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  Bell Canyon
  Bell Canyon (the associated creek is also known as Bell Canyon Creek, Bell Creek or Arroyo de las Campanas) is a gorge in the Santa Ana Mountains, its stream flowing about 14.4 miles (23.2 km) to its confluence with San Juan Creek, in Orange County of the U.S. state of California. A generally south-flowing watercourse, it cuts through a narrow canyon bordered by the watersheds of Cañada Gobernadora and Trabuco Creek. After Trabuco Creek, it is the second largest tributary of San Juan Creek by length and drainage area.
  The watershed comprises a wild and arid canyon more than 1,000 feet (300 m) deep and averaging a mile (1.61 km) wide, and includes the major tributaries of Dove Canyon, Crow Canyon and Tick Creek. It drains a roughly "L" shaped area of 26 square miles (67 km²) in the central portion of the San Juan watershed. Most of the creek course is contained within the Cleveland National Forest and Caspers Regional Park.
  The Juaneño or Acagchemem Native Americans have lived in the Bell Canyon area for almost 10,000 years, from archeaology at the San Dieguito Complex. It is said they would strike rocks against boulders in the canyon, producing a ringing sound that gave the canyon its name. The Native Americans, part of the Acjachemen Nation, found their way of life disrupted when Spanish colonizers and missionaries came to this area of Las Californias Province and established the Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1776 at nearby present day San Juan Capistrano, about 10 miles (16 km) from the creek's mouth.
  
  wn.com/Bell_Canyon
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  Bell City, Missouri
  Bell City is a city in Stoddard County, Missouri, United States. Originally founded as a sawmill town around 1900, Bell City lies at the foothills of Crowley's Ridge on Missouri Route 91. The population of Bell City was 461 at the 2000 census, and the town currently has no mayor.
  Bell City is located at 37°1′26″N 89°49′10″W / 37.02389°N 89.81944°W / 37.02389; -89.81944 (37.023820, -89.819457).
  According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²), all of it land.
  As of the census of 2000, there were 461 people, 196 households, and 126 families residing in the city. The population density was 830.9 people per square mile (323.6/km²). There were 220 housing units at an average density of 396.5 per square mile (154.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.48% White, 1.08% African American, 0.22% Native American, and 0.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.87% of the population.
  There were 196 households out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were married couples living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.7% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.02.
  
  wn.com/Bell_City,_Missouri
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  Bell County, Texas
  Bell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. Bell County was founded in 1850. It is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, its population was 310,235. Its county seat is Belton. The center of population of Texas is located in Bell County, in the town of Holland. Bell is named for Peter Hansborough Bell, the third governor of Texas.
  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,088 square miles (2,817.9 km²), of which 1,060 square miles (2,745.4 km²) is land and 28 square miles (72.5 km²) (2.59%) is water.
  As of the census of 2010, there were 310,235 people, 114,035 households, and 80,449 families residing in the county. The population density was 295.2 people per square mile (87/km²). There were 125,470 housing units at an average density of 88 per square mile (34/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 61.4% White, 21.5% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American, 2.8% Asian, 0.8% Pacific Islander, and 5.0% reporting two or more races. 21.6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 14.9% were of [[Race (United States Census)[Mexican]], 3.6% were of Puerto Rican, 0.2% Cuban, and 0.2% were of Dominican Republic.
  
  wn.com/Bell_County,_Texas
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  Bell Labs
  Bell Laboratories (also known as Bell Labs and formerly known as AT&T Bell Laboratories and Bell Telephone Laboratories) is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T), half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.
  Bell Laboratories operates its headquarters at Murray Hill, New Jersey, United States, and has research and development facilities throughout the world.
  The Alexander Graham Bell Laboratory, also variously known as the Volta Bureau, the Bell Carriage House, the Bell Laboratory and the Volta Laboratory, was created in Washington, D.C. by Alexander Graham Bell.
  In 1880, the French government awarded Bell the Volta Prize of 50,000 francs (approximately US$10,000 at that time, about $250,000 in current dollars) for the invention of the telephone, which he used to found the Volta Laboratory, along with Sumner Tainter and Bell's cousin Chichester Bell. His research laboratory focused on the analysis, recording and transmission of sound. Bell used his considerable profits from the laboratory for further research and education to permit the "[increased] diffusion of knowledge relating to the deaf".
  
  wn.com/Bell_Labs
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  Bell Peninsula
  The Bell Peninsula (previously known as Bell Island) is located on southeastern Southampton Island, in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is in close proximity to the small Inuit community of Coral Harbour. The southern shores make up the northern boundary of Hudson Bay. Foxe Basin is to the east. There are several large bays surrounding the peninsula. Bowhead whale frequent the area. The Bell Peninsula's irregular coastline is marked by five distinct points, some of which have notable archaeological sites. Mount Minto, in the north, is the highest peak. The Back Peninsula is on the eastern end of the Bell Peninsula.
  The peninsula is named in honor of John Bell, Hudson's Bay Company governor and explorer.
  The Dorset culture Sadlermiut lived on the Bell Peninsula and elsewhere on Southampton Island until disease drove them to extinction in 1902. Thereafter, Inuit arrived. The Native Point archaeological site, located on the peninsula's Native Bay is the largest Sadlermiut site on the island.
  
  wn.com/Bell_Peninsula
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  Bell Sensplex
  The Bell Sensplex is a four-pad ice facility, located in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is the primary practice facility of the Ottawa Senators NHL team. In a partnership with the City of Ottawa, it is also used for minor hockey and hosts the annual Bell Capital Cup ice hockey tournament. The Sensplex is located at 1565 Maple Grove Road in the Kanata district of Ottawa. It is also the home arena for the Ottawa Senators of the Canadian Women's Hockey League.
  The Senators, in a partnership with the City of Ottawa, built the Bell Sensplex, for community and team use at a cost of $25.6 million. The facility contains three NHL-sized ice rinks, one Olympic-size ice rink and an indoor fieldhouse in its 180,000 square feet (17,000 m²) building. The City of Ottawa provided $1.4 million of the cost to facilitate the construction. The Sensplex eventually only used only $800,000 of the City's funds. The Sensplex opened in December 2004.
  It is used for Senators team practices,minor hockey and short track speed skating. The City of Ottawa buys 2,400 hours of ice time for public use annually. The facility is the main arena for the annual Bell Capital Cup, open to Atom (9-11) and Pee-Wee (11-13) age group teams, held between Christmas Day and New Year's. The tournament attracts over 500 teams annually and bills itself as "the world's largest hockey tournament."
  
  wn.com/Bell_Sensplex
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  Bell, California
  Bell is an incorporated city in Los Angeles County, California. Its population was 35,477 at the 2010 census, down from 36,664 in the 2000 census. Bell is located on the west bank of the Los Angeles River and is a suburb of the city of Los Angeles. At 2.5 square miles (6.5 km²), Bell is number thirteen in the list of the 25 smallest cities in the United States that have a population of at least 25,000 (ranked from smallest to largest in area).
  In 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau ranked Bell's land area at 1245 out of 1257 cities (defined as incorporated areas) and two unincorporated areas that had a population of at least 25,000 in year 2000. Ten cities in the list of 1267 cities had no land area data (e.g., Goleta, California).
  City residents voted to become a charter city in a special municipal election on November 29, 2005. Fewer than 400 voters turned out for that special election. More than half of those votes were dubiously obtained absentee votes.
  
  wn.com/Bell,_California
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  Bell, Florida
  Bell is a town in Gilchrist County, Florida, United States. It was originally founded in 1946 by entrepreneur Ian H. Crocker. The population was 349 at the 2000 census. Gilchrist County holds two towns, Bell & Trenton. It is situated in the northern part of the county. The Middle/High School is home to approximately 750 students. Bell was once the site of "Swamp Shooters", an alumni game where former University of Florida football players, such as Shane Matthews and Jacquez Green, would, along with volunteers from the audience and school faculty, participate in many different games often relating to the sport of basketball, but also some football competitions. Akin's BBQ, which is noted in many southern restaurant magazines, is a very popular place to dine.
  It should also be noted that Bell High School's JROTC program is of incredibly high esteem. Having received the "Honor Unit With Distinction" award for seven years in a row, Bell High School's program is among the best it has to offer. It is currently run by SAI Col. McGill, AAI 1st Sgt. Mienholtz, Battalion Commander Kristina Hicks, XO Matthew Krienbihl, and Command Sergeant Major Daniel Freeman.
  
  wn.com/Bell,_Florida
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  Bell, Illinois
  Bell is an unincorporated community in Logan County, Illinois, United States. Bell is located on Illinois Route 121 about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Lincoln.
  
  wn.com/Bell,_Illinois
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  Bell, Oklahoma
  Bell is a census-designated place (CDP) in Adair County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 602 at the 2000 census.
  Bell is located at 35°44′14″N 94°31′19″W / 35.73722°N 94.52194°W / 35.73722; -94.52194 (35.737087, -94.521859).
  According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 22.2 square miles (57 km²), all of it land.
  As of the census of 2000, there were 602 people, 181 households, and 152 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 27.1 people per square mile (10.5/km²). There were 189 housing units at an average density of 8.5/sq mi (3.3/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 35.71% White, 0.33% African American, 57.81% Native American, 0.17% from other races, and 5.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.66% of the population.
  There were 181 households out of which 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.5% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.5% were non-families. 13.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.33 and the average family size was 3.69.
  
  wn.com/Bell,_Oklahoma
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  Bell, Queensland
  Bell is a village in the western foothills of the Bunya Mountains of Queensland, Australia, 39 kilometres (24 mi) north of Dalby. At the 2006 census, Bell had a population of 297..
  Bell, located on the Bunya Highway, lies between the agricultural areas of the Darling Downs and the South Burnett. Looking out over rolling hills of quilt-like patterned farmland, Bell is known for its traditional country arts and crafts as well as rural-based activities such as horse race meetings, the rural show, rodeo and campdraft competitions.^{[citation needed]} The local show, which celebrated its 50th consecutive year in 2008, is held annually on the first weekend in March. The show features wood chopping, displays of the area's livestock (including milking goats), and working cattle dog 'trials'. The area's main industry is farming of beef cattle, grain, sheep and pigs.^{[citation needed]}
  Facilities available in Bell include a caravan park, a country hotel (pub), a swimming complex, tennis courts, a lawn bowls club, a 9-hole golf course and a horse racing track. The main social gathering point in town is at the 'Bellvue' pub while at the Memorial Hall country dances and/or balls are hosted a number of times during each year.^{[citation needed]} The Bell State (government) School, which caters for children in classes from Prep to Year 10, celebrated its centenary in 2007.
  
  wn.com/Bell,_Queensland
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  Bell, Wisconsin
  Bell is a town in Bayfield County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 230 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated community of Cornucopia, Wisconsin is located within the town.
  Wisconsin Highway 13 serves as a main arterial route in the community.
  According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 60.4 square miles (156.5 km²), of which, 59.6 square miles (154.4 km²) of it is land and 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²) of it (1.32%) is water.
  As of the census of 2000, there were 230 people, 115 households, and 77 families residing in the town. The population density was 3.9 people per square mile (1.5/km²). There were 412 housing units at an average density of 6.9 per square mile (2.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.91% White, 4.35% Native American, and 1.74% from two or more races.
  There were 115 households out of which 20.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.42.
  
  wn.com/Bell,_Wisconsin
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  Nuns' Island
  Nuns' Island (officially Île des Sœurs) is an island that forms a part of the city of Montreal, Quebec. It is part of the borough of Verdun. Coordinates: 45°27′40″N 73°32′36″W / 45.46111°N 73.54333°W / 45.46111; -73.54333
  The 3.74 km² island is part of the Hochelaga Archipelago in the St. Lawrence River. It is located immediately southwest of the Island of Montreal, from which it is separated by a narrow channel, and north of the La Prairie Basin.
  The Décarie Expressway (Aut. 15) runs through Nuns' Island, connecting it to the south shore of the St. Lawrence River via the Champlain Bridge and to the Island of Montreal via the Pont de l'Île-des-Sœurs, part of the Champlain Bridge complex. The Clément Bridge connects the island with the Bonaventure Expressway (Aut. 10).
  Although the island is just a few miles from downtown Montreal, it is very secluded from the city and remains free of heavy traffic and noise of the city.^{[citation needed]} The island is primarily composed of residential apartments, condos and flats. Commercial services are clustered in malls around Place du Commerce near the Champlain Bridge, with civic services including a community centre and church around Place Elgar. A recent development is the construction of the campus headquarters of Bell Canada on the northern tip of the island.
  
  wn.com/Nuns'_Island
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  Port Bell
  Port Bell is a small industrial centre in the greater metropolitan Kampala area, in Uganda. Port Bell has a rail link and a rail/road ferry wharf used for International traffic across Lake Victoria to Tanzania and Kenya.
  It is located at the end of a narrow inlet of Lake Victoria, approximately 7 miles (11 km), by road, southeast of the central business district of Kampala. The coordinates of Port Bell are:00 17 24N, 32 39 15E (Latitude:0.2900; Longitude:32.6540).
  The port is named after Sir Hesketh Bell, a British commissioner, who took over administration of Britain's interests in Uganda in 1906. Its rail link is a branch line from the Kampala-Jinja main line.
  Lake Victoria ferries operate from Port Bell linking Kampala to other railhead ports on Lake Victoria including Jinja, Kisumu and Mwanza. The Port Bell ferry wharf is visible on high-resolution Google Earth photos at latitude 0.2885° longitude 32.653°. A ferry is shown loading truck and rail coaches while another waits.
  When the first stage of the Uganda Railway was completed in 1901, the railhead was at Kisumu, 12 hours journey from Port Bell by ship. Ferries brought goods by lake between Port Bell and Kisumu. It was not until 1931 that a branch line of the railway from Nakuru reached Kampala and then Port Bell.
  
  wn.com/Port_Bell

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  Abbas I of Persia
  Shāh ‘Abbās the Great (or Shāh ‘Abbās I) (Persian: شاه عَباس بُزُرگ‎) (January 27, 1571 – January 19, 1629) was Shah (king) of Iran, and generally considered the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty. He was the third son of Shah Mohammad.
  Abbas came to the throne during a troubled time for Iran. Under his weak-willed father, the country was riven with discord between the different factions of the Qizilbash army, who killed Abbas' mother and elder brother. Meanwhile, Iran's enemies, the Ottoman Empire and the Uzbeks, exploited this political chaos to seize territory for themselves. In 1587, one of the Qizilbash leaders, Murshid Qoli Khan, overthrew Shah Mohammed in a coup and placed the 16-year-old Abbas on the throne. But Abbas was no puppet and soon seized power for himself. He reduced the influence of the Qizilbash in the government and the military and reformed the army, enabling him to fight the Ottomans and Uzbeks and reconquer Iran's lost provinces. He also took back land from the Portuguese and the Mughals. Abbas was a great builder and moved his kingdom's capital from Qazvin to Isfahan. In his later years, the shah became suspicious of his own sons and had them killed or blinded.
  
