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Bocskay, Stephen

(Encyclopedia)Bocskay, Stephen bôchˈkī [key], 1557–1606, Hungarian noble, voivode [governor] (1604–6) and prince (1605–6) of Transylvania. Seeking to secure the independence of Transylvania, he supported h...

Nadir Shah

(Encyclopedia)Nadir Shah or Nader Shah both: näˈdēr shä [key], 1688–1747, shah of Iran (1736–47), sometimes considered the last of the great Asian conquerors. He was a member of the Afshar tribe. Although t...

emperor

(Encyclopedia)emperor [Lat. imperator=one holding supreme power, especially applied to generals], the sovereign head of an empire. In the Roman republic the term imperator referred to the chief military commander a...

Thrace

(Encyclopedia)Thrace thrās [key], region, 3,310 sq mi (8,575 sq km), SE Europe, occupying the southeastern tip of the Balkan Peninsula and comprising NE Greece, S Bulgaria, and European Turkey. Its boundaries have...

Murad IV

(Encyclopedia)Murad IV, 1612?–1640, Ottoman sultan (1623–40), nephew and successor of Mustafa I. He recovered (1638) Baghdad, which Shah Abbas I of Persia had seized. On his victory he sent an order to murder h...

Trípolis

(Encyclopedia)Trípolis trēˈpôlĭs [key], town (1991 pop. 22,463), capital of Arcadia prefecture, S Greece, in the Peloponnesus. It is a transportation and agricultural center and a summer resort. A variety of l...

Botev, Khristo

(Encyclopedia)Botev, Khristo khrĭsˈtō bôˈtĕf [key], 1848–76, Bulgarian poet and patriot. At 17, Botev was sent to Russia, where he became enamored of socialist doctrine. He sought to promote revolution agai...

Cairo, city, Egypt

(Encyclopedia)Cairo kīˈrō [key], Arab. Al Qahirah, city (2021 est. metro. area pop. 21,323,000), capital...

Bactria

(Encyclopedia)Bactria băkˈtrēə [key], ancient Greek kingdom in central Asia. Its capital was Bactra, present-day Balkh in N Afghanistan. Before the Greek conquest, the region was an eastern province of the Pers...

Mustafa IV

(Encyclopedia)Mustafa IV, 1778–1808, Ottoman sultan (1807–8), son of Abd al-Hamid I. He was raised to the throne by the reactionary Janissaries who had deposed Mustafa's cousin, Selim III, because they opposed ...