Heliogabalus, Roman Emperor from 218-222 AD, is infamous for his eccentricities and religious zeal. He attempted to replace Rome's pantheon with his deity, El-Gabal, led a scandalous personal life, and indulged in extravagant excesses, leading to his assassination at just 18.
Exploring the ronin, masterless samurai of feudal Japan, origins, roles, and cultural impact. Their hardships, contributions to warfare, and the legendary tale of the 47 Ronin. The decline of the ronin following the Meiji Restoration, and their lasting legacy in modern culture.
Saint Barbara, a 3rd-century Christian martyr, was locked in a tower by her pagan father, Dioscorus, to shield her from the world. After secretly converting to Christianity, betrayed by her father, and beheaded for her faith. Legend says Dioscorus was then struck by lightning as divine retribution.
Narcissus, a stunningly beautiful but arrogant boy foretold by the seer Tiresias to live long "as long as he did not know himself," spurned the love of many, including the talkative nymph Echo, whose love he rejected before she faded away, leaving only her echoing voice behind.
The Aztec Sun Stone was a massive, intricately carved monolith created by the Aztecs, serving both as an astronomical calendar and a religious symbol depicting the five consecutive worlds of the sun from Aztec mythology.
An obelisk is a tall four-sided column, often made from a single block of stone. An obelisk narrows gradually to a pyramidal top. The earliest obelisks were short rectangular structures that were used as gravestones and as garden monuments.
One of history's greatest conquerors, Alexander the Great overran the Persian Empire in less than 10 years and advanced as far as India.
Ancient Etruscan art, characterized by its unique blend of Greek influence and indigenous creativity, is renowned for its sophisticated metalwork, vibrant wall paintings, and intricately decorated pottery, reflecting the rich cultural and religious life of the Etruscan civilization.
Early humans ate grass seeds before learning to process plants into bread, requiring innovations like milling stones and fire control. Primitive bread from ground plants predates agriculture, with non-farming peoples making unleavened cakes from various seeds and roots.
In Greek legend the Trojan War was a 10-year battle fought by the Greeks to recover Helen, wife of the King of Sparta, who had been kidnapped by Paris, son of the King of Troy.
Samurai helmets had a circular opening at the top which was designed to allow the spirit of the Shinto war god Hachiman to enter the fighter's body
Bushido is an unwritten code of honor which was influential in Japanese society from the 12th to the 20th century. The word means "way of the warrior" and throughout most of its history the code applied to the manners and ethics of the feudal class of samurai warriors.
Life in Ancient Sparta was centered around military discipline and excellence, with a society structured to support a powerful warrior class from a young age, prioritizing strength, obedience, and simplicity.
The earliest grammarians, notably Panini in the 6th to 4th centuries BC, provided precise descriptions of Sanskrit, marking the beginning of grammatical studies that influenced Western tradition from the Greeks onward, incorporating logic, philosophy, and rhetoric into the analysis of language.
Galileo Galilei, pioneering the scientific method, made significant strides in mathematics, physics, and astronomy, including the discovery of pendulum isochronism, advancing the accuracy of timekeeping.
"Illuminati" refers to various groups called "enlightened ones" over centuries, from early Christians to 16th-century mystical sects in Spain and France. The term was later used by 20th-century Rosicrucians and a rationalist secret society founded in 1776 by Adam Weishaupt, suppressed in 1785.
Born Athens, Greece, in about 460 B.C., Thucydides is regarded as the first scientific historian. During the Peloponnesian War he was made a general of the Athenian army.
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), British nursing reformer, trained as a nurse in 1851. She improved hospital care, worked in philanthropy, and led 38 nurses to aid in the Crimean War, significantly enhancing medical practices.
Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, allied with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, inspiring famous plays. She overcame her brother's coup with Caesar's help, but after Actium's defeat by Octavian, she and Antony died in a tragic end, marking her legend.
Achilles, nearly invincible from being dipped in the River Styx, was discovered by Odysseus after hiding to avoid the Trojan War. He returned to battle to avenge Patroclus but died from an arrow to his only vulnerable spot, his heel.
Alcibiades, an Athenian born in 450 BC, was raised by Pericles and befriended Socrates. After marrying Hipparete, he shifted from wanting Spartan alliance to becoming their foe. Fleeing to Sparta over accusations, he later sought Athenian return, promising Persian aid. Recalled but ousted in 407 BC,
The branch of science that deals with the behavior of humans and animals is known as psychology. Along with biology, sociology and anthropology it is one of the behavioral sciences.
Etruscan, spoken in pre-Roman Etruria and documented in over 9,000 inscriptions across Italy and beyond, remains undeciphered despite its known script. Notable texts include a 1500-word Egyptian mummy wrapping and inscriptions like the 5th-century BC tile from S. Maria di Capua.
Pythagoras was a 6th-century BC Greek philosopher and mathematician. He founded a religious movement known for its mathematical theories, most famously the Pythagorean theorem in geometry.
Acrobatics, a timeless art depicted in ancient Egyptian tomb paintings, has evolved over millennia, incorporating daring innovations like the trapeze and high-wire acts, to continually captivate audiences with thrilling performances.