  wn.com/Abbas_I_of_Persia
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  Abraham Kidunaia
  Saint Abraham the Great of Kidunja (or Kidunaja) (died c. 366) was a Hermit and Priest of the Christian Church.
  He left his young wife on his wedding day and settled in the desert of Syria. After having spent twelve years there in a hut he had walled up, he was ordained to the priesthood and appointed the pastor of a village in Mesopotamia with a largely pagan population. Within three years, he had converted the population of his village to Christianity. Thereafter, he left to return to the desert. He only returned later to convert his niece Mary, who had become a prostitute, to Christianity. He died at Assos in the Troad, Asia Minor (now modern-day Turkey) around 366 AD.
  The feast day of Saint Abraham is October 29 in the Eastern Orthodox Church and in the Roman Catholic Church. The Syrian Church commemorates him on December 14, the Coptic Church on July 29, the Syriac Orthodox Church on October 24.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Abraham_Kidunaia
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  Ajax (mythology)
  Ajax or Aias (/ˈeɪdʒæks/ or /ˈaɪ.əs/; Ancient Greek: Αἴας, gen. Αἴαντος) was a mythological Greek hero, the son of Telamon and Periboea, and king of Salamis. He plays an important role in Homer's Iliad and in the Epic Cycle, a series of epic poems about the Trojan War. To distinguish him from Ajax, son of Oileus (Ajax the Lesser), he is called "Telamonian Ajax," "Greater Ajax," or "Ajax the Great". In Etruscan mythology, he is known as Aivas Tlamunus.
  Ajax is the son of Telamon, who was the son of Aeacus and grandson of Zeus, and his first wife Periboea. He is the cousin of Achilles, the most remembered Greek warrior, and is the elder half-brother of Teucer. Many illustrious Athenians, including Cimon, Miltiades, Alcibiades and the historian Thucydides, traced their descent from Ajax. The Italian scholar Maggiani recently showed that on an Etruscan tomb dedicated to Racvi Satlnei in Bologna (5th century BC) there is a writing that says: "aivastelmunsl = family of Ajax Télamon".
  In Homer's Iliad he is described as of great stature, colossal frame and strongest of all the Achaeans. Known as the 'bulwark of the Mycenaeans', he was trained by the centaur Chiron (who had trained his father, Telamon, and Achilles' father Peleus), at the same time as Achilles. He was described as vicious, fearless, strong and powerful but also with a very high level of combat intelligence.
  
  wn.com/Ajax_(mythology)
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  Akbar
  Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar (Persian: جلال الدین محمد اکبر ‎ - Jalāl ud-Dīn Muḥammad Akbar), also known as Shahanshah Akbar-e-Azam or Akbar the Great (14 October 1542  – 27 October 1605), was the third Mughal Emperor. He was of Timurid descent; the son of Emperor Humayun, and the grandson of the Mughal Emperor Zaheeruddin Muhammad Babur, the ruler who founded the Mughal dynasty in India. At the end of his reign in 1605 the Mughal empire covered most of northern and central India. He is most appreciated for having a liberal outlook on all faiths and beliefs and during his era, culture and art reached a zenith as compared to his predecessors.
  Akbar was 13 years old when he ascended the Mughal throne in Delhi (February 1556), following the death of his father Humayun. During his reign, he eliminated military threats from the powerful Pashtun descendants of Sher Shah Suri, and at the Second Battle of Panipat he decisively defeated the newly self-declared Hindu king Hemu. It took him nearly two more decades to consolidate his power and bring all the parts of northern and central India into his direct realm. He influenced the whole of the Indian Subcontinent as he ruled a greater part of it as an emperor. As an emperor, Akbar solidified his rule by pursuing diplomacy with the powerful Hindu Rajput caste, and by marrying Rajput princesses.
  
  wn.com/Akbar
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  Alain I of Albret
  Alain I of Albret (1440-1522), called "The Great", was a powerful French aristocrat. He was 16th Lord of Albret, Viscount of Tartas, the 2nd Count of Graves, and the Count of Castres. He was the son of Catherine de Rohan and Jean I of Albret. He was the grandson and heir of Charles II of Albret, and became head of the House of Albret in 1471.
  He was skillful, but also very fickle, greedy, and unscrupulous. During his half century of rule, he took a political course which was more agitated than effective, following his father's example, making him one of the most visible actors on the stage of Europe.
  Alain I initially benefited from his fidelity to King Louis XI of France, and thereby enlarged his principality. He married Françoise de Châtillon, and this marriage brought him the inheritance of the county of Périgord as well as the viscounty of Limoges.
  He then seized Armagnac, and married his son John to Catherine of Navarre, heiress of the counties of Foix and Bigorre and of the Kingdom of Navarre.
  
  wn.com/Alain_I_of_Albret
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  Albert the Great
  Albertus Magnus, O.P. (1193/1206 – November 15, 1280), also known as Albert the Great and Albert of Cologne, is a Catholic saint. He was a German Dominican friar and a bishop who achieved fame for his comprehensive knowledge of and advocacy for the peaceful coexistence of science and religion. Those such as James A. Weisheipl and Joachim R. Söder have referred to him as the greatest German philosopher and theologian of the Middle Ages, an opinion supported by contemporaries such as Roger Bacon. The Catholic Church honours him as a Doctor of the Church, one of only 34 persons with that honor.
  Albertus was born sometime between 1193 and 1206 to the Count of Bollstädt in Lauingen in Bavaria. Contemporaries such as Roger Bacon applied the term "Magnus" to Albertus during his own lifetime, referring to his immense reputation as a scholar and philosopher.
  Albertus was educated principally at Padua, where he received instruction in Aristotle's writings. A late account by Rudolph de Novamagia refers to Albertus' encounter with the Blessed Virgin Mary, who convinced him to enter Holy Orders. In 1223 (or 1221) he became a member of the Dominican Order, against the wishes of his family, and studied theology at Bologna and elsewhere. Selected to fill the position of lecturer at Cologne, Germany, where the Dominicans had a house, he taught for several years there, at Regensburg, Freiburg, Strasbourg and Hildesheim. In 1245 he went to Paris, received his doctorate and taught for some time as a master of theology with great success. During this time Thomas Aquinas began to study under Albertus.
  
  wn.com/Albert_the_Great
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  Albertus Magnus
  Albertus Magnus, O.P. (1193/1206 – November 15, 1280), also known as Albert the Great and Albert of Cologne, is a Catholic saint. He was a German Dominican friar and a bishop who achieved fame for his comprehensive knowledge of and advocacy for the peaceful coexistence of science and religion. Those such as James A. Weisheipl and Joachim R. Söder have referred to him as the greatest German philosopher and theologian of the Middle Ages, an opinion supported by contemporaries such as Roger Bacon. The Catholic Church honours him as a Doctor of the Church, one of only 34 persons with that honor.
  Albertus was born sometime between 1193 and 1206 to the Count of Bollstädt in Lauingen in Bavaria. Contemporaries such as Roger Bacon applied the term "Magnus" to Albertus during his own lifetime, referring to his immense reputation as a scholar and philosopher.
  Albertus was educated principally at Padua, where he received instruction in Aristotle's writings. A late account by Rudolph de Novamagia refers to Albertus' encounter with the Blessed Virgin Mary, who convinced him to enter Holy Orders. In 1223 (or 1221) he became a member of the Dominican Order, against the wishes of his family, and studied theology at Bologna and elsewhere. Selected to fill the position of lecturer at Cologne, Germany, where the Dominicans had a house, he taught for several years there, at Regensburg, Freiburg, Strasbourg and Hildesheim. In 1245 he went to Paris, received his doctorate and taught for some time as a master of theology with great success. During this time Thomas Aquinas began to study under Albertus.
  
  wn.com/Albertus_Magnus
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  Alexander the Great
  Alexander III of Macedon (20/21 July 356 – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great (Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μέγας, Aléxandros ho Mégas from the Greek αλέξω alexo "to defend, help" + ανήρ aner "man"), was a king of Macedon, a state in northern ancient Greece. Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas. He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of history's most successful commanders.
  Alexander succeeded his father, Philip II of Macedon, to the throne in 336 BC after Philip was assassinated. Upon Philip's death, Alexander inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. He was awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his father's military expansion plans. In 334 BC, he invaded Persian-ruled Asia Minor and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles, most notably the battles of Issus and Gaugamela. He subsequently overthrew the Persian King Darius III and conquered the entirety of the Persian Empire. At that point, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River.
  
  wn.com/Alexander_the_Great
• Alfonso III of León
  Alfonso III (c. 848 – December 910), called the Great, was the king of León, Galicia and Asturias from 866 until his death. He was the son and successor of Ordoño I. In later sources he is the earliest to be called "Emperor of Spain". He was also titled "Prince of all Galicia" (Princeps totius Galletiae).
  Little is known about Alfonso except the bare facts of his reign and of his comparative success in consolidating the kingdom during the weakness of the Umayyad princes of Córdoba. He fought against and gained numerous victories over the Muslims of al-Andalus, nonetheless his kingdom was always inferior to that of the Cordobans, and he was thus forced to pay them tribute.
  He defeated a Basque rebellion in 867 and, much later, a Galician one as well. He conquered Oporto and Coimbra in 868 and 878 respectively. In about 869, he formed an alliance with the Kingdom of Pamplona, and solidified this link by marrying Jimena, who is thought to have been daughter of king García Íñiguez, or less likely, a member of the Jiménez dynasty, and also married his sister Leodegundia to a prince of Pamplona.
  
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  Alfred the Great
  Alfred the Great (Old English: Ælfrēd, Ælfrǣd, "elf counsel"; 849 – 26 October 899) was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.
  Alfred successfully defended his kingdom against the Viking attempt at conquest, and by his death had become the dominant ruler in England. He is the only English monarch to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself "King of the Anglo-Saxons". Details of his life are described in a work by the 10th century Welsh scholar and bishop Asser. Alfred was a learned and merciful man who encouraged education and improved his kingdom's legal system and military structure.
  Alfred was born in the village of Wanating, now Wantage, Oxfordshire. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex, by his first wife, Osburh.
  In 853, at the age of four, Alfred is said to have been sent to Rome where, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, he was confirmed by Pope Leo IV who "anointed him as king". Victorian writers interpreted this as an anticipatory coronation in preparation for his ultimate succession to the throne of Wessex. However, his succession could not have been foreseen at the time, as Alfred had three living elder brothers. A letter of Leo IV shows that Alfred was made a "consul"; a misinterpretation of this investiture, deliberate or accidental, could explain later confusion. It may also be based on Alfred's later having accompanied his father on a pilgrimage to Rome where he spent some time at the court of Charles the Bald, King of the Franks, around 854–855.
  
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  Anthony the Great
  Anthony the Great or Antony the Great (ca. 251–356), also known as Saint Anthony, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Anthony of Thebes, Abba Antonius (Ἀββᾶς Ἀντώνιος), and Father of All Monks, was a Christian saint from Egypt, a prominent leader among the Desert Fathers. He is celebrated in many churches on his feast days: 30 January in the Old-Calendar Eastern Orthodox Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church; 17 January in the New-Calendar Eastern Orthodox Church, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Coptic Catholic Church.
  The biography of Anthony's life by Athanasius of Alexandria helped to spread the concept of monasticism, particularly in Western Europe through Latin translations. He is often erroneously considered the first monk, but as his biography and other sources make clear, there were many ascetics before him. Anthony was, however, the first known ascetic going into the wilderness (about A.D. 270–271), a geographical move that seems to have contributed to his renown. Accounts of Anthony enduring supernatural temptation during his sojourn in the Libyan Desert inspired the often-repeated subject of the temptation of St. Anthony in Western art and literature.
  
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  Antiochus the Great
  Antiochus III the Great (Ancient Greek: Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας}}; c. 241 – 187 BC, ruled 222 – 187 BC) was a Seleucid Greek king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire. He ruled over Greater Syria and western Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BCE. Rising to the throne at the age of eighteen in 223 BC, his early campaigns against the Ptolemaic Kingdom were unsuccessful, but in the following years Antiochus gained several military victories. His traditional designation, the Great, reflects an epithet he briefly assumed. He also assumed the title "Basileus Megas" (which is Greek for "Great King"), the traditional title of the Persian kings.
  Declaring himself the "champion of Greek freedom against Roman domination", Antiochus III waged a war against the Roman Republic in mainland Greece in autumn of 192 BC only to be defeated.
  Antiochus III was a member of the Greek-Macedonian Seleucid dynasty. He was the son of king Seleucus II and Laodice II and was born in 242 BC near Susa in Iran. Antiochus succeeded his brother Seleucus III as the king of the Seleucid Empire.
  
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  Ashoka
  Ashoka (Devanāgarī: अशोक, IAST: Aśoka, IPA: [aˈɕoːkə], ca. 304–232 BC), also known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests. His empire stretched from present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan in the west, to the present-day Bangladesh and the Indian state of Assam in the east, and as far south as northern Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. He conquered the kingdom named Kalinga, which none of his ancestors had conquered starting from Chandragupta Maurya. His reign was headquartered in Magadha (present-day Bihar). He embraced Buddhism after witnessing the mass deaths of the Kalinga War, which he himself had waged out of a desire for conquest. He was later dedicated to the propagation of Buddhism across Asia and established monuments marking several significant sites in the life of Gautama Buddha. Ashoka was a devotee of ahimsa (nonviolence), love, truth, tolerance and vegetarianism. Ashoka is remembered in history as a philanthropic administrator. In the history of India, Ashoka is referred to as Samraat Chakravartin Ashoka – the "Emperor of Emperors Ashoka".
  
