History

John Hawkins

In the battle which defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588, Hawkins served as a Vice-Admiral. He was knighted for gallantry. He ...

Gordium

According to legend, the ancient capital was founded by the peasant Gordius, who contrived the knot later cut by Alexander the ...

Lady Jane Grey

After only nine days as the monarch of England, Lady Jane Grey is deposed in favor of her cousin Mary. The 15-year-old Lady ...

Valerian

Valerian has a long history of medicinal use dating back to the era of the Greek physicians Hippocrates (circa 460-377 BCE) ...

Galleon

galleon, full-rigged sailing ship that was built primarily for war, and which developed in the 15th and 16th centuries. The ...

Samson

Samson was a legendary Israelite warrior and judge, a member of the tribe of Dan, and a Nazirite. His immense physical ...

Sacsayhuaman

Begun in the reign of the great Inca empire builder Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, or perhaps his son Thupa Inca Yupanqui in the ...

Hanji

Hanji is the name of the handmade paper produced in ancient Korea from the 1st century BCE. Made from mulberry trees its ...

Emperor Taizu of Song

Taizu, Wade-Giles romanization T’ai-tsu, personal name (xingming) Zhao Kuangyin, (born 927, Luoyang, Chinadied Nov. 14, ...

Carthaginian Warfare

The First Punic War began in 264 B.C. when Rome interfered in a dispute on the Carthaginian-controlled island of Sicily; the ...

Noah

Noah appears in Genesis 5:29 as the son of Lamech and ninth in descent from Adam. In the story of the Deluge (Genesis ...

Kingdom of Benin

The historical kingdom of Benin was established in the forested region of West Africa in the 1200s C.E. According to history, ...

Rashtrakuta Dynasty

Rashtrakuta dynasty, Hindu dynasty that ruled the Deccan and neighbouring areas of India from about 755 to 975 ce. Probably ...

Urartu Civilization

Urartu sprang from a confederation of kingdoms which had developed from the 14th or 13th century BCE onwards. A recognisable ...

Ostrogoth

The Goths appear in Roman records starting in the third century, in the regions north of the Lower Danube and Black Sea. They ...

Sistrum

The sistrum was used in the cult of the goddess Hathor and later, as Hathor merged with the maternal and life-giving goddess ...

Gaiseric

Gaiseric, also spelled Genseric, (died 477), king of the Vandals and the Alani (428477) who conquered a large part of Roman ...

Erebuni

Erebuni was founded by Urartian King Argishti I (r. ca. 785753 BC) in 782 BC. It was built on top of a hill called Arin Berd ...

Kapilavastu

Kapilavastu (Pali, Sanskrit, Nepali and Hindi: ?????????) was an ancient city which was the capital of the clan of the Shakyas ...

Senusret III

Military Campaigns Like the later pharaoh Thutmose III (1458-1425 BCE), Senusret III is best known for his great military ...

Sidon

Sidon was one of the most important Phoenician cities, and it may have been the oldest. From there and other ports, a great ...

To-ji

Toji Temple HistoryToji is one of Kyoto’s oldest temples. It was founded as a guardian temple for the city in 796 just ...

Martyr

The word martyr itself derives from the Greek for witness, originally applied to the apostles who had witnessed Christ’s ...

Queen Seondeok

Queen Seondeok (Sondok) ruled the ancient kingdom of Silla from 632 to 647 CE and was the first female sovereign in ancient ...

Roman Naval Warfare

Vessels were propelled by rowers and sail to transport troops, and in naval battles, the vessels became battering rams using ...

Djed

The precise origin of the djed is unknown but it was associated with the god Ptah, an early creator god in the Predynastic ...

Symposium

The symposium (or symposion) was an important part of ancient Greek culture from the 7th century BCE and was a party held in a ...

Krishna

Krishna was the son of Vasudeva and Devaki but, when his maternal uncle Kamsa, the wicked king of Mathura, tried to kill him, ...

Empuries

Empuries was established by settlers from Massalia (Marseilles) in the 6th century BCE who founded the port of Palaeopolis on ...

Chang’an

Chang’an was briefly the capital of the Western Jin dynasty from 312 to 316. It was also the capital of Former Zhao ...