Roman law in the early republic featured unwritten customs and written laws from various sources. Laws were passed by Roman citizens' assemblies and plebiscites. Written laws also included magistrates' edicts, senate resolutions, and jurists' advice on customs, shaping the legal framework.
Scale armor, dating back to the 10th century B.C. in Egypt and ancient Persia, was made of small metal plates on fabric and worn by Greek, Roman, Viking, and Norman warriors.
By the 3rd century A.D., the Roman Empire faced barbarian invasions, civil wars, and internal decay, with emperors constantly battling for power. The Pax Romana crumbled as the empire, still large, decayed internally. The empire eventually split, leading to the Western Empire's fall in 476 A.D.
By AD 200 the city of Rome contained about 1.2 million people. They needed a large number of buildings, shops, temples, theaters and public baths. But most of all they needed homes. Most people in Rome lived in blocks of flats, five or six storeys...
A new power had begun to arise in western Europe between 500 to 275 B.C. the Romans gained control of the entire Italian peninsula south of the River Po. They conquered some of the Italian cities founded by the Greeks, but the Romans did not...
The Amazons in Greek legend were members of a tribe of women warriors who lived on the southern shore of the Black Sea. The Amazons were said to kill or send away their male offspring, keeping only their female children. One story about them...
Golden Horde is the modern term for a state that existed from 1223 to about 1400 in the Turkic steppes, the westernmost part of the Mongol empire. In 1223, Jochi, the son of Genghis Khan, received Khwarizm (Khorezm) and the northern Caucasus from...
Galen, a renowned ancient physician, believed studying the body revealed God's plan. He theorized about blood formation and bodily functions, ideas that endured for centuries until the 17th century.
Of Greek bathing we know a good deal from excavation, literature and vase-painting. A private bath in the shape of a pottery bowl has been found at Phylakopi, the Mycenaean city excavated on Melos. Public baths of the Mycenaean era are known from...
Julius Caesar was one of the most remarkable men in any period of history. He was a highly successful general. As a strategist and tactician he fell short of greatness, but he made up for that with speed and boldness as well as courage. His ability...
While it lasted, the era of peace and prosperity under the good emperors brought to the world blessings that have never been wholly lost or forgotten. There was no serious threat or invasion from without or of revolution from within. For three...
The Clipper was a sailing merchantman designed primarily for speed. Clippers were usually square-rigged ships with three or more masts, but there were also clipper barks, brigs, and schooners. Considerations of large carrying capacity and...
The period comprising the final years of the 1st century and most of the 2nd century was the age of the five "good" emperors: Nerva (reigned 96-98), Trajan (reigned 98-117), Hadrian (reigned 117-138), Antoninus Pius (reigned 138-161), and Marcus...
Lucius Aelius Sejanus was an adviser of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. He was the son of a Roman knight and had influential political connections through his mother's family. After the accession of Tiberius in 14 A.D., Sejanus and his father were made...
The correct name for the huge sphinx of Giza is Harmakhis, meaning 'Horus on the Horizon'. The sphinx was carved from a natural outcrop of rock near the pyramid of El Giza nearly 5000 years ago to act as a guardian of the Nile Valley. The face of...
These are terms for honored offices of authority held by distinguished Romans before the days of the Roman Empire; although the word 'proconsul' is seldom used today, the consular service remains an important branch of a nation's foreign service. ...
Procopius was a Byzantine historian (circa AD 500 – circa AD 565) born in Caesarea, Palestine, he was educated in Caesarea and Gaza, where he studied rhetoric and law, he went to Constantinople to practice the legal profession. There he became...
The Cossacks were a group of semi-nomadic, militarized communities originating in Eastern Europe and Russia, known for their exceptional horseback riding skills, martial prowess, and distinctive culture, which played a significant role in the historical and political development of the region.
The original inhabitants of the Japanese islands were the Ainu, a hairy, bearded people culturally close to the Buryats and other tribes of the northern Russia, and still surviving in small numbers on the island of Hokkaido. It seems certain that...
Formed by the Ottoman Turks in the fourteenth century, the Ottoman Empire covered a vast territory. With unequaled military strength, Turkish forces conquered the Middle East and south-east Europe. The empire flourished until the late sixteenth...
A million or more people lived in Ancient Rome in the third century AD. Some were wealthy generals, senators and magistrates; many were middle-class merchants, business people, craft workers and shopkeepers; but the majority were poor. The biggest...
Claudius's invasion had begun in AD 43. By AD 47 the Romans had reached the Fosse Way, and they advanced further across Britain between AD 71 and 84. Hadrian's Wall was started in AD 122, and north of that, the Antonine Wall was built about the year...
The Emperor Claudius began his invasion of Britain in AD 43. This was nearly one hundred years after Julius Caesar's landings. As with Caesar, there were a number of possible reasons why Claudius wanted his troops to cross the Channel. He may have...
In 55 BC Julius Caesar decided to invade Britain with two legions, the Seventh and the Tenth. Each Roman legion had about 5,500 soldiers in it. A supporting f1eet carrying supplies and cavalry would follow soon afterwards. When his ships arrived off...
