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Gibbon's Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire
Article by Donald L. Wasson

Gibbon's Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire

The English historian Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) wrote and published his seminal work History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire between 1776 and 1788. The dominant theme of Gibbon's six-volume work is that the fall of the Roman Empire...
Medicine in Ancient Mesopotamia
Article by Joshua J. Mark

Medicine in Ancient Mesopotamia

In ancient Mesopotamia, the gods informed every aspect of daily life including the practice of medicine. Gula, the Sumerian goddess of healing, presided over the medical arts, guiding doctors and dentists in the treatment of health problems...
Gracchus Babeuf & the Conspiracy of Equals
Article by Harrison W. Mark

Gracchus Babeuf & the Conspiracy of Equals

On 10 May 1796, in the later stages of the French Revolution (1789-1799), a group of leftwing agitators were arrested in Paris, charged with plotting to overthrow the French Directory. After a series of trials, two of them were guillotined...
Ashurbanipal's Collection of Sumerian and Babylonian Proverbs
Article by Joshua J. Mark

Ashurbanipal's Collection of Sumerian and Babylonian Proverbs

Ashurbanipal's collection of Sumerian and Babylonian proverbs formed part of the famous Library of Ashurbanipal (7th century BCE) established at Nineveh for the express purpose of preserving the knowledge of the past for future generations...
Ludlul-Bel-Nemeqi
Article by Joshua J. Mark

Ludlul-Bel-Nemeqi

The Ludlul-Bel-Nemeqi (c. 1700 BCE) is a Sumerian and later Babylonian poem on the theme of unjust suffering, which is thought to have influenced the biblical Book of Job. Also known as The Poem of the Righteous Sufferer, the title translates...
Scribes in Ancient Mesopotamia
Article by Joshua J. Mark

Scribes in Ancient Mesopotamia

Scribes in ancient Mesopotamia were highly educated individuals trained in writing and reading on diverse subjects. Initially, their purpose was in recording financial transactions through trade, but in time, they were integral to every aspect...
Poor Man of Nippur
Article by Joshua J. Mark

Poor Man of Nippur

The Poor Man of Nippur (c. 701 BCE) is a Babylonian poem on the themes of the obligations of hospitality and revenge for an undeserved injury. A poor man of the city of Nippur feels mistreated when he visits the mayor and then goes to great...
Sulla's March on Rome
Article by Donald L. Wasson

Sulla's March on Rome

In 88 BCE, Lucius Cornelius Sulla (138-78 BCE) marched on Rome and entered the city's sacred inner boundary, the pomerium, bearing arms. Breaking this taboo, he sought to gain political power and control of the army of the East that had been...
Schooldays: Sumerian Satire & the Scribal Life
Article by Joshua J. Mark

Schooldays: Sumerian Satire & the Scribal Life

Schooldays (c. 2000 BCE) is a Sumerian poem describing the daily life of a young scribe in the schools of Mesopotamia. The work takes the form of a first-person narration and dialogue in relating the challenges the student faces and how he...
Retreat from Kabul in 1842
Article by Mark Cartwright

Retreat from Kabul in 1842

The Retreat from Kabul in 1842 was one of the most notorious disasters in the history of the British Empire. An East India Company army had invaded Afghanistan but was obliged to withdraw. This army of 4,500 soldiers and 12,000 camp followers...
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