Yiddish literature: The classic writers: …collection of stories he called Khasidish (“Hasidic”). In Oyb nisht nokh hekher (1900; “If Not Higher”), a skeptical Lithuanian visitor comes to appreciate the Hasidic rebbe, although he is not swayed by the mystical beliefs of the rebbe’s disciples. Peretz’s masterpiece is Tsvishn tsvey berg (1900; “Between Two Peaks”), narrated…

Kothar, ancient West Semitic god of crafts, equivalent of the Greek god Hephaestus. Kothar was responsible for supplying the gods with weapons and for building and furnishing their palaces. During the earlier part of the 2nd millennium bc, Kothar’s forge was believed to be on the biblical Caphtor

Khaskovo, town, southern Bulgaria. It lies in the northeastern foothills of the Rhodope Mountains. Founded about 1385 at the outset of the Ottoman period, it is located on the Sofia-Istanbul road and is connected by rail with the Belgrade–Sofia–Istanbul trunk rail line. Its populace includes many

Nepali language, member of the Pahari subgroup of the Indo-Aryan group of the Indo-Iranian division of the Indo-European languages. Nepali is spoken by more than 17 million people, mostly in Nepal and neighbouring parts of India. Smaller speech communities exist in Bhutan, Brunei, and Myanmar.

Khāsi language, one of several members of the Khasian branch of the Mon-Khmer family, which is itself a part of the Austroasiatic stock. Khāsi is spoken by some 900,000 people living in the region surrounding the Khāsi Hills and Jaintia Hills of Meghālaya state, India. Khāsi contains a number of

death: Ancient Egypt: …physical body was a person’s khat, a term that implied inherent decay. The ka was the individual’s doppelgänger, or double; it was endowed with all the person’s qualities and faults. It is uncertain where the ka resided during life, but “to go to one’s ka” was a euphemism for death.…

khat, (Catha edulis), slender evergreen tree or shrub, the leaves and young buds of which are chewed for a euphoric effect. The plant is native to the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and is an important cash crop in Yemen, Somalia, and Ethiopia; it is often cultivated in areas that do not

Pakistan: The arts of Pakistan: The khatak is a martial dance of the tribal Pashtuns that involves energetic miming of warriors’ exploits. There are a number of traditional dances associated with women; these include a humorous song and dance called the giddha, a whirling dance performed by girls and young women…

Pakistan: The arts of Pakistan: The khatak is a martial dance of the tribal Pashtuns that involves energetic miming of warriors’ exploits. There are a number of traditional dances associated with women; these include a humorous song and dance called the giddha, a whirling dance performed by girls and young women…

Mohammad Khatami is an Iranian political leader and cleric, who as president of Iran (1997–2005) emboldened reformists who sought to moderate the country’s policies on social issues and foreign affairs. The son of a well-known religious teacher, Khatami studied at a traditional madrasah (religious

Mohammad Khatami is an Iranian political leader and cleric, who as president of Iran (1997–2005) emboldened reformists who sought to moderate the country’s policies on social issues and foreign affairs. The son of a well-known religious teacher, Khatami studied at a traditional madrasah (religious

Ismāʿīl I was the shah of Iran (1501–24) and religious leader who founded the Safavid dynasty (the first Persian dynasty to rule Iran in 800 years) and converted Iran from the Sunni to the Twelver Shiʿi sect of Islam. According to Safavid tradition, Ismāʿīl was descended from ʿAlī. His grandfather

khutbah: …from the pronouncements of the khaṭīb, a prominent tribal spokesman of pre-Islamic Arabia. The khaṭīb expressed himself in beautiful prose that extolled the nobility and achievements of his tribesmen and denigrated the weakness of the tribe’s enemies. Even Muhammad presented himself as a khaṭīb after taking Mecca in 630. The…

Kâtip Çelebi was a Turkish historian, geographer, and bibliographer. Kâtip became an army clerk and took part in many campaigns in the east, meanwhile collecting material for his historical works. As a child he was taught the Qurʾān and Arabic grammar and calligraphy, but his later education was

Abdelkebir Khatibi was a Moroccan educator, literary critic, and novelist. He was a member of the angry young generation of the 1960s whose works initially challenged many tenets on which the newly independent countries of the Maghrib were basing their social and political norms. Khatibi completed

Islamic world: Abū Bakr’s succession: …of the revealed messages as khatm al-anbiyāʾ (“seal of the prophets”). In his ability to interpret the events of his reign from the perspective of Islam, Abū Bakr demonstrated the power of the new conceptual vocabulary Muhammad had introduced.

