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Erek Fawcus' Code
Arak ( ar, آراك, also spelled Urak or Araq) is a village in eastern Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate. It is situated on an oasis in the Syrian Desert along the road between Palmyra which is 28 kilometers to the southwest and al-Sukhnah to the northeast. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics of Syria (CBS), Arak had a population of 111 in the 2004 census. The town was fortified and defended by an Arab Christian garrison led by a Roman officer. Following their sighting of Khalid's army, the troops retreated to the fort and were subsequently besieged. An elderly scholar in Arak warned the Roman officer of Khalid's successful war record, telling him "beware of fighting this army." Consequently, the garrison surrendered the fort and negotiated terms with Khalid who imposed a '' jizya'' tax on the residents, but otherwise did not attack or plunder the town. The Rashidun army camped outside of Arak before continuing their march towards al-Sukhnah. There ...
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Governorates Of Syria
Syria is a unitary state, but for administrative purposes, it is divided into fourteen governorates, also called provinces or counties in English (Arabic ''muḥāfaẓāt'', singular '' muḥāfaẓah''). The governorates are divided into sixty-five districts (''manāṭiq'', singular '' minṭaqah''), which are further divided into subdistricts (''nawāḥī'', singular '' nāḥiyah''). The ''nawāḥī'' contain villages, which are the smallest administrative units. Each governorate is headed by a governor, appointed by the president, subject to cabinet approval. The governor is responsible for administration, health, social services, education, tourism, public works, transportation, domestic trade, agriculture, industry, civil defense, and maintenance of law and order in the governorate. The minister of local administration works closely with each governor to coordinate and supervise local development projects. The governor is assisted by a provincial council, all of who ...
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Altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, modern paganism, and in certain Islamic communities around Caucasia and Asia Minor. Many historical-medieval faiths also made use of them, including the Roman, Greek, and Norse religions. Etymology The modern English word '' altar'' was derived from Middle English '' altar'', from Old English '' alter'', taken from Latin '' altare'' ("altar"), probably related to '' adolere'' ("burn"); thus "burning place", influenced by '' altus'' ("high"). It displaced the native Old English word '' wēofod''. Altars in antiquity File:Tel Be'er Sheva Altar 2007041.JPG, Horned altar at Tel Be'er Sheva, Israel. File:3217 - Athens - Sto… of Attalus Museum - Kylix - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, ...
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Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes its name. They ruled as caliphs for most of the caliphate from their capital in Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, after having overthrown the Umayyad Caliphate in the Abbasid Revolution of 750 CE (132 anno Hegirae, AH). The Abbasid Caliphate first centered its government in Kufa, modern-day Iraq, but in 762 the caliph Al-Mansur founded the city of Baghdad, near the ancient Babylonian Empire, Babylonian capital city of Babylon. Baghdad became the center of Science in the medieval Islamic world, science, Islamic culture, culture and List of inventions in the medieval Islamic world, invention in what became known as the Islamic Golden Age, Golden Age of Islam. This, in addition to housing several ke ...
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Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty ( ar, ٱلْأُمَوِيُّون, ''al-ʾUmawīyūn'', or , ''Banū ʾUmayyah'', "Sons of Umayya ibn Abd Shams, Umayyah"). Uthman ibn Affan (r. 644–656), the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member of the clan. The family established dynastic, hereditary rule with Mu'awiya I, Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan, long-time governor of Syria (region), Greater Syria, who became the sixth caliph after the end of the First Fitna in 661. After Mu'awiyah's death in 680, conflicts over the succession resulted in the Second Fitna, and power eventually fell into the hands of Marwan I from another branch of the clan. Greater Syria remained the Umayyads' main power base thereafter, with Damascus serving as their capital. The Umayyads c ...
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Jizya
Jizya ( ar, جِزْيَة / ) is a per capita yearly taxation historically levied in the form of financial charge on dhimmis, that is, permanent Kafir, non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Sharia, Islamic law. The jizya tax has been understood in Islam as a fee for protection provided by the Muslim ruler to non-Muslims, for the exemption from military service for non-Muslims, for the permission to practice a non-Muslim faith with some communal autonomy in a Muslim state, and as material proof of the non-Muslims' submission to the Muslim state and its laws. The Quran and hadiths mention jizya without specifying its rate or amount,Sabet, Amr (2006), ''The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences'' 24:4, Oxford; pp. 99–100. and the application of jizya varied in the course of Islamic history. However, scholars largely agree that early Muslim rulers adapted existing systems of taxation and tribute that were established under previous rulers of the conquered lands, such as ...
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Arab Christian
Arab Christians ( ar, ﺍَﻟْﻤَﺴِﻴﺤِﻴُّﻮﻥ ﺍﻟْﻌَﺮَﺏ, translit=al-Masīḥīyyūn al-ʿArab) are ethnic Arabs, Arab nationals, or Arabic-speakers who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who live in the Middle East is estimated to be between 10 and 15 million. Arab Christian communities can be found throughout the Arab world, but are concentrated in the Eastern Mediterranean region of the Levant and Egypt, with smaller communities present throughout the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa. The history of Arab Christians coincides with the history of Eastern Christianity and the history of the Arabic language; Arab Christian communities either result from pre-existing Christian communities adopting the Arabic language, or from pre-existing Arabic-speaking communities adopting Christianity. The jurisdictions of three of the five patriarchates of the Pentarchy primarily became Arabic-speaking after the early Muslim conquests – t ...
