Alexander, Severus, a Roman emperor, was born at Acre in Phoenicia, in 205. He was carefully educated by his mother, and was adopted and made Caesar by his cousin Heliogabalus, at whose death Alexander was raised to the throne in his seventeenth year. The young emperor followed the noble example of Trajan and the Antonines; and, on the whole, governed ably both in peace and in war. He was murdered in 235, in an insurrection of his Gallic troops headed by the barbarian Maximin. Alexander was favorable to Christianity. following the predilections of his mother Mammmea; and he is said to have placed the statue of Jesus Christ in his private temple, in company with those of Orpheus and Apollonius Tyaneus. For a glowing account of his reign, as well as his studies in poetry, philosophy, and literature, see Gibbon, Decline and Fall, ch. 3.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More