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Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus (c. 355 - August 28, 388 CE) was a Roman usurper and Western Roman Emperor from 383-388 CE. He was a prominent general in the Roman army, particularly in the province of Britain. In 383 CE he usurped the Western throne, rebelling...

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The Three Estates of Pre-Revolutionary France
Society in the Kingdom of France in the period of the Ancien Regime was broken up into three separate estates, or social classes: the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners. These classes and their accompanying power dynamics, originating...

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The Separation of Christianity from Judaism
In the mid-2nd century CE, Christianity began a gradual process of identity-formation that would lead to the creation of a separate, independent religion from Judaism. Initially, Christians were one of many groups of Jews found throughout...

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Luther's Speech at the Diet of Worms
Martin Luther's speech at the Diet of Worms (also known as the Here I Stand Speech) is considered one of the greatest pieces of oratory in world history. It was given in response to the council's questions on whether Luther would stand by...

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The Dates of the Buddha
The dates of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, have been a concern of, primarily, Western scholars for well over 100 years now owing to the particularly Western need for precise dating of historical persons and events. The problem with precise...

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Melito of Sardis and his Apology for Christianity
Melito of Sardis (d. c. 180 CE) was a bishop in the city of Sardis (near modern-day Sart, Turkey) who was regarded as one of the greatest Christian thinkers, writers, and apologists of his time. In the modern age, he is best known for his...

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Early Christianity
Emerging from a small sect of Judaism in the 1st century CE, early Christianity absorbed many of the shared religious, cultural, and intellectual traditions of the Greco-Roman world. In traditional histories of Western culture, the emergence...

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Pliny the Younger on Christianity
Pliny the Younger's (61-112 CE) letter (Epistulae X.96) to Roman Emperor Trajan (r. 98-117 CE) is one of our earliest sources on Christianity from an outsider's point of view. It highlights the Christian movement's impact on the old Roman...

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Angels in Christianity
Angels in Christianity act as messengers of God, bring good news, and help believers. Their role developed from the function of angels in ancient Judaism but continued to evolve as Christianity became a separate religion. Jewish & Zoroastrian...

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Saint Augustine of Hippo & His Confession of Faith
Few theologians have attained as much renown and influence in history as Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE), a 'Doctor' of the Catholic Church and simply known by his peers as 'The Knowledgeable One.' A brilliant man who never sought to...