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Marco Polo
Marco Polo (1254-1324 CE) was a Venetian merchant and explorer who travelled to China and served the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan (l. 1214-1294 CE) between c. 1275 and 1292 CE. Polo's adventures are recounted in his own writings, The Travels...

Definition
Chagatai Khanate
The Chagatai Khanate (also Chaghatai, Jagatai, Chaghatay or Ca'adai, c. 1227-1363 CE) was that part of the Mongol Empire (1206-1368 CE) which covered what is today mostly Uzbekistan, southern Kazakhstan, and western Tajikistan. The khanate...

Definition
Brahmi Script
The Brahmi script is the earliest writing system developed in India after the Indus script. It is one of the most influential writing systems; all modern Indian scripts and several hundred scripts found in Southeast and East Asia are derived...

Definition
Jang Bogo - Korea's King of the Yellow Sea
Jang Bogo (aka Chang Pogo or Gungbok) was a powerful Korean warlord, naval commander, and merchant who came to monopolise maritime trade in northeast Asia to such a degree that he was known as the 'King of the Yellow Sea' during the first...

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The Brouwer Route
The Dutch East India Company's favoured route from Europe to southeast Asia was known as the Brouwer Route. It was discovered by Dutch explorer Hendrik Brouwer (c. 1581-1643) in 1611 and halved the sailing time from the Netherlands to the...

Definition
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire was established from the 15th century and eventually stretched from the Americas to Japan. Very often a string of coastal trading centres with defensive fortifications, there were larger territorial colonies like Brazil...

Article
Periplus of the Euxine Sea
The Periplus of the Euxine Sea (Circumnavigation of the Black Sea) is a description of trade routes along the shores of the Black Sea written by Arrian of Nicomedia (Lucius Flavius Arrianus), a historian and philosopher writing in the early...

Interview
Interview: Conquering the Ocean by Richard Hingley
In this interview, World History Encyclopedia sits down with author Richard Hingly to chat about his new book Conquering the Ocean: The Roman Invasion of Britain published by Oxford University Press. Kelly: Do you want to tell us a bit about...

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, and, with the help of the First Crusaders, the Seljuks...

Definition
Hypaspist
The hypaspists or hypaspistai were a distinct type of infantry soldier who served as a vital part of the Macedonian armies of both Phillip II of Macedon (r. 359 BCE - 336 BCE) and his son and heir Alexander the Great (r. 336-323 BCE). The...