Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Lusitania, Roman province

(Encyclopedia)Lusitania lo͞osĭtānˈēə [key], Roman province in the Iberian Peninsula. As constituted (c.a.d. 5) by Augustus it included all of modern central Portugal as well as much of W Spain. The province t...

Michael VIII, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)Michael VIII (Michael Palaeologus), c.1225–1282, Byzantine emperor (1261–82), first of the Palaeologus dynasty. Following the murder of the regent for Emperor John IV of Nicaea, he was appointed (...

Michael III, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)Michael III (Michael the Amorian or Phrygian), 836–67, Byzantine emperor (842–67), son and successor of Theophilus and grandson of Michael II. His minority saw the final overthrow of iconoclasm an...

Ammianus Marcellinus

(Encyclopedia)Ammianus Marcellinus ămēāˈnəs märsĭlīˈnəs [key], c.330–c.400, Roman historian, b. Antioch. After retiring from a successful military career, he wrote a history of the Roman Empire as a seq...

John VII, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)John VII (John Palaeologus) pāˌlēŏlˈəgəs [key], c.1370–1408, Byzantine emperor, grandson of John V. Backed by the sultan Beyazid I, he usurped (1390) the throne from John V but was dethroned ...

Terni

(Encyclopedia)Terni tārˈnē [key], city (1991 pop. 108,248), capital of Terni prov., Umbria region, central Italy, on the Nera River. Its manufactures include iron and steel, munitions, textiles, machinery, and c...

Leo V, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)Leo V (Leo the Armenian), d. 820, Byzantine emperor (813–20), successor of Michael I. A former general, Leo successfully defended (813) Constantinople against the Bulgars and concluded a 30-year tru...

Janus, in Roman religion

(Encyclopedia)Janus jāˈnəs [key], in Roman religion, god of beginnings. He was one of the principal Roman gods, the custodian of the universe. The first hour of the day, the first day of the month, the first mon...

Louis II, emperor of the West

(Encyclopedia)Louis II, d. 875, emperor of the West (855–75), king of Italy (844–75), son of Emperor of the West Lothair I. In 844, Lothair I designated him king of Italy and in 850 he was crowned emperor of th...

Syme, Sir Ronald

(Encyclopedia)Syme, Sir Ronald, 1903–89, British historian. After studying and teaching at Oxford, he served the British government in Belgrade and Ankara during World War II and taught (1942–45) at İstanbul U...