Kalabadhi, Abu Bakr al-
Kalabadhi, Abu Bakr al- (Abu Bakr al-Kalabadhi) (Abu Bakr al-Hadith) (Abu Bakr ibn Abi Ishaq Muhammad ibn also Ibrahim ibn Yaʿqub al-Bukhari al-Hadith) (Abu Bakr ibn Abi Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqub al-Bukhari al-Kalābāḏī) (d. 990/994/995, in Bukhara). Author of one of the most celebrated manuals on Sufism. His Doctrine of the Sufis is a basic work for the understanding of Sufism in the first three centuries of Islam.
Abu Bakr al-Kalābāḏhī was the author of the Kitab at-ta'arruf, one of the most important works on Sufism (Islamic mysticism) in the first three centuries of Islam.
Abu Bakr al-Kalabadhi see Kalabadhi, Abu Bakr al-
Abu Bakr al-Hadith see Kalabadhi, Abu Bakr al-
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Ishaq Muhammad ibn also Ibrahim ibn Yaʿqub al-Bukhari al-Hadith see Kalabadhi, Abu Bakr al-
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqub al-Bukhari al-Kalābāḏī see Kalabadhi, Abu Bakr al-
Kalabadhi, Abu Bakr al- (Abu Bakr al-Kalabadhi) (Abu Bakr al-Hadith) (Abu Bakr ibn Abi Ishaq Muhammad ibn also Ibrahim ibn Yaʿqub al-Bukhari al-Hadith) (Abu Bakr ibn Abi Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqub al-Bukhari al-Kalābāḏī) (d. 990/994/995, in Bukhara). Author of one of the most celebrated manuals on Sufism. His Doctrine of the Sufis is a basic work for the understanding of Sufism in the first three centuries of Islam.
Abu Bakr al-Kalābāḏhī was the author of the Kitab at-ta'arruf, one of the most important works on Sufism (Islamic mysticism) in the first three centuries of Islam.
Abu Bakr al-Kalabadhi see Kalabadhi, Abu Bakr al-
Abu Bakr al-Hadith see Kalabadhi, Abu Bakr al-
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Ishaq Muhammad ibn also Ibrahim ibn Yaʿqub al-Bukhari al-Hadith see Kalabadhi, Abu Bakr al-
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqub al-Bukhari al-Kalābāḏī see Kalabadhi, Abu Bakr al-
Kalagans
Kalagans (Caragans). The Kalagans, who live on the southern island of Mindanao in the Philippines, are Tagakaolos who have become Muslim by virtue of contacts and/or intermarriage with their Maguindanao neighbors. Their name, sometimes spelled Calagan or Karagan, connotes “imitators” and has reference to the fact that some Tagakaolos have adopted the dress, customs and religion of the Philippine Muslims.
There have been Kalagan Muslims for generations, but Islamization is still occurring among the Tagakaolo pagan hillsmen. One sometimes meets Kalagans whose fathers or grandfathers were not Muslim. Younger Kalagans report that the “old folks” still talk of belief in enkantos diwatas and the divine spirits in trees, fish and other objects. The Kalagans retain their ancestral Tagakaolo language (related to Mansaka), a Central Philippines subgroup.
The written history of the Kalagan people can be traced back to the 15th century when explorers discovered Caraga, the Kalagan homeland, and the existence of "Kalagans", believed to be of Visayan Origin in one of the three districts in Mindanao. The word Caraga originated from the Visayan word Kalagan: "kalag" meaning soul or people, and "a" meaning land. The Kalagans have a long history of being brave and fearless. Thus, the region was called by early chroniclers as the "Land of the Brave and Fierce People".
The "Kalagans", called "Caragans" by the Spaniards, occupied the district composed of the two provinces of Surigao, the northern part of Davao Oriental and eastern Misamis Oriental. The two Agusan Provinces were later organized under the administrative jurisdiction of Surigao and became the independent Agusan province in 1914.
Caragans see Kalagans
"Brave and Fierce People" see Kalagans
Kalagans (Caragans). The Kalagans, who live on the southern island of Mindanao in the Philippines, are Tagakaolos who have become Muslim by virtue of contacts and/or intermarriage with their Maguindanao neighbors. Their name, sometimes spelled Calagan or Karagan, connotes “imitators” and has reference to the fact that some Tagakaolos have adopted the dress, customs and religion of the Philippine Muslims.
There have been Kalagan Muslims for generations, but Islamization is still occurring among the Tagakaolo pagan hillsmen. One sometimes meets Kalagans whose fathers or grandfathers were not Muslim. Younger Kalagans report that the “old folks” still talk of belief in enkantos diwatas and the divine spirits in trees, fish and other objects. The Kalagans retain their ancestral Tagakaolo language (related to Mansaka), a Central Philippines subgroup.
The written history of the Kalagan people can be traced back to the 15th century when explorers discovered Caraga, the Kalagan homeland, and the existence of "Kalagans", believed to be of Visayan Origin in one of the three districts in Mindanao. The word Caraga originated from the Visayan word Kalagan: "kalag" meaning soul or people, and "a" meaning land. The Kalagans have a long history of being brave and fearless. Thus, the region was called by early chroniclers as the "Land of the Brave and Fierce People".
The "Kalagans", called "Caragans" by the Spaniards, occupied the district composed of the two provinces of Surigao, the northern part of Davao Oriental and eastern Misamis Oriental. The two Agusan Provinces were later organized under the administrative jurisdiction of Surigao and became the independent Agusan province in 1914.
Caragans see Kalagans
"Brave and Fierce People" see Kalagans
Kalb
Kalb. Southern Arab tribe which was instrumental in early Islamic timeThe Banu Kalb was one of the tribes of Arabia during Muhammad's era. The Banu Kalb claimed decent from the Yemenites. According to the hadith of the Islamic prophet Muhammad they will be among the first people to follow the Sufyani.
Banu Kalb see Kalb.
Kalb. Southern Arab tribe which was instrumental in early Islamic timeThe Banu Kalb was one of the tribes of Arabia during Muhammad's era. The Banu Kalb claimed decent from the Yemenites. According to the hadith of the Islamic prophet Muhammad they will be among the first people to follow the Sufyani.
Banu Kalb see Kalb.
Kalbi, al-
Kalbi, al-. Name of a prominent family from Kufa, known for their swordsmanship and learning. One of the most famous members was Hisham ibn Muhammad, known as Ibn al-Kalbi (737-819). He was the uncontested master of Arab genealogy.
Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi (737-819), also known as Ibn al-Kalbi was an Arab historian. His full name was Abu al-Mundhir Hisham bin Muhammed bin al-Sa'ib bin Bishr al-Kalbi. Born in Kufa, he spent much of his life in Baghdad. Like his father, he collected information about the genealogies and history of the ancient Arabs. According to the Fihrist, he wrote 140 works. His account of the genealogies of the Arabs is continually quoted in the Kitab al-Aghani.
Hisham established a genealogical link between Ishmael and Muhammad and put forth the idea that all 'Arabs' were all descendants of Ishmael. He relied heavily on the ancient oral traditions of the Arabs, but also quoted writers who had access to Biblical and Palmyran sources.
Kalbi, al-. Name of a prominent family from Kufa, known for their swordsmanship and learning. One of the most famous members was Hisham ibn Muhammad, known as Ibn al-Kalbi (737-819). He was the uncontested master of Arab genealogy.
Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi (737-819), also known as Ibn al-Kalbi was an Arab historian. His full name was Abu al-Mundhir Hisham bin Muhammed bin al-Sa'ib bin Bishr al-Kalbi. Born in Kufa, he spent much of his life in Baghdad. Like his father, he collected information about the genealogies and history of the ancient Arabs. According to the Fihrist, he wrote 140 works. His account of the genealogies of the Arabs is continually quoted in the Kitab al-Aghani.
Hisham established a genealogical link between Ishmael and Muhammad and put forth the idea that all 'Arabs' were all descendants of Ishmael. He relied heavily on the ancient oral traditions of the Arabs, but also quoted writers who had access to Biblical and Palmyran sources.
Kalb ibn Wabara
Kalb ibn Wabara. Ancestor of the Banu Kalb, the strongest group of the Quda‘a. The Banu Kalb played a role of significance in early Islam, together with their rivals the Banu Qays.
The Banu Kalb (or Kalbites) were among the tribes of Saudi of Yemeni origin, with common origin in Kalb ibn Wabara.
Kalb ibn Wabara. Ancestor of the Banu Kalb, the strongest group of the Quda‘a. The Banu Kalb played a role of significance in early Islam, together with their rivals the Banu Qays.
The Banu Kalb (or Kalbites) were among the tribes of Saudi of Yemeni origin, with common origin in Kalb ibn Wabara.
Kalbids
Kalbids. Family of governors, stemming from the Banu Kalb, who ruled over a kind of hereditary emirate in Sicily between 948-1053.
The Kalbids were a Shia Muslim dynasty in Sicily, which ruled from 948 to 1053.
In 827, in the midst of internal Byzantine conflict, the Aghlabids arrived at Marsala in Sicily, with a fleet of 10,000 men under the command of Asad ibn al-Furat. Palermo was conquered in 831 and became the new capital. Syracuse fell in 878 and in 902 the last Byzantine outpost, Taormina, was taken. At the same time, various Muslim incursions into southern Italy occurred, with new Emirates being founded in Taranto and Bari. During this period there were constant power struggles amongst the Muslims. Nominally the island was under rule of the Aghlabids and later the Fatimids.
After successfully suppressing a revolt the Fatimid caliph appointed Hassan al-Kalbi (948-964) as Emir of Sicily, the first of the Kalbid dynasty. The Fatimids appointed the Kalbids as rulers via proxy before they shifted their capital from Ifriqiya to Cairo in 969. Raids into southern Italy continued under the Kalbids into the 11th century, and in 982 a German army under Otto II was defeated in the Battle of Stilo near Crotone in Calabria. The dynasty began a steady period of decline with the Emirate of Yusuf al-Kalbi (990-998) who entrusted the island to his sons and created space for interference from the Zirids of Ifriqiya. Under al-Akhal (1017-1037) the dynastic conflict intensified, with factions allying themselves variously with Byzantium and the Zirids. Even though neither of these powers could establish themselves in Sicily permanently, under Hasan as-Samsam (1040-1053) the island fragmented into small fiefdoms. The Kalbids died out in 1053, and in 1061 the Normans of southern Italy arrived under Roger I of Sicily and began their conquest, which was completed in 1091. The Muslims were allowed to remain and played an important role in the administration, army and economy of the Norman kingdom until the 12th century.
Under the Kalbid dynasty, Sicily, and especially Palermo, was an important economic center of the Mediterranean. The Muslims introduced lemons, Seville oranges and sugar cane, as well as cotton and mulberries for sericulture, and built irrigation systems for agriculture. Sicily was also an important hub for trade between the Near East, North Africa and the Italian maritime republics such as Amalfi, Pisa and Genoa.
The Kalbid rulers were:
* Hassan al-Kalbi (948-954)
* Ahmad ibn Ḥasan (954-969)
* Abū l-Qāsim ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan (969-982)
* Jabir al-Kalbi (982-983)
* Jafar al-Kalbi (983-985)
* Abd-Allah al-Kalbi (985-990)
* Yusuf al-Kalbi (990-998)
* Ja'far al-Kalbi (998-1019)
* al-Akhal (1019-1037)
* Hasan as-Samsam (1040-1053)
Kalbids. Family of governors, stemming from the Banu Kalb, who ruled over a kind of hereditary emirate in Sicily between 948-1053.
The Kalbids were a Shia Muslim dynasty in Sicily, which ruled from 948 to 1053.
In 827, in the midst of internal Byzantine conflict, the Aghlabids arrived at Marsala in Sicily, with a fleet of 10,000 men under the command of Asad ibn al-Furat. Palermo was conquered in 831 and became the new capital. Syracuse fell in 878 and in 902 the last Byzantine outpost, Taormina, was taken. At the same time, various Muslim incursions into southern Italy occurred, with new Emirates being founded in Taranto and Bari. During this period there were constant power struggles amongst the Muslims. Nominally the island was under rule of the Aghlabids and later the Fatimids.
After successfully suppressing a revolt the Fatimid caliph appointed Hassan al-Kalbi (948-964) as Emir of Sicily, the first of the Kalbid dynasty. The Fatimids appointed the Kalbids as rulers via proxy before they shifted their capital from Ifriqiya to Cairo in 969. Raids into southern Italy continued under the Kalbids into the 11th century, and in 982 a German army under Otto II was defeated in the Battle of Stilo near Crotone in Calabria. The dynasty began a steady period of decline with the Emirate of Yusuf al-Kalbi (990-998) who entrusted the island to his sons and created space for interference from the Zirids of Ifriqiya. Under al-Akhal (1017-1037) the dynastic conflict intensified, with factions allying themselves variously with Byzantium and the Zirids. Even though neither of these powers could establish themselves in Sicily permanently, under Hasan as-Samsam (1040-1053) the island fragmented into small fiefdoms. The Kalbids died out in 1053, and in 1061 the Normans of southern Italy arrived under Roger I of Sicily and began their conquest, which was completed in 1091. The Muslims were allowed to remain and played an important role in the administration, army and economy of the Norman kingdom until the 12th century.
Under the Kalbid dynasty, Sicily, and especially Palermo, was an important economic center of the Mediterranean. The Muslims introduced lemons, Seville oranges and sugar cane, as well as cotton and mulberries for sericulture, and built irrigation systems for agriculture. Sicily was also an important hub for trade between the Near East, North Africa and the Italian maritime republics such as Amalfi, Pisa and Genoa.
The Kalbid rulers were:
* Hassan al-Kalbi (948-954)
* Ahmad ibn Ḥasan (954-969)
* Abū l-Qāsim ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan (969-982)
* Jabir al-Kalbi (982-983)
* Jafar al-Kalbi (983-985)
* Abd-Allah al-Kalbi (985-990)
* Yusuf al-Kalbi (990-998)
* Ja'far al-Kalbi (998-1019)
* al-Akhal (1019-1037)
* Hasan as-Samsam (1040-1053)
Kalibugans
Kalibugans. The term “Kalibugan” means “mixed breed.” The Kalibugans are people of Subanon in the Philippines who have intermarried with Tausug or Samal and thus acquired the name. They identify themselves as Muslim.
The Kalibugans (or Kolibugans) are a peaceful people found scattered in hamlets along the coasts of the Zamboango del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur provinces in western Mindanao. The Kalibugans are farmers and fishermen who do some trading, ironworking and matmaking as subsidiary activities. Their language is Subanon, but culturally they are a blend of their Tausug and Sama kinsmen, both of whom tend to look down upon them socially.
The Kalibugans are said to be from the Subanon community who submitted themselves to the practice of intermarriages and change of faith. The Kalibugans are Islamized Subanons, an indigenous peoples found in the interior reaches of the two Zamboanga provinces. The word Kalibugan is a Sama-Tausug slang which literally means "half breed," and it is used to designate those Subanons who migrate to the coast and inter-married with Sama or Tausug villagers and embraced Islam. They remained Subanon in speech and in their culture. Kalibugans lack a distinctive political organization. Most live their lives as subsistence farmers cultivating upland rice, roots, and tree crops. Their external trade relations tend to be dominated by their Sama-Tausug neighbors.
Mixed Breed see Kalibugans.
Kolibugans see Kalibugans.
Kalibugans. The term “Kalibugan” means “mixed breed.” The Kalibugans are people of Subanon in the Philippines who have intermarried with Tausug or Samal and thus acquired the name. They identify themselves as Muslim.
The Kalibugans (or Kolibugans) are a peaceful people found scattered in hamlets along the coasts of the Zamboango del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur provinces in western Mindanao. The Kalibugans are farmers and fishermen who do some trading, ironworking and matmaking as subsidiary activities. Their language is Subanon, but culturally they are a blend of their Tausug and Sama kinsmen, both of whom tend to look down upon them socially.
The Kalibugans are said to be from the Subanon community who submitted themselves to the practice of intermarriages and change of faith. The Kalibugans are Islamized Subanons, an indigenous peoples found in the interior reaches of the two Zamboanga provinces. The word Kalibugan is a Sama-Tausug slang which literally means "half breed," and it is used to designate those Subanons who migrate to the coast and inter-married with Sama or Tausug villagers and embraced Islam. They remained Subanon in speech and in their culture. Kalibugans lack a distinctive political organization. Most live their lives as subsistence farmers cultivating upland rice, roots, and tree crops. Their external trade relations tend to be dominated by their Sama-Tausug neighbors.
Mixed Breed see Kalibugans.
Kolibugans see Kalibugans.
Kalim Allah al-Jahanabadi
Kalim Allah al-Jahanabadi (Kalīm Allāh Jahānābādī ibn Nūr Allāh ibn Aḥmad al-Miʿmār al-Ṣiddīqī) (1650-1729). One of the leading Cishti saints of his time. He was responsible for the revival of the Cishtiyya order in the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent.
Shāh Kalīm Allāh Jahānābādī ibn Nūr Allāh ibn Aḥmad al-Miʿmār al-Ṣiddīqī was a leading Chistī saint of the late Mughal period and is considered to be instrumental in the revival of the Chistī ṣūfī ṭarīqah (path).
In the popular discourses of modern India he is remembered for his inclusivist approach to Hindus.
The works of Kalim Allah al-Jahanabadi include:
Tilka ʿAsharat Kāmilah
Kashkūl Kalīmī
Maktūbāt-i Kalīmī
Jahanabadi, Kalim Allah al- see Kalim Allah al-Jahanabadi
Kalīm Allāh Jahānābādī ibn Nūr Allāh ibn Aḥmad al-Miʿmār al-Ṣiddīqī see Kalim Allah al-Jahanabadi
Kalim Allah al-Jahanabadi (Kalīm Allāh Jahānābādī ibn Nūr Allāh ibn Aḥmad al-Miʿmār al-Ṣiddīqī) (1650-1729). One of the leading Cishti saints of his time. He was responsible for the revival of the Cishtiyya order in the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent.
Shāh Kalīm Allāh Jahānābādī ibn Nūr Allāh ibn Aḥmad al-Miʿmār al-Ṣiddīqī was a leading Chistī saint of the late Mughal period and is considered to be instrumental in the revival of the Chistī ṣūfī ṭarīqah (path).
In the popular discourses of modern India he is remembered for his inclusivist approach to Hindus.
The works of Kalim Allah al-Jahanabadi include:
Tilka ʿAsharat Kāmilah
Kashkūl Kalīmī
Maktūbāt-i Kalīmī
Jahanabadi, Kalim Allah al- see Kalim Allah al-Jahanabadi
Kalīm Allāh Jahānābādī ibn Nūr Allāh ibn Aḥmad al-Miʿmār al-Ṣiddīqī see Kalim Allah al-Jahanabadi
Kalmuk
Kalmuk (Kalmyk) (Kalmuck) (Kalmyki). Turkish name for a Mongol people, the Oyrat, who in the time of Jenghiz Khan inhabited the forests to the west of Lake Baykal. After the collapse of the Mongol dynasty in China, they laid the foundations of the Kalmuk nomad empire. Only a small number of Kalmuks ever embraced Islam, the rest remaining actual or nominal adherents of Buddhism.
Kalmyk is the name given to western Mongolic people - the Oirats -- who migrated from Central Asia in the seventeenth century. Today they form a majority in the autonomous Republic of Kalmykia on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Through emigration, small Kalmyk communities have been established in the United States, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic.
The Kalmyk, also spelled Kalmuck, are a Mongol people residing chiefly in Kalmykiya republic, in southwestern Russia. Their language belongs to the Oirat, or western, branch of the Mongolian language group. The Oirat dialects are also spoken in western Mongolia, and in Xinjiang and neighboring provinces of China. The home of the Kalmyk lies west of the Volga River in its lower courses, in an arc along the northwestern shore of the Caspian Sea. A small number of Kalmyk of the Buzawa tribe live along the Don River. Another small group, called the Sart Kalmyk, live in Kyrgyzstan near the Chinese border. A few emigrated after World War II to the United States.