Sudan: Religion of Sudan: Another major tarīqah is the Khatmiyyah, or Mīrghaniyyah, which was founded by Muḥammad ʿUthmān al-Mīrghanī in the early 19th century. Perhaps the most-powerful and best-organized tarīqah is the Mahdiyyah; its followers led a successful revolt against the Turco-Egyptian regime (1821–85) and established an independent state in the Sudan that lasted…

Sudan: Religion of Sudan: Another major tarīqah is the Khatmiyyah, or Mīrghaniyyah, which was founded by Muḥammad ʿUthmān al-Mīrghanī in the early 19th century. Perhaps the most-powerful and best-organized tarīqah is the Mahdiyyah; its followers led a successful revolt against the Turco-Egyptian regime (1821–85) and established an independent state in the Sudan that lasted…

India: Social mobility: …as the Kayasthas (scribes) and Khatris (traders), are mentioned in the sources of this period. According to the Brahmanic sources, they originated from intercaste marriages, but this is clearly an attempt at rationalizing their rank in the hierarchy. Many of these new castes played a major role in society. The…

Abd el-Krim was the leader of the Berber forces during the Rif War (1921–26) against Spanish and French rule in North Africa and founder of the short-lived Republic of the Rif (1923–26). A skilled tactician and a capable organizer, he led a liberation movement that made him the hero of the Maghrib

Pakistan: The arts of Pakistan: The khatak is a martial dance of the tribal Pashtuns that involves energetic miming of warriors’ exploits. There are a number of traditional dances associated with women; these include a humorous song and dance called the giddha, a whirling dance performed by girls and young women…

Boğazköy: The ancient city: …the language of the early inhabitants of the “Land of Hatti,” a language still little understood and not belonging to any known family. Scholars call it Hattian to distinguish it from Hittite, the name of the Indo-European official language of the Hittite kingdom. Just as in other parts of the…

Hattian language, non-Indo-European language of ancient Anatolia. The Hattian language appears as hattili ‘in Hattian’ in Hittite cuneiform texts. Called Proto-Hittite by some, Hattian was the language of the linguistic substratum inside the Halys River (now called the Kızıl River) bend and in

Hattian language, non-Indo-European language of ancient Anatolia. The Hattian language appears as hattili ‘in Hattian’ in Hittite cuneiform texts. Called Proto-Hittite by some, Hattian was the language of the linguistic substratum inside the Halys River (now called the Kızıl River) bend and in

Boğazköy, village, north-central Turkey. Located 17 miles (27 km) northwest of Yozgat, it is the site of the archaeological remains of Hattusas (Hattusa, Hattusha, or Khattusas), the ancient capital of the Hittites, who established a powerful empire in Anatolia and northern Syria in the 2nd

Hattusilis I, (reigned c. 1650–c. 1620 bc), early king of the Hittite Old Kingdom in Anatolia. The son of the preceding king, Labarnas I, Hattusilis was also at first called Labarnas but apparently assumed his new name after he transferred his capital from Kussara to Hattusa. Unlike Labarnas I, who

Richard Perry: Career: …the debut album of singer Tiny Tim, called God Bless Tiny Tim (1968), which contained the celebrated “Tip-Toe Thru’ the Tulips with Me.” By the 1970s Perry had become one of the most sought-after producers in the recording business. He worked with Barbra Streisand on her albums Stoney End (1971),…

Kokand, city, eastern Uzbekistan. It lies in the western Fergana Valley, at road and rail junctions from Tashkent to the valley. The ancient town of Khavakend occupied the site from at least the 10th century and was situated on the caravan route from India and China. In the 13th century it was

