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Arbela

(Encyclopedia)Arbela ärbēˈlə [key], town of ancient Assyria. Its name is sometimes given to the battle fought at Gaugamela, some 60 mi (100 km) away, in which Alexander the Great defeated (331 b.c.) Darius III....

Abydos, ancient town of Phrygia

(Encyclopedia)Abydos, ancient town of Phrygia, Asia Minor, on the Asian side of the Hellespont opposite Sestos, in present-day Turkey. It was originally a Milesian colony. Near there Xerxes built his bridge of boat...

Biarritz

(Encyclopedia)Biarritz byärētsˈ [key], town, Pyrénées-Atlantiques dept., SW France, on the Bay of Bisc...

Montfort, Simon de, earl of Leicester

(Encyclopedia)Montfort, Simon de, earl of Leicester, 1208?–1265, leader of the baronial revolt against Henry III of England. By 1258 Simon was an active member of the baronial opposition that forced the king to...

Piast

(Encyclopedia)Piast pyäst [key], 1st dynasty of Polish dukes and kings. Its name was derived from that of its legendary ancestor, a simple peasant. The first historic member, Duke Mieszko I (reigned 962–92), beg...

Diane de France

(Encyclopedia)Diane de France dyän də fräNs [key], 1538–1619, duchess of Angoulême; illegitimate daughter of King Henry II of France. She was legitimized in 1547. She was married to François, eldest son of C...

Écija

(Encyclopedia)Écija āˈthēhä [key], city, Seville prov., S Spain, in Andalusia, on a hill overlooking t...

Alexander I, king of Scotland

(Encyclopedia)Alexander I, 1078?–1124, king of Scotland (1107–24), son of Malcolm III and St. Margaret of Scotland. He succeeded his brother Edgar, who had divided the kingdom so that Alexander ruled only N of ...

Albemarle, Arnold Joost van Keppel, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Albemarle, Arnold Joost van Keppel, 1st earl of ălˈbəmärl [key], 1669–1718, Dutch adherent and constant companion of William III of England. He accompanied the future king to England (1688) and ...

Amenemhet IV

(Encyclopedia)Amenemhet IV äˌmĕnĕmˈhĕt, āˌ– [key], d. 1792 b.c., king of ancient Egypt, of the XII dynasty; the son and successor of Amenemhet III. Under Amenemhet IV, the power of the dynasty declined, a...