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The History Channel - Encyclopedia Category: History and Culture > History Date & country: 02/12/2007, UK Words: 25833

Anson, George
(1697-1762) English admiral who sailed round the world. During the War of the Austrian Succession, he was made commodore of the South American squadron, attacking the Spanish colonies and shipping; he returned...

Anstey, F
(1856-1934) English writer of fantasy novels. Vice Versa (1882) is the story of a man who exchanges bodies with his young son. Other novels include The Tinted Venus (1885), A Fallen Idol (1886), Baboo Jabberjee...

Antaeus
In Greek mythology, the son of Poseidon and Gaea, a giant invincible at wrestling until overcome by Heracles. ...

Antalcidas
Spartan soldier and diplomat. In 388 BC he obtained Persian help to force Athens to accept the Peace of Antalcidas (387). This treaty made all Asia Minor, with Clazomenae and Cyprus, subject to...

Antall, József
(1932-1993) Hungarian politician, prime minister 1990-93. He led the centre-right Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) to electoral victory in April 1990, becoming Hungary's first post-communist prime...

Antarctic Exploration
From the time of Ptolemy belief in a large southern continent with a temperate climate was widespread in western civilization. However, explorers did not reach the Southern Ocean for many centuries,...

Antarctic Treaty
International agreement between 13 nations aiming to promote scientific research and keep Antarctica free from conflict, dating from 1961. In 1991 a 50-year ban on mining activity was secured. An...

antebellum
In US usage, an adjective referring to the period just before the Civil War (1861-65). The term `prewar` is used when describing the period before any other war. ...

Antenor
(lived 6th century BC) Greek sculptor. Active in Athens, he made the bronze group Harmodius and Aristogiton, which was removed from the Acropolis by the Persians 480 BC. Two bases signed by him have been found on the...

Anthemius
(lived 5th-6th century AD) Greek mathematician and architect. He created the new design and began the rebuilding of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (now Istanbul) for Byzantine emperor Justinian after the church was destroyed...

anthology
Collection of verse by various authors, particularly of shorter poems such as epigrams. The earliest known of these is the Greek Anthology, which includes a shorter collection by ...

Anthony of Padua, St
(1195-1231) Portuguese Franciscan preacher who opposed the relaxations introduced into the order. Born in Lisbon, the son of a nobleman, he became an Augustinian monk, but in 1220 joined the Franciscans. Like...

Anthony, Kenny
(1951) St Lucian centre-left politician, prime minister from 1997. Appointed leader of the St Lucia Labour Party (SLP) in 1996, he quickly revived the SLP's flagging fortunes and led it to a crushing...

Anthony, Michael
(1932) Trinidadian novelist. In 1954 he went to London, where he published sparingly written novels drawing on his childhood. These include The Games Were Coming (1963), The Year of San Fernando (1965),...

Anthony, Susan B(rownell)
(1820-1906) US pioneering campaigner for women's rights who also worked for the antislavery and temperance movements. She campaigned for equality of pay for women teachers, married...

anthropology
The study of humankind. It investigates the cultural, social, and physical diversity of the human species, both past and present. It is divided into two broad categories: biological or physical...

anthropomorphism
The attribution of human characteristics to animals, inanimate objects, or deities. It appears in the mythologies of many cultures and as a literary device in fables and allegories. ...

anthroposophy
System of mystical philosophy developed by Austrian educationist Rudolf Steiner, who claimed to possess a power of intuition giving him access to knowledge not...

Anti-Comintern Pact
Agreement signed between Germany and Japan 25 November 1936, opposing communism as a menace to peace and order. The pact was signed by Italy in 1937 and by Hungary, Spain, and the Japanese puppet...

