Articles

With the appearance of the legionary, the Roman army was able to maintain a vast empire that totally embraced the Mediterranean Sea. Although the success of the army rested on the backs of the foot-soldiers and cavalry...

During the reign of Louis XIV of France (1643-1715), music accompanied some of the most visible occasions of royal life: entrances, diplomatic receptions, religious services, court festivals...

The rulers of China's Ming dynasty (1368-1644) acquired an insatiable desire for silver in the 16th century, largely to pay for huge prestige projects like building the Forbidden City in Beijing and repairing the...

Ulysses S. Grant's victory at the Battle of Fort Donelson (11-16 February 1862) during the American Civil War elevated him to national fame, opened the Cumberland...

Paper money was invented in China and became widely used by merchants during the Song dynasty (960-1279), principally as proof of cash holdings in state treasuries and for larger trade transactions. The greater security...

The Dialogue of Pessimism (circa 1000 BCE) is a Babylonian poem featuring a master and his slave in ten exchanges during which the master proposes an action, and the slave gives reasons for and against...

Union Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote (1806-1863) came to national attention during the American Civil War following his naval victory over Confederate land forces at the...

The Pacific War (1941-45) contributed many lasting innovations and developments to global warfare. This theatre of the Second World War witnessed the end of battleships as the primary mode of naval warfare...

A Supervisor's Advice to a Young Scribe is a Sumerian composition relating a dialogue between an elder scribe and a young graduate from his school. The piece is dated to the Old Babylonian...

The decision to drop the atomic bomb in August 1945 was taken to avoid further Allied casualties in the Pacific War by forcing Japan into an immediate surrender. Another reason was, as the victors jostled...