Saxon, member of a Germanic people who in ancient times lived in the area of modern Schleswig and along the Baltic coast. The period of Roman decline in the northwest area of the empire was marked by vigorous Saxon piracy in the North Sea. During the 5th century ce the Saxons spread rapidly through

West Germanic languages: Dialects: …Groningen) have been called “Saxon” and show certain affinities with Low German dialects to the east. On the basis of other linguistic features, it is also possible to group together the dialects to the south and to the north of the Rhine and Meuse rivers.

Saxon duchies, several former states in the Thuringian region of east-central Germany, ruled by members of the Ernestine branch of the house of Wettin between 1485 and 1918; today their territory occupies Thuringia Land (state) and a small portion of northern Bavaria Land in Germany. The house of

Saxon Dynasty, ruling house of German kings (Holy Roman emperors) from 919 to 1024. It came to power when the Liudolfing duke of Saxony was elected German king as Henry I (later called the Fowler), in 919. Henry I’s son and successor, Otto I the Great (king 936–973, western emperor from 962), won a

Sachsenspiegel, the most important of the medieval compilations of Saxon customary law. Collected in the early 13th century by Eike von Repgow (also spelled Repkow, Repchow, or Repgau), a knight and a judge, it was written originally in Latin and later in German and showed little Roman influence,

August Bebel: The Sächsische Volkspartei (Saxon People’s Party) was thus brought into being, and in 1867 Bebel entered the constituent Reichstag of the North German confederation as a member for this party. Eventually, this and other like-minded parties united in 1869 in the Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei (Social Democratic Labour Party) of…

United Kingdom: The decline of Roman rule: …complete the new system of Saxon Shore forts around the southeastern coasts. At first he sought recognition as coemperor, but this was refused. In 293 the fall of Boulogne to Roman forces led to his murder and the accession of Allectus, who, however, fell in his turn when Constantius I…

Saxony: Geography: …Switzerland, the site of a national park. The upper course of the Elbe River flows from southeast to northwest through the state. The Mulde, a tributary of the Elbe, is the second largest river in Saxony. More than half of Saxony’s land area is used for agriculture, and about one-fourth…

spinning wheel: The Saxon, or Saxony, wheel, introduced in Europe at the beginning of the 16th century, incorporated a bobbin on which the yarn was wound continuously; the distaff on which the raw fibre was held became a stationary vertical rod, and the wheel was actuated by a…

weightlifting: History: …such as Eugene Sandow and Arthur Saxon of Germany, George Hackenschmidt of Russia, and Louis Apollon of France, who performed in circuses and theatres. By 1891 there was international competition in London. The revived Olympic Games of 1896 included weightlifting events, as did the Games of 1900 and 1904, but…

Saxony, Land (state), eastern Germany. Poland lies to the east of Saxony, and the Czech Republic lies to the south. Saxony also borders the German states of Saxony-Anhalt to the northwest, Brandenburg to the north, Bavaria to the southwest, and Thuringia to the west. The capital is Dresden. Area

Saxony, any of several major territories in German history. It has been applied: (1) before 1180 ce, to an extensive far-north German region including Holstein but lying mainly west and southwest of the estuary and lower course of the Elbe River; (2) between 1180 and 1423, to two much smaller and

spinning wheel: The Saxon, or Saxony, wheel, introduced in Europe at the beginning of the 16th century, incorporated a bobbin on which the yarn was wound continuously; the distaff on which the raw fibre was held became a stationary vertical rod, and the wheel was actuated by a…

Saxony-Anhalt, Land (state), east-central Germany. Saxony-Anhalt borders the German states of Brandenburg to the east, Saxony to the south, Thuringia to the southwest, and Lower Saxony to the northwest. The state capital is Magdeburg. Area 7,895 square miles (20,447 square km). Pop. (2011)

saxophone, any of a family of single-reed wind instruments ranging from soprano to bass and characterized by a conical metal tube and finger keys. The first saxophone was patented by Antoine-Joseph Sax in Paris in 1846. A saxophone has a conical metal (originally brass) tube with about 24 openings

Ida McKinley was the American first lady (1897–1901), the wife of William McKinley, 25th president of the United States. Ida Saxton was the middle child of James A. Saxton, a wealthy banker and businessman, and Catherine Dewalt Saxton. After attending local public schools, she enrolled at several

Carmen Basilio: …boxed two championship matches against Johnny Saxton, losing his title on a 15-round decision on March 14 and regaining it on a 9th-round knockout on September 12. The two fought again on February 22, 1957, with Basilio winning on a 2nd-round knockout. Basilio moved up to the middleweight class and…

