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq survives in any language. It first appeared in the West in Rome in an abridged version in1592 and was translated into Latin in Paris in 1619, but no full translation into English ever has been made.
After the death of Roger, al-Idrisi continued to work for his son and successor, King William I (William the Bad), and wrote another geographic treatise. No complete version of this second book survives either, but a shortened version, a seventy-three map atlas, remains.
In about 1160, al-Idrisi left Sicily for his native Morocco to live out his life, where sometime between 1164 and 1166 he died, probably near Sabtah.
Al-Idrisi’s great world map was a monument to medieval Islamic geography and cartography, but today it exists only in several reconstructions created by scholars from the surviving fragments of his works. It was divided into seven horizontal climatic zones (probably derived from the classical Greco-Roman worldview and the works of Ptolemy), each divided vertically into eleven sections to create a primitive grid, a system of longitude and latitude for more accurate place location. The map also contained a wealth of information, an abundance of detail, and a degree of clarity rarely achieved previously. It was most accurate for the Mediterranean region: perhaps understandably, Sicily is shown as an exceptionally large island. Its accuracy and detail also extended elsewhere. For example, al-Idrisi showed the source of the Nile River as an unnamed lake in Central Africa. Yet, while his maps were drawn very correctly for the time, they were not drawn mathematically.
On al-Idrisi’s world map, the Islamic and Norman worlds were joined. In preparation for the creation of al-Idrisi’s maps and geographies, Roger had sent out reliable agents and draftsmen to collect data from many lands. Al-Idrisi relied heavily on classic Muslim sources, such as the works of al-Khwarizmi and al-Masudi, and classic Greek, Roman, and Hellenistic sources, such as the works of Ptolemy, the father of modern geography and cartography. Al-Idrisi’s grid system (but not his projections) probably was based on those of Ptolemy and a copy of Ptolemy’s altered version of the world map of Marinus of Tyre. As his great world map demonstrates, however, al-Idrisi was often much more than a mere modifier of Ptolemy. Al-Idrisi also utilized Indian astronomical studies. Yet, perhaps most important, he relied heavily on his own journeys and those of other travelers for reliable information.
Al-Idrisi’s work was far more influential than Ptolemy’s in the East, but less so in Europe. Still, his maps opened European eyes to some of what the Muslims knew about Africa and Asia in the Middle Ages. Perhaps because he spent much of his adult life in the service of the Christian kings of Sicily, for centuries -- even into the twentieth century -- al-Idrisi and his achievements were ignored by Muslim scholars. In so doing, they deprived their Western counterparts of a fuller understanding of him as well. Only recently has al-Idrisi’s full impact begun to be realized, especially within the context of the study of the history of science and the history of cartography.
In short, al-Idrisi represents by far the best example of Islamic-Christian scientific collaboration in the Middle Ages in geography. Kitab nuzhat al-mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq was the most important geographic work of the period, and in its various forms it served as a major European and Muslim textbook for several centuries. Maps clearly based on those of al-Idrisi were produced well into the seventeenth century. He applied scientific methodology and precision to the heretofore largely imaginative arts of geography and cartography. Al-Idrisi truly deserved the epithet “Strabo of the Arabs,” which was applied to him in his own lifetime.
Abu 'Abd Allah al-Idrisi see Idrisi, Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
Qurtubi, al-Sharif al-Idrisi al- see Idrisi, Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Idres Ash-Sharif see Idrisi, Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
Sharif al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi, al- see Idrisi, Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
Dreses see Idrisi, Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
Strabo of the Arabs see Idrisi, Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
Idrisi, Abu ‘Abd Allah al-(Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Idrisi) (al-Sharif al-Idrisi) (Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Idres Ash-Sharif) (Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani al-Sabti) (al-Sharif al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi) (Dreses) (1100-1165/1166). Arab geographer, scientist, and author of one of the greatest geographic works of the medieval world.
Widely travelled throughout the Mediterranean region, he joined the court of Roger II of Sicily in about 1145 and worked in Palermo the remainder of his life. His major works include a silver planisphere showing a world map, a sectional map of the world, and a geography text (the Book of Roger) that contains information about his own travels and reports from persons sent from Sicily to obtain new information.
Al-Idrisi owes his fame to The Book of Roger, which he produced in 1154 on the orders of Roger II, the Norman king of Sicily. Al-Idrisi is best known in the West as a geographer, who made a globe of silver -- a sphere weighing 400 kilograms for King Roger II of Sicily. Some scholars regard him as the greatest geographer and cartographer of the Middle Ages. He also made original contributions in the study of medicinal plants.
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Idres Ash-Sharif was born in 1100 in Ceuta (North Africa) but he was raised and educated in Cordova in Spain. He is also known by his short name al-Sharif al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi.
Al-Idrisi was educated in Cordova. As was common with Muslim geographers, he traveled to many distant places, including Europe, to gather geographical data. The Muslim geographers by his time had already made accurate measurements of the Earth’s surface, and several maps of the whole world were available. Al-Idrisi added this available knowledge to his own findings. It is for this comprehensive knowledge of all parts of the known world that he became famous and began to get the attention of European sea navigators and military planners.
Al-Idrisi’s fame and competence eventually led to the attention of Roger II, the Norman King of Sicily, who invited him to produce an up-to-date world map. Sicily was under Muslim rule before King Roger, and Muslim works were freely available for transmission to Europe through the Latin West. Al-Idrisi procured a ball of silver weighing approximately 400 kilograms and meticulously recorded on it the known continents with trade routes, lakes and rivers, major cities, and plains and mountains. His globe was accompanied by his book Al-Kitab al-Rujari (Roger’s Book). He also made a representation of the known world on a disk.
Al-Idrisi’s book Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi Ikhtiraq al-Afaq (The Delight of Him Who Desires to Journey Through the Climates) is a geographical encyclopedia which contains detailed maps and information on European countries, Africa and Asia. Later, he compiled a more comprehensive encyclopedia, entitled Rawd-Unnas wa-Nuzhat al-Nafs (Pleasure of Men and Delight of Souls). Al-Idrisi’s knowledge of the Niger above Timbuktu, the Sudan, and of the head waters of the Nile was remarkable for its accuracy.
Al-Idrisi also made major contributions in the science of medicinal plants and wrote several books. The most popular among them is entitled Kitab al-Jami-li-Sifat Ashtat al-Nabatat. He reviewed and synthesized all the literature on the subject of medicinal plants and associated drugs available to him from Muslim scientists and added to it his research collected from his travels. He contributed this material to the subject of botany with emphasis on medicinal plants. He describes the names of the drugs in several languages including Berber, Syriac, Persian, Hindi, Greek, and Latin. Idrisi also wrote on zoology and fauna.
Al-Idrisi became famous in Europe more than other Muslim geographers because ships and navigators from the North Sea, the Atlantic and the Mediterranenan frequented Sicily, which is located near the middle of the Mediterranean. Several of al-Idrisi’s books were translated into Latin and his books on geography were popular for several centuries. The translation of one of his books was published in 1619 in Rome. This translation was an abridged edition and the translator did not give credit to al-Idrisi. It is interesting that Europe took several centuries to make use of his globe and the world map. Christopher Columbus used the map which was originally taken from al-Idrisi’s work.
Al-Idrisi wrote about the empires of the western and central Sudanic regions of Africa and the east African city-states in his most famous work of world geography, The Book of Roger. The work, named for its commissioner Roger II, the Norman king of Sicily, was completed in 1154. Al-Idrisi was the first Arabic author to impute a European origin to the Sudanic states, perhaps because he wrote shortly after the conquests of Ghana by the north African Muslim Almoravids. He incorrectly reported that the Niger River flowed to the west, thereby creating much confusion among later geographers and explorers.
A world traveler, al-Idrisi’s collaboration with the Norman king of Sicily, Roger II, produced a major geography and several significant maps of the medieval world. These works served as models for productions in the field for more than five hundred years.
Al-Idrisi, whose full name was Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ‘Abd Allah ibn Idris al-Hammudi al-Hasani al-Idrisi, was born in 1100 in Sabtah (now Ceuta), Morocco. As his full name indicates, he was a Shi‘a Muslim, descended from the Prophet Muhammad, of the noble house of Alavi Idris, claimants to the caliphate. His family had migrated from Malaga and Algeciras in Spain to Sabtah and Tangiers in the eleventh century, and al-Idrisi studied in Cordoba, the capital of Islamic Spain.
Al-Idrisi was a student of medicine, a poet, a world traveler, and a merchant-adventurer. His wanderings, which began at age sixteen, eventually took al-Idrisi on the routes of many of the historic Muslim conquests. He traveled far and wide across much of the known world -- west to Madeira and the Canary Islands, north to France and England, and east to Asia Minor and Central Asia -- meticulously gathering information along the way about what he saw and what lay beyond.
A natural curiosity about the world, along with the wealth and freedom to satisfy it, was probably the principal motivation behind these journeys. Al-Idrisi’s identity as a great noble and a descendant of Muhammad periodically put his life in danger from assassins hired by rival Islamic noble houses or religious factions. This ever present danger probably kept him on the move. Whatever the cause of his wanderings, they gradually gained for him the reputation of a worldly-wise and learned man. Under the pretext of offering him protection from his enemies, but probably because of his growing fame as a scholar and traveler, in 1140 the Norman Christian king of Sicily, Roger II, invited al-Idrisi to join his court. Al-Idrisi’s acceptance of the offer led to a twenty-year stay at the Sicilian court and initiated a fifteen-year geographic and cartographic collaboration with Roger.
Sicily had been granted to Roger II and the Normans under the Treaty of Saint-Germain in 1139, and he promptly made Palermo his capital. Before the coming of the Normans, Palermo also had been the capital of Islamic Sicily. During the Middle Ages, under both the Muslims and the Normans, Palermo was a major crossroads of the Mediterranean world. It was a traditional meeting place for sailors, merchants, pilgrims, crusaders, scholars, adventurers, and other travelers.
During Roger’s reign, Palermo also became an intellectual center of medieval Europe. Roger was interested in fostering learning of any kind, and he was generous with his patronage. Perhaps for pragmatic reasons of expansionism and trade, Roger was devoted to geography. Undoubtedly, he believed that al-Idrisi’s princely status might help him further his own political aims. In any case, he seems to have been dissatisfied with the existing Arabic and Greek works on geography and cartography. Thus, one of the major reasons for the summons to al-Idrisi.
At Roger’s court, al-Idrisi was honored as a noble, scholar, and traveler, and it was there that his real fame as a geographer and cartographer came. During the fifteen years of their collaboration, al-Idrisi produced a celestial globe, a disk-shaped 1.5 by 3.5 meter tablet map of the known world, and many other maps. The globe and the world map were made of solid silver, weighing 450 Roman pounds. The globe and map in turn were based on al-Idrisi’s encyclopedic geography, Kitab nuzhat al-mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq (The Book of the Pleasure Excursion of One Who is Eager to Traverse the Regions of the World -- 1154, also known as Kitab ar-Rujari, or Book of Roger), which was completed under Roger’s patronage.
The world map and presumably also the globe fell into the hands of a mob in 1160 and were smashed, but many of the seventy manuscript maps made by al-Idrisi from the world map shortly before Roger’s death in 1154 luckily survived. Sadly, no complete version of Kitab nuzhat al-mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq survives in any language. It first appeared in the West in Rome in an abridged version in1592 and was translated into Latin in Paris in 1619, but no full translation into English ever has been made.
After the death of Roger, al-Idrisi continued to work for his son and successor, King William I (William the Bad), and wrote another geographic treatise. No complete version of this second book survives either, but a shortened version, a seventy-three map atlas, remains.
In about 1160, al-Idrisi left Sicily for his native Morocco to live out his life, where sometime between 1164 and 1166 he died, probably near Sabtah.
Al-Idrisi’s great world map was a monument to medieval Islamic geography and cartography, but today it exists only in several reconstructions created by scholars from the surviving fragments of his works. It was divided into seven horizontal climatic zones (probably derived from the classical Greco-Roman worldview and the works of Ptolemy), each divided vertically into eleven sections to create a primitive grid, a system of longitude and latitude for more accurate place location. The map also contained a wealth of information, an abundance of detail, and a degree of clarity rarely achieved previously. It was most accurate for the Mediterranean region: perhaps understandably, Sicily is shown as an exceptionally large island. Its accuracy and detail also extended elsewhere. For example, al-Idrisi showed the source of the Nile River as an unnamed lake in Central Africa. Yet, while his maps were drawn very correctly for the time, they were not drawn mathematically.
On al-Idrisi’s world map, the Islamic and Norman worlds were joined. In preparation for the creation of al-Idrisi’s maps and geographies, Roger had sent out reliable agents and draftsmen to collect data from many lands. Al-Idrisi relied heavily on classic Muslim sources, such as the works of al-Khwarizmi and al-Masudi, and classic Greek, Roman, and Hellenistic sources, such as the works of Ptolemy, the father of modern geography and cartography. Al-Idrisi’s grid system (but not his projections) probably was based on those of Ptolemy and a copy of Ptolemy’s altered version of the world map of Marinus of Tyre. As his great world map demonstrates, however, al-Idrisi was often much more than a mere modifier of Ptolemy. Al-Idrisi also utilized Indian astronomical studies. Yet, perhaps most important, he relied heavily on his own journeys and those of other travelers for reliable information.
Al-Idrisi’s work was far more influential than Ptolemy’s in the East, but less so in Europe. Still, his maps opened European eyes to some of what the Muslims knew about Africa and Asia in the Middle Ages. Perhaps because he spent much of his adult life in the service of the Christian kings of Sicily, for centuries -- even into the twentieth century -- al-Idrisi and his achievements were ignored by Muslim scholars. In so doing, they deprived their Western counterparts of a fuller understanding of him as well. Only recently has al-Idrisi’s full impact begun to be realized, especially within the context of the study of the history of science and the history of cartography.
In short, al-Idrisi represents by far the best example of Islamic-Christian scientific collaboration in the Middle Ages in geography. Kitab nuzhat al-mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq was the most important geographic work of the period, and in its various forms it served as a major European and Muslim textbook for several centuries. Maps clearly based on those of al-Idrisi were produced well into the seventeenth century. He applied scientific methodology and precision to the heretofore largely imaginative arts of geography and cartography. Al-Idrisi truly deserved the epithet “Strabo of the Arabs,” which was applied to him in his own lifetime.
Abu 'Abd Allah al-Idrisi see Idrisi, Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
Qurtubi, al-Sharif al-Idrisi al- see Idrisi, Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Idres Ash-Sharif see Idrisi, Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
Sharif al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi, al- see Idrisi, Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
Dreses see Idrisi, Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
Strabo of the Arabs see Idrisi, Abu ‘Abd Allah al-
Idrisids
Idrisids (Adarisa). First independent dynasty in Morocco (r.788-974). Their main capitals were Walila, and from 807, Fez. The Idrisids were founded by Idris I ibn Abdallah (r. 788-793), a descendant of the Prophet’s grandson, al-Hasan, who survived the massacre of the Abbasids following a revolt in Ali’s family in 786 and fled to Walila (Morocco). The Idrisids were thus connected with the line of the Shi‘a Imams.
Proclaimed imam by Berber tribes in northern Morocco, Idris I extended his territory as far as Tlemcen in 789 and founded Fez. Poisoned in 793, probably at the instigation of Harun al-Rashid, he is regarded as the national saint of Morocco. His son, Idris II (r. 793-828, ruling imam from 804) settled more and more Andalusian and Tunisians, developed Fez into the capital, and consolidated political power. When the son of Idris II, Muhammad (828-836), divided the realm between his eight brothers in 836, the dynasty fell apart, and was destroyed by internal power struggles.
In 788, Idris I became involved in an anti-‘Abbasid revolt near Mecca and was forced into exile to escape the persecution of Harun al-Rashid, the ‘Abbasid caliph of Baghdad. Idris sought refuge in present day Morocco, which some fifty years earlier had shaken caliphal rule. There he was welcomed by a recently converted Berber tribe, the Banu Awrabah. These Berbers were impressed with the idea of having a descendant of the Prophet to lead them and soon made Idris their chief. He rapidly united the Berber tribes of the area into a confederacy, and from this union emerged the first independent Islamic dynasty in Morocco.
Idris’s rule was short-lived. He was poisoned in 793 by an agent of Harun al-Rashid. Idris left no male heir at the time of his death, but he did leave behind a pregnant concubine, and it was her child, Idris II, who was to continue his father’s work.
Idris II was the true founder of the modern Moroccan state. Although his father had subjugated and converted many tribes adhering to Christianity, Judaism, or indigenous religions, he still remained dependent on the Awrabah tribe. Idris II stressed the Islamic-Arab character of Morocco in an attempt to detach himself from the Awrabah, inviting Arab chiefs and warriors from Spain to his court. In 809, Idris II achieved what could be considered one of the most durable and important results of the dynasty – the refounding of the city of Fez. Originally founded in 789 by Idris I, Fez was still a Berber market town when Idris II decided to establish his authority independently from the Awrabah and make Fez his capital city. The arrival of several waves of immigrants, first from Cordoba and later from Tunisia, gave Fez a definitive Arab character.
Among his political achievements, Idris II managed to consolidate under his rule most of what is today northern Morocco. To stabilize the government he organized Morocco’s first true makhzan (central government), an Arabic concept hitherto unknown to the Berber tribes of the region. In addition, the construction of the Qarawiyin and Andalus mosques as well as the Qarawiyin University, the oldest in the Muslim world, helped make Fez an important cultural and religious center.
Idris II was succeeded by his son Muhammad II. While retaining the title of imam and rule over the capital, Muhammad divided his father’s kingdom among his brothers, demonstrating a departure from the political sagacity that had been evident in both his father and grandfather. This also effectively undermined centralized control held by the Idrisids, as sections of the royal family and tribal groups engaged in a long struggle for power that characterized later Idrisid rule. Although a strong centralized state was not established in the Idrisid era, the political role of the sharifs was confirmed and has remained a significant element in Moroccan politics ever since.
Yahya I ibn Muhammad (r. 849-863) founded in 859 the two great mosques of Fez, that of the Qarawiyyin and that of al-Andalus.
After 917, the Idrisids fell first under the sovereignty of the Fatimids and from 932 of the Spanish Umayyads, who attacked Morocco on numerous occasions and forced the Idrisids from power. After various attempts at retreiving poltical freedom, the last Idrisids were captured by the troops of the Spanish Umayyads in the Rif and northwest Morocco in 974 and then deported to Cordoba, where the last ruler died in 985.
The Idrisid legacy was a foundation for independent Moroccan monarchic rule and sharifian political power.
A branch of the puritanical Idrisiya brotherhood arose in Yemen. Ahmad al-Idrisi, ruled from 1911 to 1934 over the highlands of Asir (on the Red Sea coast between the Hijaz and Yemen), until the highlands were annexed by Saudi Arabia.
A list of the Idrisid rulers includes:
* Idriss I - (788-791)
* Idris II - (791-828)
* Muhammad ibn Idris - (828-836)
* Ali ibn Idris, known as "Ali I" - (836-848)
* Yahya ibn Muhammad, known as "Yahya I" - (848-864)
* Yahya ibn Yahya, known as "Yahya II" - (864-874)
* Ali ibn Umar, known as "Ali II" - (874-883)
* Yahya ibn Al-Qassim, known as "Yahya III" - (883-904)
* Yahya ibn Idris ibn Umar, known as "Yahya IV" - (904-917)
* Fatimid overlordship - (922-925)
* Al-Hajjam al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Qassim - (925-927)
* Fatimid overlordship - (927-937)
* Al Qasim Guennoun - (937-948)
* Abu l-Aish Ahmad - (948-954)
* Al-Hasan ibn Guennoun, known as "Hassan II" - (954-974)
* Ali, Caliph of Cordoba in 1016
Adarisa see Idrisids
Idrisids (Adarisa). First independent dynasty in Morocco (r.788-974). Their main capitals were Walila, and from 807, Fez. The Idrisids were founded by Idris I ibn Abdallah (r. 788-793), a descendant of the Prophet’s grandson, al-Hasan, who survived the massacre of the Abbasids following a revolt in Ali’s family in 786 and fled to Walila (Morocco). The Idrisids were thus connected with the line of the Shi‘a Imams.
Proclaimed imam by Berber tribes in northern Morocco, Idris I extended his territory as far as Tlemcen in 789 and founded Fez. Poisoned in 793, probably at the instigation of Harun al-Rashid, he is regarded as the national saint of Morocco. His son, Idris II (r. 793-828, ruling imam from 804) settled more and more Andalusian and Tunisians, developed Fez into the capital, and consolidated political power. When the son of Idris II, Muhammad (828-836), divided the realm between his eight brothers in 836, the dynasty fell apart, and was destroyed by internal power struggles.
In 788, Idris I became involved in an anti-‘Abbasid revolt near Mecca and was forced into exile to escape the persecution of Harun al-Rashid, the ‘Abbasid caliph of Baghdad. Idris sought refuge in present day Morocco, which some fifty years earlier had shaken caliphal rule. There he was welcomed by a recently converted Berber tribe, the Banu Awrabah. These Berbers were impressed with the idea of having a descendant of the Prophet to lead them and soon made Idris their chief. He rapidly united the Berber tribes of the area into a confederacy, and from this union emerged the first independent Islamic dynasty in Morocco.
Idris’s rule was short-lived. He was poisoned in 793 by an agent of Harun al-Rashid. Idris left no male heir at the time of his death, but he did leave behind a pregnant concubine, and it was her child, Idris II, who was to continue his father’s work.
Idris II was the true founder of the modern Moroccan state. Although his father had subjugated and converted many tribes adhering to Christianity, Judaism, or indigenous religions, he still remained dependent on the Awrabah tribe. Idris II stressed the Islamic-Arab character of Morocco in an attempt to detach himself from the Awrabah, inviting Arab chiefs and warriors from Spain to his court. In 809, Idris II achieved what could be considered one of the most durable and important results of the dynasty – the refounding of the city of Fez. Originally founded in 789 by Idris I, Fez was still a Berber market town when Idris II decided to establish his authority independently from the Awrabah and make Fez his capital city. The arrival of several waves of immigrants, first from Cordoba and later from Tunisia, gave Fez a definitive Arab character.
Among his political achievements, Idris II managed to consolidate under his rule most of what is today northern Morocco. To stabilize the government he organized Morocco’s first true makhzan (central government), an Arabic concept hitherto unknown to the Berber tribes of the region. In addition, the construction of the Qarawiyin and Andalus mosques as well as the Qarawiyin University, the oldest in the Muslim world, helped make Fez an important cultural and religious center.
Idris II was succeeded by his son Muhammad II. While retaining the title of imam and rule over the capital, Muhammad divided his father’s kingdom among his brothers, demonstrating a departure from the political sagacity that had been evident in both his father and grandfather. This also effectively undermined centralized control held by the Idrisids, as sections of the royal family and tribal groups engaged in a long struggle for power that characterized later Idrisid rule. Although a strong centralized state was not established in the Idrisid era, the political role of the sharifs was confirmed and has remained a significant element in Moroccan politics ever since.
Yahya I ibn Muhammad (r. 849-863) founded in 859 the two great mosques of Fez, that of the Qarawiyyin and that of al-Andalus.
After 917, the Idrisids fell first under the sovereignty of the Fatimids and from 932 of the Spanish Umayyads, who attacked Morocco on numerous occasions and forced the Idrisids from power. After various attempts at retreiving poltical freedom, the last Idrisids were captured by the troops of the Spanish Umayyads in the Rif and northwest Morocco in 974 and then deported to Cordoba, where the last ruler died in 985.
The Idrisid legacy was a foundation for independent Moroccan monarchic rule and sharifian political power.
