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Prester John

(Encyclopedia)Prester John, legendary Christian priest and monarch of a vast, wealthy empire in Asia or in Africa. The legend first appeared in the latter part of the 12th cent. and persisted for several centuries....

Tyana

(Encyclopedia)Tyana tīˈənə [key], town of ancient Cappadocia, at the northern foot of the Taurus range, in present S central Turkey. A powerful military fortress and a prosperous commercial center as early as t...

Adrianople, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Adrianople, Treaty of, also called Treaty of Edirne, 1829, peace treaty between Russia and the Ottoman Empire (see Russo-Turkish Wars). Turkey gave Russia access to the mouths of the Danube and additi...

Domitian

(Encyclopedia)Domitian (Titus Flavius Domitianus) dōmĭshˈən [key], a.d. 51–a.d. 96, Roman emperor (a.d. 81–a.d. 96), son of Vespasian. Although intended as the heir to his older brother, Titus, he was given...

Dubrovnik

(Encyclopedia)Dubrovnik do͞oˈbrôvnĭk [key], Ital. Ragusa, city, in extreme S Croatia, on a promontory o...

Nineveh

(Encyclopedia)Nineveh nĭnˈəvə [key], ancient city, capital of the Assyrian Empire, on the Tigris River opposite the site of modern Mosul, Iraq. A shaft dug at Nineveh has yielded a pottery sequence that can be ...

Kuchuk Kainarji, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Kuchuk Kainarji, Treaty of ko͞ocho͞okˈ kīnärˈjē, Turk. küchükˈ kīˌnärjäˈ [key], 1774, peace treaty signed at the end of the first of the Russo-Turkish Wars undertaken by Catherine II of...

Trajan

(Encyclopedia)Trajan (Marcus Ulpius Trajanus) trāˈjən [key], c.a.d. 53–a.d. 117, Roman emperor (a.d. 98–a.d. 117). Born in Spain, he was the first non-Italian to become head of the empire. Trajan served in t...

Bithynia

(Encyclopedia)Bithynia bĭthĭnˈēə [key], ancient country of NW Asia Minor, in present-day Turkey. The original inhabitants were Thracians who established themselves as independent and were given some autonomy a...

Mainz

(Encyclopedia)Mainz mīnts [key], city (1994 pop. 185,487), capital of Rhineland-Palatinate, W Germany, a port on the E bank of the Rhine River opposite the mouth of the Main River. Its French name, also sometimes ...