Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Andronicus III

(Encyclopedia)Andronicus III (Andronicus Palaeologus), c.1296–1341, Byzantine emperor (1328–41), grandson of Andronicus II, whom he deposed after a series of civil wars. His chief minister was John Cantacuzene ...

Justin I

(Encyclopedia)Justin I, c.450–527, Byzantine emperor (518–27); successor of Anastasius I. He was chief of the imperial guard and became emperor when Anastasius died. Justin persecuted the Monophysites and maint...

Ducas

(Encyclopedia)Ducas dyo͞oˈkəs [key], Greek family and dynasty of Constantinople. Some of its members were Byzantine emperors—Constantine X, Michael VII, Alexius V, and John III. ...

Alaşehir

(Encyclopedia)Alaşehir äläˈshĕhērˌ [key], town, W Turkey, at the foot of the Tmolus Mts. (Boz Dağ). It is the trade center for a region where tobacco, fruit, and mineral water a...

Planudes Maximus

(Encyclopedia)Planudes Maximus pləno͞oˈdēz măkˈsĭməs [key] or Maximus Planudes, c.1260–c.1330, Byzantine scholar, an exceptionally learned monk. His edition of the Greek Anthology was long the standard. H...

Theodotians

(Encyclopedia)Theodotians, small heretical sect, formed c.190 by Theodotus, a Byzantine. It lasted until the end of the 4th cent. The Theodotians taught that Jesus was a man, who became the Christ only after his ba...

Tebéssa

(Encyclopedia)Tébessa təbĕsˈə [key], ancient Theveste, town (1998 pop. 153,246), NE Algeria, in the Atlas Mts. The town is an important agricultural market and is noted for its silk embroidery and carpets. The...

John of Damascus, Saint

(Encyclopedia)John of Damascus, Saint, or Saint John Damascene dămˈəsēn [key], c.675–c.749, Syrian theologian, Father of the Church and Doctor of the Church. He was brought up at the court of the caliph in Da...

Buthrotum

(Encyclopedia)Buthrotum bo͞o-trēntˈ [key], where Italian excavations in the 1930s uncovered Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Venetian remains of the ancient city, including a theater (4th cent. b.c.), a baptistery (...

Hijuelos, Oscar Jerome

(Encyclopedia)Hijuelos, Oscar Jerome ēhwāˈlōs [key], 1951–2013, Cuban-American novelist, b. New York City, grad. City College (B.A., 1975; M.F.A., 1976). The son of Cuban immigrants, he typically wrote about ...