Anti-Corn Law League
An extra-parliamentary pressure group formed in the UK in September 1838 by Manchester industrialists, and led by Liberals Richard Cobden and John Bright. It argued for free trade and campaigned...

anti-Federalist
An opponent of the ratification of the US Constitution, submitted to the state governments in 1787. Although the Constitution was ratified by the necessary number of nine states in 1788, coming into...

anti-Semitism
Prejudice or discrimination against, and persecution of, the Jews as an ethnic group. Historically, this has been practised for many different reasons, by the ancient Egyptians before the Exodus,...

anti-submarine warfare
All methods used to deter, attack, and destroy enemy submarines: missiles, torpedoes, depth charges, bombs, and direct-fire weapons from ships, other submarines, or aircraft. Frigates are the...

antibiotic
Drug that kills or inhibits the growth of bacteria and fungi. The earliest antibiotics, the penicillins, came into use from 1941 and were quickly joined by chloramphenicol, the cephalosporins,...

Antichrist
In Christian theology, the opponent of Christ. The appearance of the Antichrist was believed to signal the Second Coming, at which Christ would conquer his opponent. The concept may stem from the...

anticlericalism
Hostility to the influence of the clergy in affairs outside the sphere of the church. Identifiable from the 12th century onwards, it became increasingly common in France in the 16th century and...

Antico, L'
(c. 1460-1528) Italian sculptor, bronze-founder, and medallist. His name (`the Antique`) derives from his keen interest in antiquity. He was patronized by the Dukes of Mantua and Isabella d'Este, his success...

anticommunism
Fierce antagonism towards communism linked particularly with right-wing politician Joseph McCarthy's activities in the USA during the 1950s. He made numerous unsubstantiated claims that the State...

Antietam, Battle of
Bloody but indecisive battle of the American Civil War on 17 September 1862 at Antietam Creek, off the Potomac River. Maj-Gen George McClellan of the Union blocked the advance of the Confederates...

Antigone
Tragedy by Sophocles, thought to have been written about 443 BC. Antigone buries her brother Polynices, in defiance of the Theban king Creon, who imprisons her in a cave. Persuaded by the visionary...

Antigone
In Greek mythology, the daughter of Jocasta by her son Oedipus. She is the subject of a tragedy by Sophocles. Myth After Oedipus discovered that he had killed his father Laius, king of Thebes, and...

Antigonus
(382-301 BC) General of Alexander the Great after whose death in 323 BC Antigonus made himself master of Asia Minor. He was defeated and killed by Seleucus I at the battle of Ipsus. ...

Antigonus II
(319-239 BC) King of Macedonia. He called himself king after the death of his father Demetrius Poliorcetes 283 BC, and dissolved the Achaean League, but did not obtain the throne until 277 BC. Expelled by...

Antigua and Barbuda
Country comprising three islands in the eastern Caribbean (Antigua, Barbuda, and uninhabited Redonda). Government Antigua and Barbuda constitute an independent sovereign nation within the...

antihero
The protagonist of a novel or play who, instead of displaying heroic or sympathetic characteristics, is incompetent, foolish, and often immoral. Examples include Don...

antimacassar
Piece of cloth protecting a seat headrest from staining by hair oil. The term is derived from Rowland's Macassar Oil, first manufactured in about 1793. ...

Antin, Mary
(1881-1949) Russian-born author.Her books, such as From Polotzk to Boston (1899) and The Promised Land (1912), detailed immigrant life in America. A lecturer and activist, she campaigned against restrictive...

antinomianism
Doctrine that Christians are freed by grace from the necessity of obeying any moral law, such as the Ten Commandments or church law. The term was first applied in the Reformation to Martin Luther's...

Antinous
(lived 2nd century) Favourite of Roman emperor Hadrian. He accompanied the emperor on his travels and drowned in the River Nile. Hadrian then decreed him a god, instituted festivals and founded the city of...

antinuclear movement
Organization or mass movement opposed to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and/or the use of nuclear energy. It overlaps with the peace movement and the green movement. As the nuclear-arms race...