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  Ashoka the Great
  Ashoka (Devanāgarī: अशोक, IAST: Aśoka, IPA: [aˈɕoːkə], ca. 304–232 BC), also known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests. His empire stretched from present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan in the west, to the present-day Bangladesh and the Indian state of Assam in the east, and as far south as northern Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. He conquered the kingdom named Kalinga, which none of his ancestors had conquered starting from Chandragupta Maurya. His reign was headquartered in Magadha (present-day Bihar). He embraced Buddhism after witnessing the mass deaths of the Kalinga War, which he himself had waged out of a desire for conquest. He was later dedicated to the propagation of Buddhism across Asia and established monuments marking several significant sites in the life of Gautama Buddha. Ashoka was a devotee of ahimsa (nonviolence), love, truth, tolerance and vegetarianism. Ashoka is remembered in history as a philanthropic administrator. In the history of India, Ashoka is referred to as Samraat Chakravartin Ashoka – the "Emperor of Emperors Ashoka".
  
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  Ashot I of Iberia
  Ashot I the Great (Georgian: აშოტ I დიდი) (died 826/830) was a presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia), first of the Bagratid family to have attained to this office c. 813. From his base in Tao-Klarjeti, he fought to enlarge the Bagratid territories and sought the Byzantine protectorate against the Arab encroachment until being murdered c. 830. Ashot is also known as Ashot I Curopalates for the Byzantine title he wore. A patron of Christian culture and a friend of the church, he has been canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church.
  Ashot was the son of the Iberian nobleman Adarnase who had founded the Bagratid hereditary fiefdom in Tao-Klarjeti (now northeast Turkey) and bequeathed to his son extensive possessions acquired upon the extinction of his Guaramid and Chosroid cousins. Ashot initially failed to gain a foothold in central Iberia (Shida Kartli), his efforts being dashed by the Arab control of Tiflis. Ashot established himself in his patrimonial duchy of Klarjeti, where he restored the castle of Artanuji said to have been built by the Iberian king Vakhtang I Gorgasali in the 5th century, and received the Byzantine protection, being recognized as the presiding prince and curopalates of Iberia. To revive the country devastated by the Arabs and cholera epidemics, he patronized the local monastic communities established by Grigol Khandzteli, and encouraged the settlement of the Georgians in the region. As a result, the political and religious center of Iberia was effectively transferred from central Iberia to the south-west, in Tao-Klarjeti.
  
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  Askia Mohammad I
  Askia the Great (ca. 1443 – 1538, also Muhammad Toure, Askia (ass-key-a)) was an emperor of the Songhai Empire in the late 15th century, the successor of Sunni Ali Ber. Askia Muhammad strengthened his country and made it the largest country in West Africa's history. At its peak under Muhammad, the Songhai Empire encompassed the Hausa states as far as Kano (in present-day Nigeria) and much of the territory that had belonged to the Mali Empire in the west. His policies resulted in a rapid expansion of trade with Europe and Asia, the creation of many schools, and made Islam an integral part of the empire.
  Due to his efforts, Mali experienced a cultural revival it had never witnessed before, and the whole land flourished as a center of all things valuable in learning and trade.
  After Sunni Ali Ber died, Sunni Baru, his son and intended successor, refused to declare himself a Muslim. His refusal gave one of Sunni Ali Ber's generals, Muhammad Ture, a reason to challenge his succession. General Ture defeated Sunni Baru and ascended to the throne in 1493.
  
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  Ayyubid dynasty
  The Ayyubid dynasty (Arabic: الأيوبيون‎) was a Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin, founded by Saladin and centered in Egypt. The dynasty ruled much of the Middle East during the 12th and 13th centuries CE. The Ayyubid family, under the brothers Ayyub and Shirkuh, originally served as soldiers for the Zengids until they supplanted them under Saladin, Ayyub's son. In 1174, Saladin proclaimed himself Sultan following the death of Nur al-Din. The Ayyubids spent the next decade launching conquests throughout the region and by 1183, the territories under their control included Egypt, Syria, northern Mesopotamia, Hejaz, Yemen, and the North African coast up to the borders of modern-day Tunisia. Most of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and beyond Jordan River fell to Saladin after his victory at the Battle of Hattin in 1187. However, the Crusaders regained control of Palestine's coastline in the 1190s.
  After the death of Saladin, his sons contested control over the sultanate, but Saladin's brother al-Adil eventually established himself as Sultan in 1200. In the 1230s, the Ayyubid rulers of Syria attempted to assert their independence from Egypt and remained divided until Egyptian Sultan as-Salih Ayyub restored Ayyubid unity by taking over most of Syria, excluding Aleppo, by 1247. By then, local Muslim dynasties had driven out the Ayyubids from Yemen, the Hejaz, and parts of Mesopotamia. After repelling a Crusader invasion of the Nile Delta, as-Salih Ayyub's Mamluk generals overthrew al-Mu'azzam Turanshah who succeeded Ayyub as Sultan after his death in 1250. This effectively ended Ayyubid power in Egypt and a number of attempts by the rulers of Syria, led by an-Nasir Yusuf of Aleppo, to recover it failed. In 1260, the Mongols sacked Aleppo and wrested control of what remained of the Ayyubid territories soon after. The Mamluks, who forced out the Mongols after the destruction of the Ayyubid dynasty, maintained the Ayyubid principality of Hama until deposing its last ruler in 1341.
  
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  Babai the Great
  Babai the Great (ca. 551 – 628) was an early church father of the Church of the East. He set several of the foundational pillars of the Church, revived the monastic movement, and formulated its Christology in a systematic way. He served as an unofficial head of the Nestorian Church from 611 to 628 AD, leaving a legacy of strong discipline and deep religious Orthodoxy. He is revered in the modern Assyrian Church of the East.
  Babai the Great, not to be confused with Mar Babai I, the first autonomous leader of the Church of the East, was born in Beth Ainata in Beth Zabdai. Born to a wealthy family, he received a primary education in the Persian (Pahlavi) books. He continued his studies at the Christian School of Nisibis under the directorship of Abraham of Beth Rabban. Sometime around 571 A.D., when the Origenist Henana of Adiabene became the new headmaster, Babai's teacher, Abraham the Great of Kashkar, founded a new monastery on Mt. Izla above Nisibis. Babai taught for a while at the Xenodocheio of Nisibis. After that he joined the newly-founded monastery of Abraham on Mt. Izla. When Abraham died in 588, Babai left and founded a new monastery and school in his home country Beth Zabdai. In 604 Babai became the third head of Abraham's monastery on Mt. Izla.
  
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  Bhumibol Adulyadej
  Bhumibol Adulyadej (Thai: ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; RTGS: Phumiphon Adunyadet; pronounced [pʰūː.mí.pʰōn ʔà.dūn.jā.dèːt] ( listen); see full title below; born 5 December 1927) is the current Monarch of Thailand. He is known as Rama IX. Having reigned since 9 June 1946, he is the world's longest-serving current head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history.
  Although Bhumibol is legally a constitutional monarch, he has made several decisive interventions in the Thai political sphere. He was credited with facilitating Thailand's transition to democracy in the 1990s, although he has supported numerous military regimes, including Sarit Dhanarajata's during the 1960s and the Council for National Security in 2006–8. During his long reign, he has authorized over 15 coups, 16 constitutions, and 27 changes of prime ministers. He has also used his influence to stop military coups, including attempts in 1981 and 1985. Bhumibol is advised by a hand-picked Privy Council.
  Bhumibol is respected and revered by many Thais. He is, by law passed by the Thai parliament, considered "inviolable" and lèse majesté, i.e. offence against the dignity of the monarch, may be punished. In 1957, the overthrow of the government was justified with allegations of lese majeste. Bhumibol however invited public criticism in a 2005 speech.
  
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  Bolesław I Chrobry
  Bolesław I Chrobry (aka Bolesław I the Brave or the Valiant) (Czech: Boleslav Chrabrý) (967 – 17 June 1025), in the past also known as Bolesław I the Great (Wielki), was a Duke of Poland in 992–1025 and the first King of Poland from 19 April 1025 until his death. He also ruled as Boleslav IV, Duke of Bohemia during 1002–1003.
  He was the firstborn son of Mieszko I by his Czech first wife, Dobrawa, daughter of Boleslav I the Cruel, Duke of Bohemia. He was named after his maternal grandfather.
  Bolesław I was a remarkable politician, strategist and statesman. He turned Poland into a country that was not only comparable to older western monarchies, but also elevated it into the European elite. Bolesław conducted successful military campaigns in the west, south and east. He consolidated the Polish lands and conquered territories outside of modern borders of Poland such as Slovakia, Moravia, Red Ruthenia, Meissen and Lusatia as well as Bohemia. He was a powerful mediator in Central European affairs.
  
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  Bruno the Great
  Bruno the Great (or Bruno I) (925–965) was Archbishop of Cologne, Germany, from 953 until his death, and Duke of Lotharingia from 954. He was the brother of Otto I, king of Germany and later Holy Roman Emperor.
  Bruno was the youngest son of Henry the Fowler and his second wife Matilda of Ringelheim. While he was still a child, it was decided that he should pursue an ecclesiastical career, and he was educated appropriately. In 951, Otto appointed Bruno as his archchaplain.
  Bruno soon received further advancement. In 953, the Archbishopric of Cologne fell vacant just when Conrad the Red, Duke of Lotharingia and Otto's son-in-law, had joined a rebellion against Otto. By appointing Bruno to the vacant position, Otto provided himself with a powerful ally against Conrad in Lotharingia (much of which fell under the archdiocese of Cologne) just when he needed one most. By the next year, the rebellion had collapsed. Otto deposed Conrad as Duke of Lotharingia and appointed Bruno in his place.
  Bruno was to be almost the last duke of the whole of Lotharingia: in 959 two local nobles, Godfrey and Frederick, were appointed as margraves of Lower Lotharingia and Upper Lotharingia respectively. Both margraves were recognised as dukes after Bruno's death. The two duchies would only be reunited between 1033 and 1044 under Gothelo I, Duke of Lotharingia.
  
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  Catherine the Great
  Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great (Russian: Екатерина II Великая, Yekaterina II Velikaya; German: Katharina die Große), Empress of Russia (2 May [O.S. 21 April] 1729 – 17 November [O.S. 6 November] 1796), was the most renowned and the longest-ruling female leader of Russia, reigning from 9 July [O.S. 28 June] 1762 until her death at the age of 67. She was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg, and came to power following a coup d'état and the assassination of her husband, Peter III, at the end of the Seven Years' War. Russia was revitalised under her reign, growing larger and stronger than ever and becoming recognised as one of the great powers of Europe.
  In both her accession to power and in rule of her empire, Catherine often relied on her noble favourites, most notably Grigory Orlov and Grigory Potemkin. Assisted by highly successful generals such as Pyotr Rumyantsev and Alexander Suvorov, and admirals such as Fyodor Ushakov, she governed at a time when the Russian Empire was expanding rapidly by conquest and diplomacy. In the south, the Crimean Khanate was crushed following victories over the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish wars, and Russia colonised the vast territories of Novorossiya along the coasts of the Black and Azov Seas. In the west, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, ruled by Catherine's former lover, king Stanisław August Poniatowski, was eventually partitioned, with the Russian Empire gaining the largest share. In the east, Russia started to colonise Alaska, establishing Russian America.
  
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  Chandragupta II
  Chandragupta II The Great, very often referred to as Vikramaditya or Chandragupta Vikramaditya in Sanskrit; was one of the most powerful emperors of the Gupta empire in northern India. His rule spanned c. 380–413/415 CE, during which the Gupta Empire achieved its zenith, art, architecture, and sculpture flourished, and the cultural development of ancient India reached its climax. The period of prominence of the Gupta dynasty is very often referred to as the Golden Age of India. Chandragupta II was the son of the previous ruler, Samudragupta the Great. He attained success by pursuing both a favorable marital alliance and an aggressive expansionist policy in this which his father and grandfather (Chandragupta I) set the precedent. Samudragupta set the stage for the emergence of classical art, which occurred under the rule of Chandragupta II. Chandragupta II gave great support to the arts. Artists were so highly valued under his rule that they were paid for their work — a rare phenomenon in ancient civilizations.
  
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  Charlemagne
  Charlemagne ( /ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn/ or /ˈʃɑrləmeɪn/; French pronunciation: [ʃaʁ.lə.maɲ]; c. 742 – 28 January 814), also known as Charles the Great (Latin: Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus), was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans (Imperator Romanorum) from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800 in Rome.
  His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, a revival of art, religion, and culture through the medium of the Catholic Church. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define both Western Europe and the European Middle Ages. He is numbered as Charles I in the regnal lists of Germany, the Holy Roman Empire, and France.
  The son of King Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, a Frankish queen, he succeeded his father in 768 and was initially co-ruler with his brother Carloman I. It has often been suggested that the relationship between Charlemagne and Carloman was not good, but it has also been argued that tensions were exaggerated by Carolingian chroniclers.
  
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  Chlothar II
  Chlothar II (or Chlotar, Clothar, Clotaire, Chlotochar, or Hlothar, giving rise to Lothair; 584–629), called the Great (le Grand) or the Young (le Jeune), King of Neustria, and, from 613 to 629, King of all the Franks, was not yet born when his father, King Chilperic I died in 584. His mother, Fredegund, was regent until her death in 597, at which time the thirteen-year-old Chlothar began to rule for himself. As king, he continued his mother's feud with Brunhilda, queen of Austrasia, with equal viciousness and bloodshed.
  In 599, he made war with his nephews, Theuderic II of Burgundy and Theudebert II of Austrasia, who defeated him at Dormelles (near Montereau). At this point, however, the two brothers took up arms against each other. In 605, he invaded Theuderic's kingdom, but did not subdue it. He remained often at war with Theuderic until the latter died in Metz in late 613 while preparing a campaign against him. At that time, Warnachar, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, and Rado, mayor of the palace of Burgundy, abandoned the cause of Brunhilda and her great-grandson, Sigebert II, and the entire realm was delivered into Chlothar's hands. Brunhilda and Sigebert met Chlothar's army on the Aisne, but the Patrician Aletheus, Duke Rocco, and Duke Sigvald deserted the host and the grand old woman and her king had to flee. They got as far as the Orbe, but Chlothar's minions caught up with them by the lake Neuchâtel. Both of them and Sigebert's younger brother Corbo were executed by Chlothar's orders.
  
