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Justinian II

(Encyclopedia)Justinian II (Justinian Rhinotmetus), 669–711, Byzantine emperor (685–95, 705–11), son and successor of Constantine IV. He successfully invaded Arab territory but lost the advantage through a tr...

Mwanamutapa

(Encyclopedia)Mwanamutapa mwäˌnämo͞otäˈpä [key], former state, SE Africa. The Mwanamutapa empire, headed by a ruler of the same name, was founded c.1420 among the Karanga people (a subgroup of the Bantu-spea...

Sevastopol

(Encyclopedia)Sevastopol sĭvăsˈtəpōlˌ [key], formerly spelled Sebastopol, city (1989 pop. 355,000), on the Crimean peninsula and the Bay of Sevastopol, an inlet of the Black Sea. From 1954 part of Ukraine (th...

Nicaea, Second Council of

(Encyclopedia)Nicaea, Second Council of, 787, 7th ecumenical council, convened by Byzantine Empress Irene. Called to refute iconoclasm, the council declared that images ought to be venerated (but not worshiped) and...

Issus

(Encyclopedia)Issus ĭsˈəs [key], ancient town of SE Asia Minor, now in Turkey, 5 mi (8 km) NW of Dörtyol. Located near the head of a gulf (the modern Gulf of Iskenderun), Issus was on a narrow strip of land bac...

Romagna

(Encyclopedia)Romagna rōmäˈnyä [key], historic region, N central Italy, bordering on the Adriatic Sea in the east, now included in the regions of Emilia-Romagna, Marche, and Tuscany. Although its boundaries var...

Kanem

(Encyclopedia)Kanem känēmˈ [key], former empire in Africa in the areas near Lake Chad that are now part of Chad and N Nigeria. The empire began in the 9th cent., when the Sefawa migrated to the area from the Sah...

Vijayanagar

(Encyclopedia)Vijayanagar vēˈjəyənŭˈgər [key] [Sanskrit,=city of victory], ruined city, SE India. It was the capital (14th–16th cent.) of the Hindu Vijayanagar empire, which embraced all India S of the Kis...

Mughal

(Encyclopedia)Mughal mōˈgəl, mōgŭlˈ [key], Muslim empire in India, 1526–1857. The dynasty was founded by Babur, a Turkic chieftain who had his base in Afghanistan. Babur's invasion of India culminated in th...

Romanus I

(Encyclopedia)Romanus I (Romanus Lecapenus), d. 948, Byzantine emperor (920–44). An admiral, he usurped the throne during the minority of his son-in-law, Constantine VII. He defended Constantinople against the Bu...