• Ggantija (temple, Malta)

    Gozo: The megalithic temple Ggantija, to the east of Victoria, is noteworthy. Considered to be more fertile than Malta, Gozo depends heavily on agriculture, producing fruit, vegetables, grapes, and dairy products. Fishing is also important, and there is a cottage lace industry, but tourism is fast becoming the most…

  • GGs, the (Canadian awards)

    Governor General’s Literary Awards, series of Canadian literary awards established in 1936 by the Canadian Authors Association (CAA), in association with Scottish-born Canadian writer John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, who was the author of Thirty-nine Steps (1915), governor-general of Canada

  • GH

    growth hormone (GH), peptide hormone secreted by the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland. It stimulates the growth of essentially all tissues of the body, including bone. GH is synthesized and secreted by anterior pituitary cells called somatotrophs, which release between one and two milligrams of

  • Ghāb Depression (trench, Syria)

    Syria: Relief: …of the mountains is the Ghāb Depression, a 40-mile (64-km) longitudinal trench that contains the valley of the Orontes River (Nahr Al-ʿĀṣī).

  • Ghāb, Al- (trench, Syria)

    Syria: Relief: …of the mountains is the Ghāb Depression, a 40-mile (64-km) longitudinal trench that contains the valley of the Orontes River (Nahr Al-ʿĀṣī).

  • Ghābat al-ḥaqq (work by Marrāsh)

    Arabic literature: The novel: …the novel in Arabic were Ghābat al-ḥaqq (1865; “Forest of Truth”), an idealistic allegory about freedom that was published in Syria by Fransīs Marrāsh, and Al-Huyām fī jinān al-shām (1870; “Passion in Syrian Gardens”), a work set during the 7th-century Islamic conquest of Syria, by Salīm al-Bustānī. The latter work…

  • ghaḍā (shrub)

    Arabian Desert: Soils: …the area, called ʿabl and ghaḍā, send out long, shallow roots to catch the slightest bit of moisture. The roots of those plants make good firewood.

  • Ghadames (oasis, Libya)

    Ghadames, oasis, northwestern Libya, near the Tunisian and Algerian borders. It lies at the bottom of a wadi bordered by the steep slopes of the stony al-Ḥamrāʾ Plateau. Located at the junction of ancient Saharan caravan routes, the town was the Roman stronghold Cydamus (whose ruins remain). It was

  • Ghadāmis (oasis, Libya)

    Ghadames, oasis, northwestern Libya, near the Tunisian and Algerian borders. It lies at the bottom of a wadi bordered by the steep slopes of the stony al-Ḥamrāʾ Plateau. Located at the junction of ancient Saharan caravan routes, the town was the Roman stronghold Cydamus (whose ruins remain). It was

  • Ghadr (Sikh political organization)

    Ghadr, (Urdu: “Revolution”), an early 20th-century movement among Indians, principally Sikhs living in North America, to end British rule in their homeland of India. The movement originated with an organization of immigrants in California called the Hindustani Workers of the Pacific Coast. Shortly

  • Ghadr Party (Sikh political organization)

    Ghadr, (Urdu: “Revolution”), an early 20th-century movement among Indians, principally Sikhs living in North America, to end British rule in their homeland of India. The movement originated with an organization of immigrants in California called the Hindustani Workers of the Pacific Coast. Shortly

  • Ghaffar Khan, Abdul (Pashtun leader)

    Abdul Ghaffar Khan was the foremost 20th-century leader of the Pashtuns (Pakhtuns, or Pathans; a Muslim ethnic group of Pakistan and Afghanistan), who became a follower of Mahatma Gandhi and was called the “Frontier Gandhi.” Ghaffar Khan met Gandhi and entered politics in 1919 during agitation over

  • Ghāfirī (tribal confederation, Oman)

    Oman: The Ibāḍī imamate: …to be known as the Ghāfirīs and the Hināwīs.