Anvarī was a poet considered one of the greatest panegyrists of Persian literature. He wrote with great technical skill, erudition, and a strong satirical wit. Anvarī was not only well versed in Persian and Arabic literature but was skilled in such other fields as geometry, astronomy, and

Hindu Kush: Study and exploration: …of these was either the Khawāk Pass in the Panjshēr River valley, over which Alexander the Great passed northward, or the adjacent Thalle Pass, used by Timur; the second was the Kushān Pass (slightly to the west of the present-day Sālang road tunnel), which Alexander crossed southward; and the third…

Khārijite, early Islamic sect, which formed in response to a religio-political controversy over the Caliphate. After the murder of the third caliph, ʿUthmān, and the succession of ʿAlī (Muḥammad’s son-in-law) as the fourth caliph, Muʿāwiyah, the governor of Syria, sought to avenge the murder of

Khor Fakkan, exclave and port town located in Sharjah emirate, United Arab Emirates. It is on the east coast of the Musandam Peninsula, facing the Gulf of Oman; the port and its hinterland divide the emirate of Fujairah into its two major portions. Situated on a natural cove (Arabic: khawr), Khor

Khor Fakkan, exclave and port town located in Sharjah emirate, United Arab Emirates. It is on the east coast of the Musandam Peninsula, facing the Gulf of Oman; the port and its hinterland divide the emirate of Fujairah into its two major portions. Situated on a natural cove (Arabic: khawr), Khor

khayal, in Hindustani music, a musical form based on a Hindi song in two parts that recur between expanding cycles of melodic and rhythmic improvisation. In a standard performance a slow (vilambit) khayal is followed by a shorter, fast (drut) khayal in the same raga (melodic framework). The khayal

khyāl, any of several Hindustani folk-dance dramas of Rājasthān, northwestern India. Khyāl dances date from the 16th century and use themes taken from folklore and legend. They are performed exclusively by men, are characterized by the powerful body movements of the performers, and include mime and

Arabic literature: Beginnings: …venues for shadow plays (khayāl al-ẓill), which regularly poked fun at the foibles of politicians and bureaucrats. Especially during the period of Ottoman control over large portions of the Arabic-speaking world, the Karagöz puppet show was a prevalent popular source of public entertainment, much like its Western analogue, the…

Khyber Pass, mountain pass in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, on the border with Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. The pass connects Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, with Peshawar, Pakistan. The name Khyber is also applied to the range through which the pass runs—a series of arid broken

ʿAlī: ʿAlī and Islam to the death of Muhammad: In the Battle of Khaybar in 629, against a group of Medinese Jews who, having reached agreement with the Muslims and then broken their word, had barricaded themselves in a fort, ʿAlī is said, according to a very popular legend, to have torn off the door of…

Sholem Asch: …Moses), Khayim Lederers tsurikkumen (1927; Chaim Lederer’s Return), and Toyt urteyl (1926; “Death Sentence”; Eng. trans. Judge Not—). These novels describe the cultural and economic conflicts experienced by eastern European Jewish immigrants in America.

Hishām ibn al-Kalbī: His extant works include Al-Khayl (“Horses”), which contains short accounts of famous horses and poems on horses; Jamharat al-nasab (“Genealogical Collection”), a work of great importance about the politics, religion, and literature of the pre-Islamic and early Muslim Arabs; and Kitāb al-aṣnām (The Book of Idols), in which he…

Morocco: Traditional regions: …living in dark-coloured tents (khaymahs) woven of goat hair.