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Muslim Conquest Of Syria
The Muslim conquest of the Levant ( ar, فَتْحُ الشَّام, translit=Feth eş-Şâm), also known as the Rashidun conquest of Syria, occurred in the first half of the 7th century, shortly after the rise of Islam."Syria." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 20 October 200Syria – Britannica Online Encyclopedia/ref> As part of the larger military campaign known as the early Muslim conquests, the Levant was brought under the rule of the Rashidun Caliphate and developed into the provincial region of Bilad al-Sham. The presence of Arab Muslims, Arab Muslim troops on the southern Levantine borders of the Byzantine Empire had occurred during the lifetime of Muhammad, with the Battle of Mu'tah, Battle of Muʿtah in 629 formally marking the start of the Arab–Byzantine wars. However, the actual conquest did not begin until 634, two years after Muhammad's death. It was led by the first two Rashidun, Rashidun caliphs who succeeded Muhammad: Abu Bakr and ...
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Rashidun Army
The Rashidun army () was the core of the Rashidun Caliphate's armed forces during the early Muslim conquests in the 7th century. The army is reported to have maintained a high level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization, granting them successive victories in their various campaigns. In its time, the Rashidun army was a very powerful and effective force. The three most successful generals of the army were Khalid ibn al-Walid, who conquered Persian Mesopotamia and the Roman Levant, Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, who also conquered parts of the Roman Levant, and Amr ibn al-As, who conquered Roman Egypt. The army was a key component in the Rashidun Caliphate's territorial expansion and served as a medium for the early spread of Islam into the territories it conquered. Historical overview According to Tarikh at Tabari, the nucleus of the early caliphate forces were formed from the Green Division (al-Katibah al-Khadra), a unit that consisted of early converts from ...
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Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the western Indian Ocean islands (including the Comoros). An Arab diaspora is also present around the world in significant numbers, most notably in the Americas, Western Europe, Turkey, Indonesia, and Iran. In modern usage, the term "Arab" tends to refer to those who both carry that ethnic identity and speak Arabic as their native language. This contrasts with the narrower traditional definition, which refers to the descendants of the tribes of Arabia. The religion of Islam was developed in Arabia, and Classical Arabic serves as the language of Islamic literature. 93 percent of Arabs are Muslims (the remainder consisted mostly of Arab Christians), while Arab Muslims are only 20 percent of the ...
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Khalid Ibn Al-Walid
Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (; died 642) was a 7th-century Arab military commander. He initially headed campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career in service to Muhammad and the first two Rashidun successors: Abu Bakr and Umar. Following the establishment of the Rashidun Caliphate, Khalid held a senior command in the Rashidun army; he played the leading role in the Ridda Wars against rebel tribes in Arabia in 632–633, the initial campaigns in Sasanian Iraq in 633–634, and the conquest of Byzantine Syria in 634–638. As a horseman of the Quraysh's aristocratic Banu Makhzum, which ardently opposed Muhammad, Khalid played an instrumental role in defeating Muhammad and his followers during the Battle of Uhud in 625. In 627 or 629, he converted to Islam in the presence of Muhammad, who inducted him as an official military commander among the Muslims and gave him the title of (). Duri ...
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Gad (deity)
Gad was the name of the pan- Semitic god of fortune, usually depicted as a male but sometimes as a female. and is attested in ancient records of Aram and Arabia. Gad is also mentioned in the bible as a deity in the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 65:11 – some translations simply call him (the god of) Fortune), as having been worshipped by a number of Hebrews during the Babylonian captivity. Gad apparently differed from the god of destiny, who was known as Meni. The root verb in ''Gad'' means ''cut'' or ''divide'', and from this comes the idea of fate being ''meted out''. Israelite connection It is possible that the son of Jacob named ''Gad'' is named after Gad, or that Gad is a theophoric name, or a descriptive. Although the text presents a different reason, the ( ketub) quotation of Zilpa (Gad's mother) giving the reason of Gad's name could be understood that way. How widespread the cult of Gad, the deity, was in Canaanite times may be inferred from the names ''Baalgad'', a cit ...
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Amorite
The Amorites (; sux, 𒈥𒌅, MAR.TU; Akkadian: 𒀀𒈬𒊒𒌝 or 𒋾𒀉𒉡𒌝/𒊎 ; he, אֱמוֹרִי, 'Ĕmōrī; grc, Ἀμορραῖοι) were an ancient Northwest Semitic-speaking people from the Levant who also occupied large parts of southern Mesopotamia from the 21st century BC to the end of the 17th century BC, where they established several prominent city-states in existing locations, such as Isin, Larsa and later notably Babylon, which was raised from a small town to an independent state and a major city. The term in Akkadian and Sumerian texts refers to the Amorites, their principal deity and an Amorite kingdom. The Amorites are also mentioned in the Bible as inhabitants of Canaan both before and after the conquest of the land under Joshua. Origin In the earliest Sumerian sources concerning the Amorites, beginning about 2400 BC, the land of the Amorites ("the ''Mar.tu'' land") is associated not with Mesopotamia but with the lands to the west o ...
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