A branch of the puritanical Idrisiya brotherhood arose in Yemen. Ahmad al-Idrisi, ruled from 1911 to 1934 over the highlands of Asir (on the Red Sea coast between the Hijaz and Yemen), until the highlands were annexed by Saudi Arabia.
A list of the Idrisid rulers includes:
* Idriss I - (788-791)
* Idris II - (791-828)
* Muhammad ibn Idris - (828-836)
* Ali ibn Idris, known as "Ali I" - (836-848)
* Yahya ibn Muhammad, known as "Yahya I" - (848-864)
* Yahya ibn Yahya, known as "Yahya II" - (864-874)
* Ali ibn Umar, known as "Ali II" - (874-883)
* Yahya ibn Al-Qassim, known as "Yahya III" - (883-904)
* Yahya ibn Idris ibn Umar, known as "Yahya IV" - (904-917)
* Fatimid overlordship - (922-925)
* Al-Hajjam al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Qassim - (925-927)
* Fatimid overlordship - (927-937)
* Al Qasim Guennoun - (937-948)
* Abu l-Aish Ahmad - (948-954)
* Al-Hasan ibn Guennoun, known as "Hassan II" - (954-974)
* Ali, Caliph of Cordoba in 1016
Adarisa see Idrisids
Idrisiyah
Idrisiyah. The thought and teachings of Ahmad ibn Idris (1749/50-1837) gave rise to a spiritual tradition and various Sufi orders. The term Idrisiyah is used here in two senses: (1) to refer to various Sufi brotherhoods and schools established by his students, and (2) to the tariqah established by his descendants over a generation after Ibn Idris’s death.
In its first sense, Idrisiyah may be used to describe the geographically very widespread and multi-faceted tradition derived from Ahmad ibn Idris through his numerous students. By no means have all the branches of this tradition been fully charted. Within the Idrisiyah tradition, one can distinguish a group of students, direct and indirect, including the Egyptians ‘Ali ‘Abd al-Haqq al-Qusi (1788-1877) and Muhammad Nur al-Din al-Husayni (1813-1887), who spread knowledge of Ibn Idris’s prayers and litanies in Egypt and the Balkans. There were several such figures within the Ottoman Empire. Similar figures elsewhere include the noted Sudanese teacher Muhammad al-Majdhub (d. 1832) from the Majadhib holy clan. Most of these figures did not attempt to establish tariqahs as such.
Ahmad ibn Idris himself did not attempt to found any form of organized brotherhood. Although earlier writers have described a conflict over spiritual succession following the master’s death, in reality his students seem each to have gone his own way. His senior students Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al-Sanusi, and Muhammad ‘Uthman al-Mirghani worked to establish their own orders, the Sanusiyah and Khatmiyah, respectively. A Sudanese student, Ibrahim al-Rashid al-Duwayhi (1813-1874), seems to have been recognized at least by Ibn Idris’s sons as their father’s spiritual heir. He established a tariqah called the Idrisiyah, but later known as the Rashidiyah. This order spread in the Hejaz, India, Somalia, and the Sudan.
After his death in Mecca, Ibrahim al-Rashid’s nephew al-Shaykh ibn Muhammad al-Duwayhi (c. 1845-1919) took over the order, which became known as the Salihiyah. The Salihiyah spread widely in Somalia, where one of its most active proponents was the Somali leader Muhammad ‘Abd Allah Hasan (1864-1920), the so-called “Mad Mullah” who led Somali resistance to the British, Italians, and Ethiopians. From Somalia, the Salihiyah tariqah spread along the East African coast as far as Zanzibar. Much less is known of the diffusion of the Idrisiyah, Salihiyah (and later, the Dandarawiyah) tariqah to Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia from about the 1880s onward, presumably by pilgrims returning from the holy cities. There is now a considerable literature on this tradition in the various Malay languages, including translations of Ibn Idris’s prayers.
An important and vigorous offshoot of the Salihiyah was established by the Egyptian Muhammad Ahmad al-Dandarawi (d. 1910/11) and his son, Abu al-‘Abbas (d. 1953). The Dandarawiyah spread in Egypt, where it has become one of the most active and influential brotherhoods, as well as in Syria, Somalia and East Africa, Europe, and Malaysia. Several scholars within the Dandarawiyah tradition, including the Egyptian Muhammad ibn Khalil al-Hajrasi (d. 1910) and the Syrian Muhammad Baha‘ al-Din al-Baytar (d. 1910), wrote extensive commentaries on the prayers and litanies of Ibn Idris.
Ibn Idris’s eldest son, known as Muhammad al-Qutb (1803/04-1889), lived his long life in seclusion in Yemen. It was a younger son, ‘Abd al-‘Al (otherwise ‘Abd al-Muta ‘al, 1830/31-1878), who worked actively to propagate his father’s way in Egypt and the Sudan. Educated by al-Sanusi, whom he accompanied to Cyrenaica, ‘Abd al-‘Al left the Sanusiyah after al-Sanusi’s death in 1859. He settled first in Egypt at al-Zayniyya (Luxor) where his father had lived from 1813 to 1816. Until today, this has remained the center of the Idrisiyah family and order in Egypt. He then traveled in the northern Sudan, where he married several times. He died and was buried in Dongola. It was ‘Abd al-‘Al’s son Muhammad al-Sharif (1866/67-1937) and his son Mirghani al-Idrisi (d. 1959) who consolidated the Idrisiyah in both Upper Egypt and the Sudan.
In contrast to the Khatmiyah and Sanusiyah, the Idrisiyah of Egypt and the Sudan have never played a particularly overt political role. Membership has remained small and confined to particular tribes or regions. Generally a “silent” dhikr is practiced, and no attempt has been made to “modernize” the order. In Egypt, there is a small offshoot founded by Salih ibn Muhammad al-Ja‘fari (d. 1981), and al-Azhar ‘alim who published numerous works by or on Ibn Idris.
An exception to this political quietism was the career of Ibn Idris’s great-grandson Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al-Idrisi (1876-1923). Sometimes called “al-Yamani,” he was often referred to in contemporary European sources as “The Idrisi.” Born in Asir, he studied in Mecca, at al-Azhar in Cairo, and with the Sanusiyah in Libya before spending a period with his Idrisi relatives in Egypt and the Sudan. In 1905/06 he returned to Asir and in the following year led a successful revolt against the local Turkish administration. Between 1908 and 1932, the Idrisi state of Asir was a factor of some importance in the politics of Arabia. Al-Idrisi negotiated with the Italians, the Young Turks, and the British, published a proclamation denouncing the Ottoman state and urging Arab independence, and built up a local army. After his death, the state rapidly declined and was peacefully absorbed into the Saudi state in 1932.
Idrisiyah. The thought and teachings of Ahmad ibn Idris (1749/50-1837) gave rise to a spiritual tradition and various Sufi orders. The term Idrisiyah is used here in two senses: (1) to refer to various Sufi brotherhoods and schools established by his students, and (2) to the tariqah established by his descendants over a generation after Ibn Idris’s death.
In its first sense, Idrisiyah may be used to describe the geographically very widespread and multi-faceted tradition derived from Ahmad ibn Idris through his numerous students. By no means have all the branches of this tradition been fully charted. Within the Idrisiyah tradition, one can distinguish a group of students, direct and indirect, including the Egyptians ‘Ali ‘Abd al-Haqq al-Qusi (1788-1877) and Muhammad Nur al-Din al-Husayni (1813-1887), who spread knowledge of Ibn Idris’s prayers and litanies in Egypt and the Balkans. There were several such figures within the Ottoman Empire. Similar figures elsewhere include the noted Sudanese teacher Muhammad al-Majdhub (d. 1832) from the Majadhib holy clan. Most of these figures did not attempt to establish tariqahs as such.
Ahmad ibn Idris himself did not attempt to found any form of organized brotherhood. Although earlier writers have described a conflict over spiritual succession following the master’s death, in reality his students seem each to have gone his own way. His senior students Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al-Sanusi, and Muhammad ‘Uthman al-Mirghani worked to establish their own orders, the Sanusiyah and Khatmiyah, respectively. A Sudanese student, Ibrahim al-Rashid al-Duwayhi (1813-1874), seems to have been recognized at least by Ibn Idris’s sons as their father’s spiritual heir. He established a tariqah called the Idrisiyah, but later known as the Rashidiyah. This order spread in the Hejaz, India, Somalia, and the Sudan.
After his death in Mecca, Ibrahim al-Rashid’s nephew al-Shaykh ibn Muhammad al-Duwayhi (c. 1845-1919) took over the order, which became known as the Salihiyah. The Salihiyah spread widely in Somalia, where one of its most active proponents was the Somali leader Muhammad ‘Abd Allah Hasan (1864-1920), the so-called “Mad Mullah” who led Somali resistance to the British, Italians, and Ethiopians. From Somalia, the Salihiyah tariqah spread along the East African coast as far as Zanzibar. Much less is known of the diffusion of the Idrisiyah, Salihiyah (and later, the Dandarawiyah) tariqah to Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia from about the 1880s onward, presumably by pilgrims returning from the holy cities. There is now a considerable literature on this tradition in the various Malay languages, including translations of Ibn Idris’s prayers.
An important and vigorous offshoot of the Salihiyah was established by the Egyptian Muhammad Ahmad al-Dandarawi (d. 1910/11) and his son, Abu al-‘Abbas (d. 1953). The Dandarawiyah spread in Egypt, where it has become one of the most active and influential brotherhoods, as well as in Syria, Somalia and East Africa, Europe, and Malaysia. Several scholars within the Dandarawiyah tradition, including the Egyptian Muhammad ibn Khalil al-Hajrasi (d. 1910) and the Syrian Muhammad Baha‘ al-Din al-Baytar (d. 1910), wrote extensive commentaries on the prayers and litanies of Ibn Idris.
Ibn Idris’s eldest son, known as Muhammad al-Qutb (1803/04-1889), lived his long life in seclusion in Yemen. It was a younger son, ‘Abd al-‘Al (otherwise ‘Abd al-Muta ‘al, 1830/31-1878), who worked actively to propagate his father’s way in Egypt and the Sudan. Educated by al-Sanusi, whom he accompanied to Cyrenaica, ‘Abd al-‘Al left the Sanusiyah after al-Sanusi’s death in 1859. He settled first in Egypt at al-Zayniyya (Luxor) where his father had lived from 1813 to 1816. Until today, this has remained the center of the Idrisiyah family and order in Egypt. He then traveled in the northern Sudan, where he married several times. He died and was buried in Dongola. It was ‘Abd al-‘Al’s son Muhammad al-Sharif (1866/67-1937) and his son Mirghani al-Idrisi (d. 1959) who consolidated the Idrisiyah in both Upper Egypt and the Sudan.
In contrast to the Khatmiyah and Sanusiyah, the Idrisiyah of Egypt and the Sudan have never played a particularly overt political role. Membership has remained small and confined to particular tribes or regions. Generally a “silent” dhikr is practiced, and no attempt has been made to “modernize” the order. In Egypt, there is a small offshoot founded by Salih ibn Muhammad al-Ja‘fari (d. 1981), and al-Azhar ‘alim who published numerous works by or on Ibn Idris.
An exception to this political quietism was the career of Ibn Idris’s great-grandson Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al-Idrisi (1876-1923). Sometimes called “al-Yamani,” he was often referred to in contemporary European sources as “The Idrisi.” Born in Asir, he studied in Mecca, at al-Azhar in Cairo, and with the Sanusiyah in Libya before spending a period with his Idrisi relatives in Egypt and the Sudan. In 1905/06 he returned to Asir and in the following year led a successful revolt against the local Turkish administration. Between 1908 and 1932, the Idrisi state of Asir was a factor of some importance in the politics of Arabia. Al-Idrisi negotiated with the Italians, the Young Turks, and the British, published a proclamation denouncing the Ottoman state and urging Arab independence, and built up a local army. After his death, the state rapidly declined and was peacefully absorbed into the Saudi state in 1932.
Idris Katagarmabe
Idris Katagarmabe (d. c. 1526). Ruler of the Kanuri state of Bornu from around 1503 to around 1526. His father, ‘Ali Gaji, had ended a long period of strife between two families within the Sefawa royal dynasty. Idris thus felt strong enough to march against the Bulala people, who had forced the Kanuri to abandon Kanem for Bornu in the late 14th century. He defeated the Bulala in two campaigns, and briefly reoccupied the old Kanem capital. Despite these victories, the Bulala state remained more powerful than Bornu according to Leo Africanus.
Katagarmabe, Idris see Idris Katagarmabe
Idris Katagarmabe (d. c. 1526). Ruler of the Kanuri state of Bornu from around 1503 to around 1526. His father, ‘Ali Gaji, had ended a long period of strife between two families within the Sefawa royal dynasty. Idris thus felt strong enough to march against the Bulala people, who had forced the Kanuri to abandon Kanem for Bornu in the late 14th century. He defeated the Bulala in two campaigns, and briefly reoccupied the old Kanem capital. Despite these victories, the Bulala state remained more powerful than Bornu according to Leo Africanus.
Katagarmabe, Idris see Idris Katagarmabe
Ifran, Banu
Ifran, Banu (Banu Ifran) (Banou Ifran) (Ifran) (Ifranid) . Most important branch of the large Berber tribe of the Zanata, whose presence in Tripolitania, Wargla, Ifriqiya, the Maghrib and Spain is recorded from the seventh century onwards.
The Banu Ifran or Ifran or Ifranid, a Berber tribe, prominent in the history of pre-Islamic and early Islamic North Africa. Tlemcen in present-day Algeria was a capital of the Kingdom of Banu Ifran (790 - 1068).
The Banu Ifran, the children of the Afri resisted or revolted against the foreign occupiers of their Africa -(Romans, Vandals, Byzantines). In the 7th century, they sided with Kahina in her resistance against the Muslim Umayyad invaders. In the 8th century, they mobilized around the dogma of Sufri in revolting against the Arab Umayyads and Abbasids. In the 10th century, they founded a dynasty opposed to the Fatimids, the Zirids, the Umayyads, the Hammadids and the Maghraoua. The Banu Ifran was defeated by the Almoravids and the invading Yemeni Arabs Banu Hilal and the Banu Sulaym - Hammadid to the end of the 11th century. The Ifranid dynasty was recognized as the only dynasty that defended the indigenous people of the Maghreb, and, by the Romans, were referred to as the Africani.
In 11th century Iberia, the Banou Ifran conquered and built the city of Ronda in Andalusia and governed from Cordoba for several centuries.
The Roman name Africa means Land of the Afri, the indigenous inhabitants of North Africa. Ifran is a plural for Afar, Efri or Ifri, and ifri means cave in Berber and was also the name of a cave goddess.
The Banu Ifran were one of the four major tribes of the Zenata or Gaetulia confederation. Their name probably derives from ifri, a Berber word meaning cave. They first came to notice when their chief Abu Qurra rebuilt the city of Tlemcen in Algeria in 765 (formerly it was a Roman city named Pomaria). They opposed the Egyptian Fatimid Caliphate, aligning themselves with the Maghrawa tribe and the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba, although they themselves became Kharijites. Led by Abu Yazid, they surged east and attacked Kairouan in 945. Another leader, Ya'la ibn Muhammad captured Oran and constructed a new capital, Ifgan, near Mascara. The Fatimids struck back hard. Their able general Jawhar killed Ya'la in battle in 954 and destroyed Ifgan, and for some time afterward the Banu Ifran reverted to being scattered nomads in perpetual competition with their Sanhaja neighbors. Some went to Spain, where they settled in Malaga and other places. Others, led by Hammama, managed to gain control of the Moroccan province of Tadla. Later, led by Abu al-Kamāl, they established a new capital at Salé on the Atlantic coast. During this period they began conflict with the Barghawata tribes on the seaboard.
During the 11th century the Banu Ifran contested with the Maghrawa tribe for the sovereignty over the former Idrisid Kingdom of Fes. Ya'la's son Yaddū took Fes by surprise in January 993 and held it for some months until the Maghrawa ruler Ziri ibn Atiyya returned from Spain and regained control after some bloody battles.
In May or June of 1033, Fes was recaptured by Ya'la's grandson Tamīm. Fanatically devoted to religion, he began a persecution of the Berber Jews, and is said to have killed 6000 of their men while confiscating their wealth and women . Sometime in the period 1038-1040 the Maghrawa tribe re-took Fes, forcing Tamīm to flee to Salé.
Soon after that time, the Almoravids began their rise to power and effectively eliminated and exterminated both the Banu Ifran and their brother-rivals the Maghrawa.
The leaders of the Banu Ifran have included:
* Abu Qurra Tlemcen 736 - 790.
o Abou Yazid Tozeur 873 - 947
+ Abd-Allah-Ibn-Bekkar Tlemcen
# Yala Ibn Mohamed Ifgan near Mascara 950 - 958
* Yeddou 958 - Fez 993
o Habbous 993 - Fez 1029
+ Temim Ibn Ziri 1029 Salé - 1035
# Abou -l- Kemal 1036 Salé - 1054
# Yocuf 1055-1056
# Hammad 1056- 1066
# Mohamed 1066
Banu Ifran see Ifran, Banu
Ifran see Ifran, Banu
Ifranid see Ifran, Banu
Banou Ifran see Ifran, Banu
Ifran, Banu (Banu Ifran) (Banou Ifran) (Ifran) (Ifranid) . Most important branch of the large Berber tribe of the Zanata, whose presence in Tripolitania, Wargla, Ifriqiya, the Maghrib and Spain is recorded from the seventh century onwards.
The Banu Ifran or Ifran or Ifranid, a Berber tribe, prominent in the history of pre-Islamic and early Islamic North Africa. Tlemcen in present-day Algeria was a capital of the Kingdom of Banu Ifran (790 - 1068).
The Banu Ifran, the children of the Afri resisted or revolted against the foreign occupiers of their Africa -(Romans, Vandals, Byzantines). In the 7th century, they sided with Kahina in her resistance against the Muslim Umayyad invaders. In the 8th century, they mobilized around the dogma of Sufri in revolting against the Arab Umayyads and Abbasids. In the 10th century, they founded a dynasty opposed to the Fatimids, the Zirids, the Umayyads, the Hammadids and the Maghraoua. The Banu Ifran was defeated by the Almoravids and the invading Yemeni Arabs Banu Hilal and the Banu Sulaym - Hammadid to the end of the 11th century. The Ifranid dynasty was recognized as the only dynasty that defended the indigenous people of the Maghreb, and, by the Romans, were referred to as the Africani.
In 11th century Iberia, the Banou Ifran conquered and built the city of Ronda in Andalusia and governed from Cordoba for several centuries.
The Roman name Africa means Land of the Afri, the indigenous inhabitants of North Africa. Ifran is a plural for Afar, Efri or Ifri, and ifri means cave in Berber and was also the name of a cave goddess.
The Banu Ifran were one of the four major tribes of the Zenata or Gaetulia confederation. Their name probably derives from ifri, a Berber word meaning cave. They first came to notice when their chief Abu Qurra rebuilt the city of Tlemcen in Algeria in 765 (formerly it was a Roman city named Pomaria). They opposed the Egyptian Fatimid Caliphate, aligning themselves with the Maghrawa tribe and the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba, although they themselves became Kharijites. Led by Abu Yazid, they surged east and attacked Kairouan in 945. Another leader, Ya'la ibn Muhammad captured Oran and constructed a new capital, Ifgan, near Mascara. The Fatimids struck back hard. Their able general Jawhar killed Ya'la in battle in 954 and destroyed Ifgan, and for some time afterward the Banu Ifran reverted to being scattered nomads in perpetual competition with their Sanhaja neighbors. Some went to Spain, where they settled in Malaga and other places. Others, led by Hammama, managed to gain control of the Moroccan province of Tadla. Later, led by Abu al-Kamāl, they established a new capital at Salé on the Atlantic coast. During this period they began conflict with the Barghawata tribes on the seaboard.
During the 11th century the Banu Ifran contested with the Maghrawa tribe for the sovereignty over the former Idrisid Kingdom of Fes. Ya'la's son Yaddū took Fes by surprise in January 993 and held it for some months until the Maghrawa ruler Ziri ibn Atiyya returned from Spain and regained control after some bloody battles.
In May or June of 1033, Fes was recaptured by Ya'la's grandson Tamīm. Fanatically devoted to religion, he began a persecution of the Berber Jews, and is said to have killed 6000 of their men while confiscating their wealth and women . Sometime in the period 1038-1040 the Maghrawa tribe re-took Fes, forcing Tamīm to flee to Salé.
Soon after that time, the Almoravids began their rise to power and effectively eliminated and exterminated both the Banu Ifran and their brother-rivals the Maghrawa.
The leaders of the Banu Ifran have included:
* Abu Qurra Tlemcen 736 - 790.
o Abou Yazid Tozeur 873 - 947
+ Abd-Allah-Ibn-Bekkar Tlemcen
# Yala Ibn Mohamed Ifgan near Mascara 950 - 958
* Yeddou 958 - Fez 993
o Habbous 993 - Fez 1029
+ Temim Ibn Ziri 1029 Salé - 1035
# Abou -l- Kemal 1036 Salé - 1054
# Yocuf 1055-1056
# Hammad 1056- 1066
# Mohamed 1066
Banu Ifran see Ifran, Banu
Ifran see Ifran, Banu
Ifranid see Ifran, Banu
Banou Ifran see Ifran, Banu
Ikhwan, al-
Ikhwan, al- (“The Brothers”). Refers to the sedentarized bedouin soldiers for Ibn Saud. The term applies to the Arab tribesmen who joined a religious and military movement between 1912 and 1930 under the rule of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al Sa‘ud. The movement, which was inspired by the resurgence of Wahhabism and spread rapidly, was characterized by religious fervor and the settlement of nomadic tribesmen in military cantonments. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz‘s intention was to supersede the tribal tie with that of religion. Thanks to the prowess of the Ikhwan, most of the Arabian Peninsula was brought under the sway of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz. However, they at last revolted against their sovereign who checked and confined them. Ikhwan also refers to members of the Society of the Muslim Brothers.
The Ikhwan was the Islamic religious militia which formed the main military force of the Arabian ruler Ibn Saud and played a key role in establishing him as ruler of most of the Arabian Peninsula, in his new state of Saudi Arabia. The Ikhwan were made up of Bedouin tribes. According to Wilfred Thesiger, this militant religious brotherhood declared that they were dedicated to the purification and the unification of Islam. This movement had aimed at breaking up the tribes and settling the Bedu around the wells and oases. They felt that the nomadic life was incompatible with strict conformity with Islam. Ibn Saud had risen to power on this movement. Later the Ikhwan rebelled when they accused Ibn Saud of religious laxity when he forbade them to raid into neighboring states. After the conquest of the Hejaz in 1926 brought all of the current Saudi state under Ibn Saud's control, the monarch found himself in some conflict with elements of the Ikhwan. He crushed their power at the Battle of Sabilla in 1930, following which the militia was reorganized into the Saudi Arabian National Guard.
The Ikhwan, being irregular tribesmen, relied mainly on traditional weapons such as lances and swords and sometimes old fashioned firearms. Usually, they attacked in the forms of raids which is a style Bedouins had always used in the deserts of Arabia. Those raiders traveled mainly on camels and some horses. Their savage raids on others in and around Najd were merciless. Typically, every male captured was put to death by cutting his throat.
In August 1924, the Ikhwan militia traveled 1600 kilometers (1000 miles) from Najd in modern day Saudi Arabia to attack Transjordan; now Jordan which was at that time under British mandate. Just 15 kilometers off Amman, the raiders were spotted by the British RAF which in turn attacked the Ikhwan using airplanes. The Ikhwan army suffered heavy casualties. It is reported that out of the 1500 raiders, only 100 escaped. Without the help of the RAF, Amman would most likely have been captured by the Ikhwans.
