The Abbasids had an unbroken line of Caliphs for over three centuries, consolidating Islamic rule and cultivating great intellectual and cultural developments in the Middle East. By 940 the power of the Caliphate under the Abbasids was waning as non-Arabs, particularly the Berbers of North Western Africa, the Turkish, and later the Mamluks in Egypt in the latter half of the 13th century, gained influence, and sultans and emirs became increasingly independent. However, the Caliphate endured as both a symbolic position and a unifying entity for the Islamic world.During the period of the Abassid dynasty, Abassid claims to the caliphate did not go unchallenged. The Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah of the Fatimid dynasty, which claimed descendency of Muhammad through his daughter, claimed the title of Caliph in 909, creating a separate line of caliphs in North Africa. Initially covering Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, the Fatimid caliphs extended their rule for the next 150 years, taking Egypt and Palestine, before the Abbassid dynasty was able to turn the tide, limiting Fatimid rule to Egypt. The Fatimid dynasty finally ended in 1171. The Umayyad dynasty, which had survived and come to rule over the Muslim provinces of Spain, reclaimed the title of Caliph in 929, lasting until it was overthrown in 1031.
1258 saw the conquest of Baghdad and the execution of Abbasid caliph al-Musta'sim by Mongol forces under Hulagu Khan. A surviving member of the Abbasid House was installed as Caliph at Cairo under the patronage of the Mamluk Sultanate three years later; however, the authority of this line of Caliphs was confined to ceremonial and religious matters, and later Muslim historians referred to it as a "shadow" Caliphate.
Ottoman rulers were known primarily by the title of Sultan and sometimes also used the title of Caliph. Mehmed II and his grandson Selim I used it to justify their conquest of Islamic countries. As the Ottoman Empire grew in size and strength, Ottoman rulers beginning with Selim I began to claim Caliphal authority.
Ottoman rulers used the title "Caliph" symbolically on many occasions but it was strengthened when the Ottoman Empire defeated the Mamluk Sultanate in 1517 and took control of most Arab lands. The last Abbasid Caliph at Cairo, al-Mutawakkil III, was taken into custody and was transported to Istanbul, where he reportedly surrendered the Caliphate to Selim I.
After the Ottomans lost a war with the Russian Empire they signed a peace treaty with Russia in 1774. The Sultan had to surrender large territories, including ones with large Muslim populations, such as Crimea, to the Russian Empire. However, Sultan Abdul Hamid I claimed a diplomatic victory by assigning himself the protector of Muslims in Russia as part of the peace treaty. Russia, meanwhile, was the protector of Christians in the Ottoman Empire. This was the first time the Ottoman caliph was acknowledged as having political significance outside of Ottoman borders by a European power. Although the Ottoman borders were shrinking, the powers of the Ottoman caliph increased.
Around 1880 Sultan Abdul Hamid II reasserted the title as a way of countering the spread of European colonialism in Muslim lands. His claim was most fervently accepted by the Muslims of British India. By the eve of the First World War, the Ottoman state, despite its weakness vis-à-vis Europe, represented the largest and most powerful independent Islamic political entity. But the sultan also enjoyed some authority beyond the borders of his shrinking empire as caliph of Muslims in Egypt, India and Central Asia.
In the 1920s the Khilafat Movement, a movement to defend the Ottoman Caliphate, spread throughout the British colonial territories in Asia. It was particularly strong in British India, where it formed a rallying point for Indian Muslims and was the one of the many anti-British Indian political movements to enjoy widespread support. Its leaders included Maulana Mohammad Ali, his brother Shawkat Ali, and Abul Kalam Azad, Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, and Hasrat Mohani. For a time it worked in alliance with Hindu communities and was supported by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi who was a member of the Central Khilafat Committee. However, the movement lost its momentum after the arrest or flight of its leaders, and a series of offshoots splintered off from the main organization.
On March 3, 1924, the first President of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, as part of his reforms, constitutionally abolished the institution of the Caliphate. Its powers within Turkey were transferred to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (parliament) of the newly formed Turkish Republic and the title has since been inactive. In 2014 the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed the title but most Muslims did not accept it.
Amphisbaenia
Amphisbaenia are a suborder of Squamata.
Amphisbaenians have features that link them to both lizards and snakes, but they have enough of their own features to be a separate suborder. Amphisbaenians can live both above and below the ground.
There are four families, made up of 18 genera, and about 160 species.
Kaffir
Kaffir may be meaning:
Karen languages
The Karen languages are tonal languages spoken by the Karen people. They are part of the Tibeto-Burman group of the Sino-Tibetan language family.
Tropic
A tropic may be meaning:
In geography:
In transportation:
Kongo language
Kikongo or Kongo is the Bantu language spoken by the Bakongo and Bandundu people in the tropical forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo and Angola.
Latvian language
Latvian (), is the official state language of Latvia. It is also called Lettish and Lettisch. It is estimated, that there are 1.75 million native speakers in Latvia.
The Latvian alphabet has 33 letters. The letters are based on the Latin alphabet. Along with the Lithuanian language, Latvian is the only live Baltic language.
Wig
A wig is an artificial covering of hair. The word is short for periwig and appeared in the English language around 1675. Some people wear wigs to hide the fact that they are bald, which means they have very little or no scalp hair. Actors often wear wigs to disguise their appearance or get into character. In Britain and other Commonwealth nations, some public employees, such as judges and barristers, wear wigs.
Many composers during the 18th century wore wigs.
Neelum District
The Neelum District () is one of the eight districts of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. Until recently it was part of Muzaffarabad District. It is bounded by the Gilgit (Northern Areas) to the North, with Kupwara and Baramulla Districts of Jammu and Kashmir to the South and Southeast, Muzaffarabad District to the Southwest and Mansehra District to the West. The district was badly affected by the 2005 Kashmir earthquake.
The district is administratively subdivided into two tehsils:
Many languages are spoken in the district. Hindko however, is the predominant language and is spoken mostly in the west, southwest and central regions. Shina and Kashmiri are spoken in the Northeast towards the border with Baramulla and Astore District and also in the far north on the cease-fire Line with Diamir District. Pashto is also spoken in a few villages on the Line of Conflict with Baramulla.
Backpack
A backpack (also called rucksack, knapsack, packsack, pack, Haversack, or Bergen) is a bag put on somebody's back. It usually has two straps that go over the shoulders. It is used to carry things in it, and it often has many compartments to carry things. People often use backpacks on camping trips, hikes, or any form of outdoor activity where people need to carry many things. Backpacks are also be used in the military by soldiers. It can be also used in school, or in this case, it also called a bookbag or school bag.