The Mongols were a nomadic people of Mongolia, emerged from obscurity in the 13th century, when Genghis Khan (1162-1227), at the head of hordes of mounted tribesmen, conquered a vast empire.
Renaissance, or Revival of Learning, was a great movement in literature, art, architecture, science and human behavior that began in Italy in the 14th century, reached its peak in the 15th century and spread to the rest of Europe. It marks the end...
The instinct to decorate the person has been common to all people at all times. Jewellery falls into a number of categories according to what parts of the body it is intended to adorn; at different times and in different places the emphasis has...
In 206 BC, after fierce fighting, the tribes of Iberia (Spain and Portugal) were absorbed into the Roman Empire. Portugal was part of the province of Lusitania until the 5th century AD, when Visigoths, barbarians from the north, established a...
Stone Age ancestors of today's Indians arrived in Canada from across the Bering Strait about 20,000-30,000 years ago. They gradually spread, becoming cropraisers in the east, fishermen on the west coast, hunters in the forests and nomads on the...
Herod the Great, king of Judea, who founded the Herodian dynasty (55 B.C. to 93 A.D.). He is also called Herod I. He was the son of Antipater, governor of Idumaea. Herod was appointed governor of Galilee in 47 B.C. Although nominally a Jew (his...
The Tatars, originally a Turkic-speaking people from Mongolia who formed a significant part of Genghis Khan's army, established vast empires across Eurasia, notably the Golden Horde, before their eventual assimilation into the Russian state.
A Germanic people, the Vandals were one of the several barbarian tribes who invaded the Roman Empire in the fifth century AD. The Vandals originated in the Baltic area but by the first century AD had settled in East Europe. After AD 400, through...
According to tradition Cadiz was founded by the Phoenicians about 1000 BC. Long before that time, however, prehistoric civilizations flourished; the famous cave paintings at Altamira in Santander province are attributed to Cro-Magnon man. The...
It was in the Mediterranean Sea that navies, as such, first made their appearance in history. The Egyptian kings probably had ships specially designed for fighting as early as 3000 B.C. Crete reached its height as a great sea power about 1600 B.C....
The Sumerian civilization flourished in Mesopotamia, the area in South West Asia that surrounded the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys, during the approximate period 3000-2000 B.C. Mesopotamia was divided into several kingdoms, one of which,...
Ancient Egypt was a civilization that flourished along the Nile River in north west Africa from before 3400 B.C. until 30 B.C., when the last Egyptian king, Ptolemy XIV, was put to death by order of Octavian (later Roman Emperor Augustus), and Egypt...
A schooner is a sailing vessel with two or more masts, having only fore-and-aft-rigged sails. This type of rigging enables the vessel to sail closer to the wind than a square-rigged ship can. Schooners are also easily maneuverable and can be handled...
One of the Germanic tribes that invaded the Roman Empire, the Saxons later settled in Britain with the Angles and Jutes. Their origins are obscure but, by the third and fourth centuries AD, they were settled along the Baltic coast and in the area of...
Cyrus the Great was king of Persia and founder of the Achaemenid empire. He was born about 600 B.C. According to Herodotus he was the third of his line to hold the name; hence he should be designated Cyrus III. Cyrus was the son of Cambyses II and...
Athenian historian, whose masterpiece was a 'History of the Peloponnesian War', an account of the struggle between Athens and Sparta for dominance in Greece from 431 to 404 BC. Thucydides completed only eight volumes of this massive study, covering the wars down to 411 BC, before his death. He is...
Pirates were international outlaws. They could be tracked down by any nation, and their bases attacked without a declaration of war. Pirates could be brought to trial in the courts of any nation, for under international law, piracy was a crime...
The Vikings were seafaring raiders from Scandinavia during the 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries, the period known as the Viking Age. They are also called Northmen or Norsemen.
Catiline (109-62 B.C.) was a Roman politician, who was notorious because of the abortive conspiracy he organized in 63 B.C. Catiline (Lucius Sergius Catilina) was born to a patrician family that had been long obscure. In his early years he seems to...
'Viking' is a designation of the adventurous people of the North, a collective name for the Norwegians, Swedes, and Danes in the 8th to 10th centuries.
Lares, in Roman religion, are tutelary deities. Few modern scholars support the old theory that the lares were the ghosts of the dead and deified ancestors, who personified the vital powers and thus assured the duration of the family over which...
Apollo was one of the greatest Greek gods, for he was perfect in the qualities the Greeks loved and admired most. He was strong and beautiful, a god of wisdom and truth, justice and healing, and everything that is best in man's life. At first...
Huns were a Mongolian people who for more than 80 years (ending about 454 A.D.) profoundly affected the history of Europe. The ethnic upheavals caused by their arrival in Russia were largely responsible for the Germanic invasions of the Roman Empire...
Zeus, in ancient Greek religion, is the chief deity. He was known to the Romans as Jupiter (Juppiter) and to Asiatic Indians as Dyaus pita. In origin he was an Indo-European divinity- a weather god enthroned on mountain summits, which are watched...