Antioch
City in Phrygia, Anatolia, centre of Hellenism during the pre-Christian period. It was visited by St Paul on his first missionary journey. Under the Roman empire it became a colony. The ruined...

Antioch
Ancient capital of the Greek kingdom of Syria, founded 300 BC by Seleucus I in memory of his father Antiochus, and famed for its splendour and luxury. Under the Romans it was an early centre of...

Antiochus (III) the Great
(c. 241-187 BC) King of Syria 223-187 BC. He earned his title `the Great` by restoring the Seleucid empire in 25 years of continuous campaigning from western Asia Minor to Afghanistan. He also finally wrested...

Antiochus I
(c. 324-c. 261 BC) King of Syria from 281 BC, son of Seleucus I, one of the generals of Alexander the Great. He earned the title of Antiochus Soter, or Saviour, by his defeat of the Gauls in Galatia in 276 BC. ...

Antiochus II
(c. 286-c. 246 BC) King of Syria 261-246 BC, son of Antiochus I. He was known as Antiochus Theos, the Divine. During his reign the eastern provinces broke away from Graeco-Macedonian rule and set up native...

Antiochus IV
(lived 1st century AD) King of Commagene (a region of northern Syria), son of Antiochus III. He was made king AD 38 by Caligula, who deposed him immediately. He was restored 41 by Claudius, and reigned as an ally of Rome...

Antiochus IV
(c. 215-164 BC) King of Syria from 175 BC, known as Antiochus Epiphanes, the Illustrious, son of Antiochus III. He occupied Jerusalem about 170 BC, seizing much of the Temple treasure, and instituted worship of the...

Antiochus VII
(c. 159-129 BC) King of Syria from 138 BC. The last strong ruler of the Seleucid dynasty, he took Jerusalem in 134 BC, reducing the Maccabees to subjection. He was defeated and killed in...

Antiochus XIII
(lived 1st century BC) King of Syria 69-65 BC, the last of the Seleucid dynasty. During his reign Syria was made a Roman province by Pompey the Great. ...

Antiope
In Greek mythology, mother of the twins Amphion and Zethus, whose father was Zeus. She was imprisoned by the tyrant Lycus and his wife Dirce, and freed by her sons, who punished Dirce by tying her...

Antipater
(c. 398-319 BC) General of Alexander the Great, and regent of Macedonia in the king's absence 334-323 BC. On Alexander's death 323 BC Antipater was appointed joint regent with Craterus, his son-in-law....

Antiphilus
(lived 4th century BC) Greek painter of the Alexandrian age. He worked for Philip II of Macedonia and Ptolemy I of Egypt. He invented a form of caricature called Grylli, featuring grotesque monsters that were...

antipope
Rival claimant to the elected pope for the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church, for instance in the Great Schism 1378-1417 when there were rival popes in Rome and Avignon. ...

antislavery literature
In the US abolitionist movement, works published from around 1820 that promoted the end...

antitrust laws
In economics, regulations preventing or restraining trusts, monopolies, or any business practice considered to be unfair or uncompetitive. In the US, antitrust laws prevent mergers and acquisitions...

Antonello da Messina
(c. 1430-1479) Italian painter. He was a pioneer in his country of the technique of oil painting developed by Flemish artists; he acquired his knowledge of it in Naples, or, if the historian Vasari is to be...

Antonescu, Ion
(1886-1946) Romanian general and politician. He headed a pro-German government during World War II, which enforced the Nazis' anti-Semitic policies, and was executed for war crimes in 1946. Antonescu became...

Antonine Wall
Roman line of fortification built in Scotland in 142 in the reign of Antoninus Pius (ruled 138-61). It was the Roman empire's furthest northwest frontier, between the Clyde and Forth rivers in...

Antonino, St
(1389-1459) Italian churchman and economist. A Dominican friar, he became archbishop of Florence in 1446 and used his position to fight corruption in the Church and to help the poor. Appreciating the role of...