Sadeq Chubak: Chubak’s best-known works include Khaymah-e shabāzī (1945; “Puppet Show”), a volume of short stories that is divided into 11 sections, each of which portrays an aspect of daily life; ʿAntarī keh lūṭiyash morda būd (1949; “The Monkey Whose Master Died”); the satirical play Tūp-e lāstīkī (1962; “The Rubber Ball”);…

North Africa: Advent of European colonialism: …its talented, reform-minded prime minister, Khayr al-Dīn, in 1877, Tunis responded to these pressures with the Ahd al-Amān, or Fundamental Pact, in 1856 and the short-lived constitution of 1860, the first in the Arab world. The Fundamental Pact guaranteed the equality before the law of all subjects—Muslim, Christian, and Jew—while…

Barbarossa , also known as "Redbeard", was a Barbary pirate and later admiral of the Ottoman fleet, by whose initiative Algeria and Tunisia became part of the Ottoman Empire. For three centuries after his death, Mediterranean coastal towns and villages were ravaged by his pirate successors. Khiḍr

Egypt: The Ottoman conquest: …on by the Mamluk traitor Khayr Bey, Selim marched against Egypt in 1517, defeated the Mamluks, and installed Khayr Bey as Ottoman governor. Khayr Bey died in 1522; thereafter, the Ottoman viceroy (called vali), with the title of pasha, was sent from Constantinople.

Barmakids: Khālid ibn Barmak.: Al-Khayzurān, Prince al-Mahdī’s wife, helped him to raise the money. Subsequently Khālid was sent to Mosul to suppress Kurdish disturbances while his son Yaḥyā was put in charge of Azerbaijan. The Barmakids were endowed with more privileges during al-Mahdī’s reign, when Khālid, helped by his…

Khazar, member of a confederation of Turkic-speaking tribes that in the late 6th century ce established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia. Although the origin of the term Khazar and the early history of the Khazar people are obscure, it is fairly

Caspian Sea: Geology of the Caspian Sea: …successive phases known as Baku, Khazar, and Khvalyn—alternately shrank and expanded. That process left a legacy in the form of peripheral terraces that mark old shorelines and can also be traced in the geologically recent underlying sedimentary layers.

Caspian Sea, world’s largest inland body of water. It lies to the east of the Caucasus Mountains and to the west of the vast steppe of Central Asia. The sea’s name derives from the ancient Kaspi peoples, who once lived in Transcaucasia to the west. Among its other historical names, Khazarsk and

Amīr Khosrow: …of prose works, including the Khazāʾin al-futūḥ (“The Treasure-Chambers of the Victories”), also known by the title Tārīkh-e ʿAlāʾī (“The History of Ala”). Two historical poems for which he is well known are Nuh Sipihr (“The Nine Heavens”) and the Tughluq-nāmah (“The Book of Tughluq”).

Osip Emilyevich Mandelshtam: …through the efforts of his widow, who died in 1980, that little of Mandelshtam’s poetry was lost; she kept his works alive during the repression by memorizing them and by collecting copies.

Tunisia: The growth of European influence: When the principal minister, Muṣṭafā Khaznadār (who had served from the earliest days of Aḥmad Bey’s reign), attempted to squeeze more taxes out of the hard-pressed peasants, the countryside rose in a revolt (1864). This uprising almost overthrew the regime, but the government ultimately suppressed it through a combination…

Hijrah: …major Medinese tribes, the feuding al-Khazraj and al-Aws, whom Muhammad had been asked to reconcile when he was still a rising figure in Mecca. They came to be his devoted supporters, constituting three-fourths of the Muslim army at the Battle of Badr (624 ce). When no one of their number…

Turkestan, city, southern Kazakhstan. It lies in the Syr Darya (ancient Jaxartes River) plain. Turkestan was an ancient centre of the caravan trade; it was known as Shavgar and later as Yasī. It became a religious centre called Khazret (Hazrat) because of the 12th-century Sufi (Muslim mystic) Ahmed

Khazʿal Khan was an Arab sheikh (ruler) of Moḥammerah (now Khorramshahr) who attempted to create an independent state in the oil-rich Iranian region of Khūzestān. Khazʿal was said to be instrumental in having his brother, Sheikh Mizʿal, assassinated in June 1897. He then became the ruler of