The Aenid is the finest epic of ancient Rome and one of the great poems of world literature. It was composed in Latin by Virgil in 30-19 B.C. and left without the final revision. Virgil before his death wished the work destroyed, but it was...
Cuneiform, the oldest known writing system, was developed in ancient Mesopotamia. Named for its wedge-shaped marks by 17th-century scholar Thomas Hyde, it involved pressing a stylus into clay. Known as "wedge script" in German and Arabic, it revolutionized recorded communication.
Belisarius (505-565) was a famous general of the Eastern Roman Empire. Under Justinian, he won great victories over the Vandals and the Ostrogoths. He is first mentioned about 525, during the war with Persia, when procopius became his secretary. In...
An important land battle of World War II was fought between the British and German armies in North Africa. The battle of Alamein took place in the western desert of Egypt and began on the night of October 23, 1942. Winston Churchill, then Prime...
Robert Bruce, (1274-1329), King of Scotland. The Bruces were of Norman origin, and Bruce's grandfather, with John de Baliol, had claimed the Scottish throne in 1290. On the death of his father in 1304, Bruce became sixth lord of Annandale. At the...
In Greek mythology the Argonauts were the heroic adventurers who sailed on the ship Argo to capture the Golden Fleece held by King Aeetes at Colchis. The Argonauts were led by Jason, a Greek prince whose kingdom had been usurped by his cousin...
Blackbeard was an English pirate notorious for his forays against shipping off the West Indies, the Spanish Main, and the coast of North Carolina. His real name was Edward Teach or Thatch. Little is known of his early life, but it is thought that he...
Attila the Hun (406-453) was known to Roman Christendom as the "scourge of God" because of the devastation he wrought throughout the Roman empire. He is remembered for his savagery and his unattractive, even brutal, appearance. The Huns, whose...
Gawain was a knight of King Arthur's Round Table and one of the central figures in Arthurian literature. He was the son of Arthur's half-sister Morgawse (or Anna) and King Lot of Orkney. References to Gawain antedate the earliest extant account of...
In Greek mythology, the Titans were the 12 divine children of Uranus (Sky) and Gaea (Earth). One of the Titans, Cronus, castrated his father Uranus and seized the over-lordship of the universe. To escape a similar fate Cronus then swallowed his own...
The praetor was a high magistrate in ancient Rome (republic and principate) vested with judicial functions in civil trials (jurisdictio) and commanding power (imperium) in the broadest meaning of the term. In the official hierarchy he ranked after...
The toga is a draped outer garment worn by the citizens of ancient Rome. It was an oblong of wool, which was draped over the left arm, around the back, under the right arm, across the chest, and over the left shoulder. The toga, derived from the...
Name of a Macedonian dynasty, comprising 14 kings and one queen of Egypt, who ruled the country from 323 to 30 BC. The dynasty was founded after the death of Alexander the Great by Ptolemy I Soter, 'the Savior', one of Alexander's generals. He made Egypt prosperous and peaceful through economic...
Clearchus was a Spartan general. After serving in the Peloponnesian War he was sent to Byzantium as governor, to protect the city against Thra-cian attacks. Having fulfilled his mission he established himself as tyrant of Byzantium (403). Recalled by the ephors, he refused to obey, and was...
Cimon, Athenian admiral and statesman, son of Miltiades and Hegesipyle. He commanded the Athenian fleet in the 470s, and won the battle of the Eurymedon. He was for some time one of the most prominent members of the aristocratic party in Athens and to him was due the extension of Athenian power...
Cleisthenes, Athenian statesman, son of the Alcmaeonid Megacles and Agariste; he was named after his maternal grandfather, the Sicyonian tyrant. After the expulsion of the Pisistratids (510), finding that he could make no headway against his political rivals, Cleisthenes won over the people by...
The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest took place in 9 A.D. in which German tribesmen inflicted a disastrous defeat on the Romans. At that time Publius Quinctilius Varus, one of Emperor Augustus' relatives, commanded the Roman army in Germany. Late in...
Ruthenes is the medieval Latin term for the inhabitants of ancient Kievan Russia. In modern times it has been used as a synonym for those Ukrainians who are also known as Little Russians, for the Ukrainian-speaking population of the regions of...
Gaul was the homeland of the Gauls in western Europe in ancient times. It was bounded by the Rhine River and the Alps on the east, the Mediterranean Sea and the Pyrenees on the south, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west and north. Most of Gaul now...
Hoplites were ancient Greece's main foot soldiers, pivotal in the phalanx formation that revolutionized 5th-century B.C. warfare. Heavily armored, they carried 72 pounds of gear. Their significant role was demonstrated in the Battle of Marathon and later by Philip of Macedon and Alexander the Great.
The legion was the basic combat organization of the armies of ancient Rome. At various times its numbers ranged from about 3,000 to about 6,000 men. Most of these were infantrymen, armed with javelins and short swords. Often there was a small...
The were an ancient Celtic tribe, which migrated about 200 B.C. from southern Germany to a region bounded by the Rhine and Rhone rivers, Lake Geneva, and the Jura mountains. The region today forms western Switzerland. The Greek geographer-historian...