  • Ghaggar River (river, India)

    Ghaggar River, river, northern India. The Ghaggar rises in the Siwalik (Shiwalik) Range, in northwestern Himachal Pradesh state and flows about 200 miles (320 km) southwest through Haryana state, where it receives the Saraswati River. It eventually dries up in the Great Indian (Thar) Desert. Just

  • Ghagghar River (river, India)

    Ghaggar River, river, northern India. The Ghaggar rises in the Siwalik (Shiwalik) Range, in northwestern Himachal Pradesh state and flows about 200 miles (320 km) southwest through Haryana state, where it receives the Saraswati River. It eventually dries up in the Great Indian (Thar) Desert. Just

  • Ghaghara River (river, Asia)

    Ghaghara River, major left-bank tributary of the Ganges River. It rises as the Karnali River (Chinese: Kongque He) in the high Himalayas of southern Tibet Autonomous Region, China, and flows southeast through Nepal. Cutting southward across the Siwalik Range, it splits into two branches that rejoin

  • ghaghra (garment)

    dress: South Asia: …an open-front pleated skirt, or ghaghra, worn with a long apronlike panel over the front opening, and a short-sleeved, breast-length blouse called a coli. The ghaghra and coli continue to be basic elements of Muslim women’s dress, the loose front panel replaced by the traditional sari, which is worn as…

  • Ghaghra River (river, Asia)

    Ghaghara River, major left-bank tributary of the Ganges River. It rises as the Karnali River (Chinese: Kongque He) in the high Himalayas of southern Tibet Autonomous Region, China, and flows southeast through Nepal. Cutting southward across the Siwalik Range, it splits into two branches that rejoin

  • Ghagra River (river, Asia)

    Ghaghara River, major left-bank tributary of the Ganges River. It rises as the Karnali River (Chinese: Kongque He) in the high Himalayas of southern Tibet Autonomous Region, China, and flows southeast through Nepal. Cutting southward across the Siwalik Range, it splits into two branches that rejoin

  • Ghagra, battle of (India [1529])

    India: Conquest of Hindustan: …of Bengal in 1529 at Ghagra, near Varanasi. Bābur won the battles, but the expedition there too, like the one on the southern borders, was left unfinished. Developments in Central Asia and Bābur’s failing health forced him to withdraw. He died near Lahore in December 1530.

  • Ghahreman (film by Farhadi [2021])

    Asghar Farhadi: …his next film, Ghahreman (2021; A Hero), a businessman on a two-day leave from debtors’ prison attempts to secure an early release, but his plan goes awry; Farhadi also penned the drama.

  • Ghai, Subhash (Indian director)

    Dilip Kumar: Later career: …he played key roles in Subhash Ghai’s Vidhaata (1982; “Creator”), Karma (1986), and Saudagar (1991; “Merchant”). He was also noted for his performance in Ramesh Sippy’s Shakti (1982; “Strength”). Kumar’s last film was the family drama Qila (1998; “Fort”).

  • Ghali, Butros Boutros (Egyptian statesman and secretary-general of the United Nations)

    Boutros Boutros-Ghali was an Egyptian scholar and statesman, secretary-general of the United Nations (UN) from January 1, 1992 to December 31, 1996. He was the first Arab and first African to hold the leading UN post. A descendant of one of Egypt’s most distinguished Coptic Christian families,

  • Ghālī, Buṭrus (prime minister of Egypt)

    Egypt: ʿAbbās Ḥilmī II, 1892–1914: …was followed by a Copt, Buṭrus Ghālī. When Gorst died prematurely in July 1911, he had attained only limited success. Many British officials resented his policies, which at the same time failed to conciliate the nationalists. Muṣṭafa Kāmil had died in 1908 and had been succeeded by Muḥammad Farīd, who…

  • Ghālib (imam of Oman)

    Jebel Akhdar War: …died and was succeeded by Ghālib. After the sultan granted an oil concession in the part of Oman that was under the imam’s control, Ghālib declared Oman to be independent of Muscat. The sultan responded by invading the Omani interior, with the support of British forces, and, after gaining control…

  • Ghālib (Umayyad general)

    Abū ʿĀmir al-Manṣūr: …aid of his father-in-law, General Ghālib, he overthrew and succeeded the vizier (chief minister). By giving African territories local independence under Umayyad suzerainty, Manṣūr reduced the drain on government resources. He replaced Slavs in the Cordoban army with Berber and Christian mercenaries and conducted a series of successful campaigns against…

