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Licinius, Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Licinius, 250–325, Roman emperor. He became coemperor with Galerius, being given the rule of Illyricum (308); after the death of Galerius he added Greece and Thrace to his territories. He allied him...

Medici, Cosimo III de'

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Cosimo III de', 1642–1723, grand duke of Tuscany (1670–1723); son and successor of Ferdinand II de' Medici. During his long reign the government of Tuscany degenerated into bigoted and cor...

Merodach-baladan

(Encyclopedia)Merodach-baladan mĕrˈōdăk-bălˈədăn [key], fl. 722–702 b.c., Chaldaean prince, who usurped (721) the Babylonian throne. Sargon of Assyria put down the allies of Merodach-baladan in Syria and ...

Sapele

(Encyclopedia)Sapele səpāˈlē [key], city (1991 est. pop. 123,000), S Nigeria, a port in the Niger delta. The center of the Nigerian timber industry, Sapele has sawmills and a large plywood and veneer factory; r...

Viet Minh

(Encyclopedia)Viet Minh vēĕtˈ mĭn [key], officially Viet Nam Doc Lap Dong Minh [League for the Independence of Vietnam], a coalition of Communist and nationalist groups that opposed the French and the Japanese ...

Constantine Nikolayevich

(Encyclopedia)Constantine Nikolayevich kənˌstəntyēnˈ nēkôläyāˈvĭch [key], 1827–92, grand duke of Russia; brother of Czar Alexander II. Constantine supported all the reforms instituted by his brother, w...

David, Saint

(Encyclopedia)David, Saint, d.588?, patron saint of Wales, first abbot of Menevia (present-day Saint David's). He apparently established a strict rule and was a zealous missionary, founding 12 monasteries. His cult...

Radama I

(Encyclopedia)Radama I rädäˈmə [key], c.1793–1828, founder of the kingdom of Madagascar. He succeeded (1810) his father, Andrianimpoinimerina, as king of Merina, a small kingdom on the central plateau of the ...

Owo

(Encyclopedia)Owo ōˈwō [key], city (1987 est. pop. 147,000), S Nigeria. It is primarily a farming and commercial city, located in an area producing cacao, cotton, and timber. Owo was the capital of a Yoruba stat...

Hywel Dda

(Encyclopedia)Hywel Dda hŭˈwəl ᵺä [key], or Howel the Good, d. 950?, king of Wales. He brought much of Wales under a single rule and is credited with the codification of Welsh laws. The earliest extant texts ...