Itasca M-'tas-koV Lake Lake, northwestern Minnesota, U.S. Occupy¬ ing an area of 1.8 sq mi (4.7 sq km), it is located 1,475 ft (450 m) above sea level. Henry Rowe Schoolcraft’s theory that Lake Itasca is the source of the Mississippi River has been widely accepted. He is generally credited with originating the name Itasca, but Indian legend mentions I-tesk-ka, the daughter of Hiawatha, whose tears of anguish at being spirited away to the netherworld were the source of the Mississippi.
itching or pruritus \pru-'rit-9s\ Stimulation of nerve endings in the skin, usually incited by histamine, that evokes a desire to scratch. It is often transient and easily relieved. Pathological itching with skin changes usu¬ ally signals dermatologic disease. Generalized itching without skin changes can occur in systemic diseases (e.g., metabolic and endocrine conditions, cancer, drug reactions, and kidney, blood, and liver diseases). Dry skin often itches. Treatment depends on cause.
Itenez River See Guapor£ River
Ithna ‘Ashariyyah \,ith-na-a-sha-'re-9\ or Imamis English Twelv¬ ers The largest school of ShT'ite Islam, believing in a succession of 12 imams beginning with ‘Ad ibn Abu Talib, the fourth caliph and the son- in-law of Muhammad. The last of the 12 imams recognized by the school was Muhammad al-Mahdl al-Hujjah, who disappeared in 873 and is thought by believers to be alive and in occultation, ready to return at the Last Judgment. The Ithna ‘Ashariyyah believe that imams are the preserv¬ ers of the faith and the only interpreters of the esoteric meanings of law and theology. The imams are thought to influence the world’s future, and pilgrimages to the tombs of the imams secure special rewards. This school became the state religion of Iran under the Safavid dynasty (1501-1736). The Ithna ‘Ashariyyah also constitute a majority in Iraq and Bahrain, with sizable minorities in other Muslim countries. Compare Isma'iliyyah.
Ito Hirobumi \'e-t6-he-'ro-bu-me\ (b. Oct. 14, 1841, Suo province, Japan—d. Oct. 26, 1909, Harbin, Manchuria, China) Japanese statesman, prime minister, and writer of the Meiji Constitution. He played a minor role in the Meiji_ Restoration, through which he came in contact with Kido Takayoshi and Okubo Toshimichi. When Okubo was assassinated in 1878, Ito succeeded him as home minister. He persuaded the government to adopt a constitution, then traveled abroad to research constitutions. In 1889 the emperor promulgated the resultant document. Later, as prime minister, Ito negotiated an end to extraterritoriality with Britain; other Western nations followed suit, signaling that the West was beginning to treat Japan as an equal. Frustrated with the ability of the political parties to impede passage of government programs in the Diet, in 1900 Ito founded his own party, the Rikken SeiyOkai. This foray cost him control of the genro (elder statesmen) but made cooperation between high-ranking bureaucrats and party politicians acceptable. In 1906 Ito became resident general in Korea; he was assassinated in 1909 by a Korean nationalist.
Ito Jinsai Ve-to-'jen-.sA (b. Aug. 30, 1627, Kyoto, Japan—d. April 4, 1795, Kyoto) Japanese Confucian scholar. The son of a lumberman, he devoted himself to scholarship. He opposed the authoritarian Neo- Confucianism of the Tokugawa shogunate (see Tokugawa period) and advo¬
cated a return to the authentic teachings of Confucius and Mencius. He helped establish the Kogaku school of Neo-Confucianism and, with his son, founded the Kogi-do academy in Kyoto, which was run by his descendants until 1904. His writings include Gomojigi (1683), a com¬ mentary on Confucianism that tried to develop a rational basis for moral¬ ity and the pursuit of happiness.
ITT See International Telephone and Telegraph Corp.