Kheda, town, east-central Gujarat state, west-central India. It is situated in the lowlands between the Sabarmati and Mahi rivers. The town existed as early as the 5th century ce. Early in the 18th century it passed to the Babi family but was taken by the Marathas in 1763 and handed over to the

biritch, card game similar to bridge whist and a forerunner of auction and contract bridge. Apparently developed in the eastern Mediterranean region, where it was known as khedive, it became popular in Greece and Egypt and, under the name of biritch, on the French Riviera in the last quarter of the

khedive, title granted by the Ottoman sultan Abdülaziz to the hereditary pasha of Egypt, Ismāʿīl, in 1867. Derived from a Persian term for “lord” or “ruler,” the title was subsequently used by Ismāʿīl’s successors, Tawfīq and ʿAbbās II, although it had been used informally by his predecessors

kheer, a chilled South Asian dessert made from slow-cooked rice, milk, and sugar, much like a rice pudding. It is typically flavoured with saffron, cardamom, raisins, and/or various nuts, notably pistachios, cashews, and almonds. The dish can also be made by using cracked wheat, tapioca, or

Thar Desert: Land: The khajri (or khejri) tree (Prosopis cineraria) grows throughout the plains.

Ashutosh Gowariker: Later works: …period films with the thriller Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey (“We Play With Passion”), set in the 1930s. The film starred Deepika Padukone and Abhishek Bachchan and was based on the Chittagong armory raid of 1930, in which Indian revolutionary leaders had attempted to raid police-owned weapons in preindependent India.

Cheb Mami is an Algerian popular singer who was a major force in the introduction of raï music to Western audiences at the turn of the 21st century. As a youth, Mohamed Khélifati took a job as a welder, apparently ready to follow in the occupational footsteps of his father. However, since childhood

Kyzyl, city and capital of Tyva (Tuva) republic, central Russia. It lies at the confluence of the Great Yenisey and Little Yenisey rivers where they form the upper Yenisey. Kyzyl’s industries include tanning, timber working, brickworking, and food processing. The city has an agricultural college

Yenisey River: Physiography: …Sayano-Shushen Reservoir, which receives the Khemchik River. The Yenisey flows north through the reservoir, occupying a now-submerged canyon that cuts across the Western Sayan.

Khemisset, town, north-central Morocco. The town is located between the imperial cities of Rabat and Meknès, at the edge of the Moroccan upland plateau. It is a market centre for the local Zemmour Amazigh (Berbers) (see Berber). To the north of Khemisset lies a sandy plateau with commercially

Akhmīm, town, Sawhāj muḥāfaẓah (governorate), Upper Egypt, on the east bank of the Nile River, above Sawhāj on the west bank. Extensive necropolises dating from the 6th dynasty (c. 2325–c. 2150 bce) until the late Coptic period reveal the site’s antiquity. In 1981 remains of a temple (Roman period)

Michelle Yeoh is a Malaysian actress considered to be one of the greatest female action movie stars, especially known for performing her own frequently dangerous stunts. She also earned accolades for her acting, and in 2023 she became the first Asian performer to win the Academy Award for best

Khenifra, town, central Morocco. It is situated in the western foothills of the southern Middle Atlas (Moyen Atlas) mountains and lies along the banks of the Oum er-Rbia River at an elevation of about 3,280 feet (1,000 metres). The site was originally the wintering headquarters for the Aït Affi, a

Khonsu, in ancient Egyptian religion, moon god who was generally depicted as a youth. A deity with astronomical associations named Khenzu is known from the Pyramid Texts (c. 2350 bce) and is possibly the same as Khonsu. In Egyptian mythology, Khonsu was regarded as the son of the god Amon and the

Hentiyn Mountains, mountain range in north-central Mongolia. Extending northeast from near Ulaanbaatar, the national capital, to the border with Russia, the range is structurally related to the Yablonovy Range, on the Russian side of the frontier; a river valley between the two ranges forms part of

Osiris: …ancient god of the dead, Khenty-Imentiu. This name, meaning “Foremost of the Westerners,” was adopted by Osiris as an epithet. Because the festivals took place in the open, public participation was permitted, and by the early 2nd millennium bce it had become fashionable to be buried along the processional road…

