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Caratacus
Definition

Caratacus - The Catuvellauni Chieftain Who Defied Rome

Caratacus (or Caractacus) was a Briton tribal leader who led the resistance against the Roman conquest of Britannia during the 1st century CE. When Roman emperor Claudius (reign 41-54 CE) invaded...
Beer
Definition

Beer - The Drink Which Makes One's Heart Feel Light

Beer is one of the oldest intoxicating beverages consumed by human beings. Even a cursory survey of history makes clear that, after human beings have taken care of the essential needs of food, shelter...
Louis XIV of France
Definition

Louis XIV of France - The Sun King

Louis XIV (1638-1715) reigned as King of France from 1643 to 1715. Known as Le Roi Soleil ('the Sun King'), he fervently believed in the concept of the 'divine right' of kings and is remembered for ruling as an absolute...
Mahdist War
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...
Maria Theresa
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...
Matabeleland (Kingdom)
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...
Frederick the Great
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...
War of the Spanish Succession
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...
German East Africa
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...
Mesopotamian Naru Literature
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...
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