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Isaac II

(Encyclopedia)Isaac II (Isaac Angelus) ănˈjələs [key], d. 1204, Byzantine emperor (1185–95, 1203–4). The great-grandson of Alexius I, he was proclaimed emperor by the mob that had killed the unpopular Andro...

Constantine II, Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Constantine II, 316–40, Roman emperor, son of Constantine I. When the empire was divided at the death (337) of Constantine I, among the brothers Constantius II, Constans I, and Constantine II, Const...

Justin II

(Encyclopedia)Justin II, d. 578, Byzantine emperor (565–78), nephew and successor to Justinian I. He allied himself with the Turks and resumed the wars with Persia. During his reign Slavs and Avars attacked the e...

Justinian II

(Encyclopedia)Justinian II (Justinian Rhinotmetus), 669–711, Byzantine emperor (685–95, 705–11), son and successor of Constantine IV. He successfully invaded Arab territory but lost the advantage through a tr...

Scot, Michael

(Encyclopedia)Scot, Michael, c.1175–c.1234, medieval scholar, b. Scotland. He served as astrologer and physician at the court of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, where with other scholars he translated Aristotle ...

Constans II

(Encyclopedia)Constans II (Constans Pogonatus), 630–68, Byzantine emperor (641–68), son and successor of Constantine III and grandson of Heraclius. Early in his reign Armenia and Asia Minor were invaded by the ...

Muhammad II, Ottoman sultan

(Encyclopedia)Muhammad II or Mehmet II (Muhammad the Conqueror), 1429–81, Ottoman sultan (1451–81), son and successor of Murad II. He is considered the true founder of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). He completed ...

John III, Byzantine emperor of Nicaea

(Encyclopedia)John III (John Ducas Vatatzes) do͝oˈkəs vətătˈzēz [key], d. 1254, Byzantine emperor of Nicaea (1222–54), successor and son-in-law of Theodore I. He extended his territory in Asia Minor and th...

Leo IV, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)Leo IV (Leo the Khazar), d. 780, Byzantine emperor (775–80), son and successor of Constantine V. He owed his nickname to his mother, a Khazar princess. Leo tempered the iconoclastic excesses of his ...

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