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Shechem, town, West Bank

(Encyclopedia)Shechem shēˈkəm [key], town, central ancient Palestine, the modern Tell Balatan, between Mts. Gerizim and Ebal, near Nablus. Archaeological excavations indicate a village there c.3500 b.c. Shechem'...

Bethel, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Bethel bĕthˈəl [key] [Heb.,=house of God]. 1 Ancient city of central Palestine, the modern Baytin, the West Bank, N of Jerusalem. According to the Bible, where it is frequently mentioned, it was or...

Joseph I

(Encyclopedia)Joseph I, 1678–1711, Holy Roman emperor (1705–11), king of Hungary (1687–1711) and of Bohemia (1705–11), son and successor of Leopold I. Joseph became Holy Roman emperor in the midst of the Wa...

Hohenzollern, German princely family

(Encyclopedia)Hohenzollern hōˌən-tsôlˈərn [key], German princely family that ruled Brandenburg (1415–1918), Prussia (1525–1918), and Germany (1871–1918). Originating in S Germany and traceable to the 11...

Matilda, countess of Tuscany

(Encyclopedia)Matilda, 1046–1115, countess of Tuscany, called the Great Countess; supporter of Pope Gregory VII in the papal conflict with the Holy Roman emperors. Ruling over Tuscany and parts of Emilia-Romagna ...

Germanicus Caesar

(Encyclopedia)Germanicus Caesar jərmănˈĭkəs [key], 15 b.c.–a.d. 19, Roman general, son of Drusus Senior. He was adopted (a.d. 4) by his uncle Emperor Tiberius. Germanicus fought (a.d. 8) in Pannonia and Dalm...

John XXII, pope

(Encyclopedia)John XXII, 1244–1334, pope (1316–34), a Frenchman (b. Cahors) named Jacques Duèse; successor of Clement V. Formerly, he was often called John XXI. He reigned at Avignon. John was celebrated as a ...

John George

(Encyclopedia)John George, 1585–1656, elector of Saxony (1611–56). A drunkard, he nonetheless ruled the leading German Protestant state during the Thirty Years War. He vacillated in his policy between support o...

Pressburg, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Pressburg, Treaty of, 1805, peace treaty between Napoleon I of France and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (also emperor of Austria), signed at Pressburg (now Bratislava, Slovakia). Defeated at Austerlit...

Sebastian, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Sebastian, Saint, fl. 3d cent.?, Roman martyr. Little is known of his life. According to tradition he was an officer of the Praetorian guards much favored by Emperor Diocletian, who did not know that ...