Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Philip or Philip the Arabian (Marcus Julius Philippus), 204?–249, Roman emperor (244–49). He served under Gordian III against the Persians, instigated the assassination of the emperor, and conclud...

(Encyclopedia) Maximilian II, 1811–64, king of Bavaria (1848–64), son and successor of Louis I. He had liberal tendencies and was a patron of art and learning. He hoped to create a union of small German states u...

(Encyclopedia) Frederick IV, 1671–1730, king of Denmark and Norway (1699–1730), son and successor of Christian V. He allied himself (1699) with Augustus II of Poland and Saxony and with Peter I of Russia against...

(Encyclopedia) Louis II, 1845–86, king of Bavaria (1864–86), son and successor of King Maximilian II. Much was hoped from the handsome, talented, and liberal young prince at his accession, but his prodigality an...

(Encyclopedia) Frederick William, known as the Great Elector, 1620–88, elector of Brandenburg (1640–88), son and successor of George William. At his accession the scattered lands of the Hohenzollern were devasta...

(Encyclopedia) Eberhard āˈbərhärtˌ [key], d. 939, duke of Franconia; brother of the German king, Conrad I, whom he succeeded as duke. The first to rebel against the centralizing policy of Holy Roman Emperor Ott...

(Encyclopedia) Gregory II, Saint, d. 731, pope (715–31), a Roman; successor of Constantine. When Byzantine Emperor Leo III tried to impose iconoclasm in Italy by an imperial edict, Gregory answered that the empero...

(Encyclopedia) Henry the Lion, 1129–95, duke of Saxony (1142–80) and of Bavaria (1156–80); son of Henry the Proud. His father died (1139) while engaged in a war to regain his duchies, and it was not until 1142...

(Encyclopedia) John I (John Zapolya) zäˈpôlyŏ [key], 1487–1540, king of Hungary (1526–40), voivode [governor] of Transylvania (1511–26). He was born John Zapolya, the son of Stephen Zápolya. The leader of...

(Encyclopedia) George II, 1890–1947, king of the Hellenes (1922–23, 1935–47), successor and eldest son of King Constantine I. When Constantine I was forced by the Allies to abdicate in 1917, George, also suspe...