Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Sinop sēnōpˈ [key], anc. Sinope, town (1990 pop. 25,537), capital of Sinop prov., N Turkey, on the Black Sea. A small port, it has an excellent harbor but lacks adequate communications with the int...

(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...

(Encyclopedia) Alexandria, Arabic Al Iskandariyah, city, N Egypt, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is at the western extremity of the Nile River delta, situated on a narrow isthmus between the sea and Lake ...

(Encyclopedia) Marseilles märsāˈ [key], Fr. Marseille, city (1990 pop. 807,726), capital of Bouches-du-Rhône dept., SE France, on the Gulf of Lions, an arm of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the second largest city...

(Encyclopedia) Constantius I (Constantius Chlorus) kənstănˈshəs [key], c.250–306, Roman emperor (305–6). A career general, he gave up Helena to marry Theodora, the daughter of Maximian. He was made caesar (s...

(Encyclopedia) Sills, Beverly, 1929–2007, American coloratura soprano, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Belle Silverman. Her childhood career as a radio singer (when she was first nicknamed “Bubbles”) led to voice studie...

(Encyclopedia) Zanuck, Darryl Francis, 1902–79, American movie producer, b. Wahoo, Nebr. Beginning his Hollywood career as a scriptwriter, he was hired (1924) by Warner Brothers and made a name for himself penning...

(Encyclopedia) Gordian gôrˈdēən [key], name of three Roman emperors. Gordian I (Marcus Antonius Gordianus Africanus), d. 238, was a Roman of great wealth and was colleague in the consulship with Caracalla and wi...

(Encyclopedia) Wilmington. 1 City (1990 pop. 71,529), seat of New Castle co., NE Del., on the Delaware River and tributary streams, the Christina and the Brandywine; settled 1638, inc. as a city 1832. The state's la...

(Encyclopedia) Arminius ärmĭnˈēəs [key], d. a.d. 21, leader of the Germans, called Hermann in modern German. He was a chief of the Cherusci (in an area of present-day Hanover) when the Romans were pushing east ...