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Yusuf Ibn 'Awkal
Abū Ya‘qūb Abu'l-Faraj Yūsuf b. Ya‘qūb b. ‘Awkal was an Egyptian Jewish merchant in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. He was an extremely wealthy "merchant prince" who was a prominent figure in both the Egyptian business community and the Mediterranean Jewish community. His life and activity are attested by a series of documents from the Cairo Geniza. This consists entirely of letters and reports sent to him; nothing written by him or his secretaries survives. There are a total of 61 documents addressed to him or to family members spanning four generations from the 980s until 1078. The letters to Ibn 'Awkal and his family members together make up the oldest business correspondence in the Cairo Geniza, and one of the oldest in the world. The Ibn 'Awkal correspondence is an important source for commercial life in the Muslim Mediterranean during this period, when the commercial revolution was taking place in the Islamic world but before the Italian city-states came to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brackets
A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. They come in four main pairs of shapes, as given in the box to the right, which also gives their names, that vary between British English, British and American English. "Brackets", without further qualification, are in British English the ... marks and in American English the ... marks. Other symbols are repurposed as brackets in specialist contexts, such as International Phonetic Alphabet#Brackets and transcription delimiters, those used by linguists. Brackets are typically deployed in symmetric pairs, and an individual bracket may be identified as a "left" or "right" bracket or, alternatively, an "opening bracket" or "closing bracket", respectively, depending on the Writing system#Directionality, directionality of the context. In casual writing and in technical fields such as computing or linguistic analysis of grammar, brackets ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Retting
Retting is a process employing the action of micro-organisms and moisture on plants to dissolve or rot away much of the cellular tissues and pectins surrounding bast-fibre bundles, facilitating the separation of the fibre from the stem.retting. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved June 03, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online:http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/500159/retting It is used in the production of linen from flax stalks and coir from coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ... husks. Water retting The most widely practiced method of retting, water retting, is performed by submerging bundles of stalks in water. The water, penetrating the central stalk portion, swells the inner cells, bursting the outermost layer, thus increasing the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abu'l-Fadl Al-Dimashqi
Abu al-Fadl or Abu'l-Fadl () is an Arabic male given name which also occurs in place-names. It means ''father of virtue''. It is variously transliterated as Abu'l-Fadl, Abu'l-Fazl, Abul Fazal etc. It is also used in Iran and Azerbaijan, usually in the form of Abolfazl, or Abulfaz. Most famously, this is an epithet Abbas ibn Ali, who is highly revered in Islam for his loyalty towards his brother Husayn ibn Ali during the Battle of Karbala. It may refer to: People *Abu'l-Faḍl is the Kunya (Teknonym) for Muhammad's uncle and companion Al-ʻAbbas ibn ʻAbd al-Muṭṭalib *Abu'l-Faḍl, nickname given to ʻAbbas ibn ʻAli (647–680), the son of the first Shia Imam and the fourth Rashidun Caliph * Abu'l-Faḍl al-ʻAbbas ibn Fasanjas (c. 876-953), statesman who served the Buyid dynasty *Abu'l-Faḍl Jaʻfar ibn Aḥmad al-Muʻtaḍid, known as Al-Muqtadir (895–932), Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad *Abolfadl Harawi (10th century), Persian astronomer under the patronage of the Buyid dyna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kollam
Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake and is 71 kilometers (44 mi) northwest of the Thiruvananthapuram. Kollam is one of List of ancient Indian cities, India's oldest continuously inhabited cities, with evidence of habitation stretching back to the megalithic; the city has also been a maritime entrepôt millennia, the earliest attestation of which dates back to the Phoenicians and Romans. It is the southern gateway to the Kerala backwaters, Backwaters of Kerala, and is known for its cashew processing, coir manufacturing, and tourism industries. Kollam has had a strong commercial reputation since ancient times. The Arabs, Phoenicians, Chinese, Ethiopians, Syrians, Jews, Chaldeans and Romans have all engaged in trade at the port of Kollam for millennia. As a result of Chinese t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the West Coast of India, western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regions of the subcontinent, which includes the southern tip of Goa, Kanara region of Karnataka, all of Kerala and Kanyakumari region of Tamil Nadu. Kuttanad, which is the point of the List of extreme points of India#Altitudes, lowest altitude in India, lies on the Malabar Coast. Kuttanad, also known as ''The Rice Bowl of Kerala'', is among the few places in the world where cultivation takes place below sea level. The peak of Anamudi, which is also the point of highest altitude in India outside the Himalayas, lies parallel to the Malabar Coast on the Western Ghats. The region parallel to the Malabar Coast gently slopes from the eastern highland of Western Ghats ranges to the western coastal lowland. The moisture-laden winds of the Southwest m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Pigments
Red pigments are materials, usually made from minerals, used to create the red colors in painting and other arts. The color of red and other pigments is determined by the way it absorbs certain parts of the spectrum of visible light and reflects the others. The brilliant opaque red of vermillion, for example, results because vermillion reflects the major part of red light, but absorbs the blue, green and yellow parts of white light. Red pigments historically were often made from iron oxides, such as hematite. These pigments have been found in cave paintings in France dating to between 16,000 and 25,000 BC. The bright scarlet color, vermilion, was made by pulverizing the mineral cinnabar. A synthetic Vermilion was created in the 9th century with a compound of Mercury (element), mercury and sulfur. century, with a mixture of the great majority of red pigments are made artificially, rather than taken from nature. More recently, pigments were created from dyestuffs from mineral ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shellac
