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How Diamonds Transformed Southern Africa - Kimberley's Blood, Sweat & Segregation
The discovery of diamonds in 1867 in Griqualand ultimately transformed the entire region of Southern Africa. Huge European financial investment and...
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The Many Lives of Odysseus - Kingship, War, Wandering, and Homecoming
Odysseus, the legendary king of Ithaca, belongs to the Greek Heroic Age, traditionally associated with the Trojan War near the end of the Late Bronze...
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Definition
George B. McClellan - The Wrong Man for the Job
George B. McClellan (1826-1885) was an American army officer and engineer who was elevated to the position of Commanding General of the United States...
Article
The Nimrud Dogs - The Security System of Ancient Mesopotamia
The Nimrud Dogs, five clay canine figurines found at the ancient Mesopotamian city of Nimrud, were only a few of the many startling finds in the region...
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Enlil in the E-kur - Praising God in Ancient Mesopotamia
Enlil in the E-Kur (circa 2000 BCE) is a Sumerian hymn praising the sky god Enlil, his temple/ziggurat at Nippur, and his consort Ninlil, depicting...
Definition
Doolittle Raid - The First Audacious US Strike on Tokyo in WWII
The Doolittle Raid saw 16 US B-25 bombers hit Tokyo and other targets in Japan on 18 April 1942. This was the first time that Japan's home islands had...
Article
The Song of the Hoe - Praise for an Ancient Mesopotamian Farming Tool
The Song of the Hoe is a Sumerian praise poem celebrating the hoe for its many uses and linking it to the creation of the world by the great god Enlil...
Definition
Battle of Fort Sumter - The First Shots Fired of the American Civil War
The Battle of Fort Sumter (12-13 April 1861), also known as the Attack on Fort Sumter and the Fall of Fort Sumter, was the opening engagement of the...
Article
The Attack on Pearl Harbor - Why the US Entered WWII
A Japanese carrier force attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, O'ahu, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941 and so brought the United States into the Second...
Definition
Homestead Act - Settling the American West
The Homestead Act was a policy enacted by the United States government on 20 May 1862 to encourage westward expansion. Passed during the American Civil...
Definition
Charvaka - The Ancient Indian Philosophy of Hedonism
Charvaka (also given as Carvaka) was a philosophical school of thought developed in ancient India circa 600 BCE, stressing materialism as the means...
Article
Why Did Japan Attack Pearl Harbor?
Without warning or even declaring war, Japan attacked the US naval fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941. Japan's military government, which...
Article
Doubleday's Account of Fort Sumter - He Aimed, Did Not Fire, the First Gun
Abner Doubleday (1819-1893), an officer in the US Army during the American Civil War, is famous today for two events – neither of which actually happened...
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The Nimrud Ivories - Their Discovery & History
The Nimrud Ivories are a vast collection of figures, panels, and plaques, carved from ivory, dated to the 9th to 7th centuries BCE, discovered in the...
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A Praise Poem of Lipit-Estar - A Popular Sumerian Song
A Praise Poem of Lipit-Estar is a Sumerian praise song honoring Lipit-Estar (also known as Lipit-Ishtar, reign circa 1935 to circa 1924 BCE), the fifth...
Definition
Eridu Genesis - The Oldest Mesopotamian Text on the Great Flood
The Eridu Genesis (also known as the Sumerian Flood Story, The Flood Story, Sumerian creation myth, Sumerian deluge myth) is the oldest Mesopotamian...
Definition
Miklós Horthy
Miklós Horthy (1868-1957) was a Hungarian admiral and statesman who served as regent for the Kingdom of Hungary from 1920 until his forced abdication...
Definition
North American P-51 Mustang - The Fighter that Changed Aerial Warfare
The North American P-51 Mustang was a long-range fighter aircraft used by the air forces of the United States and Great Britain during the Second World...