Masada was the stronghold where the Jewish Zealots made a last stand against the Romans in 72-73 A.D. It is an isolated rock in Israel, rising some 1,300 feet (400 meters) near the western shore of the Dead Sea.
Cornelius Tacitus (c. 55-118 A.D.) was a Roman senator, orator, and one of the greatest historians of ancient Rome. Known for his critical analysis of the Roman Empire and its leaders, Tacitus' works include the Annals and the Histories, offering invaluable insights into Roman history.
Battle in Greek history in which the Athenians under Miltiades defeated a superior Persian army and so prevented invasion. A messenger, Pheidippides, ran the 40 km to Athens with the news - and died from his effort. This 'marathion run' is commemorated in the Olympic Games.
The Franks were a Germanic people that occupied Gaul during the fall of the Roman Empire and established the most important of the kingdoms that replaced the Roman government. The settlement of the Franks in Gaul marked the beginning of modem...
The Senate was the chief governing body of the Roman republic for a period of 400 years. Originally it was the advisory council of the kings, and on the expulsion of the kings in 510 BC it continued to act, in theory, as adviser to the magistrates....
The Battle of Cannae took place in 216 B.C., in which the Carthaginians led by Hannibal defeated the Romans. It is the most perfect example in the history of warfare, of the double envelopment of an opposing army. The Second Punic War fought...
The Battle of Actium was a crucial naval battle between Mark Antony and Octavian, who at the time of the battle ruled the Roman world, Antony in the east and Octavian in the west. By the battle of Actium, Octavian (later Emperor Augustus) won the...
Aedile was the title of an ancient Roman magistrate. According to tradition, the aedileship, which ranked above the quaestorship and below the praetorship in political importance, was created in 494 B.C., when two plebeians were elected aediles. In...
The Centurion was a professional officer in the Roman army. Every Roman legion (nominally 6,000 men) was divided into 60 centuries, each of which was commanded by a centurion. The centuries of a legion were grouped into 10 cohorts with 6 centuries...
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.), Roman statesman, orator, and author, who was one of the most active politicians and scholars of his time. He was born in the town of Arpinum in the Italian countryside on June 3, 106 b. c. His family was of...
Corinth is a city in Greece, at the southwestern end of the Isthmus of Corinth. Corinth (Greek Korinthos) is the capital of the nomos (department) of Corinthia (Korinthia). The chief crops of the region are grapes, tobacco, and olives. The modern...
The Acta Diurna were official written accounts of daily events in ancient Rome. The term means "daily acts" in Latin.
Valerian, full name Publius Licinius Valerianus, Roman Emperor, 253-60, general, and faithful supporter of Gallus, after whose death he was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers. Valerian took his son Gallienus as colleague, and, leaving him in charge of affairs in Europe, set out for the east to...
Over the desert, for countless ages, have wandered the Bedouins, pitching their great, black tents wherever they are lucky enough to find a well and scanty pasture for their flocks of camels, sheep and goats. The Arabian barbs (horses) are as famous...
Aristides was an Athenian aristocrat, statesman, and general. A selfless individual whose chief concern was the welfare of Athens, he achieved a reputation for justice and fairness and was commonly called Aristides the Just. He played a major role...
Aristarchus of Samos, Greek astronomer and mathematician. Born about 310 B.C. Died about 250 B.C. He was the chief exponent of the heliocentric theory of the universe- that the sun stands still and the earth and the rest of the universe revolve...
The Delian League was a confederation of Greek states organized by Athens after the expulsion of the Persians from Greece in 479 B.C. The league was the first major attempt in history to unite self-governing states for cooperative action. It...
Teutonic Knights were one of several military-religious orders founded in the 12th century during the Crusades. The Teutonic Knights came to play an important role in the settlement of eastern Europe during the late Middle Ages. The Knights, also...
Salamis is an island in eastern Greece; in the Saronic Gulf, an arm of the Aegean Sea; about 10 miles (16 km) west of Athens. Area 39 square miles (101 sq km). Most of Salamis is mountainous and rocky, but there are some farming regions in the...
The Akkadian Empire, founded by Sargon the Great around 2350 BC, was the world's first empire, stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean. Known for its military prowess, cultural assimilation of the Sumerians, and innovations in language and governance before falling around 2200 BC.
Thrace is a historic region of the Balkan peninsula, lying partly in Greece, partly in Turkey, and partly in Bulgaria. Thrace as a political and geographical unit in antiquity extended over the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula, bounded on the north by the Danube River and on the south by the...
At the close of World War II it was agreed that the Soviet Union would accept the surrender of Japanese troops in the northern part of Korea, and the United States, the surrender of those to the south. For this purpose, the 38th parallel of north...
Kublai Khan, Mongol khan (ruler) and founder of the Mongol dynasty in China. Born in 1216. Also called Khubilai Khan or Kubla Khan, he was the son of Tului and the grandson of Genghis Khan. After Mangu, his older brother, became Mongol khan in 1251,...
Justinian I (full name Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Justinianus; commonly called Justinian the Great) Roman emperor of the East. Born of Gothic peasant parentage at Tauresium, Illyricum, in 483 A.D. Patronized by his uncle, Justin I, who, from a...