  • Ghālib, Mīrzā Asadullāh Khān (Indian poet)

    Mīrzā Asadullāh Khān Ghālib was the preeminent Indian poet of his time writing in Persian, equally renowned for poems, letters, and prose pieces in Urdu. Born into an aristocratic family, Ghālib passed his youth in luxury. Subsequently, he was granted a small pension by the British government but

  • Ghalibaf, Mohammad Bagher (Iranian politician)

    Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is an establishment figure in Iranian politics, known for his pragmatic top-down management style and plagued by recurrent corruption scandals. He is considered close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as the former commander of its air force (1997–2000). He

  • Ghaljai (people)

    Ghilzay, one of the largest of the Pashto-speaking tribes in Afghanistan, whose traditional territory extended from Ghazni and Kalat-i-Ghilzai eastward into the Indus Valley. They are reputed to be descended at least in part from the Khalaj or Khilji Turks, who entered Afghanistan in the 10th

  • Ghana

    Ghana, country of western Africa, situated on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. Although relatively small in area and population, Ghana is one of the leading countries of Africa, partly because of its considerable natural wealth and partly because it was the first black African country south of the

  • Ghana (historical West African empire)

    Ghana, first of the great medieval trading empires of western Africa (fl. 7th–13th century). It was situated between the Sahara and the headwaters of the Sénégal and Niger rivers, in an area that now comprises southeastern Mauritania and part of Mali. Ghana was populated by Soninke clans of

  • Ghana Drama Studio (Ghanaian theatrical group)

    Efua Sutherland: …Experimental Theatre, which became the Ghana Drama Studio, and directed the University of Ghana’s traveling theatre group. The Drama Studio produced a number of her plays, including the well-known Foriwa (1962), a play which stresses the alliance of new ways and old traditions, and Edufa (1967), based on Alcestis by…

  • Ghana Museum and Monuments Board (Ghanaian organization)

    Ghana: Cultural institutions: The Ghana Museum and Monuments Board is also based in Accra, where it maintains the National Museum, which houses collections of ethnography, archaeology, and art, and the Museum of Science and Technology. The Monuments Board also has several other museums throughout the country and is also…

  • Ghana, flag of

    horizontally striped red-yellow-green national flag with a central black star. The width-to-length ratio of the flag is 2 to 3.When Kwame Nkrumah organized the Convention People’s Party in 1949 to work toward more self-government for the native African peoples of the British Gold Coast, a flag was

  • Ghana, history of

    history of Ghana, a survey of the notable events and people in the history of Ghana from the prehistoric era to the present day. Ghana is located in western Africa and sits on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. The country takes it name from the great medieval trading empire that was located

  • Ghana, University of (university, Legon, Ghana)

    Accra: The University of Ghana (1948) is located at Legon, to the north. In addition, there are a football (soccer) stadium and a race course in the city. Independence Arch, in Black Star Square, is used for ceremonial parades.

  • Ghani, Ashraf (president of Afghanistan)

    Afghanistan: The Ashraf Ghani presidency, NATO withdrawal, and pursuit of peace: …leading candidates, Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani, followed in June. A preliminary count placed Ghani ahead, but Abdullah demanded a recount, charging that as many as two million of the ballots for Ghani were fraudulent. With both candidates claiming victory, a period of deadlock followed. In July, under pressure from…

  • ghanīmah (spoils of war)

    ghanīmah, in the early Islāmic community (7th century ad), booty taken in battle in the form of weapons, horses, prisoners, and movable goods. In pre-Islāmic Bedouin society, where the ghazw (razzia, or raid) was a way of life and a point of honour, ghanīmah helped provide the material means of

  • Ghāniya, Banū (Berber tribe)

    North Africa: The Maghrib under the Almoravids and the Almohads: The Banū Ghāniyah invaded eastern Algeria in 1184 and, with local Arab tribal support, brought Almohad authority in the region to an end. In 1203 they took control of Tunisia as well. The Almohad caliph al-Nāṣir (Muḥammad ibn Abī Yūsuf Yaʿqūb) restored the empire’s authority in…

