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Sinop

(Encyclopedia)Sinop sēnōpˈ [key], anc. Sinope, town (1990 pop. 25,537), capital of Sinop prov., N Turkey, on the Black Sea. A small port, it has an excellent harbor but lacks adequate communications with the int...

Alexandria, city, Egypt

(Encyclopedia)Alexandria, Arabic Al Iskandariyah, city, N Egypt, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is at the western extremity of the Nile River delta, situated on a narrow isthmus between the sea and Lake ...

Marseilles

(Encyclopedia)Marseilles märsāˈ [key], Fr. Marseille, city (1990 pop. 807,726), capital of Bouches-du-Rhône dept., SE France, on the Gulf of Lions, an arm of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the second largest city...

Gordian

(Encyclopedia)Gordian gôrˈdēən [key], name of three Roman emperors. Gordian I (Marcus Antonius Gordianus Africanus), d. 238, was a Roman of great wealth and was colleague in the consulship with Caracalla and wi...

Constantius I

(Encyclopedia)Constantius I (Constantius Chlorus) kənstănˈshəs [key], c.250–306, Roman emperor (305–6). A career general, he gave up Helena to marry Theodora, the daughter of Maximian. He was made caesar (s...

Sills, Beverly

(Encyclopedia)Sills, Beverly, 1929–2007, American coloratura soprano, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Belle Silverman. Her childhood career as a radio singer (when she was first nicknamed “Bubbles”) led to voice studie...

Zanuck, Darryl Francis

(Encyclopedia)Zanuck, Darryl Francis, 1902–79, American movie producer, b. Wahoo, Nebr. Beginning his Hollywood career as a scriptwriter, he was hired (1924) by Warner Brothers and made a name for himself penning...

Windward Islands

(Encyclopedia)Windward Islands, southern group of the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies, curving generally southward for c.300 mi (480 km) from the Leeward Islands toward NE Venezuela. Excluding Barbados and Trini...

Arminius

(Encyclopedia)Arminius ärmĭnˈēəs [key], d. a.d. 21, leader of the Germans, called Hermann in modern German. He was a chief of the Cherusci (in an area of present-day Hanover) when the Romans were pushing east ...

legion

(Encyclopedia)legion, large unit of the Roman army. It came into prominence c.400 b.c. It originally consisted of 3,000 to 4,000 men drawn into eight ranks: the first six ranks, called hoplites, were heavily armed,...