Kish was an ancient city and kingdom in Mesopotamia. It was situated about 50 miles (80 km) south of modern Baghdad, Iraq. Within walking distance of the site of ancient Babylon lies an extensive field of ruins, out of which projects the mound of...
Greek medicine, by far the best of the ancient world, reached its peak late in the 5th century B.C. It is always associated with Hippocrates, often called the father of medicine, who lived about this time on the Greek island of Kos (or Cos) and...
The Brutii were one of the Neolithic peoples of Italy who for centuries remained in undisturbed occupation of the southwestern tip of the Italian peninsula, a territory once known as Bruttium and now known as Calabria. Originally they may have...
The Charge Of The Light Brigade was a heroic incident in the Battle of Balaklava in the Crimean War. The charge took place on October 25, 1854. During the siege of Sevastopol a Russian force attacked the British wing of the Allied army, whose supply...
The chariot is most commonly a two-wheeled light vehicle that was drawn by two horses. Chariots were used in war, hunting, travel, and racing. The earliest known chariot was used in war by the Sumerians in the 2000's B.C. and was a heavy,...
Cleon (died 422 B.C.), Athenian politician and general. The son of a wealthy tanner, he was the first member of the commercial classes |to attain prominence in Athenian politics. Cleon participated in the political attacks of 430 B.C. against...
Gallic Wars is the name customarily given to Julius Caesar's campaigns in Gaul between 58 and 51 B.C. The wars, which are vividly described in Caesar's Commentaries, prevented the German tribes from overrunning Gaul and brought the area under Roman control. Caesar's campaigns, recorded in his book...
Marcus Terentius Reatinus Varro was Roman scholar and author. Born in Reate, 116 B.C. He received a liberal education, held a high office in the navy in the wars against the pirates and against Mithridates, and at the commencement of the civil war...
Pompeius was the name of several soldier-statesmen of ancient Rome, including Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great); his father, Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo; and his two sons, Sextus Pompeius and Gnaeus Pompeius. Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo (d. 87 B.C.)...
In Roman history the distinction between patricians and plebeians is first noted in the period following the expulsion of the kings (i.e. the 5th century B.C.). The word patrician comes from pater, father, the Roman Senate being known as patres.
Mithridates was the name of Kings of Parthia and of Pontus, derived from Mithras, the sun-god. Mithridates II of Parthia (120-88 BC) drove back the Mongols, defeated the King of Armenia, and was the first Parthian King to treat with Rome. Mithridates the Great of Pontus (130-64 BC) three times...
The Persian Empire was destroyed by Alexander the Great but from about 250 BC his Greek successors were gradually replaced by a new Iranian people, the Parthians, who re-established an Oriental empire over Mesopotamia extending to the Euphrates.
Pompey, a key Roman general and politician, aligned with and later opposed Caesar. After governing Spanish provinces and manipulating Roman politics, he was defeated at Pharsalus in 48 B.C. Fleeing to Egypt, Pompey was murdered, marking a pivotal end to a phase of the Roman Republic.
Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor, reigned briefly from 475-476 at just 14 years old. Deposed by the mercenary leader Odoacer, he marked the end of the Western Roman Empire. Romulus was spared and lived out his days in Campania with a yearly pension.
Flavius Placidus Valentinian III (grandnephew of Valentinian I) was born 419 A.D. He was Roman emperor in the West from 425 A.D. to 455 A.D. He was the son of Constantius III, by Placidia, the daughter of Theodosius the Great, and was seated on the...
Jovian, full name Flavius Claudius Jovianus (AD 331-64) was Roman Emperor from 363-64. He was prefect of the praetorian guards under Emperor Julian (reigned from 361 to 363), accompanying him on the disastrous campaign against the Persians in which...
Aulus Vitellius, Roman emperor in A.D. 69, was born on September 24, A.D. 15, the son of Lucius Vitellius Though he was reasonably well educated, his vices had commended him to Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero.He served as consul (48) and as...
Publius Quintilius Varus was a Roman general. He was consul in 13 B.C., afterward proconsul of Syria, where he gained the confidence of Augustus by checking an insurrection of the Jews. Six years later he received from the emperor, with whose...
Odoacer, leader of Germanic tribes, ended the Roman Empire in 476 by deposing Emperor Romulus Augustulus, becoming Italy's king. Defeated by Theodoric in 489, he was killed in 493 during a truce.
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (89-12 B.C.), Roman triumvir. Son of the ill-fated consul of the same name, he attained the praetorship in 49 B.C. Lepidus joined Caesar's side in the civil war of 49-45. He proposed the law by which Caesar was appointed...
Lucius Aurelius Verus (original name Lucius Ceionius Commodus) born in Rome, Italy on December 15, 130 A.D. Roman emperor from 161-169. Adopted by Emperor Hadrian in 136 and then, with Marcus Annius Verus (later Marcus Aurelius Antoninus), by...