Other raids include, the Ikhwan raid on Southern Iraq in November 1927, and on Kuwait in January 1928 in which they looted camels and sheep. On both occasions, though they raided brutally, they suffered heavy retaliations from RAF and Kuwaitis.
The Brothers see Ikhwan, al-
Society of the Muslim Brothers see Ikhwan, al-
Ikhwan, al- (“The Brothers”). Refers to the sedentarized bedouin soldiers for Ibn Saud. The term applies to the Arab tribesmen who joined a religious and military movement between 1912 and 1930 under the rule of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al Sa‘ud. The movement, which was inspired by the resurgence of Wahhabism and spread rapidly, was characterized by religious fervor and the settlement of nomadic tribesmen in military cantonments. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz‘s intention was to supersede the tribal tie with that of religion. Thanks to the prowess of the Ikhwan, most of the Arabian Peninsula was brought under the sway of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz. However, they at last revolted against their sovereign who checked and confined them. Ikhwan also refers to members of the Society of the Muslim Brothers.
The Ikhwan was the Islamic religious militia which formed the main military force of the Arabian ruler Ibn Saud and played a key role in establishing him as ruler of most of the Arabian Peninsula, in his new state of Saudi Arabia. The Ikhwan were made up of Bedouin tribes. According to Wilfred Thesiger, this militant religious brotherhood declared that they were dedicated to the purification and the unification of Islam. This movement had aimed at breaking up the tribes and settling the Bedu around the wells and oases. They felt that the nomadic life was incompatible with strict conformity with Islam. Ibn Saud had risen to power on this movement. Later the Ikhwan rebelled when they accused Ibn Saud of religious laxity when he forbade them to raid into neighboring states. After the conquest of the Hejaz in 1926 brought all of the current Saudi state under Ibn Saud's control, the monarch found himself in some conflict with elements of the Ikhwan. He crushed their power at the Battle of Sabilla in 1930, following which the militia was reorganized into the Saudi Arabian National Guard.
The Ikhwan, being irregular tribesmen, relied mainly on traditional weapons such as lances and swords and sometimes old fashioned firearms. Usually, they attacked in the forms of raids which is a style Bedouins had always used in the deserts of Arabia. Those raiders traveled mainly on camels and some horses. Their savage raids on others in and around Najd were merciless. Typically, every male captured was put to death by cutting his throat.
In August 1924, the Ikhwan militia traveled 1600 kilometers (1000 miles) from Najd in modern day Saudi Arabia to attack Transjordan; now Jordan which was at that time under British mandate. Just 15 kilometers off Amman, the raiders were spotted by the British RAF which in turn attacked the Ikhwan using airplanes. The Ikhwan army suffered heavy casualties. It is reported that out of the 1500 raiders, only 100 escaped. Without the help of the RAF, Amman would most likely have been captured by the Ikhwans.
Other raids include, the Ikhwan raid on Southern Iraq in November 1927, and on Kuwait in January 1928 in which they looted camels and sheep. On both occasions, though they raided brutally, they suffered heavy retaliations from RAF and Kuwaitis.
The Brothers see Ikhwan, al-
Society of the Muslim Brothers see Ikhwan, al-
Ikhwan al-Muslimun, al-
Ikhwan al-Muslimun, al- (“The Muslim Brethren”) (The Muslim Brotherhood) (The Society of the Muslim Brothers). Muslim movement both religious and political, founded in Egypt by Hasan al-Banna‘ in 1928. Dedicated to the service of Islam, the Brethren’s main objective was the struggle against western invasion in all its forms and the creation of an authentically Muslim state. Their ideas are still widely spread.
The al-Ikhwān al-Muslimūn (the Muslim Brotherhood) was religio-political organization founded in 1928 at Ismailia, Egypt, by Ḥasan al-Bannāʾ. It advocated a return to the Qurʾān and the Hadith as guidelines for a healthy modern Islamic society. The Brotherhood spread rapidly throughout Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, and North Africa. Although figures of Brotherhood membership are variable, it is estimated that at its height in the late 1940s it may have had some 500,000 members.
Initially centered on religious and educational programs, the Muslim Brotherhood was seen as providing much-needed social services, and in the 1930s its membership grew swiftly. In the late 1930s the Brotherhood began to politicize its outlook, and, as an opponent of Egypt’s ruling Wafd party, during World War II it organized popular protests against the government. An armed branch organized in the early 1940s was subsequently linked to a number of violent acts, including bombings and political assassinations, and it appears that the armed element of the group began to escape Ḥasan al-Bannāʾ’s control. The Brotherhood responded to the government’s attempts to dissolve the group by assassinating Prime Minister Maḥmūd Fahmī al-Nuqrāshī in December 1948. Ḥasan al-Bannāʾ himself was assassinated shortly thereafter; many believe his death was at the behest of the government.
With the advent of the revolutionary regime in Egypt in 1952, the Brotherhood retreated underground. An attempt to assassinate Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser in Alexandria on October 26, 1954, led to the Muslim Brotherhood’s forcible suppression. Six of its leaders were tried and executed for treason, and many others were imprisoned. Among those imprisoned was writer Sayyid Quṭb, who authored a number of books during the course of his imprisonment; among these works was Signposts in the Road, which would become a template for modern Sunni militancy. Although he was released from prison in 1964, he was arrested again the following year and executed shortly thereafter. In the 1960s and ’70s the Brotherhood’s activities remained largely clandestine.
In the 1980s the Muslim Brotherhood experienced a renewal as part of the general upsurge of religious activity in Islamic countries. The Brotherhood’s new adherents aimed to reorganize society and government according to Islamic doctrines, and they were vehemently anti-Western. An uprising by the Brotherhood in the Syrian city of Ḥamāh in February 1982 was crushed by the government of Ḥafiz al-Assad at a cost of perhaps 25,000 lives. The Brotherhood revived in Egypt and Jordan in the same period, and, beginning in the late 1980s, it emerged to compete in legislative elections in those countries.
In Egypt, the participation of the Muslim Brotherhood in parliamentary elections there in the 1980s was followed by its boycott of the elections of 1990, when it joined most of the country’s opposition in protesting electoral strictures. Although the group itself remained formally banned, in the 2000 elections Brotherhood supporters running as independent candidates were able to win 17 seats, making it the largest opposition bloc in the parliament. In 2005, again running as independents, the Brotherhood and its supporters captured 88 seats in spite of efforts by President Ḥosnī Mubārak’s administration to restrict voting in the group’s strongholds. Its unexpected success in 2005 was met with additional restrictions and arrests, and the Brotherhood opted to boycott the 2008 local elections. In the 2010 parliamentary elections the Mubārak administration continued to restrict the Muslim Brotherhood by arresting members and barring voters in areas where the organization had strong support. After Mubārak’s National Democratic Party won 209 out of 211 seats in the first round of voting, effectively eliminating the Muslim Brotherhood from the parliament, the organization boycotted the second round.
In January 2011 a non-religious youth protest movement against the Mubārak regime appeared in Egypt. After hesitating briefly, the Muslim Brotherhood’s senior leadership endorsed the movement and called on its members to participate in demonstrations. When protests forced Mubārak to step down as president in February, leaving a transitional military administration in control of the country, the Muslim Brotherhood signaled that it intended to begin officially participating in Egyptian politics. The Muslim Brotherhood announced that it would apply to become a recognized political party as soon as constitutional amendments allowing wider political participation were completed but stated that it did not intend to nominate a candidate for the presidential elections.
In late April 2011 the Muslim Brotherhood took further steps toward open participation in Egyptian politics, founding a political party called the Freedom and Justice Party and applying for official recognition from the Egyptian interim government. Leaders of the Freedom and Justice Party stated that the party’s policies would be grounded in Islamic principles but that the party, whose members included women and Christians, would be non-confessional. The party received official recognition in June, allowing it to enter candidates in upcoming elections.
The Muslim Brethren see Ikhwan al-Muslimun, al-
The Society of the Muslim Brothers see Ikhwan al-Muslimun, al-
The Muslim Brotherhood see Ikhwan al-Muslimun, al-
Ikhwan al-Muslimun, al- (“The Muslim Brethren”) (The Muslim Brotherhood) (The Society of the Muslim Brothers). Muslim movement both religious and political, founded in Egypt by Hasan al-Banna‘ in 1928. Dedicated to the service of Islam, the Brethren’s main objective was the struggle against western invasion in all its forms and the creation of an authentically Muslim state. Their ideas are still widely spread.
The al-Ikhwān al-Muslimūn (the Muslim Brotherhood) was religio-political organization founded in 1928 at Ismailia, Egypt, by Ḥasan al-Bannāʾ. It advocated a return to the Qurʾān and the Hadith as guidelines for a healthy modern Islamic society. The Brotherhood spread rapidly throughout Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, and North Africa. Although figures of Brotherhood membership are variable, it is estimated that at its height in the late 1940s it may have had some 500,000 members.
Initially centered on religious and educational programs, the Muslim Brotherhood was seen as providing much-needed social services, and in the 1930s its membership grew swiftly. In the late 1930s the Brotherhood began to politicize its outlook, and, as an opponent of Egypt’s ruling Wafd party, during World War II it organized popular protests against the government. An armed branch organized in the early 1940s was subsequently linked to a number of violent acts, including bombings and political assassinations, and it appears that the armed element of the group began to escape Ḥasan al-Bannāʾ’s control. The Brotherhood responded to the government’s attempts to dissolve the group by assassinating Prime Minister Maḥmūd Fahmī al-Nuqrāshī in December 1948. Ḥasan al-Bannāʾ himself was assassinated shortly thereafter; many believe his death was at the behest of the government.
With the advent of the revolutionary regime in Egypt in 1952, the Brotherhood retreated underground. An attempt to assassinate Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser in Alexandria on October 26, 1954, led to the Muslim Brotherhood’s forcible suppression. Six of its leaders were tried and executed for treason, and many others were imprisoned. Among those imprisoned was writer Sayyid Quṭb, who authored a number of books during the course of his imprisonment; among these works was Signposts in the Road, which would become a template for modern Sunni militancy. Although he was released from prison in 1964, he was arrested again the following year and executed shortly thereafter. In the 1960s and ’70s the Brotherhood’s activities remained largely clandestine.
In the 1980s the Muslim Brotherhood experienced a renewal as part of the general upsurge of religious activity in Islamic countries. The Brotherhood’s new adherents aimed to reorganize society and government according to Islamic doctrines, and they were vehemently anti-Western. An uprising by the Brotherhood in the Syrian city of Ḥamāh in February 1982 was crushed by the government of Ḥafiz al-Assad at a cost of perhaps 25,000 lives. The Brotherhood revived in Egypt and Jordan in the same period, and, beginning in the late 1980s, it emerged to compete in legislative elections in those countries.
In Egypt, the participation of the Muslim Brotherhood in parliamentary elections there in the 1980s was followed by its boycott of the elections of 1990, when it joined most of the country’s opposition in protesting electoral strictures. Although the group itself remained formally banned, in the 2000 elections Brotherhood supporters running as independent candidates were able to win 17 seats, making it the largest opposition bloc in the parliament. In 2005, again running as independents, the Brotherhood and its supporters captured 88 seats in spite of efforts by President Ḥosnī Mubārak’s administration to restrict voting in the group’s strongholds. Its unexpected success in 2005 was met with additional restrictions and arrests, and the Brotherhood opted to boycott the 2008 local elections. In the 2010 parliamentary elections the Mubārak administration continued to restrict the Muslim Brotherhood by arresting members and barring voters in areas where the organization had strong support. After Mubārak’s National Democratic Party won 209 out of 211 seats in the first round of voting, effectively eliminating the Muslim Brotherhood from the parliament, the organization boycotted the second round.
In January 2011 a non-religious youth protest movement against the Mubārak regime appeared in Egypt. After hesitating briefly, the Muslim Brotherhood’s senior leadership endorsed the movement and called on its members to participate in demonstrations. When protests forced Mubārak to step down as president in February, leaving a transitional military administration in control of the country, the Muslim Brotherhood signaled that it intended to begin officially participating in Egyptian politics. The Muslim Brotherhood announced that it would apply to become a recognized political party as soon as constitutional amendments allowing wider political participation were completed but stated that it did not intend to nominate a candidate for the presidential elections.
In late April 2011 the Muslim Brotherhood took further steps toward open participation in Egyptian politics, founding a political party called the Freedom and Justice Party and applying for official recognition from the Egyptian interim government. Leaders of the Freedom and Justice Party stated that the party’s policies would be grounded in Islamic principles but that the party, whose members included women and Christians, would be non-confessional. The party received official recognition in June, allowing it to enter candidates in upcoming elections.
The Muslim Brethren see Ikhwan al-Muslimun, al-
The Society of the Muslim Brothers see Ikhwan al-Muslimun, al-
The Muslim Brotherhood see Ikhwan al-Muslimun, al-
Ikhwan al-Safa‘, al- (The Brethren of Purity) (The Brethren of Sincerity). Arabic phrase meaning “brethren of purity.” Al-Ikhwan al-Safa‘ was a secret philosophical-religious society which arose in the tenth century at Basra, in Iraq. They were associated with the Batini Isma‘ilis, who had engaged in secret political propaganda since the death of their imam, Isma‘il ibn Ja‘far al-Sadiq, in 760. The Brethren injected into this propaganda a new scientific and philosophical spirit and dedicated themselves to enlightening and spiritually purifying themselves. They propagated their ideas in various parts of the Islamic empire and produced fifty-two philosophical epistles and a compendium of their teachings. The so-called Epistles of
the Brethren of Purity conceal the identity of the brethren. Of Isma‘ili inspiration, the Epistles were composed in Basra around 960, and should be regarded as an attempt to reunite the non-Fatimid Isma‘ilis on a common doctrinal basis countering the ideological offensive of the Fatimids.
The Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ(Brethren of Purity) was a secret Arab confraternity, founded at Basra, Iraq, that produced a philosophical and religious encyclopaedia, Rasāʾil ikhwān aṣ-ṣafāʾ wa khillān al-wafāʾ (“Epistles of the Brethren of Purity and Loyal Friends”), sometime in the second half of the 10th century of the Christian calendar.
Neither the identity nor the period of the Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ has been definitively established, but the various authors of the Rasāʾil do seem to reflect the doctrinal position of the Ismāʿīlīyah, a radical Shīʿī Muslim sect influenced by Manichaeism and Neoplatonism, which preached an esoteric interpretation of the Qurʾān open only to initiates. The Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ, like all other Islāmic philosophers, attempted to naturalize Greek philosophy in a way of their own. They chose to follow a fairly orthodox Neoplatonic position and admitted Hermetic, Gnostic, astrological, and occult sciences on a large scale in the belief that their absorption of ancient wisdom enabled them to fathom the esoteric meaning of revelation.
According to the Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ, individual human souls emanate from the universal soul and rejoin it after death; the universal soul in its turn will be united with God on the day of the Last Judgment. The Rasāʾil are thus intended to purify the soul of misconceptions and lead it to a clear view of the essence of reality, which in turn will provide for happiness in the next life. To accomplish this enlightenment, the Rasāʾil are structured theoretically to lead the soul from concrete to abstract knowledge. There is also an important summary of the whole encyclopaedia, ar-Risālah al-jāmiʿah.
The Brethren of Purity see Ikhwan al-Safa‘, al-
The Brethren of Sincerity see Ikhwan al-Safa‘, al-
The Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ(Brethren of Purity) was a secret Arab confraternity, founded at Basra, Iraq, that produced a philosophical and religious encyclopaedia, Rasāʾil ikhwān aṣ-ṣafāʾ wa khillān al-wafāʾ (“Epistles of the Brethren of Purity and Loyal Friends”), sometime in the second half of the 10th century of the Christian calendar.
Neither the identity nor the period of the Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ has been definitively established, but the various authors of the Rasāʾil do seem to reflect the doctrinal position of the Ismāʿīlīyah, a radical Shīʿī Muslim sect influenced by Manichaeism and Neoplatonism, which preached an esoteric interpretation of the Qurʾān open only to initiates. The Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ, like all other Islāmic philosophers, attempted to naturalize Greek philosophy in a way of their own. They chose to follow a fairly orthodox Neoplatonic position and admitted Hermetic, Gnostic, astrological, and occult sciences on a large scale in the belief that their absorption of ancient wisdom enabled them to fathom the esoteric meaning of revelation.
According to the Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ, individual human souls emanate from the universal soul and rejoin it after death; the universal soul in its turn will be united with God on the day of the Last Judgment. The Rasāʾil are thus intended to purify the soul of misconceptions and lead it to a clear view of the essence of reality, which in turn will provide for happiness in the next life. To accomplish this enlightenment, the Rasāʾil are structured theoretically to lead the soul from concrete to abstract knowledge. There is also an important summary of the whole encyclopaedia, ar-Risālah al-jāmiʿah.
The Brethren of Purity see Ikhwan al-Safa‘, al-
The Brethren of Sincerity see Ikhwan al-Safa‘, al-
‘Ikrima
‘Ikrima (643-723). Successor and one of the main transmitters of the traditional interpretation of the Qur‘an, attributed to Ibn ‘Abbas.
‘Ikrima (643-723). Successor and one of the main transmitters of the traditional interpretation of the Qur‘an, attributed to Ibn ‘Abbas.
Ilat
Ilat (in singular form, Il). Turco-Persian term denoting nomadic or semi-nomadic tribes.
Il see Ilat
Ilat (in singular form, Il). Turco-Persian term denoting nomadic or semi-nomadic tribes.
Il see Ilat
Ildenizids
Ildenizids (Eldiguzids). Line of Turkish slave commanders who governed most of northwestern Persia and Azerbaijan (r.1150- 1225). They were patrons of poets and scholars.
Eldiguzids see Ildenizids
Ildenizids (Eldiguzids). Line of Turkish slave commanders who governed most of northwestern Persia and Azerbaijan (r.1150- 1225). They were patrons of poets and scholars.
Eldiguzids see Ildenizids
Ildeniz, Shams al-Din
Ildeniz, Shams al-Din (Shams al-Din Ildeniz) (Eldiguz) (d. 1175/1176). Qipcaq (Kipchak) Turk who, by 1146, made himself the virtually independent ruler of Azerbaijan and founded the dynasty of the Ildenizids.
Shams al-Din Ildeniz was an atabeg of Azerbaijan and founder of the dynasty of Atabegs of Azerbaijan, which held sway over Arran (Azerbaijan), Azerbaijan (Iran), and most of northwestern Persia from the second half of the 12th century to the early decades of the 13th.
A Kipchak by origin, Shams al-Din Ildeniz was formerly a freedman of Seljuk sultan Mahmud’s (1118-1131) vizier Kamal Din al-Simirumi and attained to the post of governor of Arran under Sultan Masud (1134-1152). His raise as the most powerful peripheral amirs of the Seljukid empire was aided by the necessity of having a large army against the frequent incursions from the neighboring kingdom of Georgia. He made himself virtually independent ruler of Azerbaijan by 1146. His marriage with the widow of the late Sultan Tughril II (1131-1134; Masud’s brother and predecessor) afforded him to intervene in the dynastic strife which erupted upon Masud’s death in 1152. He succeeded, in 1160, in deposing Sulayman Shah and installing his stepson Arslan ibn Tughril (1160-1175) as sultan. Conferred with the rank of atabek, Ildeniz now became a chief protector of the sultan’s authority. Ildeniz then arranged a marriage between his son Pahlawan and the daughter of Inanch, amir of Rayy, in order to secure the allegiance of this powerful dynast. Later Inanch allied himself with the amirs of Fars and Qazvin and attempted to depose Arslan in favor of his brother Muhammad. Ildeniz met the renegades on a battlefield and won a victory, but Inanch escaped to Rayy. Ildeniz then marched to Isfahan and forced the atabek of Fars, Zangi, into submission. Soon he proceeded northward to recover the city of Dvin from the Georgian attack in 1162. A coalition of Muslim rulers led by Ildeniz defeated the Georgian king Giorgi III and forced him to withdraw into his possessions. Back at Hamadan, he had to deal with another invasion – this time by the Khwarezmians who planned to annex Khurasan. The Khwarezminas avoided the confrontation and retreated in the face of the advancing army of Ildeniz. Their ally Inanch was murdered at the request of Ildeniz in 1169. It was not, however, until the death of the Khwarazmshah Il-Arslan in 1172, when the threats on this sector were finally eliminated.
By the time of his death around 1175-6, Ildeniz was arguably the undisputed de facto master of many parts of the already fragmentized Great Seljukid Empire, centered on Iraq. He was buried at Hamadan, at a madrasa which he had founded.
Shams al-Din Ildeniz see Ildeniz, Shams al-Din
Eldiguz see Ildeniz, Shams al-Din
Ildeniz, Shams al-Din (Shams al-Din Ildeniz) (Eldiguz) (d. 1175/1176). Qipcaq (Kipchak) Turk who, by 1146, made himself the virtually independent ruler of Azerbaijan and founded the dynasty of the Ildenizids.
Shams al-Din Ildeniz was an atabeg of Azerbaijan and founder of the dynasty of Atabegs of Azerbaijan, which held sway over Arran (Azerbaijan), Azerbaijan (Iran), and most of northwestern Persia from the second half of the 12th century to the early decades of the 13th.
A Kipchak by origin, Shams al-Din Ildeniz was formerly a freedman of Seljuk sultan Mahmud’s (1118-1131) vizier Kamal Din al-Simirumi and attained to the post of governor of Arran under Sultan Masud (1134-1152). His raise as the most powerful peripheral amirs of the Seljukid empire was aided by the necessity of having a large army against the frequent incursions from the neighboring kingdom of Georgia. He made himself virtually independent ruler of Azerbaijan by 1146. His marriage with the widow of the late Sultan Tughril II (1131-1134; Masud’s brother and predecessor) afforded him to intervene in the dynastic strife which erupted upon Masud’s death in 1152. He succeeded, in 1160, in deposing Sulayman Shah and installing his stepson Arslan ibn Tughril (1160-1175) as sultan. Conferred with the rank of atabek, Ildeniz now became a chief protector of the sultan’s authority. Ildeniz then arranged a marriage between his son Pahlawan and the daughter of Inanch, amir of Rayy, in order to secure the allegiance of this powerful dynast. Later Inanch allied himself with the amirs of Fars and Qazvin and attempted to depose Arslan in favor of his brother Muhammad. Ildeniz met the renegades on a battlefield and won a victory, but Inanch escaped to Rayy. Ildeniz then marched to Isfahan and forced the atabek of Fars, Zangi, into submission. Soon he proceeded northward to recover the city of Dvin from the Georgian attack in 1162. A coalition of Muslim rulers led by Ildeniz defeated the Georgian king Giorgi III and forced him to withdraw into his possessions. Back at Hamadan, he had to deal with another invasion – this time by the Khwarezmians who planned to annex Khurasan. The Khwarezminas avoided the confrontation and retreated in the face of the advancing army of Ildeniz. Their ally Inanch was murdered at the request of Ildeniz in 1169. It was not, however, until the death of the Khwarazmshah Il-Arslan in 1172, when the threats on this sector were finally eliminated.
By the time of his death around 1175-6, Ildeniz was arguably the undisputed de facto master of many parts of the already fragmentized Great Seljukid Empire, centered on Iraq. He was buried at Hamadan, at a madrasa which he had founded.
