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Maximilian I, 1459–1519, Holy Roman emperor and German king

(Encyclopedia)Maximilian I, 1459–1519, Holy Roman emperor and German king (1493–1519), son and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III. As emperor, he aspired to restore forceful imperial leadership and i...

Leopold II, Holy Roman emperor, king of Bohemia and Hungary

(Encyclopedia)Leopold II, 1747–92, Holy Roman emperor (1790–92), king of Bohemia and Hungary (1790–92), as Leopold I grand duke of Tuscany (1765–90), third son of Maria Theresa. Succeeding his father, Holy ...

Cicero, Roman orator

(Encyclopedia)Cicero (Marcus Tullius Cicero) sĭsˈərō [key] or Tully, 106 b.c.–43 b.c., greatest Roman orator, famous also as a politician and a philosopher. To the modern reader probably the most interesti...

Eutropius, Roman historian

(Encyclopedia)Eutropius yo͞otrōˈpēəs [key], fl. 4th cent. a.d., Roman historian, a protégé of the emperors Julian and Valens. His Breviarium ab urbe condita (10 books) is a summary of Roman history. ...

Gaius, Roman jurist

(Encyclopedia)Gaius gāˈəs, gīˈ– [key], fl. 2d cent., Roman jurist. He is known for the Institutes (repr., 2 vol., 1967; Vol. I is a translation of the text, Vol. II consists of commentaries), a legal textboo...

Lusitania, Roman province

(Encyclopedia)Lusitania lo͞osĭtānˈēə [key], Roman province in the Iberian Peninsula. As constituted (c.a.d. 5) by Augustus it included all of modern central Portugal as well as much of W Spain. The province t...

Aetius, Roman general

(Encyclopedia)Aetius, c.396–454, Roman general. At first unfriendly to Valentinian III, he later made his peace with Valentinian's mother, Galla Placidia, and was given a command in Gaul. An ambitious general, he...

Tacitus, Roman historian

(Encyclopedia)Tacitus (Cornelius Tacitus), c.a.d. 55–c.a.d. 117, Roman historian. Little is known for certain of his life. He was a friend of Pliny the Younger and married the daughter of Agricola. In a.d. 97 he ...