Antonius, Brother
US poet; see William Everson. ...

Antonius, Gaius
(lived 1st century BC) Younger son of Marcus Antonius the orator, and uncle of Mark Antony. Governor of Macedonia 62 BC, he returned to Rome 59, when he was charged with implication in the conspiracy of Catiline and...

Antonius, Gaius
(died 42 BC) Brother of Mark Antony. He was governor of Macedonia 44 BC. In 43 he was taken prisoner by Brutus, who put him to death the following year. ...

Antonius, Iullus
(died 2 BC) Younger son of Mark Antony and Fulvia. He became consul 10 BC. Eight years later he committed suicide after being condemned to death for adultery with Julia, the daughter of the emperor Augustus. ...

Antonius, Lucius
(lived 1st century BC) Youngest brother of Mark Antony. He was consul 41 BC, when he made war on Octavian (Augustus) at the instance of his sister-in-law Fulvia. The next year he surrendered, and was granted his life...

Antony and Cleopatra
Tragedy by William Shakespeare, written and first performed in 1607-08. Mark Antony falls in love with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra in Alexandria, but returns to Rome when his wife, Fulvia, dies....

Antony House
Early 18th-century house in Cornwall, England, 8 km/5 mi west of Plymouth. The architect is unknown, but the house was built for William Carew and was given to the National Trust in 1961 by John...

Antrim Castle Gardens
Gardens on the outskirts of Antrim in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Antrim Castle, which was noted for its Caroline doorway and contents, including the Speaker's chair from the Dublin parliament,...

Antrim, Randal Macdonnell
(1609-1683) Irish nobleman and Royalist. He was created a marquess 1643 on account of his (subsequently unfulfilled) promise to raise an army of 10,000 in Ireland for the service of Charles I. ...

Antwerp, Battle of
In World War II, British operation September 1944 to take the Belgian city of Antwerp in order to provide Allied forces with a supply port close to the front line. Although it was taken by the...

Antwerp, Battle of
In World War I, German siege of the Belgian port 27 September-9 October 1914. British and Belgian troops mounted a fierce resistance which failed to save the city but did delay the German advance...

Anu
Mesopotamian sky god, commonly joined in a trinity with Enlil, the god of storms, and Ea, the god of water. Anu was the father and king of the gods, despite a relatively minor role in mythological...

Anuak
Nilotic people of the borders of Ethiopia and the Sudan. They are agriculturalists and are culturally similar to the Shilluk. ...

Anubis
In Egyptian mythology, the jackal-headed god of the dead, son of Osiris. Anubis presided over the funeral cult, including the weighing of the heart and embalming, and led the dead to judgement. ...

Anwykyll, John
(died 1487) English schoolmaster and grammarian. He was the first headmaster of William Waynflete's school attached to Magdalen College, Oxford. He produced a grammar book, Compendium totius grammaticae...

Anxur
Town of the Volsci; it was finally subjugated by Rome in 396 BC, after which it became a Roman colony and was named Tarracina (modern Terracina). ...

Anytus
(lived 5th-4th centuries BC) Athenian democrat. With Thrasybulus, he helped to overthrow the Thirty Tyrants 404 BC. He was one of the accusers of Socrates 399 BC, and the Athenians, on repenting of the latter's death, sent...

Anzac
General term for all troops of both countries serving in World War I, particularly one who fought at ...

Anzac Cove
Cove on the west coast of the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey where Australian and New Zealand troops landed on 25 April 1915 during World War I. The name was adopted a few days after the landing. In...

Anzam Treaty
1948 arrangement between Australia, New Zealand, and Malaya to coordinate service planning in defending air and sea communications in the region. Cover was extended to the defence of Malaya...

Anzio Annie
World War II German railway gun which shelled the Allied beachhead at Anzio at long range. It was reputed to be kept in a tunnel when not firing so as to preserve it from air attacks. Captured at...