Shams al-Din Ildeniz see Ildeniz, Shams al-Din
Eldiguz see Ildeniz, Shams al-Din
Ilek-Khans
Ilek-Khans (Qarakhanids) (Karakhanids). Turkish dynasty which ruled in both Western Turkestan (Transoxiana) and in Eastern Turkestan (Kashgharia or Sinkiang), from the tenth to the early thirteenth centuries. The Ilek-Khans gradually assimilated themselves to the Perso-Islamic cultural and governmental traditions and were patrons of scholars and literary men.
Qarakhanid Dynasty, also spelled Karakhanid, also called Ilek Khanid, was a Turkic dynasty (999–1211) that ruled in Transoxania in Central Asia.
The Qarakhanids, who belonged to the Qarluq tribal confederation, became prominent during the 9th century. With the disintegration of the Iranian Sāmānid dynasty, the Qarakhanids took over the Sāmānid territories in Transoxania. In 999 Hārūn (or Ḥasan) Bughra Khān, grandson of the paramount tribal chief of the Qarluq confederation, occupied Bukhara, the Sāmānid capital. The Sāmānid domains were split up between the Ghaznavids, who gained Khorāsān and Afghanistan, and the Qarakhanids, who received Transoxania. The Oxus River thus became the boundary between the two rival empires. During this period the Qarakhanids were converted to Islām.
Early in the 11th century the unity of the Qarakhanid dynasty was fractured by constant internal warfare. In 1041 Muḥammad ʿAyn ad-Dawlah (reigned 1041–52) took over the administration of the western branch of the family, centered at Bukhara. At the end of the 11th century, the Qarakhanids were forced to accept Seljuq suzerainty. With a decline in Seljuq power, the Qarakhanids in 1140 fell under domination of the rival Turkic Karakitai confederation, centered in northern China. ʿUthmān (reigned 1204–11) briefly re-established the independence of the dynasty, but in 1211 the Qarakhanids were defeated by the Khwārezm-Shāh ʿAlāʾ ad-Dīn Muḥammad and the dynasty was extinguished.
Qarakhanids see Ilek-Khans
Karakhanids see Ilek-Khans
Ilek-Khans (Qarakhanids) (Karakhanids). Turkish dynasty which ruled in both Western Turkestan (Transoxiana) and in Eastern Turkestan (Kashgharia or Sinkiang), from the tenth to the early thirteenth centuries. The Ilek-Khans gradually assimilated themselves to the Perso-Islamic cultural and governmental traditions and were patrons of scholars and literary men.
Qarakhanid Dynasty, also spelled Karakhanid, also called Ilek Khanid, was a Turkic dynasty (999–1211) that ruled in Transoxania in Central Asia.
The Qarakhanids, who belonged to the Qarluq tribal confederation, became prominent during the 9th century. With the disintegration of the Iranian Sāmānid dynasty, the Qarakhanids took over the Sāmānid territories in Transoxania. In 999 Hārūn (or Ḥasan) Bughra Khān, grandson of the paramount tribal chief of the Qarluq confederation, occupied Bukhara, the Sāmānid capital. The Sāmānid domains were split up between the Ghaznavids, who gained Khorāsān and Afghanistan, and the Qarakhanids, who received Transoxania. The Oxus River thus became the boundary between the two rival empires. During this period the Qarakhanids were converted to Islām.
Early in the 11th century the unity of the Qarakhanid dynasty was fractured by constant internal warfare. In 1041 Muḥammad ʿAyn ad-Dawlah (reigned 1041–52) took over the administration of the western branch of the family, centered at Bukhara. At the end of the 11th century, the Qarakhanids were forced to accept Seljuq suzerainty. With a decline in Seljuq power, the Qarakhanids in 1140 fell under domination of the rival Turkic Karakitai confederation, centered in northern China. ʿUthmān (reigned 1204–11) briefly re-established the independence of the dynasty, but in 1211 the Qarakhanids were defeated by the Khwārezm-Shāh ʿAlāʾ ad-Dīn Muḥammad and the dynasty was extinguished.
Qarakhanids see Ilek-Khans
Karakhanids see Ilek-Khans
Ileri, Jelal Nuri
Ileri, Jelal Nuri (Jelal Nuri Ileri) (Celal Nuri Ileri) (1877-1938). Turkish modernist, writer, publicist and journalist. He wrote about the legal system, the emancipation of women, the causes of Ottoman decline, the alphabet and language reform and reform in Islam.
Jelal Nuri Ileri see Ileri, Jelal Nuri
Celal Nuri Ileri see Ileri, Jelal Nuri
Ileri, Jelal Nuri (Jelal Nuri Ileri) (Celal Nuri Ileri) (1877-1938). Turkish modernist, writer, publicist and journalist. He wrote about the legal system, the emancipation of women, the causes of Ottoman decline, the alphabet and language reform and reform in Islam.
Jelal Nuri Ileri see Ileri, Jelal Nuri
Celal Nuri Ileri see Ileri, Jelal Nuri
Ilghazi I, Najm al-Din
Ilghazi I, Najm al-Din (Najm al-Din Ilghazi I) (Najm ad-Din Ilghazi ibn Artuq) (d. November 8, 1122). Saljuq ruler and founder of the Mardin and Mayyafariqin branch of the Artuqid dynasty. He ruled from 1104 to 1122.
Najm ad-Din Ilghazi ibn Artuq was the Turkish Artukid ruler of Mardin from 1104 to 1122.
His father Artuk was the founder of the Artukid dynasty, and was appointed governor of Jerusalem by the Seljuk emir Tutush. When Artuk died, Ilghazi and his brother Sökmen succeeded him as governors of Jerusalem. In 1096, Ilghazi allied with Duqaq of Damascus and Yaghi-Siyan of Antioch against Radwan of Aleppo. Duqaq and Radwan were fighting for control of Syria after the death of Tutush. Ilghazi and Dukak eventually quarrelled and Ilghazi was imprisoned, leading to the capture of Jerusalem by his brother Sökmen, but Ilgazi recovered the city when he was released. He held it until the city was captured by the Fatimid vizier of Egypt, al-Afdal Shahanshah, in 1098. After this, he sought to make a name for himself in the Jezirah, where his brothers had also established themselves. He then entered the service of the Seljuk Sultan Mahmud I, who granted him Hulwan and made him shihna of Baghdad, an office which oversaw the affairs of the caliph on behalf of the sultan.
Ilghazi was dismissed as shihna in 1104 and became leader of the Artukid family after the death of Sökmen that year. This was disputed by Sökmen's son Ibrahim, but Ilghazi took Mardin from him in 1108. As head of the Artukids he made no lasting alliances and frequently switched sides, allying with both fellow Muslims and Christian crusaders whenever he saw fit. In 1110, he participated in an unsuccessful siege of Edessa. In 1114, he and his nephew Balak (future emir of Aleppo) defeated the Seljuk governor of Mosul, Aksungur al-Bursuki, and captured Mas'ud, son of the Seljuk sultan. In 1115, Ilghazi besieged Hims, but was captured briefly by its governor Khir-Khan. Later that year, Roger of Antioch, Baldwin I of Jerusalem, Pons of Tripoli, and Baldwin II of Edessa defended Antioch against the Seljuk general Bursuk (not to be confused with al-Bursuki), with the aid of Ilghazi, Toghtekin of Damascus, and Lulu of Aleppo, all enemies of Bursuk. These two armies did not come to battle, although Bursuk was later defeated by Roger at the Battle of Sarmin.
Ilghazi gained control of Aleppo after the assassination of Lulu in 1117. In 1118, he took control of Mayyafiriqin and pacified the surrounding countryside. In 1119, Ilghazi defeated and killed Roger at the Battle of Ager Sanguinis. Ibn al-Qalanisi describes the victory as "one of the finest of victories, and such plenitude of divine aid was never granted to Islam in all its past ages." The Antiochene towns of Atharib, Zerdana, Sarmin, Ma'arrat al-Nu'man and Kafr Tab fell to his army. Il Ghazi, however, was unable to extract full profit from his victory. His prolonged drunkenness deprived his army of leadership, and left the Turkmen free to scatter after plunder.
Baldwin II (Baldwin II of Jerusalem) soon arrived to drive Ilghazi back, inflicting heavy losses on the Turks in the hard-fought Battle of Hab on August 14, 1119. The next year Ilghazi took Nisibin, and then pillaged the County of Edessa before turning north towards Armenia. In 1121, he made peace with the crusaders, and with supposedly up to 250 000 - 350 000 troops, including men led by his son-in-law Sadaqah and Sultan Malik of Ganja, he invaded Georgia. David IV of Georgia met him at the Battle of Didgori and Ilghazi was defeated. According to Matthew of Edessa 400 000 Turks were killed, though there were not even that many at the battle. Among the various leaders, only Ilghazi and his son-in-law Dubais escaped.
In 1122, Ilghazi and Balak defeated Joscelin I of Edessa and took him prisoner, but Ilghazi died in November of that year at Diyarbekir. He was buried at Mayyafariqin (Silvan today). Balak succeeded him in Aleppo and his sons Sulaiman and Timurtash succeeded him in Mardin.
Ilghazi married first Farkhunda Khatun, the daughter of Radwan of Aleppo, but he never actually met her and the marriage was never consummated. He then married the daughter of Toghtekin of Damascus and had the following children:
* Ayaz
* Guhar Khatun, married Dubais
* al-Bazm
* Shams ad-Daula Sulaiman
* Safra Khatun, married Husam ad-Din Qurti ibn Toghlan Arslan
* Yumna Khatun, married Sa'd ad-Daula Il-aldi of Amid
* al-Sa'id Husam ad-Din Timurtash
He also had a son, Umar, by a concubine, and Nasr, by a slave; another possible son was named Kirzil.
Najm al-Din Ilghazi I see Ilghazi I, Najm al-Din
Najm ad-Din Ilghazi ibn Artuq see Ilghazi I, Najm al-Din
Ilghazi I, Najm al-Din (Najm al-Din Ilghazi I) (Najm ad-Din Ilghazi ibn Artuq) (d. November 8, 1122). Saljuq ruler and founder of the Mardin and Mayyafariqin branch of the Artuqid dynasty. He ruled from 1104 to 1122.
Najm ad-Din Ilghazi ibn Artuq was the Turkish Artukid ruler of Mardin from 1104 to 1122.
His father Artuk was the founder of the Artukid dynasty, and was appointed governor of Jerusalem by the Seljuk emir Tutush. When Artuk died, Ilghazi and his brother Sökmen succeeded him as governors of Jerusalem. In 1096, Ilghazi allied with Duqaq of Damascus and Yaghi-Siyan of Antioch against Radwan of Aleppo. Duqaq and Radwan were fighting for control of Syria after the death of Tutush. Ilghazi and Dukak eventually quarrelled and Ilghazi was imprisoned, leading to the capture of Jerusalem by his brother Sökmen, but Ilgazi recovered the city when he was released. He held it until the city was captured by the Fatimid vizier of Egypt, al-Afdal Shahanshah, in 1098. After this, he sought to make a name for himself in the Jezirah, where his brothers had also established themselves. He then entered the service of the Seljuk Sultan Mahmud I, who granted him Hulwan and made him shihna of Baghdad, an office which oversaw the affairs of the caliph on behalf of the sultan.
Ilghazi was dismissed as shihna in 1104 and became leader of the Artukid family after the death of Sökmen that year. This was disputed by Sökmen's son Ibrahim, but Ilghazi took Mardin from him in 1108. As head of the Artukids he made no lasting alliances and frequently switched sides, allying with both fellow Muslims and Christian crusaders whenever he saw fit. In 1110, he participated in an unsuccessful siege of Edessa. In 1114, he and his nephew Balak (future emir of Aleppo) defeated the Seljuk governor of Mosul, Aksungur al-Bursuki, and captured Mas'ud, son of the Seljuk sultan. In 1115, Ilghazi besieged Hims, but was captured briefly by its governor Khir-Khan. Later that year, Roger of Antioch, Baldwin I of Jerusalem, Pons of Tripoli, and Baldwin II of Edessa defended Antioch against the Seljuk general Bursuk (not to be confused with al-Bursuki), with the aid of Ilghazi, Toghtekin of Damascus, and Lulu of Aleppo, all enemies of Bursuk. These two armies did not come to battle, although Bursuk was later defeated by Roger at the Battle of Sarmin.
Ilghazi gained control of Aleppo after the assassination of Lulu in 1117. In 1118, he took control of Mayyafiriqin and pacified the surrounding countryside. In 1119, Ilghazi defeated and killed Roger at the Battle of Ager Sanguinis. Ibn al-Qalanisi describes the victory as "one of the finest of victories, and such plenitude of divine aid was never granted to Islam in all its past ages." The Antiochene towns of Atharib, Zerdana, Sarmin, Ma'arrat al-Nu'man and Kafr Tab fell to his army. Il Ghazi, however, was unable to extract full profit from his victory. His prolonged drunkenness deprived his army of leadership, and left the Turkmen free to scatter after plunder.
Baldwin II (Baldwin II of Jerusalem) soon arrived to drive Ilghazi back, inflicting heavy losses on the Turks in the hard-fought Battle of Hab on August 14, 1119. The next year Ilghazi took Nisibin, and then pillaged the County of Edessa before turning north towards Armenia. In 1121, he made peace with the crusaders, and with supposedly up to 250 000 - 350 000 troops, including men led by his son-in-law Sadaqah and Sultan Malik of Ganja, he invaded Georgia. David IV of Georgia met him at the Battle of Didgori and Ilghazi was defeated. According to Matthew of Edessa 400 000 Turks were killed, though there were not even that many at the battle. Among the various leaders, only Ilghazi and his son-in-law Dubais escaped.
In 1122, Ilghazi and Balak defeated Joscelin I of Edessa and took him prisoner, but Ilghazi died in November of that year at Diyarbekir. He was buried at Mayyafariqin (Silvan today). Balak succeeded him in Aleppo and his sons Sulaiman and Timurtash succeeded him in Mardin.
Ilghazi married first Farkhunda Khatun, the daughter of Radwan of Aleppo, but he never actually met her and the marriage was never consummated. He then married the daughter of Toghtekin of Damascus and had the following children:
* Ayaz
* Guhar Khatun, married Dubais
* al-Bazm
* Shams ad-Daula Sulaiman
* Safra Khatun, married Husam ad-Din Qurti ibn Toghlan Arslan
* Yumna Khatun, married Sa'd ad-Daula Il-aldi of Amid
* al-Sa'id Husam ad-Din Timurtash
He also had a son, Umar, by a concubine, and Nasr, by a slave; another possible son was named Kirzil.
Najm al-Din Ilghazi I see Ilghazi I, Najm al-Din
Najm ad-Din Ilghazi ibn Artuq see Ilghazi I, Najm al-Din
Ilghazi II, Qutb al-Din
Ilghazi II, Qutb al-Din (Qutb al-Din Ilghazi II). Member of the Artuqid dynasty in Mardin and Mayyafariqin (r.1171-1184).
Qutb al-Din Ilghazi II see Ilghazi II, Qutb al-Din
Ilghazi II, Qutb al-Din (Qutb al-Din Ilghazi II). Member of the Artuqid dynasty in Mardin and Mayyafariqin (r.1171-1184).
Qutb al-Din Ilghazi II see Ilghazi II, Qutb al-Din
Ilkhanids
Ilkhanids (Il-Khanids). Mongolian dynasty in Persia, Iraq, parts of Syria, eastern Anatolia, and the Caucausus during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries (c.1256-1355). Their main capitals were Tabriz, and from 1307 Sultaniya. Hulagu (r. 1252-1265), a grandson of Jenghiz Khan, conquered Iran in 1256 on behalf of his brother, the Great Khan Mongke, and launched the Mongol attack on Baghdad in 1258. He assumed the title Ilkhan (“subordinate or peaceful khan”) in recognition of the leadership aspirations of the Great Khan of the Mongols. In 1260, he was defeated by the Mamelukes, under Sultan Baybars at Ain Jalut (in Palestine), hindering the expansion westward. Hulagu’s son, Abaqa (r. 1265-1282), consolidated his authority via the battle against the Mamelukes and subdued the Caucasus, after a political alliance with Christian Europe failed. During the short-lasting governments that followed, the economic and financial systems went into decline. Under Khan Ghazan (r. 1295-1304), who made Islam the state religion, and his brother, Uljaitu (Oljeytu Khudabanda) (r. 1304-1316), who converted to Shi‘ism in 1310, the empire experienced its political and cultural zenith. The last Ilkhanid, Abu Said (Abu Sa‘id) (r. 1316-1335), a Sunnite, declared peace with the Mamelukes (1323), restored Mongol sovereignty over Anatolia, and successfully advanced into the Caucasus. After this, the empire broke up into different dominions, which developed separately.
The Il-Khanids showed a tendency toward Buddhism and Christianity, Nestorianism in particular, and were tolerant of the Shi‘a until Arghun (r.1284-1291) embraced Sunni Islam, which set the seal on the fusion of Mongols and Turks in Persia. Oljeytu Khudabanda, however, embraced Shi‘ism in 1310 but his son and successor Abu Sa‘id (r.1316-1335) reverted to Sunni Islam. The period of Il-Khanid rule was economically and politically difficult but rich in cultural achievements.
The Mongols conquered the northeastern Islamic world in the 1220s. In 1251, Genghis Khan’s grandson, Great Khan Mongke, gave the vice-regency of Southwest Asia to his brother Hulegu and sent him to complete its subjugation. In 1256 and 1257, Hulegu destroyed the strongholds of the Isma‘ili sect that had plagued the leaders of Sunni Islam. In 1258, his troops took Baghdad and killed the Abbasid caliph.
Hulegu reigned from 1256 to 1265. During his rule he established the boundaries and many of the policies of the Ilkhanid realm. Hulegu’s forces tried to attack Syria, but in 1260 the Mamelukes defeated them at the battle of Ain Jalut. Despite numerous campaigns, the Ilkhans were never able to gain control over Syria. Their territories thus reached their full extent, bounded by the Euphrates in the west, the Caucasus Mountains to the north, and the Oxus and the Punjab Rivers in the east. Having destroyed the powers within the center of the realm, Hulegu left local dynasties intact within the Ilkhanid borderlands, demanding tribute and interfering occasionally in their affairs.
The Ilkhans maintained unfriendly relations with their neighbors, including the Mongol states to the north. The Mamelukes, who threatened the Ilkhans in the west, soon found a useful ally in the khans of the Golden Horde, who declared war on the Ilkhans in 1262. Their attack failed, but the Caucasian frontier remained contested throughout the Ilkhanid period. In 1270, the Chagatai khans of Central Asia invaded Khurasan. This was the first of many such invasions. Since the Mamelukes also threatened the crusader states of the Levant, Hulegu sent envoys to the Western powers suggesting a joint campaign. The European rulers were eager to cooperate, and over the next forty years the Europeans and Ilkhans repeatedly discussed campaigns but never actually coordinated one.
Hulegu’s son Abaqa (r.1265-1282) continued his father’s policies, strengthening the European alliance and again attempting the conquest of Syria. Abaqa’s death 1282 from excessive drinking, a common problem among the Ilkhans, began the first of several succession struggles. He was succeeded by his brother Teguder (Ahmad), the first Muslim Ilkhan, but in 1284 Abaqa’s son Arghun seized power. Arghun (r.1284-1291) suffered from the rebellion of one of his greatest Mongol commanders, and from this time internal discord remained an almost constant problem for the Ilkhans. The next ruler, Abaqa’s son Geikhatu (r.1291-1295), is best remembered for his debauchery and his disastrous experiment with paper currency -- known from China -- which he introduced briefly in 1294 to alleviate his financial straits. In 1295, Geikhatu’s cousin Beidu deposed him, to be overthrown the same year by Arghun’s son Ghazan.
Most early Ilkhans were Buddhist or Christian and often favored their Christian and Jewish subjects at the expense of the Muslims. Ghazan (r.1295-1304), however, converted to Islam and reinstated it as the official religion, a move accompanied by unusual manifestations of religious hostility. At Ghazan’s accession, the fiscal administration and the economy were in chaos. He reorganized the currency, the tax structure, and the system of military support. These reforms did much to restore prosperity, and by Ghazan’s death in 1304 Ilkhanid rule approximated the traditional patterns of Islamic government.
Ghazan’s brother and successor, Oljeitu (r.1304-1316), attempted to expand Ilkhanid power within Southwest Asia. He annexed what is now southern Afghanistan but failed to conquer Gilan, on the southern Caspian littoral. At Oljeitu’s death, the throne passed to his eleven year old son, Abu Sa‘id (r.1317-1335). Much of the power within the realm now fell to Mongol commanders. Although the Ilkhans were still able to protect their borders, internal order was lost. With the death of Abu Sa‘id in 1335, the line of Hulegu became extinct. For a few years, khan from other lines held the throne with the help of regional powers, but by the 1350s Ilkhanid rule had ended.
In administering their territories, the Ilkhans depended heavily on Southwest Asian bureaucrats, most of whom spoke Persian. These viziers held great power and wealth and became deeply involved in court politics. There was constant ministerial in-fighting that often resulted in personal disgrace. Almost all Ilkhanid viziers died by execution.
Although the Mongols came into Southwest Asia as foreigners and destroyed several of its major cultural centers, the khans and their viziers actively promoted Islamic culture and spent unprecedented sums of money on building projects and patronage of the arts and sciences. Of particular interest are Il-Khanid architecture, ceramics, metalwork and textiles.
The Il-Khanids opened the Islamic world to outside influence, importing scholars, artists, and scribes from India, China, and Europe. Chinese influence was particularly prevalent and proved highly fruitful in the realm of art. It was at this time that Persian miniature painting first developed, based partly on Chinese models. Their art reflects Far Eastern influence in miniature painting and in the use of new iconographic themes of Chinese derivation, such as the lotus, the phoenix and square Kufic script, which was probably inspired by Chinese seal characters.
Historical writing also flourished, and two Ilkhanid viziers, Ata Malik Juwaini and Rashid al-Din, are among the greatest Persian historians.
The severe economic depression of the Ilkhanid period has often been ascribed to the ravages of the Mongol conquests and the exploitative administration of the early Ilkhans. Scholars have now shown that this decline had begun before the Mongol invasion. While the Mongols accelerated the decline of agriculture and of urban population, they cannot be seen as the only cause of these trends.
Mongol rule brought a major change in political and religious life. Before 1258, local Islamic dynasties had sought legitimation through their relationship to the caliphate. By destroying this institution, the Ilkhans strengthened the concept of individual dynastic legitimacy, thus preparing the ground for the later regional empires of Southwest Asia. With the end of the caliphate and of Isma‘ili power, moderate Twelver Shi‘ism gained greater popularity and acceptance.
During the Mongol period, Iran was perhaps the greatest cultural and scientific center of the Islamic world, and Persian began its long ascendancy as the language of high culture. Many scholars seek the origins of modern Iran in the Ilkhanid period, when for the first time Iran was controlled nominally by one ruler, separately from most Arab regions of the Islamic world.
The rulers of the Ilkhans were:
House of Hulagu (1256-1335)
* Hulagu Khan (1256–1265)
* Abaqa Khan (1265–1282)
* Ahmad Tegüder (1282–1284)
* Arghun (1284–1291)
* Gaykhatu (1291–1295)
* Baydu (1295)
* Mahmud Ghazan (1295–1304)
* Muhammad Khodabandeh (Oljeitu) (1304–1316)
* Abu Sa'id Bahadur (1316–1335)
After the Ilkhanate, the regional states established during the disintegration of the Ilkhanate raised their own candidates as claimants.
