Qajar \ka-'jar\ dynasty (1794-1925) Ruling dynasty of Iran. It was founded by Agha Muhammad Khan, who brutally reunified Iran and reas¬ serted Iranian rule over territories in Georgia and the Caucasus by defeat¬ ing his rivals, including the last ruler of the Zand dynasty. His successor, Fath 'All Shah (r. 1797-1834), lost land to Russia and increased contacts with the West. Nasir al-Din Shah’s (r. 1848-96) successful manipulation of Russia and Britain preserved Persia’s independence, but his successors could not cope with subsequent European meddling, and the dynasty was overthrown by Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1925.
Qantas Airways Limited Australian airline, the oldest in the English-speaking world, founded in 1920 as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd. (later abbreviated as Qantas). By 2002 it had more than 140 destinations in over 30 countries.
Qara Qoyunlu See Kara Koyunlu
Qaraghandy or Karaganda \,ka-r9-'gan-d3\ city (pop., 1999.: 436,900), central Kazakhstan. The first settlement appeared in 1856, and small-scale coal mining began the next year. Mining expanded rapidly in the early 1930s, and the town was made a city in 1934. Kazakhstan’s sec¬
ond largest city, it consists of the old town, which grew up haphazardly around more than 20 mining settlements, and the new town, the region’s cultural and administrative centre, which includes a university and medi¬ cal and polytechnic institutes.
Qaraism See Karaism Qarqar See Karkar
QasimT \ka-'se-me. Sheikh Sultan ibn Muhammad al- (b. July 1, 1939) Ruler of the emirate of Al-Shariqah (Sharjah) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 1972. He succeeded his brother, who was assassi¬ nated. A political moderate, he favoured strengthening the federal gov¬ ernment of the UAE. In the wake of a failed coup attempt by another brother, he agreed to implement financial and admin¬ istrative reforms and to make his brother crown prince, with the right to succeed him, but he changed his mind and exiled his brother in 1990.
Qatar \'ka-tor\ officially State of Qatar Coun¬ try, Middle East, southwestern Asia. It juts out from the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula into the Persian Gulf. Area: 4,412 sq mi (11,427 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 773,000. Capitaclass="underline" Doha. Most of the population is Arab, with South Asian and Iranian minorities who are often migrant workers. Languages: Arabic (official), English. Religions: Islam (official; predominantly Sunni); also Christianity, Hinduism. Currency: Qatar rial. Qatar is mostly stony, sandy, and barren and con¬ sists of salt flats, dune desert, and arid plains. Largely because of petroleum and natural gas exports, its gross national product per capita is one of the highest in the world.
The government owns all of the agricultural land and generates most of the economic activity; the private sector participates in trade and contracting on a limited scale. Qatar is a constitutional emirate, and its basis of legislation is Islamic law. The head of state and govern¬ ment is the emir, assisted by the prime minister. It was partly controlled
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by Bahrain from the mid-18th to the mid- 19th century and then was nominally part of the Ottoman Empire until World War I (1914-18). In 1916 it became a British protectorate. Oil was discovered in 1939, and Qatar rapidly modernized. It declared independence in 1971, when the British protectorate ended. In 1991 Qatar served as a base for air strikes against Iraq in the First Persian Gulf War.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1572 I Qayrawan ► Qiu Chuji
Qayrawan, Al- See Kairouan
QazvTn or KazvTn \kaz-'ven\ City (pop., 1996: 291,117), northwest¬ ern Iran. Founded as Shad Shahpur in ad 250, it flourished under Mus¬ lim rule in the 7th century. Genghis Khan laid waste to the city, but it later revived and was made the capital of Persia (1548-98) under the Safavid dynasty. In the late 18th century it became a base for foreign trade with areas of the Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Anatolia. A coup was launched from Qazvln in 1921 that led to Iran’s consolidation under Reza Shah Pahlavi. It is a regional communications centre, with some manufacturing.
qedesha \'ka-de-sha\ One of a class of sacred prostitutes found through¬ out the ancient Middle East and associated especially with the worship of the fertility goddess Astarte. Prostitutes, who often played an impor¬ tant part in official temple worship, could be either male or female. The early Israelites adopted Canaanite rites of sacred prostitution, and despite the denunciations of Israelite prophets, the practice continued until the reforms of Josiah in the 7 th century bc.
Qi or Ch'i One of the largest and most powerful of the many states into which early China was divided (7717-221 bc). During the Eastern Zhou dynasty, Qi was the first state to fully institute a uniform tax system, a central army, and a centralized bureaucracy based on talent rather than hereditary rank. It formed a league of states in 651 bc to stave off inva¬ sions from the north and south, but its hegemony was short-lived. In 221 bc it was absorbed into the Qin dynasty.
q> or ch'i Vche\ In Chinese philosophy, the ethereal substance of which everything is composed. Early Daoist philosophers and alchemists regarded it as a vital force associated with breath and bodily fluids and sought to control its movement within the body in order to achieve lon¬ gevity and spiritual power. Manipulation of qi is central to Chinese medi¬ tation, medicine, and martial arts. In the 10th—13th centuries Neo- Confucianism regarded qi as emanating from the Great Ultimate by way of li, the ordering principle of the universe, transformed into the elements through yin and yang (see yin-yang).
Qianlong emperor or Ch'ien-lung \che-'en-'lur)\ emperor orig. Hongli (b. Sept. 25, 1711, China—d. Feb. 7, 1799, Beijing) Fourth emperor of the Qing dynasty in China. His reign (1735-96) was one of the longest in Chinese history. China’s boundaries reached their greatest extent, encompassing Mongolia, Tibet, Nepal, Taiwan, and portions of Central Asia. Qianlong sponsored a compilation of the Confucian Clas¬ sics (see Five Classics); the compilation’s descriptive catalog is still used today. At the same time, he ordered that all books containing anti-Manchu sentiments be expurgated or destroyed; some 2,600 titles were lost. He enjoyed excellent personal relationships with Jesuit missionaries in Beijing, though Roman Catholic preaching remained officially forbidden. In the first half of his reign, agriculture made great strides and was supe¬ rior to that in much of Europe. Taxes were light and education was wide¬ spread, even among the peasantry. Subsequently, military expeditions and increasing governmental corruption permanently harmed the dynasty, sowing the seeds for its decline in the 19th century. See also Heshen; Kangxi emperor; Manchu.