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Peter II, king of Aragón

(Encyclopedia)Peter II, 1174–1213, king of Aragón (1196–1213) and count of Barcelona, son and successor of Alfonso II. He had himself crowned (1204) at Rome by Pope Innocent III, whom he accepted as overlord o...

Grand Alliance, War of the

(Encyclopedia)Grand Alliance, War of the, 1688–97, war between France and a coalition of European powers, known as the League of Augsburg (and, after 1689, as the Grand Alliance). Louis XIV of France took advanta...

Maurice, duke and elector of Saxony

(Encyclopedia)Maurice, 1521–53, duke (1541–47) and elector (1547–53) of Saxony. A member of the Albertine branch of the ruling house of Saxony, he became duke of Albertine Saxony during the Protestant Reforma...

Medici, Giovanni de', 1498–1526, Italian condottiere

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Giovanni de', or Giovanni delle Bande Nere jōvänˈnē dĕlˈlā bänˈdā nāˈrā [key] [Ital.,=of the black bands], 1498–1526, Italian condottiere; great-grandson of Lorenzo de' Medici (...

Lee, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Lee, Charles, 1731–82, American Revolutionary army officer, b. Cheshire, England. He first came to America to serve in the French and Indian War and took part in General Braddock's disastrous campai...

Verdun, town, France

(Encyclopedia)Verdun vĕrdŭnˈ, Fr. vĕrdöNˈ [key], town (1990 pop. 23,427), Meuse dept., NE France, in Lorraine, on the Meuse River. A strategic transportation center, Verdun has varied industries and is situat...

Sennacherib

(Encyclopedia)Sennacherib sĕnăkˈərĭb [key] or Senherib, d. 681 b.c., king of Assyria (705–681 b.c.). The son of Sargon, Sennacherib spent most of his reign fighting to maintain the empire established by his ...

Richard, earl of Cornwall

(Encyclopedia)Richard, earl of Cornwall, 1209–72, second son of King John of England and brother of Henry III. In 1227, following an expedition to Gascony and Poitou, Richard forced Henry to grant him the land an...

Leipzig

(Encyclopedia)Leipzig līpˈtsĭkh [key], city (1994 pop. 490,850), Saxony, E central Germany, at the confluence of the Pleisse, White Elster, and Parthe rivers. Originally a Slavic settlement called Lipsk, Leipz...

Douglas, Archibald, 3d earl of Douglas

(Encyclopedia)Douglas, Archibald, 3d earl of Douglas, 1328?–1400?, Scottish nobleman; illegitimate son of Sir James de Douglas, lord of Douglas. In 1361 he became constable of Edinburgh and in 1364 and 1368 he wa...