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Croesus

(Encyclopedia)Croesus krēˈsəs [key], d. c.547 b.c., king of Lydia (560–c.547 b.c.), noted for his great wealth. He was the son of Alyattes. He continued his father's policy of conquering the Ionian cities of A...

Alföld

(Encyclopedia)Alföld ôlˈföld [key], Hun. Nagy-Alföld [Great Alföld], great central plain of Hungary extending into Serbia and W Romania. The level region is drained by the Tisza and Danube rivers. Formerly wo...

Schlüter, Andreas

(Encyclopedia)Schlüter, Andreas ändrāˈäs shlüˈtər [key], 1664–1714, German sculptor. After studying in France and Italy, he became architect and sculptor to the Hohenzollern at Berlin, where the principal...

Shamyl

(Encyclopedia)Shamyl or Shamil both: shäˈmĭl [key], 1798?–1871, imam (religious and political leader) of the E Caucasus. From 1834 to 1859 he led the Muslim tribes of the E Caucasus in their holy war to resist...

Smith, Goldwin

(Encyclopedia)Smith, Goldwin, 1823–1910, English educator, historian, and journalist. Educated at Oxford, he took a prominent part in executing reforms at the university and became (1858) professor of modern hist...

Saint Bernard, two Alpine passes

(Encyclopedia)Saint Bernard, two Alpine passes, both used since antiquity. The Great Saint Bernard (alt. 8,110 ft/2,472 m), on the Italian-Swiss border, links Valais canton, Switzerland, with Valle d'Aosta, Italy. ...

North Sea

(Encyclopedia)North Sea, arm of the Atlantic Ocean, c.222,000 sq mi (574,980 sq km), c.600 mi (1,000 km) long and c.400 mi (640 km) wide, NW of Central Europe. It washes the shores of Great Britain, Norway, Denmark...

Ouse

(Encyclopedia)Ouse o͞oz [key]. 1 Also Great Ouse, river, c.155 mi (250 km) long, rising in the Northampton Highlands, Northamptonshire, S central England. The Great Ouse flows generally NE past Bedford and Ely to ...

Olympia, city, ancient Greece

(Encyclopedia)Olympia, ancient city, important center of the worship of Zeus in ancient Greece, in Elis near the Alpheus (now Alfiós) R. It was the scene of the Olympic games. The great temple of Zeus was especial...

Ordos

(Encyclopedia)Ordos ôrˈdōs [key], Mandarin Erdesi, sandy desert plateau region, c.35,000 sq mi (90,650 sq km), Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, N China; almost encircled by the great northern bend of the Huang...