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Augustus III

(Encyclopedia)Augustus III, 1696–1763, king of Poland (1735–63) and, as Frederick Augustus II, elector of Saxony (1733–63); son of Augustus II, whom he succeeded in Saxony. Elected king of Poland by a minorit...

Rudolf I

(Encyclopedia)Rudolf I or Rudolf of Hapsburg ro͞oˈdŏlf [key], 1218–91, German king (1273–91), first king of the Hapsburg dynasty. Rudolf's election as king ended the interregnum (1250–73), during which tim...

Zrinyi

(Encyclopedia)Zrinyi zrĭnˈyē [key], noble Hungarian family of Croatian origin. Nicholas Zrinyi, 1508–66, distinguished himself in the defense of Vienna (1529) against Sultan Sulayman I, took part in the campai...

Edessa

(Encyclopedia)Edessa ĭdĕsˈə [key], ancient city of Mesopotamia, on the site of modern Şanlıurfa, Turkey. It emerged in the 4th cent. b.c. as Orrhoe, or Arrhoe, and was later named Edessa by Seleucus I of Syri...

prefect

(Encyclopedia)prefect or praefect both: prēˈfĕkt [key], in ancient Rome, various military and civil officers. Under the empire some prefects were very important. The Praetorian prefects (first appointed 2 b.c.) ...

Anastasius I

(Encyclopedia)Anastasius I ănəstāˈshəs, –zhəs [key], c.430–518, Roman emperor of the East (491–518); successor of Zeno, whose widow he married. He broke the power that the Isaurians had enjoyed since Le...

Claudius II

(Encyclopedia)Claudius II (Marcus Aurelius Claudius), d. 270, Roman emperor (268–70), called Gothicus. A successful general under Valerian, Claudius put down the revolt in which Gallienus was killed. He succeeded...

triumphal arch

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Triumphal arch triumphal arch, monumental structure embodying one or more arched passages, frequently built to span a road and designed to honor a king or general or to commemorate a military ...

Gaiseric

(Encyclopedia)Gaiseric gĕnˈsərĭk, jĕnˈ– [key], c.390–477, king of the Vandals and Alani (428–77), one of the ablest of the barbarian invaders of the Roman Empire. He led (429) his people from Spain into...

Rostovtzeff, Michael Ivanovich

(Encyclopedia)Rostovtzeff, Michael Ivanovich rŏstŏvˈtsĕf [key], 1870–1952, American historian, b. Kiev, Ukraine. He studied at the Univ. of St. Petersburg where he was professor of Latin and of Roman history ...