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Scythian Art
Definition by Patrick Scott Smith, M. A.

Scythian Art

Scythian art is best known for its 'animal art.' Flourishing between the 7th and 3rd centuries BCE on the steppe of Central Asia, with echoes of Celtic influence, the Scythians were known for their works in gold. Moreover, with the recent...
Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar
Definition by Mark Cartwright

Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar

Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar (also spelt Velásquez, 1465-1524) was a Spanish conquistador who conquered Cuba in 1511, became the island's first governor for the next decade, and sponsored expeditions of conquest directed at the American mainland...
Commius
Definition by Ludwig Heinrich Dyck

Commius

Commius was an Atrebates noble during Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars (58-50 BCE) who turned from Roman ally to indomitable foe. As king of the Atrebates, Commius ably served Caesar in Britannia and Gaul before becoming one of the main leaders...
Hernando de Soto
Definition by Mark Cartwright

Hernando de Soto

Hernando de Soto (c. 1500-1542) was a Spanish conquistador who fought in Panama and Nicaragua and accompanied Francisco Pizarro (c. 1478-1541) in the conquest of the Inca civilization in Peru. He famously explored North America, including...
William the Silent
Definition by Joshua J. Mark

William the Silent

William the Silent (l. 1533-1584, also known as William of Orange) was the leader of the Dutch Revolt (the Eighty Years' War) in the Netherlands; first politically (between 1559-1568) then militarily (between 1568-1584). He is among the most...
Eighty Years' War
Definition by Joshua J. Mark

Eighty Years' War

The Eighty Years' War (1568-1648, also known as The Dutch Revolt and Dutch War of Independence) was a military conflict between the seventeen provinces of the Netherlands and Spain, which then governed them, beginning in the reign of King...
Pedro de Alvarado
Definition by Mark Cartwright

Pedro de Alvarado

Pedro de Alvarado (c. 1485-1541) was a Spanish conquistador who became the first governor of Guatemala in 1527. Living an extraordinary life of adventure, Alvarado participated in separate expeditions to Mexico, Central America, South America...
Vasco Núñez de Balboa
Definition by Mark Cartwright

Vasco Núñez de Balboa

Vasco Núñez de Balboa (1475-1519) was a Spanish conquistador who famously discovered the Pacific Ocean after crossing the isthmus of Panama in 1513. An utterly ruthless adventurer and colonizer, Balboa was as much a danger to his fellow conquistadors...
Shajara al-Durr
Definition by Khadija Tauseef

Shajara al-Durr

Shajara al-Durr (r. 1250) was the founder of the Mamluk Dynasty in Egypt, and she was the first and only woman to sit on the Islamic Egyptian throne. She held the title of sultana for only 80 days but left a lasting mark through architectural...
Hernán Cortés
Definition by Mark Cartwright

Hernán Cortés

Hernán Cortés (1485-1547) was a Spanish conquistador who led the conquest of the Aztec Empire in Mexico from 1519. Taking the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in 1521, Cortés plundered Mesoamerica as he became the first ruler of the new colony...
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