470 • GlossaryArmenia: (1) Mountainous region of eastern Anatolia; (2) kingdom of the Arme¬
nians, conquered by the Turks in the eleventh century
Aryan: Pertaining to the Indo-European language family (often used in juxtaposi¬
tion with the term Semitic)
asabiya (ah-sa-BEE-ya): Feeling of group solidarity
al-Asad, Hafiz (el-ASS-ed, HAW-fez): President of Syria (1970-2000); his son,
Bashar (ba-SHAR) al-Asad succeeded him
al-Ash'ari (el-ASH-ah-ree): Muslim theologian (d. 935) who opposed the Mu'tazila
Ashkenazim (ASH-ke-nah-ZEEM): Jews whose recent ancestors came from East¬
ern or Central Europe
Assassin: Member of a militant group of Isma'ili Shi'is who fought against Seljuks
and other Sunni rulers (1092-1256)
Assyrian: Pertaining to Nestorian Christians in Syria, Iraq, and Iran
Aswan (ass-WAHN): (1) City in Upper Egypt; (2) site of the High Dam, built for
Egypt by the USSR (1958-1970)
Ataturk: See Kemal, Mustafa
Attrition, War of: Artillery and air struggle between Egypt and Israel (1969-1970)
Awn, Michel (OW-un): Maronite general who claimed Lebanon's presidency
(1988-1990)
Ayatollah (AYE-ya-TOL-lah): Title given by ulama to respected Shi'i legal experts
Ayn Jalut (AYN-ja-LOOT): Crucial Mamluk victory over Mongols in 1260
Ayyubid dynasty (eye-YOO-bid): Salah al-Din and his descendants, who ruled in
Egypt (1171-1250) and Syria (1174-1260)
Azerbaijan (AH-zur-bye-JOHN): Mountainous region of northwestern Iran
al-Azhar (el-OZ-har): Muslim mosque-university in Cairo
Badr: Yemen's imam (1962), ousted by military coup
Badr, Battle of: Muhammad's first victory over the Meccans (624)
Baghdad (bagh-DAD): Iraq's capital; seat of Abbasids (762-1258)
Baghdad Pact: Anticommunist military alliance formed in 1955, renamed CENTO
Bahrain (bah-RAYN): (1) Island country in the Gulf; (2) eastern Arabia during
the caliphal period
bakhshish (bakh-SHEESH): Gift, tip, bribe, or payment for services
Bakhtiar, Shapur (bakh-tee-YAR, shah-POOR): Iran's last shah-appointed prime
minister (1979)
Balfour Declaration: Official statement in 1917 by British foreign secretary, sup¬
porting Jewish national home in Palestine
Balkans: Mountainous region of southeastern Europe
Bandung Conference (ban-DOONG): Meeting in Indonesia of Asian and Middle
Eastern leaders in 1955
Bar Lev Line: Israel's defense line east of the Suez Canal breached by Egypt in
October 1973
Barak, Ehud (ba-RAHK, ay-KHUD): Israel's prime minister (1999-2001)
Barmakid (BAR-ma-kid): Persian family of viziers under the early Abbasids