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Eastern Bulgars
Eastern Bulgars , Turkic-speaking people, who possessed a powerful state (10th-14th cent.) at the confluence of the Volga and the Kama, E European Russia. The Bulgars appeared on the Middle Volga by the 8th cent. and became known as the Eastern, Volga, or Kama Bulgars. Another branch of the same peo...
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Anastasius I
Anastasius I , c.430-518, Roman emperor of the East (491-518); successor of Zeno, whose widow he married. He broke the power that the Isaurians had enjoyed since Leo I, made peace with Persia, maintained friendly relations with Theodoric the Great, and made Clovis I an ally. He built a wall to prote...
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Heraclius
Heraclius , c.575-641, Byzantine emperor (610-41). The son of a governor of Africa, he succeeded the tyrant Phocas, whom he deposed and had executed. In the early years of his reign Avars and Bulgars threatened, attacking even Constantinople, and the Persians conquered Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. I...
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Justinian II
Justinian II (Justinian Rhinotmetus), 669-711, Byzantine emperor (685-95, 705-11), son and successor of Constantine IV. He successfully invaded Arab territory but lost the advantage through a truce that ceded much of Asia Minor to the Arabs. His extravagance and despotism and his ministers' extorti...
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Tatarstan
Tatarstan , Tatar Republic , or Tataria , republic (1990 est. pop. 3,660,000), 26,255 sq mi (68,000 sq km), E European Russia, in the middle Volga and lower Kama river valleys. Kazan is the capital; other important cities are Almetevsk, Leninogorsk, and Bugulma. The low, rolling plain that m...
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Basil II
Basil II c.958-1025, Byzantine emperor (976-1025), surnamed Bulgaroktonos [Bulgar slayer]. With his brother, Constantine VIII, he nominally succeeded his father, Romanus II, in 963, but had no share in the government during the rule of the usurping generals Nicephorus II (963-69) and John I (96...
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Dandolo
Dandolo , ancient Venetian family that produced four doges, many admirals, and other prominent citizens. Enrico Dandolo, c.1108-1205, became doge in 1192. He is considered the founder of the Venetian colonial empire. In the Fourth Crusade (see Crusades ) he acted to divert the Crusaders in 1202 t...
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Kazan
Kazan , city (1989 est. pop. 1,094,000), capital of Tatarstan , E European Russia, on the Volga. It is a major historic, cultural, industrial, and commercial center. Manufactures include chemicals, explosives, electrical equipment, building materials, consumer goods, and furs. Kazan's port and ship...
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Khazars
Khazars , ancient Turkic people who appeared in Transcaucasia in the 2d cent. AD and subsequently settled in the lower Volga region. They emerged as a force in the 7th cent. and rose to great power. The Khazar empire extended (8th-10th cent.) from the northern shores of the Black Sea and the Caspi...
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Vladimir I
Vladimir I , Volodymyr I , or Saint Vladimir, d. 1015, first Christian grand duke of Kiev (c.980-1015); son of Sviatoslav . In 970, Vladimir was sent by his father to govern Novgorod. After Sviatoslav's death Vladimir vied with his two brothers, Yaropolk and Oleg, for the succession. About 9...
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