The western Mongols were enemies of the eastern Mongols at the time of their imperial apogee in the 13th century of the Christian calendar. During the following centuries they maintained a separate existence under a confederation known as the Dörben Oirat (“Four Allies,” from which the name Oirat is derived); at times they were allies, at times enemies, of the eastern Mongols. Part of the western Mongols remained in their homeland, northern Xinjiang, or Dzungaria, and western Mongolia. Part of the Oirat confederation, including all or part of the Torgut, Khoshut, Dorbet (or Derbet), and other groups, moved across southern Siberia to the southern Urals at the beginning of the 17th century. From there they moved to the lower Volga, and for a century and a half, until 1771, they roamed both to the east and west of this region. During the course of the 18th century, they were absorbed by the Russian Empire, which was then expanding to the south and east. In 1771 those of the left bank, to the east of the Volga, returned to China. The right-bank Kalmyk, comprising the contemporary Torgut, Dorbet, and Buzawa, remained in Russia.
The Kalmyk are by long tradition nomadic pastoralists. They raise horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and a few camels. Their nomadism is of a classical pattern: an annual round of movement from winter camp to spring, summer, and fall pasture, and return. The Kalmyk home is a tent (called a ger, or yurt) made of felt on a lattice frame, readily assembled and disassembled. Where they have taken to agriculture, they have introduced fixed dwellings.
Family life, descent lines, marriage relations, and inheritance of property are all principally regulated by the paternal connection. The family is traditionally an extended one composed of parents, married sons and their families, and unmarried sons and daughters. Several families are grouped into nomadic kin villages. The kin villages are grouped into lineages and clans, and these in turn were formerly grouped into clan confederations. Traditionally the Kalmyk were divided into a princely estate, which ruled the various confederations; a noble estate, which ruled the lower social hierarchies, clans, and lineages; and a common estate. There was also a clerical order forming an estate of its own. All but the common estate have disappeared.
Like other Mongols, the Kalmyk are Tibetan Buddhists, but their Buddhism has a strong admixture of indigenous beliefs and shamanistic practices. The Sart Kalmyk are Muslims.
At the end of World War II the Kalmyk were accused of anti-Soviet activity and exiled to Soviet Central Asia. In 1957, they were restored to their home territories. According to the censuses of 1939 and 1959, they decreased in number from 134,000 to 106,000 in 20 years. They numbered about 137,000 in 1970 and 147,000 in 1979. In the early 21st century there were some 155,000 in Russia, an approximately equivalent number in China, and more than 200,000 in Mongolia.
Oyrat see Kalmuk
Oirat see Kalmuk
Kalmyk see Kalmuk
Kalmuck see Kalmuk
Kalmyki see Kalmuk
Kalmuk (Kalmyk) (Kalmuck) (Kalmyki). Turkish name for a Mongol people, the Oyrat, who in the time of Jenghiz Khan inhabited the forests to the west of Lake Baykal. After the collapse of the Mongol dynasty in China, they laid the foundations of the Kalmuk nomad empire. Only a small number of Kalmuks ever embraced Islam, the rest remaining actual or nominal adherents of Buddhism.
Kalmyk is the name given to western Mongolic people - the Oirats -- who migrated from Central Asia in the seventeenth century. Today they form a majority in the autonomous Republic of Kalmykia on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Through emigration, small Kalmyk communities have been established in the United States, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic.
The Kalmyk, also spelled Kalmuck, are a Mongol people residing chiefly in Kalmykiya republic, in southwestern Russia. Their language belongs to the Oirat, or western, branch of the Mongolian language group. The Oirat dialects are also spoken in western Mongolia, and in Xinjiang and neighboring provinces of China. The home of the Kalmyk lies west of the Volga River in its lower courses, in an arc along the northwestern shore of the Caspian Sea. A small number of Kalmyk of the Buzawa tribe live along the Don River. Another small group, called the Sart Kalmyk, live in Kyrgyzstan near the Chinese border. A few emigrated after World War II to the United States.
The western Mongols were enemies of the eastern Mongols at the time of their imperial apogee in the 13th century of the Christian calendar. During the following centuries they maintained a separate existence under a confederation known as the Dörben Oirat (“Four Allies,” from which the name Oirat is derived); at times they were allies, at times enemies, of the eastern Mongols. Part of the western Mongols remained in their homeland, northern Xinjiang, or Dzungaria, and western Mongolia. Part of the Oirat confederation, including all or part of the Torgut, Khoshut, Dorbet (or Derbet), and other groups, moved across southern Siberia to the southern Urals at the beginning of the 17th century. From there they moved to the lower Volga, and for a century and a half, until 1771, they roamed both to the east and west of this region. During the course of the 18th century, they were absorbed by the Russian Empire, which was then expanding to the south and east. In 1771 those of the left bank, to the east of the Volga, returned to China. The right-bank Kalmyk, comprising the contemporary Torgut, Dorbet, and Buzawa, remained in Russia.
The Kalmyk are by long tradition nomadic pastoralists. They raise horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and a few camels. Their nomadism is of a classical pattern: an annual round of movement from winter camp to spring, summer, and fall pasture, and return. The Kalmyk home is a tent (called a ger, or yurt) made of felt on a lattice frame, readily assembled and disassembled. Where they have taken to agriculture, they have introduced fixed dwellings.
Family life, descent lines, marriage relations, and inheritance of property are all principally regulated by the paternal connection. The family is traditionally an extended one composed of parents, married sons and their families, and unmarried sons and daughters. Several families are grouped into nomadic kin villages. The kin villages are grouped into lineages and clans, and these in turn were formerly grouped into clan confederations. Traditionally the Kalmyk were divided into a princely estate, which ruled the various confederations; a noble estate, which ruled the lower social hierarchies, clans, and lineages; and a common estate. There was also a clerical order forming an estate of its own. All but the common estate have disappeared.
Like other Mongols, the Kalmyk are Tibetan Buddhists, but their Buddhism has a strong admixture of indigenous beliefs and shamanistic practices. The Sart Kalmyk are Muslims.
At the end of World War II the Kalmyk were accused of anti-Soviet activity and exiled to Soviet Central Asia. In 1957, they were restored to their home territories. According to the censuses of 1939 and 1959, they decreased in number from 134,000 to 106,000 in 20 years. They numbered about 137,000 in 1970 and 147,000 in 1979. In the early 21st century there were some 155,000 in Russia, an approximately equivalent number in China, and more than 200,000 in Mongolia.
Oyrat see Kalmuk
Oirat see Kalmuk
Kalmyk see Kalmuk
Kalmuck see Kalmuk
Kalmyki see Kalmuk
Kamal al-Din al-Farisi
Kamal al-Din al-Farisi (Kamal al-Din al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn al-Hasan Al-Farisi) Abu Hasan Muhammad ibn Hasan) (1267- January 12, 1319). Fourteenth century scientist of Persia who wrote an important revision of the Optics of Ibn al-Haytham.
Kamal al-Din al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn al-Hasan Al-Farisi was a prominent Persian Muslim physicist, mathematician, and scientist born in Tabriz, Iran. He made two major contributions to science, one on optics, the other on number theory. Al-Farisi was a pupil of the great astronomer and mathematician Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi, who in turn was a pupil of Nasir al-Din Tusi.
The work of Kamal al-Din al-Farisi on optics was prompted by a question put to him concerning the refraction of light. Shirazi advised him to consult the Book of Optics of Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen), and al-Farisi made such a deep study of this treatise that Shirazi suggested that he write what is essentially a revision of that major work, which came to be called the Tanqih. Qutb al-Din Al-Shirazi himself was writing a commentary on works of Ibn Sina (Avicenna) at the time.
Al-Farisi is known for giving the first mathematically satisfactory explanation of the rainbow. He "proposed a model where the ray of light from the sun was refracted twice by a water droplet, one or more reflections occurring between the two refractions." He verified this through extensive experimentation using a transparent sphere filled with water and a camera obscura.
His research in this regard was based on theoretical investigations in dioptrics conducted on the so-called Burning Sphere (al-Kura al-muhriqa) in the tradition of Ibn Sahl (d. ca. 1000) and Ibn al-Haytham (d. ca. 1041) after him. As he noted in his Kitab Tanqih al-Manazir (The Revision of the Optics), al-Farisi used a large clear vessel of glass in the shape of a sphere, which was filled with water, in order to have an experimental large-scale model of a rain drop. He then placed this model within a camera obscura that has a controlled aperture for the introduction of light. He projected light unto the sphere and ultimately deducted through several trials and detailed observations of reflections and refractions of light that the colors of the rainbow are phenomena of the decomposition of light. His research had resonances with the studies of his contemporary Theodoric of Freiberg (without any contacts between them; even though they both relied on Ibn al-Haytham's legacy), and later with the experiments of Descartes and Newton in dioptrics (for instance, Newton conducted a similar experiment at Trinity College, though using a prism rather than a sphere).
Al-Farisi made a number of important contributions to number theory. His most impressive work in number theory is on amicable numbers. In Tadhkira al-ahbab fi bayan al-tahabb ("Memorandum for friends on the proof of amicability"), he introduced a major new approach to a whole area of number theory, introducing ideas concerning factorization and combinatorial methods. Al-Farisi's approach is based on the unique factorization of an integer into powers of prime numbers.
Farisi, Kamal al-Din al- see Kamal al-Din al-Farisi
Kamal al-Din al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn al-Hasan Al-Farisi see Kamal al-Din al-Farisi
Abu Hasan Muhammad ibn Hasan see Kamal al-Din al-Farisi
Kamal al-Din al-Farisi (Kamal al-Din al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn al-Hasan Al-Farisi) Abu Hasan Muhammad ibn Hasan) (1267- January 12, 1319). Fourteenth century scientist of Persia who wrote an important revision of the Optics of Ibn al-Haytham.
Kamal al-Din al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn al-Hasan Al-Farisi was a prominent Persian Muslim physicist, mathematician, and scientist born in Tabriz, Iran. He made two major contributions to science, one on optics, the other on number theory. Al-Farisi was a pupil of the great astronomer and mathematician Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi, who in turn was a pupil of Nasir al-Din Tusi.
The work of Kamal al-Din al-Farisi on optics was prompted by a question put to him concerning the refraction of light. Shirazi advised him to consult the Book of Optics of Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen), and al-Farisi made such a deep study of this treatise that Shirazi suggested that he write what is essentially a revision of that major work, which came to be called the Tanqih. Qutb al-Din Al-Shirazi himself was writing a commentary on works of Ibn Sina (Avicenna) at the time.
Al-Farisi is known for giving the first mathematically satisfactory explanation of the rainbow. He "proposed a model where the ray of light from the sun was refracted twice by a water droplet, one or more reflections occurring between the two refractions." He verified this through extensive experimentation using a transparent sphere filled with water and a camera obscura.
His research in this regard was based on theoretical investigations in dioptrics conducted on the so-called Burning Sphere (al-Kura al-muhriqa) in the tradition of Ibn Sahl (d. ca. 1000) and Ibn al-Haytham (d. ca. 1041) after him. As he noted in his Kitab Tanqih al-Manazir (The Revision of the Optics), al-Farisi used a large clear vessel of glass in the shape of a sphere, which was filled with water, in order to have an experimental large-scale model of a rain drop. He then placed this model within a camera obscura that has a controlled aperture for the introduction of light. He projected light unto the sphere and ultimately deducted through several trials and detailed observations of reflections and refractions of light that the colors of the rainbow are phenomena of the decomposition of light. His research had resonances with the studies of his contemporary Theodoric of Freiberg (without any contacts between them; even though they both relied on Ibn al-Haytham's legacy), and later with the experiments of Descartes and Newton in dioptrics (for instance, Newton conducted a similar experiment at Trinity College, though using a prism rather than a sphere).
Al-Farisi made a number of important contributions to number theory. His most impressive work in number theory is on amicable numbers. In Tadhkira al-ahbab fi bayan al-tahabb ("Memorandum for friends on the proof of amicability"), he introduced a major new approach to a whole area of number theory, introducing ideas concerning factorization and combinatorial methods. Al-Farisi's approach is based on the unique factorization of an integer into powers of prime numbers.
Farisi, Kamal al-Din al- see Kamal al-Din al-Farisi
Kamal al-Din al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn al-Hasan Al-Farisi see Kamal al-Din al-Farisi
Abu Hasan Muhammad ibn Hasan see Kamal al-Din al-Farisi
Kamberi
Kamberi. Ethnic survival and the use of Islam to gain advantages distinguish the Muslim Kamberi of Nigeria. The Kamberi, most of whom are traditionalists in religion, live in the tropical savanna in an area encompassing the states of Kwara, Niger and Sokoto. Being spread over such a large area, their minority status is assured wherever they live. Kamberi are increasingly turning to Islam.
The Kamberi claim to be the original rulers of the ancient Yauri emirate in Sokoto state. That claim is recognized in the special relationship prevailing between the current Emir of Yauri, a Hausa, and Kamberi from the Ngaski District. The only Hausa with tribal marks in Yauri are members of the royal family. Their marks are Kamberi ones featuring a rising sun on the stomach and pectorals.
Like the Dukawa, with whom they share a joking relationship and a common origin myth, the Kamberi were in Yauri quite early. Some authors claim they were there before the thirteenth century and were, in fact, Yauri’s first inhabitants. Certainly they had a centralized government by the time of the Mali and Songhay invasions after the thirteenth century.
Before that time, the Kamberi say that their ancestors came from Mecca in Arabia. There, a leader named Kisra led a resistance movement against the Prophet Muhammad. After his defeat, Kisra fled across Africa, and either he or his followers founded a number of states. Finally, depending upon the folk tale’s version, either he or his followers stopped at the Niger River. The Kamberi trace their direct descent from Lata, one of Kisra’s sons, and still maintain a shrine to him at Agwarra, Borgu Division, Kwara State.
In the late seventeenth century, a Muslim became Emir of Yauri, a turning point in Yauri’s history, as the coming of Islam meant the rise to power of the Hausa in this area of Nigeria. The Hausa and Hausa-ized rulers of Yauri did not immediately turn everyone into Muslims. Some, such as the Reshawa, began to be included as members of the ruling elite through a process that ultimately included changing their ethnic identity. The Kamberi, however, kept their distance while enjoying their special relationship with the Hausa. As newcomers, the Hausa sought to increase their legitimacy by marrying the older elite. Kamberi women were in demand, and one mode of survival was for Kamberi to allow their women to marry into the ruling groups.
The nineteenth century proved to be one that tested Kamberi adaptational skills. The period was one of almost constant civil war and slave raiding, both of which affected the Kamberi harder than any other group as they had a centralized self-governmental system and were non-Muslim. To survive, the Kamberi decentralized, and in place of patrilineages they created autonomous clans. In place of a state organization, they created independent homesteads. In place of participation in the fighting, they fled to the forests where possible. The Kamberi became known as a meek and docile people and became the butt of jokes -- a price of survival.
As the prestige of Islam increased in the nineteenth century through the jihad of Uthman dan Fodio, the great Fulani religious leader, the plight of non-Muslims worsened. Increasingly, they had to make themselves invisible while building alliances with the powerful by contributing their women in marriage to dominant groups.
British rule in the late nineteenth century “froze” the political system. Colonial officials supported Islam, the Hausa and the tax system. Kamberi and other subordinate groups found themselves locked into a system that was far from “traditional” but sanctified as being so.
Kamberi. Ethnic survival and the use of Islam to gain advantages distinguish the Muslim Kamberi of Nigeria. The Kamberi, most of whom are traditionalists in religion, live in the tropical savanna in an area encompassing the states of Kwara, Niger and Sokoto. Being spread over such a large area, their minority status is assured wherever they live. Kamberi are increasingly turning to Islam.
The Kamberi claim to be the original rulers of the ancient Yauri emirate in Sokoto state. That claim is recognized in the special relationship prevailing between the current Emir of Yauri, a Hausa, and Kamberi from the Ngaski District. The only Hausa with tribal marks in Yauri are members of the royal family. Their marks are Kamberi ones featuring a rising sun on the stomach and pectorals.
Like the Dukawa, with whom they share a joking relationship and a common origin myth, the Kamberi were in Yauri quite early. Some authors claim they were there before the thirteenth century and were, in fact, Yauri’s first inhabitants. Certainly they had a centralized government by the time of the Mali and Songhay invasions after the thirteenth century.
Before that time, the Kamberi say that their ancestors came from Mecca in Arabia. There, a leader named Kisra led a resistance movement against the Prophet Muhammad. After his defeat, Kisra fled across Africa, and either he or his followers founded a number of states. Finally, depending upon the folk tale’s version, either he or his followers stopped at the Niger River. The Kamberi trace their direct descent from Lata, one of Kisra’s sons, and still maintain a shrine to him at Agwarra, Borgu Division, Kwara State.
In the late seventeenth century, a Muslim became Emir of Yauri, a turning point in Yauri’s history, as the coming of Islam meant the rise to power of the Hausa in this area of Nigeria. The Hausa and Hausa-ized rulers of Yauri did not immediately turn everyone into Muslims. Some, such as the Reshawa, began to be included as members of the ruling elite through a process that ultimately included changing their ethnic identity. The Kamberi, however, kept their distance while enjoying their special relationship with the Hausa. As newcomers, the Hausa sought to increase their legitimacy by marrying the older elite. Kamberi women were in demand, and one mode of survival was for Kamberi to allow their women to marry into the ruling groups.
The nineteenth century proved to be one that tested Kamberi adaptational skills. The period was one of almost constant civil war and slave raiding, both of which affected the Kamberi harder than any other group as they had a centralized self-governmental system and were non-Muslim. To survive, the Kamberi decentralized, and in place of patrilineages they created autonomous clans. In place of a state organization, they created independent homesteads. In place of participation in the fighting, they fled to the forests where possible. The Kamberi became known as a meek and docile people and became the butt of jokes -- a price of survival.
As the prestige of Islam increased in the nineteenth century through the jihad of Uthman dan Fodio, the great Fulani religious leader, the plight of non-Muslims worsened. Increasingly, they had to make themselves invisible while building alliances with the powerful by contributing their women in marriage to dominant groups.
British rule in the late nineteenth century “froze” the political system. Colonial officials supported Islam, the Hausa and the tax system. Kamberi and other subordinate groups found themselves locked into a system that was far from “traditional” but sanctified as being so.
Kamil, Mustafa
Kamil, Mustafa (Mustafa Kamil) (Muṣṭafā Kāmil Pasha) (b. August 14, 1874, Cairo, Egypt – d. February 10, 1908, Cairo). Egyptian nationalist. The name of the za‘im Mustafa Kamil is borne by several major city streets and squares in Egypt. A lawyer by education, he was a passionate orator who fought unrelentingly for Egyptian independence from the British rule that lasted from 1882 to 1952. Kamil and other nationalists were radicalized by the autocracy of British rule under Lord Cromer, and by events at Dinishwai village in 1906 where a military tribunal passed death, prison and flogging sentences on peasants who attacked British officers hunting pigeons in their village. In the process, a village woman was shot dead, and a British officer who went for help on foot suffered a sunstroke from which he later died.
Kamil’s obsession with independence was equaled by his dismay with his countrymen’s weakness and acquiescence to British rule. Accordingly, his actions took two directions – calling for social and educational reforms and working for the creation of a national university, while at the same time undertaking political agitation within and outside Egypt. He was the first to organize massive demonstrations mobilizing students. He founded the National Party and its newspaper Al-liwa’, which presented a radical nationalist and Islamic voice in opposition both to Ahmad Lutfi al-Sayyid’s Al-jaridah and its liberal constitiutional ideas and to Shaykh ‘Ali Yusuf’s Al-mu’ayyad and conservative Islamism. His publication of the English Standard and the French L’etendard to deliver the Liwa’s message to Egypt’s foreign community indicated the importance he attributed to foreigners in deciding Egypt’s destiny.
