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Khiva, khanate of

(Encyclopedia)Khiva, khanate of, former state of central Asia, based on the Khiva (Khwarazm or Khorezm) oasis along the Amu Darya River. The khanate lay S of the Aral Sea and included large areas of the Kyzyl Kum a...

Killiecrankie, Pass of

(Encyclopedia)Killiecrankie, Pass of kĭlĭkrăngˈke [key], wooded pass, Perth and Kinross, central Scotland, through which the river Garry flows, near Pitlochry. There Jacobite Highlanders defeated (1689) a large...

Kongo, kingdom of

(Encyclopedia)Kongo, kingdom of kôngˈgō, kŏngˈ– [key], former state of W central Africa, founded in the 14th cent. In the 15th cent. the kingdom stretched from the Congo River in the north to the Loje River ...

Katharine of Aragón

(Encyclopedia)Katharine of Aragón, 1485–1536, first queen consort of Henry VIII of England; daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragón and Isabella of Castile. In 1501 she was married to Arthur, eldest son of Henry VII...

Aristarchus of Samothrace

(Encyclopedia)Aristarchus of Samothrace sămˈəthrās [key], c.217–c.145 b.c., Greek scholar, successor to his teacher, Aristophanes of Byzantium, as librarian at Alexandria. He was an innovator of scientific sc...

Lamb of God

(Encyclopedia)Lamb of God: see Agnus Dei.

Lancaster, house of

(Encyclopedia)Lancaster, house of lăngˈkəstər [key], royal family of England. The line was founded by the second son of Henry III, Edmund Crouchback, 1245–96, who was created earl of Lancaster in 1267. Earlie...

Aristophanes of Byzantium

(Encyclopedia)Aristophanes of Byzantium bĭzănˈshēəm, –tēəm [key], c.257–180 b.c., Greek scholar. He was librarian at Alexandria, edited various texts, and reputedly invented the Greek diacritical marks. ...

Aristoxenus of Tarentum

(Encyclopedia)Aristoxenus of Tarentum ărĭstŏkˈsənəs, tərĕnˈtəm [key], fl. 4th cent. b.c., pupil of Aristotle. He marks a turning point in Greek musical theory by being the first to base theory on analysis...

Aristarchus of Samos

(Encyclopedia)Aristarchus of Samos ărˌĭstärˈkəs, sāˈmŏs [key], fl. c.310 b.c.–c.230 b.c., Greek astronomer and mathematician of the Alexandrian school. He is said to have been the first to propose a heli...