Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Abd ar-Rahman III, emir and caliph of Córdoba

(Encyclopedia)Abd ar-Rahman III, 891–961, Umayyad emir (912–29) and first caliph (929–61) of Córdoba. When he succeeded to the throne, the Spanish emirate was reduced to Córdoba and its environs and beset w...

Frederick III, emperor of Germany and king of Prussia

(Encyclopedia)Frederick III, 1831–88, emperor of Germany and king of Prussia (Mar.–June, 1888), son and successor of William I. In 1858 he married Victoria, the princess royal of England, who exerted considerab...

Tiy , queen of ancient Egypt, wife of Amenhotep III

(Encyclopedia)Tiy tē [key], fl. 1385 b.c., queen of ancient Egypt, wife of Amenhotep III. Of humble origin, she was remarkable for her influence in state affairs in the reigns of her husband and of Ikhnaton, her s...

Tiy , queen of ancient Egypt, wife of Ramses III

(Encyclopedia)Tiy, fl. 1167 b.c., queen of ancient Egypt, wife of Ramses III. To gain the throne for her son, Pentewere, she led a palace conspiracy to displace her aging husband. At the last minute the plot was di...

Peter III, king of Aragón and king of Sicily

(Encyclopedia)Peter III (Peter the Great), 1239?–1285, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (1276–85) and king of Sicily (1282–85); son and successor of James I. In 1280 he established Aragonese influence o...

Porta, Guglielmo della

(Encyclopedia)Porta, Guglielmo della dĕlˈlä pôrˈtä [key], d. 1577, Italian sculptor. His early works are in Genoa. In 1546 he went to Rome, where he was employed by Pope Paul III in restoring certain antique...

Calah

(Encyclopedia)Calah käˈläkh [key], ancient city of Assyria, S of Nineveh and therefore S of present Mosul, Iraq. Known as Calah in the Bible, it is the same as the ancient Nimrud, named after a legendary Assyria...

Theodore I , Byzantine emperor of Nicaea

(Encyclopedia)Theodore I (Theodore Lascaris), d. 1222, Byzantine emperor of Nicaea (1204–22), son-in-law of the Byzantine emperor Alexius III. He escaped from Constantinople after it was captured (1204) by the La...

Baliol, John de, d. 1269, founder of Balliol College, Oxford

(Encyclopedia)Baliol, John de, d. 1269, nobleman with lands in both England and Scotland; founder of Balliol College, Oxford. The name is also spelled Balliol. In 1249 he became a member of the Scottish council of ...

Robert II, king of Scotland

(Encyclopedia)Robert II, 1316–90, king of Scotland (1371–90), nephew and successor of David II. He was the first sovereign of the house of Stuart, or Stewart (see Stuart, family), which eventually succeeded to ...