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Arlington, Henry Bennet, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Arlington, Henry Bennet, 1st earl of, 1618–85, English statesman. He fought for the royalists in the English civil war and, after going into exile, served as an envoy in Spain for the future Charles...

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...

Perseus, king of Macedon

(Encyclopedia)Perseus, c.212–166 b.c., last king of Macedon (179–168 b.c.), son and successor of Philip V. He intrigued against his younger brother, Demetrius, eventually bringing about the latter's execution b...

Otto IV, Holy Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Otto IV, 1175?–1218, Holy Roman emperor (1209–15) and German king, son of Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony. He was brought up at the court of his uncle King Richard I of England, who secured his ele...

Charles XII, king of Sweden

(Encyclopedia)Charles XII, 1682–1718, king of Sweden (1697–1718), son and successor of Charles XI. The regency under which he succeeded was abolished in 1697 at the request of the Riksdag. At the coronation he ...

Feodor III

(Encyclopedia)Feodor III, 1661–82, czar of Russia (1676–82), son and successor of Alexis. Although an invalid, Feodor strove to carry out reforms. In 1681 he abolished the system of precedence among the boyar f...

Cleves, duchy of

(Encyclopedia)Cleves, duchy of, former state, W Germany, on both sides of the lower Rhine, bordering on the Netherlands. Cleves was the capital. A county from late Carolingian times, it acquired (late 14th cent.) t...

Gloucester, Robert, earl of

(Encyclopedia)Gloucester, Robert, earl of, d. 1147, English nobleman; illegitimate son of Henry I. Henry created (c.1121) the earldom of Gloucester for him. After his father's death (1135), Robert appeared to accep...

Baliol, John de, 1249–1315, king of Scotland

(Encyclopedia)Baliol, John de, 1249–1315, king of Scotland (1292–96), son of John de Baliol (d. 1269). He became head of the family after the death of his elder brothers in 1278. At the death of Margaret Maid o...

Robert I, duke of Normandy

(Encyclopedia)Robert I (Robert the Magnificent), d. 1035, duke of Normandy (1027–35); father of William the Conqueror. He is often identified with the legendary Robert the Devil. He aided King Henry I of France a...