On the international stage, together with Khedive ‘Abbas II, Kamil formed a secret society whose purpose was to intrigue against the British. Financed by the society, he traveled to Paris in 1895 to present Egypt’s case to the European public, particularly in France, where he drew attention to French interests in supporting Egypt’s cause. There he introduced himself to Juliet Adam, editor of La nouvelle revue, who was to have great influence on him and his career. Through her, Kamil met important public personalities, political figures, and members of the press. She arranged for him to give public lectures and helped him publish his ideas in French journals. His success in propagandizing Egypt’s cause did not bring about the hoped for results, and Kamil realized the naivete of his idealism when he saw Britain and France agree after Fashoda and sign the Entente Cordiale in 1904. Breaking off with ‘Abbas II, Kamil allied himself with Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid and began to work toward a closer relationship with Germany. This was the context of his turn toward Pan-Islamist principles, his support of an Islamic caliphate, and ultimately his support of the Sultan’s right to Taba against the British who were defending Egypt’s rights to it. There was much conjecture regarding Kamil’s stand on the Taba issue, but Kamil’s words “if I were not an Egyptian I would have wished to be an Egyptian” continue to symbolize Egyptian patriotism. His funeral, following a sudden unexplained death, was the first of the demonstrations of mass public grief for which Egypt would later become famous.
Mustafa Kamil see Kamil, Mustafa
Mustafa Kamil Pasha see Kamil, Mustafa
Kamil, Mustafa (Mustafa Kamil) (Muṣṭafā Kāmil Pasha) (b. August 14, 1874, Cairo, Egypt – d. February 10, 1908, Cairo). Egyptian nationalist. The name of the za‘im Mustafa Kamil is borne by several major city streets and squares in Egypt. A lawyer by education, he was a passionate orator who fought unrelentingly for Egyptian independence from the British rule that lasted from 1882 to 1952. Kamil and other nationalists were radicalized by the autocracy of British rule under Lord Cromer, and by events at Dinishwai village in 1906 where a military tribunal passed death, prison and flogging sentences on peasants who attacked British officers hunting pigeons in their village. In the process, a village woman was shot dead, and a British officer who went for help on foot suffered a sunstroke from which he later died.
Kamil’s obsession with independence was equaled by his dismay with his countrymen’s weakness and acquiescence to British rule. Accordingly, his actions took two directions – calling for social and educational reforms and working for the creation of a national university, while at the same time undertaking political agitation within and outside Egypt. He was the first to organize massive demonstrations mobilizing students. He founded the National Party and its newspaper Al-liwa’, which presented a radical nationalist and Islamic voice in opposition both to Ahmad Lutfi al-Sayyid’s Al-jaridah and its liberal constitiutional ideas and to Shaykh ‘Ali Yusuf’s Al-mu’ayyad and conservative Islamism. His publication of the English Standard and the French L’etendard to deliver the Liwa’s message to Egypt’s foreign community indicated the importance he attributed to foreigners in deciding Egypt’s destiny.
On the international stage, together with Khedive ‘Abbas II, Kamil formed a secret society whose purpose was to intrigue against the British. Financed by the society, he traveled to Paris in 1895 to present Egypt’s case to the European public, particularly in France, where he drew attention to French interests in supporting Egypt’s cause. There he introduced himself to Juliet Adam, editor of La nouvelle revue, who was to have great influence on him and his career. Through her, Kamil met important public personalities, political figures, and members of the press. She arranged for him to give public lectures and helped him publish his ideas in French journals. His success in propagandizing Egypt’s cause did not bring about the hoped for results, and Kamil realized the naivete of his idealism when he saw Britain and France agree after Fashoda and sign the Entente Cordiale in 1904. Breaking off with ‘Abbas II, Kamil allied himself with Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid and began to work toward a closer relationship with Germany. This was the context of his turn toward Pan-Islamist principles, his support of an Islamic caliphate, and ultimately his support of the Sultan’s right to Taba against the British who were defending Egypt’s rights to it. There was much conjecture regarding Kamil’s stand on the Taba issue, but Kamil’s words “if I were not an Egyptian I would have wished to be an Egyptian” continue to symbolize Egyptian patriotism. His funeral, following a sudden unexplained death, was the first of the demonstrations of mass public grief for which Egypt would later become famous.
Mustafa Kamil see Kamil, Mustafa
Mustafa Kamil Pasha see Kamil, Mustafa
Kanembu
Kanembu. For centuries the northern part of the Lake Chad basin has been divided between the people of Te in the north and the Kanembu in the south, an area which today is Kanem Province of the Republic of Chad. The Kanembu occupy almost completely the banks of the northern half of Lake Chad with a concentration around the city of Mao, the home of their leader, the Alifa. Their territory spreads north to Chitati, where it meets that of the Daza. In the south, their neighbors are the Kanuri of Bornu, Nigeria, the Buduma and Kuri of Lake Chad and the various Chadian Arabs of the Dagana country.
Legend traces Kanembu origins back to a great leader who reigned in Arabia shortly before the arrival of the Prophet Muhammad. When he was converted he took the name Tubba Lawal. A princess of his family had sons who became the eponymic ancestors of the main Kanembu and Kanuri lineages. Saif (Sayf) was the ancestor of the Magimi; Derman, ancestor of the Kubri; Tama the ancestor of the Tumagri; Man, ancestor of the Kanku; and two slave sons, Ndjidi and Ngal, became ancestors of the Kadjidis and Maaltuku, respectively, who consider themselves the only true Kanembu.
To reach Kanem from Yemen, where these ancestors were raised, there were two possible roads: the northern road through Fezzan, Tibesti and Kawar; and the eastern road through Kordofan, Darfur and Wadai. Ngal’s people took the northern route and Saif’s the eastern, and from each derive today’s factions, all considered descendants of Tubba Lawal.
Primarily herdsmen, the Kanembu’s ancestors migrated to their present locations for a number of reasons. Drought in the north sent many south seeking greener pastures. They were encouraged by the rise of warrior groups such as the Tuareg, themselves claimed descendants of Tubba Lawal. It is known that by the eighth century the Kanembu were beginning to form an empire; this reached its height in the thirteenth century. Their armies occupied Fezzan in the north, Bornu in the west, the lower Chari River areas and the borders of Wadai. With an army of 100,000 men and a strong political and administrative structure based on the Arab models, the Kanem Empire became the most important power in sub-Saharan Africa. It was totally Sunni Muslim.
The empire enriched itself by importing technology. Construction with baked bricks, an innovation, permitted the creation of original architecture in different Kanem capitals, the first being Njima, near present day Mao. Camel caravans introduced wheat, cotton, horses and camels, which broadened the base of the economy.
Relations with north and northeastern Africa were close, the lingua franca being Arabic. Ibn Khaldun reported that the Kanem sent a giraffe as a gift to the Sultan of Tunis in 1257. Islam was rigorously observed, and in 1243, the Emir built a madrasa in Cairo specifically for Kanembu Quranic students.
However, the Kanem Empire began to decline under the growing strength of vassals such as the Bululas. The Saif leadership with a vast following moved to Bornu, where eventually they became the Kanuri. By the sixteenth century, the Bornu Empire controlled the area and Kanem remained only a distant province.
When the French arrived to colonize this part of Africa towards the end of the nineteenth century, they found Kanem ruled by the Alifa of Mao, who, within Bornu hegemony, dominated a few vassal districts and collected a variety of taxes. Kanembu culture, traditions and political organization had been consolidated by then.
The Kanembu people were deeply involved in the struggle for independence from France. While not openly involved in the Chad rebellion since independence, the third dissident army was stationed in Kanem in 1979, and its recruiting office was in Maiduguri, Bornu, naturally with the support of the Kanembu.
Nigerian ambitions in Kanembu country were not without foundation. Lake Chad and its fresh water would irrigate thousands of acres which were lying non-productive. There was wealth in the fertile wadis and polders (tracts of low land reclaimed from the lake. Finally, oil was discovered around Rig Rig in Chad and was to be exploited when the first civil war broke out in 1979
Kanembu. For centuries the northern part of the Lake Chad basin has been divided between the people of Te in the north and the Kanembu in the south, an area which today is Kanem Province of the Republic of Chad. The Kanembu occupy almost completely the banks of the northern half of Lake Chad with a concentration around the city of Mao, the home of their leader, the Alifa. Their territory spreads north to Chitati, where it meets that of the Daza. In the south, their neighbors are the Kanuri of Bornu, Nigeria, the Buduma and Kuri of Lake Chad and the various Chadian Arabs of the Dagana country.
Legend traces Kanembu origins back to a great leader who reigned in Arabia shortly before the arrival of the Prophet Muhammad. When he was converted he took the name Tubba Lawal. A princess of his family had sons who became the eponymic ancestors of the main Kanembu and Kanuri lineages. Saif (Sayf) was the ancestor of the Magimi; Derman, ancestor of the Kubri; Tama the ancestor of the Tumagri; Man, ancestor of the Kanku; and two slave sons, Ndjidi and Ngal, became ancestors of the Kadjidis and Maaltuku, respectively, who consider themselves the only true Kanembu.
To reach Kanem from Yemen, where these ancestors were raised, there were two possible roads: the northern road through Fezzan, Tibesti and Kawar; and the eastern road through Kordofan, Darfur and Wadai. Ngal’s people took the northern route and Saif’s the eastern, and from each derive today’s factions, all considered descendants of Tubba Lawal.
Primarily herdsmen, the Kanembu’s ancestors migrated to their present locations for a number of reasons. Drought in the north sent many south seeking greener pastures. They were encouraged by the rise of warrior groups such as the Tuareg, themselves claimed descendants of Tubba Lawal. It is known that by the eighth century the Kanembu were beginning to form an empire; this reached its height in the thirteenth century. Their armies occupied Fezzan in the north, Bornu in the west, the lower Chari River areas and the borders of Wadai. With an army of 100,000 men and a strong political and administrative structure based on the Arab models, the Kanem Empire became the most important power in sub-Saharan Africa. It was totally Sunni Muslim.
The empire enriched itself by importing technology. Construction with baked bricks, an innovation, permitted the creation of original architecture in different Kanem capitals, the first being Njima, near present day Mao. Camel caravans introduced wheat, cotton, horses and camels, which broadened the base of the economy.
Relations with north and northeastern Africa were close, the lingua franca being Arabic. Ibn Khaldun reported that the Kanem sent a giraffe as a gift to the Sultan of Tunis in 1257. Islam was rigorously observed, and in 1243, the Emir built a madrasa in Cairo specifically for Kanembu Quranic students.
However, the Kanem Empire began to decline under the growing strength of vassals such as the Bululas. The Saif leadership with a vast following moved to Bornu, where eventually they became the Kanuri. By the sixteenth century, the Bornu Empire controlled the area and Kanem remained only a distant province.
When the French arrived to colonize this part of Africa towards the end of the nineteenth century, they found Kanem ruled by the Alifa of Mao, who, within Bornu hegemony, dominated a few vassal districts and collected a variety of taxes. Kanembu culture, traditions and political organization had been consolidated by then.
The Kanembu people were deeply involved in the struggle for independence from France. While not openly involved in the Chad rebellion since independence, the third dissident army was stationed in Kanem in 1979, and its recruiting office was in Maiduguri, Bornu, naturally with the support of the Kanembu.
Nigerian ambitions in Kanembu country were not without foundation. Lake Chad and its fresh water would irrigate thousands of acres which were lying non-productive. There was wealth in the fertile wadis and polders (tracts of low land reclaimed from the lake. Finally, oil was discovered around Rig Rig in Chad and was to be exploited when the first civil war broke out in 1979
Kanemi, al-Hajj Muhammad al-Amin ibn al-
Kanemi, al-Hajj Muhammad al-Amin ibn al- (al-Hajj Muhammad al-Amin ibn al-Kanemi) (al-Hajj Muhammad al-Amîn ibn Muhammad al-Kânemî) (1775/1776-1837). Scholar of Kanem origin who founded the Shehu dynasty of Bornu. He was the ruler of the Kanuri state of Bornu who overthrew the thousand year old Sefawa dynasty and saved Bornu from defeat in the Fula jihad. His is one of the most complex figures in west African history. He rode into Bornu during a time of crisis to save the state from Fula persecution. Afterwards, he was torn between the desire to pursue his Islamic studies, and the urge for personal power coupled with the belief that his guiding hand had been divinely inspired. Those who met him, both African and European, remarked on his charisma, intelligence, humility, and religious devotion.
He was an Islamic teacher from Kanem living in a provence of Bornu at the time when the state was attacked by Fula adherents of ‘Uthman dan Fodio, the great Islamic revolutionary. Ahmad Alimi, the aged mai (ruler) of Bornu, complained to ‘Uthman that he himself and many of the people of Bornu were fellow Muslims, and should not be attacked, but his message was ignored, and he was unable to stop the Fula advance. Shortly before his death, he abdicated in favor of his son Dunama (in 1808).
Al-Kanemi also had met the Fula in a minor battle, and had defeated them. When Dunama heard this, he asked al-Kanemi to join him. Their combined forces routed the Fula. Afterwards Dunama rewarded him lavishly, and he returned home. Major fighting broke out again in 1809, and al-Kanemi was again summoned to defeat the Fula. This time he was rewarded with a large fief in his home area. He took the title shaikh, and his influence and reputation soared.
A faction of nobles of the Bornu court was unhappy over Dunama’s inability to control the Fula and the rise of al-Kanemi. In 1809, they deposed Dunama, and installed his uncle, Muhammad Ngileruma. Al-Kanemi, who did not get on well with the new mai, conspired with Dunama’s faction to depose Muhammad and reinstate Dunama (around 1813). The act made al-Kanemi the most powerful man in Bornu. He then set about to strengthen his own following, calling upon friends and clansmen to join him. In 1814, he left Nguro, his residence, to build an administrative capital at Kukawa, although the official capital remained at the mai’s residence.
By 1820, al-Kanemi was the virtual ruler of Bornu. In a letter, he wrote at that time he professed his desire to forego worldly concerns, stating that if he did not feel compelled to rule, “I would go out of here like a runaway slave.” His belief in his divine mission, however, caused him to remain. By this time, he seldom consulted mai Dunama regarding affairs of state. He independently allied with Tripoli and received Tripolitanian support. The mai was thus persuaded by his court to turn on his friend. A plan was devised whereby Burgomanda, the ruler of neighboring Baghirmi, agreed to attack Bornu. After Dunama and al-Kanemi’s armies came out to meet the “invaders,” Burgomanda and Dunama were to trap al-Kanemi between them. But al-Kanemi learned of the plan and moved his troops so that Burgomanda mistakenly attacked Dunama. The mai was killed in the fighting and al-Kanemi installed Dunama’s younger brother, Ibrahim, as a figurehead ruler.
Bornu’s primary opponent continued to be the Fula. Al-Kanemi was troubled about fighting fellow Muslims. From 1808 to 1812, he corresponded with ‘Uthman dan Fodio and his son Muhammad Bello trying unsuccessfully to settle matters peaceably. In 1825, al-Kanemi took the offensive against the Fula within Bornu. The next year, he penetrated into Hausaland, nearly reaching Kano. After he withdrew, a boundary was established by tacit understanding, with the Fula retaining western Bornu. During his reign, al-Kanemi was careful not to build up the trappings of royalty, nor to divest these trappings from the mai. Nevertheless, his administration gradually replaced that of the Sefawa dynasty. Some provinces he administered directly; in others he only collected tribute. He was advised by a council of six men in matters of general policy. Despite his personal religious convictions, he did not demand Islamic conversion or reform within Bornu. He encouraged good relations with the Europeans, but was wary of their intentions. At his death in 1837, he was succeeded by his son, ‘Umar, as had been his wish.
Hajj Muhammad al-Amin ibn al-Kanemi, al- see Kanemi, al-Hajj Muhammad al-Amin ibn al-
Hajj Muhammad al-Amîn ibn Muhammad al-Kânemî, al- see Kanemi, al-Hajj Muhammad al-Amin ibn al-
Kanemi, al-Hajj Muhammad al-Amin ibn al- (al-Hajj Muhammad al-Amin ibn al-Kanemi) (al-Hajj Muhammad al-Amîn ibn Muhammad al-Kânemî) (1775/1776-1837). Scholar of Kanem origin who founded the Shehu dynasty of Bornu. He was the ruler of the Kanuri state of Bornu who overthrew the thousand year old Sefawa dynasty and saved Bornu from defeat in the Fula jihad. His is one of the most complex figures in west African history. He rode into Bornu during a time of crisis to save the state from Fula persecution. Afterwards, he was torn between the desire to pursue his Islamic studies, and the urge for personal power coupled with the belief that his guiding hand had been divinely inspired. Those who met him, both African and European, remarked on his charisma, intelligence, humility, and religious devotion.
He was an Islamic teacher from Kanem living in a provence of Bornu at the time when the state was attacked by Fula adherents of ‘Uthman dan Fodio, the great Islamic revolutionary. Ahmad Alimi, the aged mai (ruler) of Bornu, complained to ‘Uthman that he himself and many of the people of Bornu were fellow Muslims, and should not be attacked, but his message was ignored, and he was unable to stop the Fula advance. Shortly before his death, he abdicated in favor of his son Dunama (in 1808).
Al-Kanemi also had met the Fula in a minor battle, and had defeated them. When Dunama heard this, he asked al-Kanemi to join him. Their combined forces routed the Fula. Afterwards Dunama rewarded him lavishly, and he returned home. Major fighting broke out again in 1809, and al-Kanemi was again summoned to defeat the Fula. This time he was rewarded with a large fief in his home area. He took the title shaikh, and his influence and reputation soared.
A faction of nobles of the Bornu court was unhappy over Dunama’s inability to control the Fula and the rise of al-Kanemi. In 1809, they deposed Dunama, and installed his uncle, Muhammad Ngileruma. Al-Kanemi, who did not get on well with the new mai, conspired with Dunama’s faction to depose Muhammad and reinstate Dunama (around 1813). The act made al-Kanemi the most powerful man in Bornu. He then set about to strengthen his own following, calling upon friends and clansmen to join him. In 1814, he left Nguro, his residence, to build an administrative capital at Kukawa, although the official capital remained at the mai’s residence.
By 1820, al-Kanemi was the virtual ruler of Bornu. In a letter, he wrote at that time he professed his desire to forego worldly concerns, stating that if he did not feel compelled to rule, “I would go out of here like a runaway slave.” His belief in his divine mission, however, caused him to remain. By this time, he seldom consulted mai Dunama regarding affairs of state. He independently allied with Tripoli and received Tripolitanian support. The mai was thus persuaded by his court to turn on his friend. A plan was devised whereby Burgomanda, the ruler of neighboring Baghirmi, agreed to attack Bornu. After Dunama and al-Kanemi’s armies came out to meet the “invaders,” Burgomanda and Dunama were to trap al-Kanemi between them. But al-Kanemi learned of the plan and moved his troops so that Burgomanda mistakenly attacked Dunama. The mai was killed in the fighting and al-Kanemi installed Dunama’s younger brother, Ibrahim, as a figurehead ruler.
Bornu’s primary opponent continued to be the Fula. Al-Kanemi was troubled about fighting fellow Muslims. From 1808 to 1812, he corresponded with ‘Uthman dan Fodio and his son Muhammad Bello trying unsuccessfully to settle matters peaceably. In 1825, al-Kanemi took the offensive against the Fula within Bornu. The next year, he penetrated into Hausaland, nearly reaching Kano. After he withdrew, a boundary was established by tacit understanding, with the Fula retaining western Bornu. During his reign, al-Kanemi was careful not to build up the trappings of royalty, nor to divest these trappings from the mai. Nevertheless, his administration gradually replaced that of the Sefawa dynasty. Some provinces he administered directly; in others he only collected tribute. He was advised by a council of six men in matters of general policy. Despite his personal religious convictions, he did not demand Islamic conversion or reform within Bornu. He encouraged good relations with the Europeans, but was wary of their intentions. At his death in 1837, he was succeeded by his son, ‘Umar, as had been his wish.
Hajj Muhammad al-Amin ibn al-Kanemi, al- see Kanemi, al-Hajj Muhammad al-Amin ibn al-
Hajj Muhammad al-Amîn ibn Muhammad al-Kânemî, al- see Kanemi, al-Hajj Muhammad al-Amin ibn al-
Kane, Sheikh Hamidou
Kane, Sheikh Hamidou (Sheikh Hamidou Kane) (Hamidou Kane) (Cheikh Hamidou Kane) (b. April 3, 1928). Senegalese novelist. Born at Matam, he was a native of the Fula mountain region and a representative of the Fula language and culture. After receiving traditional instruction in the Qur’an, he attended French school in Senegal. He then went to Paris University to study philosophy and law, before entering the Ecole Nationale de la France d’Outre-mer. In July 1959, he returned to Senegal as an official in the French overseas administration. He was appointed deputy to the director of development projects, then head of chancery to the Minister of Development and Planning of independent Senegal. From 1960 to 1963, he was governor of the district of Thies. Sheikh Hamidou has been aptly called “a true witness of Islam in its modern African guise.” His first book, L’aventure ambigue (Ambiguous Adventure) (1961) is a romantic autobiography which tells of the encounter of two worlds of experience, Black Africa and Western Europe, by a young African, brutally initiated by a Muslim teacher into Islamic mysticism, then remolded by the French educational system. It is a story of spiritual fidelity and of intellectual uprooting, a penetrating and sophisticated critique of the doubtful values implicit in Western civilization.
