On the 31st of October 1517, the Professor of Moral Theology at the University of Wittenberg, a man called Martin Luther, nailed a document to the door of All Saint’s Church in the town of Wittenberg. This document, known today as Luther’s ’95 Theses’, contained a series of arguments against the Papacy’s sale of indulgences. […]
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All cities have their histories, and these often blend elements of myth and reality, particularly when it comes to their earliest history and foundation. None is more elaborate than the founding of Rome. The myth says that the city was first established on a specific day, the 21st of April in 753 BC. The story
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In the 60s BC, the Roman general Gnaeus Pompeius, later known as Pompeius Magnus or Pompey the Great, undertook a series of wars in the Eastern Mediterranean on behalf of the Roman Republic. These were famous conflicts, as Pompey won successive victories, bringing the remainder of the Seleucid Empire in Syria under Roman occupation and
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Often when one reads world histories, they are confronted with a strange contradiction regarding the medieval period of European history. Readers at once believe that the Middle Ages were a long homogenous period stretching from about 500 to about 1500. During this time, European society was uniformly backward and static. But, dig down into more
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We know how the Roman Republic’s war machine facilitated its rise. By the third century BC, the Roman legions were the most significant fighting force in the Mediterranean. But often less commented upon is how the political institutions of the Roman Republic allowed for the rise of the city on the Tiber to pre-eminence across
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In the ninth episode of the third season of the massively successful HBO television series, Game of Thrones, there is an extended scene in which the story ark of much of the show pivots. This is based around the wedding of Edmure Tully to a daughter of Lord Walter Frey, a supposed ally of Robb Stark,
Did the Black Dinner Really Inspire the Red Wedding? Read More »
Maria Victoria Henao was the wife of one of the world’s most notorious criminals, Pablo Escobar. They were married for 17 years. While she admits that she was unaware of her husband’s criminal dealings through the first few years of their marriage after she found out, she remained married to him until his life ended
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Often romanticized as chivalrous, dangerous, gun-toting, horse-riding men, cowboys are popular motifs in pop culture. With their trademark hats, boots, bandanas, and gun holsters, they are portrayed as fighters who defend their towns from invaders and thugs. A strong code of conduct and unbridled courage are often associated with cowboys, no matter what action movie
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In 1810, by which time he had built an empire that spanned most of continental Europe, if the Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, wanted to get a message from Paris to Rome, he couldn’t send it any faster than the Romans were able to nearly 2,000 years ago. By the first and second centuries AD,
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In many ways, the First World War was a more horrific experience for those who fought in it than the much bloodier Second World War. While the savagery of the Eastern Front between 1941 and 1944 was immense, at least the soldiers there were constantly on the move in a rapidly shifting conflict. The same
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