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Constantine V, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)Constantine V (Constantine Copronymus), 718–75, Byzantine emperor (741–75), son and successor of Leo III. An able general and administrator, he fought successfully against the Arabs, Slavs, and Bu...

Eutyches

(Encyclopedia)Eutyches yo͞oˈtĭkēs [key], c.378–c.452, archimandrite in Constantinople, sponsor of Eutychianism, the first phase of Monophysitism. He was the leader in Constantinople of the most violent oppone...

Didymus of Alexandria

(Encyclopedia)Didymus of Alexandria, d. c.396, Greek grammarian and theologian, also called Didymus the Blind. His treatise On the Holy Ghost was translated by St. Jerome, who studied briefly with him. Although Did...

crescent

(Encyclopedia)crescent, emblematic representation of the quarter moon. The crescent and star, ancient Byzantine symbols that became the emblems of Constantinople, were also assumed as the standard of the Ottoman Tu...

Greek fire

(Encyclopedia)Greek fire, a flammable composition believed to have consisted of sulfur, naphtha, and quicklime. Although known in antiquity, it was first employed on a large scale by the Byzantines. Bronze tubes th...

Nicholas I, Saint, pope

(Encyclopedia)Nicholas I, Saint, c.825–867, pope (858–67), a Roman; successor of Benedict III. He was a vigorous and politically active pope who arbitrated both temporal and religious disputes. His decisions of...

Bulwer, William Henry Lytton Earle, Baron Dalling and Bulwer

(Encyclopedia)Bulwer, William Henry Lytton Earle, Baron Dalling and Bulwer bo͝olˈwər; lĭtˈən [key], 1801–72, English diplomat and author; brother of the novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton. He was known most of h...

North, Sir Dudley

(Encyclopedia)North, Sir Dudley, 1641–91, English merchant and economist. Agent for the Turkey Company in Constantinople from 1662 to 1680, he returned to England a wealthy man and was commissioner of the customs...

Boris I

(Encyclopedia)Boris I, d. 907, khan [ruler] of Bulgaria (852–89). Baptized in 864, he introduced Christianity of the Byzantine rite among the Bulgarians. There followed a rivalry between Rome and Constantinople f...

John Chrysostom, Saint

(Encyclopedia)John Chrysostom, Saint krĭsˈəstəm, krĭsŏsˈ– [key] [Gr.,=golden-mouth], c.347–407, Doctor of the Church, one of the greatest of the Greek Fathers. He was born in Antioch and studied Greek cl...