Cáceres

Town, capital of Cáceres provincia, in the Extremadura comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”), western Spain. It is built on a low east-west ridge, south of the Tagus River and about 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Badajoz. Originating as the Roman town of Norba Caesarina, it was under Moorish control from the 9th century and was known as Alkazares until reconquered for the Christians

Ancient Rome, Barbarian kingdoms

Several barbarian kingdoms were then set up: in Africa, Gaiseric's kingdom of the Vandals; in Spain and in Gaul as far as the Loire, the Visigothic kingdom; and farther to the north, the kingdoms of the Salian Franks and the Alemanni. The barbarians were everywhere a small minority. They established themselves on the great estates and divided the land to the benefit of

Aurangzeb

Aurangzeb's reign falls into two almost equal parts. In the first, which lasted until about 1680, he was a capable Muslim monarch of a mixed Hindu-Muslim empire and as such was generally disliked for his ruthlessness but feared and respected for his vigour and skill. During this period he was much occupied with safeguarding the northwest from Persians and Central Asian

Elf

Plural  Elves,   in Germanic folklore, originally, a spirit of any kind, later specialized into a diminutive creature, usually in tiny human form. In the Prose, or Younger, Edda, elves were classified as light elves (who were fair) and dark elves (who were darker than pitch); these classifications are roughly equivalent to the Scottish seelie court and unseelie court. The notable characteristics

Eight, The

Group of American painters who exhibited together only once, in New York City in 1908, but who established one of the main currents in 20th-century American painting. The original Eight included Robert Henri, leader of the group, Everett Shinn, John Sloan, Arthur B. Davies, Ernest Lawson, Maurice Prendergast, George Luks, and William J. Glackens. George Bellows later joined them.

New Castile

Spanish  Castilla La Nueva,   historic provincial region, central upland Spain. It generally includes the area of the Moorish kingdom of Toledo annexed to the former kingdom of Castile in the 11th century AD. In modern Spanish geographic usage, New Castile as an administrative region included the provinces of Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Madrid, and Toledo. Its area was 27,940 square miles (72,363 square km).

Robert Of Jumièges

Robert was prior of Saint-Ouen, Rouen, Fr., when elected abbot of the Benedictine abbey of Jumièges in 1037. Taken to England by King Edward in 1042, he was made bishop of London in 1044. He became Edward's chief adviser and head of the Norman party and was appointed archbishop of Canterbury

Uffizi Gallery

Italian  Galleria Degli Uffizi,   art museum in Florence that has the world's finest collection of Italian Renaissance painting, particularly of the Florentine school. It also has antiques, sculpture, and more than 100,000 drawings and prints. In 1559 the grand duke of Tuscany, Cosimo I de' Medici, engaged the painter-architect Giorgio Vasari to plan a building for the offices (uffizi) of the government judiciary.

Farrukh Beg

A Kalmyk of Central Asia, Farrukh Beg first worked at Kabul under Mirza Hakim, the half brother of the Mughal emperor Akbar. After Hakim died Farrukh Beg joined Akbar's service (1585). His earliest paintings are strongly Persian in character, and he continued to be a

January

First month of the Gregorian calendar. See month and the accompanying Table.