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Definition
Grigori Rasputin
Grigori Rasputin (1869-1916) was a self-styled holy man and faith healer from Siberia who ingratiated himself with the family of Tsar Nicholas II (reign...
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The Twelve Olympian Gods of Ancient Greece
The Twelve Olympian Gods (Greek: Δωδεκάθεον, Dodekatheon) represent the core pantheon of ancient Greek religion, embodying divine authority over the...
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Definition
Fashoda Incident - When Britain and France Almost Went to War in Africa
The Fashoda Incident of 1898 occurred in Sudan and caused a diplomatic crisis between the British and French empires. A small French force claimed authority...
Definition
Code of Ur-Nammu - The Oldest Law Code in the World
The Code of Ur-Nammu (circa 2100-2050 BCE) is the oldest extant law code in the world. It was written by the Sumerian king Ur-Nammu (reign circa 2112-2094...
Definition
Ur-Nammu - Founder of the Sumerian Renaissance
Ur-Nammu (circa 2112-2094 BCE) was the founder of the Third Dynasty of Ur in Sumer, who initiated the so-called Ur III period (circa 2112 to circa 2004...
Article
Battle of Omdurman - Britain's Vengeance for the Death of General Gordon
The Battle of Omdurman on 2 September 1898 saw General Kitchener lead an Anglo-Egyptian-Sudanese army to victory over 50,000 Mahdists in Sudan. The...
Definition
Mesopotamian Warfare - Early Development of Armed Conflict
Ancient Mesopotamian warfare progressed from companies of a city's militia in Sumer to the professional standing armies of Akkad, Babylon, Assyria...
Definition
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord - Napoleon's Treacherous Foreign Minister
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754-1838) was one of the most significant political figures in modern French history. Beginning his career...
Article
The Hymn to Ninkasi, Goddess of Beer - A Praise Song and Ancient Beer Recipe
The Hymn to Ninkasi is at once a song of praise to Ninkasi, the Sumerian goddess of beer, and an ancient recipe for brewing (though this claim has been...
Definition
Caratacus - The Catuvellauni Chieftain Who Defied Rome
Caratacus (or Caractacus) was a Briton tribal leader who led the resistance against the Roman conquest of Britannia during the 1st century CE. When...
Article
Siege of Khartoum - Last Stand of General Gordon
The siege of Khartoum from March 1884 to January 1885 was the most dramatic episode of the Mahdist War (1881-99) in Sudan when an army led by the inspirational...
Definition
Beer - The Drink Which Makes One's Heart Feel Light
Beer is one of the oldest intoxicating beverages consumed by human beings. Even a cursory survey of history makes clear that, after human beings have...
Definition
Louis XIV of France - The Sun King
Louis XIV (1638-1715) reigned as King of France from 1643 to 1715. Known as Le Roi Soleil ('the Sun King'), he fervently believed in the concept of...
Definition
Mahdist War - Holy War in Sudan, 1881-99
The Mahdist War (1881-99) in Sudan was led by the inspirational Muhammad Ahmad, an Islamic holy man who declared himself the Mahdi (the Messiah). The...
Article
Burial in Ancient Mesopotamia - Respect for the Living, Honoring the Dead
Burial in ancient Mesopotamia was the practice of interring a corpse in a grave or tomb while observing certain rites, primarily to ensure the passage...
Definition
Maria Theresa - The Great Habsburg Empress
Maria Theresa (1717-1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg Monarchy, a sprawling empire that included Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, and other territories...
Article
A History of Vaccination - Taming the World's Deadliest Diseases
The field of public health was transformed by the introduction of vaccination, from the Latin word “vacca” meaning cow, to guard people against infectious...
Article
Love, Sex, & Marriage in Ancient Mesopotamia - Relationships in the Ancient World
Medical texts from ancient Mesopotamia provide prescriptions and practices for curing all manner of ailments, wounds, and diseases. There was one malady...