  • ghanja (drug)

    drug use: Types of cannabis preparations: …made from the pure resin, ghanja is prepared from the flowering tops, stems, leaves, and twigs, which have less resin and thus less potency. Ghanja is nevertheless one of the more potent forms of cannabis. It is prepared from specially cultivated plants in India and the flowering tops have a…

  • Ghannouchi, Mohamed (prime minister of Tunisia)

    Democratic Constitutional Rally: Jasmine Revolution and the dissolution of the party: …including the interim prime minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi, resigned from the RCD. However, protesters continued to demand that the RCD be banned in Tunisia. After a violent protest in the city of El-Kef in early February, Farhat Rajhi, the minister of the interior, officially suspended the party. On March 9 a…

  • Ghannouchi, Mohammed (prime minister of Tunisia)

    Democratic Constitutional Rally: Jasmine Revolution and the dissolution of the party: …including the interim prime minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi, resigned from the RCD. However, protesters continued to demand that the RCD be banned in Tunisia. After a violent protest in the city of El-Kef in early February, Farhat Rajhi, the minister of the interior, officially suspended the party. On March 9 a…

  • Ghannouchi, Rached (Tunisian political activist)

    Rached Ghannouchi is a Tunisian political activist and cofounder of the political party Ennahda (Arabic: al-Nahḍah [“the Renaissance”]). After studying philosophy in Damascus and at the Sorbonne in Paris, he returned to Tunisia and joined the Qurʾānic Preservation Society (1970). In 1981 he helped

  • Ghannouchi, Rachid al- (Tunisian political activist)

    Rached Ghannouchi is a Tunisian political activist and cofounder of the political party Ennahda (Arabic: al-Nahḍah [“the Renaissance”]). After studying philosophy in Damascus and at the Sorbonne in Paris, he returned to Tunisia and joined the Qurʾānic Preservation Society (1970). In 1981 he helped

  • Ghannūshī, Rāshid al- (Tunisian political activist)

    Rached Ghannouchi is a Tunisian political activist and cofounder of the political party Ennahda (Arabic: al-Nahḍah [“the Renaissance”]). After studying philosophy in Damascus and at the Sorbonne in Paris, he returned to Tunisia and joined the Qurʾānic Preservation Society (1970). In 1981 he helped

  • ghanta (Indian bell)

    ceremonial object: Sound devices: …types of bells; the Indian ghanta, or Tibetan dril-bu, a metal handbell with a handle shaken during prayers in order to attract beneficent spirits and to frighten away evil ones, is used particularly during Brahmanic and Mahayana Buddhist ceremonies.

  • Ghanzi (Botswana)

    Ghanzi, village, west-central Botswana. The village is located at the northern rim of the Kalahari (desert) and is the starting point of a 500-mile- (800-km-) long cattle trek—one of the longest such routes remaining active in the world; cattle are driven on horseback or by truck across the

  • ghara (zoology)

    gavial: …hollow bulbous structure called a ghara (which resembles an Indian mud pot of the same name) that occurs on the end of the male’s snout. The term gavial is thought to have been the result of a European misspelling of the Hindi word ghara.

  • gharana (Indian music)

    gharana, in Hindustani music of India, a community of performers who share a distinctive musical style that traces to a particular instructor or region. The notion of a gharana arose in the 19th century, but it was not until the 20th century that the gharana took shape as a veritable system for the

  • Gharapuri (island, India)

    Elephanta Island, island located in Mumbai (Bombay) Harbour of the Arabian Sea, about 6 miles (10 km) east of Mumbai and 2 miles (3 km) west of the mainland coast of Maharashtra state, western India. Elephanta Island has an area of 4 to 6 square miles (10 to 16 square km), varying with the tide. In

  • Gharb (region, Morocco)

    Gharb, coastal lowland plain of northwestern Morocco. Crossed from east to west by the Sebou River, the Gharb extends about 50 miles (80 km) along the Atlantic coast and reaches some 70 miles (110 km) inland. The lowland, which is bordered by the Rif Mountains to the northeast, has gradually been

  • Gharbī, Jabal al- (mountain range, Lebanon)