John Mayer: …performance (for the single “Say,” from Continuum) and one for best solo rock performance (for “Gravity,” from the 2008 live album Where the Light Is). That same year Mayer released the album Battle Studies. Although it sold well, it was somewhat overshadowed by Mayer’s increasingly tabloid-friendly public persona; in…

Vasily Aksyonov: Another, Skazhi izyum (1985; Say Cheese!), is an irreverent portrait of Moscow’s intellectual community during the last years of Leonid Brezhnev’s leadership. Pokolenie zimy (1994; Generations of Winter) chronicles the fate of a family of intellectuals at the hands of the Soviet regime during the period of Joseph Stalin’s…

Frank Tashlin: Films of the late 1950s: …by Tashlin’s first real failure, Say One for Me (1959), a middling comedy that starred Bing Crosby as a priest.

Fleetwood Mac: The 2003 release Say You Will brought together Fleetwood, John McVie, Buckingham, and Nicks for their first studio album in 16 years, but the absence of Christine McVie highlighted her importance as a mediating influence within the band. She rejoined the group in 2014, and Fleetwood Mac’s first…

economic stabilizer: Say’s Law: Many writers before Keynes raised the question of whether a capitalist economic system, relying as it did on the profit incentive to keep production going and maintain employment, was not in danger of running into depressed states from which the automatic workings of…

phoebe: …of western North America is Say’s phoebe (S. saya), a slightly larger bird with buff-hued underparts.

Richard Bissell: …theatre he produced a novel, Say, Darling (1957), which he then wrote as a musical under the same title (1958), in collaboration with his wife, Marian Bissell, and Abe Burrows. Among his later books are the novels Good Bye, Ava (1960) and Still Circling Moose Jaw (1965). His last novel,…

Margaret Bourke-White: … before the Nazi takeover; and Say, Is This the U.S.A. (1941), about the industrialization of the United States.

J.-B. Say was a French economist, best known for his law of markets, which postulates that supply creates its own demand. After completing his education, Say worked briefly for an insurance company and then as a journalist. In 1794 he became an editor of a new magazine dedicated to the ideas of the

J.-B. Say was a French economist, best known for his law of markets, which postulates that supply creates its own demand. After completing his education, Say worked briefly for an insurance company and then as a journalist. In 1794 he became an editor of a new magazine dedicated to the ideas of the

Léon Say was an economist who served as finance minister in the Third Republic of France. Say was born into a prominent Protestant family and was the grandson of another well-known economist, Jean-Baptiste Say. Early in his career, Say worked for the Journal des Débats, later becoming its editor.

Thomas Say was a naturalist often considered to be the founder of descriptive entomology in the United States. His work, which was almost entirely taxonomic, was quickly recognized by European zoologists. Say accompanied various expeditions to North American territories, including an exploration of

Sayat-Nova was an Armenian troubadour known for his love songs. Sayat-Nova worked first as a weaver and later (1750–65) became the court minstrel of Irakli II of Georgia. In 1770 he entered a monastery in Haghbat, and he was martyred by the Persian invaders of Georgia. Most of his extant songs are

Samoyedic languages: …Selkup and the practically extinct Kamas language. None of these languages was written before 1930, and they are currently used only occasionally for educational purposes in some elementary schools.

Sayan Mountains, large upland region lying along the frontiers of east-central Russia and Mongolia. Within Russia the mountains occupy the southern parts of the Krasnoyarsk kray (territory) and Irkutsk oblast (region), the northern part of Tyva (Tuva), and the west of Buryatiya. The Sayans form a

Madhavacharya: His younger brother Sayana, the minister of four successive Vijayanagar kings, is famous as the commentator of the Vedas. Sayana’s commentaries were influenced by Madhavacharya, who was a patron of the scholars collaborating in his brother’s great work.

Khakasiya: …completed on the Yenisey near Sayanogorsk, with a generating capacity of 6,400 megawatts. The station was built to provide power for major industrial development in the Minusinsk Basin. Area 23,900 square miles (61,900 square km). Pop. (2008 est.) 537,230.

