1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Jinn

JINN (Djinn), the name of a class of spirits (genii) in Arabian mythology. They are the offspring of fire, but in their form and the propagation of their kind they resemble human beings. They are ruled by a race of kings named “Suleyman,” one of whom is considered to have built the pyramids. Their central home is the mountain Kāf, and they manifest themselves to men under both animal and mortal form and become invisible at will. There are good and evil jinn, and these in each case reach the extremes of beauty and ugliness.