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Babism
Babism , system of doctrines proclaimed in Persia in 1844 by Ali Muhammad of Shiraz. Influenced by the Shaykhi Shiite theology that viewed the Twelve Imams as incarnations of the Divine, Ali Muhammad proclaimed himself the Bab, the living door to the twelth Imam and the knowledge of God, and sent ...
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Baha Ullah
Baha Ullah or Baha Allah [Arab.,=glory of God], 1817-92, Persian religious leader originally named Mirza Husayn Ali Nuri. One of the first disciples of the Bab (see Babism ), he and his half-brother Subhi Azal became the leaders of the Babi faith. In 1863, shortly before being exiled to Consta...
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Sodom
Sodom or Sodoma , in the Bible, the principal of the Cities of the Plain (the others being Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar, which was spared) destroyed by fire from heaven because of their wickedness. The cities were probably located near the S portion of the Dead Sea. The ruins at Bab edh-Dh...
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James Bruce
James Bruce 1730-94, Scottish explorer in Africa. He explored Roman ruins in N Africa (1755) from Tunis to Tripoli and visited Crete, Rhodes, and Asia Minor. In 1768 he traveled down the Red Sea as far as the straits of Bab el Mandeb. From Massawa he struck inland for Gondar, then the capital of Et...
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Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel [Heb.,=garden land], mountain ridge, NW Israel, extending 13 mi (21 km) NW from the plain of Esdraelon to the Mediterranean Sea, where it ends in a promontory marking the southern limit of the Bay of Haifa. Its highest point is 1,792 ft (546 m), and it is one of the most striking physi...
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Haifa
Haifa , city (1994 pop. 246,700), NW Israel, a port on the Mediterranean Sea, at the foot of Mt. Carmel. Haifa is the chief city of N Israel and the country's principal oil refining center. Along with Ashdod , Haifa is one of Israel's main ports and handles oceangoing vessels, including oil tankers...
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Baha'i
Baha'i , religion founded by Baha Ullah (born Mirza Huseyn Ali Nuri) and promulgated by his eldest son, Abdul Baha (1844-1921). It is a doctrinal outgrowth of Babism , with Baha Ullah as the Promised One of the earlier religion. The Baha'i faith holds that God can be made known to humankind throu...
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Sir William Schwenck Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert 1836-1911, English playwright and poet. He won fame as the librettist of numerous popular operettas, written in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan . While on the staff of the magazine Fun, he first became known as the author of Bab Ballads, amusing...
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Red Sea
Red Sea ancient Sinus Arabicus or Erythraean Sea, narrow sea, c.170,000 sq mi (440,300 sq km), c.1,450 mi (2,330 km) long and up to 225 mi (362 km) wide, between Africa (Egypt, Sudan, and Eritrea) and the Arabian peninsula (Saudi Arabia and Yemen); a part of the Great Rift Valley . The Gulf of...
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Djibouti
Djibouti , officially Republic of Djibouti, republic (2005 est. pop. 477,000), c.8,900 sq mi (23,057 sq km), E Africa, on the Gulf of Aden. It is bounded by Eritrea (N), Ethiopia (W, S), Somalia (S), and the Gulf of Aden (E). Djibouti is the capital, largest city, and most significant port.
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