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Assad Dynasty
The al-Assad family ( ar, عَائِلَة الْأَسَد '), also known as the Assad dynasty, has ruled Syria since General Hafez al-Assad became President of Syria in 1971 under the Ba'ath Party. After his death, in June 2000, he was succeeded by his son Bashar al-Assad. The Assads are originally from Qardaha, near Latakia, in north-west Syria. They are members of the minority Alawite sect and belong to the Kalbiyya tribe. The family name Assad goes back to 1927, when Ali Sulayman (1875–1963) changed his last name to al-Assad, Arabic for "the lion", possibly in connection with his social standing as a local mediator and his political activities. All members of the extended Assad family stem from Ali Sulayman and his second wife Naissa, who came from a village in the Syrian Coastal Mountains.Martin Stäheli: ''Die syrische Außenpolitik unter Hafiz Assad'', Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ; p. 40 Family connections continue to be important in Syrian politics. Sev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
An-Nusayriyah Mountains
The Coastal Mountain Range ( ar, سلسلة الجبال الساحلية ''Silsilat al-Jibāl as-Sāḥilīyah'') also called Al-Anṣariyyah is a mountain range in northwestern Syria running north–south, parallel to the coastal plain.Federal Research Division, Library of Congress (2005"Country Profile: Syria"page 5 The mountains have an average width of , and their average peak elevation is just over with the highest peak, Nabi Yunis, reaching , east of Latakia. In the north the average height declines to , and to in the south. Name Classically, this range was known as the Bargylus; a name mentioned by Pliny the Elder. The el, Μπάργκυλος, Bargylus) had its roots in the name of an ancient city-kingdom called Barga most probably located in the vicinity of the mountains; it was a city of the Eblaite Empire in the third millennium BC, and then a vassal kingdom of the Hittites, who named the mountain range after Barga. In the medieval period were known as the Jabal B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alawite
The Alawis, Alawites ( ar, علوية ''Alawīyah''), or pejoratively Nusayris ( ar, نصيرية ''Nuṣayrīyah'') are an ethnoreligious group that lives primarily in Levant and follows Alawism, a sect of Islam that originated from Shia Islam. The Alawites revere Ali (Ali ibn Abi Talib), considered the first Imam of the Twelver school. The group is believed to have been founded by Ibn Nusayr during the 9th century. Ibn Nusayr was a disciple of the tenth Twelver Imam, Ali al-Hadi and of the eleventh Twelver Imam, Hasan al-Askari. For this reason, Alawites are also called ''Nusayris''. Surveys suggest Alawites represent an important portion of the Syrian population and are a significant minority in the Hatay Province of Turkey and northern Lebanon. There is also a population living in the village of Ghajar in the Golan Heights. Alawites form the dominant religious group on the Syrian coast and towns near the coast, which are also inhabited by Sunnis, Christians, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shia Islam
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most notably at the event of Ghadir Khumm, but was prevented from succeeding Muhammad as the leader of the Muslims as a result of the choice made by some of Muhammad's other companions (''ṣaḥāba'') at Saqifah. This view primarily contrasts with that of Sunnī Islam, whose adherents believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor before his death and consider Abū Bakr, who was appointed caliph by a group of senior Muslims at Saqifah, to be the first rightful (''rāshidūn'') caliph after Muhammad. Adherents of Shīʿa Islam are called Shīʿa Muslims, Shīʿītes, or simply Shīʿa or Shia. Shīʿa Islam is based on a ''ḥadīth'' report concerning Muhammad's pronouncement at Ghadir Khumm.Esposito, John. "What Everyone Nee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Qutailibiyah
Al-Qutailibiyah ( ar, القطيلبية, also spelled Kotailabiyah or Qutelbyeh) is a town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Jableh District in the Latakia Governorate, located south of Latakia. Nearby localities include Arab al-Mulk and Qurfays and Sarabion to the west, Jableh to the northwest, Siyano to the north, Ayn al-Sharqiyah to the northeast, Daliyah to the southeast and Dweir Baabda to the south. