(Encyclopedia) Shapur II or Sapor II, 310–79, king of Persia (310–79), of the Sassanid, or Sassanian, dynasty. He was the posthumous son of Hormuz II and therefore was born king. His long reign was…
(Encyclopedia) Seleucus II (Seleucus Callinicus), d. 226 b.c., king of ancient Syria (247–226 b.c.), son of Antiochus II. On his father's death there was a struggle for the throne between Seleucus…
(Encyclopedia) Selim II (Selim the Drunkard), c.1524–1574, Ottoman sultan (1566–74), son and successor of Sulayman I. During his reign the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) was dominated by Sokolli, his grand…
(Encyclopedia) Sesostris IISesostris IIsĭsŏsˈtrĭs [key], d. 1878 b.c., king of ancient Egypt, of the XII dynasty. He was the son of Amenemhet II, first his coregent (1900 b.c.), then his successor (…
(Encyclopedia) Seti IISeti IIsēˈtī, sāˈtē [key], d. 1205 b.c., king of ancient Egypt, of the XIX dynasty. He was one of the kings who reigned briefly after Merneptah, and seems to have ruled for…
(Encyclopedia) Basil II, c.958–1025, Byzantine emperor (976–1025), surnamed Bulgaroktonos [Bulgar slayer]. With his brother, Constantine VIII, he nominally succeeded his father, Romanus II, in 963,…
(Encyclopedia) Stanislaus II, 1732–98, last king of Poland (1764–95). He was born Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski. His mother was a member of the powerful Czartoryski family, which furthered…
(Encyclopedia) Sigismund II or Sigismund Augustus, 1520–72, king of Poland (1548–72). Crowned in 1530 to assure his succession, he assumed the royal functions at the death of his father, Sigismund I…
(Encyclopedia) Simeon II,&sp;Simeon Borisov Sakskoburggotski, or Simeon Borisov Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, 1937–, czar (1943–46) and premier (2001–5) of Bulgaria. He succeeded his father, Boris III,…
(Encyclopedia) Stephen II, d. 757, pope (752–57), successor of Pope St. Zacharias. When Rome was threatened by the Lombard king Aistulf, Stephen went to Gaul and appealed to Pepin the Short for help…
