Ali: Did you mean...?

An adapted version of the calligraphic pane of Husayn ibn Ali in the Hagia Sophia, Istanbul.

A drawing of a 3rd century CE Sasanian rock relief in Naqsh-e Rustam, Iran. The relief shows on the right Ardashir I (r. 224-241 CE) and on the left the supreme Persian and Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda. The god is giving the king his ring...

Persian mirror case with bird-and-flower motif, painting by Ali Ashraf, 1751. Brooklyn Museum.

The tympanon, the most popular frame-drum in ancient Greece, is now transformed into different varieties of drums. The original form of this instrument, identical in shape and making and producing the same rumbling sound described in classical...

The Mali Empire (1240-1645) of West Africa was founded by Sundiata Keita (r. 1230-1255) following his victory over the kingdom of Sosso (c. 1180-1235). Sundiata's centralised government, diplomacy and well-trained army permitted a massive...

Mansa Musa I was the ruler of the Mali Empire in West Africa from 1312 to 1337. Controlling territories rich in gold and copper, and monopolising trade between the north and interior of the continent, Mali grew extremely wealthy. Mansa Musa...

The Iranian Revolution (1978-1979) was the social movement that arose from widespread and diverse discontent with the monarchic government of Iran. The revolution was fought against the regime of Mohammad Reza Shah (r. 1941-1979), and it...

Timbuktu (Timbuctoo) is a city in Mali, West Africa which was an important trade centre of the Mali Empire which flourished between the 13th and 15th centuries. The city, founded c. 1100, gained wealth from access to and control of the trade...

The Spanish flu (so-named because the Spanish press openly reported on the outbreak while other World War I belligerents suppressed the news) broke out in March 1918 at Camp Funston, an army camp in Kansas, and struck young, healthy adults...

The French Expedition to Egypt and Syria (1798-1801), led by Napoleon Bonaparte, aimed to establish a French colony in Egypt and to threaten British possessions in India. Despite initial French victories, the campaign ultimately ended in...