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Featured Definition
Definition
Sun Stone
The Aztec Sun Stone (or Calendar Stone) depicts the five consecutive worlds of the sun from Aztec mythology. The stone is not, therefore, in any sense...
Featured Image
Image
Map of the Dutch Commercial Empire, c. 1665 - A Global Network of Commerce, Exploration and Maritime Power
A map of the Dutch commercial empire which reached its height during the Dutch Golden Age (c. 1588-1672), when the Dutch Republic (1588-1795) emerged...
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Definition
Old Kingdom of Egypt - The Age of the Pyramids
The Old Kingdom of Egypt (circa 2613-2181 BCE) is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or "Age of the Pyramid Builders" as it includes the great...
Definition
Scramble for Africa - How European Empires Took Over a Continent
The Scramble for Africa describes the competition between European imperial powers to first control trade and then territory in Africa in the final...
Article
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
On the evening of 14 April 1865, US President Abraham Lincoln was shot in the back of the head by John Wilkes Booth, while attending a play at Ford's...
Definition
Second Intermediate Period of Egypt - The Era of the Hyksos
The Second Intermediate Period (circa 1782 to circa 1570 BCE) is the era following the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (2040-1782 BCE) and preceding the New...
Article
Ivory & the Colonization of Africa
European colonising powers sought to exploit Africa's resources from the 15th century onwards. Arab traders had been doing the same in North Africa...
Definition
Ancient Egypt - The Land of the Gods of Balance and Harmony
Egypt is a country in North Africa, on the Mediterranean Sea, and is home to one of the oldest civilizations on Earth. The name "Egypt" comes from the...
Definition
Hyksos - The Rulers of Foreign Lands Who Transformed Egypt
The Hyksos were a West Semitic-speaking people who gained a foothold in Egypt circa 1782 BCE at the city of Avaris in Lower Egypt, thus initiating the...
Image Gallery
A Gallery of the Boer Wars
Throughout the 19th century, British and Boer settlers (people of largely Dutch ancestry) in Southern Africa were frequent rivals as they established...
Definition
Nabu - The Babylonian God of Wisdom and Writing
Nabu (sometimes known as Tutu) was the Babylonian god of wisdom, learning, prophecy, scribes, and writing, also responsible for the abundant harvest...
Definition
Boer War - Imperialism v. Nationalism in Southern Africa
The Boer War (aka Second Anglo-Boer War, South Africa War, and Second War of Freedom, 1899-1902) was won by the British but only after it employed controversial...
Definition
New Kingdom of Egypt - The Age of Empire
The New Kingdom (circa 1570 to circa 1069 BCE) is the era in Egyptian history following the disunity of the Second Intermediate Period (circa 1782-1570...
Article
Causes of the Boer War
The causes of the Boer War (aka Second Anglo-Boer War, South Africa War, and Second War of Freedom, 1899-1902) stretched back to the early 19th century...
Definition
Marduk - The Great God of Babylon
Marduk was the patron god of Babylon who presided over justice, compassion, healing, regeneration, magic, and fairness, although he is also sometimes...
Article
Siege of Mafeking - Turning Point of the Boer War
The siege of Mafeking (1899-1900) was a major engagement in the Boer War (aka South Africa War, 1899-1902). 8,000 Boers besieged the British-held town...
Definition
Tiamat - The Great Mesopotamian Goddess of Chaos
Tiamat is the Mesopotamian goddess associated with primordial chaos and the salt sea, best known from the Babylonian epic Enuma Elish. In all versions...
Definition
French and Indian War - The Final Clash of Empires in North America
The French and Indian War (1754-1763) was the last great colonial conflict waged between Great Britain and France in North America. Often considered...
