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Frederick I, elector of Brandenburg

(Encyclopedia)Frederick I, 1371–1440, elector of Brandenburg (1415–40), first of the Hohenzollerns (see Hohenzollern, family) to rule Brandenburg. As Frederick VI, burgrave of Nuremburg, he served under King Si...

Henry VII, king of England

(Encyclopedia)Henry VII, 1457–1509, king of England (1485–1509) and founder of the Tudor dynasty. Henry was an astute political leader. He established the Tudor tradition of strong rule tempered by a sense ...

Matthias Corvinus

(Encyclopedia)Matthias Corvinus kôrvīˈnəs [key], 1443?–1490, king of Hungary (1458–90) and Bohemia (1478–90), second son of John Hunyadi. He was elected king of Hungary on the death of Ladislaus V. Holy R...

Shapur I

(Encyclopedia)Shapur I säˈpôr [key], d.272, king of Persia (241–72), son and successor of Ardashir I, of the Sassanid, or Sassanian, dynasty. He was an able warrior king. Although he was defeated by the Roman ...

Quidde, Ludwig

(Encyclopedia)Quidde, Ludwig lo͞otˈvĭkh kvĭdˈə [key], 1858–1941, German pacifist and historian. He was elected (1907) to the Bavarian diet, was a member (1919–22) of the national assembly at Weimar, and l...

Mercury, in Roman religion

(Encyclopedia)Mercury, in Roman religion, god of commerce and messenger of the gods; identified with the Greek Hermes. He was honored at the Mercuralia, a festival held in May and attended primarily by traders and ...

pontifex maximus

(Encyclopedia)pontifex maximus pŏnˈtĭfĕks măkˈsĭməs [key], highest priest of Roman religion and official head of the college of pontifices. As the chief administrator of religious affairs he regulated the c...

Eberhard

(Encyclopedia)Eberhard āˈbərhärtˌ [key], d. 939, duke of Franconia; brother of the German king, Conrad I, whom he succeeded as duke. The first to rebel against the centralizing policy of Holy Roman Emperor Ott...

Fugger

(Encyclopedia)Fugger fo͝ogˈər [key], German family of merchant princes. The foundation of their wealth was laid by Hans Fugger, allegedly a weaver, who moved to Augsburg in 1367. His descendants built up the fam...

Alba Iulia

(Encyclopedia)Alba Iulia älˈbä-yo͞oˈlyä [key], Hung. Gyulafehérvár, Ger. Karlsburg, town, W central Romania, in Transylvania, on the Mureşul River. It is a rail junction ...