Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Alexius IV

(Encyclopedia)Alexius IV (Alexius Angelus), d. 1204, Byzantine emperor (1203–4), son of Isaac II. When his father was deposed, Alexius fled to Italy and then went to Germany. Encouraged by his brother-in-law, Phi...

Bamberg

(Encyclopedia)Bamberg bämˈbĕrk [key], city, Bavaria, S Germany, a port on the Regnitz River. It is an in...

Medici, Lorenzo de', 1449–92, Italian merchant prince

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Lorenzo de' dā mĕˈdĭchē, Ital. māˈdēchē [key], 1449–92, Italian merchant prince, called Lorenzo il Magnifico [the magnificent]. He succeeded (1469) his father, Piero de' Medici, as...

García Márquez, Gabriel

(Encyclopedia)García Márquez, Gabriel gäbrēĕlˈ gärsēˈä märˈkās [key], 1927–2014, Colombian novelist, short-story writer, and journalist, b. Aracataca. Widely considered one of the great Latin America...

Pelagianism

(Encyclopedia)Pelagianism pəlāˈjənĭzəm [key], Christian heretical sect that rose in the 5th cent. challenging St. Augustine's conceptions of grace and predestination. The doctrine was advanced by the celebrat...

Roman Catholic Church

(Encyclopedia)Roman Catholic Church, Christian church headed by the pope, the bishop of Rome (see papacy and Peter, Saint). Its commonest title in official use is Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. “Roman Cathol...

Apries

(Encyclopedia)Apries āˈprē–ēz [key], king of ancient Egypt (588–569 b.c.), of the XXVI dynasty; successor of Psamtik II. Apries sought to recover Syria and Palestine. He attacked Tyre and Sidon but failed (...

Abu-Simbel

(Encyclopedia)Abu-Simbel ĭpˈsämbo͞olˈ [key], village, S Egypt, on the Nile River. Its two temples were hewn (c.1250 b.c.) out of rock cliffs during the reign of Ramses II. To avoid the rising waters caused by ...

Louis III, king of Naples

(Encyclopedia)Louis III, 1403–34, king of Naples (1417–34; rival claimant to Joanna II), duke of Anjou, count of Provence, son and successor of Louis II. He invaded Naples in 1420. Queen Joanna called in the ai...

Isabel

(Encyclopedia)Isabel, 1846–1921, princess imperial of Brazil; eldest daughter of Pedro II. She acted as regent in her father's absence. Her marriage to the comte d'Eu added to her own unpopularity and probably co...