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Definition
Mahdist War - Holy War in Sudan, 1881-99
The Mahdist War (1881-99) in Sudan was led by the inspirational Muhammad Ahmad, an Islamic holy man who declared himself the Mahdi (the Messiah). The Mahdists wanted to overthrow Ottoman-Egyptian rule in Sudan...
Definition
Maria Theresa - The Great Habsburg Empress
Maria Theresa (1717-1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg Monarchy, a sprawling empire that included Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, and other territories spread out across Italy, the Netherlands, and Central Europe...
Definition
Matabeleland (Kingdom) - The Ndebele Empire in Southern Africa
Matabeleland (1838-1897), also known as the Ndebele Empire or Mthwakazi by the Ndebele themselves, was an African state covering what is today part of southern Zimbabwe and northern South Africa...
Definition
Frederick the Great - Forging the Prussian State
Frederick II of Prussia (1712-1786), better known as Frederick the Great, was one of the most consequential rulers of 18th-century Europe. A scion of the House of Hohenzollern, he came to power in 1740...
Definition
War of the Spanish Succession - The Bloody Struggle for the Throne of Spain
The War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) was the first of several major wars fought between the great powers of Europe in the 18th century. Triggered by the death of the sickly...
Definition
German East Africa
German East Africa (Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a colony of Imperial Germany from 1885 until 1918. The territory, much larger than Germany itself, covered what is today Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and part of Mozambique. As in many...
Definition
Mesopotamian Naru Literature - The World's First Historical Fiction
Mesopotamian Naru Literature was a literary genre, first appearing around the 2nd millennium BCE, which featured a famous person (usually a king) from history as the main character in a...
Definition
Aethelred I of Wessex - The Forgotten Victor of the Battle of Ashdown
Aethelred I ruled the Kingdom of Wessex (southern England) from 865 to 871 and led the English resistance to the Viking invasions of Britain. He won the first English victory over the...
Definition
Near East - A Modern Term for an Ancient Land
The 'Near East' is a modern-age term for the region formerly known as the 'Middle East,' comprising Armenia, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and part of Turkey, corresponding...
Definition
Gutians - The Great Villains of the Sumerian Scribes
The Gutians were a West Asiatic people who are thought to have lived around the Zagros Mountains in a region referred to as Gutium. They had no written language and all that is known of them comes from...
