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Abd ar-Rahman III, emir and caliph of Córdoba

(Encyclopedia)Abd ar-Rahman III, 891–961, Umayyad emir (912–29) and first caliph (929–61) of Córdoba. When he succeeded to the throne, the Spanish emirate was reduced to Córdoba and its environs and beset w...

Gloria in excelsis

(Encyclopedia)Gloria in excelsis ĕksĕlˈsĭs [key] [Lat.,=glory in the highest], the Angelic Hymn or greater doxology, ancient Christian hymn beginning, according to the Authorized Version, “Glory be to God on ...

Goria, Giovanni

(Encyclopedia)Goria, Giovanni, 1943–94, Italian political leader, premier of Italy (1987–88). A Christian Democrat, he was first elected to parliament in 1976. Goria served as treasury minister (1982–87), bud...

Alfonso VII, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso VII (Alfonso the Emperor), 1104–57, Spanish king of Castile and León (1126–57), son and successor of Urraca. He recovered the places in Castile that his stepfather, Alfonso I of Aragón, ...

Abernathy, Ralph David

(Encyclopedia)Abernathy, Ralph David ăbˈərnăthˌē [key], 1926–90, American civil-rights leader, b. Linden, Ala. A Baptist minister, he helped Martin Luther King, Jr., organize the Montgomery bus boycott (195...

Tulloch, John

(Encyclopedia)Tulloch, John tŭlˈəkh, –ək [key], 1823–86, Scottish liberal theologian and educator. Ordained (1845) into the Church of Scotland, he was a parish minister until 1854, when he became principal ...

presbytery

(Encyclopedia)presbytery prĕzˈbĭtĕrˌē, prĕsˈ– [key], in architecture, the space in the eastern end of a church reserved for the higher clergy. It was also known in the early Christian Church as the apse, ...

Kassites

(Encyclopedia)Kassites or Cassites both: kăsˈīts [key], ancient people, probably of Indo-European origin. They were first mentioned in historical texts as occupying the W Iranian plateau. In the 18th cent. b.c. ...

Pew Charitable Trusts

(Encyclopedia)Pew Charitable Trusts, philanthropic foundation established (1948) by the children of Sun Oil Company founder Joseph N. Pew (1886–1963) of Philadelphia to provide funds for “general religious, cha...

Weizsäcker, Richard Karl Freiherr von

(Encyclopedia)Weizsäcker, Richard Karl Freiherr von, 1920–2015, German political leader. After serving in World War II, Weizsäcker earned a law degree from the Univ. of Göttingen (1953), then worked in the pri...