Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms (51 page)

Ali, Sheikh, 139–140

Ali, Tariq, 121

Ali, Wazir, 243, 245, 247, 249, 250, 253, 254

on Islamic households, 251

on Nuristani golf, 251–252

photo of, 254

American University of Beirut, 145

Amulets, 30, 31, 67

Anderson, James, xxix

Angels, 44, 60

Anglo-Afghan War, 222

Angra Mainyu, 64, 77–78, 79–80, 83, 105

battle against, 92

Satan and, 80

Anti-Semites, 34

Antoninus of Piacenza, 152

Arab American Institute, 263

Arab American Museum, 262

Arabian Nights, The,
6, 88

Arabic, xxviii, 25, 56, 185, 232–233, 257, 272

Islam and, 184

slang/adopting, 161

speaking, 153

Arabs, 40, 45, 71, 81, 196

Islam and, 89

Kurds and, xxiv

Persian culture and, 90

Samaritans and, 155

Arafat, Yasser: Samaritans and, 174, 175

Aramaic, 45, 130, 257, 259, 260

abandoning, 153

Mandaean dialect of, 25

Aristokrates, 26

Aristotle, xx, 14, 95, 116, 117, 127, 140

Alexander and, 94

Plato and, 123

Armenians, 18, 86, 195, 198

massacre of, xxiv, 259

Armstrong, Neil, 53

Arnold, Matthew, 113

Arslan, Prince Talal, 118, 122, 125, 131, 133

Jumblatt and, 143

Arslan family, 118, 125–126

Artemisia, 23

Asceticism, 11–12, 13–14, 18, 123, 209

Assad, Bashar al-, 51, 120

Assad, Hafez al-: Jumblatt and, 138

Assyrian Church, 258

Assyrian Empire, 5, 40, 44, 64

Samaritans and, 150

Assyrians, xxiv, 57, 86, 149, 161, 260, 261

Church of the East and, 57

religious practices of, 49

sun and, 44

Aswad, Du’a Khalil: murder of, 70

Ateshkadeh

photo of, 103

visiting, 102–103

Avesta, 77, 78, 79, 100, 106

interpreting, 110

messiah and, 91–92

Awadi, Tariq el-, 189

Ayad, 67, 68, 69

Kurdish identity and, 66

theory of, 64–65

Azeris, 86

Baalshamin, 64

Baalzebub, 64

Baba Sheikh, 68

Babak, 90

Babis, 96

Babylon, 2, 12, 40, 81, 150

Aramaic in, 25

astronomy of, 26, 139

civil war in, 5

Babylonian Empire, 5

Babylonian exile, 12, 149

Babylonians, 19, 22, 40

influence of, 88

Iraqi Marshes and, 7, 9

Mandaeans and, 11, 25, 27, 28–29

predictions by, 26

religious practices of, 4–5, 49

Bacchae
(Euripides), 94

Bacchus, 138

Badger, Percy, 53, 59

Baghdad, 200

demonstrators in, 35

Jewish community in, 33

Baha’i, 96, 107

Balfour, Alfred, xxvi, 107

Balimain, 240

Baptism, 10

Christian, 42

Mandaean, 2 (photo), 23–24, 24 (photo), 27–28, 270, 271

Bar Anhar, Hermez: on worship, 27

Bar Penkaye, Yohannan, 29

Barakat, Yusif, 267, 270

photo of, 263

relationship of, 264–265

Bedouins, 161, 162, 210

Beg, Azem, 236, 239, 241, 242, 243, 247, 253, 254

on dancing, 240

Kalasha song and, 244–245

photo of, 254

Beirut, 121, 125, 130

described, 113

Bel (sun god), 11

Belem,
21

photo of, 20

Belshazzar, 5

Ben Yehuda, Eliezer: Hebrew and, 148, 161

Ben-Zvi, Yitzhak, 167

Bennett, Alan, 228

Berbers, 126

Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali: Islamic conservatism and, 233

Bible, 10, 65, 174, 202

Egypt and, 198

Bin Ali, Hamza: Druze and, 127

Bin Musafir, Sheikh Adi: controversy over, 58–59

Biruni, xxii, xxix, 50, 54

described, 8–9

Blavatsky, Madame, 135

Blood feuds, 213, 224

Bodleian Library, 28

Book of Daniel, 165

Book of Exodus, 150, 179

Book of Genesis, 2

Book of Isaiah, 165

Book of John, 27

Book of Kings, 150

Boyce, Mary, 78–79

Bread, Coptic letters on, 210 (photo)

Breegi, Wisam, 270, 271

British Druze Cavalry Regiment, illustration of, 137 (fig.)

British Library, 172

British Mandate, 155

Browne, Edward, 96, 99–100

Browne, William: Egyptian identity and, 196

Buckley, Jorunn, 11

Buddhism, 12

Budhaluk,
described, 240

Burnes, Sir Alexander, 221

Burns, Robbie, 221

Bush, George W., 9

Busnaya, Yusuf, 61–62

Butros, Zakaria, 215

Buzani, Khairi, 63

Byzantine Empire, xxii, 46, 90

Egypt and, 195

religious minorities in, 95

Byzantines, 45, 49, 126, 195, 258

defeat of, 46

holy fire and, 89

Byzantium, 46, 95, 117

Copts and, 195

Persian Empire and, 7

Cairo, 192–194, 201, 204, 206

Copts in, 205

described, 191

Samaritans in, 153

visiting, 183, 184, 185–186, 188

Calendars

Mandaean, 21

Muslim, xxviii

Samaritan, xxviii, 157

Western, 181

Zoroastrian, xxviii

Carmelites, 185

Carmen (Karima), reincarnation of, 141

Carnarvon, Lord, 136, 138, 145

Druze and, 134–135

Castes, 224

Yazidi, 57, 274, 276

Zoroastrian, 89

Catalhuyuk, 103

Catholic Uniate Church, Copts and, 210

Chaldean News,
260, 261

Chaldeans, 115, 264, 265, 267

conservatism of, 261

Charsema Sor, 59, 276

Charshanbeh-e-Suri, described, 105

Chaumos

celebrating, 232, 237, 238, 240, 241, 244, 248

photo of, 245, 246, 254

Cheops, Pharaoh: Great Pyramid and, 4

Chitral, 223, 227, 231, 250, 253, 255

annexation of, 233

described, 232

visiting, 233–234

Christianity, x, 1, 47, 116, 194, 245

Constantine and, xxix

conversion to, 141, 151, 161, 214

in Egypt, 181, 183

Greek philosophy and, 131

Islam alienation with, xx

Mandaeans and, 18

monotheism of, 152

Roman Empire and, 194–195

spread of, 182, 258

understanding of, 217

Christianity in Iraq
(Rassam), xxvi

Christians, xxiv, 50, 61, 185, 186

Arab, 261, 267, 268

asylum for, 279

Egyptian, xxvi–xxvii, 195–196

emigration of, 279

Iraqi, 259, 262

Jews and, 177

Lebanese, 262

massacre of, 182

mistreatment of, 217

Muslims and, 8, 118, 127, 129, 188, 197, 198, 199, 204, 205, 213, 214, 217, 263, 279

Orthodox, 265, 266

Palestinians and, 262, 266–267

Samaritans and, 155

sects of, 1

Syrian, 201, 265

tolerance for, 90

Yazidis and, 41

Chronicles of Narnia, The
(Lewis), 78

Church of the East, 57, 258

Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Easter Mass at, 155

Church of the Nativity, 77

Circumcision, 166, 192, 193

Citizenship, 69, 201