Lucius Cornelius Cinna (130-84 B.C.), Roman statesman. After an uneventful career, he burst upon the pages of Roman history in 88 and 87 B.C., in the period of civil conflict between Marius and Sulla. Sulla had expelled Marius and his followers from...
Caracalla, real name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (AD 188-211), Roman emperor 211-17, eldest son of Septimius Severus; the nickname Caracalla was due to his wearing the long Gallic tunic. He accompanied his father to Britain (208-11), and in 211 became joint emperor with his brother Geta, whom he...
Antoninus Pius was a Roman emperor. Adopted in 138 as Hadrian's heir, he succeeded him later that year. His daughter married his successor Marcus Aurelius. He enjoyed a prosperous reign, during which the Antonine Wall was built, a Roman line of fortification built in AD 142. extending from the...
On Nero's death Galba was proclaimed emperor by the Praetorian Guard and marched on Rome. But the troops and people soon resented his austerity and manners; a conspiracy was formed by M. Salvius Otho, and Galba was murdered.
Nerva, the first of the "good emperors," was chosen for merit, not birth. His 16-month rule from 96 A.D. focused on civil liberties, senate support, economic reforms, and aiding the poor. Lacking military support, he adopted Trajan as successor in 97 A.D.
Valens (c. AD 328-378), Eastern Roman Emperor, 364-378, elevated by his brother, Valentinian I. During his reign, the Goths penetrated into the countries south of the Danube. In 378 Valens was defeated by them at Adrianople, and his body never found.
Valentinian I (AD 321-75), Roman Emperor, 364-75, born in Pannonia of humble parentage. During his reign the frontiers of the empire were threatened by the Alemanni, who were twice repulsed (366 and 368). He was a man of ability and a wise administrator, tolerant in religious affairs. His rule was...
Gnaeus Julius Agricola (40-93 A.D.), general and governor of Roman Britain. His career, typical for a competent administrator of imperial Rome, was eulogized by his son-in-law, the historian Tacitus, in the Agricola. Agricola was born in Forum...
Marcus Licinius Crassus (115-53 B.C.), Roman politician. When both his father and brother perished on orders of the supporters of the general Marius in 87 B.C., Crassus fled to Spain, where he built an army. He joined Sulla in 83 and successfully...
Gaius Marius was a Roman general born in about 155 B.C., in Cereatae, in the Volscian territory. He won his first military repute at Numantia in 134, beginning his rapid rise from the ranks; was made tribune of the people in 119; increased his...
Marcus Salvius Otho born April 28, 32 A.D. in Brixellum (now Brescello, Italy) was a Roman Emperor, As a young man he was a favorite of Nero, but on his refusal to divorce Poppaea Sabina, who had become the emperor's mistress and was later to be...
Flavius Honorius (384 A.D. - 423 A.D.), Roman emperor, who inherited the western half of the empire from his father Theodosius I in 395. Initially, like his brother Arcadius in the East, the child-ruler was emperor in name only. From 395 to 408...
Cleopatra was the throne name of a number of Macedonian queens of ancient Egypt, the most famous of whom was Cleopatra VII Philopator (69 - 30 B.C.). Although she ruled in Alexandria, she was part Macedonian; part Greek and Iranian. In the history...
Marcus Junius Brutus (85 - 42 B.C.) was a Roman statesman and scholar. He has been idealized and immortalized by Shakespeare in Julius Caesar, but his real character remains strangely paradoxical. Cicero was among his teachers and warmest admirers....
Germanicus Caesar (15 B.C. - 19 A.D.), was one of the leading members of the family of the Roman Emperor Augustus. Nero Claudius Germanicus was the son of Nero Claudius Drusus, Augustus' stepson, and he married Agrippina Major (the Elder), Augustus'...
Mark Antony (82-30 B.C.) was a Roman triumvir and general. The Latin form of his name is Marcus Antonius. Because of his relationship with Cleopatra, his life has been romanticized by ancient biographers, by Shakespeare, and frequently by modern...
Praetorian Guards were the elite bodyguard of Roman emperors. Augustus in 27 B.C. organized the corps into 9 cohorts, but Caligula (reigned 37 to 41 A.D.) had 12, Vitellius in 69 A.D. had 16, and Domitian (reigned 81 to 96 A.D.) reduced them to 10,...
Euclid was a Greek mathematician born in about 323 B.C. Euclid is believed to have been educated by pupils of Plato. Over the period 306-283 BC, he taught geometry in Alexandria, Egypt, and established a new school of mathematics. Alexandria had...
Coins have been made in Europe and the Near East for about 2,500 years: in China their history is equally long. They have almost always been made of metal: sometimes, in a crisis, people have had to use leather or card, and sometimes they have...
Athens was named for Athena, goddess of wisdom, the city's patron. When the city first appeared in history, its population was grouped in families and tribes. Athens was governed by kings claiming descent from Erechtheus, who according to legend...
Alcibiades was an Athenian general and political leader. Born Athens, Greece, about 450 B.C. Died Hellespontine Phrygia, Asia Minor, 404 B.C. Alcibiades came to power during the temporary halt in the Peloponnesian War known as the Peace of Nicias....
