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Clement VIII, pope

(Encyclopedia)Clement VIII, 1536–1605, pope (1592–1605), a Florentine named Ippolito Aldobrandini; successor of Innocent IX. He reversed the policy of his predecessors by allying the Holy See with France rather...

Roxana

(Encyclopedia)Roxana –sănˈē [key], d. 311 b.c., wife of Alexander the Great. She was the daughter of Oxyartes, a Bactrian baron, and Alexander married her (327) to consolidate his power in Persia. She and Alex...

Pau

(Encyclopedia)Pau pō [key], city (1990 pop. 83,928), capital of Pyrénées-Atlantiques dept., SW France, at the foot of the Pyrenees. It is a major year-round tourist center, renowned for its spa and winter sports...

Saint Bernard, two Alpine passes

(Encyclopedia)Saint Bernard, two Alpine passes, both used since antiquity. The Great Saint Bernard (alt. 8,110 ft/2,472 m), on the Italian-Swiss border, links Valais canton, Switzerland, with Valle d'Aosta, Italy. ...

Sancho I, king of Aragón

(Encyclopedia)Sancho I (Sancho Ramírez) sänˈchō rämēˈrĕth [key], 1045?–1094, king of Aragón (1063–94) and, as Sancho V, king of Navarre (1076–94); son and successor of Ramiro I. He continued the war ...

Rainalducci, Pietro

(Encyclopedia)Rainalducci or Rainallucci, Pietro pyĕˈtrō rīnäldo͞otˈchē, rīnäl-lo͞otˈchē [key], d. 1333, Italian churchman (b. Corvaro, near Rieti), antipope (1328–30) with the name Nicholas V. Havin...

Raoul

(Encyclopedia)Raoul räo͞olˈ [key], d. 936, duke of Burgundy, king of France (923–36). Elected king to succeed his father-in-law, Robert I, Raoul fought the Normans and the Hungarians, who repeatedly invaded Fr...

Orel

(Encyclopedia)Orel əryôlˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 337,000), capital of Orel region, central European Russia, on the Oka River. It is a large railroad junction, an agricultural trade center, and an industrial city...

Waldemar II

(Encyclopedia)Waldemar II, 1170–1241, king of Denmark (1202–41), second son of Waldemar I. In the reign of his brother, Canute VI, he defended Denmark from German aggression and then extended Danish control ove...

Valera, Diego de

(Encyclopedia)Valera, Diego de dyāˈgō dā välāˈrä [key], 1412?–1488?, Spanish adventurer and writer. Reared at the Castilian court, he was page to John II and later became one of his diplomatic agents. He ...