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Medeba

(Encyclopedia)Medeba mĕdˈĭbə, mēˈ– [key], town, Jordan, the modern Madaba, E of the Dead Sea. An ancient Moabite town, it changed hands between Moab and Israel several times. In early Christian times it was...

Kizil Adalar

(Encyclopedia)Kizil Adalar kəzŭlˈ ädälärˈ [key] or Princes Islands, group of nine small islands (1990 pop. 19,413), c.4 sq mi (10.4 sq km), NW Turkey, in the Sea of Marmara, near İstanbul. The islands are 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...

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...

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...

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 (...

Guibert of Ravenna

(Encyclopedia)Guibert of Ravenna gwĭbˈərt, gēbĕrˈ [key], d. 1100, Italian churchman, antipope (1080–1100) Clement III, b. Parma. As imperial chancellor of Italy (1057–63), he consistently supported the Ho...

Joseph II

(Encyclopedia)Joseph II, 1741–90, Holy Roman emperor (1765–90), king of Bohemia and Hungary (1780–90), son of Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, whom he succeeded. He was the first emperor of the...

Algardi, Alessandro

(Encyclopedia)Algardi, Alessandro älās-sänˈdrō älgärˈdē [key], 1595–1654, Italian sculptor and designer, b. Bologna. He studied under Lodovico Carracci. In Rome his friend Domenichino obtained his first ...