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  Chulalongkorn
  Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Chulalongkorn Phra Chunla Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua (Thai: พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรมินทรมหาจุฬาลงกรณ์ฯ พระจุลจอมเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หัว), or Rama V (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri. He was known to the Siamese of his time as Phra Phuttha Chao Luang (พระพุทธเจ้าหลวง – The Royal Buddha). He is considered one of the greatest kings of Siam. His reign was characterized by the modernization of Siam, immense government and social reforms, and territorial cessions to the British Empire and French Indochina. As Siam was threatened by Western expansionism, Chulalongkorn, through his policies and acts, managed to save Siam from being colonized. All his reforms were dedicated to Siam’s insurance of survival in the midst of Western colonialism, so that Chulalongkorn earned the epithet Phra Piya Maharat (พระปิยมหาราช – The Great Beloved King).
  King Chulalongkorn was born on 20 September 1853 to King Mongkut and Queen Debsirindra and given the name Chulalongkorn. In 1861, he was designated Krommameun Pikanesuarn Surasangkat. His father gave him a broad education, including instruction from European tutors such as Anna Leonowens. In 1866, he became a novice monk for six months in Wat Bawonniwet according to royal tradition. Upon his return to his secular life in 1867, he was designated Krommakhun Pinit Prachanat (กรมขุนพินิตประชานาถ.)
  
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  Cnut the Great
  Cnut the Great (Old Norse: Knútr inn ríki;c. 985 or 995 – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F. Cantor has made the paradoxical statement that he was "the most effective king in Anglo-Saxon history".
  Cnut was of Danish and Slavic descent. His father was Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark (which gave Cnut the patronym Sweynsson, Old Norse Sveinsson). Cnut's mother was the daughter of the first duke of the Polans, Mieszko I; her name may have been Świętosława (see: Sigrid Storråda), but the Oxford DNB article on Cnut states that her name is unknown.
  As a prince of Denmark, Cnut won the throne of England in 1016 in the wake of centuries of Viking activity in northwestern Europe. His accession to the Danish throne in 1018 brought the crowns of England and Denmark together. Cnut held this power-base together by uniting Danes and Englishmen under cultural bonds of wealth and custom, rather than sheer brutality. After a decade of conflict with opponents in Scandinavia, Cnut claimed the crown of Norway in Trondheim in 1028. The Swedish city Sigtuna was held by Cnut. He had coins struck which called him king there, but there is no narrative record of his occupation.
  
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  Constantine I
  Constantine the Great (Latin: Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus; c. 27 February 272 – 22 May 337), also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all religions throughout the empire.
  The foremost general of his time, Constantine defeated the emperors Maxentius and Licinius during civil wars. He also fought successfully against the Franks, Alamanni, Visigoths, and Sarmatians during his reign—even resettling parts of Dacia which had been abandoned during the previous century. Constantine built a new imperial residence in place of Byzantium, naming it New Rome. However, in Constantine's honour, people called it Constantinople, which would later be the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire for over one thousand years. Because of this, he is thought of as the founder of the Eastern Roman Empire.
  
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  Cyrus the Great
  Cyrus II of Persia (Old Persian: Kuruš (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much of Central Asia, parts of Europe and the Caucasus. From the Mediterranean sea and Hellespont in the west to the Indus River in the east, Cyrus the Great created the largest empire the world had yet seen. He also pronounced one of the first historically important declarations of human rights via the Cyrus Cylinder sometime between 539-530 BCE.
  The reign of Cyrus the Great lasted between 29 and 31 years. Cyrus built his empire by conquering first the Median Empire, then the Lydian Empire and eventually the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Either before or after Babylon, he led an expedition into central Asia, which resulted in major campaigns that were described as having brought "into subjection every nation without exception". Cyrus did not venture into Egypt, as he himself died in battle, fighting the Massagetae along the Syr Darya in December 530 BC. He was succeeded by his son, Cambyses II, who managed to add to the empire by conquering Egypt, Nubia, and Cyrenaica during his short rule.
  
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  Darius I of Persia
  Darius I, the Great (Old Persian: Dārayava(h)uš) (550–486 BCE), formally known as Darius the Great, was the third king of the Achaemenid Empire. He held the empire at its peak, when it included much of West Asia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, parts of the Balkans (Bulgaria-Romania-Panonia), portions of north and northeast Africa including Egypt (Mudrâya), eastern Libya, coastal Sudan, Eritrea), as well as most of Pakistan, the Aegean Islands and northern Greece/Thrace-Macedonia.
  Darius ascended the throne by overthrowing the alleged magus usurper of Bardiya with the assistance of six other Persian noble families; Darius was crowned the following morning. The new king met with rebellions throughout his kingdom and quelled them each time. A major event in Darius's life was his expedition to punish Athens and Eretria for their aid in the Ionian Revolt and subjugate Greece. Darius expanded his empire by conquering Thrace and Macedon and invading Scythia, home of the Scythians, nomadic tribes who invaded Media and had previously killed Cyrus the Great.
  
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  Darius the Great
  Darius I, the Great (Old Persian: Dārayava(h)uš) (550–486 BCE), formally known as Darius the Great, was the third king of the Achaemenid Empire. He held the empire at its peak, when it included much of West Asia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, parts of the Balkans (Bulgaria-Romania-Panonia), portions of north and northeast Africa including Egypt (Mudrâya), eastern Libya, coastal Sudan, Eritrea), as well as most of Pakistan, the Aegean Islands and northern Greece/Thrace-Macedonia.
  Darius ascended the throne by overthrowing the alleged magus usurper of Bardiya with the assistance of six other Persian noble families; Darius was crowned the following morning. The new king met with rebellions throughout his kingdom and quelled them each time. A major event in Darius's life was his expedition to punish Athens and Eretria for their aid in the Ionian Revolt and subjugate Greece. Darius expanded his empire by conquering Thrace and Macedon and invading Scythia, home of the Scythians, nomadic tribes who invaded Media and had previously killed Cyrus the Great.
  
  wn.com/Darius_the_Great
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  Emmy the Great
  Emma-Lee Moss (born c. 1984), known by her stage name Emmy the Great, is a London-based singer-songwriter. She has released two albums, First Love and Virtue.
  Moss was born in Hong Kong to an English father and a Chinese mother. Interested in music from a young age, she used to go by train to her nearest Tower Records shop so that she could buy the only non-Chinese music they had and, as a result, she developed a liking for bands such as Weezer, The Smashing Pumpkins, and The Lemonheads.
  While in Hong Kong, she attended primary school in Kowloon.
  She emigrated with her family to London at the age of 12. She attended the Michael Hall Rudolf Steiner School in West Sussex.^{[citation needed]}
  Moss is dating Tim Wheeler of the band Ash, as revealed on 6 Music's coverage of Glastonbury Festival 2011, where they did an interview, followed by a cover of a Pixies track together.
  She has performed with indie folk groups Lightspeed Champion and Noah and the Whale, but is primarily known for her solo work. She first emerged under the name Emmy the Great in 2004, when she released a series of free demos over the internet. She says the moniker came about when "[she] wanted to be a backing singer and [...] wanted to have something to hand to people... ‘Emmy’ is a name they called me at university, which I hated, and ‘the Great’ I added on because I hated ‘Emmy’ so much." She formed a backing band which currently includes Euan Hinshelwood of Younghusband, Glenn Kerrigan of So Say So, Tom Rogerson of Three Trapped Tigers and Ric Hollingbery of Pengilly's, and has previously included members of Noah and the Whale and Johnny Flynn.
  
  wn.com/Emmy_the_Great
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  Euthymius the Great
  Saint Euthymius (377-473), often styled the Great, was an abbot in Palestine venerated in both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.
  He was born in Melitene in Lesser Armenia. Christian tradition states that his parents had prayed for a son at the church of Saint Polyeuctus in Melitene.
  He was educated by Bishop Otreius of Melitene, who afterwards ordained him priest and placed him in charge of all the monasteries in the Diocese of Melitene. At about thirty years of age he secretly set out on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and remained for some time in a cave near a settlement of monks at a laura called Pharan, about six miles east of Jerusalem.
  In 411, he withdrew, with St. Theoctistus, a fellow-hermit, into the wilderness, living in a rough cavern on the banks of a torrent. When many disciples gathered around them they turned the cavern into a church and built a monastery which was placed in the charge of St. Theoctistus.^{[citation needed]} Euthymius, despite retaining his solitary lifestyle, gave direction for the others.
  
  wn.com/Euthymius_the_Great
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  Franks
  The Franks (Latin: Franci or gens Francorum) were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as populating a broad strip of land on the right bank of the Lower and Middle Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a kingdom on Roman-held soil that was acknowledged by the Romans after 357. In the climate of the collapse of imperial authority in the West, the Frankish tribes were united under the Merovingians and conquered all of Gaul except Septimania in the 6th century. The Salian political elite was one of the most active forces in spreading Christianity over western Europe. The Franks had created one of the most strong and stable barbaric kingdoms.
  The Merovingian dynasty, descended from the Salians, founded one of the Germanic monarchies which replaced the Western Roman Empire from the fifth century. The Frankish state consolidated its hold over large parts of western Europe by the end of the eighth century, developing into the Carolingian Empire which dominated most of Western Europe. This empire would gradually evolve into France and the Holy Roman Empire.
  
  wn.com/Franks
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  Frederick the Great
  Frederick II (German: Friedrich II.; 24 January 1712 – 17 August 1786) was a King in Prussia (1740–1772) and a King of Prussia (1772–1786) from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel. He became known as Frederick the Great (Friedrich der Große) and was named Der Alte Fritz ("Old Fritz").
  Interested primarily in music and philosophy and not the arts of war during his youth, Frederick unsuccessfully attempted to flee from his authoritarian father, Frederick William I, with childhood friend Hans Hermann von Katte, whose execution he was forced to watch after they were captured. Upon ascending to the Prussian throne, he attacked Austria and claimed Silesia during the Silesian Wars, winning military acclaim for himself and Prussia. Near the end of his life, Frederick physically connected most of his realm by conquering Polish territories in the First Partition of Poland.
  
  wn.com/Frederick_the_Great
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  Genghis Khan
  Genghis Khan (/ˈɡɛŋɡɪs ˈkɑːn/ or /ˈdʒɛŋɡɪs ˈkɑːn/,Mongol: [tʃiŋɡɪs xaːŋ] ( listen); 1162? – August 1227), born Temujin, was the founder and Great Khan (emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death.
  He came to power by uniting many of the nomadic tribes of northeast Asia. After founding the Mongol Empire and being proclaimed "Genghis Khan", he started the Mongol invasions that resulted in the conquest of most of Eurasia. These included raids or invasions of the Kara-Khitan Khanate, Caucasus, Khwarezmid Empire, Western Xia and Jin dynasties. These campaigns were often accompanied by wholesale massacres of the civilian populations – especially in Khwarezmia. By the end of his life, the Mongol Empire occupied a substantial portion of Central Asia and China.
  Before Genghis Khan died, he assigned Ögedei Khan as his successor and split his empire into khanates among his sons and grandsons. He died in 1227 after defeating the Western Xia. He was buried in an unmarked grave somewhere in Mongolia at an unknown location. His descendants went on to stretch the Mongol Empire across most of Eurasia by conquering or creating vassal states out of all of modern-day China, Korea, the Caucasus, Central Asian countries, and substantial portions of modern Eastern Europe, Russia and the Middle East. Many of these invasions resulted in the large-scale slaughter of local populations, which have given Genghis Khan and his empire a fearsome reputation in local histories.
  
  wn.com/Genghis_Khan
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  Henry IV of France
  Henry IV (13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), Henri-Quatre, was King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France.
  Baptised Catholic, he converted to Protestantism along with his mother Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre. He inherited the throne of Navarre, in 1572, on the death of his mother. As a Huguenot, Henry was involved in the Wars of Religion, he barely escaped the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre and later led protestant forces against the French Royal Army.
  As a prince de sang by his father, Antoine de Bourbon, he was also the natural heir to the throne of France. On the death of the childless Henry III, he ascended the throne of France in 1589, but had to abjure his Calvinist faith. However, his coronation was followed by a four-year war against the Catholic League to establish his legitimacy.
  One of the most popular French kings, both during and after his reign, Henry showed great care for the welfare of his subjects and, as a politique, displayed an unusual religious tolerance for the time. He notably enacted the Edict of Nantes, in 1598, which guaranteed religious liberties to the Protestants, thereby effectively ending the civil war. He was assassinated by François Ravaillac, a fanatical Catholic.
  
  wn.com/Henry_IV_of_France
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  Herod the Great
  Herod (Hebrew: הוֹרְדוֹס‎, Hordos, Greek: Ἡρῴδης, Hērōdēs), also known as Herod the Great (born 73 or 74 BCE, died 4 BCE in Jericho), was a Roman client king of Judea. His epithet of "the Great" is widely disputed as he is described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis." He is also known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and elsewhere, including his expansion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (sometimes referred to as Herod's Temple) and the construction of the port at Caesarea Maritima. Important details of his biography are gleaned from the works of the 1st century CE Roman-Jewish historian Josephus Flavius.
  The Romans made Herod's son Herod Archelaus ethnarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea (biblical Edom) from 4 BCE to 6 CE, referred to as the tetrarchy of Judea. Archelaus was judged incompetent by the Roman emperor Augustus who then combined Samaria, Judea proper and Idumea into Iudaea province under rule of a prefect until 41. Herod's other son Herod Antipas was tetrarch of Galilee from 4 BCE – 39 CE.
  
  wn.com/Herod_the_Great
• Hugh the Great
  Hugh the Great or Hugues le Grand (898 – 16 June 956) was duke of the Franks and count of Paris, son of King Robert I of France and nephew of King Odo. He was born in Paris, Île-de-France, France. His eldest son was Hugh Capet who became King of France in 987. His family is known as the Robertians.
  Hugh's first wife was Judith, daughter of Roger Comte du Maine & his wife Rothilde
  Hugh's second wife was Eadhild, daughter of Edward the Elder, king of England, and sister of King Athelstan. At the death of Rudolph, duke of Burgundy, in 936, Hugh was in possession of nearly all of the region between the Loire and the Seine, corresponding to the ancient Neustria, with the exception of the territory ceded to the Normans in 911. He took a very active part in bringing Louis IV (d'Outremer) from the Kingdom of England in 936, but in the same year Hugh married Hedwige of Saxony, a daughter of Henry the Fowler of Germany and Matilda of Ringelheim, and soon quarrelled with Louis.
  Hugh even paid homage to the Emperor Otto the Great, and supported him in his struggle against Louis. When Louis fell into the hands of the Normans in 945, he was handed over to Hugh, who released him in 946 only on condition that he should surrender the fortress of Laon. At the council of Ingelheim (948) Hugh was condemned, under pain of excommunication, to make reparation to Louis. It was not, however, until 950 that the powerful vassal became reconciled with his suzerain and restored Laon. But new difficulties arose, and peace was not finally concluded until 953.
  
