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Trade Goods of the East India Company
The English East India Company (EIC) was founded in 1600, and it came to control both trade and territories in India, as well as a trade monopoly with...
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Map of the Empire of the Huns under Attila, c. 450 CE - Power, Pressure, and Collapse in Late Antiquity
The rise of the Huns in the 5th century CE reshaped the political landscape of Late Antiquity, culminating under Attila the Hun (reign 434-453 CE...
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Article
The Search for the Source of the Nile - Solving Geography's Last Great Riddle
The search for the source of the Nile River was one of the last great geographical mysteries of 19th-century European exploration. Men like Livingstone...
Article
Lullaby for a Son of Shulgi - A Single Moment Preserved in Time
Lullaby for a Son of Shulgi is a Sumerian cradlesong from the reign of Shulgi of Ur (2094 to circa 2046 BCE) written for one of his sons. The lullaby...
Article
The Germanic Warrior - Loyalty Unto Death
In Germanic society, the surest route to wealth, status and power was success in battle. Its most important institution was the comitatus or war band...
Article
The World's Oldest Love Poem - The Love Song for Shu-Sin
The world's oldest love poem is The Love Song for Shu-Sin (written circa 2000 BCE), composed in ancient Mesopotamia for use in part of the sacred rites...
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Scandinavia Before the Vikings
In the Merovingian period, Scandinavia was only just emerging from its prehistoric Iron Age. A process of political centralization that had begun in...
Article
Shulgi and Ninlil's Barge - A Poem Celebrating a Divine Event
Shulgi and Ninlil's Barge is a Sumerian poem dated to the reign of Shulgi of Ur (2094 - circa 2046 BCE) celebrating the caulking of the barge of the...
Article
The Debate Between Bird and Fish - The Age-old Problem of Difficult Neighbors
The Debate Between Bird and Fish (written circa 2000 BCE) is a Sumerian poem dated to the Ur III Period (circa 2112-circa 2004 BCE) when the genre of...
Article
A Praise Poem of Shulgi - A Celebration of an Ancient Famous Run
A Praise Poem of Shulgi (written circa 2020-2000 BCE) is an ancient Sumerian document celebrating the famous run of 200 miles (321.8 km) in one day...
Definition
Mau Mau Rebellion - Nationalism & Terror in British Kenya
The Mau Mau rebellion (1952-60), led by the Kikuyu people of Kenya, was a guerrilla war conducted against British colonial rule, motivated by anger...
Definition
Shulgi of Ur - Greatest King of the Ur III Period
Shulgi of Ur (reign 2094 to circa 2046 BCE) is considered the greatest king of the Ur III period in Mesopotamia (circa 2112 to circa 2004 BCE). His...
Article
The Colonial Bungalow - Combatting Climate & Creating Separation
With its thick walls, high ceilings, large rooms, and wide verandahs, the colonial bungalow was constructed to meet the challenges of hot climates...
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The Death of Ur-Nammu - The Sumerian Vision of the Afterlife
The Death of Ur-Nammu is a Sumerian lament over the passing of the king Ur-Nammu (reign circa 2112-2094 BCE), founder of the Third Dynasty of Ur, who...
Definition
Roger Mortimer - The Most Traitorous Earl of Edward II's Court
Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March (1287-1330) was an English nobleman who deposed King Edward II of England (reign 1307-1327) and then established himself...
Article
The Sumerian Poem Schooldays - Sumerian Satire & the Scribal Life
Schooldays (written circa 2000 BCE) is a Sumerian poem describing the daily life of a young scribe in the schools of Mesopotamia. The work takes the...
Definition
Piers Gaveston - The Rise and Fall of Edward II's Controversial Companion
Piers Gaveston (lived circa 1284-1312) was a Gascon-born English nobleman, famous as the favorite of King Edward II of England (reign 1307-1327). Gaveston's...
Definition
Fashoda Incident - When Britain and France Almost Went to War in Africa
The Fashoda Incident of 1898 occurred in Sudan and caused a diplomatic crisis between the British and French empires. A small French force claimed authority...