Anzio, Battle of
In World War II, the beachhead invasion of Italy 22 Jan-23 May 1944 by Allied troops; failure to use information gained by deciphering German codes (see Ultra) led to Allied troops being stranded...

Aosta, Duke Amadeo
(1898-1942) Italian general, cousin of King Emmanuel of Italy. During World War II, he was a general of the Italian Air Force and Viceroy of Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). He led an Italian army in an invasion of...

Aoun, Michel
(1935) Lebanese soldier and Maronite Christian politician, president 1988-90. As commander of the Lebanese army, he was made president without Muslim support, his appointment precipitating a civil war...

Aozou Strip
Disputed territory 100 km/60 mi wide on the Chad-Libya frontier, occupied by Libya 1973, part of Chad according to an International Court of Justice ruling 1994. Lying to the north of the Tibesti...

Apache
Member of an American Indian people who migrated from Canada to Arizona, and parts of Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and north Mexico, between AD 850 and 1400. The Apache language belongs to the...

apartheid
Racial-segregation policy of the government of South Africa from 1948 to 1994. Under the apartheid system, non-whites - classified as Bantu (black), coloured (mixed), or Indian - did not...

APC
Abbreviation for armoured personnel carrier, a battlefield vehicle. ...

Apella
Spartan popular assembly. It was composed of male citizens of 30 years of age and over. It met under the presidency of the ephors, and could consider only matters submitted by them or by the council...

Apelles
(lived 4th century BC) Greek painter, one of the most celebrated of antiquity. No trace of his work, which was praised for its startling realism, now remains. He was court artist to Philip II of Macedon and then to...

Aphrodite
In Greek mythology, the goddess of love (Roman Venus, Phoenician Astarte, Babylonian Ishtar). She is said to be either a daughter of Zeus (in Homer) or sprung from the foam of the sea (in Hesiod)....

Aphthonius
(lived c.AD 400) Greek rhetorician. Born in Antioch, he was a pupil of Libanius. His Progymnasmata, an introduction to the study of rhetoric, was in common use for a thousand years. ...

Apicius
Name of three celebrated Roman gluttons. The first lived about 92 BC, the second about AD 14, and the third about the middle of the 1st century AD. The second, Marcus Gavius Apicius, is said to have...

Apion
(lived 1st century AD) Greek grammarian and head of the Alexandrian school. Apion's story of `Androcles and the Lion`, from his Aegyptiaca, survives in Aulus Gellius' Noctes Atticae. His Homeric glossary, based on...

Apis
Ancient Egyptian deity, a manifestation of the creator god Ptah of Memphis, in the form of a black bull with a small white triangle on the forehead, often bearing a Sun-disc between its horns. The...

apocalypse
Revelation disclosed only to a chosen person. The term is applied to the last book of the New Testament, the Apocalypse of St John, otherwise known as Revelation. There were many earlier writings of...

apocalyptic number
In the New Testament, the mystical number 666 (Revelation 13:18). There have been various interpretations of this number. In Greek and Hebrew the letters of the alphabet were used for numbers, and...

apocatastasis
In religion, the extension of the kingdom of God over all the Earth; the ultimate conversion of the whole world to the Christian faith. In the teaching of Origen it signifies the restoration of all...

Apocrypha
Appendix to the Old Testament of the Bible, 14 books not included in the final Hebrew canon but recognized by Roman Catholics. There are also disputed New...

Apollinaire, Guillaume
(1880-1918) French poet of aristocratic Polish descent. He was a leader of the avant-garde in Parisian literary and artistic circles. His novel Le Poète assassiné/The Poet Assassinated (1916), followed by...

Apollinarius of Laodicea
(c. 310-c. 390) Bishop of Laodicea in Phrygia (Asia Minor). His views on the nature of Christ were condemned by the Council of Constantinople 381, but nonetheless laid the foundations for the later Nestorian...