Sayan Mountains, large upland region lying along the frontiers of east-central Russia and Mongolia. Within Russia the mountains occupy the southern parts of the Krasnoyarsk kray (territory) and Irkutsk oblast (region), the northern part of Tyva (Tuva), and the west of Buryatiya. The Sayans form a

Sayat-Nova was an Armenian troubadour known for his love songs. Sayat-Nova worked first as a weaver and later (1750–65) became the court minstrel of Irakli II of Georgia. In 1770 he entered a monastery in Haghbat, and he was martyred by the Persian invaders of Georgia. Most of his extant songs are

Archibald H. Sayce was a British language scholar whose many valuable contributions to ancient Middle Eastern linguistic research included the first grammar in English of Assyrian. During his lifetime Sayce learned to write in about 20 ancient and modern languages. Appointed a fellow of Queen’s

Archibald H. Sayce was a British language scholar whose many valuable contributions to ancient Middle Eastern linguistic research included the first grammar in English of Assyrian. During his lifetime Sayce learned to write in about 20 ancient and modern languages. Appointed a fellow of Queen’s

Sidon, ancient city on the Mediterranean coast of Lebanon and the administrative centre of al-Janūb (South Lebanon) muḥāfaẓah (governorate). A fishing, trade, and market centre for an agricultural hinterland, it has also served as the Mediterranean terminus of the Trans-Arabian Pipeline, 1,069

William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele was an English statesman, a leading opponent of James I and Charles I in the House of Lords and a supporter of Parliament in the English Civil Wars. The only son of Richard Fiennes, 7th Lord Saye and Sele, he was educated at New College, Oxford, and

William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele was an English statesman, a leading opponent of James I and Charles I in the House of Lords and a supporter of Parliament in the English Civil Wars. The only son of Richard Fiennes, 7th Lord Saye and Sele, he was educated at New College, Oxford, and

Sayeret Matkal, elite commando unit of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) founded in 1957 by IDF officer Avraham Arnan, who petitioned the IDF General Staff for a combat unit in enemy territory to conduct top secret intelligence-gathering missions. Since its founding, the unit has carried out numerous

Dorothy L. Sayers was an English scholar and writer whose numerous mystery stories featuring the witty and charming Lord Peter Wimsey combined the attractions of scholarly erudition and cultural small talk with the puzzle of detection. Sayers received a degree in medieval literature from the

Dorothy L. Sayers was an English scholar and writer whose numerous mystery stories featuring the witty and charming Lord Peter Wimsey combined the attractions of scholarly erudition and cultural small talk with the puzzle of detection. Sayers received a degree in medieval literature from the

Gale Sayers was an American gridiron football player who in 1977 became the youngest player ever voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Though knee injuries shortened his career, Sayers showed in his seven seasons that he was one of the most elusive running backs in the history of the National

Gale Sayers was an American gridiron football player who in 1977 became the youngest player ever voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Though knee injuries shortened his career, Sayers showed in his seven seasons that he was one of the most elusive running backs in the history of the National

Gale Sayers was an American gridiron football player who in 1977 became the youngest player ever voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Though knee injuries shortened his career, Sayers showed in his seven seasons that he was one of the most elusive running backs in the history of the National

Tom Sayers was a boxer who participated in the first international heavyweight championship match and was one of England’s best-known 19th-century pugilists. Standing 5 feet 8 12 inches and weighing 155 pounds, Sayers was known as the Little Wonder and the Napoleon of the Prize Ring. He often

Zangid dynasty: …reigned 1146–74) and Al-Jazīrah to Sayf al-Dīn Ghāzī I (reigned 1146–49). Nureddin’s expansionist policy led him to annex Damascus (1154), subjugate Egypt (1168), and present a broad and competent Muslim front against the Crusaders, especially under such generals as Saladin, subsequent founder of the Ayyūbid dynasty of Egypt.

Sayf al-Dawlah was the ruler of northern Syria who was the founder and the most prominent prince of the Arab Ḥamdānid dynasty of Aleppo. He was famous for his patronage of scholars and for his military struggles against the Greeks. Sayf al-Dawlah began his career as lord of the city of Wāsiṭ in

Sayf al-Dawlah was the ruler of northern Syria who was the founder and the most prominent prince of the Arab Ḥamdānid dynasty of Aleppo. He was famous for his patronage of scholars and for his military struggles against the Greeks. Sayf al-Dawlah began his career as lord of the city of Wāsiṭ in

Khālid ibn al-Walīd was one of the two generals (with ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ) of the enormously successful Islamic expansion under the Prophet Muhammad and his immediate successors, Abū Bakr and ʿUmar. Although he fought against Muhammad at Uḥud (625), Khālid was later converted (627/629) and joined

Kanem-Bornu: …trading empire ruled by the Sef (Sayf) dynasty that controlled the area around Lake Chad from the 9th to the 19th century. Its territory at various times included what is now southern Chad, northern Cameroon, northeastern Nigeria, eastern Niger, and southern Libya.

eastern Africa: The Portuguese invasion: …Portuguese stronghold finally fell to Sayf ibn Sulṭān in December 1698. A few years later Zanzibar, the last of Portugal’s allies in Eastern Africa, also fell to the imam.

