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Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540-1596 CE) was an English mariner, privateer and explorer who in 1588 CE helped defeat the Spanish Armada of Philip II of Spain (r. 1556-1598 CE) which attempted to invade the kingdom of Elizabeth I of England (r...

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Lost Cities of the Ancient World - Interview With Author Philip Matyszak
What happened to the places that history forgot – the cities submerged under water, decimated by invading armies or swallowed up by the sands of time? Where are they, and what can they tell us about our past? From the sunken city of Thonis...

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A Day in the Life of an Ancient Celtic Druid - Philip Freeman
Join the Celtic druid Camma in her village as she conducts religious rites, serves as a healer, and mediates conflict between tribes. — As the sun rises in 55 BCE, Camma lays two pigeons on the altar at the center of her village. She...

Definition
Philippi
Philippi was an important city in eastern Macedon which flourished in the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Periods. Situated between the Strymon and Nestos rivers, the city was valued in antiquity for its nearby gold mines. Site of the famous...

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The Great Swamp Fight: The Bloodiest Day of King Philip's War
In December 1675 CE, in the midst of King Philip's War, an army of Puritan colonists made a preemptive strike against the neutral Narragansett tribe. Their desperate battle in the snowy wilderness of Rhode Island became a touchstone in the...

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The Sudbury Fight, 1676: A Decisive Native American Victory in King Philip's War
On April 21st 1676 CE, a company of eighty Massachusetts militiamen fought to the death against a Native American army five hundred strong in one of the climactic battles of King Philip's War.

Definition
Pezhetairoi
The pezhetairoi (foot companions) were part of the imposing army that accompanied the Macedonian commander Alexander the Great (r. 336-323 BCE) when he crossed the Hellespont to face the Persian king Darius III in 334 BCE. Armed with long...

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Isabella of France
Isabella of France, Detail from an illustration in the Grandes Chroniques de France (Français 6465, fol. 338v.) by Jean Fouquet, Tours, c. 1455-1460.
National Library of France, Paris.

Definition
Schmalkaldic War
The Schmalkaldic War (1546-1547) was fought between the Protestant Schmalkaldic League and the Catholic armies under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who, having failed to achieve religious unity of his subjects at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530...

Definition
Mary I of England
Mary I of England reigned as queen from 1553 to 1558. The eldest daughter of Henry VIII of England (r. 1509-1547) with Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536), she restored Catholicism in England while her persecution of Protestants led to her nickname...