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Sulayman II

(Encyclopedia)Sulayman II, 1642–91, Ottoman sultan (1687–91), brother and successor of Muhammad IV to the throne of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). His grand vizier (chief executive officer), Mustafa Köprülü, w...

Bassompierre, François, baron de

(Encyclopedia)Bassompierre, François, baron de fräNswäˈ bärôNˈ də bäsôNpyĕrˈ [key], 1579–1646, marshal of France. Under King Henry IV he distinguished himself in the army and as a courtier, and after ...

Warwick, Thomas de Beauchamp, earl of

(Encyclopedia)Warwick, Thomas de Beauchamp, earl of, d. 1401, English nobleman, of an ancient and powerful family. He was one of the governors of the young Richard II. After Richard assumed power, Warwick joined th...

Lawrence, Sir Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Lawrence, Sir Thomas, 1769–1830, English portrait painter, b. Bristol. He began to draw when very young and developed extraordinary talents as a draftsman; though he studied briefly at the Royal Aca...

Philip of Swabia

(Encyclopedia)Philip of Swabia swāˈbēə [key], 1176?–1208, German king (1198–1208), son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I. After the death (1197) of his brother, German King and Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, ...

Wittelsbach

(Encyclopedia)Wittelsbach vĭˈtəlsbäkh [key], German dynasty that ruled Bavaria from 1180 until 1918. The family takes its name from the ancestral castle of Wittelsbach in Upper Bavaria. In 1180 Holy Roman Emper...

Michael, czar of Russia

(Encyclopedia)Michael (Michael Romanov), 1596–1645, czar of Russia (1613–45), founder of the Romanov dynasty; grandnephew of Anastasia, first wife of Ivan IV. His election as czar, following successive appearan...

Ladislaus I, king of Hungary

(Encyclopedia)Ladislaus I or Saint Ladislaus lädˈĭslousˌ [key], 1040–95, king of Hungary (1077–95). He supported Pope Gregory VII against Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, but rejected Gregory's suggestion that ...

Marschner, Heinrich August

(Encyclopedia)Marschner, Heinrich August hīnˈrĭkh ouˈgo͝ost märshˈnər [key], 1795–1861, German opera composer. Marschner's first opera, Heinrich IV und d'Aubigné, was produced by Carl Maria von Weber in ...

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...