Assyrian: History from the 19th century: …World War I and the Assyrian Genocide, or Sayfo (Aramaic: “sword”), shattered the cultural coherence and political unity that the community had strived to achieve in the decades before the war. Estimates vary, but upwards of 250,000 Assyrians were killed during World War I. This number does not consider the…

Sidon, ancient city on the Mediterranean coast of Lebanon and the administrative centre of al-Janūb (South Lebanon) muḥāfaẓah (governorate). A fishing, trade, and market centre for an agricultural hinterland, it has also served as the Mediterranean terminus of the Trans-Arabian Pipeline, 1,069

Theodore Edward Hook: …success in 1824 of his Sayings and Doings, tales with a fashionable setting, each illustrating a proverb, was such that he extended their three volumes to nine in 1828. From 1824 to 1841 he wrote a series of fictional works in a similar style, notably Maxwell (1830), Gilbert Gurney (1836),…

Maʾrib: …the “flood of Arim” (Arabic sayl al-ʿarim), it is mentioned in the Qurʾān (Koran); sometimes translated “the flood of the dike” or the “bursting of the dike,” it is a favourite topic in Islamic myth and legend.

stand-up comedy: The British tradition and the spread of stand-up comedy: …rush of younger comics, including Alexei Sayle, emcee of the influential Comic Strip club that was a hothouse for new comedy stars in the ’80s; the comedy team of Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, the latter of whom starred in the situation comedy Absolutely Fabulous; and, a bit later, Eddie…

The Bahamas: British colonization: William Sayle, who had twice been governor of Bermuda, took the leadership of an enterprise to seek an island upon which dissidents could worship as they pleased. In July of that year the Company of Eleutherian Adventurers was formed in London “for the Plantation of…

John Sayles is an American motion-picture director, screenwriter, novelist, and actor who since the 1980s has been among the most prominent independent filmmakers in the United States. Parlaying his fees as a screenwriter of mainstream Hollywood films into funding for his own ambitious filmmaking

Lucille Clifton was an American poet whose works examine family life, racism, and gender. Born of a family that was descended from slaves, she attended Howard University from 1953 to 1955 and graduated from Fredonia State Teachers College (now State University of New York College at Fredonia) in

Franz Liszt: Compositions at Weimar: …February 1847 Liszt met the princess Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein at Kiev and later spent some time at her estate in Poland. She quickly persuaded him to give up his career as a virtuoso and to concentrate on composition. He gave his final concert at Yelizavetgrad (Kirovograd) in September of that year.…

Alvar Aalto: Mature style: …mature style is perhaps the Säynätsalo town hall group. Modest in scale in its forest setting, it nonetheless asserts a quiet force. Its simple forms are in red brick, wood, and copper, all traditional materials of Finland. Viewing it, a person feels the achievement of a perfect building, in that…

Joshua Logan: Films and plays of the 1940s and ’50s: Even better received was Sayonara (1957), a story of interracial love and institutional bigotry involving U.S. soldiers on leave in Japan during the Korean War. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture, Logan was nominated for best director, Marlon Brando was nominated for best actor,…

phoebe, (genus Sayornis), any of three species of New World birds in the genus Sayornis of the family Tyrannidae (order Passeriformes). Phoebes are found from northern Alaska south to the mountains of northern Argentina. All phoebes have the habit of twitching their tails when perching. In North

phoebe: …most widely distributed is the black phoebe (S. nigricans), which is found near water from the southwestern United States to Argentina. Measuring 16 cm (6.3 inches) long, S. nigricans is slightly smaller than S. phoebe, and it is dark above with a contrasting white belly.

phoebe: …the best-known species is the eastern phoebe (Sayornis phoebe), 18 cm (7.5 inches) long, plain brownish gray above and paler below. Its call is a brisk “fee-bee” uttered over and over. It makes a mossy nest, strengthened with mud, on a ledge, often under a bridge. In the open country…

phoebe: …of western North America is Say’s phoebe (S. saya), a slightly larger bird with buff-hued underparts.