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  Ivan III of Russia
  Ivan III (The Great) Vasilyevich (Russian: Иван III Васильевич) (22 January 1440, Moscow – 27 October 1505, Moscow), also known as Ivan the Great, was a Grand Prince of Moscow and "Grand Prince of all Rus" (Великий князь всея Руси). Sometimes referred to as the "gatherer of the Russian lands," he tripled the territory of his state, ended the dominance of the Golden Horde over the Rus, renovated the Moscow Kremlin, and laid the foundations of the Russian state. He was one of the longest-reigning Russian rulers in history.
  Ivan was born to Vasily II the Blind and Yelena of Borovsk. He was co-regent with his disabled father during the later years of the latter's life, and was only 22 years old when his father died. He tenaciously pursued the unifying policy of his predecessors; nevertheless, he was cautious to the point of timidity. He avoided as far as possible any violent collision with his neighbors until all the circumstances were exceptionally favorable, always preferring to attain his ends gradually and indirectly. The Grand Duchy of Moscow had, at the time of his reign, become a compact and powerful state, whilst her rivals had grown weaker, which was well-suited to the speculative nature of a statesman of Ivan III's peculiar character. Regarding the arts, he centered his efforts on attracting and hiring Italian artists and craftsmen. Because of this plan, new buildings were erected in the Kremlin, and the walls were strengthened and furnished with towers and gates. Ivan III reigned for forty three years, dying on 27 October 1505. He left his empire to his son Vasili.
  
  wn.com/Ivan_III_of_Russia
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  John I of Portugal
  John I KG (Portuguese: João I [ʒuˈɐ̃w̃]; 11 April 1358 – 14 August 1433) was King of Portugal and the Algarve in 1385–1433. He was called the Good (sometimes the Great) or of Happy Memory, more rarely and outside Portugal, in Spain, the Bastard, and was the first to use the title Lord of Ceuta.
  John was born in Lisbon as the natural son of Peter I by a woman named Teresa, who, according to Fernão Lopes, was a noble Galician. In the eighteenth century, António Caetano de Sousa found a document on Torre do Tombo, of the sixteenth century, where she was named Teresa Lourenço. In 1364, by request of D. Nuno Freire de Andrade, a Galician Grand Master of the Order of Christ, he was created Grand Master of the Order of Aviz, by which title he was known. He became king in 1385, after the 1383–1385 Crisis.
  On the death of his half-brother Ferdinand I without a male heir in October 1383, strenuous efforts were made to secure the succession for Princess Beatrice, Ferdinand's only daughter. As heiress presumptive, Beatrice had married king John I of Castile, but popular sentiment was against an arrangement in which Portugal would have become virtually annexed by Castile. The 1383–1385 Crisis followed, a period of political anarchy, when no monarch ruled the country.
  
  wn.com/John_I_of_Portugal
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  John II of Aragon
  John II the Faithless, also known as the Great (29 June 1398 – 20 January 1479) was the King of Aragon from 1458 until 1479, and jure uxoris King of Navarre from 1425 until his death. He was the son of Ferdinand I and his wife Eleanor of Alburquerque. John is regarded as one of the most memorable and most unscrupulous kings of the 15th century.
  John was born at Medina del Campo.
  In his youth he was one of the infantes (princes) of Aragon who took part in the dissensions of Castile during the minority and reign of John II. Till middle life he was also lieutenant-general in Aragon for his brother and predecessor Alfonso V, whose reign was mainly spent in Italy. In his old age he was engaged in incessant conflicts with his Aragonese and Catalan subjects, with Louis XI of France, and in preparing the way for the marriage of his son Ferdinand with Isabella I of Castile which brought about the union of the crowns of Aragon and Castile, that was to create the Kingdom of Spain. His trouble with his subjects were closely connected with the tragic dissension in his own family.
  
  wn.com/John_II_of_Aragon
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  Justinian I
  Justinian I ( /dʒʌˈstɪniən/) (Latin: Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus Augustus, Ancient Greek: Φλάβιος Πέτρος Σαββάτιος Ἰουστινιανός) (c. 482 – 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.
  One of the most important figures of Late Antiquity and the last Roman Emperor to speak Latin as a first language, Justinian's rule constitutes a distinct epoch in the history of the Eastern Roman Empire. The impact of his administration extended far beyond the boundaries of his time and domain. Justinian's reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized renovatio imperii, or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was expressed by the partial recovery of the territories of the defunct Western Roman Empire. His general Belisarius swiftly conquered the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa, extending Roman control to the Atlantic Ocean. Subsequently Belisarius, Narses, and other generals conquered the Ostrogothic Kingdom, restoring Dalmatia, Sicily, Italy, and Rome to the Empire after more than half a century of barbarian control.
  
  wn.com/Justinian_I
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  Kamehameha I
  Kamehameha I (Hawaiian pronunciation: [kəmehəˈmɛhə]; ca. 1758 – May 8, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, conquered the Hawaiian Islands and formally established the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi in 1810. By developing alliances with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawaiʻi's independence under his rule. Kamehameha is remembered for the Kanawai Mamalahoe, the "Law of the Splintered Paddle", which protects human rights of non-combatants in times of battle. Kamehameha's full Hawaiian name is Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kaui Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea.
  Although there is some debate as to the precise year of his birth, Hawaiian legends claimed that a great king would one day unite the islands, and that the sign of his birth would be a comet. Halley's comet was visible from Hawaiʻi in 1758 and it is likely Kamehameha was born shortly after its appearance. Traditional chants indicate he was born in the month of ikuwa (winter) or around November. According to Hawaiian historians Samuel Kamakau and later Abraham Fornander, Kamehameha was born in 1736, but this date has been widely contested by earlier Hawaiian historians such as James Jackson Jarves, eyewitness observations from contemporary sources and modern historical consensus.
  
  wn.com/Kamehameha_I
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  Kanishka
  Kanishka (Kanishka the Great), (Sanskrit: कनिष्क, Bactrian language: Κανηϸκι, Middle Chinese: 迦腻色伽 (Jianisejia)) was an emperor of the Kushan Empire, ruling an empire extending from Bactria to large parts of northern India in the 2nd century of the common era, and famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements. His main capital was at Purushpura (Peshawar in present day northwestern Pakistan) with regional capitals at the location of the modern city of Taxila in Pakistan, Begram in Afghanistan and Mathura in India.
  Kanishka was a Kushan of probable Yuezhi ethnicity. He used an Eastern Iranian, Indo-European language known as Bactrian (called "αρια," i. e. "Aryan" in the Rabatak inscription), which appears in Greek script in his inscriptions, though it is not certain what language the Kushans originally spoke; possibly some form of Tocharian - a "centum" Indo-European language. The "Aryan" language of the inscription was a "satem" Middle Iranian language, possibly the one spoken in "Arya" or "Ariana" (the region around modern Herat) and was, therefore, quite possibly unrelated to the original language of the Kushans (or the Yuezhi), but adopted by them to facilitate communication with local people.
  
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  Kurds
  The Kurdish people, or Kurds (Kurdish: کورد Kurd), are an Iranic people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. They speak the Kurdish language, which is a member of the Iranian branch of Indo-European languages. The Kurds number about 30 million, the majority living in the Middle East, with significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey, in Armenia, Georgia, Israel, Azerbaijan, Russia, Lebanon and, in recent decades, some European countries and the United States. The Kurds are an indigenous ethnic minority in countries where the Kurdistan region is located, although they have enjoyed partial autonomy in Iraqi Kurdistan since 1991. An irredentist movement pushes for the creation of a Kurdish nation state.
  The exact origins of the name, "Kurd", are unclear. Reynolds believes that the term Kurd is most likely related to the ancient term Qardu. The common root of Kurd and Qardu is first mentioned in a Sumerian tablet from the third millennium B.C. as the "land of Kar-da." Qardu is etymologically related to the Assyrian term Urartu corresponding to Ararat. According to Asatrian, the most reasonable explanation of this ethnonym is its possible connections with the Cyrtii (Cyrtaei)
  
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  Llywelyn the Great
  Llywelyn the Great (Welsh: Llywelyn Fawr, Welsh: [ɬəˈwɛlɨn]), full name Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, (c. 1172 – 11 April 1240) was a Prince of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually de facto ruler over most of Wales. By a combination of war and diplomacy he dominated Wales for forty years.
  During Llywelyn's boyhood, Gwynedd was ruled by two of his uncles, who split the kingdom between them, following the death of Llywelyn's grandfather, Owain Gwynedd, in 1170. Llywelyn had a strong claim to be the legitimate ruler and began a campaign to win power at an early age. He was sole ruler of Gwynedd by 1200 and made a treaty with King John of England that year. Llywelyn's relations with John remained good for the next ten years. He married John's natural daughter Joan in 1205, and when John arrested Gwenwynwyn ab Owain of Powys in 1208, Llywelyn took the opportunity to annex southern Powys. In 1210, relations deteriorated, and John invaded Gwynedd in 1211. Llywelyn was forced to seek terms and to give up all lands east of the River Conwy, but was able to recover them the following year in alliance with the other Welsh princes. He allied himself with the barons who forced John to sign the Magna Carta in 1215. By 1216, he was the dominant power in Wales, holding a council at Aberdyfi that year to apportion lands to the other princes.
  
  wn.com/Llywelyn_the_Great
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  Louis I of Hungary
  Louis the Great (Hungarian: I. (Nagy) Lajos, Croatian: Ludovik I, Polish: Ludwik Węgierski, Ukrainian: Людвік I Великий, Slovak: Ľudovít Veľký, Italian: Luigi I d'Ungheria, German: Ludwig der Große, Bulgarian: Лудвиг I, Serbian: Лајош I Анжујски, Czech: Ludvík I. Veliký, Lithuanian: Liudvikas I Vengras (5 March 1326, Visegrád – 10 September 1382, Nagyszombat/Trnava) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370 until his death.(See Titles section)
  Louis was the head of the senior branch of the Angevin dynasty. He was one of the most active and accomplished monarchs of the Late Middle Ages, extending territorial control to the Adriatic and securing Dalmatia, with part of Bosnia and Bulgaria, within the Holy Crown of Hungary. During his reign Hungary reached the peak of its political influence.
  He spent much of his reign in wars with the Republic of Venice. He was in competition for the throne of Naples, with huge military success and the latter with little lasting political results. Louis is the first European monarch who came into collision with the Ottoman Turks.
  
  wn.com/Louis_I_of_Hungary
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  Louis XIV of France
  Louis XIV (5 September 1638 – 1 September 1715), known as Louis the Great or the Sun King (French: le Roi-Soleil), was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. He holds the distinction of being the longest-reigning king in European history, reigning for 72 years and 110 days.
  Louis began his personal rule of France in 1661 after the death of his chief minister, the Italian Cardinal Mazarin. An adherent of the theory of the divine right of kings, which advocates the divine origin and lack of temporal restraint of monarchical rule, Louis continued his predecessors' work of creating a centralized state governed from the capital. He sought to eliminate the remnants of feudalism persisting in parts of France and, by compelling the nobility to inhabit his lavish Palace of Versailles, succeeded in pacifying the aristocracy, many members of which had participated in the Fronde rebellion during Louis's minority. By these means he consolidated a system of absolute monarchical rule in France that endured until the French Revolution.
  
  wn.com/Louis_XIV_of_France
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  Macarius of Egypt
  Macarius of Egypt (ca. 300 – 391) was an Egyptian Christian monk and hermit. He is also known as Macarius the Elder, Macarius the Great and The Lamp of the Desert.
  Macarius was born in Upper Egypt. A late tradition places his birthplace in the village of Shabsheer (Shanshour), in Al Minufiyah Governorate, Egypt around 300 A.D. At some point before his pursuit of asceticism, Macarius made his living smuggling niter in the vicinity of Nitria, a vocation which taught him how to survive in and travel across the wastes in that area.
  At a young age, Macarius was forced to get married against his will. Thus, he pretended to be sick and ask for his parents' permission to go to the wilderness to relax. At his return, he found that his wife had died, and shortly after, his parents departed as well. Macarius subsequently distributed all his money among the poor and needy. Seeing his virtues, the people of his village brought him to the bishop of Ashmoun who ordained him priest.
  A while later, a pregnant woman accused him of having defiled her. Macarius did not attempt to defend himself, and accepted the accusation in silence. However, when the woman's delivery drew near, her labor became exceedingly difficult. She did not manage to give birth until she confessed Macarius's innocence. A multitude of people then came asking for his forgiveness, but he fled to the Nitrian Desert to escape all mundane glory.
  
  wn.com/Macarius_of_Egypt
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  Medes
  The Medes (/midz/) (from Old Persian Māda-) were an ancient Iranian people who lived in Iran in an area known as Media and spoke a northwestern Iranian language referred to as the Median language. Their arrival to the region is associated with the first wave of Iranian tribes in the late second millennium BCE (the Bronze Age collapse) through the beginning of the first millennium BCE.
  In the 7th century BCE a unified Median state was formed which together with Babylonia, Lydia, and Egypt became one of the four major powers of the ancient Near East. An alliance with the Babylonians helped the Medes to capture Nineveh in 612 BCE which resulted in the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Medes were subsequently able to establish their Median kingdom (with Ecbatana as their royal centre) beyond their original homeland (central-western Iran) and had eventually a territory stretching roughly from northeastern Iran to the Halys River in Anatolia. The Median kingdom was conquered in 550 BCE by Cyrus the Great who established the next Iranian dynasty—the Achaemenid Empire.
  
  wn.com/Medes
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  Mongol
  Mongols (Mongolian:  Монголчууд (help·info)), Mongolchuud) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. Owing to wars and migrations, Mongols are also found in some Central Asian states such as Kazakhstan. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia (a smaller number of Mongols can also be found in Xinjiang in northwest China). The Buryat branch of the Mongol ethnic group can be found in the autonomous republic of Buryatia, Russia. Ethnic Mongols are bound together by a common language and culture. They speak languages belonging to the Mongolic languages. The contiguous territories inhabited by ethnic Mongols is also known as Greater Mongolia^{[disambiguation needed ]}. There are approximately 10 million ethnic Mongols in total.
  A definition includes the Mongols proper, who can be approximately divided into the eastern Mongols (the Khalkha Mongols, the Inner Mongolians, the Buryats), and the Oirats. In a wider sense, the Mongol people includes all people who speak a Mongolic language, such as the Kalmyks of eastern Europe.
  
