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extortion

(Encyclopedia)extortion, in law, unlawful demanding or receiving by an officer, in his official capacity, of any property or money not legally due to him. Examples include requesting and accepting fees in excess of...

separatists

(Encyclopedia)separatists, in religion, those bodies of Christians who withdrew from the Church of England. They desired freedom from church and civil authority, control of each congregation by its membership, and ...

Sheshonk I

(Encyclopedia)Sheshonk I shōˈshăngk [key], d. c.929 or 924 b.c., king of ancient Egypt, founder of the XXII (Libyan) dynasty. Originally a commander of mercenaries at Heracleopolis, he assumed (c.950 b.c.) royal...

Posse Comitatus Act

(Encyclopedia)Posse Comitatus Act, 1878, U.S. federal law that makes it a crime to use the military as a domestic police force in the United States under most circumstances. The law was designed to end the use of f...

Ruffo, Fabrizio

(Encyclopedia)Ruffo, Fabrizio fäbrēˈtsēō ro͞ofˈfō [key], 1744–1827, Neapolitan general, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. In the French Revolutionary Wars he led the royal Neapolitan army against the...

Torquemada, Tomás de

(Encyclopedia)Torquemada, Tomás de dā tôrkāmäˈᵺä [key], 1420–98, Spanish churchman and inquisitor. A Dominican, he became confessor to Ferdinand II and Isabella I and in 1483 was appointed inquisitor ge...

Razin, Stenka

(Encyclopedia)Razin, Stenka stĕngˈkä räˈzēn [key], d. 1671, Don Cossack leader, head of the peasant revolt of 1670. As commander of a band of propertyless Don Cossacks, he raided and pillaged (1667–69) thro...

Rashi

(Encyclopedia)Rashi räˈshē [key], 1040–1105, Jewish exegete, grammarian, and legal authority, b. Troyes, France. The name he is known by is an acronym of Rabbi Solomon bar Isaac. He studied in Worms and Mainz,...

Rif

(Encyclopedia)Rif rĭf [key] or Rif Atlas, range of the Atlas Mts., NE Morocco, NW Africa, curving along the Mediterranean coast from Ceuta to Melilla. Tidighin (8,056 ft/2,455 m) is the highest peak. Composed of s...

Nueva Galicia

(Encyclopedia)Nueva Galicia nwāˈvä gälēˈsyä [key], Spanish colonial administrative region, W Mexico, comprising roughly the present states of Jalisco and Nayarit with S Sinaloa. Conquered (1529–31) by Nuñ...