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John XII, pope

(Encyclopedia)John XII, c.937–964, pope (955–64), a Roman (count of Tusculum) named Octavian; successor of Agapetus II and predecessor of either Leo VIII or Benedict V. His father, Alberic, secured John's elect...

John of Luxemburg

(Encyclopedia)John of Luxemburg, 1296–1346, king of Bohemia (1310–46). The son of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII, he married Elizabeth, sister of Wenceslaus III of Bohemia, and in 1310 he was chosen king of Bohem...

Canova, Antonio

(Encyclopedia)Canova, Antonio äntôˈnyō känôˈvä [key], 1757–1822, Italian sculptor. He was a leading exponent of the neoclassical school whose influence on the art of his time was enormous. Canova's monume...

Seven Sleepers of Ephesus

(Encyclopedia)Seven Sleepers of Ephesus ĕfˈĭsəs [key], in a Christian version of a widespread story, martyrs immured in a cave near Ephesus during the persecutions by Decius (c.250). Long afterward, in the 5th ...

Odoacer

(Encyclopedia)Odoacer –vāˈkər [key], c.435–493, chieftain of the Heruli, the Sciri, and the Rugii (see Germans). He and his troops were mercenaries in the service of Rome, but in 476 the Heruli revolted and ...

Sickingen, Franz von

(Encyclopedia)Sickingen, Franz von fränts fən zĭˈkĭngən [key], 1481–1523, German knight. Placed under the ban of the Holy Roman Empire because of his profitable forays along the Rhine, he served King Franci...

Shushtar

(Encyclopedia)Shushtar sho͞oshtärˈ [key], town (1991 pop. 70,294), Khuzestan prov., SW Iran, on the Karun River. It has irrigated agriculture and has long been known for its brocaded textiles, metalwork, and eng...

Probus

(Encyclopedia)Probus (Marcus Aurelius Probus) prōˈbəs [key], d. 282, Roman emperor (276–82), b. Pannonia. He was governor of the East under Marcus Claudius Tacitus, whom he succeeded as emperor. He defeated th...

Carus

(Encyclopedia)Carus (Marcus Aurelius Carus) kârˈəs [key], d. 283, Roman emperor (282–83). Praetorian prefect under Probus, he was made emperor by the soldiers after the murder of Probus. Leaving his son Carinu...

Seneca, the elder, c.60 b.c.–c.a.d. 37, Roman rhetorician and writer

(Encyclopedia)Seneca, the elder (Lucius, or Marcus, Annaeus Seneca) lo͞oˈshəs, märˈkəs ənēˈəs sĕnˈəkə [key], c.60 b.c.–c.a.d. 37, Roman rhetorician and writer, b. Corduba (present-day Córdoba), Spa...