    Lebanon Mountains, mountain range, extending almost the entire length of Lebanon, paralleling the Mediterranean coast for about 150 miles (240 km), with northern outliers extending into Syria. The northern section, north of the saddle, or pass, of Ḍahr al-Baydar (through which the Beirut–Damascus

  • Gharbīyah, Aṣ-Ṣaḥrāʾ al- (desert, Egypt)

    Egypt: Relief: …flows into two unequal sections—the Western Desert, between the river and the Libyan frontier, and the Eastern Desert, extending to the Suez Canal, the Gulf of Suez, and the Red Sea. Each of the two has a distinctive character, as does the third and smallest of the Egyptian deserts, the…

  • Gharbiyyah, Al- (governorate, Egypt)

    Al-Gharbiyyah, muḥāfaẓah (governorate) in the middle Nile River delta, Lower Egypt. It is bounded to the east and west by the Damietta and the Rosetta branches of the Nile, to the north by Kafr al-Shaykh governorate, and by Al-Minūfiyyah governorate to the south. The governorate’s capital has been

  • Ghardaïa (Algeria)

    Ghardaïa, chief town of the Mʾzab Oasis, north-central Algeria. It lies along the left bank of the Wadi Mzab in the northern Sahara (desert). Founded in the 11th century, it was built around the cave (ghār) reputedly inhabited by the female saint Daïa (the cave is still venerated by Mʾzabite

  • Ghardaqah, Al- (Egypt)

    Al-Ghardaqah, capital of Al-Baḥr al-Aḥmar muḥāfaẓah (governorate), Egypt. The town is a small Red Sea port, but its main industry is oil exploration and production. It is the site of a large oil field and serves as the administrative and support centre for the Red Sea and Gulf of Suez oil fields. A

  • gharial (reptile)

    gavial, (Gavialis gangeticus), large species of crocodile known for its exceptionally long and narrow snout. The gavial, or gharial, is one of only two living species classified in the family Gavialidae (order Crocodilia), the other being the false gavial, or false gharial (or tomistoma; Tomistoma

  • Gharibnameh (work by Aşik Paşa)

    Aşık Paşa: …most famous work is the Gharībnāmeh, a long didactic, mystical poem written in over 11,000 mas̄navī (rhymed couplets) and divided into 10 chapters, each with 10 subsections. Each of the chapters is associated with a subject in relation to its number. For example, the fifth chapter deals with the five…

  • Gharīḍ, al- (Berber musician)

    Islamic arts: The Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties: classical Islamic music: …and improvisations (murtajal); his pupil al-Gharīḍ, born of a Berber family; and Maʿbad, a Black student of Jamīlah. Like Ibn Surayj, Maʿbad cultivated a special personal style adopted by following generations of singers.

  • Gharnāṭa (historical kingdom, Spain)

    Granada, kingdom founded early in the 13th century out of the remnants of Almoravid power in Spain by Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yūsuf ibn Naṣr al-Aḥmar, who became king as Muḥammad I (ruled 1232–73) and founded the Naṣrid dynasty. The kingdom comprised, principally, the area of the modern provinces of

  • Gharnāṭah (Spain)

    Granada, city, capital of Granada provincia (province) in the comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) of Andalusia, southern Spain. It lies along the Genil River at the northwestern slope of the Sierra Nevada, 2,260 feet (689 metres) above sea level. The Darro River, much reduced by irrigation

  • Gharyān (Libya)

    Gharyān, town, in the Tripolitania region of northwestern Libya. It lies at the foot of the plateau Jabal Nafūsah, 50 miles (80 km) south of Tripoli, and was a major centre of Italian colonization in the early 1910s. After the Turko-Italian war (1911–12) and the defeat of Turkey, the Gebel, Berber,

  • Ghaselen (work by Platen)

    August, Graf von Platen: …a little book of poems, Ghaselen (1821; “Ghazals”), in which he imitated the style of his friend Friedrich Rückert. This was soon followed by other volumes.

