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The title page of an early edition of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon (1737-1794), first published in 1776. (John Adams Library at the Boston Public Library)

The Legend of Sargon of Akkad (c. 2300 BCE) is an Akkadian work from Mesopotamia understood as the autobiography of Sargon of Akkad (Sargon the Great, r. 2334-2279 BCE), founder of the Akkadian Empire. The earliest copy is dated to the 7th...

Philo of Byzantium's On the Seven Wonders (225 BCE) is the first known list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (though it may have been based on earlier works now lost). Philo's list differs from the standard Seven Wonders in replacing...

Of Plymouth Plantation (also known as History of the Plymouth Plantation and William Bradford's Journal, written 1630-1651 CE) is the first-hand account of William Bradford (l. 1590-1657 CE), second governor of the Plymouth Colony (1620-1691...

The Neo-Assyrian Empire (912-612 BCE) was the final stage of the Assyrian Empire, stretching throughout Mesopotamia, the Levant, Egypt, Anatolia, and into parts of Persia and Arabia. Beginning with the reign of Adad Nirari II (912-891 BCE...

Ancient Egyptian literature comprises a wide array of narrative and poetic forms including inscriptions on tombs, stele, obelisks, and temples; myths, stories, and legends; religious writings; philosophical works; wisdom literature; autobiographies...

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) was a German polymath who became well-known across Europe for his work, particularly in the fields of science, mathematics, and philosophy. Leibniz's rationalist philosophy attempted to reconcile traditional...

A 19th-century portrait of the Franco-American pirate and privateer Jean Lafitte (c. 1780 - c. 1821). (Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas)

Men work on the construction of the Erie Canal in Scotia, New York. While the exact date of this photograph is unknown, the construction of the canal took place between 1817 and 1825. The original Erie Canal was 363 miles (584 km) in length...

Bibliotheca Historica Vol. 2. by 1st-century BCE historian Diodorus Siculus. Printed in 1746 CE. The Wolf Library’s George Wythe Collection.