(Encyclopedia) Gregory II, Saint, d. 731, pope (715–31), a Roman; successor of Constantine. When Byzantine Emperor Leo III tried to impose iconoclasm in Italy by an imperial edict, Gregory answered…
(Encyclopedia) Muhammad II or Mehmet II (Muhammad the Conqueror), 1429–81, Ottoman sultan (1451–81), son and successor of Murad II. He is considered the true founder of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey).…
(Encyclopedia) Medici, Ferdinand II de', 1610–70, grand duke of Tuscany (1620–70); son and successor of Cosimo II de' Medici. A pupil of Galileo, he founded (1657) the Accademia del Cimento, the…
(Encyclopedia) Medici, Cosimo II de', 1590–1621, grand duke of Tuscany (1609–21); son and successor of Ferdinand I de' Medici. Although Cosimo played a role in the War of the Mantuan Succession, he…
(Encyclopedia) Nicholas II, 1868–1918, last czar of Russia (1894–1917), son of Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna.
Discontent at home grew, the army tired of war, the food situation deteriorated,…
(Encyclopedia) John Paul II, Saint 1920–2005, pope (1978–2005), a Pole (b. Wadowice) named Karol Józef Wojtyła; successor of John Paul I. He was the first non-Italian pope elected since the Dutch…
(Encyclopedia) Montmorency, Mathieu II, baron deMontmorency, Mathieu II, baron demätyöˈ bärôNˈ də [key]Montmorency, Mathieu II, baron de môNmôräNsēˈ [key], d. 1230, constable of France (1218–30),…
(Encyclopedia) William II (William the Good), c.1153–1189, king of Sicily (1166–89), son and successor of William I. He married (1177) Joan, daughter of Henry II of England. As an ally of Pope…
(Encyclopedia) Charles II (Charles the Lame), 1248–1309, king of Naples (1285–1309), count of Anjou and Provence, son and successor of Charles I. In the war of the Sicilian Vespers between Charles I…
