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Oka, river, central European Russia

(Encyclopedia)Oka əkäˈ [key], river, c.925 mi (1,490 km) long, rising S of Orel, central European Russia. It flows N past Orel and Kaluga, E past Serpukhov, Kolomna, and Ryazan, and then NE past Murom to join th...

Livonian Brothers of the Sword

(Encyclopedia)Livonian Brothers of the Sword or Livonian Knights lĭvōˈnēən [key], German military and religious order, founded in 1202 by Bishop Albert of Livonia for the purpose of conquest and Christianizati...

Sigismund III

(Encyclopedia)Sigismund III, 1566–1632, king of Poland (1587–1632) and Sweden (1592–99). The son of John III of Sweden and Catherine, sister of Sigismund II of Poland, he united the Vasa and Jagiello dynastie...

Feodor II

(Encyclopedia)Feodor II, 1589–1605, czar of Russia (1605). He succeeded his father, Boris Godunov, but was assassinated when the first false Dmitri was proclaimed czar. ...

Ignatius of Constantinople, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Ignatius of Constantinople, Saint, c.800–877, Greek churchman, patriarch of Constantinople. A son of Byzantine Emperor Michael I, he was castrated and shut up in a monastery (813) by the man who dep...

Vaasa

(Encyclopedia)Vaasa väˈsä [key], Swed. Vasa, city (1998 pop. 56,587), Western Finland prov., W Finland, on the Gulf of Bothnia. It is a port and agricultural market. Timber, iron, and steel are produced. Charter...

chrysoberyl

(Encyclopedia)chrysoberyl krĭsˈəbĕrˌĭl [key] [Gr.,=golden beryl], a beryllium aluminate used as a gem. It has a vitreous luster and is transparent to translucent. The more valuable cat's-eye is a variety of c...

Constantine, Russian grand duke

(Encyclopedia)Constantine (Konstantin Pavlovich) kənstəntyēnˈ pävˈləvĭch [key], 1779–1831, Russian grand duke, second son of Czar Paul I and brother of Alexander I and Nicholas I. On the death of Alexande...

Osterman, Andrei Ivanovich, Count

(Encyclopedia)Osterman, Andrei Ivanovich, Count əndrāˈ ēväˈnəvĭch əstyĭrmänˈ [key], 1686–1747, Russian statesman, b. Germany. His original name was Heinrich Johann Friedrich Ostermann. Under Czar Pete...

Ferdinand, king of Romania

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand, 1865–1927, king of Romania (1914–27), nephew of Carol I. The second son of the Prussian prince, Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, he was designated successor to the heirless Carol I ...