Shellac () is a resin secreted by the female Kerria lacca, lac bug on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. Chemically, it is mainly composed of aleuritic acid, jalaric acid, shellolic acid, and other natural waxes. It is processed and sold as dry flakes and dissolved in ethanol, alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glazing agent, glaze and wood finish. Shellac functions as a tough natural primer (paint), primer, sanding sealant, tannin-blocker, odor-blocker, wood stain, stain, and Gloss (material appearance), high-gloss varnish. Shellac was once used in electrical applications as it possesses good electrical insulation, insulation qualities and seals out moisture. Phonograph and 78 rpm gramophone records were made of shellac until they were gradually replaced by polyvinyl chloride, vinyl. From the time shellac replaced oil and wax finishes in the 19th century, it was one of the dominant wood finishes in the western world until i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varnish
Varnish is a clear Transparency (optics), transparent hard protective coating or film. It is not to be confused with wood stain. It usually has a yellowish shade due to the manufacturing process and materials used, but it may also be pigmented as desired. It is sold commercially in various shades. Varnish is primarily used as a wood finishing, wood finish where, stained or not, the distinctive tones and grains in the wood are intended to be visible. Varnish finishes are naturally Gloss (material appearance), glossy, but satin/semi-gloss and flat sheens are available. History The word "varnish" comes from Mediaeval Latin ''vernix'', meaning odorous resin, perhaps derived from Middle Greek ''berōnikón'' or ''beroníkē'', meaning amber or amber-colored glass. A false etymology traces the word to the Greek ''Berenice'', the ancient name of modern Benghazi in Libya, where the first varnishes in the Mediterranean area were supposedly used and where resins from the trees of now-v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lacquer
Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity. Asian lacquerware, which may be called "true lacquer", are objects coated with the treated, dyed and dried sap of ''Toxicodendron vernicifluum'' or related trees, applied in several coats to a base that is usually wood. This dries to a very hard and smooth surface layer which is durable, waterproof, and attractive in feel and look. Asian lacquer is sometimes painted with pictures, inlaid with shell and other materials, or carved lacquer, carved, as well as maki-e, dusted with gold and given other further decorative treatments. In modern techniques, lacquer means a range of clear or pigmented coatings that dry by solvent evaporation to produce a hard, durable finish. The finish can be of any sheen level from ultra wikt:matte, matte to high Gloss (material appearance), glos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sumatra
Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi.2), including adjacent islands such as the Simeulue Island, Simeulue, Nias Island, Nias, Mentawai Islands, Mentawai, Enggano Island, Enggano, Riau Islands, Bangka Belitung and Krakatoa archipelago. Sumatra is an elongated landmass spanning a diagonal northwest–southeast axis. The Indian Ocean borders the northwest, west, and southwest coasts of Sumatra, with the island chain of Simeulue, Nias, Mentawai Islands, Mentawai, and Enggano off the western coast. In the northeast, the narrow Strait of Malacca separates the island from the Malay Peninsula, which is an extension of the Eurasian continent. In the southeast, the narrow Sunda Strait, containing the Krakatoa archipelago, separates Sumatra from Java. The northern tip of Sumatra is near ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biancaea Sappan
''Biancaea sappan'' is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is native to tropical Asia. Common names in English include sappanwood and Indian redwood. It was previously ascribed to the genus ''Caesalpinia''. Sappanwood is related to brazilwood (''Paubrasilia echinata''), and was itself called ''brasilwood'' in the Middle Ages. ''Biancaea sappan'' can be infected by twig dieback (''Lasiodiplodia theobromae''). This plant has many uses. It has antibacterial and anticoagulant properties. It also produces a valuable reddish dye called brazilin, used for dyeing fabric as well as making red paints and inks. Slivers of heartwood are used for making herbal drinking water in various regions, such as Kerala, Karnataka and Central Java, where it is usually mixed with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. The heartwood also contains juglone (5-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone), which has antimicrobial activity. Homoisoflavonoids (sappanol, episappanol, 3'-deoxysappanol, 3'-O-me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yaqut Al-Hamawi
Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) () was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th–13th centuries). He is known for his , an influential work on geography containing valuable information pertaining to biography, history and literature as well as geography. Life ''Yāqūt'' (''ruby'' or '' hyacinth'') was the '' kunya'' of Ibn Abdullāh ("son of Abdullāh"). He was born in Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, called in Arabic al-Rūm, whence his '' nisba'' "al-Rūmi". Captured in war and enslaved, Yāqūt became " mawali" to ‘Askar ibn Abī Naṣr al-Ḥamawī, a trader of Baghdad, Iraq, the seat of the Abbasid Caliphate, from whom he received the '' laqab'' "al-Hamawī". As ‘Askar's apprentice, he learned about accounting and commerce, becoming his envoy on trade missions and travelling twice or three times to Kish in the Persian Gulf. In 1194, ‘Askar stopped his salar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