  • Ghashmī, Aḥmad al- (president of Yemen [Ṣanʿāʾ])

    Yemen: Two Yemeni states: …and, only eight months later, Aḥmad al-Ghashmī in 1978). The People’s Constituent Assembly, which had been created somewhat earlier, selected Col. Ali Abdullah Saleh as al-Ghashmī’s successor. Despite early public skepticism and a serious coup attempt in late 1978, Saleh managed to conciliate most factions, to improve relations with Yemen’s…

  • Ghasidas (Indian religious leader)

    Satnami sect: …region of middle India by Ghasidas, a farm servant and member of the Chamar caste (a Dalit, or untouchable, caste whose hereditary occupation was leather tanning, a task regarded by Hindus as polluting). Although the Chamars of Chhattisgarh had given up leather tanning and become farmers, the higher Hindu castes…

  • Ghassanid dynasty (Arab dynasty)

    Ghassanid dynasty, Arab dynasty prominent as a Byzantine ally (symmachos) in the 6th century. From its strategic location in portions of modern Syria, Jordan, and Israel, it protected the spice trade route from the south of the Arabian Peninsula and acted as a buffer against the desert Bedouins.

  • Ghassaniy, Muyaka bin Haji al- (Kenyan author)

    Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy was a Kenyan poet who was the first Swahili-language secular poet known by name. Ghassaniy is known particularly as an outstanding composer of quatrains (the most popular Swahili verse form for both philosophical and topical themes). Although he experimented little with

  • Ghassulian culture

    Ghassulian culture, archaeological stage dating to the Middle Chalcolithic Period in southern Palestine (c. 3800–c. 3350 bc). Its type-site, Tulaylāt al-Ghassūl, is located in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea in modern Jordan and was excavated (1929–38) by the Jesuits. The Ghassulian stage was

  • Ghastly Good Taste (work by Betjeman)

    John Betjeman: …his first book on architecture, Ghastly Good Taste, appeared in 1933. Churches, railway stations, and other elements of a townscape figure largely in both books. Four more volumes of poetry appeared before the publication of Collected Poems (1958). His later collections were High and Low (1966), A Nip in the…

  • Ghāt (oasis, Libya)

    Ghāt, oasis, southwestern Libya, near the Algerian border. Located on an ancient Saharan caravan route, it was a slave-trading centre and the object of European exploration in the 19th century. Ghāt lies west of the Wadi Tanezzuft in hilly sandstone country, near the Jibāl Mountains and the Tadrārt

  • ghat (architecture)

    Nashik: …city’s riverbanks are lined with ghats (stepped bathing places). Nashik is the site of the Pandu (Buddhist) and Chamar (Jain) cave temples dating to the 1st century ce. Of its many Hindu temples, Kala Ram and Gora Ram are among the holiest. Tryambakeshvar, a village 14 miles (22 km) from…

  • ghaṭa-pallava (Indian art)

    ghaṭa-pallava, in Indian art, important decorative motif consisting of a pot filled with flowers and leaves. In Vedic literature it is the symbol of life, the source of vegetation, a meaning that is still retained. The motif occurred in Indian art almost from its inception and has been used

  • Ghatak, Ritwik (Indian director)

    History of film: India: The Marxist intellectual Ritwik Ghatak received much less critical attention than his contemporary Ray, but through such films as Ajantrik (1958; Pathetic Fallacy) he created a body of alternative cinema that greatly influenced the rising generation.

  • ghatam (musical instrument)

    ghatam, large, narrow-mouthed earthenware water pot used as a percussion instrument in India. Unlike other Indian percussion instruments, such as the tabla and mridangam, the ghatam does not have a membrane over its mouth. Ghatam produce a distinctive metallic sound and are made in several sizes,

  • Ghats (mountain ranges, India)

    Ghats, two mountain ranges forming the eastern and western edges, respectively, of the Deccan plateau of peninsular India. The two ranges run roughly parallel to the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea coasts, respectively, from which they are separated by strips of fairly level coastal land. In Hindi

  • Ghaudesh (island, Malta)

    Gozo, second largest of the Maltese islands (after the island of Malta), in the Mediterranean Sea, 3.25 miles (5.25 km) northwest of the nearest point of Malta. It is 9 miles long and 4.5 miles wide and has an area of 26 square miles (67 square km). It is also known as the “Island of the Three

  • Ghawār, Al- (oil field, Saudi Arabia)