Sheikh Hamidou Kane see Kane, Sheikh Hamidou
Hamidou Kane see Kane, Sheikh Hamidou
Kane, Hamidou see Kane, Sheikh Hamidou
Cheikh Hamidou Kane see Kane, Sheikh Hamidou
Kane, Cheikh Hamidou see Kane, Sheikh Hamidou
Kane, Sheikh Hamidou (Sheikh Hamidou Kane) (Hamidou Kane) (Cheikh Hamidou Kane) (b. April 3, 1928). Senegalese novelist. Born at Matam, he was a native of the Fula mountain region and a representative of the Fula language and culture. After receiving traditional instruction in the Qur’an, he attended French school in Senegal. He then went to Paris University to study philosophy and law, before entering the Ecole Nationale de la France d’Outre-mer. In July 1959, he returned to Senegal as an official in the French overseas administration. He was appointed deputy to the director of development projects, then head of chancery to the Minister of Development and Planning of independent Senegal. From 1960 to 1963, he was governor of the district of Thies. Sheikh Hamidou has been aptly called “a true witness of Islam in its modern African guise.” His first book, L’aventure ambigue (Ambiguous Adventure) (1961) is a romantic autobiography which tells of the encounter of two worlds of experience, Black Africa and Western Europe, by a young African, brutally initiated by a Muslim teacher into Islamic mysticism, then remolded by the French educational system. It is a story of spiritual fidelity and of intellectual uprooting, a penetrating and sophisticated critique of the doubtful values implicit in Western civilization.
Sheikh Hamidou Kane see Kane, Sheikh Hamidou
Hamidou Kane see Kane, Sheikh Hamidou
Kane, Hamidou see Kane, Sheikh Hamidou
Cheikh Hamidou Kane see Kane, Sheikh Hamidou
Kane, Cheikh Hamidou see Kane, Sheikh Hamidou
Kanik, Orhan Veli
Kanik, Orhan Veli (Orhan Veli Kanık) (b. April 13, 1914 – d. November 14, 1950). Turkish poet. Together with Oktay Rıfat and Melih Cevdet, he founded the Garip Movement.
Orhan Veli was born in Istanbul. His father was a conductor of the Presidential Symphony Orchestra. His younger brother, Adnan Veli, was a well known journalist whose memoir of his time in prison on political charges, "Mahpushane Çeşmesi (The Prison Fountain)", was published in 1952. Orhan Veli studied at the Ankara Gazi High School before he started his university education which lasted one year at Istanbul University's philosophy department before dropping out in 1935. He was employed by the Ministry of Education as a translator from 1945 to 1947. Later, he worked as a freelance translator and journalist. In 1949, he helped the publication of Yaprak, a literary magazine. As also evidenced from the contents of some of his deeply humorous poetry, he was a heavy drinker. His death was due to a brain hemorrhage a few days after he fell into a pot hole on the street while intoxicated.
Orhan Veli is known for advocating a poetry without excessive stylistic elements and adjectives, and preferring a style closer to free-verse. He is known for his unique voice, and depth of emotion underlying the seemingly easy-coming nature of his verse. His poetry is highly admired by the public as well as in academic circles.
The works of Orhan Veli Kanik include:
* Garip (Together with Oktay Rifat and Melih Cevdet, 1941)
* Garip (1945)
* Vazgeçemediğim (1945)
* Destan Gibi (1946)
* Yenisi (1947)
* Karşı (1949)
* Collected Poems (1951, 1975)
Orhan Veli Kanik see Kanik, Orhan Veli
Kanik, Orhan Veli (Orhan Veli Kanık) (b. April 13, 1914 – d. November 14, 1950). Turkish poet. Together with Oktay Rıfat and Melih Cevdet, he founded the Garip Movement.
Orhan Veli was born in Istanbul. His father was a conductor of the Presidential Symphony Orchestra. His younger brother, Adnan Veli, was a well known journalist whose memoir of his time in prison on political charges, "Mahpushane Çeşmesi (The Prison Fountain)", was published in 1952. Orhan Veli studied at the Ankara Gazi High School before he started his university education which lasted one year at Istanbul University's philosophy department before dropping out in 1935. He was employed by the Ministry of Education as a translator from 1945 to 1947. Later, he worked as a freelance translator and journalist. In 1949, he helped the publication of Yaprak, a literary magazine. As also evidenced from the contents of some of his deeply humorous poetry, he was a heavy drinker. His death was due to a brain hemorrhage a few days after he fell into a pot hole on the street while intoxicated.
Orhan Veli is known for advocating a poetry without excessive stylistic elements and adjectives, and preferring a style closer to free-verse. He is known for his unique voice, and depth of emotion underlying the seemingly easy-coming nature of his verse. His poetry is highly admired by the public as well as in academic circles.
The works of Orhan Veli Kanik include:
* Garip (Together with Oktay Rifat and Melih Cevdet, 1941)
* Garip (1945)
* Vazgeçemediğim (1945)
* Destan Gibi (1946)
* Yenisi (1947)
* Karşı (1949)
* Collected Poems (1951, 1975)
Orhan Veli Kanik see Kanik, Orhan Veli
Kanuri
Kanuri. Name of a people and a language in the Chad region. Islam was introduced in the seventh century from the north.
The people who refer to themselves as Kanuri, a name whose etymological roots are not known, live chiefly in Nigeria on the arid plains west and south of Lake Chad in what is now Borno State. All but a few Kanuri are Sunni Muslim.
While there are semi-legendary views about early roots in Yemen, little is known of the earliest phases of Kanuri society. Contemporary Kanuri (narrowly defined) are the descendants of the ruling family of the Kanem Empire. As a result of civil war, this family (the Saifawa or Sefawa) left Kanem in the fourteenth century and, after nearly a century of internal strife, established a new empire southwest of Lake Chad. This empire was and is known as Bornu, although “Borno” is now the official rendering of the name. The area to which the Sefawa moved was inhabited by various peoples about whom little is known. Today they are known collectively as the Sao -- reputedly a race of giants. Regardless of their size, it may be assumed that for a period of several centuries the efforts of the Sefawa to consolidate their power and expand their kingdom’s boundaries led to the incorporation of many distinctive groups within Kanuri society. This process of incorporation has not ended. Intermarriage, commerce, politics and other factors have combined to produce a people who, although identified by the term “Kanuri,” are in fact culturally heterogeneous. Manga, Marghi, Kwoyam and other groups speak what usually are considered dialects of Kanuri. Other groups have maintained linguistic and ethnic distinctiveness but have been incorporated very closely into contemporary political and social life in Borno. For example, the Shuwas, who are traditionally Arabic speaking nomadic cattle herders, have prominent positions in the traditional political system and today are closely integrated with the mainstream of Kanuri society (many having given up their nomadic lifestyle). There are many people who call themselves Kanuri who, a few years ago, would have been considered members of other ethnic groups. There are others who consider themselves Kanuri (and are thus also so considered by others) with parents neither of whom is Kanuri. There are some who would be considered Kanuri in most contexts but, if pressed, could produce other legitimate ethnic labels. The complexity of the situation needs to be stressed. There is considerable variation in language and other aspects of culture within the category of people known and referred to as Kanuri.
Islam has been a part of Kanuri culture from sometime in the eleventh century and a strong force since at least the fifteenth century. As with other kingdoms in the Sudanic region, Islam came to Borno with the trans-Saharan trade. So little is known about the shape of politics, law and social order in Kanem-Borno in the pre-Muslim period that it is difficutl to judge the extent of changes brought about the advent of Islam. However, pre-Islamic religious and secular beliefs and values were not obliterated overnight, and Kanuri culture is best understood as an amalgamation of Islamic and varied local traditions.
Kanuri. Name of a people and a language in the Chad region. Islam was introduced in the seventh century from the north.
The people who refer to themselves as Kanuri, a name whose etymological roots are not known, live chiefly in Nigeria on the arid plains west and south of Lake Chad in what is now Borno State. All but a few Kanuri are Sunni Muslim.
While there are semi-legendary views about early roots in Yemen, little is known of the earliest phases of Kanuri society. Contemporary Kanuri (narrowly defined) are the descendants of the ruling family of the Kanem Empire. As a result of civil war, this family (the Saifawa or Sefawa) left Kanem in the fourteenth century and, after nearly a century of internal strife, established a new empire southwest of Lake Chad. This empire was and is known as Bornu, although “Borno” is now the official rendering of the name. The area to which the Sefawa moved was inhabited by various peoples about whom little is known. Today they are known collectively as the Sao -- reputedly a race of giants. Regardless of their size, it may be assumed that for a period of several centuries the efforts of the Sefawa to consolidate their power and expand their kingdom’s boundaries led to the incorporation of many distinctive groups within Kanuri society. This process of incorporation has not ended. Intermarriage, commerce, politics and other factors have combined to produce a people who, although identified by the term “Kanuri,” are in fact culturally heterogeneous. Manga, Marghi, Kwoyam and other groups speak what usually are considered dialects of Kanuri. Other groups have maintained linguistic and ethnic distinctiveness but have been incorporated very closely into contemporary political and social life in Borno. For example, the Shuwas, who are traditionally Arabic speaking nomadic cattle herders, have prominent positions in the traditional political system and today are closely integrated with the mainstream of Kanuri society (many having given up their nomadic lifestyle). There are many people who call themselves Kanuri who, a few years ago, would have been considered members of other ethnic groups. There are others who consider themselves Kanuri (and are thus also so considered by others) with parents neither of whom is Kanuri. There are some who would be considered Kanuri in most contexts but, if pressed, could produce other legitimate ethnic labels. The complexity of the situation needs to be stressed. There is considerable variation in language and other aspects of culture within the category of people known and referred to as Kanuri.
Islam has been a part of Kanuri culture from sometime in the eleventh century and a strong force since at least the fifteenth century. As with other kingdoms in the Sudanic region, Islam came to Borno with the trans-Saharan trade. So little is known about the shape of politics, law and social order in Kanem-Borno in the pre-Muslim period that it is difficutl to judge the extent of changes brought about the advent of Islam. However, pre-Islamic religious and secular beliefs and values were not obliterated overnight, and Kanuri culture is best understood as an amalgamation of Islamic and varied local traditions.
Kapu Kullar
Kapu Kullar. “Slaves of the Gate.” Refers to the officers or civil servants of the Ottoman sultan -- the essence of the Ottoman elite.
Kullar, Kapu see Kapu Kullar.
Slaves of the Gate see Kapu Kullar.
Kapu Kullar. “Slaves of the Gate.” Refers to the officers or civil servants of the Ottoman sultan -- the essence of the Ottoman elite.
Kullar, Kapu see Kapu Kullar.
Slaves of the Gate see Kapu Kullar.
Karachai
Karachai (Karachay). Turkic people of the North Caucasus, mostly situated in the Russian Karachay-Cherkess Republic. The colorful Karachai can trace their origins to the eleventh-to-thirteenth-century merging of nomadic Kipchak Turks (Kuman, Kipchak and Polovtsy) with autochthonous (indigenous) tribes of the northern foothills of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. Best known among their neighbors as Alans -- a misnomer which applies directly to ancient Asiatic nomads who ultimately settled in Spanish Catalonia -- the Karachai refer to themselves as Kiarachaly (Kiarchal). They are Caucasian by race and claim to be related historically to the Huns, Bulgars and Khazars, although, in fact, the last group is allied most directly with the lineage of the Daghestani Kumyk. Traditionally, they have been Sunni Muslims of the Hanafi school.
The Karachai were united with Russia in 1828. A mountain warrior people, they frequently rose up, along with other North Caucasian groups, against the colonialist policies of czarist Russia. The unending oppression of the Karachai by czarist authorities led, in the 1860s and 1870s, to a powerful movement in favor of resettlement in Turkey. Deep-seated prejudices between the Russians and Karachai survived at least until the 1950s, and probably still exist. In November 1943, the entire Karachai population was deported from its native lands and shipped in closely guarded freight cars to “special settlements” in Central Asia and Kazakhstan. In the process, their autonomous region was abolished. The reasons surrounding the deportation were at best debatable. Some historians suggest that the Karachai, Balkar, Crimean Tatars, Chechen and Ingush were deported from their homelands because of the needs of the Soviet armies in the immediate postwar years. The Stalinists alleged that the Karachai had collaborated with the Nazis during the brief German occupation. Undoubtedly, some Karachai had served the Third Reich in some way, but the overwhelming majority of the population had not. This was borne out by Premier Nikita Khrushchev in his famous speech delivered at the Communist Party Congress of 1956. In that speech, he granted total amnesty to deportees of all nationalities. By that time, one-third or more Karachai had died in exile or, simply, had “disappeared.” A small number of former Karachai deportees still live in Kirghizia, but most of them have returned to their homeland, which was granted autonomous status again in February of 1957.
The Karachai were converted to Islam by the Kabardinians in the eighteenth century. Because of its late arrival and the nomadic habits of the Karachai, Islam was never observed very devotedly among them. While driving their flocks, the Karachai could not very often perform their formal religious duties. Making matters worse was the Kabardinian practice of taxing persons who did not attend the mosque. Consequently, Karachai were taxed often and severely. Thus, some Karachai clans even into the twentieth century refused to accept many Islamic traditions and prohibitions. Currently, some continue to raise pigs, to eat pork and to save the hides and bones as good luck charms. This may account for the relatively large hog population that exists in this region.
Because Islam did not obtain total acceptance among the Karachai before the revolution and because it is almost inevitably weaker among nomads than among sedentary people, the Karachai retain numerous pre-Islamic shamanist and demonological traditions. In addition to Allah, tribes had, and probably still have, a whole spectrum of deities, including gods and goddesses of the hearth, fertility, harvest, rain, trees, rocks and pastures.
Alans see Karachai
Kiarachaly see Karachai
Kiarchal see Karachai
Karachay see Karachai
Karachai (Karachay). Turkic people of the North Caucasus, mostly situated in the Russian Karachay-Cherkess Republic. The colorful Karachai can trace their origins to the eleventh-to-thirteenth-century merging of nomadic Kipchak Turks (Kuman, Kipchak and Polovtsy) with autochthonous (indigenous) tribes of the northern foothills of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. Best known among their neighbors as Alans -- a misnomer which applies directly to ancient Asiatic nomads who ultimately settled in Spanish Catalonia -- the Karachai refer to themselves as Kiarachaly (Kiarchal). They are Caucasian by race and claim to be related historically to the Huns, Bulgars and Khazars, although, in fact, the last group is allied most directly with the lineage of the Daghestani Kumyk. Traditionally, they have been Sunni Muslims of the Hanafi school.
The Karachai were united with Russia in 1828. A mountain warrior people, they frequently rose up, along with other North Caucasian groups, against the colonialist policies of czarist Russia. The unending oppression of the Karachai by czarist authorities led, in the 1860s and 1870s, to a powerful movement in favor of resettlement in Turkey. Deep-seated prejudices between the Russians and Karachai survived at least until the 1950s, and probably still exist. In November 1943, the entire Karachai population was deported from its native lands and shipped in closely guarded freight cars to “special settlements” in Central Asia and Kazakhstan. In the process, their autonomous region was abolished. The reasons surrounding the deportation were at best debatable. Some historians suggest that the Karachai, Balkar, Crimean Tatars, Chechen and Ingush were deported from their homelands because of the needs of the Soviet armies in the immediate postwar years. The Stalinists alleged that the Karachai had collaborated with the Nazis during the brief German occupation. Undoubtedly, some Karachai had served the Third Reich in some way, but the overwhelming majority of the population had not. This was borne out by Premier Nikita Khrushchev in his famous speech delivered at the Communist Party Congress of 1956. In that speech, he granted total amnesty to deportees of all nationalities. By that time, one-third or more Karachai had died in exile or, simply, had “disappeared.” A small number of former Karachai deportees still live in Kirghizia, but most of them have returned to their homeland, which was granted autonomous status again in February of 1957.
The Karachai were converted to Islam by the Kabardinians in the eighteenth century. Because of its late arrival and the nomadic habits of the Karachai, Islam was never observed very devotedly among them. While driving their flocks, the Karachai could not very often perform their formal religious duties. Making matters worse was the Kabardinian practice of taxing persons who did not attend the mosque. Consequently, Karachai were taxed often and severely. Thus, some Karachai clans even into the twentieth century refused to accept many Islamic traditions and prohibitions. Currently, some continue to raise pigs, to eat pork and to save the hides and bones as good luck charms. This may account for the relatively large hog population that exists in this region.
Because Islam did not obtain total acceptance among the Karachai before the revolution and because it is almost inevitably weaker among nomads than among sedentary people, the Karachai retain numerous pre-Islamic shamanist and demonological traditions. In addition to Allah, tribes had, and probably still have, a whole spectrum of deities, including gods and goddesses of the hearth, fertility, harvest, rain, trees, rocks and pastures.
Alans see Karachai
Kiarachaly see Karachai
Kiarchal see Karachai
Karachay see Karachai
Karaites
Karaites. Jewish sect whose members have lived in several Islamic countries for over 1200 years. They do not recognize the authority of the post-biblical tradition incorporated in the Talmud and in later Rabbinic works.
Karaite Judaism is a Jewish movement characterized by the recognition of the Tanakh as its religious authority. Karaites maintain that all of the commandments handed down by Moses were recorded in the written Torah, and that an Oral Law was not given at Mount Sinai. As a result, Karaite Jews do not accept the Mishnah, Talmud, or Rabbinic decrees as binding. Karaite Judaism does not reject the Talmud, but holds every interpretation of the Tanakh to the same scrutiny regardless of its source. Karaite Judaism teaches that it is the personal responsibility of every individual Jew to study the Torah, and ultimately decide for him- or herself its correct meaning. This is reflected in the Karaite saying "Study the Torah diligently, and do not be dependent on my opinion." The movement crystallized in Baghdad (present-day Iraq), in the Gaonic period (approximately 7th to 9th centuries).
When interpreting the Tanakh, Karaites strive to adhere to the plain, or most obvious meaning (p'shat) of the text. Karaite Jews do not take the Tanakh literally: the p'shat is the meaning that would have been naturally understood by the ancient Israelites when the books of the Tanakh were first written. Since Jewish culture has changed tremendously throughout the past 4,000 years, the p'shat is not as easily understood today as it once was in Biblical Israel, and must now be derived from textual clues such as language, and context. In contrast, Rabbinic Judaism relies on oral traditions handed down by the rabbis to reveal the
original meaning of the Torah. This oral law employs the methods of remez (implication or clue), drash (interpretation, exegesis), and sod (deep, hidden meaning, identified with the Kabbalah), which can often be in discord with the p'shat meaning.
At one time Karaites were a significant portion of the Jewish population. Most Karaites today have made Aliyah to Israel, having immigrated from Arab countries such as Egypt and Iraq.
At one time Karaites were a significant portion of the Jewish population. Most Karaites today have made Aliyah to Israel, having immigrated from Arab countries such as Egypt and Iraq.
Karakalpak
Karakalpak (Qaraqalpaq) (Qoraqalpog). The land of Khorezm (Khiva), legendary khanate of Tamerlane’s splintered empire, today is the homeland of the Karakalpak of Central Asia, a people of complex origin related in part to the ancient Sacs, Oguz, Pechenegs, Kipchaks and Turkicized Mongols. The tribal name may have originated with a Turkic people who lived on a tributary of the Dnieper River in the twelfth century. Whatever its origin, the ethnonym earlier known as chernyye klobuki in Russian and kara-borki in Kipchak eventually became “Karakalpak.” All three words mean “black hat,” alluding to the traditional headwear of the tribe.
