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Ibn Qalaqis
Abu ʾl-Fatḥ Naṣr Allāh ibn ʿAbd Allāh (; 1137–1172), known as Ibn Qalāqis (or Ḳalāḳis) and also al-Qāḍī al-aʿazz ("he most honorable judge"), was an Egyptian Arab poet and author. He spent his last few years travelling widely through Sicily and Yemen. The collections of poems and letters he left behind contain much valuable information for historians. Life Ibn Qalaqis was born in 532 AH (1137 AD) in Alexandria, then part of the Fatimid Caliphate. He moved to Cairo for his education, and studied under Abu Tahir al-Silafi. In 1165/6, he wrote to the Sicilian ''qāʾid'' Abu'l-Qasim ibn Hammud ibn al-Hajar, requesting financial assistance for his ''ḥajj'' (pilgrimage) to Mecca. He met with difficulties in Egypt and never went, instead accepting Abu'l-Qasim's invitation to come to the island of Sicily, then part of the Norman Kingdom, but retaining a vibrant Arab culture. He arrived in Messina on 11 May 1168 and stayed on the island at least until April ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria grew rapidly and became a major centre of Hellenic civilisation, eventually replacing Memphis, in present-day Greater Cairo, as Egypt's capital. During the Hellenistic period, it was home to the Lighthouse of Alexandria, which ranked among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, as well as the storied Library of Alexandria. Today, the library is reincarnated in the disc-shaped, ultramodern Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Its 15th-century seafront Qaitbay Citadel is now a museum. Called the "Bride of the Mediterranean" by locals, Alexandria is a popular tourist destination and an important industrial centre due to its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez. The city extends about along the northern coast of Egypt, and is the largest city on t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patti, Sicily
Patti is a town and ''comune'' in northeastern Sicily, southern Italy, administratively part of the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the western shore of the gulf of the same name. It is located from Messina. It is connected to the rest of Sicily by train, via the Patti-San Piero Patti train station, located on the railway line Messina-Palermo, and the A20 Palermo-Messina highway. It is best known for the remains of its rich monumental Roman Villa and for the impressive ruins of ancient city of Tyndaris nearby. Patti is also famous for its large sandy beaches. History The current town name derives from ''Ep' Aktin'' (Ἐπ' Ἀκτήν, Greek for 'on the shore'), the name given by its inhabitants after they moved from Tindari following an earthquake that destroyed it. The town was founded by the Norman king Roger II of Sicily in 1094. Patti was destroyed by Frederick of Aragon about 1300, on account of its attachment to the House of Anjou; rebuilt in the 16th century, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ḥajj
The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and of supporting their family during their absence from home. In Islamic terminology, Hajj is a pilgrimage made to the Kaaba, the "House of God", in the sacred city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, alongside Shahadah (oath to God), Salat (prayer), Zakat (almsgiving) and Sawm (fasting of Ramadan). The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God ( Allah). The word Hajj means "to attend a journey", which connotes both the outward act of a journey and the inward act of intentions. The rites of pilgrimage are performed over five to six ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abu'l-Qasim Ibn Hammud Ibn Al-Hajar
zth Abu'l-Qasim ibn Hammud ibn al-Hajar ( ar, أبو القاسم بن حمود بن الحجر, Abū al-Qāsim ibn Ḥammūd ibn al-Ḥajar) was a senior official or Qaid (, Arabic for 'commander') of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, and a leader of the Arab community of Sicily. Origin and family Abu'l-Qasim ibn Hammud was an eminent person: the contemporary traveller Ibn Jubayr called him "the hereditary leader of the Muslims of Sicily", and the chronicler Hugo Falcandus calls him "the most noble and powerful of the Sicilian Muslims". The poet Ibn Qalaqis, who was his guest and client while on the island, claimed that Abu'l-Qasim descended from Muhammad via his daughter Fatimah and Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Idrisid dynasty of Morocco, and the Hammudid dynasty of al-Andalus. However, the explicit link between Abu'l-Qasim's family, the Banu Hajar, and the Hammudids is unknown, and although the claimed ancestors were Shi'a, Abu'l-Qasim himself was most likely Sunni, since he named his so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qāʾid
Qaid ( ar , قائد ', "commander"; pl. '), also spelled kaid or caïd, is a word meaning "commander" or "leader." It was a title in the Norman kingdom of Sicily, applied to palatine officials and members of the ''curia'', usually to those who were Muslims or converts to Islam. The word entered the Latin language as lat, gaitus or lat, gaytus. Later the word was used in North Africa for the governor of a fortress or the warden of a prison, also in Spain and Portugal in the form with the definite article "alcayde" (Spanish) "alcaide" (Portuguese). It is also used as a male Arabic given name. Notable qaids * Al Qaid Johar (active 950–992), A Slavic general who conquered Maghreb for the Fatimid Imam-Caliph, Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah; and later served as the Viceroy of the Fatimid State. * Thomas Brun (active 1137–1154), Englishman who served Roger II of Sicily *Ahmed es-Sikeli, known as Caid Peter (active 1160s), eunuch in the court of Sicily, confidant of Margaret of Nav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abu Tahir Al-Silafi