    Saudi Arabia: Petroleum: Al-Ghawār, just south of Dhahran and west of Al-Hufūf, is one of the world’s largest oil fields. The first portion of the Al-Ghawār oil field was discovered at ʿAyn Dār in 1948. Intensive exploration of the Rubʿ al-Khali began in 1950, and oil fields were…

  • Ghawdex (island, Malta)

    Gozo, second largest of the Maltese islands (after the island of Malta), in the Mediterranean Sea, 3.25 miles (5.25 km) northwest of the nearest point of Malta. It is 9 miles long and 4.5 miles wide and has an area of 26 square miles (67 square km). It is also known as the “Island of the Three

  • Ghawr ash-Sharqiyah Canal (canal, Jordan)

    Yarmūk River: The Ghawr ash-Sharqiyah (East Ghor) Canal, completed in 1966, diverts water from the Yarmūk to irrigate the eastern Jordan River valley in Jordan.

  • Ghawr Plain (plain, Middle East)

    Jordan River: Physical environment: …that area, known as the Ghawr (Ghor), are cut here and there by wadis or rivers into rocky towers, pinnacles, and badlands, forming a maze of ravines and sharp crests that resemble a lunar landscape.

  • ghaybah (Islam)

    ghaybah, (Arabic: “absence,” or “concealment”), Islāmic doctrine, especially among such Shīʿite sects as the Ithnā ʿAsharīyah, or “Twelvers.” The term refers to the disappearance from view of the 12th and last imam (leader), Muḥammad al-Mahdī al-Ḥujjah, in 878. Ghaybah is applied loosely to anyone

  • ghazal (Islamic literature)

    ghazal, in Islamic literatures, genre of lyric poem, generally short and graceful in form and typically dealing with themes of love. As a genre the ghazal developed in Arabia in the late 7th century from the nasib, which itself was the often amorous prelude to the qaṣīdah (ode). Two main types of

  • Ghazāl River, Al- (river, South Sudan)

    Baḥr al-Ghazāl, river, South Sudan, chief western affluent of the Nile River. It is 445 miles (716 km) long and joins the Mountain Nile (Baḥr al-Jabal) through Lake No, from which it flows eastward as the White Nile (Baḥr al-Abyaḍ). Vaguely known to early Greek geographers, the river was mapped in

  • Ghazal River, El- (river, Africa)

    Lake Chad: Geology and physiography: …overflows into the generally intermittent El-Ghazal River leading into the depression, but it is usually confined by the dune fields of Kanem.

  • Ghazal, Bahr el- (river, South Sudan)

    Baḥr al-Ghazāl, river, South Sudan, chief western affluent of the Nile River. It is 445 miles (716 km) long and joins the Mountain Nile (Baḥr al-Jabal) through Lake No, from which it flows eastward as the White Nile (Baḥr al-Abyaḍ). Vaguely known to early Greek geographers, the river was mapped in

  • Ghazālī, al- (Muslim jurist, theologian, and mystic)

    al-Ghazālī was a Muslim theologian and mystic whose great work, Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīnIḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn (“The Revival of the Religious Sciences”), made Sufism (Islamic mysticism) an acceptable part of orthodox Islam. Al-Ghazālī was born at Ṭūs (near Mashhad in eastern Iran) and was educated there,

  • Ghāzān Khan (Mongol ruler of Persia)

    Maḥmūd Ghāzān was the most prominent of the Il-Khans (subordinate khāns) to rule the Mongol dynasty in Iran. Reigning from 1295 to 1304, he is best known for the conversion of his state to Islām and his wars against Egypt. Ghāzān’s early childhood was spent largely in the company of his

  • Ghāzān, Maḥmūd (Mongol ruler of Persia)

    Maḥmūd Ghāzān was the most prominent of the Il-Khans (subordinate khāns) to rule the Mongol dynasty in Iran. Reigning from 1295 to 1304, he is best known for the conversion of his state to Islām and his wars against Egypt. Ghāzān’s early childhood was spent largely in the company of his

  • ghazel (Islamic literature)

    ghazal, in Islamic literatures, genre of lyric poem, generally short and graceful in form and typically dealing with themes of love. As a genre the ghazal developed in Arabia in the late 7th century from the nasib, which itself was the often amorous prelude to the qaṣīdah (ode). Two main types of

  • ghāzī (Ottoman soldier)

    Orhan: …northwestern Anatolia continued to attract Ghazis (warriors for the Islamic faith) from surrounding Turkish emirates fighting against Byzantium. In 1324 the Byzantine town of Brusa (later Bursa) fell to the Ottomans, followed by Nicaea (modern İznik) in 1331 and Nicomedia (modern İzmit) in 1337.