The Karakalpaks are a Turkic speaking people. They mainly live in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya and in the (former) delta of Amu Darya on the southern shore of the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan. The name "Karakalpak" comes from two words: "qara" meaning black, and "qalpaq" meaning hat. The Karakalpaks probably number about 650,000 worldwide, out of which about 500,000 live in the Republic of Karakalpakstan. Karakalpaks are not to be confused with Karapapaks.
The Karakalpak population is mainly confined to the central part of Karakalpakstan that is irrigated by the Amu Darya. The largest communities live in Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan, and the surrounding large towns, such as Khodzheli, Shimbay, Takhtaitash, and Kungrad. Rural Karakalpaks mainly live on former collective or state farms, most of which have been recently privatised. Many rural Karakalpaks have been seriously affected by the desiccation of the Aral Sea, which has destroyed the local fishing industry along with much of the grazing and agricultural land in the north of the delta. Karakalpaks have nowhere to go. The majority of Karakalpakstan is occupied by desert - the Kyzyl Kum on the eastern side, the barren Ustyurt plateau to the west, and now the growing Aral Kum to the north, once the bed of the former Aral Sea.
Although their homeland bears their name, the Karakalpaks are not the largest ethnic group to live in Karakalpakstan. They are increasingly being outnumbered by Uzbeks, many of whom are being encouraged to move into the rich agricultural region around Turtkul and Beruni.
The word Karakalpak is derived from the Russian Cyrillic spelling of their name and has become the accepted name for these people in the West. The Karakalpaks actually refer to themselves as Qaraqalpaqs, whilst the Uzbeks call them Qoraqalpogs. The word means "black hat" in Turkic and has caused much confusion in the past, since some historians have attempted to link them with other historically earlier groups, who have also borne the appellation "black hat". Many accounts continue to falsely link the present day Karakalpaks with the Cherniye Klobuki of the 11th century, whose name also means "black hat" in Russian. In fact, the Cherniye Klobuki were a cadre of mercenary border guards who worked for the Kievan Rus. They were of mixed tribal origin; many adopted Christianity and became settled agriculturalists. There is no archaeological or historical evidence to link these two groups, apart from the fact that their names have the same meaning.
Recent archaeological evidence indicates that the Karakalpaks may have formed as a confederation of different tribes at some time in the late 15th or the 16th centuries at some location along the Syr Darya or its southern Zhany Darya outlet, in proximity to the Kazakhs of the Lesser Horde. This would explain why their language, customs and material culture are so very similar to that of the Kazakhs.
Karakalpaks are the followers of the Sunni Hanafi sect of Islam. The exact period in which they adopted the religion of Islam cannot be known for sure. However, it is probable that they adopted Islam between the 10th and 13th centuries during which they first appeared as a distinct ethnic group. Karakalpaks are well known for their devotion in their religion. The dervish orders such as Nakşibendi, Kübrevi, Yesevi and Kalenderi are fairly effective among them. However, the religious order that established the strongest relation with the people of the region is the order of Kübrevi. Its founder is Necmenddin-i Kübra (1145-1221) There is a specific population of Shiites in the religious order of Kübreviye. The Sufism is effective among Karakalpaks.
Chernyye Klobuki see Karakalpak
Kara-borki see Karakalpak
Black Hats see Karakalpak
Qaraqalpaq see Karakalpak
Qoraqalpog see Karakalpak
Karakalpak (Qaraqalpaq) (Qoraqalpog). The land of Khorezm (Khiva), legendary khanate of Tamerlane’s splintered empire, today is the homeland of the Karakalpak of Central Asia, a people of complex origin related in part to the ancient Sacs, Oguz, Pechenegs, Kipchaks and Turkicized Mongols. The tribal name may have originated with a Turkic people who lived on a tributary of the Dnieper River in the twelfth century. Whatever its origin, the ethnonym earlier known as chernyye klobuki in Russian and kara-borki in Kipchak eventually became “Karakalpak.” All three words mean “black hat,” alluding to the traditional headwear of the tribe.
The Karakalpaks are a Turkic speaking people. They mainly live in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya and in the (former) delta of Amu Darya on the southern shore of the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan. The name "Karakalpak" comes from two words: "qara" meaning black, and "qalpaq" meaning hat. The Karakalpaks probably number about 650,000 worldwide, out of which about 500,000 live in the Republic of Karakalpakstan. Karakalpaks are not to be confused with Karapapaks.
The Karakalpak population is mainly confined to the central part of Karakalpakstan that is irrigated by the Amu Darya. The largest communities live in Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan, and the surrounding large towns, such as Khodzheli, Shimbay, Takhtaitash, and Kungrad. Rural Karakalpaks mainly live on former collective or state farms, most of which have been recently privatised. Many rural Karakalpaks have been seriously affected by the desiccation of the Aral Sea, which has destroyed the local fishing industry along with much of the grazing and agricultural land in the north of the delta. Karakalpaks have nowhere to go. The majority of Karakalpakstan is occupied by desert - the Kyzyl Kum on the eastern side, the barren Ustyurt plateau to the west, and now the growing Aral Kum to the north, once the bed of the former Aral Sea.
Although their homeland bears their name, the Karakalpaks are not the largest ethnic group to live in Karakalpakstan. They are increasingly being outnumbered by Uzbeks, many of whom are being encouraged to move into the rich agricultural region around Turtkul and Beruni.
The word Karakalpak is derived from the Russian Cyrillic spelling of their name and has become the accepted name for these people in the West. The Karakalpaks actually refer to themselves as Qaraqalpaqs, whilst the Uzbeks call them Qoraqalpogs. The word means "black hat" in Turkic and has caused much confusion in the past, since some historians have attempted to link them with other historically earlier groups, who have also borne the appellation "black hat". Many accounts continue to falsely link the present day Karakalpaks with the Cherniye Klobuki of the 11th century, whose name also means "black hat" in Russian. In fact, the Cherniye Klobuki were a cadre of mercenary border guards who worked for the Kievan Rus. They were of mixed tribal origin; many adopted Christianity and became settled agriculturalists. There is no archaeological or historical evidence to link these two groups, apart from the fact that their names have the same meaning.
Recent archaeological evidence indicates that the Karakalpaks may have formed as a confederation of different tribes at some time in the late 15th or the 16th centuries at some location along the Syr Darya or its southern Zhany Darya outlet, in proximity to the Kazakhs of the Lesser Horde. This would explain why their language, customs and material culture are so very similar to that of the Kazakhs.
Karakalpaks are the followers of the Sunni Hanafi sect of Islam. The exact period in which they adopted the religion of Islam cannot be known for sure. However, it is probable that they adopted Islam between the 10th and 13th centuries during which they first appeared as a distinct ethnic group. Karakalpaks are well known for their devotion in their religion. The dervish orders such as Nakşibendi, Kübrevi, Yesevi and Kalenderi are fairly effective among them. However, the religious order that established the strongest relation with the people of the region is the order of Kübrevi. Its founder is Necmenddin-i Kübra (1145-1221) There is a specific population of Shiites in the religious order of Kübreviye. The Sufism is effective among Karakalpaks.
Chernyye Klobuki see Karakalpak
Kara-borki see Karakalpak
Black Hats see Karakalpak
Qaraqalpaq see Karakalpak
Qoraqalpog see Karakalpak
Karakhanids
Karakhanids (Kara-Khanids) (Qarakhanids) (Ilek Khanids). Members of a Turkic dynasty that ruled western and eastern Turkestan (Transoxiana and Kashgaria) from the tenth to the beginning of the thirteenth century. It is considered the first Islamic Turkic dynasty (having converted in the middle of the tenth century). In the Karakhanid court appeared the first Islamic Turkic literature, namely, the Kutadgu bilig (Wisdom of Royal Glory) of Yusuf Hass Hajib and the Compendium of the Turkic Dialects of Mahmud al-Kashgari. Hence, its importance is not only political but cultural.
The Kara-Khanid Khanate was a Turkic Khanate founded by the Karakhanids, who were a Turkic dynasty. The Khanate ruled Transoxania in Central Asia from 840-1211. Their capitals included Kashgar, Balasagun, Uzgen and then Kashgar, again. The name of the state comprises two Turkish words, "Kara" and "Khan". "Kara" means "black" in Turkish, indicating nobility, and "Khan", actually Kağan, is a Turkish title given to the ruler of a state like Hakan, Tanhu, Yabgu, and İlbey.
The Karakhanid dynasty, also called Ilek-khans, Khans, or Al-i Afrasiyab, arose from the Karluk tribe of Turks. The Karakhanids exhibited a system of double kingship that was a feature among certain Altaic tribes. One ruler governed from Balasagun or Karaordu. His counterpart ruled from Kashgar or Talas. Each ruler carried a Turkic name and adopted a Muslim one after conversion, thus creating a great deal of confusion for historians.
The Karakhanids gained political importance in 999 with the capture of Bukhara and the division of the Samanid realm with Mahmud of Ghazna. In 1041, the dynasty split into two distinct khanates: (1) the Hasanids, in the east, ruled from Balasagun while (2) the Alids, in the west, ruled first from Ozkend and then from Samarkand. During the twelfth century the eastern khanate fell under the hegemony of the Karakitai and essentially disappeared from sight until 1211, when the Mongol Kuchlug overthrew the Karakitai. At that point, the eastern branch of the Karakhanids ceased to exist.
The western khanate fell under Seljuk suzerainty in 1074 and remained so until the battle of Qatwan in 1141. There the Karakhitai defeated the Seljuks under Sanjar and took possession of Turkestan north of the Oxus. Although the western branch was able to break away from the Karakhitain in the thirteenth century, it was soon conquered by the Khwarazmshah, who executed the last Karakhanid ruler in 1212 and brought the dynasty to an end.
The rulers during the Kara-khanid dynasty were:
* Bilge Kul Qadir Khan (840-893)
* Bazir Arslan Khan (893-920)
* Oghulcak Khan (893-940)
* Satuk Bughra Khan 920-958, in 932 adopted Islam, in 940 took power over Karluks
* Musa Bughra Khan 956-958
* Suleyman Arslan Khan 958-970
* Ali Arslan Khan - Great Qaghan 970-998
* Ahmad Arslan Qara Khan 998-1017
* Overthrow of Samanids 1005
* Mansur Arslan Khan 1017-1024
* Muhammad Toghan Khan 1024-1026
* Yusuf Qadir Khan 1026-32
* Ali Tigin Bughra Khan - Great Qaghan in Samarkand, c.1020-1034
* Ebu Shuca Sulayman 1034-1042
* Split of Karakhanids to branches of Western and Eastern
Western Karakhanids
* Muhammad Arslan Qara Khan c.1042-c.1052
* Ibrâhîm Tabghach Bughra Khan c.1052-1068
* Nasr Shams al-Mulk 1068-1080
* Khidr 1080-1081
* Ahmad 1081-1089
* Ya'qub Qadir Khan 1089-1095
* Mas'ud 1095-1097
* Sulayman Qadir Tamghach 1097
* Mahmud Arslan Khan 1097-1099
* Jibrail Arslan Khan 1099-1102
* Muhammad Arslan Khan 1102-1129
* Nasr 1129
* Ahmad Qadir Khan 1129-1130
* Hasan Jalal ad-Dunya 1130-1132
* Ibrahim Rukn ad-Dunya 1132
* Mahmud 1132-1141
* Defeat of Seljuks, Kara-Khitan Occupation, 1141
* Ibrahim Tabghach Khan 1141-1156
* Ali Chaghri Khan 1156-1161
* Mas'ud Tabghach Khan 1161-1171
* Muhammad Tabghach Khan 1171-1178
* Ibrahim Arslan Khan 1178-1204
* Uthman Ulugh Sultan 1204-1212
* Khwarazm Conquest, 1212
Eastern Karakhanids
* Ebu Shuca Sulayman 1042-1056
* Muhammad bin Yusuph 1056-1057
* İbrahim bin Muhammad Khan 1057-1059
* Mahmud 1059-1075
* Umar 1075
* Ebu Ali el-Hasan 1075-1102
* Ahmad Khan 1102-1128
* İbrahim bin Ahmad 1128-1158
* Muhammad bin İbrahim 1158-?
* Yusuph bin Muhammad ?-1205
* Ebul Feth Muhammad 1205-1211
* Kara-Khitan Conquest, 1211
Ilek-khans see Karakhanids
Khans see Karakhanids
Al-i Afrasiyab see Karakhanids
Kara-Khanids see Karakhanids
Qarakhanids see Karakhanids
Ilek Khanids see Karakhanids
Karakhanids (Kara-Khanids) (Qarakhanids) (Ilek Khanids). Members of a Turkic dynasty that ruled western and eastern Turkestan (Transoxiana and Kashgaria) from the tenth to the beginning of the thirteenth century. It is considered the first Islamic Turkic dynasty (having converted in the middle of the tenth century). In the Karakhanid court appeared the first Islamic Turkic literature, namely, the Kutadgu bilig (Wisdom of Royal Glory) of Yusuf Hass Hajib and the Compendium of the Turkic Dialects of Mahmud al-Kashgari. Hence, its importance is not only political but cultural.
The Kara-Khanid Khanate was a Turkic Khanate founded by the Karakhanids, who were a Turkic dynasty. The Khanate ruled Transoxania in Central Asia from 840-1211. Their capitals included Kashgar, Balasagun, Uzgen and then Kashgar, again. The name of the state comprises two Turkish words, "Kara" and "Khan". "Kara" means "black" in Turkish, indicating nobility, and "Khan", actually Kağan, is a Turkish title given to the ruler of a state like Hakan, Tanhu, Yabgu, and İlbey.
The Karakhanid dynasty, also called Ilek-khans, Khans, or Al-i Afrasiyab, arose from the Karluk tribe of Turks. The Karakhanids exhibited a system of double kingship that was a feature among certain Altaic tribes. One ruler governed from Balasagun or Karaordu. His counterpart ruled from Kashgar or Talas. Each ruler carried a Turkic name and adopted a Muslim one after conversion, thus creating a great deal of confusion for historians.
The Karakhanids gained political importance in 999 with the capture of Bukhara and the division of the Samanid realm with Mahmud of Ghazna. In 1041, the dynasty split into two distinct khanates: (1) the Hasanids, in the east, ruled from Balasagun while (2) the Alids, in the west, ruled first from Ozkend and then from Samarkand. During the twelfth century the eastern khanate fell under the hegemony of the Karakitai and essentially disappeared from sight until 1211, when the Mongol Kuchlug overthrew the Karakitai. At that point, the eastern branch of the Karakhanids ceased to exist.
The western khanate fell under Seljuk suzerainty in 1074 and remained so until the battle of Qatwan in 1141. There the Karakhitai defeated the Seljuks under Sanjar and took possession of Turkestan north of the Oxus. Although the western branch was able to break away from the Karakhitain in the thirteenth century, it was soon conquered by the Khwarazmshah, who executed the last Karakhanid ruler in 1212 and brought the dynasty to an end.
The rulers during the Kara-khanid dynasty were:
* Bilge Kul Qadir Khan (840-893)
* Bazir Arslan Khan (893-920)
* Oghulcak Khan (893-940)
* Satuk Bughra Khan 920-958, in 932 adopted Islam, in 940 took power over Karluks
* Musa Bughra Khan 956-958
* Suleyman Arslan Khan 958-970
* Ali Arslan Khan - Great Qaghan 970-998
* Ahmad Arslan Qara Khan 998-1017
* Overthrow of Samanids 1005
* Mansur Arslan Khan 1017-1024
* Muhammad Toghan Khan 1024-1026
* Yusuf Qadir Khan 1026-32
* Ali Tigin Bughra Khan - Great Qaghan in Samarkand, c.1020-1034
* Ebu Shuca Sulayman 1034-1042
* Split of Karakhanids to branches of Western and Eastern
Western Karakhanids
* Muhammad Arslan Qara Khan c.1042-c.1052
* Ibrâhîm Tabghach Bughra Khan c.1052-1068
* Nasr Shams al-Mulk 1068-1080
* Khidr 1080-1081
* Ahmad 1081-1089
* Ya'qub Qadir Khan 1089-1095
* Mas'ud 1095-1097
* Sulayman Qadir Tamghach 1097
* Mahmud Arslan Khan 1097-1099
* Jibrail Arslan Khan 1099-1102
* Muhammad Arslan Khan 1102-1129
* Nasr 1129
* Ahmad Qadir Khan 1129-1130
* Hasan Jalal ad-Dunya 1130-1132
* Ibrahim Rukn ad-Dunya 1132
* Mahmud 1132-1141
* Defeat of Seljuks, Kara-Khitan Occupation, 1141
* Ibrahim Tabghach Khan 1141-1156
* Ali Chaghri Khan 1156-1161
* Mas'ud Tabghach Khan 1161-1171
* Muhammad Tabghach Khan 1171-1178
* Ibrahim Arslan Khan 1178-1204
* Uthman Ulugh Sultan 1204-1212
* Khwarazm Conquest, 1212
Eastern Karakhanids
* Ebu Shuca Sulayman 1042-1056
* Muhammad bin Yusuph 1056-1057
* İbrahim bin Muhammad Khan 1057-1059
* Mahmud 1059-1075
* Umar 1075
* Ebu Ali el-Hasan 1075-1102
* Ahmad Khan 1102-1128
* İbrahim bin Ahmad 1128-1158
* Muhammad bin İbrahim 1158-?
* Yusuph bin Muhammad ?-1205
* Ebul Feth Muhammad 1205-1211
* Kara-Khitan Conquest, 1211
Ilek-khans see Karakhanids
Khans see Karakhanids
Al-i Afrasiyab see Karakhanids
Kara-Khanids see Karakhanids
Qarakhanids see Karakhanids
Ilek Khanids see Karakhanids
Karakhitai
Karakhitai (Kara-khitay) (Qara Khitay). Name of a Mongol people, also called the Western Liao, who were living, from the fourth century onwards, on the northern fringes of the Chinese Empire. In the first half of the twelfth century they moved into eastern Turkestan, but were defeated by the Ilek-Khans ruling in Kashgharia. In 1137, Mahmud Khan ibn Arslan of Samarkand was defeated by the Karakhitai in Ferghana and appealed to his suzerain the Saljuq Sultan Sanjar, who invaded Turkestan from Khurasan. In September 1141, both rulers were routed with great losses by the Karakhitai, who then occupied Samarkand and Bukhara. The Khwarazm-Shah Atsiz (r. 1127-1156) was compelled to pay an annual tribute. The news of the Karakhitai victory over the Muslim forces filtered through to the Crusaders and thence to Christian Europe, giving fresh impetus to the legends about Prester John, the powerful Christian monarch who supposedly ruled in Inner Asia and who was attacking the Muslims from the rear. The Karakhitai were defeated by Jenghis Khan in 1218.
The Kara-Khitan Khanate, or Western Liao, (1124-1218) was a Khitan empire in Central Asia. The dynasty was founded by Yelü Dashi, who led the remnants of the Liao Dynasty to Central Asia after fleeing from the Jurchen conquest of their homeland in North and Northeast of modern day China. The empire was usurped by the Naimans under Kuchlug in 1211; traditional Chinese, Persian and Arab sources consider the usurpation to be the end of the empire. The empire was later destroyed by the Mongol Empire in 1218.
Kara Khitan (Hala Qidan) was the name used by the Khitans to refer to themselves. The phrase is often translated as the Black Khitans, but its original meaning is unclear today. Since no direct records from the empire survive today, the only surviving historical records about the empire come from outside sources. Since the empire took on trappings of a Chinese state, Chinese historians generally refer to the empire as the Western Liao Dynasty, emphasizing its continuation from the Liao Dynasty in North and Northeast China. The Jurchens referred to the empire as Dashi or Dashi Linya (after its founder), to reduce any claims the empire may have had to the old territories of the Liao Dynasty. Muslim historians initially referred to the state simply as Khitay or Khitai. It was only after the Mongol conquest that the state began to be referred to in the Muslim world as the Kara-Khitai or Qara-Khitai.
The Khitans ruled from their capital at Balasagun (in today's Kyrgyzstan). They directly controlled the central region of the empire. The rest of their empire consisted of highly-autonomous vassalized states, primarily Khwarezm, the Karluks, the Gaochang Uyghurs, the Qangli and the Western, Eastern and Fergana Kara-Khanids. The late-arriving Naimans also became vassals, before usurping the empire under Kuchlug.