Achilles, in Greek mythology, was the most valiant Greek warrior in the Trojan War. Achilles was the son of Peleus, King of the Myrmidons, and Thetis, a sea-goddess. When the Fates prophesied that Achilles would die in the Trojan War, Thetis bathed...
Herodotus, the first historian, traveled extensively in the ancient world, collecting stories and observations. Settling in Thurii, Italy, he wrote "The Histories," a groundbreaking narrative of Greek-Persian conflicts, blending facts with storytelling, laying the foundation for historical writing.
Gaius Valerius Catullus (84 B.C. to 54 B.C.), Roman poet, whose love lyrics served as models for later European poets. There is little certain knowledge of his life. According to ancient sources, he was born in 87 b.c. and died at the age of 30; one...
Carthage was an ancient city in North Africa in the vicinity of modern Tunis. It was founded before 800 B.C. by Phoenician colonists from Tyre. According to legend the city was founded by Dido, who ruled as its first queen. Carthage nourished for...
Demosthenes was ancient Greek orator and statesman. Born Attica, Greece, 384 B.C. Died on the island of Calauria (now Poros), in the Aegean Sea, 322 B.C. Demosthenes was the greatest of the Greek orators, and his works represent the highest...
One of the greatest Athenian statesman. Pericles won prominence as a leader of the democratic part in the city, and virtually controlled Athens in its golden age from 460 to 430 BC. He owed much of his success to his mastery of oratory. Pericles had the Parthenon built and cultivated the arts. He...
Two conflicts which divided Greece in 459-446 BC and 431-404 BC, as Athens and Sparta struggled for supremacy. They ended in the eclipse of the Athenian Empire. The chief reasons for this were the weakening of Athens through the death of its greatest leader, Pericles, plague, and the failure of an...
Horace was a Roman poet. Born Quintus Horatius Flaccus, at Venusia (now Venosa), Italy, December 8, 65 B.C. Horace was one of the greatest and most popular lyric poets of all time. He wrote with unique charm and urbane humor, and he had an...
Sophocles was a dramatist in Ancient Greece. He was born in Colonus, Greece, about 496 B.C. Sophocles was one of the great tragic dramatists of all time. His plays usually present a noble person who is faced with an overwhelming problem and who...
Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher. Born Stagira, Chalcidice, about 384 B.C. Died Chalcis, Euboea, 322 B.C. Aristotle was one of the greatest philosophers and scientists of all time. He brought ancient Greek thought to the high point of its...
The Comitia was the assembly of the Roman people convened by a magistrate in order to put a question to them and obtain the binding response. The earliest political organization of the Roman people was based on its division into 30 patrician curiae...
Hannibal Barca, a Carthaginian general, sworn to oppose Rome from childhood, became commander in Spain at 26. After seizing Sagunto, his actions sparked the Second Punic War, leading to his legendary march across the Alps into Italy.
Struggle for Mediterranean supremacy between Rome and Carthage in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. The wars were so called because the Latin word for Phoenicians who founded Carthage was Poeni. In the first war, from 264 to 241 BC, Rome gained Sicily from Carthage. In the second, from 218 to 201 BC,...
Aristophanes was a Greek dramatist. Born in Athens, Greece, about 450 B.C. He died about 385 B.C. Aristophanes was the first comic playwright to combine thoughtful social criticism with light entertainment. His plays drew laughter from his audience...
Sparta was a city in ancient Greece, situated in the Eurotas Valley in the southern Peloponnesus. It was renowned in antiquity as the strongest land power in Greece. The modern town, which had a population of 10,523 in 1971, was built in 1834 on...
The earliest inhabitants of Greece were probably Mousterian hunter-gatherers who roamed the region during the Middle Palaeolithic period. By 4000 BC, Neolithic villages were established in most fertile lowland regions.
Archimedes, Greek mathematician, physicist, and inventor. Born Syracuse, Sicily, about 287 B.C. Died Syracuse, 212 B.C. Archimedes was the greatest mathematician and physicist of the ancient world. He discovered many basic principles of geometry....
Alexander the Great was a legendary ancient Macedonian king and military conqueror who forged one of the largest empires in history, stretching from Greece to Egypt and the Persian Empire, all before his death at the age of 32.
King of Persia from 485 BC when he succeeded his father Darius. In 480, at the head of a great army which was supported by the Phoenician navy, he crossed the Dardanelles over a bridge of boats. He captured and burned Athens, but the Persian fleet was defeated at Salamis and Xerxes was forced to...
Homer ancient Greek epic poet. Traditionally said to be the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey. Lived probably before 700 B.C. Homer is the earliest known poet in European literature. His Iliad and Odyssey are among the greatest masterpieces ever...
Since he left no writings, knowledge of Socrates' life and work is drawn entirely from secondary sources. Principal among these are the Socratic works of Xenophon (Apology, Memorabilia, Symposium) and the dialogues of Plato.
Virgil was a Roman poet. Born Publius Vergilius Maro, at Andes (now Pietole), Italy, October 15, 70 B.C. Died Brundisium (now Brindisi), Italy, September 20, 19 B.C. Virgil was the great national poet of ancient Rome. His most famous work, the epic...