‘Abd al-Mu’min ibn ‘All \ 1 ab-d3l- , mu-min- l ib-on-a- , le\ (b. 1094, Tagra, kingdom of the Hammadids—d. 1163, Rabat, Almohad empire) Berber caliph (1130-63) of the Almohad dynasty. Around 1117 he fell under the sway of Ibn Tumart, founder of the Almohad religious movement, and joined him in opposing to the ruling Almoravid dynasty. He succeeded Ibn Tumart on the latter’s death in 1130 and for the next 17 years carried on the struggle against the Almoravids. After defeating them at Marrakech in 1147, he massacred many of the city’s inhabitants, made Marrakech his home base, and conquered all of North Africa west of Egypt.
‘Abd al-Nasir, Jamal See Gamal Abdel Nasser
‘Abd al-Rahman X.ab-dol-rak-'manX III (b. January 891—d. Oct. 15, 961, Cordoba, Andalusian Spain) First caliph and greatest ruler of the Umayyad Arab Muslim dynasty of Spain. He succeeded his grandfather c Abd Allah as emir of Cordoba in 912. He set out immediately to subdue Muslim rebels in their mountain fortresses, which became an annual task until the Umayyad’s took Toledo in 933. Addressing the Christian threat to the north, he led the campaigns of Muez (920) and Navarra (924). In 928 he declared himself caliph. By 958 he had Christian kings paying him homage. During his rule, Cordoba was exemplary for its social, politi¬ cal, and cultural development; Christian and Jewish communities flour¬ ished, and the city’s fame rivaled that of the Byzantine capital, Constantinople.
‘Abd al-Samad (fl. 16th century) Persian miniature painter. Born in Iran, he traveled to India and became one of the first members of the imperial atelier there. Through their teachings in India, he and fellow countryman Mir Sayyid ‘AlI played a strong role in the foundation of the school of Mughal painting. 'Abd al-Samad supervised the majority of illus¬ trations in the Mughal manuscript Dastan-e Amir Hamzeh, or Hamzan-
Lyman Abbott, 1901.
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© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
4 I ‘Abd Allah ► Abelard
ama, which included about 1,400 paintings. Favoured at court, in 1576 he was appointed master of the mint, and in 1584 he was made dlwan (revenue commissioner) of Multan.
‘Abd Allah X.ab-dul-'laN (ibn Muhammad al-TaTishl) or 'Abdullahi \3b-,dul-a-'he\ (b. 1846, Sudan—d. Nov. 24, 1899, Kord- ofan) Political and religious leader who succeeded Muhammad Ahmad (al-Mahdl) as head of the Mahdist movement in the Sudan in 1885. He launched attacks against the Ethiopians and invaded Egypt, securing his position by 1891. In 1896 Anglo-Egyptian forces began to reconquer the Sudan. ‘Abd Allah resisted until 1898, when he was forced to flee Omdur- man. He died in battle one year later.
Abd el-Krim V.ab-dol-'kreirA in full Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Kar7m al-Khattabi (b. 1882, Ajdir, Mor.—d. Feb. 6, 1963, Cairo, Egypt) Berber resistance leader against Spanish and French rule in north¬ ern Morocco. He was chief Muslim judge for Morocco’s Melilla district. He became disillusioned with Spanish policies and eventually led a resis¬ tance movement with his brother. He set up the Republic of the Rif in 1921 and became its president. In 1926 he was forced to surrender when faced by a combined French and Spanish army. Exiled to the island of Reunion, in 1947 he received permission to live in France but took asy¬ lum in Egypt while en route. When Morocco became independent (1956), Muhammad V invited him to return, but he refused because of the contin¬ ued presence of French troops in North Africa.
Abdelkader \,ab-d9l-'kad-9r\ in full 'Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhyi al-DTn ibn Mustafa al-HasanT al-Jaza’iri (b. Sept. 6, 1808, near Mascara, Alg.—d. May 26, 1883, Damascus, Syria) Founder of modem Algeria and leader of its struggle against the French. His father had led a harassment campaign against the French, who invaded Algeria in 1830. Abdelkader succeeded his father as emir in 1832; by 1837, through battles and treaties, he had established his rule over most of Algeria’s interior, leaving the French in control of some port cities. He organized a true state, imposing equal taxes and suppressing the privileges of the warlike tribes. He fortified the interior towns, opened arsenals and workshops, and expanded education. The French overpowered his forces and arrested him by 1846. Upon his parole in 1853, he chose a life of exile, eventually settling in Damascus. Revered for his exemplary life and ideals, in 1860 he showed himself to be a model of decency and probity when, at great risk to his own safety, he sheltered thousands of Christians during a Druze uprising. He died respected by both French and Algerians (and by many others throughout the world), and he remains the Algerian national hero.
Abdera \ab-'dir-3\ City of ancient Thrace on the Aegean Sea nearly opposite Thasos. First settled in the 7th century bc, it was colonized a sec¬ ond time c. 540 bc. A prosperous member of the Delian League, it was crippled in the 4th century bc by Thracian invasions. It was the home of Democritus and Protagoras.
abdominal cavity Largest hollow space of the body, between the dia¬ phragm and the top of the pelvic cavity and surrounded by the spine and the abdominal muscles and others. It contains most of the alimentary canal, the liver and pancreas, the spleen, the kidneys, and the adrenal glands. It is lined by the peritoneum, a membrane covering the cavity’s inside wall (parietal peritoneum) and each organ or structure in it (visceral perito¬ neum). Disorders include ascites (fluid in the peritoneal cavity) and peri¬ tonitis.
abdominal muscle Any of the muscles of the front and side walls of the abdominal cavity. Three flat layers—the external oblique, internal oblique, and transverse abdominis muscles—extend from each side of the spine between the lower ribs and the hipbone. The abdominal muscles attach to aponeuroses, connective tissue sheaths that merge toward the midline, sheathing the rectus abdominis muscle on each side of the mid¬ line. The abdominal muscles support and protect the internal organs and take part in exhaling, coughing, urinating, defecating, childbirth, and motion of the trunk, groin, and lower limbs.
'Abduh Vab-dtL, Muhammad Egyptian religious scholar, jurist, and liberal reformer. As a student in Cairo, he came under the influence of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani. He was exiled for political radicalism (1882-88); he began his judicial career when he returned to Egypt. He rose from judge to mufti (legal counselor) in 1899. In his Treatise on the Oneness of God, he argued that Islam was superior to Christianity because it was more receptive to science and civilization. He liberalized Islamic law and
administration, promoting considerations of equity, welfare, and common sense, even when this meant disregarding the literal texts of the Qur’an.
Abdul Kalam, A(vul) P(akir) J(ainulabdeen) (b. Oct. 15, 1931, Rameswaram, India) Indian president (from 2002). After graduating from the Madras Institute of Technology, Kalam played a leading role in the development of India’s missile and nuclear weapons programs. He planned a program that produced a number of successful missiles, help¬ ing earn him the nickname “Missile Man.” Beginning in the early 1990s, he also served as scientific adviser to the government, and his prominent role in India’s 1998 nuclear weapons tests established Kalam as a national hero. In 2002 the pro-Hindu National Democratic Alliance nominated Kalam, a Muslim, to succeed outgoing President K.R. Narayanan. Kalam easily won the elections in 2002, and in the largely ceremonial post he sought to use science and technology to transform India into a developed country.
Abdul-Jabbar X.ab-dol-jo-'barX,
Lew(is) Alcindor (b. April 16,
1947, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. basketball player. During his college career at UCLA, the team lost only two games, and he led it to three national championships (1966-68).