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Passau

(Encyclopedia)Passau päsˈou [key], city (1994 pop. 51,041), Bavaria, SE Germany, at the confluence of the Danube, Inn, and Ilz rivers, near the border with Austria. It is a river port, rail junction, and industri...

Bithynia

(Encyclopedia)Bithynia bĭthĭnˈēə [key], ancient country of NW Asia Minor, in present-day Turkey. The original inhabitants were Thracians who established themselves as independent and were given some autonomy a...

Magellan, Ferdinand

(Encyclopedia)Magellan, Ferdinand məjelˈən [key], Port. Fernão de Magalhães, Span. Fernando de Magallanes, c.1480–1521, Portuguese navigator who sailed for Portugal and Spain. Born of a noble family, he was ...

Golden Bull

(Encyclopedia)Golden Bull, term translated from the Latin bulla aurea and generally referring to a bull (edict) with a golden seal. Golden bulls were promulgated by medieval Byzantine rulers and by Western European...

Sofia

(Encyclopedia)Sofia sōfēˈə, sōˈfēə [key], Bulg. Sofiya, city (1993 pop. 1,114,476), capital of Bulgaria, W central Bulgaria, on a high plain surrounded by the Balkan Mts. It is Bulgaria's chief industrial, ...

Honorius

(Encyclopedia)Honorius, 384–423, Roman emperor of the West (395–423). On the death (395) of Theodosius I, the Roman Empire was divided; Arcadius, the elder son, received the East, and Honorius, the younger son,...

Azerbaijan, region, Iran

(Encyclopedia)Azerbaijan äˌzĕrbījänˈ, ăˌzər– [key], Iran. Azarbayejan, region, c.34,280 sq mi (88,785 sq km), NW Iran, divided into the provinces of East Azerbaijan, ...

Melchites

(Encyclopedia)Melchites or Melkites both: mĕlˈkīts [key], members of a Christian community in the Levant and the Americas, mainly Arabic-speaking and numbering about 250,000. They are in communion with the pope ...

Iráklion

(Encyclopedia)Iráklion kănˈdēə [key], city, capital of Crete governorate and Iráklion prefecture, N C...

John of Procida

(Encyclopedia)John of Procida prōˈchēdä [key], c.1225–c.1302, Italian conspirator, lord of the island of Procida. He was an ardent supporter of the Hohenstaufen cause in Sicily and attempted to secure the isl...