Hentiyn Mountains, mountain range in north-central Mongolia. Extending northeast from near Ulaanbaatar, the national capital, to the border with Russia, the range is structurally related to the Yablonovy Range, on the Russian side of the frontier; a river valley between the two ranges forms part of

Hentiyn Mountains, mountain range in north-central Mongolia. Extending northeast from near Ulaanbaatar, the national capital, to the border with Russia, the range is structurally related to the Yablonovy Range, on the Russian side of the frontier; a river valley between the two ranges forms part of

Osiris: …ancient god of the dead, Khenty-Imentiu. This name, meaning “Foremost of the Westerners,” was adopted by Osiris as an epithet. Because the festivals took place in the open, public participation was permitted, and by the early 2nd millennium bce it had become fashionable to be buried along the processional road…

Khepri, in ancient Egyptian religion and mythology, the god of the morning sun, representing its transformational power. Khepri was depicted in the form of a scarab beetle, specifically the Egyptian dung beetle (Scarabaeus sacer), or in the form of a human with the head of a scarab beetle. As the

Khepri, in ancient Egyptian religion and mythology, the god of the morning sun, representing its transformational power. Khepri was depicted in the form of a scarab beetle, specifically the Egyptian dung beetle (Scarabaeus sacer), or in the form of a human with the head of a scarab beetle. As the

Khepri, in ancient Egyptian religion and mythology, the god of the morning sun, representing its transformational power. Khepri was depicted in the form of a scarab beetle, specifically the Egyptian dung beetle (Scarabaeus sacer), or in the form of a human with the head of a scarab beetle. As the

Khepri, in ancient Egyptian religion and mythology, the god of the morning sun, representing its transformational power. Khepri was depicted in the form of a scarab beetle, specifically the Egyptian dung beetle (Scarabaeus sacer), or in the form of a human with the head of a scarab beetle. As the

Mikhail Matveyevich Kheraskov was an epic poet, playwright, and influential representative of Russian classicism who was known in his own day as the Russian Homer. The son of a Walachian noble who had settled in Russia, Kheraskov became director of Moscow University in 1763. He determined to give

India: External and internal rivalries: …recognition of the chieftainship of Kherla as a Bahmanī protectorate. Aḥmad I then forged an alliance with another northern neighbour, Khandesh, which acted as a buffer between Bahmanī and the kingdoms of Malwa and Gujarat. On the pretext of giving aid to a Hindu chieftain who had revolted against Gujarat,…

Kherson, city, southern Ukraine. It lies on the right (west) bank of the lower Dnieper River about 15 miles (25 km) from the river’s mouth. Kherson, named after the ancient settlement of Chersonesus (west of what is now Sevastopol), was founded in 1778 as a fortress to protect the newly acquired

Ossetic language: …established by the national poet Kosta Khetagurov (1859–1906).

ancient Egypt: The 9th dynasty (c. 2118–c. 2080 bce): …example, a local ruler called Khety styled himself in a regal manner and built a pyramid with a surrounding “courtly” cemetery. At Al-Miʿalla, south of Luxor, Ankhtify, the nomarch of the al-Jabalayn region, recorded his annexation of the Idfū nome and extensive raiding in the Theban area. Ankhtify acknowledged an…

ancient Egypt: The 10th (c. 2080–c. 1980 bce) and 11th (c. 2080–c. 1940 bce) dynasties: …a whole was termed the House of Khety. Several Heracleopolitan kings were named Khety; another important name is Merikare. There was intermittent conflict, and the boundary between the two realms shifted around the region of Abydos. As yet, the course of events in this period cannot be reconstructed.

