Renaissance: Did you mean...?

Empress Wu Zetian (Empress Consort Wu, Wu Hou, Wu Mei Niang, Mei-Niang, and Wu Zhao, l. 624-705 CE, r. 690-704 CE) was the only female emperor of Imperial China. She reigned during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) and was one of the most...

The aedile was an official of the Roman Republic who maintained Roman roads, supervised the grain and water supply, and provided the city's citizens with games among other duties. Initially, they were plebeian and elected annually by...

Silk is a fabric first produced in Neolithic China from the filaments of the cocoon of the silk worm. It became a staple source of income for small farmers and, as weaving techniques improved, the reputation of Chinese silk spread...

Seleucus I Nicator (l. c. 358-281 BCE, r. 305-281 BCE) was one of the generals of Alexander the Great (l. 356-323 BCE) who made up the group of Diadochi ("successors") who divided the vast Macedonian Empire between them after...

Bai Juyi (l. 772-846) was one of the greatest poets of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) along with Li Po (l. 701-762) and Du Fu (l. 712-770). He was a government official who got in trouble with authorities a number of times for not following...

Scipio Africanus Major (l. 236-183 BCE) received his epithet due to his military victories in Africa which won the Second Punic War for Rome against Carthage. He is also known as Scipio the Elder. He was born Publius Cornelius...

The Second Triumvirate was a political association of convenience between three of Rome's most powerful figures: Mark Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian in the 1st century BCE. Following the assassination of Julius Caesar the three...

Philippi was an important city in eastern Macedon which flourished in the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Periods. Situated between the Strymon and Nestos rivers, the city was valued in antiquity for its nearby gold mines. Site of...

Osiris is the Egyptian Lord of the Underworld and Judge of the Dead, brother-husband to Isis, and one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt. The name `Osiris' is the Latinized form of the Egyptian Usir which is interpreted as 'powerful'...

Ancient China produced what has become the oldest extant culture in the world. The name 'China' comes from the Sanskrit Cina (derived from the name of the Chinese Qin Dynasty, pronounced 'Chin') which was translated as 'Cin' by...