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Qutailibiyah had a population of 5,566 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative center of the al-Qutailibiyah ''nahiyah'' ("subdistrict") which contained 32 localities with a total population of 32,582 in 2004.General Census of Population and Housing 2004 [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighting occurring throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died in genocides within the Ottoman Empire and in the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war. Prior to 1914, the European great powers were divided between the Triple Entente (comprising France, Russia, and Britain) and the Triple Alliance (containing Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy). Tensions in the Balkans came to a head on 28 June 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult male lions are larger than females and have a prominent mane. It is a social species, forming groups called ''prides''. A lion's pride consists of a few adult males, related females, and cubs. Groups of female lions usually hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. The lion is an apex and keystone predator; although some lions scavenge when opportunities occur and have been known to hunt humans, lions typically don't actively seek out and prey on humans. The lion inhabits grasslands, savannas and shrublands. It is usually more diurnal than other wild cats, but when persecuted, it adapts to being active at night and at twilight. During the Neolithic period, the lion ranged throughout Africa and Eurasia from Southeast Euro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asad
Asad ( ar, أسد), sometimes written as Assad, is an Arabic male given name literally meaning "lion". It is used in nicknames such as ''Asad Allāh'', one of the by-names for Ali ibn Abi Talib. People Among prominent people named ''Asad'', "Assad" or "Asaad" are: * Asad Rustum, a Lebanese historian, academic and writer * Asad Ahmad, journalist for BBC News and newsreader for BBC London * Khaled al-Asaad, prominent Syrian archaeologist and historian killed by ISIS * Audrey Assad, an American singer-songwriter and Contemporary Christian music artist * Asadullah (other), meaning Lion of God, may refer to several people * Asad ibn Hashim, maternal grandfather of Ali ibn Abi Talib * Asad ibn Saman, an early Samanid * Asad ibn Abd-al-Uzza, early Islamic historical figure ** Khuwaylid ibn Asad, his son, father-in-law of Muhammad * Asad ibn al-Furat (760–828) a jurist and theologian * Hassan Assad (born 1973), American professional wrestler better known as Montel Vontavio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kim Dynasty (North Korea)
The Kim family, also known as the Kim dynasty or the Mount Paektu bloodline in the ideological discourse of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), is a three-generation lineage of North Korean leadership, descending from the country's founder and first leader, Kim Il-sung. The patriarch came to rule the north in 1948, after the end of Japanese rule split the region in 1945. He began the Korean War in 1950, in a failed attempt to reunify the Korean Peninsula. In the 1980s, Kim Il-sung developed a cult of personality closely tied to the North Korean state philosophy of ''Juche''. Following his death in 1994, Kim Il-sung's role as supreme leader was passed on to his son Kim Jong-il, and then to his grandson Kim Jong-un. All three men have served as leaders of the WPK and have exercised absolute control over North Korea since the state's establishment in 1948. The North Korean government denies that there is a personality cult surrounding the Kim family, describing the people's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Korean Cult Of Personality
The North Korean cult of personality surrounding its ruling family, the Kim family, has existed in North Korea for decades and can be found in many examples of North Korean culture. Although not acknowledged by the North Korean government, many defectors and Western visitors state there are often stiff penalties for those who criticize or do not show "proper" respect for Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, officially referred to as " eternal leaders of Korea". The personality cult began soon after Kim Il-sung took power in 1948, and was greatly expanded after his death in 1994. While other countries have had cults of personality to various degrees, the pervasiveness and extreme nature of North Korea's personality cult surpasses that of even Joseph Stalin or Mao Zedong. The cult is also marked by the intensity of the people's feelings for and devotion to their leaders, and the key role played by a Confucianized ideology of familism both in maintaining the cult and thereby in susta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syrian Armed Forces
The Syrian Arab Armed Forces ( ar, الْقُوَّاتُ الْمُسَلَّحَةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ السُّورِيَّةُ, al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥah al-ʿArabīyah as-Sūrīyah) are the military forces of the Syrian Arab Republic. They consist of the Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Defense Force, and paramilitary forces, such as the National Defence Force. According to the Syrian constitution, the President of Syria is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The military is a conscripted force; males serve in the military upon reaching the age of 18, but they are exempted from service if they do not have a brother who can take care of their parents. Since the Syrian Civil War, the enlisted members of the Syrian military have dropped by over half from a pre-civil war figure of 325,000 to 150,000 soldiers in the army in December 2014, due to casualties, desertions and draft dodging, reaching between 178,000 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