The Khitan rulers adopted many administrative elements from the Liao Dynasty, including the use of Confucian administration and imperial trappings. The empire also adopted the title of Gurkhan (universal Khan). The Khitans used the Chinese calendar, maintained Chinese imperial and administrative titles, gave its emperors reign names, used Chinese-styled coins, and sent imperial seals to its vassals. Although most of its administrative titles were derived from Chinese, the empire also adopted local administrative titles, such as tayangyu (Turkic) and vizier.
The Khitans maintained their old customs, even in Central Asia. They remained nomads, adhered to their traditional dress and maintained the religious practices followed by the Liao Dynasty Khitans. The ruling elite tried to maintain the traditional marriages between the Yelü king clan and the Xiao queen clan, and were highly reluctant to allow their princesses to marry outsiders. The Kara-Khitai Khitans followed a mix of Buddhism and traditional Khitan religion, which included fire worship and tribal customs, such as the tradition of sacrificing a gray ox with a white horse. In an innovation unique to the Kara-Khitai, the Khitans paid their soldiers a salary.
The empire ruled over a diverse population that was quite different from its rulers. The majority of the population was sedentary, although the population suddenly became more nomadic during the end of the empire, due to the influx of Naimans. The majority of their subjects were Muslims, although a significant minority practiced Buddhism and Nestorianism. Although Chinese and Khitan were the primary languages of administration, the empire also administered in Persian and Uyghur.
The Kara-Khitai empire was established by Yelü Dashi, who led 100,000 Khitans into Central Asia from Manchuria by way of Mongolia. Yelü conquered Balasagun from the Kara-Khanid Khanate in 1134, which marks the start of the empire in Central Asia. The Khitan forces were soon joined by 10,000 Khitans, who had been subjects of the Kara-Khanid Khanate. The Khitans then conquered Kashgar, Khotan, and Besh Baliq. The Khitans defeated the Western Kara-Khanid Khanate at Khujand in 1137, eventually leading to their control over the Fergana Valley. They won the Battle of Qatwan against the Western Kara-Khanids on September 9, 1141, which allowed the Khitans to control Transoxania.
Yelü died in 1143, and was followed by his wife, Xiao Tabuyan, as regent for their son. Their son, Yelü Yiliu, died in 1163 and was succeeded by his sister, Yelü Pusuwan. She sent her husband, Xiao Duolubu, on many military campaigns. She then fell in love with his younger brother, Xiao Fuguzhi. They were executed in 1177 by her father-in-law, Xiao Wolila, who then placed Yelü Zhilugu on the throne in 1178. The empire was weakened by rebellions and internal wars among its vassals, especially during the latter parts of its history. In 1208, the Naimans fled from their homeland and were welcomed into the empire of the Kara-Khitai. In 1211, the Naiman prince, Kuchlug, captured Yelü Zhilugu while the latter was hunting, ending Khitan rule in the Kara-Khitai empire. The Mongols captured and killed Kuchlug in 1218. The Mongols fully conquered the former territories of the Kara-Khitai in 1220.
Kara-khitay see Karakhitai
Qara Khitay see Karakhitai
Western Liao see Karakhitai
Hala Qidan see Karakhitai
Dashi see Karakhitai
Dashi Linya see Karakhitai
Karakhitai (Kara-khitay) (Qara Khitay). Name of a Mongol people, also called the Western Liao, who were living, from the fourth century onwards, on the northern fringes of the Chinese Empire. In the first half of the twelfth century they moved into eastern Turkestan, but were defeated by the Ilek-Khans ruling in Kashgharia. In 1137, Mahmud Khan ibn Arslan of Samarkand was defeated by the Karakhitai in Ferghana and appealed to his suzerain the Saljuq Sultan Sanjar, who invaded Turkestan from Khurasan. In September 1141, both rulers were routed with great losses by the Karakhitai, who then occupied Samarkand and Bukhara. The Khwarazm-Shah Atsiz (r. 1127-1156) was compelled to pay an annual tribute. The news of the Karakhitai victory over the Muslim forces filtered through to the Crusaders and thence to Christian Europe, giving fresh impetus to the legends about Prester John, the powerful Christian monarch who supposedly ruled in Inner Asia and who was attacking the Muslims from the rear. The Karakhitai were defeated by Jenghis Khan in 1218.
The Kara-Khitan Khanate, or Western Liao, (1124-1218) was a Khitan empire in Central Asia. The dynasty was founded by Yelü Dashi, who led the remnants of the Liao Dynasty to Central Asia after fleeing from the Jurchen conquest of their homeland in North and Northeast of modern day China. The empire was usurped by the Naimans under Kuchlug in 1211; traditional Chinese, Persian and Arab sources consider the usurpation to be the end of the empire. The empire was later destroyed by the Mongol Empire in 1218.
Kara Khitan (Hala Qidan) was the name used by the Khitans to refer to themselves. The phrase is often translated as the Black Khitans, but its original meaning is unclear today. Since no direct records from the empire survive today, the only surviving historical records about the empire come from outside sources. Since the empire took on trappings of a Chinese state, Chinese historians generally refer to the empire as the Western Liao Dynasty, emphasizing its continuation from the Liao Dynasty in North and Northeast China. The Jurchens referred to the empire as Dashi or Dashi Linya (after its founder), to reduce any claims the empire may have had to the old territories of the Liao Dynasty. Muslim historians initially referred to the state simply as Khitay or Khitai. It was only after the Mongol conquest that the state began to be referred to in the Muslim world as the Kara-Khitai or Qara-Khitai.
The Khitans ruled from their capital at Balasagun (in today's Kyrgyzstan). They directly controlled the central region of the empire. The rest of their empire consisted of highly-autonomous vassalized states, primarily Khwarezm, the Karluks, the Gaochang Uyghurs, the Qangli and the Western, Eastern and Fergana Kara-Khanids. The late-arriving Naimans also became vassals, before usurping the empire under Kuchlug.
The Khitan rulers adopted many administrative elements from the Liao Dynasty, including the use of Confucian administration and imperial trappings. The empire also adopted the title of Gurkhan (universal Khan). The Khitans used the Chinese calendar, maintained Chinese imperial and administrative titles, gave its emperors reign names, used Chinese-styled coins, and sent imperial seals to its vassals. Although most of its administrative titles were derived from Chinese, the empire also adopted local administrative titles, such as tayangyu (Turkic) and vizier.
The Khitans maintained their old customs, even in Central Asia. They remained nomads, adhered to their traditional dress and maintained the religious practices followed by the Liao Dynasty Khitans. The ruling elite tried to maintain the traditional marriages between the Yelü king clan and the Xiao queen clan, and were highly reluctant to allow their princesses to marry outsiders. The Kara-Khitai Khitans followed a mix of Buddhism and traditional Khitan religion, which included fire worship and tribal customs, such as the tradition of sacrificing a gray ox with a white horse. In an innovation unique to the Kara-Khitai, the Khitans paid their soldiers a salary.
The empire ruled over a diverse population that was quite different from its rulers. The majority of the population was sedentary, although the population suddenly became more nomadic during the end of the empire, due to the influx of Naimans. The majority of their subjects were Muslims, although a significant minority practiced Buddhism and Nestorianism. Although Chinese and Khitan were the primary languages of administration, the empire also administered in Persian and Uyghur.
The Kara-Khitai empire was established by Yelü Dashi, who led 100,000 Khitans into Central Asia from Manchuria by way of Mongolia. Yelü conquered Balasagun from the Kara-Khanid Khanate in 1134, which marks the start of the empire in Central Asia. The Khitan forces were soon joined by 10,000 Khitans, who had been subjects of the Kara-Khanid Khanate. The Khitans then conquered Kashgar, Khotan, and Besh Baliq. The Khitans defeated the Western Kara-Khanid Khanate at Khujand in 1137, eventually leading to their control over the Fergana Valley. They won the Battle of Qatwan against the Western Kara-Khanids on September 9, 1141, which allowed the Khitans to control Transoxania.
Yelü died in 1143, and was followed by his wife, Xiao Tabuyan, as regent for their son. Their son, Yelü Yiliu, died in 1163 and was succeeded by his sister, Yelü Pusuwan. She sent her husband, Xiao Duolubu, on many military campaigns. She then fell in love with his younger brother, Xiao Fuguzhi. They were executed in 1177 by her father-in-law, Xiao Wolila, who then placed Yelü Zhilugu on the throne in 1178. The empire was weakened by rebellions and internal wars among its vassals, especially during the latter parts of its history. In 1208, the Naimans fled from their homeland and were welcomed into the empire of the Kara-Khitai. In 1211, the Naiman prince, Kuchlug, captured Yelü Zhilugu while the latter was hunting, ending Khitan rule in the Kara-Khitai empire. The Mongols captured and killed Kuchlug in 1218. The Mongols fully conquered the former territories of the Kara-Khitai in 1220.
Kara-khitay see Karakhitai
Qara Khitay see Karakhitai
Western Liao see Karakhitai
Hala Qidan see Karakhitai
Dashi see Karakhitai
Dashi Linya see Karakhitai
Karaki, Nur al-Din al-
Karaki, Nur al-Din al- (Nur al-Din al-Karaki) (c. 1466-1534). Imami scholar of al-Biqa’ in Lebanon. Some of his commentaries on earlier legal works became popular books of instruction.
Nur al-Din al-Karaki see Karaki, Nur al-Din al-
Karaki, Nur al-Din al- (Nur al-Din al-Karaki) (c. 1466-1534). Imami scholar of al-Biqa’ in Lebanon. Some of his commentaries on earlier legal works became popular books of instruction.
Nur al-Din al-Karaki see Karaki, Nur al-Din al-
Karakoyunlu
Karakoyunlu (Kara Koyunlu) (Qara Qoyunlu) (Black Sheep Turkomans) (“The Black Sheep”) (1375-1468). Federation of Turkmen tribes that ruled much of Persia and Mesopotamia in the fifteenth century. They arose in eastern Anatolia north of Lake Van, far from the centralized, orthodox empires of the Ottomans to the west and the Timurids to the east. Apparently at this time, if not before, Azerbaijan became ethnically Turkish. The Karakoyunlu are regarded as a Shi‘ite dynasty, in opposition to the Sunni Akkoyunlu.
The Kara Koyunlu were a Shi'ite Oghuz Turkic tribal federation that ruled over the territory comprising present-day Armenia, Azerbaijan, north western Iran, eastern Turkey and Iraq from about 1375 to 1468.
The Karakoyunlu were originally organized by Bairam Khwaja (d. 1380), chief of the Baharlu clan of the Ghuzz (Oghuz). Both he and his son, Kara Muhammad Turmush, were in the service of the Jalayirid sultans in Tabriz. Kara Yusuf (1389-1420) declared his independence, took over the former Jalayirid possessions in Azerbaijan and Mesopotamia, and made Tabriz his capital. (However, he fled to the protection of the Ottomans and Mamluks from 1400 to 1406 in order to escape Timur’s invasion.)
The most important Karakoyunlu ruler was Jahanshah (1438-1467), who extended the empire to its greatest extent, including eastern Anatolia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Fars, Kerman, and Oman. Jahanshah built the Gok Masjid (Blue Mosque) in Tabriz, a structure renowned throughout the Islamic world for its beauty.
The Karakoyunlu were hostile to the Safavids, who were later to establish a much more powerful Shi‘ite dynasty. They also clashed with the Timurids on occasion. Jahanshah defeated Abu Sa’id in 1458 and briefly occupied Herat. Uzun Hasan, the leader of the Akkoyunlu and chief rival of Jahanshah, defeated him in 1466. This effectively terminated the rule of the Karakoyunlu, and their domains were absorbed by the Akkoyunlu.
A rival branch of the Karakoyunlu, originally established by a son of Kara Yusuf, ruled in Baghdad from about 1411 to 1466, when this branch was put to an end by Jahanshah. The Qutb Shahis of Golconda, an Indian dynasty that ruled in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, was founded by a descendant of the Karakoyunlu and kept alive their memory.
"The Black Sheep" see Karakoyunlu
Qara Qoyunlu see Karakoyunlu
Black Sheep Turkomans see Karakoyunlu
Kara Koyunlu see Karakoyunlu
Karakoyunlu (Kara Koyunlu) (Qara Qoyunlu) (Black Sheep Turkomans) (“The Black Sheep”) (1375-1468). Federation of Turkmen tribes that ruled much of Persia and Mesopotamia in the fifteenth century. They arose in eastern Anatolia north of Lake Van, far from the centralized, orthodox empires of the Ottomans to the west and the Timurids to the east. Apparently at this time, if not before, Azerbaijan became ethnically Turkish. The Karakoyunlu are regarded as a Shi‘ite dynasty, in opposition to the Sunni Akkoyunlu.
The Kara Koyunlu were a Shi'ite Oghuz Turkic tribal federation that ruled over the territory comprising present-day Armenia, Azerbaijan, north western Iran, eastern Turkey and Iraq from about 1375 to 1468.
The Karakoyunlu were originally organized by Bairam Khwaja (d. 1380), chief of the Baharlu clan of the Ghuzz (Oghuz). Both he and his son, Kara Muhammad Turmush, were in the service of the Jalayirid sultans in Tabriz. Kara Yusuf (1389-1420) declared his independence, took over the former Jalayirid possessions in Azerbaijan and Mesopotamia, and made Tabriz his capital. (However, he fled to the protection of the Ottomans and Mamluks from 1400 to 1406 in order to escape Timur’s invasion.)
The most important Karakoyunlu ruler was Jahanshah (1438-1467), who extended the empire to its greatest extent, including eastern Anatolia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Fars, Kerman, and Oman. Jahanshah built the Gok Masjid (Blue Mosque) in Tabriz, a structure renowned throughout the Islamic world for its beauty.
The Karakoyunlu were hostile to the Safavids, who were later to establish a much more powerful Shi‘ite dynasty. They also clashed with the Timurids on occasion. Jahanshah defeated Abu Sa’id in 1458 and briefly occupied Herat. Uzun Hasan, the leader of the Akkoyunlu and chief rival of Jahanshah, defeated him in 1466. This effectively terminated the rule of the Karakoyunlu, and their domains were absorbed by the Akkoyunlu.
A rival branch of the Karakoyunlu, originally established by a son of Kara Yusuf, ruled in Baghdad from about 1411 to 1466, when this branch was put to an end by Jahanshah. The Qutb Shahis of Golconda, an Indian dynasty that ruled in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, was founded by a descendant of the Karakoyunlu and kept alive their memory.
"The Black Sheep" see Karakoyunlu
Qara Qoyunlu see Karakoyunlu
Black Sheep Turkomans see Karakoyunlu
Kara Koyunlu see Karakoyunlu
Karamat, ‘Ali
Karamat, ‘Ali (‘Ali Karamat) (d. 1873). Muslim religious author of Jaunpur who wrote chiefly in Urdu. He struggled against Hindu customs and superstitions which had crept into the practice of Islam in eastern Bengal, and against new heterodox schools.
'Ali Karamat see Karamat, ‘Ali
Karamat, ‘Ali (‘Ali Karamat) (d. 1873). Muslim religious author of Jaunpur who wrote chiefly in Urdu. He struggled against Hindu customs and superstitions which had crept into the practice of Islam in eastern Bengal, and against new heterodox schools.
'Ali Karamat see Karamat, ‘Ali
Karami, Rashid
Karami, Rashid (Rashid Abdul Hamid Karami) (December 30, 1921 – June 1, 1987) was a Lebanese statesman. He was one of the most important political figures in Lebanon for more than 30 years, including during much of Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), and he served as Prime Minister eight times: 1955-1956; 1958-1960; 1961-1964; 1965-1966; 1966-1968; 1969-1970; 1975-1976; and 1984-1987.
Rashid Karami was born in Tripoli, into one of Lebanon's most prominent political families. He was the eldest son of Abdul Hamid Karami, an architect of Lebanese independence from France. The father was also the Grand Mufti, or supreme religious judge, of Tripoli, and served as Prime Minister in 1945. His younger brother, Omar Karami, has served as Prime Minister three times, most recently from 2004 to 2005.
After graduating from Cairo University with a Law degree in the 1940s, Karami established a legal practice in Tripoli. He was elected to the National Assembly in 1951 to fill a vacancy caused by the death of his father. In the same year, he became Minister of Justice in the government of Prime Minister Hussein al Oweini. In 1953, he was appointed Minister of the Economy and Social Affairs.
Between 1955 and 1987, Karami held office eight times as Prime Minister, under every President. These terms were from 1955 to 1956, 1958 to 1960, 1961 to 1964, 1965 to 1966, 1966 to 1968, 1969 to 1970, 1975 to 1976, and from 1984 until his death. He also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs several times.
Karami had a stormy relationship with Lebanon's Presidents, who appointed him because of his political connections, despite substantial political differences. He was popularly known as a man for all crises because of a penchant of Lebanon's presidents to turn to him in times of major national strife or political upheaval.
What made the lawyer from the northern port city of Tripoli so often the man of the hour was a talent for leading the opposition without burning his bridges with the Lebanese president. Mr. Karami enjoyed political prominence, and an unparalleled popularity. Unlike Nabih Berri of the Shiite Moslems and Walid Jumblat, the Druze leader, he had no militia. While his public statements were often in the florid style common among Arab politicians, he was a skillful practitioner of the intricacies of Lebanese politics. He repeatedly strove to remain as leader of the Government until he decided it was useless to carry on amid the turmoil and violence of Lebanese politics. While he was fluent in French and had a good command of English, he was always accompanied by an interpreter in interviews with foreign correspondents, because he insisted on speaking Arabic. He was celebrated for being a statesman with courtly manners, soft-spokenness and taste in clothes. He was often described in the Lebanese press as al effendi - the gentleman.
Karami was a strong proponent of increasing political power of Lebanon's Muslim community, which in his time increased to outnumber the Christian population for the first time in Lebanese history, causing major ripples in the social fabric of the country. He attempted, without success, to gain greater representation for Muslims in the National Assembly, where they were allocated 45 percent of the seats, a figure that was not adjusted to take account of changing demographics. In 1976, Karami helped broker an agreement to provide for equal parliamentary representation of Christians and Muslims, but this agreement was never implemented. One concession that was made by Christian politicians was to allow legislation signed by the President to be countersigned by the Prime Minister, from 1974 onwards, giving the Prime Minister (always a Sunni Muslim) an effective veto.
Karami was a part of the Islamic Leftist faction in Lebanese politics. During the 1950s, he was a political follower of the Pan-Arabism of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser. He was first appointed Prime Minister by President Camille Chamoun on September 19, 1955. By the following year, however, he had seriously fallen out with Chamoun over the latter's refusal to sever diplomatic relations with the western powers that had attacked Egypt in the Suez Crisis of 1956. He again opposed Chamoun in the 1958 Lebanon Crisis, a Nasserist uprising with considerable support in the Muslim community which erupted in May 1958 and attempted to topple the government and join Egypt and Syria in the new United Arab Republic. By September, when Chamoun had quelled the uprising with the aid of United States Marines, Karami formed a government of national unity under the new President, Fuad Chehab.
Karami served four more times as Prime Minister throughout the 1960s. During this time, he championed the Palestinian cause, and is believed to have argued for Lebanon to play a more active role against Israel in the Six Day War of June 1967, a position which was unpopular with many Christians. Increasing clashes between the Lebanese army and the Palestine Liberation Organization forced his resignation in April 1970, but he soon returned to office after an accord had been signed between Lebanon and the PLO. In August of that year, however, Suleiman Frangieh, an enemy of Karami's, was elected President. Karami resigned and was succeeded by Saeb Salam.
Civil war erupted in Lebanon in April 1975. Multiple factions were involved and the political and military situation was extremely complex, but broadly speaking, the civil war was fought mainly between right-wing, mainly Christian militias (the most prominent of which was the Phalange), and leftist, mainly Muslim militias and their Palestinian allies. Desperate to stabilize the situation, Frangieh dismissed Prime Minister Rashid el-Solh and called on his old adversary Karami to form a government on July 1. He retreated somewhat from his previous strong support for the Palestinians and supported the Syrian military intervention of June 1976. Despite Karami's political connections many years of experience, he was unable to end the war, however, and on December 8, 1976 he resigned. Elias Sarkis, who had succeeded Frangieh as President in September, appointed Selim al-Hoss as the new Prime Minister.
