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Frederick the Great
Definition

Frederick the Great - Forging the Prussian State

Frederick II of Prussia (1712-1786), better known as Frederick the Great, was one of the most consequential rulers of 18th-century Europe. A scion of the House of Hohenzollern, he came to power in 1740...
War of the Spanish Succession
Definition

War of the Spanish Succession - The Bloody Struggle for the Throne of Spain

The War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) was the first of several major wars fought between the great powers of Europe in the 18th century. Triggered by the death of the sickly...
German East Africa
Definition

German East Africa

German East Africa (Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a colony of Imperial Germany from 1885 until 1918. The territory, much larger than Germany itself, covered what is today Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and part of Mozambique. As in many...
Mesopotamian Naru Literature
Definition

Mesopotamian Naru Literature - The World's First Historical Fiction

Mesopotamian Naru Literature was a literary genre, first appearing around the 2nd millennium BCE, which featured a famous person (usually a king) from history as the main character in a...
Aethelred I of Wessex
Definition

Aethelred I of Wessex - The Forgotten Victor of the Battle of Ashdown

Aethelred I ruled the Kingdom of Wessex (southern England) from 865 to 871 and led the English resistance to the Viking invasions of Britain. He won the first English victory over the...
Near East
Definition

Near East - A Modern Term for an Ancient Land

The 'Near East' is a modern-age term for the region formerly known as the 'Middle East,' comprising Armenia, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and part of Turkey, corresponding...
Gutians
Definition

Gutians - The Great Villains of the Sumerian Scribes

The Gutians were a West Asiatic people who are thought to have lived around the Zagros Mountains in a region referred to as Gutium. They had no written language and all that is known of them comes from...
Belgian Congo
Definition

Belgian Congo - One of Africa's Most Notorious Colonies

Belgian Congo was a colony of Belgium from 1908 until 1960. Prior to that, the region had been the Congo Free State (created in 1885), which was effectively a private enterprise of King Leopold II...
War of the Austrian Succession
Definition

War of the Austrian Succession - How One Woman's Right to Rule Plunged Europe into War

The War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) was a major conflict fought between the great powers of Europe, sparked by a dispute over the right of a woman – Maria Theresa...
Anglo-Zulu War
Definition

Anglo-Zulu War - Britain's Invasion of Zululand

The Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 saw British-led armies invade the Zulu Kingdom in Southern Africa as part of a wider plan to unify various territories into a single British-controlled state. Despite their spectacular...
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