Featured Definition
Definition
Civilization - From Nomadic Life to the Farm and City
Civilization (from the Latin civis=citizen and civitas=city) is a term applied to any society which has developed a writing system, government, production...
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Family Tree of the Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt (305-30 BCE)
The Ptolemaic Dynasty (305–30 BCE) ruled Egypt during the Hellenistic age, emerging from the fragmentation of Alexander the Great’s empire after his...
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Definition
Mesopotamian Literature - The Earliest Works of the Imagination
Ancient Mesopotamian literature developed circa 2600 BCE after scribes, who had formerly been record-keepers, began composing original works in the...
Definition
Enheduanna - The World's First Author Known by Name
The Akkadian poet Enheduanna (circa 2300 BCE) is the world's first author known by name and was the daughter of Sargon of Akkad (Sargon the Great, reign...
Article
Sargon and Ur-Zababa - Two Dream Visions and a River of Blood
Sargon and Ur-Zababa is a Sumerian poem, date of composition unknown, relating the rise to power of Sargon of Akkad (reign 2334-2279 BCE), founder of...
Article
Battle of Rorke's Drift - Heroic Stand of the Anglo-Zulu War
Immediately after their famous victory over the British at the Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879, as many as 4,000 Zulu warriors pushed on across...
Definition
Script - The Written Record of Humanity
Script is the written expression of a language. Cuneiform, the first script, was invented in Sumer, Mesopotamia, circa 3600/3500 BCE; hieroglyphics...
Definition
Cuneiform - The Writing System That Made History
Cuneiform is a system of writing first developed by the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia circa 3600/3500 BCE. It is considered the most significant...
Definition
Secession of the Plebs - One of History's First Class Conflicts
The Secession of the Plebs (secessio plebis) refers to a series of general strikes in the early history of the Roman Republic, when the plebeians –...
Article
The Legend of Sargon of Akkad - Inspiration for the Story of Moses
The Legend of Sargon of Akkad (circa 2300 BCE) is an Akkadian work from Mesopotamia understood as the autobiography of Sargon of Akkad (Sargon the Great...
Article
Battle of Isandlwana - The Zulu Victory over the British Empire
The Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 was the opening encounter of the Anglo-Zulu War and a famous Zulu victory against the British Army. Over...
Definition
Year of the Four Emperors - When Four Men Battled For Control of the Roman Empire
The Year of the Four Emperors (69 CE) was a brief period of political upheaval and civil war in the Roman Empire. In the aftermath of the death of Emperor...
Definition
Babylon - The Gate of the Gods
Babylon is the most famous city from ancient Mesopotamia, whose ruins lie in modern-day Hillah, Iraq, 59 miles (94 km) southwest of Baghdad. The name...
Definition
Tiberius - The Reclusive Roman Emperor
Tiberius (42 BCE to 37 CE) was the second Roman emperor, who reigned from 14 to 37 CE. The adopted son of Augustus, he led a long and tormented life...
Definition
Akkad and the Akkadian Empire - The First Multinational Empire in the World
The city of Akkad was the seat of the Akkadian Empire (2350/2334-2154 BCE), the first multinational political entity in the world, founded by Sargon...
Definition
Vespasian - The Commoner Who Became Roman Emperor
Vespasian (9-79 CE) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79 CE. Despite his low birth, he worked hard to rise through the ranks of Roman politics and eventually...
Article
12 Great Cities of Ancient Mesopotamia - The Rise and Fall of the Earliest Cities in the World
The great cities of Mesopotamia ("the land between two rivers") developed prior to the late 4th millennium BCE along two rivers – the Tigris and Euphrates...
Definition
Nero - The Artist Emperor
Nero (37-68 CE) was the fifth Roman emperor, who reigned from 54 to 68 CE. The last emperor of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty, he came to power at the age...
