Babism is the doctrines of a Muslim messianic Shiite sect. Founded in 1844 by the Persian Sayyid Ali Muhammad of Shiraz known as the Bab ed-Din (the gate or intermediary between man and God), who declared himself to be the long-awaited Mahdi. For inciting insurrection the Bab was arrested in 1848 by the government and executed in 1850, his remains being interred in 1909 on MountCarmel, Palestine. In 1863 Baha'ullah and his son Abdul Baha declared themselves the new leaders, and their followers became known as the Baha'is. Research Babism
Agha Mohammed was Shah of Persia and founder of the Kajar Dynasty. He was born in 1740 and died in 1797. Agha Mohammed was the son of the Kajar chief Mohammed Hasan. Mutilated while a child by Adil Shah he became known as the Eunuch. After his father's death he surrendered to the Zend chief Karim Khan by whom he was kept in honourable captivity at Shiraz. At Karim's death in 1779 Agha Mohammed escaped from Shiraz and began his struggle for the crown. In 1795 he took Kerman, massacred the inhabitants, murdered the reigning sovereign, Lutf Ali Khan, and almost exterminated his family. Agha Mohammed was crowned shah in 1796 at Teheran, which he made his capital. The following year he was assassinated by two of his slaves. Research Agha Mohammed
Gustav Albert Lortzing was a German composer, actor, tenor, and librettist. He was born in 1801 at Berlin and died in 1851. After working as an actor he produced his first opera 'Ali Pascha von Janina' in Muenster in 1824. Research Albert Lortzing
Ali was the cousin and son-in-law of Mohammed. He was born in 600 and died in 660. He was the first of his converts, and the bravest and most faithful of his adherents. He married Fatima, the daughter of the prophet, but after the death of Mohammed in 632 his claims to the caliphate were set aside in favour successively of Abu-Bekr, Omar, and Othman. On the assassination of Othman, in 656, he became caliph, and after a series of struggles with his opponents, including Ayesha, widow of Mohammed, finally lost his life by assassination at Kufa in 660. A Mohammedan schism arose after his death, and has produced two sects. One sect, called the Shiites, put Ali on a level with Mohammed, and do not acknowledge the three caliphs who preceded Ali. They are regarded as heretics by the other sect, called Sunnites. The Maxims and Hymns of Ali are yet extant. Research Ali
Ali Bey was a ruler of Egypt. He was born in 1728 in the Caucasus and died in 1773. He was taken to Cairo and sold as a slave, but having entered the force of the Mamelukes, and attained the first dignity among them, he succeeded in making himself virtual governor of Egypt. He now refused the customary tribute to the Porte, and coined money in his own name. In 1769 he took advantage of a war in which the Porte was then engaged with Russia, to endeavour to add Syria and Palestine to his Egyptian dominion, and in this he had almost succeeded, when the defection of his own adopted son Mohammed Bey drove him from Egypt. Joining his ally Sheikh Daher in Syria, he still pursued his plans of conquest with remarkable success, until in 1773 he was induced to make the attempt to recover Egypt with insufficient means. In a battle near Cairo his army was completely defeated and he himself taken prisoner, dying a few days afterwards either of his wounds or by poison.
*Ali Pasha
Ali Pasha was an Albanian chief. He was born in 1741 and died in 1822. A bold and able, but ferocious and unscrupulous Albanian, he was the son of an Albanian chief, who was deprived of his territories by rapacious neighbours. Ali by his enterprise and success, and by his entire want of scruple, got possession of more than his father had lost, and made himself master of a large part of Albania, including Yanma, which the Porte sanctioned his holding, with the title of pasha. He now as a ruler displayed excellent qualities, putting an end to brigandage and anarchy, making roads, and encouraging commerce. He still farther extended his sway by subduing the brave Suliotes of Epirus, whom he conquered in 1803, after a three years' war. He had long been aiming at independent sovereignty, and had intrigued alternately with England, France, and Russia. Latterly he was almost independent of the Porte, which at length determined to put an end to his power; and in 1820 Sultan Mahmoud pronounced his deposition. Ali resisted several pashas who were sent to carry out this decision, only surrendering at last in 1822, on receiving assurances that his life and property should be granted him. Faith was not kept with him, however; he was killed, and his head was cut off and conveyed to Constantinople, while his treasures were seized by the Porte. Research Ali Bey
Caliph, or calif or khalif (vicegerent) is the name assumed by the successors of Mohammed in the government of the faithful and in the high-priesthood. Caliphate is therefore the name given to the empire of these princes which the Arabs founded in Asia, and enlarged, within a few centuries, to a dominion exceeding even the Roman empire in extent. The appellation of caliph has long ago been swallowed up in Shah, Sultan, Emir, and other titles peculiar to the East.
