Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Maximin, d. 238, Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Maximin (Caius Julius Verus Maximinus) măkˈsĭmĭn [key], d. 238, Roman emperor (235–38). A rough Thracian soldier of great physical strength, he rose in the army, and when the soldiers revolted a...

Rulers of the Roman Empire (table)

(Encyclopedia)Rulers of the Roman Empire(including dates of reign) Emperors in the East(until the fall of Rome; see table entitled Rulers of the Byzantine Empireat Byzantine Empire for later emperors) Empero...

Issus

(Encyclopedia)Issus ĭsˈəs [key], ancient town of SE Asia Minor, now in Turkey, 5 mi (8 km) NW of Dörtyol. Located near the head of a gulf (the modern Gulf of Iskenderun), Issus was on a narrow strip of land bac...

Constantine I, Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Constantine I or Constantine the Great kŏnˈstəntēn, –tīn [key], 288?–337, Roman emperor, b. Naissus (present-day Niš, Serbia). He was the son of Constantius I and Helena and was named in ful...

Leptis

(Encyclopedia)Leptis lĕpˈtĭs [key], ancient city of Libya, E of Tripoli. It was founded (c.600 b.c.) by Phoenicians from Sidon. Annexed (46 b.c.) to the Roman province of Africa, it flourished as an important po...

Maxentius

(Encyclopedia)Maxentius (Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius) măksĕnˈshəs [key], d. 312, Roman emperor (306–12), son of Maximian. After Diocletian and Maximian had retired, the successor to Maximian, Constanti...

Galerius

(Encyclopedia)Galerius (Caius Galerius Valerius Maximinianus) gəlērˈēəs [key], d. 310, Roman emperor (305–10). Diocletian appointed him caesar for the eastern part of the empire in 293 (Constantius I was cae...

Hadrian's Wall

(Encyclopedia)Hadrian's Wall, ancient Roman wall, 73.5 mi (118.3 km) long, across the narrow part of the island of Great Britain from Wallsend on the Tyne River to Bowness at the head of Solway Firth. It was mainly...

Heliogabalus

(Encyclopedia)Heliogabalus ĕləgăbˈələs [key], c.205–222, Roman emperor (218–22). He was a priest of the local sun god, Elagabalus, at Emesa and was named Varius Avitus Bassianus. He was a cousin of Caraca...

Odenathus, Septimius

(Encyclopedia)Odenathus, Septimius sĕptĭmˈēəs ŏdĭnāˈthəs [key], d. 267, king of Palmyra. His family (the Septimii) had dominated Palmyra for many years, and Odenathus by his policy of cooperation with Rom...

Browse by Subject