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Middle East & North Africa historical figures

Explore historical figures from Middle East & North Africa. Read concise biographies, learn key facts, and play a quiz focused on this collection.

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50 figures

Illustration representing Ibn Battuta

Ibn Battuta

Morocco · 1304–1368/1369

Explorer & scholar

Bust of Ibn Khaldun

Ibn Khaldun

Tunisia · 1332–1406

Historian & scholar

Portrait of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Turkey · 1881–1938

Founder & President of Turkey

Portrait of Golda Meir

Golda Meir

Israel · 1898–1978

Prime Minister of Israel

Painted portrait representing the poet Rumi

Rumi

Iran · 1207–1273

Poet & Sufi mystic

Medieval coin bearing the name of Saladin

Saladin

Egypt · c. 1137–1193

Sultan of Egypt and Syria

Portrait of Saddam Hussein from 1998

Saddam Hussein

Iraq · 1937–2006

Dictator of Iraq

Monument to the mathematician Al-Khwarizmi

Al-Khwarizmi

Iraq · c. 780–c. 850

Mathematician & astronomer

Official portrait of Anwar Sadat

Anwar Sadat

Egypt · 1918–1981

President of Egypt

Portrait of Muammar Gaddafi

Muammar Gaddafi

Libya · 1942–2011

Leader of Libya

Portrait of Gamal Abdel Nasser

Gamal Abdel Nasser

Egypt · 1918–1970

President of Egypt

Relief believed to depict Cyrus the Great

Cyrus the Great

Iran · c. 600–530 BCE

Founder of the Achaemenid Empire

Portrait of Suleiman the Magnificent

Suleiman the Magnificent

Turkey · 1494–1566

Sultan of the Ottoman Empire

Relief depicting Darius the Great

Darius the Great

Iran · 550–486 BCE

King of the Achaemenid Empire

Portrait of Reza Shah in military uniform

Reza Shah

Iran · 1878–1944

Shah of Iran

Portrait of Ruhollah Khomeini

Ruhollah Khomeini

Iran · c. 1900–1989

Supreme Leader of Iran

Portrait of Yasser Arafat

Yasser Arafat

Palestine · 1929–2004

Chairman of the PLO

Portrait of Umm Kulthum

Umm Kulthum

Egypt · 1904–1975

Singer and actress

Portrait of Ibn Saud, King Abdulaziz

Ibn Saud

Saudi Arabia · 1876–1953

Founder and King of Saudi Arabia

Photograph of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan

Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan

United Arab Emirates · 1918–2004

Founding President of the United Arab Emirates

Historical relief depicting Sultan Baybars

Baybars

Egypt · c. 1223/1228–1277

Sultan of Egypt and Syria

Photograph of Shirin Ebadi

Shirin Ebadi

Iran · born 1947

Lawyer and human rights activist

Portrait of Heydar Aliyev

Heydar Aliyev

Azerbaijan · 1923–2003

President of Azerbaijan

Official portrait of Habib Bourguiba

Habib Bourguiba

Tunisia · 1903–2000

President of Tunisia

Photograph of King Hassan II of Morocco

Hassan II of Morocco

Morocco · 1929–1999

King of Morocco

Photograph of King Mohammed V of Morocco

Mohammed V of Morocco

Morocco · 1909–1961

King of Morocco

Official portrait of Hafez al-Assad

Hafez al-Assad

Syria · 1930–2000

President of Syria

Photograph of Bashar al-Assad

Bashar al-Assad

Syria · born 1965

Former President of Syria

Photograph of King Hussein of Jordan

Hussein of Jordan

Jordan · 1935–1999

King of Jordan

Photograph of King Abdullah I of Jordan

Abdullah I of Jordan

Jordan · 1882–1951

Founding ruler of Jordan

Photograph of Mustafa Barzani

Mustafa Barzani

Iraq · 1903–1979

Kurdish nationalist leader

Photograph of Rafic Hariri

Rafic Hariri

Lebanon · 1944–2005

Prime Minister of Lebanon

Portrait of Riad Al Solh

Riad Al Solh

Lebanon · 1894–1951

Founding statesman of Lebanon

Photograph of David Ben-Gurion

David Ben-Gurion

Israel · 1886–1973

Founding Prime Minister of Israel

Photograph of Chaim Weizmann

Chaim Weizmann

Israel · 1874–1952

First President of Israel

Portrait of Theodor Herzl

Theodor Herzl

Israel · 1860–1904

Father of modern political Zionism

Portrait of Levi Eshkol

Levi Eshkol

Israel · 1895–1969

Prime Minister of Israel

Photograph of Menachem Begin

Menachem Begin

Israel · 1913–1992

Prime Minister of Israel

Portrait of Yitzhak Rabin

Yitzhak Rabin

Israel · 1922–1995

Prime Minister of Israel

Photograph of Shimon Peres

Shimon Peres

Israel · 1923–2016

Prime Minister and President of Israel

Official portrait of Ariel Sharon

Ariel Sharon

Israel · 1928–2014

Prime Minister of Israel

Photograph of Moshe Dayan

Moshe Dayan

Israel · 1915–1981

Military leader and politician

Photograph of Ehud Barak

Ehud Barak

Israel · born 1942

Prime Minister of Israel

Photograph of Benjamin Netanyahu

Benjamin Netanyahu

Israel · born 1949

Prime Minister of Israel

Bas-relief of Hammurabi from the top of his law code stele

Hammurabi

Iraq · c. 1810–1750 BCE

King of Babylon

Ancient depiction believed to represent Nebuchadnezzar II

Nebuchadnezzar II

Iraq · c. 634–562 BCE

King of the Neo-Babylonian Empire

Achaemenid Persian artifact associated with the era of Xerxes I

Xerxes I

Iran · c. 518–465 BCE

King of the Achaemenid Persian Empire

Portrait of Mubarak Al-Sabah

Mubarak Al-Sabah

Kuwait · 1840–1915

Ruler of the Sheikhdom of Kuwait

Official portrait of Sultan Qaboos bin Said

Qaboos bin Said

Oman · 1940–2020

Sultan of Oman

Photograph of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa

Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa

Bahrain · 1950–

King of Bahrain