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Ecbatana

(Encyclopedia)Ecbatana ĕkbătˈənə, ĕkbətäˈnə [key], capital of ancient Media, later the summer residence of Achaemenid and Parthian kings, beautifully situated at the foot of Mt. Elvend and NE of Behistun....

Demetrius II, king of ancient Syria

(Encyclopedia)Demetrius II (Demetrius Nicator) nīkāˈtər [key], d. c.125 b.c., king of ancient Syria, son of Demetrius I. He was aided against the usurper, Alexander Balas, by Ptolemy VI (Ptolemy Philometer). He...

Aetolian League

(Encyclopedia)Aetolian League, confederation centering in the cities of Aetolia. It was formed in the 4th cent. b.c. and began to gain power in the 3d cent. in opposing the Achaean League and the Macedonians. At it...

Thermopylae

(Encyclopedia)Thermopylae thərmŏpˈĭlē [key] [Gr.,=hot gates, from hot mineral springs nearby], pass, E central Greece, SE of Lamía, between the cliffs of Mt. Oeta and the Malic Gulf. Silt accumulation has gra...

William, count of Holland

(Encyclopedia)William, count of Holland, 1227?–1256, German king (1254–56), previously rival king (1247–54) to Conrad IV. William was chosen by Pope Innocent IV to succeed Henry Raspe (d. 1247) as antiking to...

Warbeck, Perkin

(Encyclopedia)Warbeck, Perkin, 1474?–1499, pretender to the English throne, b. Tournai. He lived in Flanders and later in Portugal and arrived in Ireland in the employ of a silk merchant in 1491. There adherents ...

Manfred

(Encyclopedia)Manfred mănˈfrəd, Ger. mänˈfrāt [key], c.1232–1266, king of Sicily (1258–66), the last Hohenstaufen on that throne. An illegitimate son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, Manfred was regent...

Marañón, Gregorio

(Encyclopedia)Marañón, Gregorio grāgōˈrēō märänyōnˈ [key], 1887–1960, Spanish essayist, b. Madrid. A physician and professor of endocrinology, he used his scientific knowledge and approach to analyze l...

Aleksandrov

(Encyclopedia)Aleksandrov əlyĭksänˈdrəf [key], city (1989 pop. 68,000), E European Russia. The city came under the control of the Muscovite princes in 1302. Ivan IV resided (1564–81) in Aleksandrov, where he...

Diane de France

(Encyclopedia)Diane de France dyän də fräNs [key], 1538–1619, duchess of Angoulême; illegitimate daughter of King Henry II of France. She was legitimized in 1547. She was married to François, eldest son of C...