The Book of Saladin

GLOSSARY

Andalus

Islamic Spain

atabeg

high dignitary

banj

hashish

chogan

polo

dar al-hikma

public library

Dimask

Damascus

Franj

Franks or Crusaders from the West

ghazi

Islamic warrior

hadith

sayings of the Prophet Mohammed; the body of traditions about his life

hammam

baths

hashishin

assassins; members of the Shiite sect of that name

Ifriqiya

Africa

Isa

Jesus

Ka’aba

the sacred stone in Mecca

Kadi

a Muslim judge with extraordinary powers to preserve law and order in a city

al-Kuds

Arab name for Jerusalem

khamriyya

Bacchic ode to the joys of wine

khutba

the Friday sermon in the mosque

labineh

yoghurt or yoghurt-based drink

maidan

flat land for a playing field or a parade ground

mamluk

slave

Misr

Egypt

mi’zar

a large sheet-like wrap worn both as a mande and by pre-Islamic Arabs as a long loin cloth

Musa

Moses

mushrif

a controller of finances

qalima

the word of Allah

Rumi

Roman

saqalabi

a white slave

Sham

Syria

tamr

date wine

Yunani

Greek