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  Mstislav I of Kiev
  Mstislav I Vladimirovich the Great (Russian: Мстислав Владимирович Великий) (June 1, 1076, Turov – April 14, 1132, Kiev) was the Grand Prince of Kiev (1125–1132), the eldest son of Vladimir II Monomakh by Gytha of Wessex. He figures prominently in the Norse Sagas under the name Harald, taken to allude to his grandfather, Harold II of England.
  As his father's future successor, Mstislav reigned in Novgorod the Great from 1088–93 and (after a brief stint at Rostov) from 1095–1117. Thereafter he was Monomakh's co-ruler in Belgorod Kievsky, and inherited the Kievan throne after his death. He built numerous churches in Novgorod, of which St. Nicholas Cathedral (1113) and the cathedral of St Anthony Cloister (1117) survive to the present day. Later, he would also erect important churches in Kiev, notably his family sepulchre at Berestovo and the church of Our Lady at Podil.
  Mstislav's life was spent in constant warfare with Cumans (1093, 1107, 1111, 1129), Estonians (1111, 1113, 1116, 1130), Lithuanians (1131), and the princedom of Polotsk (1127, 1129). In 1096, he defeated his uncle Oleg of Chernigov on the Koloksha River, thereby laying foundation for the centuries of enmity between his and Oleg's descendants. Mstislav was the last ruler of united Rus, and upon his death, as the chronicler put it, "the land of Rus was torn apart".
  
  wn.com/Mstislav_I_of_Kiev
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  Narai
  Somdet Phra Narai (Thai: สมเด็จพระนารายณ์มหาราช; 1633 – 11 July 1688) or Somdet Phra Ramathibodi III (Thai: สมเด็จพระรามาธิบดีที่ 3) was the king of Ayutthaya from 1656 to 1688 and arguably the most famous Ayutthayan king. His reign was the most prosperous during the Ayutthaya period and saw the great commercial and diplomatic activities with foreign nations including the Persians and the West. During the later years of his reign, Narai gave his favorite – the Greek adventurer Constantine Phaulkon – so much power that Phaulkon technically became the chancellor of the state. Through the arrangements of Phaulkon, the Siamese kingdom came into close diplomatic relations with the court of Louis XIV and French soldiers and missionaries filled the Siamese aristocracy and defense. The dominance of French officials led to frictions between them and the native mandarins and led to the turbulent revolution of 1688 towards the end of his reign. Narai’s reign was also known for the Siam–England war (1687) and the invasion of Burmese Lanna in 1662.
  
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  Naresuan
  Somdet Phra Naresuan Maharat (Thai: สมเด็จพระนเรศวรมหาราช) or Somdet Phra Sanphet II (Thai: สมเด็จพระสรรเพชญ์ที่ 2) (1555, 25 April – 1605) was the King of the Ayutthaya kingdom from 1590 until his death in 1605. Naresuan was one of Siam's most revered monarchs as he was known for his campaigns to free Siam from Burmese rule. During his reign numerous wars were fought against Burma, and Siam reached its greatest territorial extent and influence.
  Prince Naret was born in the city of Phitsanulok on the 25 April 1555. He was the son of King Maha Thammarachathirat of Phitsanulok and his queen Wisutkasat. His mother was a daughter of Maha Chakkrapat and Queen Sri Suriyothai. His father was a Sukhothai noble, who had defeated Vorawongsathirat in 1548 and put Maha Chakkrapat on the throne. He was therefore an influential figure.
  Prince Naret was also known as the Black Prince (Thai: พระองค์ดำ) to distinguish him from his siblings. His younger brother Ekathotsarot was known as the White Prince, and his elder sister Suphankanlaya was known as the Golden Princess.
  
  wn.com/Naresuan
• Odo the Great
  Odo the Great (also called Eudes or Eudo) (died c. 735), Duke of Aquitaine, obtained this dignity by 700. His territory included the Duchy of Vasconia in the south-west of Gaul and the Duchy of Aquitaine (at that point located north-east of the river Garonne), a realm extending from the Loire to the Pyrenees, with capital in Toulouse. He retained it until his abdication in 735.
  His earlier life is obscure, as are his ancestry and ethnicity. Several Dukes of Aquitaine have been named as Odo's father: Boggis or Bertrand, to whom errant historians ascribed descent from the Merovingian Charibert II (based on the forged Charte d'Alaon), as also Duke Lupus I, who was not Merovingian at all. Odo is called according to the spurious Charte d'Alaon the brother of Hubertus.
  Odo succeeded to the ducal throne maybe as early as 679, probably the date of the death of Lupus, or 688. Other dates are possible, including 692, but he was certainly in power by 700.
  The historian Jean de Jaurgain cites him as fighting in 711 against the Visigoth Roderic in Pamplona. In 715 he declared himself independent during the civil war raging in Gaul. It is not likely that he ever took the title of king.
  
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  Ostrogoths
  The Ostrogoths (Latin: Ostrogothi or Austrogothi) were a branch of the Goths (the other branch being the Visigoths), a Germanic tribe who developed a vast empire north of the Black Sea in the 3rd century AD and, in the late 5th century, under Theodoric the Great, established a Kingdom in Italy.
  Invading southward from the Baltic Sea, the Ostrogoths, at the time known as the Greuthungi, built up a huge empire stretching from the Dniester to the Volga river and from the Black Sea to the Baltic shores. The Ostrogoths were probably literate in the 3rd century, and their trade with the Romans was highly developed. Their Danubian kingdom reached its zenith under King Ermanaric, who is said to have committed suicide at an old age when the Huns attacked his people and subjugated them about 370.
  After their subjugation by the Huns, little is heard of the Ostrogoths for about 80 years, after which they reappear in Pannonia on the middle Danube River as federates of the Romans. However, a pocket remained behind in the Crimea when the bulk of them moved to central Europe, and these Crimean Ostrogoths existed until at least the 16th century. After the collapse of the Hun empire after the Battle of Nedao (453), the Ostrogoths under Theodoric the Great first moved to Moesia (c. 475–488) and later conquered the Italian Kingdom of the German warrior Odoacer. Theodoric became King of the Ostrogothic Kingdom in 493 and died in 526. A period of instability then ensued, tempting the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian to declare war on the Ostrogoths in 535 in an effort to restore the former western provinces of the Roman Empire. Initially, the Byzantines were successful, but under the leadership of Totila, the Goths reconquered most of the lost territory until Totila's death at the Battle of Taginae. The war lasted for almost 20 years and caused enormous damage and depopulation of Italy. The remaining Ostrogoths were absorbed into the Lombards who established a Kingdom in Italy in 567 AD.
  
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  Peter III of Aragon
  Peter the Great (Catalan: Pere el Gran, Aragonese: Pero lo Gran; 1239, Valencia – 2 November 1285) was the King of Aragon (as Peter III) of Valencia (as Peter I), and Count of Barcelona (as Peter II) from 1276 to his death. He conquered Sicily and became its king in 1282. He was one of the greatest of medieval Aragonese monarchs.
  Peter was the eldest son of James I of Aragon and his second wife Yolanda of Hungary. On 13 June 1262, he married Constance, daughter and heiress of Manfred of Sicily. During his youth and early adulthood, Peter gained a great deal of military experience in his father's wars of the Reconquista against the Moors.
  On James' death, the lands of the Crown of Aragon were divided, with Aragon and Valencia, along with the Catalan counties, going to the eldest son, Peter, while the Balearic Islands (constituted as the Kingdom of Majorca), alongside the territories in the Languedoc (Montpellier and Roussillon), went to the second son, James. Peter and Constance were crowned in Zaragoza (the capital of Aragon) in November by the archbishop of Tarragona. At this ceremony, Peter renounced all feudal obligations to the papacy which his grandfather Peter II had incurred.
  
  wn.com/Peter_III_of_Aragon
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  Peter the Great
  Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov (Russian: Пётр Алексе́евич Рома́нов, Пётр I, Pyotr I, or Пётр Вели́кий, Pyotr Velikiy) (9 June [O.S. 30 May] 1672 – 8 February [O.S. 28 January] 1725) ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from 7 May [O.S. 27 April] 1682 until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother. In numerous successful wars he expanded the Tsardom into a huge empire that became a major European power. According to historian James Cracraft, he led a cultural revolution that replaced the traditionalist and medieval social and political system with a modern, scientific, Europe-oriented, and rationalist system.
  
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  Plautus
  Titus Maccius Plautus (c. 254–184 BC), commonly known as "Plautus", was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest surviving intact works in Latin literature. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by the innovator of Latin literature, Livius Andronicus. The word Plautine ( /ˈplɔːtaɪn/) refers to both Plautus's own works and works similar to or influenced by his.
  Not much is known about Titus Maccius Plautus' early life. It is believed that he was born in Sarsina, a small town in Umbria in central Italy, in around 254 BC. According to Morris Marples, Plautus worked as a stage-carpenter or scene-shifter in his early years. It is from this work, perhaps, that his love of the theater originated. His acting talent was eventually discovered; and he adopted the names "Maccius" (a clownish stock-character in popular farces) and "Plautus" (a term meaning either "flat-footed" or "flat-eared," like the ears of a hound). Tradition holds that he made enough money to go into the nautical business, but that the venture collapsed. He is then said to have worked as a manual laborer and to have studied Greek drama—particularly the New Comedy of Menander—in his leisure. His studies allowed him to produce his plays, which were released between c. 205 and 184 BC. Plautus attained such a popularity that his name alone became a hallmark of theatrical success.
  
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  Pompey
  Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey ( /ˈpɒmpiː/) or Pompey the Great (Classical Latin abbreviation: CN·POMPEIVS·CN·F·SEX·N·MAGNVS; September 29, 106 BC – September 29, 48 BC), was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic. He came from a wealthy Italian provincial background, and established himself in the ranks of Roman nobility by successful leadership in several military campaigns. Sulla addressed him by the cognomen Magnus (the Great), and he was awarded three triumphs.
  Pompey joined his rival Marcus Licinius Crassus and his ally Julius Caesar in the unofficial military-political alliance known as the First Triumvirate. The first triumvirate was validated by the marriage between Julia Caesar (daughter of Julius Caesar) and Pompey. After the deaths of Julia and Crassus, Pompey sided with the optimates, the conservative and aristocratic faction of the Roman Senate.
  Pompey and Caesar contended for the leadership of the Roman state, leading to a civil war. When Pompey was defeated at the Battle of Pharsalus, he sought refuge in Egypt, where he was assassinated. His career and defeat are significant in Rome's subsequent transformation from Republic to Principate and Empire.
  
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  Pompey the Great
  Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey ( /ˈpɒmpiː/) or Pompey the Great (Classical Latin abbreviation: CN·POMPEIVS·CN·F·SEX·N·MAGNVS; September 29, 106 BC – September 29, 48 BC), was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic. He came from a wealthy Italian provincial background, and established himself in the ranks of Roman nobility by successful leadership in several military campaigns. Sulla addressed him by the cognomen Magnus (the Great), and he was awarded three triumphs.
  Pompey joined his rival Marcus Licinius Crassus and his ally Julius Caesar in the unofficial military-political alliance known as the First Triumvirate. The first triumvirate was validated by the marriage between Julia Caesar (daughter of Julius Caesar) and Pompey. After the deaths of Julia and Crassus, Pompey sided with the optimates, the conservative and aristocratic faction of the Roman Senate.
  Pompey and Caesar contended for the leadership of the Roman state, leading to a civil war. When Pompey was defeated at the Battle of Pharsalus, he sought refuge in Egypt, where he was assassinated. His career and defeat are significant in Rome's subsequent transformation from Republic to Principate and Empire.
  
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  Pope Gregory I
  Pope Gregory I (Latin: Gregorius I) (c. 540 – 12 March 604), better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 590 until his death. Gregory is well known for his writings, which were more prolific than those of any of his predecessors as pope.
  Throughout the Middle Ages he was known as “the Father of Christian Worship” because of his exceptional efforts in revising the Roman worship of his day.
  He is also known as St. Gregory the Dialogist in Eastern Orthodoxy because of his Dialogues. For this reason, English translations of Orthodox texts will sometimes list him as "Gregory Dialogus". He was the first of the popes to come from a monastic background. Gregory is a Doctor of the Church and one of the Latin Fathers. He is considered a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, and some Lutheran churches. Immediately after his death, Gregory was canonized by popular acclaim. The Protestant reformer, John Calvin, admired Gregory and declared in his Institutes that Gregory was the last good pope. He is the patron saint of musicians, singers, students, and teachers.
  
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  Pope John Paul II
  Blessed Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. II, Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan Paweł II), born Karol Józef Wojtyła (Polish: [ˈkarɔl ˈjuzɛf vɔjˈtɨwa]; 18 May 1920, Wadowice, Republic of Poland – 2 April 2005, Apostolic Palace, Vatican City), reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 1978 until his death in 2005. He was the second-longest serving Pope in history and the first non-Italian since 1523.
  John Paul II was acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century. He was instrumental in ending communism in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. John Paul II significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. Though criticised by progressives for upholding the Church's teachings against artificial contraception and the ordination of women, and by traditionalists for his support of the Church's Second Vatican Council and its reform, he was also widely praised for his firm, orthodox Catholic stances.
  
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  Pope Leo I
  Pope Leo I, also known as Leo the Great (c. 391 or 400 – 10 November 461) was the Bishop of Rome—the Pope—of the Catholic Church from 29 September 440 to his death on 10 November 461.
  He was an Italian aristocrat, and was the first pope of the Catholic Church to have been called "the Great". He is perhaps best known for having met Attila the Hun in 452 and persuading him to turn back from his invasion of Italy. He is also a Doctor of the Church, most remembered theologically for issuing the Tome of Leo, a document which was foundational to the debates of the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon. The Council of Chalcedon, the fourth ecumenical council, dealt primarily with Christology, and elucidated the orthodox definition of Christ's being as the hypostatic union of two natures—divine and human—united in one person, "with neither confusion nor division". The Council of Chalcedon gave rise to the first major schism in Christian history, the Monophysite schism.
  According to the Liber Pontificalis, he was a native of Tuscany. By 431, as a deacon, he occupied a sufficiently important position for Cyril of Alexandria to apply to him in order that Rome's influence should be thrown against the claims of Juvenal of Jerusalem to patriarchal jurisdiction over Palestine—unless this letter is addressed rather to Pope Celestine I. About the same time John Cassian dedicated to him the treatise against Nestorius written at his request. But nothing shows more plainly the confidence felt in him than his being chosen by the emperor to settle the dispute between Aëtius and Caecina Decius Aginatius Albinus, the two highest officials in Gaul.
  
