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The question "Why do bad things happen to good people?" has been asked for millennia, probably since before writing was invented, but at least since circa 1700 BCE when the Sumerian (and later Babylonian) poem, Ludlul-Bel-Nemeqi (also known...

Dogs are the oldest domesticated animal in China and were bred as guardians, for transporting goods, for herding, hunting, and as a food source. Archaeological evidence dates the domestication of the dog in China at approximately 15,000 years...

The Death of Gilgamesh is a Sumerian poem relating the death and afterlife of the famous hero-king of Uruk, who had become a legendary figure. The piece is dated to before the Ur III Period (2047-1750 BCE), and although its theme informs...

Many enslaved African Americans in the United States escaped bondage with the help of the Underground Railroad, but many others took it upon themselves to seize their freedom without assistance and, among the more dramatic escapes, was the...

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 was killed in battle fighting the Gutians in 2094 BCE. The poem is frequently cited for...

Ghost stories were the earliest form of literature in ancient China. They were almost certainly part of a very old oral tradition before writing developed during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE) and they continue to be popular in China today...

Provence has inherited a rich legacy from antiquity, boasting some of the best-preserved Roman ruins in Europe. In the 2nd century BCE, the Romans began their conquest of the region and called it “Provincia Romana,” giving us the region's...

Sammu-Ramat (r. 811-806 BCE) was the queen regent of the Assyrian Empire who held the throne for her young son Adad Nirari III (r. 811-783 BCE) until he reached maturity. She is also known as Shammuramat, Sammuramat, and, most notably, as...

William the Conqueror (r. 1066-1087 CE) was victorious at the Battle of Hastings in October 1066 CE, and Harold Godwinson, King Harold II of England (r. Jan - Oct 1066 CE) was dead. The English throne and kingdom were there for the taking...

The Battle of Franklin (30 November 1864) was a major battle in the western theater of the American Civil War (1861-1865). In his push to liberate Nashville from Northern occupation, Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood invaded Tennessee...