Iturbide \,e-tur-'be-da\, Agusfin de - / Agustin I (b. Sept. 27, 1783, Valladolid, Viceroyalty of New Spain—d. July 19, 1824, Padilla, Mex.) Leader of the conservative factions in the Mexican independence move¬ ment and, briefly, emperor of Mexico (1822-23). An army officer when the independence movement emerged in 1810, he fought for the royalists, but in 1820, in reaction to a liberal coup in Spain, the conservatives did an about-face and advocated immediate independence. Iturbide joined forces with the insurgents and won Mexico’s independence in 1821. In 1822 he crowned himself emperor, but his arbitrary and extravagant ways cost him support. His abdication in 1823 did not save him from execu¬ tion. To Mexico’s conservatives he remains the principal hero of Mexi¬ can independence.
Ivan Asen \a-'san\ II (d. 1241) Tsar of the Second Bulgarian empire (1218-41). He took the throne after overthrowing and blinding his cousin Boril. A good soldier and administrator, Ivan restored order, controlled the boyars, and acquired much of Albania, Serbia, Macedonia, and Epi¬ rus (1230). He forged alliances through the marriages of his daughters, but a treaty to make him regent of the Latin empire was repudiated by Latins fearful of Bulgaria’s growing power, and he afterward separated the Bulgarian church from Rome.
Ivan Vi-v9n\ III known as Ivan the Great (b. Jan. 22, 1440, Moscow—d. Oct. 27, 1505, Moscow) Grand prince of Moscow (1462- 1505). Determined to enlarge the territory he inherited from his father, Ivan led successful military campaigns against the Tatars in the south (1458) and east (1467-69). He subdued Novgorod (1478) and gained control of most of the remainder of Great Russia by 1485. He also renounced Moscow’s subjection to the khan of the Golden Horde (1480) and won a final victory over the khan’s sons in 1502. Stripping the boyars of much of their authority, he laid the administrative foundations of a cen¬ tralized Russian state. Ivan IV the Terrible was his grandson.
Ivan IV Russian Ivan Vasilyevich known as Ivan the Terrible (b.
Aug. 25, 1530, Kolomenskoye, near Moscow—d. March 18, 1584, Mos¬ cow) Grand prince of Moscow (1533-84) and first tsar of Russia (1547-84). Crowned tsar in 1547 after a long regency (1533-46), he embarked on wide-ranging reforms, including a centralized administra¬ tion, church councils that system¬ atized the church’s affairs, and the first national assembly (1549). He also instituted reforms to limit the powers of the boyars. After conquer¬ ing Kazan (1552) and Astrakhan (1556), he engaged in an unsuccess¬ ful war to control Livonia, fighting against Sweden and Poland (1558—
83). After the defeat and the sus¬ pected treason of several Russian boyars, Ivan formed an oprichnina, a territory separate from the rest of the state and under his personal control. With a large bodyguard, he with¬ drew into his own entourage and left Russia’s management to others. At the same time, he instituted a reign of terror, executing thousands of boyars and ravaging the city of Novgorod. During the 1570s he married five wives in nine years, and, in a fit of rage, he murdered his son Ivan, his only viable heir, in 1581.
Ivan V Russian Ivan Alekseyevich (b. Sept. 6, 1666, Moscow, Russia—d. Feb. 8, 1696, Moscow) Nominal tsar of Russia (1682— 96). When his brother Tsar Fyodor III died, Ivan, a mentally deficient chronic invalid, was proclaimed coruler with his half brother Peter I, with Ivan’s sister Sophia as regent. After Sophia’s overthrow in 1689, Ivan was allowed to retain his official position, though he never participated in governmental affairs, devoting the bulk of his time to prayer, fasting, and pilgrimages.
Ivan IV, icon, late 16th century; in the National Museum, Copenhagen.
COURTESY OF THE NATIONALMUSEET, COPENHAGEN
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Ivan VI ► Ivy League I 969
Ivan VI Russian Ivan Antonovich (b. Aug. 23, 1740, St. Petersburg, Russia—d. July 16, 1764, Shlisselburg Fortress, near St. Petersburg) Infant emperor of Russia (1740-41). The grandnephew of Empress Anna, Ivan was proclaimed her heir and then emperor, with his mother as regent, when he was only eight weeks old. In 1741 they were deposed by Eliza¬ beth, daughter of Peter I, and for the next 20 years he remained in solitary confinement in various prisons. In 1764, when an army officer tried to free Ivan to restore him to power and remove Catherine II, who had seized the throne in 1762, Ivan was assassinated by his jailers.