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Varna

(Encyclopedia)Varna värˈnä [key], city (1993 pop. 307,200), E Bulgaria, on the Black Sea. It is a major port and an industrial center. Manufactures include ships and boats, chemicals, electrical equipment, and t...

Simeon I

(Encyclopedia)Simeon I, c.863–927, ruler (893–927) and later first czar of Bulgaria. He was placed on the throne by his father, Boris I, who had returned from a monastery to depose his first son, Vladimir (reig...

Peter the Hermit

(Encyclopedia)Peter the Hermit, c.1050–1115, French religious leader. In 1095 he was a very successful preacher of the First Crusade (see Crusades), and he led one of its bands. In 1096 he reached Constantinople ...

Charles II, emperor of the West and king of the West Franks

(Encyclopedia)Charles II or Charles the Bald, 823–77, emperor of the West (875–77) and king of the West Franks (843–77); son of Emperor Louis I by a second marriage. The efforts of Louis to create a kingdom f...

Shawinigan

(Encyclopedia)Shawinigan shəwĭnˈĭgŭn [key], city (1991 pop. 19,931), S Que., Canada, on the St. Maurice River. Just north are the falls of the St. Maurice, 150 ft (46 m) high, with a hydroelectric station supp...

Edirne

(Encyclopedia)Edirne āˌdrēənōˈ pəl [key], city, capital of Edirne prov., NW Turkey, in Thrace. It is the ...

Basil II

(Encyclopedia)Basil II, c.958–1025, Byzantine emperor (976–1025), surnamed Bulgaroktonos [Bulgar slayer]. With his brother, Constantine VIII, he nominally succeeded his father, Romanus II, in 963, but had no sh...

William II, king of Sicily

(Encyclopedia)William II (William the Good), c.1153–1189, king of Sicily (1166–89), son and successor of William I. He married (1177) Joan, daughter of Henry II of England. As an ally of Pope Alexander III and ...

John Frederick I

(Encyclopedia)John Frederick I, 1503–54, elector (1532–47) and duke (1547–54) of Saxony; last elector of the Ernestine branch of the house of Wettin. Like his father, John the Steadfast, whom he succeeded, Jo...

Justinian I

(Encyclopedia)Justinian I jŭstĭnˈēən [key], 483–565, Byzantine emperor (527–65), nephew and successor of Justin I. He was responsible for much imperial policy during his uncle's reign. Soon after becoming ...