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Robespierre & the Death Penalty
Article by Harrison W. Mark

Robespierre & the Death Penalty

"I come to ask, not the gods, but legislators…to erase from the code of the French the blood laws that command judicial murders" (Robespierre, 6). These impassioned words, spoken by Maximilien Robespierre before France's National Constituent...
Trade in Ancient Mesopotamia
Article by Joshua J. Mark

Trade in Ancient Mesopotamia

Local trade in ancient Mesopotamia began in the Ubaid Period (c. 5000-4100 BCE), had developed into long-distance trade by the Uruk Period (c. 4100-2900 BCE), and was flourishing by the time of the Early Dynastic Period (2900-2334 BCE). Developments...
The Death of Ur-Nammu
Article by Joshua J. Mark

The Death of Ur-Nammu

The Death of Ur-Nammu is a Sumerian lament over the passing of the king Ur-Nammu (r. 2047-2030 BCE), founder of the Third Dynasty of Ur, who was killed in battle fighting the Gutians in 2030 BCE. The poem is frequently cited for its depiction...
A Praise Poem of Shulgi
Article by Joshua J. Mark

A Praise Poem of Shulgi

A Praise Poem of Shulgi (c. 2020-2000 BCE) is an ancient Sumerian document celebrating the famous run of 200 miles (321.8 km) in one day made by the king Shulgi of Ur (r. 2029-1982 BCE) to distinguish his reign by officiating at the religious...
Hymn to Inanna
Article by Joshua J. Mark

Hymn to Inanna

The Hymn to Inanna (also known as The Great-Hearted Mistress) is a passionate devotional work by the poet and high priestess Enheduanna (l. 2285-2250 BCE), the first author in the world known by name. The poem is significant as one of the...
Battle of Plassey
Article by Mark Cartwright

Battle of Plassey

The Battle of Plassey on 23 June 1757 saw Robert Clive's East India Company army defeat a larger force of the Nawab of Bengal. Victory brought the Company new wealth and marked the beginning of its territorial expansion in the subcontinent...
Japanese Castles
Article by Graham Squires

Japanese Castles

Fortifications of one kind or another had been used in Japan since ancient times, but in the period from 1576 until 1639, a new and distinctive style of castle was constructed. Rather than being used for fighting, these were impressive structures...
A Supervisor's Advice to a Young Scribe
Article by Joshua J. Mark

A Supervisor's Advice to a Young Scribe

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 Period (c. 2000-1600 BCE) and, although originally...
Power Struggles in the Reign of Terror
Article by Harrison W. Mark

Power Struggles in the Reign of Terror

The autumn of 1793 saw the Jacobins consolidate their authority in France as the Reign of Terror intensified and the Jacobins' defeated rivals were executed by guillotine. Yet the dominant Jacobins disagreed over the direction the French...
Geme-Suen v Ur-Lugal's Wife - A Court Case in Ancient Mesopotamia
Article by Oxford University Press

Geme-Suen v Ur-Lugal's Wife - A Court Case in Ancient Mesopotamia

During the 21st century BCE, an era known as the Ur III period in Mesopotamia, many records of court hearings were drawn up in Umma, a city in what is now southern Iraq. One court record relates a dispute between two women. The name of one...
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