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litany

(Encyclopedia)litany lĭtˈənē [key] [Gr.,=prayer], solemn prayer characterized by varying petitions with set responses. The term is mainly used for Christian forms. Litanies were developed in Christendom for use...

Mahmud I

(Encyclopedia)Mahmud I mämo͞odˈ, mäˈmo͞od [key], 1696–1754, Ottoman sultan (1730–54), son of Mustafa II, nephew and successor of Ahmed III. A revolt of the Janissaries put him on the throne of the Ottoman...

Medici, Gian Gastone de'

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Gian Gastone de' dā mĕˈdĭchē, Ital. māˈdēchē [key], 1671–1737, grand duke of Tuscany (1723–37); son and successor of Cosimo III de' Medici. Gian Gastone was the last male member ...

John Maurice of Nassau

(Encyclopedia)John Maurice of Nassau, 1604–79, Dutch general and colonial administrator, a prince of the house of Nassau-Siegen; grandnephew of William the Silent. The Dutch West India Company appointed him (1636...

Kantorowicz, Ernst Hartwig

(Encyclopedia)Kantorowicz, Ernst Hartwig, 1895–1963, German-American historian, b. Poznań (then Posen, Germany), studied Univ. of Berlin, Univ. of Heidelberg (Ph.D., 1921). As a young man he was a German nationa...

Mustafa

(Encyclopedia)Mustafa or Kara Mustafa mo͝ostäfäˈ [key] [Turk. kara=black], d. 1683, Turkish grand vizier (chief executive officer) under Sultan Muhammad IV of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). He succeeded his brot...

Frederick II, king of Sicily

(Encyclopedia)Frederick II, 1272–1337, king of Sicily (1296–1337), 3d son of Peter III of Aragón. When his brother, who was king of Sicily, became (1291) king of Aragón as James II, Frederick was his regent i...

Illuminati

(Encyclopedia)Illuminati ĭlo͞oˌmĭnāˈtī, –näˈtē [key] [Lat.,=enlightened], rationalistic society founded in Germany soon after 1776 by Adam Weishaupt, a professor at Ingolstadt, having close affinities w...

Schaffhausen

(Encyclopedia)Schaffhausen shäfhouˈzən [key], canton (1993 pop. 73,000), 115 sq mi (298 sq km), N Switzerland. Entirely on the right (northern) bank of the Rhine River, the canton consists of three noncontiguous...

Roger II

(Encyclopedia)Roger II, c.1095–1154, count (1101–30) and first king (1130–54) of Sicily, son and successor of Roger I. He conquered (1127) Apulia and Salerno and sided with the antipope Anacletus II against P...