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Totila
Totila (birth name, Baduila-Badua r. 541-552 CE) was the last great king of the Ostrogoths in Italy. He was the nephew of the Gothic king Ildibad who was succeeded by Eraric the Rugian (d. 541 CE). The Goths of Italy felt that Eraric was...
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Early Explorers of the Maya Civilization: John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood
The names of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood are forever linked to the Maya and Mayan studies as the two great explorers who documented the ruins from Copan in the south to Chichen Itza in the north. The stories told by Stephens...
Definition
Alexander III of Scotland
Alexander III of Scotland reigned from 1249 to 1286 CE. Succeeding his father Alexander II of Scotland (r. 1214-1249 CE) at the age of eight, the young king's early reign was blighted by rivalries between his nobles, a situation made more...
Definition
Encomienda
The encomienda was a system where Spanish adventurers and settlers were granted the legal right to extract forced labour from indigenous tribal chiefs in the Americas colonies of the Spanish Empire. In return, the Europeans were expected...
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Women in the Mongol Empire
Women in the Mongol Empire (1206-1368 CE) shared the daily chores and hardships of steppe life with men and were largely responsible for tending animals, setting up camps, childrearing, producing food and cooking it. Having rather more rights...
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Coal Mining in the British Industrial Revolution
Coal mining boomed during the British Industrial Revolution as it provided fuel for steam engines of all kinds in factories, transport, and agriculture. Draining flooded mines to extract more coal was the reason the steam engine was invented...
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Norse-Viking Diet
In many depictions of Vikings, whether in film or other media, a group is often seen gathered around a flaming pit while an animal of some type – usually a boar – turns on a spit above. While the people of Scandinavia certainly...
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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...
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The Discovery of Tutankhamun's Tomb
Before Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamun's tomb, he began his career as a 17-year-old artist on an excavation in Egypt. His skills were soon recognized, and he quickly rose to be an excavator and later chief inspector for Luxor. Because...
Definition
Maya Architecture
Maya architecture is best characterized by the soaring pyramid temples and ornate palaces which were built in all Maya centres across Mesoamerica from El Tajin in the north to Copan in the south. The Maya civilization was formed of independent...