  • Ghāzī (king of Iraq)

    Iraq: Independence, 1932–39: …succeeded by his son, King Ghāzī (1933–39), who was young and inexperienced—a situation that gave political leaders an opportunity to compete for power. Without political parties to channel their activities through constitutional processes, politicians resorted to extraconstitutional, or violent, methods. One method was to embarrass those in power by press…

  • Ghāzī Malik (Tughluq ruler)

    India: The Tughluqs of India: …who ascended the throne as Ghiyāth al-Dīn Tughluq (reigned 1320–25), had distinguished himself prior to his accession by his successful defense of the frontier against the Mongols. His reign was brief but eventful. He captured Telingana, conducted raids in Jajnagar, and reconquered Bengal, which had been independent under Muslim kings…

  • Ghāzī Muḥammad (imam of Dagestan)

    Shāmil: Under the leadership of Ghāzī Muḥammad, the brotherhood had become involved in a holy war against the Russians, who had formally acquired control of Dagestan from Iran in 1813. After Ghāzī Muḥammad was killed by the Russians (1832) and his successor, Gamzat Bek, was assassinated by his own followers…

  • Ghāzī-ud-Dīn, ʿImād ul-Mulk (Mughal vizier)

    ʿĀlamgīr II: …throne by the imperial vizier ʿImād al-Mulk Ghāzī al-Dīn, who had deposed his predecessor. Provoked by the vizier’s attempt to reassert control over the Punjab, the Afghan ruler Aḥmad Shah Durrānī had his agents occupy Delhi in January 1757, which was at the time “absolutely without a single defender or…

  • Ghaziabad (India)

    Ghaziabad, city, northwestern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It lies just east of and is a suburb of Delhi and New Delhi. The city was founded in 1740. It later developed as an industrial centre as well as a residential suburb of the Delhi metropolis. Ghaziabad has grown dramatically since

  • Ghazipur (India)

    Ghazipur, city, southeastern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It is located on the Ganges (Ganga) River near the border with Bihar state, about 40 miles (65 km) northeast of Varanasi (Benares). Pop. (2001) 95,356; (2011) 110,587. Its ancient name of Gadhipur was changed to Ghazipur about 1330,

  • Ghaziuddinnagar (India)

    Ghaziabad, city, northwestern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It lies just east of and is a suburb of Delhi and New Delhi. The city was founded in 1740. It later developed as an industrial centre as well as a residential suburb of the Delhi metropolis. Ghaziabad has grown dramatically since

  • Ghazna (Afghanistan)

    Ghaznī, city, east-central Afghanistan. It lies beside the Ghaznī River on a high plateau at an elevation of 7,300 feet (2,225 metres). Afghanistan’s only remaining walled town, it is dominated by a 150-foot- (45-metre-) high citadel built in the 13th century. Around the nearby village of Rowẓeh-e

  • Ghaznavid dynasty (Turkic dynasty)

    Ghaznavid dynasty, (977–1186 ce), dynasty of Turkic origin that ruled in Khorāsān (in northeastern Iran), Afghanistan, and northern India. The founder of the dynasty was Sebüktigin (ruled 977–997), a former Turkic slave who was recognized by the Sāmānids (an Iranian Muslim dynasty) as governor of

  • Ghaznī (Afghanistan)

    Ghaznī, city, east-central Afghanistan. It lies beside the Ghaznī River on a high plateau at an elevation of 7,300 feet (2,225 metres). Afghanistan’s only remaining walled town, it is dominated by a 150-foot- (45-metre-) high citadel built in the 13th century. Around the nearby village of Rowẓeh-e