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Kazan

(Encyclopedia)Kazan kəzänˈ, –zănˈ, Rus. kəzäˈnyə [key], city (1989 est. pop. 1,094,000), capital of Tatarstan, E European Russia, on the Volga. It is a major historic, cultural, industrial, and commercia...

Condé, French family

(Encyclopedia)Condé kôNdāˈ [key], family name of a cadet branch of the French royal house of Bourbon. The name was first borne by Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé, 1530–69, Protestant leader and general. ...

Poland, partitions of

(Encyclopedia)Poland, partitions of. The basic causes leading to the three successive partitions (1772, 1793, 1795) that eliminated Poland from the map were the decay and the internal disunity of Poland and the eme...

Chomutov

(Encyclopedia)Chomutov khôˈmo͞otôf [key], Ger. Komotau, city, NW Czech Republic, near the German border...

Poissy, Colloquy of

(Encyclopedia)Poissy, Colloquy of pwäsēˈ [key], 1561, conference of Roman Catholic prelates and Protestant ministers, initiated by Catherine de' Medici and Michel de L'Hôpital in the hope of bringing about a pe...

Réjane

(Encyclopedia)Réjane rāzhänˈ [key], 1857–1920, stage name of Gabrielle Réju, French actress. After her first success, in Meilhac's Ma Camarade (1883), she grew in reputation as a comedienne. She appeared in ...

Guise

(Encyclopedia)Guise gēz, gwēz [key], influential ducal family of France. Henri's brother Louis de Lorraine, Cardinal de Guise, 1555–88, was killed at the same time as Henri. After their deaths the leadersh...

Alfonso II, Spanish king of Asturias

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso II (Alfonso the Chaste), 759–842, Spanish king of Asturias (791–842), grandson of Alfonso I. He established his capital at Oviedo, which his father, Fruela I, had founded. Continuing the s...

Demetrius II, king of ancient Syria

(Encyclopedia)Demetrius II (Demetrius Nicator) nīkāˈtər [key], d. c.125 b.c., king of ancient Syria, son of Demetrius I. He was aided against the usurper, Alexander Balas, by Ptolemy VI (Ptolemy Philometer). He...

Albert II, king of the Belgians

(Encyclopedia)Albert II, 1934–, king of the Belgians (1993–2013), the younger son of Leopold III. He married Donna Paola Ruffo de Calabria in 1959; they have three children. Albert became king when Baudouin, hi...