House of Ariq Böke
* Arpa Ke'ün (1335–1336)
House of Hulagu (1336-1357)
* Musa (1336–1337) (puppet of 'Ali Padshah of Baghdad)
* Muhammad (1336–1338) (Jalayirid puppet)
* Sati Beg (1338–1339) (Chobanid puppet)
* Sulayman (1339–1343) (Chobanid puppet, recognized by the Sarbadars 1341–1343)
* Jahan Temur (1339–1340) (Jalayirid puppet)
* Anushirwan (1343–1356) (Chobanid puppet)
* Ghazan II (1356–1357) (known only from coinage)
House of Qasar
Claimants from eastern Persia (Khurasan):
* Togha Temür (c. 1338–1353) (recognized by the Kartids 1338–1349; by the Jalayirids 1338–1339, 1340–1344; by the Sarbadars 1338–1341, 1344, 1353)
* Luqman (1353–1388) (son of Togha Temür and the protege of Timur)
Il-Khanids see Ilkhanids
"Subordinate Khans" see Ilkhanids
"Peaceful Khans" see Ilkhanids
Ilkhanids (Il-Khanids). Mongolian dynasty in Persia, Iraq, parts of Syria, eastern Anatolia, and the Caucausus during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries (c.1256-1355). Their main capitals were Tabriz, and from 1307 Sultaniya. Hulagu (r. 1252-1265), a grandson of Jenghiz Khan, conquered Iran in 1256 on behalf of his brother, the Great Khan Mongke, and launched the Mongol attack on Baghdad in 1258. He assumed the title Ilkhan (“subordinate or peaceful khan”) in recognition of the leadership aspirations of the Great Khan of the Mongols. In 1260, he was defeated by the Mamelukes, under Sultan Baybars at Ain Jalut (in Palestine), hindering the expansion westward. Hulagu’s son, Abaqa (r. 1265-1282), consolidated his authority via the battle against the Mamelukes and subdued the Caucasus, after a political alliance with Christian Europe failed. During the short-lasting governments that followed, the economic and financial systems went into decline. Under Khan Ghazan (r. 1295-1304), who made Islam the state religion, and his brother, Uljaitu (Oljeytu Khudabanda) (r. 1304-1316), who converted to Shi‘ism in 1310, the empire experienced its political and cultural zenith. The last Ilkhanid, Abu Said (Abu Sa‘id) (r. 1316-1335), a Sunnite, declared peace with the Mamelukes (1323), restored Mongol sovereignty over Anatolia, and successfully advanced into the Caucasus. After this, the empire broke up into different dominions, which developed separately.
The Il-Khanids showed a tendency toward Buddhism and Christianity, Nestorianism in particular, and were tolerant of the Shi‘a until Arghun (r.1284-1291) embraced Sunni Islam, which set the seal on the fusion of Mongols and Turks in Persia. Oljeytu Khudabanda, however, embraced Shi‘ism in 1310 but his son and successor Abu Sa‘id (r.1316-1335) reverted to Sunni Islam. The period of Il-Khanid rule was economically and politically difficult but rich in cultural achievements.
The Mongols conquered the northeastern Islamic world in the 1220s. In 1251, Genghis Khan’s grandson, Great Khan Mongke, gave the vice-regency of Southwest Asia to his brother Hulegu and sent him to complete its subjugation. In 1256 and 1257, Hulegu destroyed the strongholds of the Isma‘ili sect that had plagued the leaders of Sunni Islam. In 1258, his troops took Baghdad and killed the Abbasid caliph.
Hulegu reigned from 1256 to 1265. During his rule he established the boundaries and many of the policies of the Ilkhanid realm. Hulegu’s forces tried to attack Syria, but in 1260 the Mamelukes defeated them at the battle of Ain Jalut. Despite numerous campaigns, the Ilkhans were never able to gain control over Syria. Their territories thus reached their full extent, bounded by the Euphrates in the west, the Caucasus Mountains to the north, and the Oxus and the Punjab Rivers in the east. Having destroyed the powers within the center of the realm, Hulegu left local dynasties intact within the Ilkhanid borderlands, demanding tribute and interfering occasionally in their affairs.
The Ilkhans maintained unfriendly relations with their neighbors, including the Mongol states to the north. The Mamelukes, who threatened the Ilkhans in the west, soon found a useful ally in the khans of the Golden Horde, who declared war on the Ilkhans in 1262. Their attack failed, but the Caucasian frontier remained contested throughout the Ilkhanid period. In 1270, the Chagatai khans of Central Asia invaded Khurasan. This was the first of many such invasions. Since the Mamelukes also threatened the crusader states of the Levant, Hulegu sent envoys to the Western powers suggesting a joint campaign. The European rulers were eager to cooperate, and over the next forty years the Europeans and Ilkhans repeatedly discussed campaigns but never actually coordinated one.
Hulegu’s son Abaqa (r.1265-1282) continued his father’s policies, strengthening the European alliance and again attempting the conquest of Syria. Abaqa’s death 1282 from excessive drinking, a common problem among the Ilkhans, began the first of several succession struggles. He was succeeded by his brother Teguder (Ahmad), the first Muslim Ilkhan, but in 1284 Abaqa’s son Arghun seized power. Arghun (r.1284-1291) suffered from the rebellion of one of his greatest Mongol commanders, and from this time internal discord remained an almost constant problem for the Ilkhans. The next ruler, Abaqa’s son Geikhatu (r.1291-1295), is best remembered for his debauchery and his disastrous experiment with paper currency -- known from China -- which he introduced briefly in 1294 to alleviate his financial straits. In 1295, Geikhatu’s cousin Beidu deposed him, to be overthrown the same year by Arghun’s son Ghazan.
Most early Ilkhans were Buddhist or Christian and often favored their Christian and Jewish subjects at the expense of the Muslims. Ghazan (r.1295-1304), however, converted to Islam and reinstated it as the official religion, a move accompanied by unusual manifestations of religious hostility. At Ghazan’s accession, the fiscal administration and the economy were in chaos. He reorganized the currency, the tax structure, and the system of military support. These reforms did much to restore prosperity, and by Ghazan’s death in 1304 Ilkhanid rule approximated the traditional patterns of Islamic government.
Ghazan’s brother and successor, Oljeitu (r.1304-1316), attempted to expand Ilkhanid power within Southwest Asia. He annexed what is now southern Afghanistan but failed to conquer Gilan, on the southern Caspian littoral. At Oljeitu’s death, the throne passed to his eleven year old son, Abu Sa‘id (r.1317-1335). Much of the power within the realm now fell to Mongol commanders. Although the Ilkhans were still able to protect their borders, internal order was lost. With the death of Abu Sa‘id in 1335, the line of Hulegu became extinct. For a few years, khan from other lines held the throne with the help of regional powers, but by the 1350s Ilkhanid rule had ended.
In administering their territories, the Ilkhans depended heavily on Southwest Asian bureaucrats, most of whom spoke Persian. These viziers held great power and wealth and became deeply involved in court politics. There was constant ministerial in-fighting that often resulted in personal disgrace. Almost all Ilkhanid viziers died by execution.
Although the Mongols came into Southwest Asia as foreigners and destroyed several of its major cultural centers, the khans and their viziers actively promoted Islamic culture and spent unprecedented sums of money on building projects and patronage of the arts and sciences. Of particular interest are Il-Khanid architecture, ceramics, metalwork and textiles.
The Il-Khanids opened the Islamic world to outside influence, importing scholars, artists, and scribes from India, China, and Europe. Chinese influence was particularly prevalent and proved highly fruitful in the realm of art. It was at this time that Persian miniature painting first developed, based partly on Chinese models. Their art reflects Far Eastern influence in miniature painting and in the use of new iconographic themes of Chinese derivation, such as the lotus, the phoenix and square Kufic script, which was probably inspired by Chinese seal characters.
Historical writing also flourished, and two Ilkhanid viziers, Ata Malik Juwaini and Rashid al-Din, are among the greatest Persian historians.
The severe economic depression of the Ilkhanid period has often been ascribed to the ravages of the Mongol conquests and the exploitative administration of the early Ilkhans. Scholars have now shown that this decline had begun before the Mongol invasion. While the Mongols accelerated the decline of agriculture and of urban population, they cannot be seen as the only cause of these trends.
Mongol rule brought a major change in political and religious life. Before 1258, local Islamic dynasties had sought legitimation through their relationship to the caliphate. By destroying this institution, the Ilkhans strengthened the concept of individual dynastic legitimacy, thus preparing the ground for the later regional empires of Southwest Asia. With the end of the caliphate and of Isma‘ili power, moderate Twelver Shi‘ism gained greater popularity and acceptance.
During the Mongol period, Iran was perhaps the greatest cultural and scientific center of the Islamic world, and Persian began its long ascendancy as the language of high culture. Many scholars seek the origins of modern Iran in the Ilkhanid period, when for the first time Iran was controlled nominally by one ruler, separately from most Arab regions of the Islamic world.
The rulers of the Ilkhans were:
House of Hulagu (1256-1335)
* Hulagu Khan (1256–1265)
* Abaqa Khan (1265–1282)
* Ahmad Tegüder (1282–1284)
* Arghun (1284–1291)
* Gaykhatu (1291–1295)
* Baydu (1295)
* Mahmud Ghazan (1295–1304)
* Muhammad Khodabandeh (Oljeitu) (1304–1316)
* Abu Sa'id Bahadur (1316–1335)
After the Ilkhanate, the regional states established during the disintegration of the Ilkhanate raised their own candidates as claimants.
House of Ariq Böke
* Arpa Ke'ün (1335–1336)
House of Hulagu (1336-1357)
* Musa (1336–1337) (puppet of 'Ali Padshah of Baghdad)
* Muhammad (1336–1338) (Jalayirid puppet)
* Sati Beg (1338–1339) (Chobanid puppet)
* Sulayman (1339–1343) (Chobanid puppet, recognized by the Sarbadars 1341–1343)
* Jahan Temur (1339–1340) (Jalayirid puppet)
* Anushirwan (1343–1356) (Chobanid puppet)
* Ghazan II (1356–1357) (known only from coinage)
House of Qasar
Claimants from eastern Persia (Khurasan):
* Togha Temür (c. 1338–1353) (recognized by the Kartids 1338–1349; by the Jalayirids 1338–1339, 1340–1344; by the Sarbadars 1338–1341, 1344, 1353)
* Luqman (1353–1388) (son of Togha Temür and the protege of Timur)
Il-Khanids see Ilkhanids
"Subordinate Khans" see Ilkhanids
"Peaceful Khans" see Ilkhanids
‘Ilmi Bownderi
‘Ilmi Bownderi (Elmi Bonderi) (b. c. 1908 - d. probably c. 1938). Somali oral poet. His many love poems gained him a wide reputation in northwestern Somaliland. According to popular tradition, he died of love for a woman he could not marry. Rejected by the woman’s relatives as too poor, he had gone away to earn money and upon his return found her married. During the illness which preceded his death, he recited many poems which those around him learned by heart and passed on to others. His poems are characterized by a majestic power of diction and by images drawn from the history of Somali clans and Islamic tradition. Some have been written down by private collectors.
Bownderi, 'Ilmi see ‘Ilmi Bownderi
Elmi Bonderi see ‘Ilmi Bownderi
Bonderi, Elmi see ‘Ilmi Bownderi
‘Ilmi Bownderi (Elmi Bonderi) (b. c. 1908 - d. probably c. 1938). Somali oral poet. His many love poems gained him a wide reputation in northwestern Somaliland. According to popular tradition, he died of love for a woman he could not marry. Rejected by the woman’s relatives as too poor, he had gone away to earn money and upon his return found her married. During the illness which preceded his death, he recited many poems which those around him learned by heart and passed on to others. His poems are characterized by a majestic power of diction and by images drawn from the history of Somali clans and Islamic tradition. Some have been written down by private collectors.
Bownderi, 'Ilmi see ‘Ilmi Bownderi
Elmi Bonderi see ‘Ilmi Bownderi
Bonderi, Elmi see ‘Ilmi Bownderi
Iltutmish
Iltutmish (Shams ud-Din Iltutmish) (Shams al-Din Iltutmish ibn Elam Khan) (Shams-ud-din Iltutmish) (Shams al-Din Iltutmish) (Altamash) (d. April 29, 1236). Greatest of the Mu‘izzi or Slave Kings in Northern India (r. 1211- 1236). He laid the foundations of Muslim rule in India.
Iltutmish was a Mameluke sultan who consolidated Turkish rule in North India. He organized the governing class, the army, the iqta land-revenue assignment system, and the currency of the sultanate. A great builder and patron of arts, he enhanced the glory of Delhi and made it his capital. Iltutmish was an intensely religious Muslim and obtained an investiture from the caliph in the year 1229.
Of Ilbari Turkish lineage, Iltutmish was, in boyhood, sold into slavery at Bukhara. In 1192, Aibak bought Iltutmish at Delhi. Iltutmish married Aibak’s daughter and had a meteoric career. He became the head of Aibak’s bodyguard detail; amir-i shikar, amir of Gwalior; and upon Aibak’s death in 1210, sultan of Delhi. During the Khokar campaign, Muizuddin manumitted Iltutmish. Iltutmish led expeditions into Rajasthan and eastern India but avoided conflict with the Mongols in the northwest. His tomb is near the Qutb Minar.
Iltutmish was the third and greatest Delhi sultan of the so-called Slave dynasty. Iltutmish was sold into slavery but married the daughter of his master, Quṭb al-Dīn Aibak, whom he succeeded in 1211. He strengthened and expanded the Muslim empire in northern India and moved the capital to Delhi, where he built the great victory tower, the Quṭb Mīnār.
A wise and patient statesman who was trained as a trusted administrator under his predecessors Muʿizz al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Sām and Quṭb al-Dīn, Iltutmish was faced upon his accession not only with the deterioration of Muslim rule but also with the claim of Tāj al-Dīn Yildoiz, the Ghazna ruler, to succession to all of Muʿizz al-Dīn’s conquests and with the attempts by the Hindus to recover portions of their lost territory. In 1215, he captured Yildoiz, who died in prison. In 1225, he forced the unruly Bengali governor to acknowledge the authority of Delhi, and shortly thereafter he consolidated again the Muslim holdings. Iltutmish was able to preserve his kingdom against the ravages of the Mongol invasions that coincided with his reign, and he succeeded in building an administrative machinery for the empire. He sought out 11th-century Islamic classics on the art of government; and the Ādāb al-Muluk (“Conduct of the Kings”), the first Indo-Muslim classic on the art of government and warfare, was written for him. He was tolerant of the Hindus despite the urgings of his advisers, and he built up the waterworks, mosques, and amenities at Delhi to make it for the first time a fitting seat of government. His reign and his advisers, especially the vizier Junaydī, were praised by contemporaries.
Iltutmish’s eldest son died before he did, and his other sons were incompetent. He gave an excellent education to his daughter Raziyya (Raziyyat al-Dīn) and desired that she should succeed him. His wishes were offensive to the administrative Council of Forty, Iltutmish’s personal slaves who served as his advisers. Raziyya did succeed briefly to the throne, but her appointment of an African to an important position was considered insulting to the council, which shortly thereafter brought about her downfall. This marked the beginning of the decline of the line of Iltutmish.
Shams al-Din Iltutmish ibn Elam Khan see Iltutmish
Shams ud-Din Iltutmish see Iltutmish
Shams al-Din Iltutmish see Iltutmish
Altamash see Iltutmish
Iltutmish (Shams ud-Din Iltutmish) (Shams al-Din Iltutmish ibn Elam Khan) (Shams-ud-din Iltutmish) (Shams al-Din Iltutmish) (Altamash) (d. April 29, 1236). Greatest of the Mu‘izzi or Slave Kings in Northern India (r. 1211- 1236). He laid the foundations of Muslim rule in India.
Iltutmish was a Mameluke sultan who consolidated Turkish rule in North India. He organized the governing class, the army, the iqta land-revenue assignment system, and the currency of the sultanate. A great builder and patron of arts, he enhanced the glory of Delhi and made it his capital. Iltutmish was an intensely religious Muslim and obtained an investiture from the caliph in the year 1229.
Of Ilbari Turkish lineage, Iltutmish was, in boyhood, sold into slavery at Bukhara. In 1192, Aibak bought Iltutmish at Delhi. Iltutmish married Aibak’s daughter and had a meteoric career. He became the head of Aibak’s bodyguard detail; amir-i shikar, amir of Gwalior; and upon Aibak’s death in 1210, sultan of Delhi. During the Khokar campaign, Muizuddin manumitted Iltutmish. Iltutmish led expeditions into Rajasthan and eastern India but avoided conflict with the Mongols in the northwest. His tomb is near the Qutb Minar.
Iltutmish was the third and greatest Delhi sultan of the so-called Slave dynasty. Iltutmish was sold into slavery but married the daughter of his master, Quṭb al-Dīn Aibak, whom he succeeded in 1211. He strengthened and expanded the Muslim empire in northern India and moved the capital to Delhi, where he built the great victory tower, the Quṭb Mīnār.
A wise and patient statesman who was trained as a trusted administrator under his predecessors Muʿizz al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Sām and Quṭb al-Dīn, Iltutmish was faced upon his accession not only with the deterioration of Muslim rule but also with the claim of Tāj al-Dīn Yildoiz, the Ghazna ruler, to succession to all of Muʿizz al-Dīn’s conquests and with the attempts by the Hindus to recover portions of their lost territory. In 1215, he captured Yildoiz, who died in prison. In 1225, he forced the unruly Bengali governor to acknowledge the authority of Delhi, and shortly thereafter he consolidated again the Muslim holdings. Iltutmish was able to preserve his kingdom against the ravages of the Mongol invasions that coincided with his reign, and he succeeded in building an administrative machinery for the empire. He sought out 11th-century Islamic classics on the art of government; and the Ādāb al-Muluk (“Conduct of the Kings”), the first Indo-Muslim classic on the art of government and warfare, was written for him. He was tolerant of the Hindus despite the urgings of his advisers, and he built up the waterworks, mosques, and amenities at Delhi to make it for the first time a fitting seat of government. His reign and his advisers, especially the vizier Junaydī, were praised by contemporaries.
Iltutmish’s eldest son died before he did, and his other sons were incompetent. He gave an excellent education to his daughter Raziyya (Raziyyat al-Dīn) and desired that she should succeed him. His wishes were offensive to the administrative Council of Forty, Iltutmish’s personal slaves who served as his advisers. Raziyya did succeed briefly to the throne, but her appointment of an African to an important position was considered insulting to the council, which shortly thereafter brought about her downfall. This marked the beginning of the decline of the line of Iltutmish.
Shams al-Din Iltutmish ibn Elam Khan see Iltutmish
Shams ud-Din Iltutmish see Iltutmish
Shams al-Din Iltutmish see Iltutmish
Altamash see Iltutmish
Ilyas Shahi
Ilyas Shahi. Refers to a dynasty of India. Shaking Tughluq authority in Bengal, Sultan Shams al-Din Ilyas Shah founded the Ilyas Shahi dynasty in 1342. His son, Sikander Shah (r.1357-1389), consolidated the dynasty’s authority. The less effectual rule of his successors, however, allowed a Hindu minister, Raja Ganesh, to seize power in 1417. Ilyas Shahi rule was restored in 1437 and lasted until 1487. The longest lived independent Bengal sultanate, the Ilyas Shahis were able administrators particularly noted for their architectural patronage, especially of the enormous Adina Mosque in Pandua, their first capital.
The Ilyas dynasty or Iliyas dynasty or Iliyas Shahi dynasty was the first independent ruling dynasty in late medieval Bengal, which ruled from the 14th century to the 15th century. The dynasty was founded by Ilyas Shah (1342–1358), who achieved the political unity of Bengal. Shams-ud-Din Ilyas made Pandua his capital but in 1453 Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud shifted it to Lakhnauti.
In 1415, The Ilyas Shahi dynasty was overthrown by Raja Ganesha. He was succeeded by his son Jadu or Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Shah (after conversion to Islam). He was succeeded by his son, Shams-ud-Din Ahmad Shah. He was killed by his nobles in 1436. After his death, the rule of Ilyas Shahi dynasty was restored by Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah, a descendant of Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah, who ascended the throne in 1437. In 1487, the last ruler of this dynasty Jalal-ud-Din Fath Shah was killed by his Habshi commander of the palace guards, Sultan Shahzada, who ascended the throne under the title, Barbak Shah. Thus the Ilyas Shahi dynasty rule over Bengal ended.
The Ilyas Shahi rulers were:
1. Shams-ud-Din Ilyas Shah (r.1342-1358)
2. Sikandar Shah (r.1358–1390).
3. Ghiyas-ud-din Azam Shah (r.1390–1410 or 1396?)
4. Saif-ud-din Hamza Shah (r.1410–1412 or 1396–1405?)
5. Shihab-ud-din Bayazid Shah (r.1412–1414 or 1405–1415?)
6. Ala-ud-din Firuz Shah (r.1414-1415)
7. Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah (r.1437-1459) (restored)
8. Rukn-ud-Din Barbak Shah (r.1459-1474)
9. Shams-ud-Din Yusuf Shah (r.1474-1481)
10. Sikandar Shah II (r.1481)
11. Jalal-ud-Din Fath Shah (r.1481-1487)
Iliyas see Ilyas Shahi.
Iliyas Shahi see Ilyas Shahi.
Ilyas Shahi. Refers to a dynasty of India. Shaking Tughluq authority in Bengal, Sultan Shams al-Din Ilyas Shah founded the Ilyas Shahi dynasty in 1342. His son, Sikander Shah (r.1357-1389), consolidated the dynasty’s authority. The less effectual rule of his successors, however, allowed a Hindu minister, Raja Ganesh, to seize power in 1417. Ilyas Shahi rule was restored in 1437 and lasted until 1487. The longest lived independent Bengal sultanate, the Ilyas Shahis were able administrators particularly noted for their architectural patronage, especially of the enormous Adina Mosque in Pandua, their first capital.
The Ilyas dynasty or Iliyas dynasty or Iliyas Shahi dynasty was the first independent ruling dynasty in late medieval Bengal, which ruled from the 14th century to the 15th century. The dynasty was founded by Ilyas Shah (1342–1358), who achieved the political unity of Bengal. Shams-ud-Din Ilyas made Pandua his capital but in 1453 Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud shifted it to Lakhnauti.
In 1415, The Ilyas Shahi dynasty was overthrown by Raja Ganesha. He was succeeded by his son Jadu or Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Shah (after conversion to Islam). He was succeeded by his son, Shams-ud-Din Ahmad Shah. He was killed by his nobles in 1436. After his death, the rule of Ilyas Shahi dynasty was restored by Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah, a descendant of Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah, who ascended the throne in 1437. In 1487, the last ruler of this dynasty Jalal-ud-Din Fath Shah was killed by his Habshi commander of the palace guards, Sultan Shahzada, who ascended the throne under the title, Barbak Shah. Thus the Ilyas Shahi dynasty rule over Bengal ended.
The Ilyas Shahi rulers were:
1. Shams-ud-Din Ilyas Shah (r.1342-1358)
2. Sikandar Shah (r.1358–1390).
3. Ghiyas-ud-din Azam Shah (r.1390–1410 or 1396?)
4. Saif-ud-din Hamza Shah (r.1410–1412 or 1396–1405?)
5. Shihab-ud-din Bayazid Shah (r.1412–1414 or 1405–1415?)
6. Ala-ud-din Firuz Shah (r.1414-1415)
7. Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah (r.1437-1459) (restored)
8. Rukn-ud-Din Barbak Shah (r.1459-1474)
9. Shams-ud-Din Yusuf Shah (r.1474-1481)
10. Sikandar Shah II (r.1481)
11. Jalal-ud-Din Fath Shah (r.1481-1487)
Iliyas see Ilyas Shahi.
