This volume is part of a set that presents the state of current knowledge of the Islamic world. Articles cover topics as varied as: distinguished Muslims of every age and land; tribes and dynasties; crafts; sciences; political and religious institutions; geography, ethnography, flora and fauna of the various countries; and the history, topography and monuments of the major towns and cities. In its geographical and historical scope it encompasses the old Arabo-Islamic empire, the Islamic countries of Iran, Central Asia, the Indian sub-continent and Indonesia, the Ottoman Empire and all other Islamic countries.