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  Pope Nicholas I
  Pope Nicholas I (c. 800 – 13 November 867), or Saint Nicholas the Great, reigned from 24 April 858 until his death. He is remembered as a consolidator of papal authority and power, exerting decisive influence upon the historical development of the papacy and its position among the Christian nations of Western Europe. Nicholas asserted that the pope should have suzerain authority over all Christians, even royalty, in matters of faith and morals.
  He is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, with a feast day on 13 November.
  He refused to grant an annulment to King Lothair II of Lotharingia from Teutberga so that Lothar could marry his mistress Waldrada. When a Council pronounced in favor of annulment, Nicholas I declared the Council to be deposed, its messengers excommunicated, and its decisions void. Despite pressure from the Carolingians, who laid siege to Rome, his decision held. During his reign, relations with the Byzantine Empire soured over his support for Ignatius, Patriarch of Constantinople, who had been removed from his post in favor of Photius.
  
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  Prokop the Great
  Prokop or Prokop the Great (Czech: Prokop Veliký) (b. about 1380 at Hýlov near Tábor – d. 30 May 1434 at Lipany) was one of the most prominent Hussite generals of the Hussite Wars. His name has also been given as Prokop Holý ("the Shaven," in allusion to his having received the tonsure in early life), Procopius the Great, and Andrew Procopius.
  Initially Prokop was a member of the Utraquists (the moderate wing of the Hussites) and was a married priest who belonged to an eminent family from Prague. He studied in Prague, and then traveled for several years in foreign countries. On his return to Bohemia, though a priest and continuing to officiate as such, he became the most prominent leader of the advanced Hussite or Taborite forces during the latter part of the Hussite wars. He was not the immediate successor of Jan Žižka as leader of the Taborites, as has been frequently stated, but he commanded the forces of Tabor when they obtained their great victories over the Germans and Catholics at Ústí nad Labem in 1426 and Domažlice in 1431. The crushing defeat that he inflicted on the crusaders of the Holy Roman Empire at Domažlice led to peace negotiations (1432) at Cheb between the Hussites and representatives of the Council of Basel.
  
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  Radama I
  Radama I "the Great" (1793–1828), the first king of greater Madagascar from 1810 to 1828, united two-thirds of the island under his rule. He had twelve Great Wives, one of them his adopted sister Ranavalona I who would emerge victorious in the struggle for succession after his premature death.
  In 1810, at the age of 17, Radama succeeded his father Andrianampoinimerina as king of Imerina, a growing kingdom in the central plateau of the island around Antananarivo. Several of the principalities conquered by his father revolted upon news of Andrianampoinimerina's death, immediately obliging the young ruler to embark on military campaigns to put down the rebellions and secure his position. He successfully expanded his realm to the Indian Ocean in 1817 after seizing the eastern port town of Antsiranana with an army of 30,000 soldiers.
  A shrewd diplomat, he successfully played off competing British and French interests while opening Madagascar to exchanges with foreign powers. The British were interested in securing the passage to India and preventing the French from taking Madagascar. Although the French had been weakened by losing Réunion and Mauritius to the British in 1810, the British at the time did not have enough available resources to possess Madagascar themselves. They settled on an alliance with Radama that supported his rule and ensured a privileged position for the British in regards to trade. British Governor Robert Townsend Farquhar, based in Mauritius, committed to training and supporting Radama's army. The Anglo-Merina treaty of friendship was sealed by a blood oath between Radama and the British envoy Captain Le Sage in 1817. As part of the treaty Radama agreed to put an end to the profitable slave trade; nevertheless slave-dealing continued clandestinely at a reduced level.
  
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  Raja Raja Chola I
  Raja Raja Chola I (Tamil: ராஜ ராஜ சோழன்) born Arunmozhi Thevar (also called as Raja Kesari Varman Raja Raja Devar and respectfully as Peruvudaiyar), popularly known as Raja Raja the Great, is one of the greatest emperors of the Tamil Chola Empire of India who ruled between 985 and 1014 CE. He established the Chola empire by conquering the kingdoms of southern India expanding the Chola Empire as far as Sri Lanka in the south, and Kalinga (Orissa) in the northeast. He fought many battles with the Chalukyas in the north and the Pandyas in the south. By conquering Vengi, Rajaraja laid the foundations for the Later Chola dynasty. He invaded Sri Lanka and started a century-long Chola occupation of the island. He streamlined the administrative system with the division of the country into various districts and by standardising revenue collection through systematic land surveys. Being an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva, he built the magnificent Peruvudaiyar Temple (also known as the Brihadeeswarar Temple) in Thanjavur and through it enabled wealth distribution amongst his subjects. His successes enabled his son Rajendra Chola I to extend the empire even further.
  
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  Rajendra Chola I
  Rajendra Chola I (Rajendra Chola the Great) (Tamil: முதலாம் இராசேந்திர சோழன்) was the son of Rajaraja Chola I and was one of the greatest rulers of Tamil Chola dynasty of India. He succeeded his father in 1014 CE as the Chola emperor. During his reign, he extended the influences of the already vast Chola empire up to the banks of the river Ganges in the north and across the ocean. Rajendra’s territories extended coastal Burma, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Maldives, conquered the kings of Srivijaya (Sumatra, Java and Malay Peninsula in South East Asia) and Pegu islands with his fleet of ships. He defeated Mahipala, the Pala king of Bengal and Bihar, and to commemorate his victory he built a new capital called Gangaikonda Cholapuram. The Cholas became one of the most powerful dynasties in Asia during his regin. The Tamil Chola armies exacted tribute from Thailand and the Khmer kingdom of Cambodia. Like the predecessors of the Cholas, the Pallavas and the contemporaneous Pandiyans, the Cholas too under Raja Raja I the father of Rajendra and then Rajendra Chola I too undertook several expeditions to occupy territories outside Indian shores. Of these kings, it was Rajendra who made extensive overseas conquests of territories like the Andamans, Lakshadweepa, wide areas Indo China (Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia and Modern Vietnam) and indeed, Burma (**). In fact, Rajendra Chola I was the first Indian king to take his armies overseas and make conquests of these territories, even though there is epigraphical evidence of Pallava presence in these very areas, but it is not known that Burma and Indo-China were subordinate to them, as they were under Rajendra and his successors up to Kulothunga I.
  
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  Ram Khamhaeng
  Pho Khun Ram Khamhaeng (Thai: พ่อขุนรามคำแหงมหาราช; Pho Khun Ramkhamhaeng; b. around 1237–1247 – d. 1298) was the third king of the Phra Ruang dynasty, ruling the Sukhothai Kingdom (a forerunner of the modern kingdom of Thailand) from 1278–1298, during its most prosperous era. He is credited with the creation of the Thai alphabet and the firm establishment of Theravada Buddhism as the state religion of the kingdom. Recent scholarship has cast doubt on his role, however, noting that much of the information relating to his rule may have been fabricated in the 19th century in order to legitimize the Siamese state in the face of colonial threats.
  His parents were Prince Bang Klang Hao, who ruled as King Sri Indraditya, and Queen Sueang, although a legend describes his parents as an ogress named Kangli and a fisherman.^{[citation needed]} He had two older brothers and two sisters. The eldest brother died while young. The second, Ban Muang, became king following their father's death, and was succeeded by Ram Khamhaeng following his own death.
  
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  Rhodri the Great
  Rhodri the Great (in Welsh, Rhodri ap Mawr or Rhodri ap Merfyn; occasionally in English, Roderick the Great) (c. 820 – 878) was King of Gwynedd from 844 until his death. He was the first Welsh ruler to be called 'Great', and the first to rule most of present-day Wales. He is referred to as "King of the Britons" by the Annals of Ulster. In some later histories, he is referred to as "King of Wales" but he did not rule all of Wales nor was this term used contemporaneously to describe him.
  The son of Merfyn Frych, King of Gwynedd, and Nest ferch Cadell of the Royal line of Powys, he inherited the Kingdom of Gwynedd on his father's death in 844.
  When his maternal uncle Cyngen ap Cadell ruler of Powys died on a pilgrimage to Rome in 855 Rhodri inherited Powys. In 872 Gwgon, ruler of Seisyllwg in southern Wales, was accidentally drowned, and Rhodri added his Kingdom to his domains by virtue of his marriage to Angharad of Seisyllwg, Gwgon's sister and heiress. These peaceful inheritances made him the ruler of the larger part of Wales.
  
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  Roman emperor
  The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period (starting at about 27 BC). The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor. If a man was "proclaimed emperor" this normally meant he was proclaimed augustus, or (for generals) imperator (from which English emperor ultimately derives). Several other titles and offices were regularly accumulated by emperors, such as caesar, princeps senatus, consul and Pontifex Maximus. The power of emperors was generally based on the accumulation of powers from republican offices and the support of the army.
  Roman emperors refused to be considered "kings", instead claiming to be leaders of a republic, however nominal. The first emperor, Augustus, resolutely refused recognition as a monarch. Although Augustus could claim that his power was authentically Republican, his successor, Tiberius, could not convincingly make the same claim. Nonetheless, the Republican institutional framework (senate, consuls, magistracies etc.) was preserved until the very end of the Western Empire.
  
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  Roman the Great
  Roman Mstislavich (Russian and Ukrainian: Роман Мстиславич), also Roman Mstyslavych or Roman the Great, (after 1160 – Zawichost, October 14, 1205) was a Rus’ prince, Grand Prince of Kiev (a member of the Rurik dynasty).
  He was prince of Novgorod (1168–1170), of Vladimir-in-Volhynia (1170–1189, 1189–1205), and of Halych (1189, 1198/99–1205). By seizing the throne of Halych, he became the master of all western Rus’. In the early 13th century, the Byzantine imperial title, "autocrate" (αύτοκράτωρ) was applied by the chroniclers to him, but there is no evidence that he assumed it officially.
  He waged two successful campaigns against the Cumans, from which he returned with many rescued captives. The effect of Roman’s victory was, however, undermined by new dissensions among the princes of Rus’.
  Roman died in a battle with the Poles. He founded the Romanovich dynasty that would rule Vladimir-in-Volhynia and Halych until 1340.
  He was the eldest son of Mstislav Izyaslavich (who was prince of Vladimir-in-Volhynia at that time), and Agnes, a daughter of Duke Bolesław III of Poland.
  
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  Saladin
  Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb (Arabic: صلاح الدين يوسف بن أيوب‎, Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb, Kurdish: سه‌لاحه‌دین ئه‌یوبی, Selah'edînê Eyubî) (ca. 1138 – March 4, 1193), better known in the Western world as Saladin, was a KurdishMuslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant. At the height of his power, his sultanate included Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Hejaz, Yemen, and parts of North Africa.
  Under his personal leadership, his forces defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin, leading the way to his re-capture of Palestine, which had been seized from the Fatimid Egyptians by the Crusaders 88 years earlier. Though the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem would continue to exist for a period, its defeat at Hattin marked a turning point in its conflict with the Muslims and Arabs. As such, Saladin is a prominent figure in Kurdish, Arab, and Muslim culture. Saladin was a strict adherent of Sunni Islam. His noble and chivalrous behavior was noted by Christian chroniclers, especially in the accounts of the Siege of Kerak, and despite being the nemesis of the Crusaders, he won the respect of many of them, including Richard the Lionheart; rather than becoming a hated figure in Europe, he became a celebrated example of the principles of chivalry.
  
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  Samudragupta
  Samudragupta (Samudragupta the Great), ruler of the Gupta Empire (c. AD 335 – 375), and successor to Chandragupta I, is considered to be one of the greatest military geniuses in Indian history according to Historian V. A. Smith. His name is taken to be a title acquired by his conquests (samudra referring to the 'oceans'). Samudragupta the Great is believed to have been his father's chosen successor even though he had several elder brothers. Therefore, some believe that after the death of Chandragupta I, there was a struggle for succession in which Samudragupta prevailed.
  The main source of Samudragupta's history is an inscription engraved on one of the rocks edicts found in Kausambi (near present day Allahabad). In this inscription Samudragupta details his conquests. This inscription is also important because of the political geography of India that it indicates by naming the different kings and peoples who populated India in the first half of the fourth century AD. The inscription to Samudragupta's martial exploits states that its author is Harisena, who was an important poet of Samudragupta's court.
  
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  Shapur II
  Shapur II the Great was the ninth King of the Persian Sassanid Empire from 309 to 379 and son of Hormizd II. During his long reign, the Sassanid Empire saw its first golden era since the reign of Shapur I (241–272). His name is sometimes given in English as "Shahpour" or "Sapor".
  When King Hormizd II (302–309) died, Persian nobles killed his eldest son, blinded the second, and imprisoned the third (Hormizd, who afterwards escaped to the Roman Empire). The throne was reserved for the unborn child of one of the wives of Hormizd II. It is said that Shapur II may have been the only king in history to be crowned in utero: the crown was placed upon his mother's belly. This child, named Shapur, was therefore born king; the government was conducted by his mother and the magnates.
  During the early years of the reign of Shapur, Arabs crossed the Persian Gulf from Bahrain to "Ardashir-Khora" of Pars and raided the interior. In retaliation, Shapur led an expedition through Bahrain, defeated the combined forces of the Arab tribes of "Taghlib", "Bakr bin Wael", and "Abd Al-Qays" and advanced temporarily into Yamama in central Najd. He resettled these tribes in Kerman and Hormizd-Ardashir. Arabs named him, as "Shabur Dhul-aktāf" or "Zol 'Aktāf" that means "The owner of the shoulders" after this battle.
  