Abū Ṭāhir al-Silafī ( ar, أبو طاهر السلفي; born Isfahan in 472 AH/1079 CE, died Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ... in 576/1180), was a leading scholar and teacher in twelfth-century Egypt. Among his many works is the ''Mu‘jam al-safar'' (the Dictionary of Travel), a biographical dictionary: 'covering from 511/1117 to 560/1164, the ''Mu‘jam'' can be regarded as a digest of intellectual life in late Fāṭimī Alexandria'. Al-Silafī ran the second madrasa to be built in Egypt (and the first Shāfi‘ī one there), built in Alexandria in 1149 on the order of Alexandria's then-governor, the Shāfi‘ī al-‘Ādil ibn Salār, vizier to Caliph al-Ẓāfir. It was named ‘Ādiliyya after its founder, but became popularly known as al-Sila ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metropolitan area, with a population of 21.9 million, is the 12th-largest in the world by population. Cairo is associated with ancient Egypt, as the Giza pyramid complex and the ancient cities of Memphis and Heliopolis are located in its geographical area. Located near the Nile Delta, the city first developed as Fustat, a settlement founded after the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 640 next to an existing ancient Roman fortress, Babylon. Under the Fatimid dynasty a new city, ''al-Qāhirah'', was founded nearby in 969. It later superseded Fustat as the main urban centre during the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods (12th–16th centuries). Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life, and is titled "the city of a thousand m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fatimid Caliphate
The Fatimid Caliphate was an Isma'ilism, Ismaili Shia Islam, Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimid dynasty, Fatimids, a dynasty of Arab origin, trace their ancestry to Muhammad's daughter Fatimah, Fatima and her husband Ali, ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, the first Imamate in Shia doctrine, Shi‘a imam. The Fatimids were acknowledged as the rightful imams by different Isma'ilism, Isma‘ili communities, but also in many other Muslim lands, including Persia and the adjacent regions. Originating during the Abbasid Caliphate, the Fatimids conquered Tunisia and established the city of "Mahdia, al-Mahdiyya" ( ar, المهدية). The Ismaili dynasty ruled territories across the Mediterranean coast of Africa and ultimately made Egypt the center of the caliphate. At its height, the caliphate included – in addition to Egypt – varying ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anno Domini
The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means 'in the year of the Lord', but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", taken from the full original phrase "''anno Domini nostri Jesu Christi''", which translates to 'in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ'. The form "BC" is specific to English and equivalent abbreviations are used in other languages: the Latin form is but is rarely seen. This calendar era is based on the traditionally reckoned year of the conception or birth of Jesus, ''AD'' counting years from the start of this epoch and ''BC'' denoting years before the start of the era. There is no year zero in this scheme; thus ''the year AD 1 immediately follows the year 1 BC''. This dating system was devised in 525 by Dionysius Exiguus, but was not widely used until the 9th century. Traditionally, English follows Latin usage by placing the "AD" abbr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anno Hegirae
The Hijri year ( ar, سَنة هِجْريّة) or era ( ''at-taqwīm al-hijrī'') is the era used in the Islamic lunar calendar. It begins its count from the Islamic New Year in which Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to Yathrib (now Medina). This event, known as the Hijrah, is commemorated in Islam for its role in the founding of the first Muslim community (''ummah''). In the West, this era is most commonly denoted as AH ( la, Anno Hegirae , 'in the year of the Hijra') in parallel with the Christian (AD), Common (CE) and Jewish eras (AM) and can similarly be placed before or after the date. In predominantly Muslim countries, it is also commonly abbreviated H ("Hijra") from its Arabic abbreviation '' hāʾ'' (). Years prior to AH 1 are reckoned in English as BH ("Before the Hijrah"), which should follow the date. A year in the Islamic lunar calendar consists of twelve lunar months and has only 354 or 355 days in its year. Consequently its New Year's Day occurs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caltavuturo
Caltavuturo ( Sicilian: ''Caltavuturu'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, Italy. The neighboring comunes are Polizzi Generosa, Scillato and Sclafani Bagni. History According to many scholars, the name and origin of the town are traced back to the period of Arab rule. According to Ibn al-Athir (''The Complete History'', VII.370.5–7), in AH 268 (881/82 CE), the Aghlabid commander Abu Thawr was defeated by the Byzantines (probably commanded by the ''strategos'' Mosilikes) and his was army annihilated, with only seven men surviving. The locality was later named in Arabic ''Qalʿat Abī Ṯawr'' ("Castle of Abu Thawr"), which is the origin of the modern name. Others instead maintain that the name derives from the Arabic word "qal'at" (fortress) and the Sicilian "vuturu" (vulture) meaning of "fortress of vultures." The town existed under Byzantine rule pre Arab conquest as Aziz Ahmad in “A Islamic History of Sicily” ( edinburgh university p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lentini
Lentini ( scn, Lintini, historically Liuntini; la, Leontīnī; grc, Λεοντῖνοι) is a town and in the Province of Syracuse, South East of Sicily (Southern Italy). History The city was founded by colonists from Naxos as Leontini in 729 BC, which in its beginnings was a Chalcidian colony established five years earlier. It is virtually the only Greek settlement in Sicily that is not located on the coast, founded around 10 km inland. The site, originally held by the Sicels, was seized by the Greeks owing to their command on the fertile plain in the north. The city was reduced to subject status in 494 BC by Hippocrates of Gela, who made his ally Aenesidemus its tyrant. In 476 BC, Hieron of Syracuse moved the inhabitants from Catana and Naxos to Leontini. Later on, the city of Leontini regained its independence. However, as a part of the inhabitants efforts to retain their independence, they invoked more than once the interventions of Athens. It was mainly the eloqu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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