GLOSSARYqa~~ (Ar., pi. qu~~as): a Muslim popular preacher and storyteller.
qatta (Ar., pi. qata'i): a land grant.
qenoma (Syr., pi. qenome): substance; hypostasis referring to the nature
of Christ.
qibla (Ar.): the direction towards the Ka'ba in Makka faced by Mus-
lims when they worship. However, in early Islamic Iraq the qibla
was to the south.
qtrat (Gr.): %0 mithqal weighing .2232 grams. It appears to be a
loanword in Arabic from keration (Gr.) via qtrta (Syr.).
qi~~a (Ar.): a popular story, connected narrative, or piece of propa-
ganda.
qubba (Syr.): a domed structure, probably a loanword in Arabic from
qobhta (Syr.).
rad (N.P.), rat (M.P.): "learned," a high Magian priest, master, a
Sasanian governor, occurs in Arabic as radh.
ra'ts (Ar., pIs. ru'asa, ru'us): "leader."
ra'iyya (Ar.): "flock," used for subjects.
raj'a (Ar.): "return."
rawadif (Ar. pi.): latecomers to the garrison cities after the conquest.
ridafa (Ar.): a set of privileges granted by the Banu Lakhm to the
leaders of powerful pastoral Arab groups.
riyasa (Ar.): "leadership."
rizq (M.P.): provision, providence, a loanword in Arabic (pi. arzaq)
from rozik (M.P.), "daily" rations or payment.
rostak (M.P.): riverbed, district, province, a rural subdistrict in late
Sasanian administration, used as a loanword in Arabic as rustaq
(pi. rasattq), sometimes equivalent to a tassuj or a nalJiya.
~a' (A.): a measure of volume (4.2 liters of wheat) weighing 5/13 rat/
(1 rat/ = 1.5 kg.).
~adaqa (Ar.): the tax paid by Muslims, probably cognate with ~edaqa
(Heb.).
sadin (Ar.): the caretaker of a shrine.
§alJib (Ar.): "master," companion, comrade, used for the official in
charge of an office or administrative jurisdiction. The plurals
a~lJab and ~alJaba mean companions, especially the contempo-
raries of MuQammad.
~alat (Syr.): Islamic ritual worship which consists of a series of pros-
trations, probably a loanword in Arabic from selOtha (Syr.).
§awafi (Ar.): state or crown property, uncultivated land.