Ludwig Andreas Khevenhüller was an Austrian field marshal and writer of military manuals; the scion of an Austrian aristocratic family that from the 16th to the 20th century provided the Habsburg monarchy with a number of efficient administrators, generals, and statesmen. Khevenhüller served under

Kirovsk, city, Murmansk oblast (region), northwestern Russia, at the edge of the Khibiny Mountains. Until the opening of apatite and nephelinite mines in the region in 1929, Kirovsk was merely open tundra peopled by reindeer herders. It soon became a booming mining city and was incorporated in

Russia: The Kola-Karelian region: … is similar, but the small Khibiny mountain range rises to nearly 4,000 feet (1,200 metres). Mineral-rich ancient rocks lie at or near the surface in many places.

khedive, title granted by the Ottoman sultan Abdülaziz to the hereditary pasha of Egypt, Ismāʿīl, in 1867. Derived from a Persian term for “lord” or “ruler,” the title was subsequently used by Ismāʿīl’s successors, Tawfīq and ʿAbbās II, although it had been used informally by his predecessors

khedive, title granted by the Ottoman sultan Abdülaziz to the hereditary pasha of Egypt, Ismāʿīl, in 1867. Derived from a Persian term for “lord” or “ruler,” the title was subsequently used by Ismāʿīl’s successors, Tawfīq and ʿAbbās II, although it had been used informally by his predecessors

Barbarossa , also known as "Redbeard", was a Barbary pirate and later admiral of the Ottoman fleet, by whose initiative Algeria and Tunisia became part of the Ottoman Empire. For three centuries after his death, Mediterranean coastal towns and villages were ravaged by his pirate successors. Khiḍr

Ismāʿīl: …brother, a nephew, and al-Khiḍr Ghīlān, a tribal leader of northern Morocco. These rivals were supported by the Ottoman Empire, acting through Algiers, who hoped to weaken the ʿAlawīs by supporting internal subversion so that they could extend their rule over Morocco. As a result, relations with the Ottoman…

al-Khiḍr, a legendary Islamic figure endowed with immortal life who became a popular saint, especially among sailors and Sufis (Muslim mystics). The cycle of myths and stories surrounding al-Khiḍr originated in a vague narrative in the Qurʾān (18:60–82) that describes the long and arduous journey

Thailand: Relief: Notable peaks are Mount Khieo, which rises to 2,614 feet (797 metres), and Mount Soi Dao, which attains a height of 5,471 feet (1,668 metres). The hills, reaching nearly to the sea, create a markedly indented coastline fringed with many islands. With their long stretches of sandy beach,…

Akshay Kumar: Early films: …series, especially with the movies Khiladi (1992), his breakthrough, and Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994; “I Am the Player, You Are the Novice”). In 1994 Kumar also portrayed a conflicted policeman in the blockbuster Mohra (“Pawn”).

Khilafat movement, pan-Islamic force in India that arose in 1919 in an effort to salvage the Ottoman caliph as a symbol of unity among the Muslim community in India during the British raj. The movement was initially bolstered by Gandhi’s noncooperation movement but fell apart after the abolition of

Khaljī dynasty, (1290–1320), the second ruling dynasty of the Muslim sultanate of Delhi. The dynasty, whose founder Jalāl al-Dīn Fīrūz Khaljī had been the top military commander under the previous Mamluk dynasty, was responsible for making the Delhi sultanate into an imperial power by expanding its

Sindhi literature: …writers of that era were Kauromal Khilnani (1844–1916), Mirza Qalich Beg (1853–1929), Dayaram Gidumal (1857–1927), and Parmanand Mewaram (1856?–1938). They produced original works and adapted books from Sanskrit, Hindi, Persian, and English. Kauromal Khilnani published Arya nari charitra

Khimki, city and centre of a rayon (sector), Moscow oblast (region), western Russia. It lies along the Moscow–St. Petersburg railway northwest of the capital. Incorporated in 1939, Khimki grew from a small nucleus of summer cottages (dachi). It is now an important industrial centre, with

Myanmar: Myanmar since 1988: Khin Nyunt was named prime minister in 2003. He promised to usher the country toward a new constitution and free elections, but his rule was cut short by allegations of corruption. In late 2004 he too was placed under house arrest and was replaced by…

Caucasian languages: The Lezgian languages: … (about 6,000); Budukh (about 2,000); Khinalug (about 1,500); and Udi (about 3,700). The majority of Lezgi languages are spoken in southern Dagestan, but some of them (Kryz, Budukh, Khinalug, Udi) are spoken chiefly in Azerbaijan; and one village of Udi speakers is located in Georgia. It is important to note…