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Alaungpaya

(Encyclopedia)Alaungpaya əlŏngˈpāyä [key], 1711–60, Burmese king, founder of the Konbaung dynasty, which ruled until 1885. His name, also given as Alompra, means “the coming Buddha.” The son of a village...

Estrada Cabrera, Manuel

(Encyclopedia)Estrada Cabrera, Manuel mänwĕlˈ esträˈᵺä käbrāˈrä [key], 1857–1924, president of Guatemala (1898–1920). He ruled as an absolute dictator, and there were several revolutionary movements...

Felix, Antonius

(Encyclopedia)Felix, Antonius, fl. a.d. 60, Roman procurator of Judaea, Samaria, Galilee, and Peraea (c.a.d. 52–a.d. 60), a freedman of Claudius I. He was judge of the apostle Paul. He married Drusilla, a Herodia...

Rab

(Encyclopedia)Rab räb [key], Ital. Arbe, island, 40 sq mi (104 sq km) off Croatia, in the Adriatic Sea. One of the Dalmatian islands, it is a popular seaside resort. Fishing and agriculture are the main occupation...

Numa Pompilius

(Encyclopedia)Numa Pompilius no͞oˈmə pŏmpĭlˈēəs [key], legendary king of Rome, successor to Romulus. His consort, the nymph Egeria, was said to have aided him in his rule. The origin of Roman ceremonial law...

Peter II, czar of Russia

(Encyclopedia)Peter II, 1715–30, czar of Russia (1727–30). A grandson of Peter I and the son of the czarevich Alexis, he succeeded on the death of Catherine I. He was too young to rule, but he willingly lent hi...

Wrangel, Friedrich Heinrich Ernst, Graf von

(Encyclopedia)Wrangel, Friedrich Heinrich Ernst, Graf von frēˈdrĭkh hīnˈrĭkh ĕrnst gräf fən vrängˈəl [key], 1784–1877, Prussian field marshal. He fought in the Napoleonic Wars. In 1848 he commanded th...

Strumica

(Encyclopedia)Strumica stro͞oˈmĭtsä [key], town (1994 pop. 43,868), SE North Macedonia. It is an agricultural center reliant on tobacco, livestock, and cotton production. Strumica, an ancient town, was long und...

Sultan Husayn

(Encyclopedia)Sultan Husayn so͝oltänˈ ho͞osānˈ [key], d. 1729, Safavid shah of Persia (1694–1722). A weak and superstitious man, Shah Sultan Husayn was surrounded by astrologers and fanatics and was able to...

Boleslav II

(Encyclopedia)Boleslav II, d. 999, duke of Bohemia (967–99), son and successor of Boleslav I. Continuing his father's policies, he largely completed the Christianization of Bohemia. In 973 he agreed to the establ...