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2,981 definitions
1,752 articles
19,749 illustrations
2,625 videos
415 3D images
15,904 translations
47 languages
1,331 contributors
15,435 keywords
56,118 registered users
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Ancient Period

The Papyrus Lansing: Be A Scribe…Or Else!
Article

The Papyrus Lansing: Be A Scribe…Or Else!

The Papyrus Lansing is an ancient Egyptian document that dates to the reign of the Pharaoh Senusret III (also known as Sesostris III, and, arguably, the legendary Sesostris...
The Four-Room House
Definition

The Four-Room House

The four-room house, also referred to as “Israelite house” and “pillared courtyard house,” emerged in the central highlands of Canaan during the late 13th -early 12th centuries BCE in...
Alexander Helios
Definition

Alexander Helios

Alexander Helios (40 BCE – c. late 1st century BCE) was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, the second oldest son of Cleopatra VII (69 BCE – 30 BCE) and the twin brother of Cleopatra Selene...
Trebizond
Definition

Trebizond

Trapezus (Greek: Τραπεζοῦς) or Trebizond was a Greek city on the southern shore of the Black Sea, modern Trabzon. According to the Christian author Eusebius, writing more than a millennium after...
Lutetia
Definition

Lutetia

Lutetia Parisiorum was the capital of the Parisii, a tribe in ancient Gaul. The Parisii were a tribe on the Middle Seine, and Lutetia ("place near a swamp") was one of their main settlements. It...
Red-Figure Pottery
Definition

Red-Figure Pottery

Red-figure Pottery is a style of Greek vase painting invented in Athens c. 530 BCE. The style has drawn red figures and a painted black background. Red-Figure Pottery grew in popularity...
Warfare
Definition

Warfare - The Development of Resources for Armed Conflict

Warfare is generally understood to be the controlled and systematic waging of armed conflict between sovereign nations or states, using military might and...
Urartu Religion
Definition

Urartu Religion

The religion of the Urartu civilization, which flourished principally in ancient Armenia from the 9th to 6th century BCE, was a unique mix of indigenous, Hurrian and Mesopotamian gods and...
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Medieval Period

James III of Scotland
Definition

James III of Scotland

James III of Scotland reigned as king from 1460 to 1488. He succeeded his father James II of Scotland (r. 1437-1460) at the age of eight, which led to some nobles taking advantage of...
Alexios I Komnenos
Definition

Alexios I Komnenos

Alexios I Komnenos (Alexius Comnenus) was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1118 CE. Regarded as one of the great Byzantine rulers, Alexios defeated the Normans, the Pechenegs...
Leprechaun
Definition

Leprechaun

Leprechauns (also leprecauns or lepracauns) are figures in Irish folklore who guard hidden treasure. Regarded as small and incredibly agile male fairies or goblins, they most often guard a pot...
Diversity in Church Architecture in Medieval England
Article

Diversity in Church Architecture in Medieval England

Medieval English churches differed in size and layout. Their original and evolving role(s), financial and material resources, and architectural fashions helped...
Timur
Definition

Timur - The Brutal Conqueror of Central Asia

Timur (1336-1405), also known as Tamerlane, Temür, or Timur Leng, was the founder of the Timurid Empire (1370-1507), which had its heartlands in modern-day Uzbekistan...
Razia Sultan
Definition

Razia Sultan - The First Female Muslim Ruler of India

Sultan Razia (Raziyyat-Ud-Dunya Wa Ud-Din, r. 1236-1240) was one of the few women rulers in the Indian subcontinent and the first and only female Sultan of Delhi...
Top 5 Must-See Historical Sites in Dublin
Article

Top 5 Must-See Historical Sites in Dublin

Dublin has much to offer in cultural and historical experiences. It is a vibrant and colorful city, with a history dating back many centuries. Dublin has it all - from...
Korean Celadon Pottery
Article

Korean Celadon Pottery

The celadon (or greenware) ceramics produced in ancient Korea during the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392 CE), are regarded as some of the finest and most elegant pottery pieces produced anywhere...
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Early Modern Period

Interview: Swiss Colonialism Exhibition
Article

Interview: Swiss Colonialism Exhibition

The National Museum Zurich recently opened a comprehensive and multi perspectival exhibition on Switzerland’s colonial past: Colonial – Switzerland’s Global Entanglements...
War of the Austrian Succession
Definition

War of the Austrian Succession - How One Woman's Right to Rule Plunged Europe into War

The War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) was a major conflict fought between the great powers of Europe, sparked by a dispute...
Antonio Vivaldi
Definition

Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) was an Italian violin virtuoso and composer of baroque music (c. 1600-1750). Best known for his violin concertos, notably The Four Seasons, Vivaldi made a significant...
Mary Read
Definition

Mary Read

Mary Read, sometimes spelt Reade (b. c. 1690), was an infamous pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy (1690-1720) active in the Bahamas until her capture by the Jamaican authorities in 1720...
Tobacco & Colonial American Economy
Article

Tobacco & Colonial American Economy

The most important cash crop in Colonial America was tobacco, first cultivated by the English at their Jamestown Colony of Virginia in 1610 CE by the merchant John Rolfe...
Jeremy Bentham
Definition

Jeremy Bentham

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was an English philosopher and liberal social reformer best known as the founder of utilitarianism based on the greatest happiness principle, that is, rationally...
Sepoy
Definition

Sepoy

A sepoy was an Indian soldier in the armies of various states and European trading companies in the Indian subcontinent and then, from the second half of the 19th century, in the British Indian...
Francis Bacon
Definition

Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was an English philosopher, statesman, and author. Bacon is often considered one of the founders of modern scientific research and scientific method, even as "the...
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Modern Period

Nathaniel Hawthorne
Definition

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was an American author of novels and short stories, who produced some of the most memorable works of American literature: the novels The Scarlet Letter...
Sioux
Definition

Sioux

The Sioux are a native North American nation who inhabited the Great Plains region of, roughly, modern Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. They are one of the many...
Wihio Tales
Article

Wihio Tales

Wihio tales are the Cheyenne legends featuring the trickster figure Wihio, who appears, variously, as a wise man, fool, villain, or hero and is associated with the spider. Wihio Tales continue...
Mondamin
Article

Mondamin

Mondamin (also given as Mon-Daw-Min, The Gift of Corn, and The Origin of Corn) is a tale from the Ojibwe Nation on how the people received corn from the Great Spirit through the vision quest of...
Paul Gauguin: A Gallery of 30 Paintings
Image Gallery

Paul Gauguin: A Gallery of 30 Paintings

In this gallery, we showcase 30 paintings by Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), the French post-impressionist artist who made such an impact on modern art from the late 19th century...
British House of Hanover
Collection

British House of Hanover

The House of Hanover is a royal house that first ruled Hanover and then Great Britain from 1714 to 1901. The British Hanoverians began with George I when he succeeded the last of...
Battle of Queenston Heights
Article

Battle of Queenston Heights

The Battle of Queenston Heights (13 October 1812) was a major battle in the War of 1812. A US army, under General Stephen Van Rensselaer, crossed the Niagara River in an attempted...
Alexandra David-Néel
Definition

Alexandra David-Néel

Alexandra David-Néel (l. 1868-1969) was a world traveler, writer, and Buddhist spiritualist who wrote over 30 books on her journeys which took her 18,641.136 miles (30,000 km) around...
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Prehistoric Period

Predynastic Period in Egypt
Definition

Predynastic Period in Egypt - The Time Before History Began

The Predynastic Period in ancient Egypt is the time before recorded history, from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic Age and on to the rise of the First Dynasty...
Homo Floresiensis
Definition

Homo Floresiensis

Homo floresiensis, nicknamed 'hobbit' because it only stood about 1 meter tall, is an extinct species of fossil human that lived on the island of Flores, Indonesia during the Pleistocene...
Ҫatalhöyük
Definition

Ҫatalhöyük

Ҫatalhöyük is one of the largest Neolithic settlements ever discovered. Built more than 9000 years ago in modern Konya Plain, central Turkey, it is known in archaeology as a proto-city, a link...
Lindow Man
Definition

Lindow Man

The Lindow Man (officially Lindow III) is the top half of a male body, found preserved in a peat bog in Cheshire, England. The peat bogs at Lindow Moss date back to the last ice age and were...
Venus Figurine
Definition

Venus Figurine

The term Venus figurine is used to describe the more than 200 small statuettes of voluptuous female figures that have been found at Upper Paleolithic sites across Europe and some parts of...
Europe
Definition

Europe

Europe is a continent forming the westernmost part of the land mass of Eurasia and comprised of 49 sovereign states. Its name may come from the Greek myth of Europa, but human habitation of the...
Stone Age
Definition

Stone Age

From the dawn of our species to the present day, stone-made artefacts are the dominant form of material remains that have survived to today concerning human technology. The term “Stone Age”...
The Megalithic Temples of Malta
Article

The Megalithic Temples of Malta

The megalithic temples of Malta and Gozo rank amongst the oldest free-standing buildings in the world. Construction of these temples started c. 3500 BCE, an impressive architectural...
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