In the late 1970s, Karami was reconciled to his old enemy, Suleiman Frangieh, after Frangieh had fallen out with the Phalangist militia leader, Bachir Gemayel. Together with Frangieh and Walid Jumblatt, Karami founded the National Salvation Front, pro-Syrian coalition of Sunni Muslim, Druze, and some Christians, mainly in the north of Lebanon. The National Salvation Front stood in opposition to the Lebanese Front, a right-wing coalition of mainly Christian parties.
In April 1984, following conferences in Switzerland, Karami became Prime Minister for the eighth time, heading a government of national reconciliation. This period saw increasing Syrian influence in the wake of the partial Israeli withdrawal following their invasion of Lebanon in 1982, which Karami had strongly opposed. In 1986, he rejected the National Agreement to Solve the Lebanese Crisis, which had been drafted with minimal Sunni Muslim participation. This opposition created a tense relationship with President Amine Gemayel. Continuing problems led Karami to resign on May 4, 1987, but Gemayel, seeing no viable alternative, refused to accept his resignation.
Just under a month later, Karami was killed after a bomb was placed in his Aérospatiale Puma helicopter en route to Beirut. Karami was the only one killed in the blast. Interior Minister Abdullah al-Rasi and at least three of a dozen other aides and crew members aboard the helicopter were wounded. Karami was succeeded by Selim al-Hoss.
In 1999, Samir Geagea and ten other members of the Lebanese Forces, a Christian militia which had absorbed the Phalange, were convicted of Karami's murder and given death penalties that were pardoned to lifetime prison terms for their direct planning and participation in Karami's killing.
Rashid Karami see Karami, Rashid
Rashid Abdul Hamid Karami see Karami, Rashid
Karami, Rashid (Rashid Abdul Hamid Karami) (December 30, 1921 – June 1, 1987) was a Lebanese statesman. He was one of the most important political figures in Lebanon for more than 30 years, including during much of Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), and he served as Prime Minister eight times: 1955-1956; 1958-1960; 1961-1964; 1965-1966; 1966-1968; 1969-1970; 1975-1976; and 1984-1987.
Rashid Karami was born in Tripoli, into one of Lebanon's most prominent political families. He was the eldest son of Abdul Hamid Karami, an architect of Lebanese independence from France. The father was also the Grand Mufti, or supreme religious judge, of Tripoli, and served as Prime Minister in 1945. His younger brother, Omar Karami, has served as Prime Minister three times, most recently from 2004 to 2005.
After graduating from Cairo University with a Law degree in the 1940s, Karami established a legal practice in Tripoli. He was elected to the National Assembly in 1951 to fill a vacancy caused by the death of his father. In the same year, he became Minister of Justice in the government of Prime Minister Hussein al Oweini. In 1953, he was appointed Minister of the Economy and Social Affairs.
Between 1955 and 1987, Karami held office eight times as Prime Minister, under every President. These terms were from 1955 to 1956, 1958 to 1960, 1961 to 1964, 1965 to 1966, 1966 to 1968, 1969 to 1970, 1975 to 1976, and from 1984 until his death. He also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs several times.
Karami had a stormy relationship with Lebanon's Presidents, who appointed him because of his political connections, despite substantial political differences. He was popularly known as a man for all crises because of a penchant of Lebanon's presidents to turn to him in times of major national strife or political upheaval.
What made the lawyer from the northern port city of Tripoli so often the man of the hour was a talent for leading the opposition without burning his bridges with the Lebanese president. Mr. Karami enjoyed political prominence, and an unparalleled popularity. Unlike Nabih Berri of the Shiite Moslems and Walid Jumblat, the Druze leader, he had no militia. While his public statements were often in the florid style common among Arab politicians, he was a skillful practitioner of the intricacies of Lebanese politics. He repeatedly strove to remain as leader of the Government until he decided it was useless to carry on amid the turmoil and violence of Lebanese politics. While he was fluent in French and had a good command of English, he was always accompanied by an interpreter in interviews with foreign correspondents, because he insisted on speaking Arabic. He was celebrated for being a statesman with courtly manners, soft-spokenness and taste in clothes. He was often described in the Lebanese press as al effendi - the gentleman.
Karami was a strong proponent of increasing political power of Lebanon's Muslim community, which in his time increased to outnumber the Christian population for the first time in Lebanese history, causing major ripples in the social fabric of the country. He attempted, without success, to gain greater representation for Muslims in the National Assembly, where they were allocated 45 percent of the seats, a figure that was not adjusted to take account of changing demographics. In 1976, Karami helped broker an agreement to provide for equal parliamentary representation of Christians and Muslims, but this agreement was never implemented. One concession that was made by Christian politicians was to allow legislation signed by the President to be countersigned by the Prime Minister, from 1974 onwards, giving the Prime Minister (always a Sunni Muslim) an effective veto.
Karami was a part of the Islamic Leftist faction in Lebanese politics. During the 1950s, he was a political follower of the Pan-Arabism of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser. He was first appointed Prime Minister by President Camille Chamoun on September 19, 1955. By the following year, however, he had seriously fallen out with Chamoun over the latter's refusal to sever diplomatic relations with the western powers that had attacked Egypt in the Suez Crisis of 1956. He again opposed Chamoun in the 1958 Lebanon Crisis, a Nasserist uprising with considerable support in the Muslim community which erupted in May 1958 and attempted to topple the government and join Egypt and Syria in the new United Arab Republic. By September, when Chamoun had quelled the uprising with the aid of United States Marines, Karami formed a government of national unity under the new President, Fuad Chehab.
Karami served four more times as Prime Minister throughout the 1960s. During this time, he championed the Palestinian cause, and is believed to have argued for Lebanon to play a more active role against Israel in the Six Day War of June 1967, a position which was unpopular with many Christians. Increasing clashes between the Lebanese army and the Palestine Liberation Organization forced his resignation in April 1970, but he soon returned to office after an accord had been signed between Lebanon and the PLO. In August of that year, however, Suleiman Frangieh, an enemy of Karami's, was elected President. Karami resigned and was succeeded by Saeb Salam.
Civil war erupted in Lebanon in April 1975. Multiple factions were involved and the political and military situation was extremely complex, but broadly speaking, the civil war was fought mainly between right-wing, mainly Christian militias (the most prominent of which was the Phalange), and leftist, mainly Muslim militias and their Palestinian allies. Desperate to stabilize the situation, Frangieh dismissed Prime Minister Rashid el-Solh and called on his old adversary Karami to form a government on July 1. He retreated somewhat from his previous strong support for the Palestinians and supported the Syrian military intervention of June 1976. Despite Karami's political connections many years of experience, he was unable to end the war, however, and on December 8, 1976 he resigned. Elias Sarkis, who had succeeded Frangieh as President in September, appointed Selim al-Hoss as the new Prime Minister.
In the late 1970s, Karami was reconciled to his old enemy, Suleiman Frangieh, after Frangieh had fallen out with the Phalangist militia leader, Bachir Gemayel. Together with Frangieh and Walid Jumblatt, Karami founded the National Salvation Front, pro-Syrian coalition of Sunni Muslim, Druze, and some Christians, mainly in the north of Lebanon. The National Salvation Front stood in opposition to the Lebanese Front, a right-wing coalition of mainly Christian parties.
In April 1984, following conferences in Switzerland, Karami became Prime Minister for the eighth time, heading a government of national reconciliation. This period saw increasing Syrian influence in the wake of the partial Israeli withdrawal following their invasion of Lebanon in 1982, which Karami had strongly opposed. In 1986, he rejected the National Agreement to Solve the Lebanese Crisis, which had been drafted with minimal Sunni Muslim participation. This opposition created a tense relationship with President Amine Gemayel. Continuing problems led Karami to resign on May 4, 1987, but Gemayel, seeing no viable alternative, refused to accept his resignation.
Just under a month later, Karami was killed after a bomb was placed in his Aérospatiale Puma helicopter en route to Beirut. Karami was the only one killed in the blast. Interior Minister Abdullah al-Rasi and at least three of a dozen other aides and crew members aboard the helicopter were wounded. Karami was succeeded by Selim al-Hoss.
In 1999, Samir Geagea and ten other members of the Lebanese Forces, a Christian militia which had absorbed the Phalange, were convicted of Karami's murder and given death penalties that were pardoned to lifetime prison terms for their direct planning and participation in Karami's killing.
Rashid Karami see Karami, Rashid
Rashid Abdul Hamid Karami see Karami, Rashid
Karaosmanoglu, Yakub Kadri
Karaosmanoglu, Yakub Kadri (Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu) (March 27, 1889 in Cairo - December 13, 1974 in Ankara). Leading Turkish novelist of the republican period.
Karaosmanoğlu was born in Cairo in 1889. He was the son of Abdülkadir Bey, a member of the Karaosmanoğulları family which started to gain a reputation in the 17th century around the Manisa region. His mother was İkbal Hanım, a woman in İsmail Paşa's palace community. Until the age of six, he was raised in Cairo, after which his family moved to their homeland, Manisa. He completed his primary education in Manisa, and in 1903, they moved to İzmir.
Karaosmanoglu arrived in Istanbul in 1908. Once in Istanbul, Karaosmanoglu attracted attention with mannered prose poems and a collection of short stories, Bir Serencam.
Bir Serencam was published in 1913. The dominant theme of Bir Serencam is one expressing a hostility to religious fanaticism. This theme of hostility to religious fanaticism reappeared in Karaosmanoglu’s Nur Baba.
Nur Baba was published in 1922. Nur Baba provides a detailed picture of life in a decadent dervish convent.
An enthusiastic supporter of the Kemalist movement, Karaosmanoglu became a deputy and served for many years as a diplomat.
Strongly influenced by the French realists, Karaosmanoglu produced a series of powerful novels depicting, with sympathy but without false sentiment, the psychological crises of individuals in the context of the successive crises of modern Turkey.
In Kiralsk Konak (Kiralik Konak), which was published in 1921, Karaosmanoglu depicts the decay of the Ottoman society during the despotism of Abdulhamid.
In Hukum Gecesi (1927), the struggles of republican advocates during the period from 1908 to 1918 were chronicled.
In Sodom ve Gomore (1928), a story about the cosmopolitan world of occupied Istanbul at the end of World War I is told.
In Yaban (1932), the brutish life of the Anatolian peasantry during the War of Independence was depicted. Yaban (Stranger, 1932) depicts the bitter experiences of a Turkish intellectual, Ahmet Celal, in the countryside after losing his arm in the Battle of Gallipoli. Though categorized as naturalist, the novel has a romantic, anti-pastoral quality.
In Ankara (1934), the triumph of the young Turkish republic was told.
In Bir Surgun (1937), the bewilderment of a young exile in Paris is portrayed.
In Panorama (1954), the corrupting influence of self-interest on the reformers' ideals was portrayed. Panorama analyzes the political, social, and economical changes during the transition from the Ottoman Empire period to the Republic of Turkey period. It is considered to be a "generation novel" as the story is based on the lives of several generations of the same family during this transitional period.
In Anamin Kitabi (1957), Karaosmanoglu related his early years and in Vatan Yolunda (1958) he told of his experiences during the War of Independence.
The works of Yakub Kadri Karaosmanoglu include:
* "Bir Serencam" (1913)
* "Kiralık Konak" (1921)
* "Nur Baba" (1922)
* "Rahmet" (1923)
* "Hüküm Gecesi" (1927)
* "Sodom ve Gomore" (1928)
* "Yaban" (1932)
* "Ankara" (1934)
* "Ahmet Haşim" (1934)
* "Bir Sürgün" (1937)
* "Atatürk" (1946)
* "Panorama 1" (1950)
* "Panorama 2" (1954)
* "Zoraki Diplomat" (1954)
* "Hep O Şarkı" (1956)
* "Anamın Kitabı" (1957)
* "Vatan Yolunda" (1958)
* "Politikada 45 Yıl" (1968)
* "Gençlik ve Edebiyat Hatıraları" (1969)
Yakub Kadri Karaosmanoglu see Karaosmanoglu, Yakub Kadri
Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu see Karaosmanoglu, Yakub Kadri
* "Nur Baba" (1922)
* "Rahmet" (1923)
* "Hüküm Gecesi" (1927)
* "Sodom ve Gomore" (1928)
* "Yaban" (1932)
* "Ankara" (1934)
* "Ahmet Haşim" (1934)
* "Bir Sürgün" (1937)
* "Atatürk" (1946)
* "Panorama 1" (1950)
* "Panorama 2" (1954)
* "Zoraki Diplomat" (1954)
* "Hep O Şarkı" (1956)
* "Anamın Kitabı" (1957)
* "Vatan Yolunda" (1958)
* "Politikada 45 Yıl" (1968)
* "Gençlik ve Edebiyat Hatıraları" (1969)
Yakub Kadri Karaosmanoglu see Karaosmanoglu, Yakub Kadri
Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu see Karaosmanoglu, Yakub Kadri
Karay, Refiq Khalid
Karay, Refiq Khalid (Refik Halit Karay) (Refik Halid Karay) (March 14, 1888 - July 18, 1965). Turkish essayist, humorist and novelist. He is deemed to have been the unchallenged master of modern Turkish prose.
The journalist, storywriter and novelist Refik Halid Karay was born on March 14, 1888 in Istanbul. Karay, who used various pennames such as Aydede, Dürenda, Kirpi, Nakş-ı Ber-âb, Rehak, Vakanüvis, came from a well-established family. In 1907, as he was a second year student at the Faculty of Law, and a civil servant at the Ministry of Finance, the Second Constitutional Monarchy was declared, and he left both his studies and his position to become a journalist. Publishing his first article in 1909 in the Servet-i Fünun group’s publication, Karay’s editorial columns and articles started appearing regularly in the newspaper Tercüman-ı Hakikat. However, Refik Halid Karay earned his fame through the humorous political articles that he wrote under the pseudonym Kirpi, for the humor magazines Kalem and Cem. Because of these highly critical pieces, he was exiled to Çorum in 1913, and later to Ankara and Burdur. The three years that he spent in exile would become a turning point in his literary career. It was during this period that Refik Halid Karay found ample opportunity to get acquainted with the people of Anatolia and to collect the material that would make up his Memleket Hikâyeleri. In 1917, Refik Halid Karay was granted clemency, returned to Istanbul and started writing in the newspapers Vakit, Tasvir-i Efkar, Alemdar, Peyam-ı Sabah and Zaman. Soon he was made the editor-in-chief of the Sabah newspaper.
During this period, Refik Halid Karay also began writing novels and short fiction; and he came to be known with his sharp mind as “the author who writes in the best Istanbul Turkish.” In his stories, he conveyed the reality of both Anatolia and Istanbul. He made extensive use of the observations that he made during his exile, and he portrayed the worlds and the concerns of people from all walks of life; shopkeepers, clerks, villagers, city dwellers, women, and men alike. Refik Halid Karay was a meticulous observer who enjoyed capturing scenes from social life. His works were a true rendering of the environment that he lived in. Refik Halid Karay was an extraordinary literary figure, who was both a natural observer, and a writer with a unique command over the Turkish language. In his popular novels, Karay chose to deal with social change and its impact on various levels of society, while comparing traditional and new values from different perspectives. Even though he belonged to an established Ottoman family, he embraced the changes that took place after the declaration of the Republic, he even used his exquisite language to criticize those who could not adapt to the revolutionary changes.
Refik Halid Karay died on July 18, 1965 in Istanbul.
The works of Refik Halid Karay include:
Short Stories:
* Memleket Hikâyeleri (Hometown Stories, 1919)
* Gurbet Hikâyeleri (Exile Stories, 1940)
Novels:
* İstanbul’un İçyüzü (Inside İstanbul, 1920)
* Yezidin Kızı (Vermin’s Daughter, 1939)
* Çete (The Gang, 1939)
* Sürgün (Exile, 1941)
* Anahtar (The Key, 1947)
* Bu Bizim Hayatımız (This is Our Life, 1950)
* Nilgün (Nilgün, 1950)
* Yer Altında Dünya Var (There is a World Underground, 1953),
* Di'i Örümcek (Female Spider, 1953),
* Bugünün Saraylısı (Today’s Man of the Palace, 1954)
* 2000 Yılının Sevgilisi (2000 Year’s Beloved, 1954)
* İki Cisimli Kadın (The Woman With Two Bodies, 1955)
* Kadınlar Tekkesi (Lodge of Women, 1956)
* Karlı Dağdaki Ateş (Fire on the Snowy Mountain, 1956)
* Dört Yapraklı Yonca (Four-leaf Clover, 1957)
* Sonuncu Kadeh (Last Glass, 1957)
* Yerini Seven Fidan (A Sapling Liking its Place, 1977)
* Ekmek Elden Su Gölden (Living on Others, 1980)
* Ayın On Dördü (The Full Moon, 1980)
* Yüzen Bahçe (The Swimming Garden, 1981)
Anecdotes:
* Bir İçim Su (Cuddly, 1931)
* Bir Avuç Saçma (A Handful of Nonsense, 1939)
* İlk Adım (First Step, 1941)
* Üç Nesil Üç Hayat (Three Generations, Three Lives, 1943)
* Makyajlı Kadın (The Woman in Make-up, 1943)
* Tanrıya ikayet (Complaint to God, 1944).
Humor-Satire:
* Sakın Aldanma İnanma Kanma (Don’t Be Deceived, Don’t Believe, 1915)
* Kirpi’nin Dedikleri (What the Hedgehog Said, 1916)
* Agop Paşa’nın Hatıratı (Memoirs of Agop Paşa, 1918)
* Ay Peşinde (In Pursuit of the Moon, 1922)
* Guguklu Saat (Cuckoo Clock, 1925)
Memoirs:
* Tanıdıklarım (My Acquaintances, 1922)
* Minelbab İlelmihrab (From Beginning to End, 1946)
* Bir Ömür Boyunca (Throughout A Life, 1980)
Plays:
* Deli (Mad, 1929)
* Kanije Müdafaası ve Tiryaki Hasan Paşa (Kanije Defense and Tiryaki Hasan Paşa).
Refiq Khalid Karay see Karay, Refiq Khalid
Vakanuvis see Karay, Refiq Khalid
Rehak see Karay, Refiq Khalid
Aydede see Karay, Refiq Khalid
Durenda see Karay, Refiq Khalid
Kirpi see Karay, Refiq Khalid
Karay, Refiq Khalid (Refik Halit Karay) (Refik Halid Karay) (March 14, 1888 - July 18, 1965). Turkish essayist, humorist and novelist. He is deemed to have been the unchallenged master of modern Turkish prose.
The journalist, storywriter and novelist Refik Halid Karay was born on March 14, 1888 in Istanbul. Karay, who used various pennames such as Aydede, Dürenda, Kirpi, Nakş-ı Ber-âb, Rehak, Vakanüvis, came from a well-established family. In 1907, as he was a second year student at the Faculty of Law, and a civil servant at the Ministry of Finance, the Second Constitutional Monarchy was declared, and he left both his studies and his position to become a journalist. Publishing his first article in 1909 in the Servet-i Fünun group’s publication, Karay’s editorial columns and articles started appearing regularly in the newspaper Tercüman-ı Hakikat. However, Refik Halid Karay earned his fame through the humorous political articles that he wrote under the pseudonym Kirpi, for the humor magazines Kalem and Cem. Because of these highly critical pieces, he was exiled to Çorum in 1913, and later to Ankara and Burdur. The three years that he spent in exile would become a turning point in his literary career. It was during this period that Refik Halid Karay found ample opportunity to get acquainted with the people of Anatolia and to collect the material that would make up his Memleket Hikâyeleri. In 1917, Refik Halid Karay was granted clemency, returned to Istanbul and started writing in the newspapers Vakit, Tasvir-i Efkar, Alemdar, Peyam-ı Sabah and Zaman. Soon he was made the editor-in-chief of the Sabah newspaper.
