482 • GlossaryKharijite (KHA-re-jite): "Seceder" who opposed Ali after he accepted arbitration
of the Battle of Siffin (657) and killed him (661); later an anarchist group be¬
lieving that any sinless Muslim could be caliph
Khartum (khar-TOOM): (1) Capital of the Sudan; (2) site of 1967 Arab summit
opposing peace negotiations with Israel
Khatami, Mohammad (KHAW-ta-mee): Iran's president (1997-)
Khazar (KHAH-zar): Turkic tribe north of the Caspian, which converted to Ju¬
daism in the eighth century
khédive (khe-DEEV): Title of Egypt's viceroy (1867-1914)
Khomeini, Ayatollah Ruhollah (kho-MAY-nee): Leader of Islamic revolution in
Iran (1978-1979) and faqih (1979-1989)
Khurasan (kho-ra-SAWN): Persian province east of Caspian Sea; center of many
dissident movements in early Islamic history
Khuzistan (khoo-ze-STAWN): Oil-rich province of southwestern Iran
Khwarizm (KHAW-rezm): Region south of the Aral Sea
Khwarizm-Shah (khaw-rezm-SHAH): Central Asian Turkic dynasty (1077-1231)
defeated by Jenghiz Khan
kibbutz (pi. kibbutzim) (kee-BOOTS, kee-boo-TSEEM): Jewish settlement in Is¬
rael, initially agricultural, now mainly industrial, in which most property is
collectively owned
al-Kindi (el-KIN-dee): Muslim philosopher and scientist (d. 873)
King-Crane Commission: US committee sent by 1919 Paris Peace Conference to
ascertain Syrian and Palestinian aspirations, but its report, sympathetic to
Arab nationalism, was not acted upon
Kitchener, Lord (KITCH-ner): Commander of Anglo-Egyptian army that retook
the Sudan (1896-1898), who later became the British consul-general in Egypt
(1911-1914)
kizilbash (KEE-zel-bosh): Shi'i Turks, especially Safavid horse soldiers
Knesset: Israel's unicameral legislature
Konya: Southern Anatolian city, capital of the Rum Seljuk state (1077-1300)
Koprulu (kuh-prew-LIEW): Family of Ottoman viziers
Koran: See Quran
Kosovo, Battle of (KOH-so-vo): Site of 1389 Ottoman victory over Serbia
Kufa (KOO-fa): Iraqi garrison town founded by Umar; later an important com¬
mercial and intellectual center
kufiya (kef-FEE-ya): White or colored headcloth worn by men in Arabia and parts
of the Fertile Crescent
Kunaitra (koo-NAYT-ra): Main city in the Golan Heights, captured by Israel in
1967, fought over in October 1973, and returned to Syria in 1974
Kurd: Member of linguistic-cultural group concentrated in southeastern Turkey,
northern Iraq, northwestern Iran, and parts of Syria
Kurdish Workers Party: Kurdish independence movement that rebelled in SE
Turkey (1984-1999)