Search
Search Results
Definition
Giotto
Giotto di Bondone (b. 1267 or 1277 - d. 1337 CE), usually referred to as simply Giotto, was an Italian painter and architect whose work was hugely influential in the history of Western art. Giotto is most famous today for the cycle of frescoes...
Image
Enrico Dandolo
A portrait by Tintoretto of Enrico Dandolo, Doge of the Republic of Venice (r. 1192-1205 CE) and prime instigator of the sack of Constantinople in 1204 CE during the Fourth Crusade.
Definition
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was an Italian mathematician, physicist, astronomer, and natural philosopher. He created a superior telescope with which he made new observations of the night sky, notably that the surface of the Moon has mountains...
Definition
Johannes Kepler
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) was a German astronomer and mathematician most famous for creating what was up to that point the most accurate model of planetary astronomy with his three laws of planetary motion. Kepler was the first to present...
Video
Sack of Constantinople 1204 CE - Fourth Crusade
In our new animated historical documentary, we will describe the Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople in 1204. Although the First Crusade was succeeded in taking Jerusalem and a number of Frankish kingdoms were created in the Levant...
Video
Mesopotamia: Crash Course World History #3
In which John presents Mesopotamia, and the early civilizations that arose around the Fertile Crescent. Topics covered include the birth of territorial kingdoms, empires, Neo-Assyrian torture tactics, sacred marriages, ancient labor practices...
Article
The Telescope & the Scientific Revolution
The invention of the telescope in 1608 is usually credited to the Dutchman Hans Lippershey. The astronomical telescope became one of the most important of all instruments during the Scientific Revolution when figures like Galileo (1564-1642...
Article
The Thermometer & the Scientific Revolution
The thermometer was invented in the mid-17th century during the Scientific Revolution when scientists began to search for an accurate instrument to measure a wide range of temperatures using a scale that could be compared with other readings...
Definition
Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) was an Italian poet and politician most famous for his Divine Comedy (c. 1319) where he descends through Hell, climbs Purgatory, and arrives at the illumination of Paradise. Dante meets many historical characters...
Definition
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204 CE) was called by Pope Innocent III (r. 1198-1216 CE) to retake Jerusalem from its current Muslim overlords. However, in a bizarre combination of cock-ups, financial constraints, and Venetian trading ambitions...