During this period, Refik Halid Karay also began writing novels and short fiction; and he came to be known with his sharp mind as “the author who writes in the best Istanbul Turkish.” In his stories, he conveyed the reality of both Anatolia and Istanbul. He made extensive use of the observations that he made during his exile, and he portrayed the worlds and the concerns of people from all walks of life; shopkeepers, clerks, villagers, city dwellers, women, and men alike. Refik Halid Karay was a meticulous observer who enjoyed capturing scenes from social life. His works were a true rendering of the environment that he lived in. Refik Halid Karay was an extraordinary literary figure, who was both a natural observer, and a writer with a unique command over the Turkish language. In his popular novels, Karay chose to deal with social change and its impact on various levels of society, while comparing traditional and new values from different perspectives. Even though he belonged to an established Ottoman family, he embraced the changes that took place after the declaration of the Republic, he even used his exquisite language to criticize those who could not adapt to the revolutionary changes.
Refik Halid Karay died on July 18, 1965 in Istanbul.
The works of Refik Halid Karay include:
Short Stories:
* Memleket Hikâyeleri (Hometown Stories, 1919)
* Gurbet Hikâyeleri (Exile Stories, 1940)
Novels:
* İstanbul’un İçyüzü (Inside İstanbul, 1920)
* Yezidin Kızı (Vermin’s Daughter, 1939)
* Çete (The Gang, 1939)
* Sürgün (Exile, 1941)
* Anahtar (The Key, 1947)
* Bu Bizim Hayatımız (This is Our Life, 1950)
* Nilgün (Nilgün, 1950)
* Yer Altında Dünya Var (There is a World Underground, 1953),
* Di'i Örümcek (Female Spider, 1953),
* Bugünün Saraylısı (Today’s Man of the Palace, 1954)
* 2000 Yılının Sevgilisi (2000 Year’s Beloved, 1954)
* İki Cisimli Kadın (The Woman With Two Bodies, 1955)
* Kadınlar Tekkesi (Lodge of Women, 1956)
* Karlı Dağdaki Ateş (Fire on the Snowy Mountain, 1956)
* Dört Yapraklı Yonca (Four-leaf Clover, 1957)
* Sonuncu Kadeh (Last Glass, 1957)
* Yerini Seven Fidan (A Sapling Liking its Place, 1977)
* Ekmek Elden Su Gölden (Living on Others, 1980)
* Ayın On Dördü (The Full Moon, 1980)
* Yüzen Bahçe (The Swimming Garden, 1981)
Anecdotes:
* Bir İçim Su (Cuddly, 1931)
* Bir Avuç Saçma (A Handful of Nonsense, 1939)
* İlk Adım (First Step, 1941)
* Üç Nesil Üç Hayat (Three Generations, Three Lives, 1943)
* Makyajlı Kadın (The Woman in Make-up, 1943)
* Tanrıya ikayet (Complaint to God, 1944).
Humor-Satire:
* Sakın Aldanma İnanma Kanma (Don’t Be Deceived, Don’t Believe, 1915)
* Kirpi’nin Dedikleri (What the Hedgehog Said, 1916)
* Agop Paşa’nın Hatıratı (Memoirs of Agop Paşa, 1918)
* Ay Peşinde (In Pursuit of the Moon, 1922)
* Guguklu Saat (Cuckoo Clock, 1925)
Memoirs:
* Tanıdıklarım (My Acquaintances, 1922)
* Minelbab İlelmihrab (From Beginning to End, 1946)
* Bir Ömür Boyunca (Throughout A Life, 1980)
Plays:
* Deli (Mad, 1929)
* Kanije Müdafaası ve Tiryaki Hasan Paşa (Kanije Defense and Tiryaki Hasan Paşa).
Refiq Khalid Karay see Karay, Refiq Khalid
Vakanuvis see Karay, Refiq Khalid
Rehak see Karay, Refiq Khalid
Aydede see Karay, Refiq Khalid
Durenda see Karay, Refiq Khalid
Kirpi see Karay, Refiq Khalid
Karimi
Karimi. Name of a group of Muslim merchants operating from the major centers of trade in the Ayyubid and Mameluke empires, above all in spices.
Karimi. Name of a group of Muslim merchants operating from the major centers of trade in the Ayyubid and Mameluke empires, above all in spices.
Karim Khan Zand
Karim Khan Zand (c. 1705-1779). Founder of the Zand dynasty and de facto ruler of the greater part of Persia (r. 1760-1779).
Karim Khan Zand was the ruler and de facto Shah of Iran from 1760 until 1779. Karim Khan was the chief of the Zand tribe, which was from the Lek/Laki. Lakki is the language of Kurdish tribes interspersed among the population of Northern Kuristan. He never styled himself as "shah" or king, and instead used the title Vakil e-Ra'aayaa (Advocate of the People).
Karim Khan Zand was one of the generals of Nader Shah Afshar. After Nader Shah's death in 1747, Persia fell into a state of civil war. At that time, Karim Khan, Abdolfath Khan and Ali Mardan Khan reached an agreement to divide the country among themselves and give the throne to Ismail III. However, the cooperation ended after Ali Mardan Khan invaded Isfahan and killed Abdolfath Khan. Subsequently, Karim Khan killed Ali Mardan Khan and gained control over all of Iran except Khorasan, ruled by Shahrokh, grandson of Nader Shah. Nevertheless, he did not adopt the title of Shah for himself, preferring the title, Vakil e-Ra'aayaa (Advocate of the People).
While Karim was ruler, Persia recovered from the devastation of 40 years of war, providing the war ravaged country with a renewed sense of tranquility, security, peace, and prosperity. During his reign,relations with Britain were restored, and he allowed the East India Company to have a trading post in southern Iran. He made Shiraz his capital and ordered the construction of several architectural projects there. Following Karim Khan's death, civil war broke out once more, and none of his descendants were able to rule the country as effectively as he had. The last of these descendants, Lotf Ali Khan, was killed by Agha Mohammad Khan, and the Qajar dynasty came to power.
To this day, he has a reputation as one of the most just and able rulers in Iranian history. A wealth of tales and anecdotes portray Karim Khan as a compassionate ruler, genuinely concerned with the welfare of his subjects.
Karim Khan is buried at Pars Museum of Shiraz.
Zand, Karim Khan see Karim Khan Zand
Karim Khan see Karim Khan Zand
Karim Khan Zand (c. 1705-1779). Founder of the Zand dynasty and de facto ruler of the greater part of Persia (r. 1760-1779).
Karim Khan Zand was the ruler and de facto Shah of Iran from 1760 until 1779. Karim Khan was the chief of the Zand tribe, which was from the Lek/Laki. Lakki is the language of Kurdish tribes interspersed among the population of Northern Kuristan. He never styled himself as "shah" or king, and instead used the title Vakil e-Ra'aayaa (Advocate of the People).
Karim Khan Zand was one of the generals of Nader Shah Afshar. After Nader Shah's death in 1747, Persia fell into a state of civil war. At that time, Karim Khan, Abdolfath Khan and Ali Mardan Khan reached an agreement to divide the country among themselves and give the throne to Ismail III. However, the cooperation ended after Ali Mardan Khan invaded Isfahan and killed Abdolfath Khan. Subsequently, Karim Khan killed Ali Mardan Khan and gained control over all of Iran except Khorasan, ruled by Shahrokh, grandson of Nader Shah. Nevertheless, he did not adopt the title of Shah for himself, preferring the title, Vakil e-Ra'aayaa (Advocate of the People).
While Karim was ruler, Persia recovered from the devastation of 40 years of war, providing the war ravaged country with a renewed sense of tranquility, security, peace, and prosperity. During his reign,relations with Britain were restored, and he allowed the East India Company to have a trading post in southern Iran. He made Shiraz his capital and ordered the construction of several architectural projects there. Following Karim Khan's death, civil war broke out once more, and none of his descendants were able to rule the country as effectively as he had. The last of these descendants, Lotf Ali Khan, was killed by Agha Mohammad Khan, and the Qajar dynasty came to power.
To this day, he has a reputation as one of the most just and able rulers in Iranian history. A wealth of tales and anecdotes portray Karim Khan as a compassionate ruler, genuinely concerned with the welfare of his subjects.
Karim Khan is buried at Pars Museum of Shiraz.
Zand, Karim Khan see Karim Khan Zand
Karim Khan see Karim Khan Zand
Karmal, Babrak
Karmal, Babrak (Babrak Karmal) (b. January 6, 1929, near Kabul, Afghanistan - d. December 3, 1996, Moscow, Russia). President of Afghanistan (1979-1986). Born near Kabul into a prominent family, Karmal’s father was a general in the king’s army. Karmal was jailed from 1952 to 1956 because of his political activities at the university. He was one of the founding members of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan. When the party split into several factions in 1967, Karmal became the leader of the faction known as Percham (“banner”). He was elected twice to the Afghan parliament. After the 1978 communist coup, Karmal became the country’s vice president. Soon afterward, however, he was purged from the party and sent as ambassador to Czechoslovakia. Subsequently, he was dismissed even from this post. He remained in Eastern Europe and was brought back to Afghanistan by the Soviets after their invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979. He became the country’s president at that time but was replaced in 1986 by Najibullah.
The son of a well-connected army general, Babrak Karmal became involved in Marxist political activities while a student at Kabul University in the 1950s and was imprisoned for five years as a result. Upon his release, he served in the army and returned to the university for a law degree. In 1965, he became a founding member of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) and from 1965 to 1973 served in the National Assembly. When the PDPA split (1967) into the People’s (“Khalq”) and the Banner (“Parcham”) factions, Karmal became the leader of the more moderate, pro-Soviet Banner. The Banner supported the government of Mohammad Daud Khan following Daud’s 1973 coup overthrowing the monarchy, but relations between Daud and the political left soon soured. The two PDPA factions reunited in 1977, and in 1978—with Soviet help—seized the government. Karmal became deputy prime minister, but rivalries within the government soon resulted in his being sent to Prague, Czechoslovakia, as an ambassador. The PDPA attempted to reshape the country drastically along Marxist lines, but there were major rebellions in the countryside among an overwhelmingly Muslim population that opposed the government’s secular and Marxist agenda. Infighting between members of the dominant People’s faction of the PDPA led to the death of President Nur Mohammad Taraki and the rise to power of Hafizullah Amin, whom the Soviets faulted for the growing rebellion. In December 1979 Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan and overthrew the Amin regime, and Karmal was called back to serve as president. However, despite Karmal’s attempts at conciliation, the Muslim rebels, known collectively as the mujahideen, obtained aid from the West—particularly from the United States—and persisted in attacking the communist regime. The area became a Cold War battleground, and Moscow came to consider Karmal a burden and publicly blamed him for the country’s problems. In November 1986 he resigned from office, claiming poor health, and was replaced by Mohammad Najibullah, a former head of the secret police. Shortly thereafter Karmal moved to Moscow, where he lived the remainder of his days.
Babrak Karmal see Karmal, Babrak
Karmal, Babrak (Babrak Karmal) (b. January 6, 1929, near Kabul, Afghanistan - d. December 3, 1996, Moscow, Russia). President of Afghanistan (1979-1986). Born near Kabul into a prominent family, Karmal’s father was a general in the king’s army. Karmal was jailed from 1952 to 1956 because of his political activities at the university. He was one of the founding members of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan. When the party split into several factions in 1967, Karmal became the leader of the faction known as Percham (“banner”). He was elected twice to the Afghan parliament. After the 1978 communist coup, Karmal became the country’s vice president. Soon afterward, however, he was purged from the party and sent as ambassador to Czechoslovakia. Subsequently, he was dismissed even from this post. He remained in Eastern Europe and was brought back to Afghanistan by the Soviets after their invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979. He became the country’s president at that time but was replaced in 1986 by Najibullah.
The son of a well-connected army general, Babrak Karmal became involved in Marxist political activities while a student at Kabul University in the 1950s and was imprisoned for five years as a result. Upon his release, he served in the army and returned to the university for a law degree. In 1965, he became a founding member of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) and from 1965 to 1973 served in the National Assembly. When the PDPA split (1967) into the People’s (“Khalq”) and the Banner (“Parcham”) factions, Karmal became the leader of the more moderate, pro-Soviet Banner. The Banner supported the government of Mohammad Daud Khan following Daud’s 1973 coup overthrowing the monarchy, but relations between Daud and the political left soon soured. The two PDPA factions reunited in 1977, and in 1978—with Soviet help—seized the government. Karmal became deputy prime minister, but rivalries within the government soon resulted in his being sent to Prague, Czechoslovakia, as an ambassador. The PDPA attempted to reshape the country drastically along Marxist lines, but there were major rebellions in the countryside among an overwhelmingly Muslim population that opposed the government’s secular and Marxist agenda. Infighting between members of the dominant People’s faction of the PDPA led to the death of President Nur Mohammad Taraki and the rise to power of Hafizullah Amin, whom the Soviets faulted for the growing rebellion. In December 1979 Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan and overthrew the Amin regime, and Karmal was called back to serve as president. However, despite Karmal’s attempts at conciliation, the Muslim rebels, known collectively as the mujahideen, obtained aid from the West—particularly from the United States—and persisted in attacking the communist regime. The area became a Cold War battleground, and Moscow came to consider Karmal a burden and publicly blamed him for the country’s problems. In November 1986 he resigned from office, claiming poor health, and was replaced by Mohammad Najibullah, a former head of the secret police. Shortly thereafter Karmal moved to Moscow, where he lived the remainder of his days.
Babrak Karmal see Karmal, Babrak
Karrami
Karrami (Karramiyya). Sunni sect important in the eastern part of the Muslim world from the ninth to the twelfth century. The theological doctrines of the founder, Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Karram (806-869), known primarily through the writings of his opponents, included a somewhat anthropomorphic interpretation of God’s attributes and a moderate and humane position on the questions of indelible faith, God’s justice, the imamate, and the fate of unbelievers and heretics. The pronounced ascetic and pietistic strain of Ibn Karram’s teachings, which remained a characteristic of his school, combined with strong and active leadership, sometimes attracted a mass following.
Karramiyya see Karrami
Karrami (Karramiyya). Sunni sect important in the eastern part of the Muslim world from the ninth to the twelfth century. The theological doctrines of the founder, Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Karram (806-869), known primarily through the writings of his opponents, included a somewhat anthropomorphic interpretation of God’s attributes and a moderate and humane position on the questions of indelible faith, God’s justice, the imamate, and the fate of unbelievers and heretics. The pronounced ascetic and pietistic strain of Ibn Karram’s teachings, which remained a characteristic of his school, combined with strong and active leadership, sometimes attracted a mass following.
Karramiyya see Karrami
Kartini, Raden Ajeng
Kartini, Raden Ajeng (Raden Adjeng Kartini) (Raden Ayu Kartini) (b. April 21, 1879, Majong, Java [Indonesia] - d. September 17, 1904, Rembang Regency, Java). Early champion of education for Indonesian women in Dutch Java, where her father was a senior Javanese official. She was exposed to progressive Western ideas through a Dutch-language grammar school education and through her acquaintance and correspondence with several Dutch women and men. Kartini wrote about the indignities of colonialism, education for the Javanese, the emancipation of women, and about her own cultural identity in a series of personal letters to her Dutch mentors that, subsequently published, have become her major legacy. Kartini encouraged the Dutch to take up the issue of women’s education seriously and started a modest vocational school for girls before she died at the age of twenty-five.
Her father being a Javanese aristocrat working for the Dutch colonial administration as governor of the Japara Regency (an administrative district), Kartini had the unusual opportunity to attend a Dutch school, which exposed her to Western ideas and made her fluent in Dutch. During adolescence, when she was forced to withdraw to the cloistered existence prescribed by tradition for a Javanese girl of noble birth, she began to correspond with several Dutch friends from her school days. She also knew and was influenced by Mevrouw Ovink-Soer, wife of a Dutch official and a dedicated socialist and feminist. In her letters, Kartini expressed concern for the plight of Indonesians under conditions of colonial rule and for the restricted roles open to Indonesian women. She resolved to make her own life a model for emancipation and, after her marriage in 1903 to a progressive Javanese official, the Regent of Rembang, she proceeded with plans to open a school for Javanese girls.
Kartini died at the age of 25 of complications after the birth of her first child. J.H. Abendanon—former director of the Department of Education, Religion, and Industry—arranged for publication of her letters in 1911, under the title Door duisternis tot licht (“Through Darkness into Light”). The book enjoyed great popularity and generated support in the Netherlands for the Kartini Foundation, which in 1916 opened the first girls’ schools in Java, thus fulfilling Kartini’s ambition. Her ideas were also taken up by Indonesian students attending Dutch universities, and in 1922 an Indonesian translation of the letters was published. Although Indonesian nationalist aims went far beyond her ideas, she became a popular symbol, and her birthday was made a national holiday.
Radem Ajeng Kartini see Kartini, Raden Ajeng
Kartini, Raden Ajeng (Raden Adjeng Kartini) (Raden Ayu Kartini) (b. April 21, 1879, Majong, Java [Indonesia] - d. September 17, 1904, Rembang Regency, Java). Early champion of education for Indonesian women in Dutch Java, where her father was a senior Javanese official. She was exposed to progressive Western ideas through a Dutch-language grammar school education and through her acquaintance and correspondence with several Dutch women and men. Kartini wrote about the indignities of colonialism, education for the Javanese, the emancipation of women, and about her own cultural identity in a series of personal letters to her Dutch mentors that, subsequently published, have become her major legacy. Kartini encouraged the Dutch to take up the issue of women’s education seriously and started a modest vocational school for girls before she died at the age of twenty-five.
Her father being a Javanese aristocrat working for the Dutch colonial administration as governor of the Japara Regency (an administrative district), Kartini had the unusual opportunity to attend a Dutch school, which exposed her to Western ideas and made her fluent in Dutch. During adolescence, when she was forced to withdraw to the cloistered existence prescribed by tradition for a Javanese girl of noble birth, she began to correspond with several Dutch friends from her school days. She also knew and was influenced by Mevrouw Ovink-Soer, wife of a Dutch official and a dedicated socialist and feminist. In her letters, Kartini expressed concern for the plight of Indonesians under conditions of colonial rule and for the restricted roles open to Indonesian women. She resolved to make her own life a model for emancipation and, after her marriage in 1903 to a progressive Javanese official, the Regent of Rembang, she proceeded with plans to open a school for Javanese girls.
Kartini died at the age of 25 of complications after the birth of her first child. J.H. Abendanon—former director of the Department of Education, Religion, and Industry—arranged for publication of her letters in 1911, under the title Door duisternis tot licht (“Through Darkness into Light”). The book enjoyed great popularity and generated support in the Netherlands for the Kartini Foundation, which in 1916 opened the first girls’ schools in Java, thus fulfilling Kartini’s ambition. Her ideas were also taken up by Indonesian students attending Dutch universities, and in 1922 an Indonesian translation of the letters was published. Although Indonesian nationalist aims went far beyond her ideas, she became a popular symbol, and her birthday was made a national holiday.
Radem Ajeng Kartini see Kartini, Raden Ajeng
Kasani, ‘Ala’ al-Din al-
Kasani, ‘Ala’ al-Din al- (‘Ala’ al-Din al-Kasani) (Malik al-‘Ulama’) (d. 1189). One of the greatest jurists of the Hanafi law school. In his main work, he attempted to imitate the work of his predecessor and master ‘Ala’ al-Din al-Samarqandi, but the attempt of al-Kasani proved to be far superior to the work of al-Samarqandi.
'Ala' al-Din al-Kasani see Kasani, ‘Ala’ al-Din al-
Malik al-'Ulama' see Kasani, ‘Ala’ al-Din al-
'Ulama', Malik al- see Kasani, ‘Ala’ al-Din al-
Kasani, ‘Ala’ al-Din al- (‘Ala’ al-Din al-Kasani) (Malik al-‘Ulama’) (d. 1189). One of the greatest jurists of the Hanafi law school. In his main work, he attempted to imitate the work of his predecessor and master ‘Ala’ al-Din al-Samarqandi, but the attempt of al-Kasani proved to be far superior to the work of al-Samarqandi.
'Ala' al-Din al-Kasani see Kasani, ‘Ala’ al-Din al-
Malik al-'Ulama' see Kasani, ‘Ala’ al-Din al-
'Ulama', Malik al- see Kasani, ‘Ala’ al-Din al-
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