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  Simeon I of Bulgaria
  Simeon (also Symeon)I the Great (Bulgarian: Симеон I Велики, transliterated Simeon I Veliki[simɛˈɔn ˈpɤ̞rvi vɛˈliki]) ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeon's successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever, making it the most powerful state in contemporary Eastern Europe. His reign was also a period of unmatched cultural prosperity and enlightenment later deemed the Golden Age of Bulgarian culture.
  During Simeon's rule, Bulgaria spread over a territory between the Aegean, the Adriatic and the Black Sea, and the new Bulgarian capital Preslav was said to rival Constantinople. The newly independent Bulgarian Orthodox Church became the first new patriarchate besides the Pentarchy, and Bulgarian Glagolitic translations of Christian texts spread all over the Slavic world of the time. Halfway through his reign, Simeon assumed the title of Emperor (Tsar), having prior to that been styled Prince (Knyaz).
  
  wn.com/Simeon_I_of_Bulgaria
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  Taksin
  Taksin (Royal Institute: Somdet Phra Chao Taksin Maharat; Thai: สมเด็จพระเจ้าตากสินมหาราช  listen (help·info) or The King of the Thonburi Kingdom; Thai: สมเด็จพระเจ้ากรุงธนบุรี, Somdet Phra Chao Krung Thonburi;Chinese: 鄭昭; pinyin: Zhèng Zhāo; Teochew: Dênchao; Vietnamese: Trịnh Quốc Anh) ; (April 17, 1734 – April 7, 1782) was the only King of the Thonburi Kingdom. He is greatly revered by the Thai people for his leadership in liberating Siam from Burmese occupation after the Second Fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, and the subsequent unification of Siam after it fell under various warlords. He established the city Thonburi as the new capital, as the city Ayutthaya had been almost completely destroyed by the invaders. His reign was characterized by numerous wars, fought to repel new Burmese invasions and to subjugate the northern Thai kingdom of Lanna, the Laotian principalities, and a threatening Cambodia. He was succeeded by the Chakri dynasty and the Rattanakosin Kingdom under his long time friend King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke.
  
  wn.com/Taksin
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  Tamar of Georgia
  Tamar the Great (Georgian: თამარი, also transliterated as T'amar or Thamar) (c. 1160 – 18 January 1213), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was Queen Regnant of Georgia from 1184 to 1213. Tamar presided over the "Golden age" of the medieval Georgian monarchy. Her position as the first woman to rule Georgia in her own right was emphasized by the title mep'e ("king"), commonly afforded to Tamar in the medieval Georgian sources.
  Tamar was proclaimed heir apparent and co-ruler by her reigning father George III in 1178, but she faced significant opposition from the aristocracy upon her ascension to full ruling powers after George's death. Tamar was successful in neutralizing this opposition and embarked on an energetic foreign policy aided by the downfall of the rival powers of the Seljuqid and the Byzantine empires. Relying on a powerful military élite, Tamar was able to build on the successes of her predecessors to consolidate an empire which dominated the Caucasus until its collapse under the Mongol attacks within two decades after Tamar's death.
  
  wn.com/Tamar_of_Georgia
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  Theodoric the Great
  Theoderic the Great (Gothic: Þiudareiks; Latin: Flāvius Theodericus; Greek: Θευδέριχος, Theuderikhos; Old English: Þēodrīc; Old Norse: Þjōðrēkr, Þīðrēkr; 454 – August 30, 526) was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), ruler of Italy (493–526), regent of the Visigoths (511–526), and a viceroy of the Eastern Roman Empire. His Gothic name Þiudareiks translates into "people-king" or "ruler of the people".
  A son of King Theodemir, an Amali nobleman, Theoderic was born in Pannonia, after his people had defeated the Huns at the Battle of Nedao. Growing up as a hostage in Constantinople, Theoderic received a privileged education, and succeeded his father as leader of the Pannonian Ostrogoths in 471 AD. Settling his people in lower Moesia, Theoderic came in conflict with Thracian Ostrogoths led by Theoderic Strabo, whom he eventually supplanted, uniting the peoples in 484.
  Subsequently, Byzantine Emperor Zeno gave him the title of Patrician and the office of Magister militum (master of the soldiers), and even appointed him as Roman Consul. Trying to achieve further aims, Theoderic frequently ravaged the provinces of the Eastern Roman Empire, eventually threatening Constantinople itself. In 488, Emperor Zeno ordered Theoderic to overthrow the German usurper Odoacer, who had established himself as King of Italy. After a victorious three-year long war, Theoderic killed Odoacer with his own hands, settled his 100,000 to 200,000 people in Italy, and founded a Kingdom based in Ravenna. Although promoting separation between the Arian Ostrogoths and the Roman population, Theoderic stressed the importance of racial harmony. Seeking to restore the glory of Ancient Rome, he ruled Italy in its most peaceful and prosperous period since Valentinian, until his death in 526. Memories of his reign made him a hero of Germanic legend as Dietrich von Bern.
  
  wn.com/Theodoric_the_Great
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  Theodosius I
  Theodosius I (Latin: Flavius Theodosius Augustus; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland south of the Danube within the empire's borders. He also issued decrees that effectively made Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire.
  He is recognized by the Eastern Orthodox Church as Saint Theodosius. He defeated the usurpers Magnus Maximus and Eugenius and fostered the destruction of some prominent pagan temples: the Serapeum in Alexandria, the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, and the Vestal Virgins in Rome. After his death, Theodosius' sons Arcadius and Honorius inherited the East and West halves respectively, and the Roman Empire was never again re-united.
  Theodosius was born in Cauca or Italica, Hispania, to senior military officer Theodosius the Elder. He accompanied his father to Britannia to help quell the Great Conspiracy in 368. He was military commander (dux) of Moesia, a Roman province on the lower Danube, in 374. However, shortly thereafter, and at about the same time as the sudden disgrace and execution of his father, Theodosius retired to Spain. The reason for his retirement, and the relationship (if any) between it and his father's death is unclear. It is possible that he was dismissed from his command by the emperor Valentinian I after the loss of two of Theodosius' legions to the Sarmatians in late 374.
  
  wn.com/Theodosius_I
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  Timur
  Timur (Turkish: Demir "iron", Persian: تمور‎ Timūr, Chagatai: Temür "iron"; 8 April 1336 – 18 February 1405), historically known as Tamerlane (from Persian: تيمور لنگ‎, Timūr-i Lang, Aksak Timur "Timur the Lame" in Turkish), was a Turkic, who conquered West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty. He was the grandfather of Ulugh Beg, who ruled Central Asia from 1411 to 1449, and the great-great-grandfather of Babur, founder of the Mughal Empire, which ruled South Asia for centuries.
  Timur envisioned the restoration of the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan. Unlike his predecessors Timur was also a devout Muslim and referred to himself as the Sword of Islam. His armies were inclusively multi-ethnic and multicultural. During his lifetime Timur would emerge as the most powerful ruler in the Muslim world after defeating the formidable Mamluks of Egypt and Syria, the emerging Ottoman Empire and the declining Sultanate of Delhi; Timur had also decisively defeated the Knights Hospitaler at Smyrna and since then referred to himself as a Ghazi. By the end of his reign Timur had also gained complete suzerainty over all the remnants of the Chagatai Khanate, Ilkhanate, Golden Horde and even the Yuan Khanate.
  
  wn.com/Timur
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  Umar
  Umar (Arabic: عمر ابن الخطاب, Transliteration: `Umar ibn Al-Khattāb, Umar Son of Al-Khittab, c. 586–590 CE– 7 November 644), also known as Omar, Farooq the Great was the most powerful of the four Rashidun Caliphs and one of the most powerful and influential Muslim rulers in history. He was a sahabi (companion) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He succeeded Caliph Abu Bakr (632–634) as the second Caliph of Rashidun Caliphate on 23 August 634. He was an expert jurist and is best known for his justice, that earned him the title Al-Farooq (The one who distinguishes between right and wrong). Under Umar the Islamic empire expanded at an unprecedented rate ruling the whole Sassanid Persian Empire and more than two thirds of the Eastern Roman Empire. His brilliantly coordinated multi-prong attacks against the Sassanid Persian Empire resulted in the conquest of the Persian empire in less than two years. His legislative abilities and firm political and administrative control over a rapidly expanding empire marked his reputation as a great political and military leader. It was Umar, who for the first time in 500 years since their expulsion from the Holy Land, allowed Jews to practice their religion freely and live inside Jerusalem.^{[citation needed]}
  
  wn.com/Umar
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  Valentinian I
  Valentinian I (Latin: Flavius Valentinianus Augustus; 321 – 17 November 375), also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west.
  During his reign, Valentinian fought successfully against the Alamanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians. Most notable was his victory over the Alamanni in 367 at the Battle of Solicinium. His brilliant general Count Theodosius defeated a revolt in Africa and the Great Conspiracy, a coordinated assault on Britain by Picts, Scots, and Saxons. Valentinian was also the last emperor to conduct campaigns across both the Rhine and Danube rivers. Valentinian rebuilt and improved the fortifications along the frontiers – even building fortresses in enemy territory.
  Due to the successful nature of his reign and almost immediate decline of the empire after his death, he is often considered the "last great western emperor". He founded the Valentinian Dynasty, with his sons Gratian and Valentinian II succeeding him in the western half of the empire.
  
  wn.com/Valentinian_I
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  Visigoths
  The Visigoths (Latin: Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi) were one of two main branches of the later Goths, the Ostrogoths being the other. These tribes were among the Germanic peoples who spread through the late Roman Empire during Late Antiquity or the Migration Period. The Visigoths emerged out of the Gothic groups who entered the Roman Empire in and after 376 and defeated the Romans at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. The Visigoths invaded Italy under Alaric I and famously sacked Rome in 410 AD, eventually settling in Spain and Portugal, where they founded a powerful Kingdom.
  After numerous years of migration, which led the Visigoths to compare themselves to the Biblical Hebrew people wandering for 40 years in the Sinai Desert, the Visigoths settled in southern Gaul as foederati of the Romans in 418. For unknown reasons, they soon fell out with their hosts and established their own kingdom with its capital at Toulouse. Extending their authority into Hispania at the expense of the Vandals, their rule in Gaul was ended by the Franks under Clovis I at the Battle of Vouillé in 507. Thereafter the only territory north of the Pyrenees that the Visigoths held was Septimania, such that their kingdom became limited to Hispania. The province came to be dominated by the Visigothic small governing elite at the expense of the Byzantine province of Spania and the Suebic Kingdom of Galicia.
  
  wn.com/Visigoths
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  Vladimir I of Kiev
  Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great (Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь Old Norse as Valdamarr Sveinaldsson, Russian: Влади́мир, Vladimir, Ukrainian: Володимир, Volodymyr,; c. 958 near Pskov (perhaps near Volodymyr-Volynskyi) – 15 July 1015, Berestovo) was a grand prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus' in (980–1015).
  Vladimir's father was the prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty. After the death of his father in 972, Vladimir, who was then prince of Novgorod, was forced to flee to Scandinavia in 976 after his brother Yaropolk had murdered his other brother Oleg and conquered Rus. In Sweden with the help from his relative Ladejarl Håkon Sigurdsson, ruler of Norway, assembled a Varangian army and reconquered Novgorod from Yaropolk. By 980 Vladimir had consolidated the Kievan realm from modern day Ukraine to the Baltic Sea and had solidified the frontiers against incursions of Bulgarian, Baltic, and Eastern nomads. Originally a pagan, Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988, and proceeded to baptise all of Kievan Rus'.
  
  wn.com/Vladimir_I_of_Kiev
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  Wessex
  The Kingdom of Wessex ( /ˈwɛsɨks/) or Kingdom of the West Saxons (Old English: Westseaxna rīce) was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons in South West England, from the 6th century until the emergence of a united English state under the Wessex dynasty in the 10th century. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest of 1016, from 1020 to 1066. After the Norman Conquest there was a dissolution of the English earldoms and Wessex was split among the followers of William the Conqueror.
  
  wn.com/Wessex
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  Wilhelm II
  Wilhelm II or William II (German: Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albrecht von Preußen; English: Frederick William Victor Albert of Prussia) (27 January 1859 – 4 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (Kaiser) and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. He was a grandson of the British Queen Victoria and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe. Crowned in 1888, he dismissed the Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, in 1890 and launched Germany on a bellicose "New Course" in foreign affairs that culminated in his support for Austria-Hungary in the crisis of July 1914 that led to World War I. Bombastic and impetuous, he sometimes made tactless pronouncements on sensitive topics without consulting his ministers. He was humiliated by the Daily Telegraph affair in 1908 and lost most of his power. His generals dictated policy during World War I with little regard for the civilian government. An ineffective war leader, he lost the support of the army, abdicated in November 1918, and fled to exile in the Netherlands.
  
  wn.com/Wilhelm_II
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  William of Maleval
  William of Maleval (or William the Great) (died 10 February 1157) was the founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites, a branch of the Hermits of St. Augustine. He was beatified in 1202.
  The account of his life, written by his disciple Albert, who lived with him during his last year at Maleval, has been lost. Written accounts of his life by Theodobald, or Thibault, given by the Bollandists, is unreliable because it has been interpolated with the lives of at least two other Williams.
  After a number of chapters in which he is confused with St. William of Gellone, Duke of Aquitaine, we are told that he went to Rome, where he had an interview with pope Eugene III, who ordered him to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in penance for his sins. Though Theodobald's account of his interview with the pope does not carry conviction, the fact of this visit and his subsequent pilgrimage to Jerusalem is supported by excerpts from the older life, which are preserved by responsories and antiphons in his liturgical feast Office. He seems to have remained at Jerusalem for one or two years, not nine as Theodobald relates. About 1153 he returned to Italy and led a hermit's life in a wood near Pisa, then on Monte Pruno, and finally in 1155 in the desert valley of Stabulum Rodis, later known as Maleval, in the political territory of Siena and in the Bishopric of Grosseto, where he was joined by Albert.
  
  wn.com/William_of_Maleval
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  Xerxes I
  Xerxes I of Persia (/ˈzɜrksiːz/; Old Persian: Xšayaršā IPA: [xʃajaːrʃaː] meaning "ruling over heroes",Greek: Ξέρξης, Hebrew: אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ, Modern Aẖashverosh Tiberian ʼĂḥašwērôš), also known as Xerxes the Great (519 BC-465 BC), was the fourth king of the Achaemenid Empire.
  Immediately after seizing the kingship, Darius I of Persia (son of Hystaspes) married Atossa (daughter of Cyrus the Great). They were both descendants of Achaemenes from different Achaemenid lines. Marrying a daughter of Cyrus strengthened Darius's position as king. Darius was an active emperor, busy with building programs in Persepolis, Susa, Egypt, and elsewhere. Toward the end of his reign he moved to punish Athens, but a new revolt in Egypt (probably led by the Persian satrap) had to be suppressed. Under Persian law, the Achaemenian kings were required to choose a successor before setting out on such serious expeditions. Upon his great decision to leave (487-486 BC), Darius prepared his tomb at Naqsh-e Rostam and appointed Xerxes, his eldest son by Atossa, as his successor. Darius's failing health then prevented him from leading the campaigns, and he died in October 486 BC.
  
  wn.com/Xerxes_I

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