Iliyas Shahi see Ilyas Shahi.
‘Imad al-Dawla, ‘Ali ibn Buwayh
‘Imad al-Dawla, ‘Ali ibn Buwayh (‘Ali ibn Buwayh ‘Imad al-Dawla) (Ali ibn Buya 'Imad al-Daula) (c. 891/2–December 949). Eldest of the three Daylami brothers who became the founders of the dynasty of the Buyids (Buwayhids). He ruled from 934 to 949. He seized Baghdad in 945 and brought the ‘Abbasid caliph under his control.
'Ali ibn Buya 'Imad al-Daula was the founder of the Buyid dynasty in Iran (in Shiraz, 934–949). 'Ali first entered the services of the Samanids under Nasr II, where he became a member of the ruler's entourage. From there he eventually joined Makan, who ruled Gorgan and Ray as a governor of the Samanids, in around 928. He may have done so at Nasr's suggestion. In any case, he managed to occupy a high position under Makan and gained army commissions for his two younger brothers, Hasan and Ahmad. In 930, however, Makan rebelled against the Samanids by seizing Khurasan. He was subsequently attacked by the Ziyarid prince Mardavij and forced to give up Tabaristan.
'Ali and his brothers managed to defect to Mardavij's side just as the Ziyarid was preparing to undertake the conquest to the south of the Alborz mountains as far as Qazvin. Not long afterwards Mardavij granted 'Ali administrative rule over Karaj, a strategically important town probably situated near modern Bahramabad. While making a stop in Ray on his way to Karaj, however, 'Ali was warned by Mardavij's vizier al-'Amid that the Ziyarid was planning to eliminate him. Quickly leaving Ray, he arrived at and took over Karaj.
With a small number of Dailamite troops to support him, 'Ali sought to expand his position. Moving against the heretical Khurramites, who controlled the surrounding mountains, he gained control of the region and was heavily enriched by the expeditions. At the same time, he managed to maintain his troops' loyalty, despite Mardavij's attempts to incite them against their master.
In order to further secure his position, 'Ali decided to seize the nearby city of Isfahan, then under control of the Abbasid governor Yaqut. The enemy army outnumbered 'Ali's, but a large portion of it defected to him upon his appearance before the city. Yaqut, however, refused to negotiate with him, and Mardavij's approach forced him to abandon Isfahan in favor of the Ziyarids. Having fled Karaj as well, 'Ali now took Arrajan, a city between Fars and Khuzestan.
Having stayed for the winter in Arrajan, 'Ali decided to campaign in Fars in the spring of 933. There he encountered the resistance of Yaqut, who was also the governor of Fars and from whom 'Ali had stripped Arrajan. He also found an ally, Zaid ibn 'Ali al-Naubandagani, a wealthy landowner who disliked the Abbasids. After a series of battles, 'Ali managed to prove the victor. By May or June of 934, he entered Shiraz, the capital of Fars.
In order to prevent Mardavij from pressing claims on his territory, 'Ali sought the recognition of the Abbasid Caliph, who confirmed him as his viceroy in September or October of 934. Although the caliph's emissary arrived with the insignia for his office, 'Ali delayed giving the requisite tribute. By the time the emissary died in Shiraz two years later, the tribute was still unpaid.
Mardavij continued to pose a threat; he decided to invade Khuzestan, which was still under caliphal control, in order to sever the Buyids from the Caliphate. This invasion prompted the caliph to reach an agreement with the Ziyarid, which forced 'Ali to recognize Mardavij's authority. This recognition proved short-lived, as Mardavij was assassinated in January of 935. 'Ali then decided to press claims on Khuzestan, and occupied 'Askar Mukram. The Buyid and the caliph then came to terms with one another. The latter confirmed 'Ali in his possession of Fars and gave Khuzestan to Yaqut.
Bolstered by many of Mardavij's Turkish mercenaries that had joined him, as well as the collapse of Ziyarid control over central Iran, 'Ali decided that Isfahan should be taken. He sent his brother Hasan to accomplish this. Hasan initially managed to take Isfahan but later encountered difficulties. After Hasan took Isfahan, 'Ali sent his other brother Ahmad to take Kerman. Although the bulk of that province was compelled to recognize Buyid authority, direct control was not established, and 'Ali eventually recalled him.
'Ali next sent Ahmad to Khuzestan, where the Basrian clan of the Baridis had become the de facto rulers of the province but were trying to throw off caliphal rule. They asked 'Ali for their struggle against the Abbasids, providing the pretext for Ahmad to enter Khuzestan. Although the Baridis temporarily recovered the province and even managed to take Baghdad a few times, Ahmad eventually took control of Khuzestan himself. From Khuzestan Ahmad waged a series of campaigns in Iraq, until in 945 he entered Baghdad. The caliph then gave him the title of "Mu'izz al-Daula," while 'Ali and Hasan were given the titles of "'Imad al-Daula" and "Rukn al-Daula," respectively. By 948 Rukn al-Daula had also secured his position in central Iran, causing a clear definition of the borders of the Buyid state.
'Imad al-Daula was not the master of the entire Buyid empire. Rukn al-Daula, partly as a result of 'Imad al-Daula's failure to send him military support during his struggles in central Iran, was relatively independent of his brother. Mu'izz al-Daula, on the other hand, had been given support by his brother in his efforts to take Khuzestan, and was a subordinate of 'Imad al-Daula. He was not listed as an independent ruler on contemporary sources, and the name of his brother appeared before his own on coins struck by him. Despite the fact that Mu'izz al-Daula's capture of Baghdad resulted in him gaining the title of senior amir (amir al-umara'), which in theory made him the highest ranking individual out of all three Buyids, he remained little more than a provincial ruler under 'Imad al-Daula's authority. 'Imad al-Daula himself claimed the title of senior amir during his lifetime, and although he never officially held it, nor was entitled to do so, he was recognized as the de facto holder of that position.
'Imad al-Daula's lack of an heir posed a problem until shortly before his death. A few months beforehand, he settled on Rukn al-Daula's eldest son Fana-Khusrau as his successor. He died in December of 949, and his brothers helped to install Fana-Khusrau (who took the title of "'Adud al-Daula") in Shiraz. Rukn al-Daula, who was the most powerful of the Buyids, claimed the title of senior amir for himself and received both Mu'izz al-Daula's and 'Adud al-Daula's recognition as such.
'Ali ibn Buwayh 'Imad al-Dawla see ‘Imad al-Dawla, ‘Ali ibn Buwayh
Dawla, 'Ali ibn Buwayh 'Imad al- see ‘Imad al-Dawla, ‘Ali ibn Buwayh
Ali ibn Buya 'Imad al-Daula see ‘Imad al-Dawla, ‘Ali ibn Buwayh
‘Imad al-Dawla, ‘Ali ibn Buwayh (‘Ali ibn Buwayh ‘Imad al-Dawla) (Ali ibn Buya 'Imad al-Daula) (c. 891/2–December 949). Eldest of the three Daylami brothers who became the founders of the dynasty of the Buyids (Buwayhids). He ruled from 934 to 949. He seized Baghdad in 945 and brought the ‘Abbasid caliph under his control.
'Ali ibn Buya 'Imad al-Daula was the founder of the Buyid dynasty in Iran (in Shiraz, 934–949). 'Ali first entered the services of the Samanids under Nasr II, where he became a member of the ruler's entourage. From there he eventually joined Makan, who ruled Gorgan and Ray as a governor of the Samanids, in around 928. He may have done so at Nasr's suggestion. In any case, he managed to occupy a high position under Makan and gained army commissions for his two younger brothers, Hasan and Ahmad. In 930, however, Makan rebelled against the Samanids by seizing Khurasan. He was subsequently attacked by the Ziyarid prince Mardavij and forced to give up Tabaristan.
'Ali and his brothers managed to defect to Mardavij's side just as the Ziyarid was preparing to undertake the conquest to the south of the Alborz mountains as far as Qazvin. Not long afterwards Mardavij granted 'Ali administrative rule over Karaj, a strategically important town probably situated near modern Bahramabad. While making a stop in Ray on his way to Karaj, however, 'Ali was warned by Mardavij's vizier al-'Amid that the Ziyarid was planning to eliminate him. Quickly leaving Ray, he arrived at and took over Karaj.
With a small number of Dailamite troops to support him, 'Ali sought to expand his position. Moving against the heretical Khurramites, who controlled the surrounding mountains, he gained control of the region and was heavily enriched by the expeditions. At the same time, he managed to maintain his troops' loyalty, despite Mardavij's attempts to incite them against their master.
In order to further secure his position, 'Ali decided to seize the nearby city of Isfahan, then under control of the Abbasid governor Yaqut. The enemy army outnumbered 'Ali's, but a large portion of it defected to him upon his appearance before the city. Yaqut, however, refused to negotiate with him, and Mardavij's approach forced him to abandon Isfahan in favor of the Ziyarids. Having fled Karaj as well, 'Ali now took Arrajan, a city between Fars and Khuzestan.
Having stayed for the winter in Arrajan, 'Ali decided to campaign in Fars in the spring of 933. There he encountered the resistance of Yaqut, who was also the governor of Fars and from whom 'Ali had stripped Arrajan. He also found an ally, Zaid ibn 'Ali al-Naubandagani, a wealthy landowner who disliked the Abbasids. After a series of battles, 'Ali managed to prove the victor. By May or June of 934, he entered Shiraz, the capital of Fars.
In order to prevent Mardavij from pressing claims on his territory, 'Ali sought the recognition of the Abbasid Caliph, who confirmed him as his viceroy in September or October of 934. Although the caliph's emissary arrived with the insignia for his office, 'Ali delayed giving the requisite tribute. By the time the emissary died in Shiraz two years later, the tribute was still unpaid.
Mardavij continued to pose a threat; he decided to invade Khuzestan, which was still under caliphal control, in order to sever the Buyids from the Caliphate. This invasion prompted the caliph to reach an agreement with the Ziyarid, which forced 'Ali to recognize Mardavij's authority. This recognition proved short-lived, as Mardavij was assassinated in January of 935. 'Ali then decided to press claims on Khuzestan, and occupied 'Askar Mukram. The Buyid and the caliph then came to terms with one another. The latter confirmed 'Ali in his possession of Fars and gave Khuzestan to Yaqut.
Bolstered by many of Mardavij's Turkish mercenaries that had joined him, as well as the collapse of Ziyarid control over central Iran, 'Ali decided that Isfahan should be taken. He sent his brother Hasan to accomplish this. Hasan initially managed to take Isfahan but later encountered difficulties. After Hasan took Isfahan, 'Ali sent his other brother Ahmad to take Kerman. Although the bulk of that province was compelled to recognize Buyid authority, direct control was not established, and 'Ali eventually recalled him.
'Ali next sent Ahmad to Khuzestan, where the Basrian clan of the Baridis had become the de facto rulers of the province but were trying to throw off caliphal rule. They asked 'Ali for their struggle against the Abbasids, providing the pretext for Ahmad to enter Khuzestan. Although the Baridis temporarily recovered the province and even managed to take Baghdad a few times, Ahmad eventually took control of Khuzestan himself. From Khuzestan Ahmad waged a series of campaigns in Iraq, until in 945 he entered Baghdad. The caliph then gave him the title of "Mu'izz al-Daula," while 'Ali and Hasan were given the titles of "'Imad al-Daula" and "Rukn al-Daula," respectively. By 948 Rukn al-Daula had also secured his position in central Iran, causing a clear definition of the borders of the Buyid state.
'Imad al-Daula was not the master of the entire Buyid empire. Rukn al-Daula, partly as a result of 'Imad al-Daula's failure to send him military support during his struggles in central Iran, was relatively independent of his brother. Mu'izz al-Daula, on the other hand, had been given support by his brother in his efforts to take Khuzestan, and was a subordinate of 'Imad al-Daula. He was not listed as an independent ruler on contemporary sources, and the name of his brother appeared before his own on coins struck by him. Despite the fact that Mu'izz al-Daula's capture of Baghdad resulted in him gaining the title of senior amir (amir al-umara'), which in theory made him the highest ranking individual out of all three Buyids, he remained little more than a provincial ruler under 'Imad al-Daula's authority. 'Imad al-Daula himself claimed the title of senior amir during his lifetime, and although he never officially held it, nor was entitled to do so, he was recognized as the de facto holder of that position.
'Imad al-Daula's lack of an heir posed a problem until shortly before his death. A few months beforehand, he settled on Rukn al-Daula's eldest son Fana-Khusrau as his successor. He died in December of 949, and his brothers helped to install Fana-Khusrau (who took the title of "'Adud al-Daula") in Shiraz. Rukn al-Daula, who was the most powerful of the Buyids, claimed the title of senior amir for himself and received both Mu'izz al-Daula's and 'Adud al-Daula's recognition as such.
'Ali ibn Buwayh 'Imad al-Dawla see ‘Imad al-Dawla, ‘Ali ibn Buwayh
Dawla, 'Ali ibn Buwayh 'Imad al- see ‘Imad al-Dawla, ‘Ali ibn Buwayh
Ali ibn Buya 'Imad al-Daula see ‘Imad al-Dawla, ‘Ali ibn Buwayh
‘Imad al-Din al-Katib al-Isfahani
‘Imad al-Din al-Katib al-Isfahani (1125-1201). Historian. His most remarkable work is Qussian eloquence on the conquest of Jerusalem (of 1187). The term Qussian is related to the name of Quss ibn Sa‘ida al-Iyadi.
Isfahani, 'Imad al-Din al-Katib al- see ‘Imad al-Din al-Katib al-Isfahani
‘Imad al-Din al-Katib al-Isfahani (1125-1201). Historian. His most remarkable work is Qussian eloquence on the conquest of Jerusalem (of 1187). The term Qussian is related to the name of Quss ibn Sa‘ida al-Iyadi.
Isfahani, 'Imad al-Din al-Katib al- see ‘Imad al-Din al-Katib al-Isfahani
‘Imad al-Din Zangi I ibn Aq Sunqur
‘Imad al-Din Zangi I ibn Aq Sunqur (Imad ad-Din Atabeg Zengi)(also Zangi, Zengui, Zenki, or Zanki) (İmadeddin Zengi) (Imad ad-Din Atabeg Zengi al-Malik al-Mansur) (c. 1084/1085–September 14, 1146). Member of the line of the Turkish Zangid dynasty in Mosul and Aleppo (r. 1127-1146). In 1127, he was appointed governor of Mosul, and received the title of atabeg. He took possession of Jazirat ibn ‘Umar, Nisibis, Sinjar, Harran, Aleppo and Hamat. His attack on Baghdad, however, was unsuccessful, as was that of the ‘Abbasid Caliph al-Mustarshid bi-‘llah on Mosul. ‘Imad al-Din approved of the deposition of the ‘Abbasid Caliph al-Rashid (r. 1135-1136) and paid homage to the latter’s successor al-Muqtafi (r. 1136-1160). In 1137, he routed King Fulk of Jerusalem, took the fortress of Ba‘rin (Monsferrandus), and pursued the Emperor John II of Constantinople on his return to Antioch after an unsuccessful attack on Shayzar. He received Homs and in 1139 conquered Baalbek. He then laid siege to Damascus, whose commander Mu‘in al-Din invoked the support of the Crusaders. ‘Imad al-Din then raised the siege and returned to Mosul. In 1144, he took Edessa from the Crusaders, which set off the Second Crusade.
Imad ad-Din Atabeg Zengi (al-Malik al-Mansur) was the son of Aq Sunqur al-Hajib, governor of Aleppo under Malik Shah I. His father was beheaded for treason in 1094, and Zengi was brought up by Kerbogha, the governor of Mosul.
Zengi became atabeg of Mosul in 1127, and of Aleppo in 1128, uniting the two cities under his personal rule, and was formally invested as their ruler by the Sultan Mahmud II of Great Seljuk. Zengi had supported the young sultan against his rival, the caliph Al-Mustarshid.
In 1130, Zengi allied with Taj al-Mulk Buri of Damascus against the crusaders, but this was only a ruse to extend his power. He had Buri's son taken prisoner and seized Hama from him. He also besieged Hims, the governor of which was accompanying him at the time, but could not capture it, so he returned to Mosul, where Buri's son and the other prisoners from Damascus were ransomed for 50,000 dinars. In 1131, Zengi agreed to return the 50,000 dinars if Buri would deliver to him Dubais, emir of al-Hilla in Iraq, who had fled to Damascus to escape al-Mustarshid. When an ambassador from the caliph arrived to bring Dubais back, Zengi attacked him and killed some of his retinue. The ambassador returned to Baghdad without Dubais.
In 1134, Zengi became involved in Artuqid affairs, allying with the emir Timurtash (son of Ilghazi) against Timurtash's cousin Da'ud. Zengi's real desires, however, lay to the south, in Damascus. In 1135, Zengi received an appeal for help from Ismail, who had succeeded his father Buri as emir of Damascus, and who was in fear for his life from his own citizenry who considered him a cruel tyrant. Ismail was willing to surrender the city to Zengi in order to restore peace. None of Ismail's family or advisors wanted this, however, and Ismail was murdered by his own mother, Zumurrud, to prevent him from turning over the city to Zengi's control. Ismail was succeeded by his brother Shihab ad-Din Mahmud.
Zengi was not discouraged by this turn of events and arrived at Damascus anyway, still intending to seize it. The siege lasted for some time with no success on Zengi's part, so a truce was made and Shahib ad-Din's brother Bahram-Shah was given as a hostage. At the same time, news of the siege had reached the caliph and Baghdad, and a messenger was sent with orders for Zengi to leave Damascus and take control of the governance of Iraq. The messenger was ignored but Zengi gave up the siege, as per the terms of the truce with Shahib ad-Din. On the way back to Aleppo, Zengi besieged Hims, whose governor had angered him, and Shahib ad-Din responded to the city's call for help by sending Mu'in ad-Din Unur to govern it.
In 1137 Zengi besieged Hims again but Mu'in ad-Din successfully defended it. In response to Zengi's renewed attack, Damascus allied with the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem against him. Zengi laid siege to the Crusader fortress of Ba'rin and quickly crushed the army of Jerusalem. King Fulk of Jerusalem agreed to surrender and was allowed to flee with his surviving troops. Zengi, realizing that this new expedition against Damascus was bound to fail, made peace with Shahib ad-Din, just in time to be confronted at Aleppo by an army sent by the Byzantine Emperor John II Comnenus. The Emperor had recently brought the Crusader Principality of Antioch under Byzantine control, and allied himself with Joscelin II of Edessa and Raymond of Antioch. Facing a combined Byzantine/crusader threat, Zengi mobilized his forces and recruited assistance from other Muslim leaders. In April 1138, the armies of the Byzantine emperor and the crusader princes laid siege to Shaizar, but were turned back by Zengi's forces a month later.
In May 1138 Zengi came to an agreement with Damascus. He married Zumurrud, the same woman who had murdered her son Ismail, and received Hims as her dowry. In July 1139 Zumurrud's surviving son, Shihab ad-Din, was assassinated and Zengi marched on Damascus to take possession of the city. The Damascenes, united under Mu'in ad-Din Unur, acting as regent for Shihab ad-Din's successor Jamal ad-Din, once again allied with Jerusalem to repel Zengi. Zengi also besieged Jamal ad-Din's former possession of Baalbek, and Mu'in ad-Din was in charge of its defenses as well. After Zengi abandoned his siege of Damascus, Jamal ad-Din died of a disease, and was succeeded by his son Mujir ad-Din, with Mu'in ad-Din remaining as regent.
Mu'in ad-Din signed a new peace treaty with Jerusalem for their mutual protection against Zengi. While Mu'in ad-Din and the crusaders joined together to besiege Banias, Zengi once more laid siege to Damascus, but quickly abandoned it again. There were no major engagements between the crusaders, Damascus, and Zengi for the next few years, but Zengi in the meantime campaigned in the north and captured Ashib and the Armenian fortress of Hizan.
In 1144, Zengi besieged the crusader County of Edessa. Edessa was the weakest and least Latinized crusader state, and Zengi captured it on December 24, 1144. This event led to the Second Crusade, and later Muslim chroniclers noted it as the start of the jihad against the Crusader states.
Though he continued his attempts to take Damascus in 1145, Zengi was assassinated by a Frankish slave named Yarankash in 1146. The Christian chronicler William of Tyre said that he was killed by a number of his retinue while he lay drunk in his bed. Zengi's sudden death threw his forces into a panic. His army disintegrated, the treasury was looted, and the crusader princes, made bold by Zengi's demise, plotted to attack Aleppo and Edessa. Mu'in ad-Din immediately recaptured Baalbek, Hims, and other territories lost to Zengi over the years.
Zengi was the founder of the eponymous Zengid dynasty. In Mosul he was succeeded by his eldest son Saif ad-Din Ghazi I and in Aleppo he was succeeded by his second son Nur ad-Din.
Zengi was courageous, strong in leadership and a very skilled warrior according to all of the Islam chroniclers of his day. The conquest of Edessa being his greatest achievement. These same chroniclers however, also relate Zengi as being a very violent, cruel, and brutal man. Muslims, Byzantines, and Franks all suffered at his hands.
Imad ad-Din Atabeg Zengi see ‘Imad al-Din Zangi I ibn Aq Sunqur
İmadeddin Zengi see ‘Imad al-Din Zangi I ibn Aq Sunqur
Imad ad-Din Atabeg Zengi al-Malik al-Mansur see ‘Imad al-Din Zangi I ibn Aq Sunqur
Mansur, Imad ad-Din Atabeg Zengi al-Malik al- see ‘Imad al-Din Zangi I ibn Aq Sunqur
Zengi Imadeddin see ‘Imad al-Din Zangi I ibn Aq Sunqur
Zengi, Imad ad-Din Atabeg see ‘Imad al-Din Zangi I ibn Aq Sunqur
‘Imad al-Din Zangi I ibn Aq Sunqur (Imad ad-Din Atabeg Zengi)(also Zangi, Zengui, Zenki, or Zanki) (İmadeddin Zengi) (Imad ad-Din Atabeg Zengi al-Malik al-Mansur) (c. 1084/1085–September 14, 1146). Member of the line of the Turkish Zangid dynasty in Mosul and Aleppo (r. 1127-1146). In 1127, he was appointed governor of Mosul, and received the title of atabeg. He took possession of Jazirat ibn ‘Umar, Nisibis, Sinjar, Harran, Aleppo and Hamat. His attack on Baghdad, however, was unsuccessful, as was that of the ‘Abbasid Caliph al-Mustarshid bi-‘llah on Mosul. ‘Imad al-Din approved of the deposition of the ‘Abbasid Caliph al-Rashid (r. 1135-1136) and paid homage to the latter’s successor al-Muqtafi (r. 1136-1160). In 1137, he routed King Fulk of Jerusalem, took the fortress of Ba‘rin (Monsferrandus), and pursued the Emperor John II of Constantinople on his return to Antioch after an unsuccessful attack on Shayzar. He received Homs and in 1139 conquered Baalbek. He then laid siege to Damascus, whose commander Mu‘in al-Din invoked the support of the Crusaders. ‘Imad al-Din then raised the siege and returned to Mosul. In 1144, he took Edessa from the Crusaders, which set off the Second Crusade.
Imad ad-Din Atabeg Zengi (al-Malik al-Mansur) was the son of Aq Sunqur al-Hajib, governor of Aleppo under Malik Shah I. His father was beheaded for treason in 1094, and Zengi was brought up by Kerbogha, the governor of Mosul.
Zengi became atabeg of Mosul in 1127, and of Aleppo in 1128, uniting the two cities under his personal rule, and was formally invested as their ruler by the Sultan Mahmud II of Great Seljuk. Zengi had supported the young sultan against his rival, the caliph Al-Mustarshid.
