(Encyclopedia) Ashurnasirpal IIAshurnasirpal IIäˈsh&oobreve;rnäˈzĭrpäl [key], d. 860? b.c., king of ancient Assyria (884–860? b.c.), also called Ashurnazirpal II and Assurnasirbal II. One of the…
(Encyclopedia) Mahmud II, 1784–1839, Ottoman sultan (1808–39), younger son of Abd al-Hamid I. He was raised to the throne of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) upon the deposition of his brother, Mustafa IV…
(Encyclopedia) Marwan IIMarwan IImärˈwän [key], 684–750, last of the Umayyad caliphs. He served as governor of Armenia before his short-lived rule as caliph (744–50). Marwan reorganized his army,…
(Encyclopedia) Kenneth II, d. 995, Scottish king (971–995). The son of Malcolm I (reigned 943–54), he became king of the united Picts and Scots in 971 and immediately led a savage raid on the British…
(Encyclopedia) Khosrow II (Khosrow Parviz)Khosrow IIkhŏsrōˈ; [key]Khosrow IIpärvēzˈ [key], d. 628, king of Persia of the Sassanid, or Sassanian, dynasty; grandson of Khosrow I. He is also called…
(Encyclopedia) Ardashir II, king of Persia (379–83), of the Sassanid, or Sassanian, dynasty. A provincial governor under Shapur II, he succeeded to the throne. He earned popularity by remitting taxes…
(Encyclopedia) Pius IIPius IIpīˈəs [key], 1405–64, pope (1458–64), an Italian named Enea Silvio de' Piccolomini (often in Latin, Aeneas Silvius), renamed Pienza after him, b. Corsigniano; successor…
(Encyclopedia) Pharnaces IIPharnaces IIfärˈnəsēz [key], d. 47 b.c., king of Pontus, son of Mithradates VI. In the Roman civil war he overran Colchis and central Asia Minor. Julius Caesar came from…
(Encyclopedia) Calixtus II,&sp;Callixtus II, or Callistus II, d. 1124, pope (1119–24), named Guy of Burgundy, successor of Gelasius II. The son of count William I of Burgundy, he was archbishop…
(Encyclopedia) Agesilaus IIAgesilaus IIəjĕˌsĭlāˈəs [key], c.444–360 b.c., king of Sparta. After the death of Agis I (398? b.c.), he was brought to power by Lysander, whom he promptly ignored. After…