buckwheat: …or groats, are prepared as kasha, cooked and served much like rice. While buckwheat flour is unsatisfactory for bread, it is used, alone or mixed with wheat flour, to make griddle cakes called buckwheat cakes in the United States and Canada. Buckwheat is high in carbohydrates and protein and provides…

Tien Shan: Physiography: …metres) lies the great undrained Lake Sayram. The Ili depression is bounded to the south by the highest mountains in the central Tien Shan—the Halik Mountains, reaching heights up to 22,346 feet (6,811 metres), and the isolated Ketpen (Ketmen) Range, which rises to an elevation of 11,936 feet (3,474 metres)…

Zelda Fitzgerald was an American writer and artist, best known for personifying the carefree ideals of the 1920s flapper and for her tumultuous marriage to F. Scott Fitzgerald. Zelda was the youngest daughter of Alabama Supreme Court Justice Anthony Dickinson Sayre and Minnie Buckner Machen Sayre.

Arabic literature: Categories and forms: …Iraqi poets, Nāzik al-Malāʾikah and Badr Shākir al-Sayyāb, almost simultaneously decided to abandon the system of prosody that the critical establishment had for centuries imposed as a principal method of identifying the poetic, choosing to adopt in its place a system that used variable line length and patterns of assonance…

sayyid, (Arabic: “master,” or “lord”), Arabic title of respect, sometimes restricted, as is the title sharīf, to the Banū Hāshim, members of Muḥammad’s clan; in particular, the descendants of Muḥammad’s uncles al-ʿAbbās and Abū Ṭālib and of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib by Muḥammad’s daughter Fāṭimah. In the

Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan was a Muslim educator, jurist, and author, founder of the Anglo-Mohammedan Oriental College at Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, and the principal motivating force behind the revival of Indian Islam in the late 19th century. His works, in Urdu, included Essays on the Life of

Āqā Mīrak was a Persian painter, an admired portraitist and an excellent colourist, who painted in a sumptuous style. A descendant of the Prophet Muḥammad and a native of Eṣfahān, he worked mostly in Tabrīz, the capital of the Ṣafavid empire. He knew the Persian painter Behzād, who was director of

al-Jurjānī was a leading traditionalist theologian of 15th-century Iran. Jurjānī received a varied education, first in Harāt and then in Egypt. He visited Constantinople in 1374, and, upon his return in 1377, he was given a teaching appointment in Shīrāz. In 1387 Shīrāz fell to Timur, the famous

Sayyid dynasty, rulers of India’s Delhi sultanate (c. 1414–51) as successors of the Tughluq dynasty until displaced by the Afghan Lodīs. This family claimed to be sayyids, or descendants of the Prophet Muhammad. The central authority of the Delhi sultanate had been fatally weakened by the invasion

India: Nationalism in the Muslim community: …popularly known by his title Mohsin al-Mulk, had succeeded Sayyid Ahmad as leader and convened a deputation of some 36 Muslim leaders, headed by the Aga Khan III, that in 1906 called on Lord Minto (viceroy from 1905–10) to articulate the special national interests of India’s Muslim community. Minto promised…

Chagatai literature: The khan Sayyid Muḥammad Raḥīm Bahādur II introduced printing to Khiva in 1874, the year of Āgahī’s death. Taking the pen name Firuz, he also wrote verse in Chagatai.

Islamic arts: New importance of Indian literature: It should be added that al-Sayyid Murtaḍā al-Zabīd (died 1791), a leading philologist, author of the fundamental work of lexicography Tāj al-ʿarūs (“The Bride’s Crown”), and commentator on Ghazālī’s main work, was of Indian origin. Laudatory poems and belles lettres in Arabic were still popular in the early 19th century…

eastern Africa: The Omani ascendancy: …both developed and used by Sayyid Saʿīd ibn Sulṭān of Oman as the base for his growing ambitions. Having won the succession to Muscat after an internecine struggle following his father’s death in 1804, Saʿīd spent much of the next two decades establishing his authority there. (In this he was…

India: Struggle for a new power center: …brothers, ʿAbd Allāh Khan and Ḥusayn ʿAlī Khan Bāraha. The Sayyids thus earned the offices of vizier and chief bakhshī and acquired control over the affairs of state. They promoted the policies initiated earlier by Ẓulfiqār Khan. In addition to the jizyah, other similar taxes were abolished. The brothers finally…

India: Struggle for a new power center: …accession to the Sayyid brothers, ʿAbd Allāh Khan and Ḥusayn ʿAlī Khan Bāraha. The Sayyids thus earned the offices of vizier and chief bakhshī and acquired control over the affairs of state. They promoted the policies initiated earlier by Ẓulfiqār Khan. In addition to the jizyah, other similar taxes were…

Ṣulayḥid dynasty: …the principality to his wife, al-Sayyidah Arwā. The Fāṭimids recognized her as suzerain of the kings of the Yemen until her death in 1138, when Yemen passed into Zurayʿid hands.