In 1130, Zengi allied with Taj al-Mulk Buri of Damascus against the crusaders, but this was only a ruse to extend his power. He had Buri's son taken prisoner and seized Hama from him. He also besieged Hims, the governor of which was accompanying him at the time, but could not capture it, so he returned to Mosul, where Buri's son and the other prisoners from Damascus were ransomed for 50,000 dinars. In 1131, Zengi agreed to return the 50,000 dinars if Buri would deliver to him Dubais, emir of al-Hilla in Iraq, who had fled to Damascus to escape al-Mustarshid. When an ambassador from the caliph arrived to bring Dubais back, Zengi attacked him and killed some of his retinue. The ambassador returned to Baghdad without Dubais.
In 1134, Zengi became involved in Artuqid affairs, allying with the emir Timurtash (son of Ilghazi) against Timurtash's cousin Da'ud. Zengi's real desires, however, lay to the south, in Damascus. In 1135, Zengi received an appeal for help from Ismail, who had succeeded his father Buri as emir of Damascus, and who was in fear for his life from his own citizenry who considered him a cruel tyrant. Ismail was willing to surrender the city to Zengi in order to restore peace. None of Ismail's family or advisors wanted this, however, and Ismail was murdered by his own mother, Zumurrud, to prevent him from turning over the city to Zengi's control. Ismail was succeeded by his brother Shihab ad-Din Mahmud.
Zengi was not discouraged by this turn of events and arrived at Damascus anyway, still intending to seize it. The siege lasted for some time with no success on Zengi's part, so a truce was made and Shahib ad-Din's brother Bahram-Shah was given as a hostage. At the same time, news of the siege had reached the caliph and Baghdad, and a messenger was sent with orders for Zengi to leave Damascus and take control of the governance of Iraq. The messenger was ignored but Zengi gave up the siege, as per the terms of the truce with Shahib ad-Din. On the way back to Aleppo, Zengi besieged Hims, whose governor had angered him, and Shahib ad-Din responded to the city's call for help by sending Mu'in ad-Din Unur to govern it.
In 1137 Zengi besieged Hims again but Mu'in ad-Din successfully defended it. In response to Zengi's renewed attack, Damascus allied with the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem against him. Zengi laid siege to the Crusader fortress of Ba'rin and quickly crushed the army of Jerusalem. King Fulk of Jerusalem agreed to surrender and was allowed to flee with his surviving troops. Zengi, realizing that this new expedition against Damascus was bound to fail, made peace with Shahib ad-Din, just in time to be confronted at Aleppo by an army sent by the Byzantine Emperor John II Comnenus. The Emperor had recently brought the Crusader Principality of Antioch under Byzantine control, and allied himself with Joscelin II of Edessa and Raymond of Antioch. Facing a combined Byzantine/crusader threat, Zengi mobilized his forces and recruited assistance from other Muslim leaders. In April 1138, the armies of the Byzantine emperor and the crusader princes laid siege to Shaizar, but were turned back by Zengi's forces a month later.
In May 1138 Zengi came to an agreement with Damascus. He married Zumurrud, the same woman who had murdered her son Ismail, and received Hims as her dowry. In July 1139 Zumurrud's surviving son, Shihab ad-Din, was assassinated and Zengi marched on Damascus to take possession of the city. The Damascenes, united under Mu'in ad-Din Unur, acting as regent for Shihab ad-Din's successor Jamal ad-Din, once again allied with Jerusalem to repel Zengi. Zengi also besieged Jamal ad-Din's former possession of Baalbek, and Mu'in ad-Din was in charge of its defenses as well. After Zengi abandoned his siege of Damascus, Jamal ad-Din died of a disease, and was succeeded by his son Mujir ad-Din, with Mu'in ad-Din remaining as regent.
Mu'in ad-Din signed a new peace treaty with Jerusalem for their mutual protection against Zengi. While Mu'in ad-Din and the crusaders joined together to besiege Banias, Zengi once more laid siege to Damascus, but quickly abandoned it again. There were no major engagements between the crusaders, Damascus, and Zengi for the next few years, but Zengi in the meantime campaigned in the north and captured Ashib and the Armenian fortress of Hizan.
In 1144, Zengi besieged the crusader County of Edessa. Edessa was the weakest and least Latinized crusader state, and Zengi captured it on December 24, 1144. This event led to the Second Crusade, and later Muslim chroniclers noted it as the start of the jihad against the Crusader states.
Though he continued his attempts to take Damascus in 1145, Zengi was assassinated by a Frankish slave named Yarankash in 1146. The Christian chronicler William of Tyre said that he was killed by a number of his retinue while he lay drunk in his bed. Zengi's sudden death threw his forces into a panic. His army disintegrated, the treasury was looted, and the crusader princes, made bold by Zengi's demise, plotted to attack Aleppo and Edessa. Mu'in ad-Din immediately recaptured Baalbek, Hims, and other territories lost to Zengi over the years.
Zengi was the founder of the eponymous Zengid dynasty. In Mosul he was succeeded by his eldest son Saif ad-Din Ghazi I and in Aleppo he was succeeded by his second son Nur ad-Din.
Zengi was courageous, strong in leadership and a very skilled warrior according to all of the Islam chroniclers of his day. The conquest of Edessa being his greatest achievement. These same chroniclers however, also relate Zengi as being a very violent, cruel, and brutal man. Muslims, Byzantines, and Franks all suffered at his hands.
Imad ad-Din Atabeg Zengi see ‘Imad al-Din Zangi I ibn Aq Sunqur
İmadeddin Zengi see ‘Imad al-Din Zangi I ibn Aq Sunqur
Imad ad-Din Atabeg Zengi al-Malik al-Mansur see ‘Imad al-Din Zangi I ibn Aq Sunqur
Mansur, Imad ad-Din Atabeg Zengi al-Malik al- see ‘Imad al-Din Zangi I ibn Aq Sunqur
Zengi Imadeddin see ‘Imad al-Din Zangi I ibn Aq Sunqur
Zengi, Imad ad-Din Atabeg see ‘Imad al-Din Zangi I ibn Aq Sunqur
‘Imad Shahi
‘Imad Shahi. Ttitle of the ruling family, founded by a Hindu convert to Islam, which ruled over Berar, the eastern districts of what is now Maharashtra State, western India, from 1490 until 1574.
‘Imad Shahi. Ttitle of the ruling family, founded by a Hindu convert to Islam, which ruled over Berar, the eastern districts of what is now Maharashtra State, western India, from 1490 until 1574.
imam (Arabic for “leader” or “exemplar”). In general usage in Islam, the imam is the political head of the Muslim community or the person who leads prayer services. The Prophet Muhammad and his early successors -- including those of the Umayyad caliphate (661-750) -- performed both functions. The head of state himself led Friday prayers in the central capital mosque, and his governors did the same in provincial capitals. Later, however, administrative and political functions were separated from religious ones. In Shi‘ite Islam, the term imam is applied to the person who is both the political and religious leader. He must be descended from Ali and Fatima (the son-in-law and daughter of the Prophet Muhammad). No imam, however, except Ali, ever ruled, and beginning with the sixth imam, Jafar al-Sadiq (c.700-765), all eschewed political power. The imam is regarded by the main body of Shi‘ites as immune from error and sin and by the Isma‘ilis as a veritable incarnation of God. Both sects believe the last imam to be in concealment, and they await his return.
The term imam is used seven times in the singular form and five times in plural form (a‘imma) in the Qur‘an. However, large parts of its content are a result of theological developments.
The term imam is used in many different contexts, and with different meanings. There are five different ways of using the term, but there has never been any attempt to create a consolidated system for the different usages. It differs from group to group, from sect to sect and sometimes even from mosque to mosque.
In Shi‘a Islam, the ideas around the imam go to the very core foundations upon which the rest of the Shi'a theology rests. In Sunni Islam, the term imam is used principally as a title, and has minimal importance in theology.
The Sunni congregational prayer performed in the mosque is supposed to have a leader, and this person is called imam. In the standard interpretation, being imam is not having a profession, nor is it a qualification. The imam is imam only as long as he is leading the prayer. Any respected Muslim who is normally well-trained in the prayer, as-Salat, can be an imam. In general, it is the most learned and most respected person in the assembly who is offered the honor of being imam. However, in modern times, many mosques have made their imam into something more – an employed leader of the congregation, a spokesperson for the members of the congregation and an adviser in all questions that relate to Islam.
There are several different points of view with regard to the term imam among the Shi‘is. There are differences over what makes an imam an imam, and therefore who should be imam. At the time of the first imam, Ali, there was one view, even if the imamship was not yet defined. The original concept of the imam included the following requirements:
Be a man of direct descent of either Husayn or his brother Hassan
Not be a minor
Be sound in mind and body
Have good knowledge of theology
Have the capacity of being a ruler
The imam is supposed to have a special closeness to God – to have something that comes close to divine powers. The imam is supposed to be the guidance of the human race, in both religious as well as secular issues. Due to this quality, for the Shi'a, there can only be one imam at a time. For the Shi'a, the imam is the only one who can give interpretations of the Qur‘an and the hadiths. Hence, he is the only one who can rule the Muslim society on a day to day basis.
For many Shi‘as there are two types of imams: The true and the false. The false imams are the Ummawiyy and Abbasid caliphs, while the true imams are Ali, Hassan, Husayn, Ali, Muhammad, Jafar, Musa, Ali,
Muhammad, Ali, Hassan, and Muhammadu al-Mahdi. According to the Ithna ‘Ashari (Twelver) Shi‘is – which is the largest group of Shi‘a – there were twelve imams, of which the last went into occultation around 941 of the Christian calendar. This last imam is expected back as the Mahdi – a savior character with many similarities with the Messiah of Judaism and Christianity.
Along the line of the twelve imams, there were many disputes over who was the right imam. Records show that there were more than forty Shi‘a sects growing out of these indifferences, where the first group was the Saba‘iyya, who thought that Ali achieved the quality of being God, and went into occultation instead of dying.
With all imams, save Husayn, groups differed over who was the right imam. Most of these groups have long since disappeared, but a few of them still exist.
After the fourth imam died in 712 or 713, one group advocated that Zayd was the rightful new imam, and from this assertion came the Zaydis. The Zaydis believe that there can be more than one imam at one time, and that there can be periods when there are no imams at all.
Some years later (around 765), another group claimed that Isma‘il was the rightful seventh imam, and from this claim came the Isma‘ilis, and even later, the Druze.
With Ayatollah Khomeini a new orientation found its place in Twelver Shi‘ism. Many of the qualities which earlier rested with the imam alone were defined to be within the reach of the very most learned men of their branch of Islam. Thus, Khomeini and his closest aides, could effectively rule the religious life of Iran, something that would not have been possible if the older concept of the imam had continued to prevail (since only the imam can be the rightful leader of the Muslim community).
Amongst Sunni Muslims, the caliphs have been called “imams”. However, since there are no longer any caliphs, the use of the term imam has been relegated to being one of lesser importance. Indeed, as a way of expressing eminence for certain learned men inside Islam, the term imam has been added to their names. Examples of learned men being called imam are the founders of the schools of the shari'a, and the great theologian al-Ghazzali.
Among Ithna Ashari (Imani, Twelver) Shi‘ites, the living imam is the twelfth in the line of Ali through Husain. This imam disappeared from ordinary contact with his followers in 874. Since 940 (or 941), he has been in total occultation (ghaiba), but, according to the Twelvers, he will return in the future to establish justice and rid the world of evil.
Other Shi‘a (Isma‘ilis, Zaydis) accept modifications in the concept of the imamate and hold a different line of imams to have been correct. For example, one branch of the Isma‘ilis maintains that the current Agha Khan is the forty-ninth imam in a direct, unbroken line from Ali.
"leader" see imam
"exemplar" see imam
Along the line of the twelve imams, there were many disputes over who was the right imam. Records show that there were more than forty Shi‘a sects growing out of these indifferences, where the first group was the Saba‘iyya, who thought that Ali achieved the quality of being God, and went into occultation instead of dying.
With all imams, save Husayn, groups differed over who was the right imam. Most of these groups have long since disappeared, but a few of them still exist.
After the fourth imam died in 712 or 713, one group advocated that Zayd was the rightful new imam, and from this assertion came the Zaydis. The Zaydis believe that there can be more than one imam at one time, and that there can be periods when there are no imams at all.
Some years later (around 765), another group claimed that Isma‘il was the rightful seventh imam, and from this claim came the Isma‘ilis, and even later, the Druze.
With Ayatollah Khomeini a new orientation found its place in Twelver Shi‘ism. Many of the qualities which earlier rested with the imam alone were defined to be within the reach of the very most learned men of their branch of Islam. Thus, Khomeini and his closest aides, could effectively rule the religious life of Iran, something that would not have been possible if the older concept of the imam had continued to prevail (since only the imam can be the rightful leader of the Muslim community).
Amongst Sunni Muslims, the caliphs have been called “imams”. However, since there are no longer any caliphs, the use of the term imam has been relegated to being one of lesser importance. Indeed, as a way of expressing eminence for certain learned men inside Islam, the term imam has been added to their names. Examples of learned men being called imam are the founders of the schools of the shari'a, and the great theologian al-Ghazzali.
Among Ithna Ashari (Imani, Twelver) Shi‘ites, the living imam is the twelfth in the line of Ali through Husain. This imam disappeared from ordinary contact with his followers in 874. Since 940 (or 941), he has been in total occultation (ghaiba), but, according to the Twelvers, he will return in the future to establish justice and rid the world of evil.
Other Shi‘a (Isma‘ilis, Zaydis) accept modifications in the concept of the imamate and hold a different line of imams to have been correct. For example, one branch of the Isma‘ilis maintains that the current Agha Khan is the forty-ninth imam in a direct, unbroken line from Ali.
"leader" see imam
"exemplar" see imam
Imam
Imam. In Brazil, a spiritual leader among Muslim blacks.
Imam. In Brazil, a spiritual leader among Muslim blacks.
Imam Bondjol
Imam Bondjol (b. 1772, Kampung Tandjung Bunga, Sumatra — d. November 6, 1864, Manado, Celebes). Indonesian religious leader. Tuanku Imam Bondjol was originally named Mohammad Sjahab and in his youth was called Peto Sjarif, Malin Basa (Mualim Besar), and Tuanku Mudo. The name -- or, more precisely, the title, Tuanku Imam Bondjol derives from the fortified village of Bondjol, founded in 1806-1807 in the valley of Alahan Panjang. Imam Bondjol was a student of Tuanku Nan Rintjeh. After his teacher's death Imam Bondjol became the most important leader of the fundamentalist Islamic Padri movement in the Minangkabau in western Sumatra. He also fought the Dutch, who tried to intervene after 1821. He was captured by the Dutch in 1837 after the fall of Bondjol and banished to Cianjur, Ambon (1839), and then to Manado, Sulawesi (1841).
Imam Bondjol was the leader in a religious war that divided the Minangkabau people of Sumatra. A convert to reformist Wahhabi Islam, known in Sumatra as the Padri sect, he established the fortified community of Bondjol, from which he took his name, as a center from which to wage holy war. The secular government called on the Dutch to help, but the Dutch were preoccupied with the Java War (1825 – 30), and Imam Bondjol's forces expanded the area under their control. The Dutch eventually turned their attention to the Padris and defeated them. Imam Bondjol surrendered in 1837, and the Minangkabau territory was added to the Dutch colonial holdings.
Bondjol, Imam see Imam Bondjol
Tuanku Imam Bondjol see Imam Bondjol
Mohammad Sjahab see Imam Bondjol
Sjahab, Mohammad see Imam Bondjol
Peto Sjarif see Imam Bondjol
Malin Basa see Imam Bondjol
Imam Bondjol (b. 1772, Kampung Tandjung Bunga, Sumatra — d. November 6, 1864, Manado, Celebes). Indonesian religious leader. Tuanku Imam Bondjol was originally named Mohammad Sjahab and in his youth was called Peto Sjarif, Malin Basa (Mualim Besar), and Tuanku Mudo. The name -- or, more precisely, the title, Tuanku Imam Bondjol derives from the fortified village of Bondjol, founded in 1806-1807 in the valley of Alahan Panjang. Imam Bondjol was a student of Tuanku Nan Rintjeh. After his teacher's death Imam Bondjol became the most important leader of the fundamentalist Islamic Padri movement in the Minangkabau in western Sumatra. He also fought the Dutch, who tried to intervene after 1821. He was captured by the Dutch in 1837 after the fall of Bondjol and banished to Cianjur, Ambon (1839), and then to Manado, Sulawesi (1841).
Imam Bondjol was the leader in a religious war that divided the Minangkabau people of Sumatra. A convert to reformist Wahhabi Islam, known in Sumatra as the Padri sect, he established the fortified community of Bondjol, from which he took his name, as a center from which to wage holy war. The secular government called on the Dutch to help, but the Dutch were preoccupied with the Java War (1825 – 30), and Imam Bondjol's forces expanded the area under their control. The Dutch eventually turned their attention to the Padris and defeated them. Imam Bondjol surrendered in 1837, and the Minangkabau territory was added to the Dutch colonial holdings.
Bondjol, Imam see Imam Bondjol
Tuanku Imam Bondjol see Imam Bondjol
Mohammad Sjahab see Imam Bondjol
Sjahab, Mohammad see Imam Bondjol
Peto Sjarif see Imam Bondjol
Malin Basa see Imam Bondjol
Imamiyya
Imamiyya. Arabic term which means “followers of the imam.” Imami is an adjective derived from Imamiyya. The Imamiyya is a general designation of those Shi‘ites who believe in the necessity of the office of imam, the infallibility of the imam, and his being designated to the office by his predecessor -- his nass. The term Imamiyya refers in particular to the “Twelvers.”
Imamite authors, in their exposition of the Shi‘ite creed, divide the principles of religion into five tenets: (1) the affirmation of the unity of God; (2) a belief in the justice of God; (3) a belief in prophecy; (4) a belief in the imamate; and (5) a belief in the Day of Judgment. In four of these principles (1, 2, 3, and 5), the Imamites share common ground with the Sunnites albeit with some minor divergences. Sunnites, however, do not consider the fourth principle -- the belief in the imamate -- to be a fundamental principle of Islam, while the Shi‘ites make it their cardinal principle.
The Shi‘ites regard their imams as designated by God through Muhammad his Prophet, in accordance with the testament revealed to the Prophet, which announces the names of those who would succeed him. The testament also carried instruction for each imam to follow. Thus the first three imams, Ali, Hasan and Husayn chose to resist the Umayyad caliphate while the succeeding eight imams (Ali ibn al-Husayn, Muhammad al-Baqir, Ja‘far al-Sadiq, Musa al-Kazim, Ali al-Rida, Muhammad al-Jawad, Ali al-Hadi, and al-Hasan al-‘Askari) chose political acquiescence until the rising of the twelfth imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, who went into “complete occultation” in 940 C.C., in compliance with the instruction in the testament.
The special mark of the imam, as it was known to the later Imamites, was infallibility. Whereas Sunnite theologians considered infallibility to be a peculiar quality of the Prophet, Shi‘ite theologians contended that since the imamate was intended as the continuation of the Prophet’s mission, the community needed an infallible leader. The difference between the two creeds became marked when the Shi‘ite imam was asserted to have possessed the light of God, which was passed on to him by the Prophet.
The prophetic heritage of the imam guarantees the survival of religion in his person. The imam alone is endowed with the power of interpreting religion at different times. As a result, a person who dies without acknowledging his imam dies a death of ignorance. This means there is an imam in every age, whether manifest or concealed, who calls people to the way of God. But there are times when the world can be without a manifest imam; this is so when God is enraged at the people who have threatened the safety of the imam and who are unable to see the imam who is in occultation although he sees them.
Occultation is a state chosen by God for the imam who is in danger of being slain by his enemies. Thus, the twelfth imam, al-Mahdi, went into occultation and will continue to live in this state for as long as God deems it necessary. Then God will command him to reappear and take control of the world, in order to restore justice and equity. During this period of concealment, the imam is not completely cut off from his followers but has spokesmen, in the person of learned jurists -- mujtahids -- who can act on his behalf and guide the Shi‘ites in religious, social, and political matters.
Imamite piety, although differing little from Sunnite piety in its adherence to the sharia, developed its own sharia. Imamites depended on the Qur‘an as well as hadith for validating religious injunctions, but they looked to the sunna of the imams in addition to that of the Prophet. Yet except for the special place given to the reports of the imams, their hadith were often almost identical with those of the Sunnites. However, their piety included the devotion of the imams as expressed in the annual commemoration of the ta‘ziya -- the wrongs committed against the household of the Prophet, especially the murder of al-Husayn -- and the visit (the ziyara) to the tombs (mashhads) of all the imams, believed to have suffered at the hands of oppressive Sunnite caliphs. The other marks of Shi‘ite piety include dissimulation of one’s true opinion as part of the religious duty, in order not to arouse animosity of other Muslims, and the payment of the “fifth,” a tax intended for pious purposes and particularly for the descendants of the Prophet.
Followers of the imam see Imamiyya.
Imamiyya. Arabic term which means “followers of the imam.” Imami is an adjective derived from Imamiyya. The Imamiyya is a general designation of those Shi‘ites who believe in the necessity of the office of imam, the infallibility of the imam, and his being designated to the office by his predecessor -- his nass. The term Imamiyya refers in particular to the “Twelvers.”
Imamite authors, in their exposition of the Shi‘ite creed, divide the principles of religion into five tenets: (1) the affirmation of the unity of God; (2) a belief in the justice of God; (3) a belief in prophecy; (4) a belief in the imamate; and (5) a belief in the Day of Judgment. In four of these principles (1, 2, 3, and 5), the Imamites share common ground with the Sunnites albeit with some minor divergences. Sunnites, however, do not consider the fourth principle -- the belief in the imamate -- to be a fundamental principle of Islam, while the Shi‘ites make it their cardinal principle.
The Shi‘ites regard their imams as designated by God through Muhammad his Prophet, in accordance with the testament revealed to the Prophet, which announces the names of those who would succeed him. The testament also carried instruction for each imam to follow. Thus the first three imams, Ali, Hasan and Husayn chose to resist the Umayyad caliphate while the succeeding eight imams (Ali ibn al-Husayn, Muhammad al-Baqir, Ja‘far al-Sadiq, Musa al-Kazim, Ali al-Rida, Muhammad al-Jawad, Ali al-Hadi, and al-Hasan al-‘Askari) chose political acquiescence until the rising of the twelfth imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, who went into “complete occultation” in 940 C.C., in compliance with the instruction in the testament.
The special mark of the imam, as it was known to the later Imamites, was infallibility. Whereas Sunnite theologians considered infallibility to be a peculiar quality of the Prophet, Shi‘ite theologians contended that since the imamate was intended as the continuation of the Prophet’s mission, the community needed an infallible leader. The difference between the two creeds became marked when the Shi‘ite imam was asserted to have possessed the light of God, which was passed on to him by the Prophet.
The prophetic heritage of the imam guarantees the survival of religion in his person. The imam alone is endowed with the power of interpreting religion at different times. As a result, a person who dies without acknowledging his imam dies a death of ignorance. This means there is an imam in every age, whether manifest or concealed, who calls people to the way of God. But there are times when the world can be without a manifest imam; this is so when God is enraged at the people who have threatened the safety of the imam and who are unable to see the imam who is in occultation although he sees them.