Mohammed having died without naming his successor, three rival parties appeared immediately after his death. The first was headed by Omar, a kinsman of the prophet, who demanded the election of Abu Bekr, Mohammed's father-in-law. The second party was headed by Ali, the husband of Fatima, the prophet's daughter, who declared for himself. The third party consisted of people of Medina, who demanded the election of one of themselves. Abu Bekr was chosen in 632, and prosecuting the conquest of Syria, he defeated the Byzantine emperor Heraclius and took Damascus. His successor, Omar, completed the conquest of Syria, took Jerusalem, subjugated Egypt, and defeated the Persians. He is said to have erected over 1500 mosques. He was succeeded by Othman, or Osman, who completed the conquest of Persia and other Eastern countries, extended his dominion in Africa, and took Cyprus and Rhodes. Othman was succeeded by Ali, who is regarded as the first legitimate possessor of the dignity by a numerous sect of Mohammedans, which gives him and his son, Hassan, almost equal honour with the prophet. During his reign a great schism divided the Mohammedans into two sects called the Sunnites and the Shiites, the former acknowledging the authority of all the caliphs, the latter acknowledging only Ali and his descendants.
Ali was murdered in 660, and his son Hassan in 661, when Moawiyah, the founder of the dynasty of the Ommiyades, became caliph, and transferred his capital from Medina to Damascus. His army continued the conquest of Northern Africa, and twice unsuccessfully attacked Constantinople (Istanbul). Carthage was taken in 698, after which the Mohammedans encountered no serious opposition in Northern Africa.
From the union of the Arabic and Berber races of Africa sprung the Moors of Saracenic history. The conquest of Spain immediately followed, Tarik, the lieutenant of the Saracen general, Musa, having totally defeated the King of the Goths. The caliphate now extended from the Oxus and Indus to the Atlantic. In 732 a great host of Islamic soldiers crossed the Pyrenees and invaded France, but were totally defeated at Tours by Charles Martel. In 755 the Mohammedan dominion split up into the Eastern and Western Caliphates, the western caliph having Spain, with his capital at Cordova; and the eastern including Northern Africa, with the capital at Bagdad. The former was ruled by a series of Ommiyade caliphs; the latter by the dynasty of the Abbasides.
The most celebrated of the Abbaside caliphs of Bagdad was Haroun al Rashid (Aaron the Just), 786-808, under whom learning, science, and art were in a flourishing state. Subsequently the Islamic kingdom lost province after province, and the temporal authority of the caliph of Bagdad was destroyed. Numerous independent dynasties were set up, the most important of which was that of the Fatimites, founded by an African Saracen who claimed descent from Fatima the daughter of the prophet.
This dynasty conquered Sicily and several parts of Italy, Egypt, and Palestine. It came to an end in 1171. In 1031 the Western Caliphate ceased, and the Saracenic dominions in Spain was broken up into several small states. The most brilliant period of the Western Caliphate was in the 9th and 10th centuries, when literature, science, and art were in more flourishing condition than anywhere else in Europe. The Eastern Caliphate lingered on until 1258, when Bagdad was taken and sacked by the Mongols. Research Caliph
Sir David Baird was a British soldier. He was born in 1757 at Edinburghshire and died in 1829. He entered the army in 1772. Having been promoted to a lieutenancy in 1778 he
sailed for India, distinguished himself as a, captain in the war against Hyder Ali, was wounded and taken prisoner, and confined in the fortress of Seringapatam for nearly four years. He and his fellow-prisoners were treated with great barbarity, and many of them died or were put to death, but at last (in 1784) all that survived were set at liberty. After his release he received, in 1787, his majority, and in 1791 joined the army under Cornwallis as lieutenant-colonel, and was appointed to the command of a brigade in the war against Tippoo. After much hard service he received a colonelcy in 1795, went in 1797 to the Cape of Good Hope as brigadier-general, and in 1798, on his appointment as major-general, returned to India. In 1799 he commanded the storming party at the assault of Seringapatam, and, in requital, was presented with the state sword of Tippoo Saib. Being appointed in 1800 to command an expedition to Egypt, he landed at Kosseir in June, 1801, crossed the desert, and, embarking on the Nile, descended to Cairo, and thence to Alexandria, which he reached a few days before it surrendered to General Hutchinson. Next -year he returned to India, but being soon after superseded by Sir Arthur Wellesley (the Duke of Wellington), he sailed for Britain, where he was knighted and made K.C.B. With the rank of lieutenant-general he commanded an expedition in 1805 to the Cape of Good Hope, and in 1806, after defeating the Dutch, he received the surrender of the colony. He commanded a division at the siege of Copenhagen, and after a short period of service in Ireland sailed with 10,000 men for Corunna, where he formed a junction with Sir John Moore. He commanded the first division of Moore's army, and in the battle of Corunna lost his left arm. By the death of Sir John Moore Sir David succeeded to the chief command, receiving for the fourth time the thanks of Parliament, and a baronetcy. In 1814 he was made a general. Research David Baird
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Babism
