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Harsha, Indian emperor

(Encyclopedia)Harsha hûrˈshə [key], b. c.590, Indian emperor (606–47). He became (606) king of a small state in the upper Ganges Valley, and by 612 he had built up a vast army with which he forged nearly all I...

Aetius, Roman general

(Encyclopedia)Aetius, c.396–454, Roman general. At first unfriendly to Valentinian III, he later made his peace with Valentinian's mother, Galla Placidia, and was given a command in Gaul. An ambitious general, he...

Theodore I , Byzantine emperor of Nicaea

(Encyclopedia)Theodore I (Theodore Lascaris), d. 1222, Byzantine emperor of Nicaea (1204–22), son-in-law of the Byzantine emperor Alexius III. He escaped from Constantinople after it was captured (1204) by the La...

Adrian I, pope

(Encyclopedia)Adrian I, d. 795, pope (772–95), a Roman; successor of Stephen IV. At Adrian's urging, Charlemagne crossed the Alps and defeated the Lombard king, Desiderius, who had annexed papal territory. That d...

Roman, town, Romania

(Encyclopedia)Roman, town (1990 pop. 78,749), NE Romania, in Moldavia, at the confluence of the Prut and Siretul rivers. Sugar refining and the manufacture of building materials are the chief industries. The town w...

Roman Catholic Church

(Encyclopedia)Roman Catholic Church, Christian church headed by the pope, the bishop of Rome (see papacy and Peter, Saint). Its commonest title in official use is Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. “Roman Cathol...

Lusitania, Roman province

(Encyclopedia)Lusitania lo͞osĭtānˈēə [key], Roman province in the Iberian Peninsula. As constituted (c.a.d. 5) by Augustus it included all of modern central Portugal as well as much of W Spain. The province t...

Byzantium

(Encyclopedia)Byzantium bīzănˈshēəm, –shəm, –tēəm [key], ancient city of Thrace, on the site of the present-day İstanbul, Turkey. Founded by Greeks from Megara in 667 b.c., it early rose to importance ...

Michael VIII, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)Michael VIII (Michael Palaeologus), c.1225–1282, Byzantine emperor (1261–82), first of the Palaeologus dynasty. Following the murder of the regent for Emperor John IV of Nicaea, he was appointed (...

Arius

(Encyclopedia)Arius ərīˈəs, ârˈē– [key], c.256–336, Libyan theologian, founder of the Arian heresy. A parish priest in Alexandria, he advanced the doctrine famous as Arianism and was excommunicated local...