agha (Turkish): an administrative officer, next in importance to a khalifa.
Allah (Arabic): literally, “God”; the name used by Muslims and Arabic-speaking Christians to refer to the one God.
baraka (Arabic): “blessing” or “protection”; believed to be sent by God.
bey (Turkish): title of a provincial governor under the Regency of Algiers.
burnous (Arabic): a hooded cloak, usually of wool.
colon (French): a settler; a member of a colony established by one country in the territory of another country.
consul: official representative of a government, stationed in another country.
corsair: a privateer; a sea-going raider working on behalf of his government.
dey (Turkish): supreme ruler of the Regency of Algiers, under the Ottoman Empire.
emir (Arabic amir): “commander,” “prince”; Abd el-Kader’s title was “Commander of the Faithful.”
Druze: a religious sect related to Islam, centered in parts of Lebanon and Syria; the word can be used for the religion and for the members, both single and plural.
Greek Catholic: a form of Christianity under the pope of Rome, following rites different from those of Roman Catholicism.
Greek Orthodox: a form of Christianity under the patriarch of Constantinople, following rites different from those of Roman Catholicism.
guerilla warfare: irregular combat, such as rapid, unexpected attacks, harassment, and sabotage by small groups of fighters.
hajj (Arabic): the pilgrimage to Mecca; persons who have made the pilgrimage can be called hajj or hajji, a term of respect.
indigenous: original, or native, to a certain locality.
Islam (Arabic): literally, “submission” (to God’s will); the religion founded by the prophet Muhammad in the seventh century C.E. in Arabia, based on belief in one all-powerful and all-merciful God.
jihad (Arabic): literally, “struggle”—primarily moral and spiritual, but also to protect Islam and Muslims against assault.
khalifa (Arabic): “lieutenant,” “second-in-command,” representative of the commander.
khan (Arabic): a large building, usually in a town, where caravans could stop on their trading routes.
Koran (Arabic): the holy book of Islam, consisting of revelations that Muslims believe were delivered from God to the prophet Muhammad; also spelled Qur’an.
makhzen (Arabic): the “warrior” tribes used for tax-collecting and control under the Regency of Algiers.
marabout (Arabic marbut): a member of the religious and intellectual elite of traditional North African society, esteemed for their piety and possible supernatural powers.
Maronites: followers of a form of Christianity related to Roman Catholicism; the largest Christian group living in Mount Lebanon.
mosque: an Islamic house of worship, equivalent to a church or synagogue.
mufti (Arabic): a high Islamic official who interprets the religious law for Muslims.
Muslim (Arabic): a follower of Islam; also spelled “Moslem.” (The word “Mohammedan” is obsolete and not acceptable.)
narguileh: a form of pipe for smoking tobacco—the smoke is cooled by passing through water in a special bottle; also called a water-pipe or “hubbly-bubbly.”
orthodox: the form of a religion or other thought system recognized as established or “correct.”
Ottoman: the Turkish empire that originated in Central Asia and spread westwards by conquest, establishing its capital in Constantinople in 1463 and controlling the Arab lands of southwest Asia and North Africa, along with the Balkans and parts of Eastern Europe; defeated in World War I, it soon afterward ceased to exist.
pasha (Turkish): a man of high rank and importance, originally under the Ottoman Empire.
pilgrimage: a journey to visit a certain place for religious reasons; the pilgrimage to Mecca, the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad and the holiest site in Islam, is a duty required of every Muslim, if at all possible.
pitched battle: a battle in which plans are laid and forces arranged in advance of actual combat.
qadi (Arabic): an Islamic judge.
Qadiriyya (Arabic): the religious brotherhood to which Abd el-Kader belonged; founded in medieval times by Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (“Qadir” is another spelling of “Kader”).
qaid (Arabic): an administrative officer at the tribal level.
Ramadan (Arabic): the month in the Islamic year during which Muslims fast from dawn to twilight as a religious duty.
rayah (Arabic): the settled agricultural and nomadic tribes in traditional Algeria, with less power than the makhzen tribes.
regency: a form of “semi-royal” rule; the name given to the whole territory of Algeria under the Ottoman Empire.
republic: a form of government with a non-royal chief of state who usually shares power with a group of representatives of the people, selected by popular vote.
royalist: pertaining to rule by a hereditary monarch.
sectarian: pertaining to the coexistence of two or more different sects—or religious groups—living in a certain place.
shaykh (Arabic): a chief of a subdivision within a tribe; also a spiritual master of a Sufi order.
smala (Arabic): literally “household”; the name given to Abd el-Kader’s “floating capital,” a tent city for tens of thousands of military and civilian residents.
spahi (Turkish): a member of a cavalry corps of indigenous Algerians serving in the French army.
Sufism: a mystical form of Islam that emphasizes devotional exercises aimed at bringing the Sufi close to God.
sultan (Arabic): supreme ruler; title of the head of the Ottoman Empire.
tribe: a large group held together by family ties and a strong sense of identity.
zawiya (Arabic): a religious (Sufi) center, traditionally including places for instruction, study, and prayer plus living quarters for students and scholars; akin to a monastery.
zouave (Berber): a member of an infantry corps of indigenous Algerians serving in the French army.