Oujda: Oujda is near Sidi Yahya (Sayyidī Yaḥyā) oasis, a legendary burial place of John the Baptist and site of the Battle of Isly, where the French defeated the Moroccan army in 1844. It is connected by road and railway with Taza.

Sazerac, a variation of a cognac cocktail native to New Orleans, and the city’s signature alcoholic beverage. Named for the French cognac Sazerac de Forge et Fils, the original base until a grape blight in France restricted the supply of cognac, this drink is made by mixing rye whiskey or bourbon

Sergey Dmitriyevich Sazonov was a statesman and diplomat, Russia’s minister of foreign affairs (1910–16) during the period immediately preceding and following the outbreak of World War I. Having entered the foreign ministry in 1883, Sazonov, whose brother-in-law Pyotr Stolypin was Russia’s prime

Ṣāʾib was a Persian poet, one of the greatest masters of a form of classical Arabic and Persian lyric poetry characterized by rhymed couplets and known as the ghazel. Ṣāʾib was educated in Eṣfahān, and in about 1626/27 he traveled to India, where he was received into the court of Shāh Jahān. He

Islamic arts: The beginning of Islam and the first four caliphs: …heard from captive Persians; and Ṣāʾib Khāthir, a Persian merchant. Songs were generally accompanied by the lute (ʿūd), the frame drum (duff), or the percussion stick (qaḍīb).

Ṣāʾib was a Persian poet, one of the greatest masters of a form of classical Arabic and Persian lyric poetry characterized by rhymed couplets and known as the ghazel. Ṣāʾib was educated in Eṣfahān, and in about 1626/27 he traveled to India, where he was received into the court of Shāh Jahān. He

Ṣāʾib was a Persian poet, one of the greatest masters of a form of classical Arabic and Persian lyric poetry characterized by rhymed couplets and known as the ghazel. Ṣāʾib was educated in Eṣfahān, and in about 1626/27 he traveled to India, where he was received into the court of Shāh Jahān. He

Islamic arts: Arabic: …as the Lebanese Adonis and Tawfiq Sayigh (died 1971), or the Egyptian dramatist Salah Abdel Sabour (died 1981), made use of traditional imagery in a new, sometimes esoteric, often fascinating and daring way.

Anṭūn Saʿādah was a Syrian political agitator who sought to unify Syria with neighbouring areas that he considered really parts of Syria. In 1921 Saʿādah went to Brazil to join his father, a physician and scholar, in the latter’s publishing business. He returned to Lebanon in 1930 and the following

Egypt: Ethnic groups: …divided into two groups, the Saʿādī (not to be confused with the Ṣaʿīdī, Upper Egyptians) and the Mūrābiṭīn. The Saʿādī regard themselves as descended from Banū Hilāl and Banū Sulaym, the great Arab tribes that migrated to North Africa in the 11th century. The most important and numerous of the…

Saʿadia ben Joseph was a Jewish exegete, philosopher, and polemicist whose influence on Jewish literary and communal activities made him one of the most important Jewish scholars of his time. His unique qualities became especially apparent in 921 in Babylonia during a dispute over Jewish

Iran: The Khwārezm-Shahs: Abū Bakr’s father, Saʿd, for whom Saʿdī took his pen name, conferred great prosperity on Shīrāz.

Saad Zaghloul was an Egyptian statesman and patriot, leader of the Wafd party and of the nationalist movement of 1918–19, which led Britain to give Egypt nominal independence in 1922. He was briefly prime minister in 1924. Zaghloul was from a well-to-do peasant family in Ibyānah in the Nile River

Iraq: Independence, 1932–39: A nonaggression pact, called the Saʿdābād Pact, between Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq was signed in 1937. In 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, King Ghāzī was killed in a car accident, and his son Fayṣal II ascended the throne. As Fayṣal was only four years old,…

Ṣaʿdah, town, northwestern Yemen, in the mountainous Yemen Highlands. It was the original capital of the Zaydī dynasty of imams (religious-political leaders) of Yemen (ad 860–1962). The effective founder of Ṣaʿdah as a base of Zaydī power was Imam Yaḥyā al-Hādī ilā al-Ḥāqq I (reigned 893–911).