(Encyclopedia) Richard II, 1367–1400, king of England (1377–99), son of Edward the Black Prince.
Richard is possibly the most enigmatic of the English kings. Some historians have attributed his…
(Encyclopedia) Nicephorus II (Nicephorus Phocas)Nicephorus IInīsĕfˈərəs [key]Nicephorus IIfōˈkəs [key], c.912–969, Byzantine emperor (963–69). He was a successful general under Constantine VII and…
(Encyclopedia) Ottocar II or Přemysl Ottocar II, c.1230–1278, king of Bohemia (1253–78), son and successor of Wenceslaus I. Ottocar shrewdly exploited the disorders of the great interregnum in the…
(Encyclopedia) Oscar II, 1829–1907, king of Sweden (1872–1907) and Norway (1872–1905), younger son of Oscar I. He succeeded his brother, Charles XV. He refused to concede to Norway its own consular…
(Encyclopedia) Olaf II (Saint Olaf), c.995–1030, king of Norway (1015–28). He is also called Olaf the Stout or Olaf the Fat. He spent part of his early life in England and helped Æthelred fight the…
(Encyclopedia) Vladimir II (Vladimir Monomakh) or Volodymyr II, 1053–1125, grand duke of Kiev (1113–25); son of Vsevolod I, prince of Pereyaslavl and grand duke of Kiev (ruled 1078–93). On his father…
(Encyclopedia) Waldemar II, 1170–1241, king of Denmark (1202–41), second son of Waldemar I. In the reign of his brother, Canute VI, he defended Denmark from German aggression and then extended Danish…
(Encyclopedia) Abbas II (Abbas Hilmi)Abbas IIäbäsˈ [key]Abbas IIhĭlˈmĭ [key]Abbas II, ăbäsˈ, ăbˈəs [key], 1874–1944, last khedive of Egypt (1892–1914); son and successor of Tewfik Pasha. Nominally…
(Encyclopedia) Valentinian II, 371?–392, Roman emperor of the West (375–92), son of Valentinian I. Upon the death of his father, he was proclaimed emperor with his brother Gratian as coregent. After…