Occultation is a state chosen by God for the imam who is in danger of being slain by his enemies. Thus, the twelfth imam, al-Mahdi, went into occultation and will continue to live in this state for as long as God deems it necessary. Then God will command him to reappear and take control of the world, in order to restore justice and equity. During this period of concealment, the imam is not completely cut off from his followers but has spokesmen, in the person of learned jurists -- mujtahids -- who can act on his behalf and guide the Shi‘ites in religious, social, and political matters.
Imamite piety, although differing little from Sunnite piety in its adherence to the sharia, developed its own sharia. Imamites depended on the Qur‘an as well as hadith for validating religious injunctions, but they looked to the sunna of the imams in addition to that of the Prophet. Yet except for the special place given to the reports of the imams, their hadith were often almost identical with those of the Sunnites. However, their piety included the devotion of the imams as expressed in the annual commemoration of the ta‘ziya -- the wrongs committed against the household of the Prophet, especially the murder of al-Husayn -- and the visit (the ziyara) to the tombs (mashhads) of all the imams, believed to have suffered at the hands of oppressive Sunnite caliphs. The other marks of Shi‘ite piety include dissimulation of one’s true opinion as part of the religious duty, in order not to arouse animosity of other Muslims, and the payment of the “fifth,” a tax intended for pious purposes and particularly for the descendants of the Prophet.
Followers of the imam see Imamiyya.
Imamzadah
Imamzadah (Imamzadeh) ("Imam-born"). Literally means “offspring or descendant of an imam.” In Iran, the term imamzadah is most commonly applied to a shrine tomb of a descendant of the Shi‘a imams.
An Imāmzādeh is a word found in both the Persian and Urdu languages, that refers to an immediate descendant of a Shi'a Imam.
The word is also used to refer to a shrine that is specific to Shī‘ah Islām, in which an Imamzadeh is buried. The descendants of the Shia Imams are venerated for their own contributions to the religion, and for their direct lineage to Muhammad.
The shrines attract many visitors and pilgrims for Ziyarat, and are scattered in many numbers throughout Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Azerbaijan and Afghanistan. They usually exhibit exquisite architecture and craftsmanship in their interiors.
Imamzadehs include:
* Imamzadeh Hamzah, Tabriz
* Imamzadeh Ja'far, Borujerd
* Imamzadeh Saleh, Shemiran
* Imamzadeh Sultan Mutahhar
* Shāh Abdol Azīm
* Shāh Chérāgh
Offspring of an Imam see Imamzadah
Descendant of an Imam see Imamzadah
"Imam-born" see Imamzadah
Imamzadah (Imamzadeh) ("Imam-born"). Literally means “offspring or descendant of an imam.” In Iran, the term imamzadah is most commonly applied to a shrine tomb of a descendant of the Shi‘a imams.
An Imāmzādeh is a word found in both the Persian and Urdu languages, that refers to an immediate descendant of a Shi'a Imam.
The word is also used to refer to a shrine that is specific to Shī‘ah Islām, in which an Imamzadeh is buried. The descendants of the Shia Imams are venerated for their own contributions to the religion, and for their direct lineage to Muhammad.
The shrines attract many visitors and pilgrims for Ziyarat, and are scattered in many numbers throughout Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Azerbaijan and Afghanistan. They usually exhibit exquisite architecture and craftsmanship in their interiors.
Imamzadehs include:
* Imamzadeh Hamzah, Tabriz
* Imamzadeh Ja'far, Borujerd
* Imamzadeh Saleh, Shemiran
* Imamzadeh Sultan Mutahhar
* Shāh Abdol Azīm
* Shāh Chérāgh
Offspring of an Imam see Imamzadah
Descendant of an Imam see Imamzadah
"Imam-born" see Imamzadah
‘Imran
‘Imran (in Hebrew, ‘Amram). Muslim authors mention two persons of this name, the first of whom appears in the Bible but not in the Qur‘an, the second vice versa. The first is the father of Moses, Aaron and Maryam (Exodus 6:20), the other the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus (Qur‘an 3:31). The last mentioned is also, according to the historians, the father of Elizabeth (in Arabic, Ashba‘), the mother of John the Baptist.
Imran is a male Arabic given name that means construction, prosperity, and happiness. It is a very popular first name throughout the Arab and Muslim World.
The name may refer to:
* Imran, the father of Mariam/Maryam in the Qur'an
o The Al-i-Imran, is the 3rd chapter of the Qur'an with two hundred verses
* Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib (549-619), uncle of Muhammad. His first name is believed to be Imran.
* Imran ibn Husain, was one of the Companions of Muhammad and a Narrator of hadith
'Amram see ‘Imran
‘Imran (in Hebrew, ‘Amram). Muslim authors mention two persons of this name, the first of whom appears in the Bible but not in the Qur‘an, the second vice versa. The first is the father of Moses, Aaron and Maryam (Exodus 6:20), the other the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus (Qur‘an 3:31). The last mentioned is also, according to the historians, the father of Elizabeth (in Arabic, Ashba‘), the mother of John the Baptist.
Imran is a male Arabic given name that means construction, prosperity, and happiness. It is a very popular first name throughout the Arab and Muslim World.
The name may refer to:
* Imran, the father of Mariam/Maryam in the Qur'an
o The Al-i-Imran, is the 3rd chapter of the Qur'an with two hundred verses
* Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib (549-619), uncle of Muhammad. His first name is believed to be Imran.
* Imran ibn Husain, was one of the Companions of Muhammad and a Narrator of hadith
'Amram see ‘Imran
‘Imran ibn Shabin (d. 979). Bandit lord of the swampy area on the lower course of the Euphrates and Tigris between
Kufa and Basra (in Arabic, al-bata‘ih).
Imru‘ al-Qays
Imru‘ al-Qays. By-name meaning “slave of (the god) Qays.” This by-name was used by several Arab poets. The most famous of them is Imru‘ al-Qays ibn Hujr (Imru‘u‘l-Qais ibn Hujr), generally considered to have died around 550. Although remaining an obscure and semi-legendary personality, he has acquired a vaunted reputation. Some of his admirers in Basra credited him with the creation of the qasida. Among his poems the so-called Mu‘allaqa has aroused the most interest.
Imru‘ al-Qays ibn Hujr is said to have been a Bedouin chief’s son, and to have led a wandering (probably criminal) life attempting to recover his patrimony, lost at the dissolution of the confederation which his father headed. The Emperor Justinian summoned him to Constantinople to employ him in mobilizing the Arabs for war against Persia, but he died at Ankara, on his way back to Arabia. He is said to have been poisoned by the Emperor because of a liaison with a Byzantine princess.
Imru‘ al-Qays ibn Hujr is regarded as the greatest of the poets of the Jahiliyya (Age of Ignorance), as the Muslims call the pre-Islamic period. He is credited with a large body of poetry, among which is his celebrated Mu‘allaqa. This is a qasida (ode), and forms part of the collection of 7 odes (actually 10, as different odes are included in different texts) known as the Mu‘allaqat. The significance of this name, literally “suspended,” is unknown.
In any one poem a pre-Islamic poet has one basic object. It may be to praise himself, to praise his tribe or his patron, to beg for a reward, to taunt his enemies, or something else of this sort. Before doing so, however, he will give a lengthy description of the desert, a journey, his camel or his horse, and of other places, objects and situations familiar to his audience which will awaken response in them. Since his arm is to describe in new ways objects and situations similar to those described by his contemporaries, it is very difficult to translate the pre-Islamic poems satisfactorily.
The poetry of this period was later considered by the Arabs to be the only suitable model for their own. Poets would learn by heart an enormous amount of it, and would produce something almost indistinguishable from it. Poems of this sort continued to be composed long after the appearance of the “Modern” school, in spite of the criticism and ridicule of the “Moderns” and their partisans. Books like the Kitab al-Aghani (Book of Songs) must have served as valuable reference works for would be poets of the period.
Imru' al-Qais bin Hujr bin al-Harith Al-Kindi (Imru‘ al-Qays ibn Hujr) (c.501-c.544) was an Arabian poet of the 6th century, the author of one of the Muallaqat, an anthology of pre-Islamic Arabic literature.
Imru' was the son of Hujr, the last king of Kindah. He was born around 501 and died around 544. His mother was Fatimah bint Rabi’ah, the sister of Kulayb and Al-Muhalhal, two well known Arab tribe leaders. Even though he was raised in luxury as a result of being the son of the king, he suffered because he was denied kingship after his father’s assassination. That is why Arabs called him al-Maliku 'ḍ-ḍillīl (the lost king or the king who has lost his throne).
He loved wine to such an extent that when he was informed of his father’s death during drinking, he shocked every one around him by his response when he said “Today is for wine and tomorrow is another matter” (al-yawma Khamr, wa ghadan ʼamr). It is believed that he avenged his father, although they had a bad relationship.
He wrote passionate love poetry, and is believed to have invented the Qasida, or classical Arabic ode. His verse was intensely subjective, like much of the poetry of the pre-Islamic period. He was assassinated by Emperor Justinian I, who sent him a poisoned cloak, after al-Qays had an affair with a princess at his court.
Slave of the god Qays see Imru‘ al-Qays.
Slave of Qays see Imru‘ al-Qays.
Imru‘ al-Qays. By-name meaning “slave of (the god) Qays.” This by-name was used by several Arab poets. The most famous of them is Imru‘ al-Qays ibn Hujr (Imru‘u‘l-Qais ibn Hujr), generally considered to have died around 550. Although remaining an obscure and semi-legendary personality, he has acquired a vaunted reputation. Some of his admirers in Basra credited him with the creation of the qasida. Among his poems the so-called Mu‘allaqa has aroused the most interest.
Imru‘ al-Qays ibn Hujr is said to have been a Bedouin chief’s son, and to have led a wandering (probably criminal) life attempting to recover his patrimony, lost at the dissolution of the confederation which his father headed. The Emperor Justinian summoned him to Constantinople to employ him in mobilizing the Arabs for war against Persia, but he died at Ankara, on his way back to Arabia. He is said to have been poisoned by the Emperor because of a liaison with a Byzantine princess.
Imru‘ al-Qays ibn Hujr is regarded as the greatest of the poets of the Jahiliyya (Age of Ignorance), as the Muslims call the pre-Islamic period. He is credited with a large body of poetry, among which is his celebrated Mu‘allaqa. This is a qasida (ode), and forms part of the collection of 7 odes (actually 10, as different odes are included in different texts) known as the Mu‘allaqat. The significance of this name, literally “suspended,” is unknown.
In any one poem a pre-Islamic poet has one basic object. It may be to praise himself, to praise his tribe or his patron, to beg for a reward, to taunt his enemies, or something else of this sort. Before doing so, however, he will give a lengthy description of the desert, a journey, his camel or his horse, and of other places, objects and situations familiar to his audience which will awaken response in them. Since his arm is to describe in new ways objects and situations similar to those described by his contemporaries, it is very difficult to translate the pre-Islamic poems satisfactorily.
The poetry of this period was later considered by the Arabs to be the only suitable model for their own. Poets would learn by heart an enormous amount of it, and would produce something almost indistinguishable from it. Poems of this sort continued to be composed long after the appearance of the “Modern” school, in spite of the criticism and ridicule of the “Moderns” and their partisans. Books like the Kitab al-Aghani (Book of Songs) must have served as valuable reference works for would be poets of the period.
Imru' al-Qais bin Hujr bin al-Harith Al-Kindi (Imru‘ al-Qays ibn Hujr) (c.501-c.544) was an Arabian poet of the 6th century, the author of one of the Muallaqat, an anthology of pre-Islamic Arabic literature.
Imru' was the son of Hujr, the last king of Kindah. He was born around 501 and died around 544. His mother was Fatimah bint Rabi’ah, the sister of Kulayb and Al-Muhalhal, two well known Arab tribe leaders. Even though he was raised in luxury as a result of being the son of the king, he suffered because he was denied kingship after his father’s assassination. That is why Arabs called him al-Maliku 'ḍ-ḍillīl (the lost king or the king who has lost his throne).
He loved wine to such an extent that when he was informed of his father’s death during drinking, he shocked every one around him by his response when he said “Today is for wine and tomorrow is another matter” (al-yawma Khamr, wa ghadan ʼamr). It is believed that he avenged his father, although they had a bad relationship.
He wrote passionate love poetry, and is believed to have invented the Qasida, or classical Arabic ode. His verse was intensely subjective, like much of the poetry of the pre-Islamic period. He was assassinated by Emperor Justinian I, who sent him a poisoned cloak, after al-Qays had an affair with a princess at his court.
Slave of the god Qays see Imru‘ al-Qays.
Slave of Qays see Imru‘ al-Qays.
Inal
Inal (Aynal) al-Ajrud (b. 1381). Mameluke sultan of Egypt and Syria (r.1453-1461). During his reign, Mameluke troops intervened in dynastic troubles of the Lusignan in Cyprus, but suffered many losses.
Aynal see Inal
Ajrud, al- see Inal
Inal (Aynal) al-Ajrud (b. 1381). Mameluke sultan of Egypt and Syria (r.1453-1461). During his reign, Mameluke troops intervened in dynastic troubles of the Lusignan in Cyprus, but suffered many losses.
Aynal see Inal
Ajrud, al- see Inal
Inal, Ibn al-Emin
Inal, Ibn al-Emin (Ibn al-Emin Inal) (Ibnulemin Mahmud Kemal Inal) (1870-1957). Turkish biographer and writer. He was probably one of the last outstanding representatives of traditional Ottoman scholarship and erudition, ignoring the changes which were taking place around him. In 1940, he became an adviser to the Editorial Board of the Turkish edition of the Encyclopedia of Islam.
Ibn al-Emin Inal see Inal, Ibn al-Emin
Ibnulemin Mahmud Kemal Inal see Inal, Ibn al-Emin
Inal, Ibnulemin Mahmud Kemal see Inal, Ibn al-Emin
Inal, Ibn al-Emin (Ibn al-Emin Inal) (Ibnulemin Mahmud Kemal Inal) (1870-1957). Turkish biographer and writer. He was probably one of the last outstanding representatives of traditional Ottoman scholarship and erudition, ignoring the changes which were taking place around him. In 1940, he became an adviser to the Editorial Board of the Turkish edition of the Encyclopedia of Islam.
Ibn al-Emin Inal see Inal, Ibn al-Emin
Ibnulemin Mahmud Kemal Inal see Inal, Ibn al-Emin
Inal, Ibnulemin Mahmud Kemal see Inal, Ibn al-Emin
‘Inan
‘Inan. Poetess of Baghdad. She is considered the first woman to have won literary fame under the ‘Abbasids. She played an important role as the center of a literary circle.
‘Inan. Poetess of Baghdad. She is considered the first woman to have won literary fame under the ‘Abbasids. She played an important role as the center of a literary circle.
‘Inayat Allah Kanbu
‘Inayat Allah Kanbu (Inaya Abdullah Kanbu) (August 31, 1608, Bahranpur - September 23, 1671, Delhi). Author of a history of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I.
Inaya Abdullah Kanbu was a Mughal historian, author of Tarikh-i Dil Kush, on the history of Djahan Shah and his predecessors (from the time of Adam) and Bahar-i Danish. He was the brother of Muhammad Sali Kanbu, author of Shahdjahannama (history Djahan Shah).
Kanbu, 'Inayat Allah see ‘Inayat Allah Kanbu
Inaya Abdullah Kanbu see ‘Inayat Allah Kanbu
Kanbu, Inaya Abdullah see ‘Inayat Allah Kanbu
‘Inayat Allah Kanbu (Inaya Abdullah Kanbu) (August 31, 1608, Bahranpur - September 23, 1671, Delhi). Author of a history of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I.
Inaya Abdullah Kanbu was a Mughal historian, author of Tarikh-i Dil Kush, on the history of Djahan Shah and his predecessors (from the time of Adam) and Bahar-i Danish. He was the brother of Muhammad Sali Kanbu, author of Shahdjahannama (history Djahan Shah).
Kanbu, 'Inayat Allah see ‘Inayat Allah Kanbu
Inaya Abdullah Kanbu see ‘Inayat Allah Kanbu
Kanbu, Inaya Abdullah see ‘Inayat Allah Kanbu
Ince, Ozdemir
Ince, Ozdemir (Ozdemir Ince) (b. September 1 1936 Mersin), Turkish poet, writer, newspaper writer.
Ozdemir Ince see Ince, Ozdemir
Ince, Ozdemir (Ozdemir Ince) (b. September 1 1936 Mersin), Turkish poet, writer, newspaper writer.
Ozdemir Ince see Ince, Ozdemir
Independence of Malaya Party
Independence of Malaya Party (IMP). Founded as a multi-racial political party in September 1951 by Dato Onn bin Ja‘afar, who had resigned from the presidency of the United Malays National Organization because of its unwillingness to offer membership to non-Malays. Ja‘afar felt that a post-independence system made up of ethnic parties would aggravate ethno-nationalist tensions. Strong opposition from Malays, who feared that the IMP would diminish their political dominance, compelled previously supportive Chinese and Indian leaders to withhold their backing. Thus, the IMP was soundly beaten by the new Malay and Chinese Alliance Party, formed in response to the IMP’s concept of multi-racial parties, in the February 1952 Kuala Lumpur election. A noble experiment, the IMP never really enjoyed solid support, and it was dissolved in 1953.
The Independence of Malaya Party was a political party in British-ruled Malaya that stood for political independence. Founded by Onn Ja'afar after he left UMNO in 1951, it opposed the UMNO policy of Malay-supremacy.
The party was open to all races of Malaya, but received support mainly from Indians. After noticing that support for the party was unfavourable, Onn dissolved the party in 1953 and formed the Parti Negara.
IMP see Independence of Malaya Party
Independence of Malaya Party (IMP). Founded as a multi-racial political party in September 1951 by Dato Onn bin Ja‘afar, who had resigned from the presidency of the United Malays National Organization because of its unwillingness to offer membership to non-Malays. Ja‘afar felt that a post-independence system made up of ethnic parties would aggravate ethno-nationalist tensions. Strong opposition from Malays, who feared that the IMP would diminish their political dominance, compelled previously supportive Chinese and Indian leaders to withhold their backing. Thus, the IMP was soundly beaten by the new Malay and Chinese Alliance Party, formed in response to the IMP’s concept of multi-racial parties, in the February 1952 Kuala Lumpur election. A noble experiment, the IMP never really enjoyed solid support, and it was dissolved in 1953.
The Independence of Malaya Party was a political party in British-ruled Malaya that stood for political independence. Founded by Onn Ja'afar after he left UMNO in 1951, it opposed the UMNO policy of Malay-supremacy.
The party was open to all races of Malaya, but received support mainly from Indians. After noticing that support for the party was unfavourable, Onn dissolved the party in 1953 and formed the Parti Negara.
IMP see Independence of Malaya Party
Indo-Mauritians
Indo-Mauritians. The island of Mauritius lies in the western Indian Ocean, some 500 miles east of Madagascar and 20 degrees south of the equator. On its 720 square miles are nearly one million people, all descendants of immigrants who arrived, voluntarily or involuntarily, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. An independent country within the British Commonwealth since 1968, Mauritius is almost totally dependent on the production of sugar.
The Muslims of Mauritius came from the Indian subcontinent and make up about 17 percent of the total population, or 24 percent of the Indo-Mauritian population. By origin, they can be divided into two major groups: those whose ancestors came as indentured laborers between 1834 and 1907 from India’s United Provinces, Bihar, Orissa, Bengal and the Tamil and Telegu speaking areas of southern India, and a smaller group of traders from the Gujarati speaking areas of west India, notably Kutch and Surat, most of whom arrived after World War I.
Indo-Mauritians. The island of Mauritius lies in the western Indian Ocean, some 500 miles east of Madagascar and 20 degrees south of the equator. On its 720 square miles are nearly one million people, all descendants of immigrants who arrived, voluntarily or involuntarily, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. An independent country within the British Commonwealth since 1968, Mauritius is almost totally dependent on the production of sugar.
The Muslims of Mauritius came from the Indian subcontinent and make up about 17 percent of the total population, or 24 percent of the Indo-Mauritian population. By origin, they can be divided into two major groups: those whose ancestors came as indentured laborers between 1834 and 1907 from India’s United Provinces, Bihar, Orissa, Bengal and the Tamil and Telegu speaking areas of southern India, and a smaller group of traders from the Gujarati speaking areas of west India, notably Kutch and Surat, most of whom arrived after World War I.
Inju
Inju (Injuids). Iranian family that wielded power in western Iran (1304-1357). "Inju" is a Mongol term referring to royal domains, and the family began as administrators of such property for the Ilkhan rulers. During the turmoil following the death of the last Ilkhan, Abu Said, in 1335, the Injuids struggled against several rivals to hold onto power in Shiraz and Isfahan. They eventually lost to the Muzaffarids. Some of the great fourteenth century poet Hafiz’s earliest poems praise the enlightened rule of the Injuids in Shiraz, which became the center of Iranian literary culture at that time.
Injuids see Inju
Inju (Injuids). Iranian family that wielded power in western Iran (1304-1357). "Inju" is a Mongol term referring to royal domains, and the family began as administrators of such property for the Ilkhan rulers. During the turmoil following the death of the last Ilkhan, Abu Said, in 1335, the Injuids struggled against several rivals to hold onto power in Shiraz and Isfahan. They eventually lost to the Muzaffarids. Some of the great fourteenth century poet Hafiz’s earliest poems praise the enlightened rule of the Injuids in Shiraz, which became the center of Iranian literary culture at that time.
Injuids see Inju
Inonu, Ismet (Ismet Inonu) (Mustafa İsmet İnönü) (September 24, 1884 – December 25, 1973). President of Turkey (1938-1950). During his presidency, he maintained Turkish neutrality during most of World War II.
Ismet was born on September 24, 1884, in Izmir to a middle class Kurdish family with ties to Malatya. He received a military education, graduating from the general staff academy as staff captain in 1906. He served with distinction in World War I, and after the defeat of the Ottoman regime he joined nationalist forces under Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) to fight for the establishment of the Turkish Republic. In 1921, Ismet defeated a Greek invasion force in two battles at Inonu, near Eskisehir in Anatolia, and later took the name of that village as his family name. As the nationalists‘ foreign minister (1921-24), he led the delegations to the Lausanne Conference (1922-23), at which the European powers recognized Ataturk’s government.
When the Turkish Republic was established in 1923, Ismet became its first premier, he was re-appointed in 1925, and held that office until 1937. Elected president when Ataturk died in 1938, he kept Turkey out of World War II until 1945, when he came in on the side of the Allies, preparing for Turkey’s later alignment with the West. Competitive party politics, which he inaugurated in 1946, led to Inonu’s defeat at the polls four years later.
Inonu then led the opposition against the Democratic Party until the party’s overthrow by the army in May 1960. After the 1961 elections, he served as prime minister in three coalition governments (1961-65), after which he returned to the opposition. He tried to revitalize his Republican People’s Party (RPP) by adopting a left of center image that he thought would appeal to Turkish voters of the late 1960s. However, he failed to win re-election in 1969 and was discredited by his support of the military regime that seized power in 1971. He resigned as party chairman in 1972 but remained a senator until his death in Ankara on December 25, 1973.
Inonu has been called a pragmatist, an optimist, and a “statesman par excellence.” Inonu’s main achievement was to lead Turkey from the system of benevolent despotism under Ataturk to a multi-party democracy. Inonu has today fallen into relative obscurity, but is, after Ataturk, one of the main architects behind today’s modern Turkey. Inonu was the man behind the development of Turkish democracy, the development of pluralism in politics and the development of the Turkish economy. Inonu will also be remembered for keeping Turkey neutral during most of World War II.
Ismet Inonu see Inonu, Ismet
Mustafa İsmet İnönü see Inonu, Ismet
Inonu, Mustafa İsmet see Inonu, Ismet
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