Definitions

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...

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...

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...

Naram-Sin (reign 2254-2218 BCE) was the last great king of the Akkadian Empire and the grandson of Sargon the Great (reign 2334-2279 BCE), who founded the empire. He is considered the most important Akkadian king...

The Zulu Kingdom was one of the most powerful states in Southern and Central Africa during its peak in the mid-19th century. The Zulu expansion and domination of their neighbours is credited to the inspirational...

Sargon of Akkad (reign 2334-2279 BCE) was the king of the Akkadian Empire of Mesopotamia, the first multinational empire in history, who united the disparate kingdoms of the region under...

Ancient Mesopotamian literature developed circa 2600 BCE after scribes, who had formerly been record-keepers, began composing original works in the region of Sumer. The Sumerians invented writing...

The Akkadian poet Enheduanna (circa 2300 BCE) is the world's first author known by name and was the daughter of Sargon of Akkad (Sargon the Great, reign 2334-2279 BCE). Whether Enheduanna was, in fact...

Civilization (from the Latin civis=citizen and civitas=city) is a term applied to any society which has developed a writing system, government, production of surplus food, division of labor, and urbanization...

Script is the written expression of a language. Cuneiform, the first script, was invented in Sumer, Mesopotamia, circa 3600/3500 BCE; hieroglyphics sometime prior to the Early Dynastic Period in Egypt (circa...