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Zheng Yi
Zheng Yi (also Cheng I, Ching Yih, Cheng Yao-I, Cheng Wen-Hsien, or Cheng Yud) was a Chinese pirate who lived from 1765 to 1807. Operating in the South China Sea, Zheng Yi famously led a 600-ship pirate confederation. This force of more than...
Definition
Zheng Yi Sao
Zheng Yi Sao (aka Ching Shih, Cheng I Sao, Ching Yih Saou or Mrs Cheng, d. 1844) was the chief of a massive pirate confederation which plundered the South China Sea in the early 19th century. She inherited the role from her late husband...
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Daorson Ruins, Ancient Illyria
The ruins of Daorson, ancient Illyria (modern Bosnia). The region was inhabited by the Daorsi tribe who flourished in the region c. 300-50 BCE. They fell under the control of Queen Teuta (r. 231-227 BCE) and were most likely involved in Illyrian...
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Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima
One of the most famous images of the Second World War, Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, by Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press, was taken 23 February 1945 on the Japanese Island of Iwo Jima in the late stages of the Pacific War. The image...
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Stede Bonnet from Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
An artist's impression of how the pirate Stede Bonnet (1689-1718) may have looked. Captain Bonnet was known as the 'Gentleman Pirate' since he was a former plantation owner before he turned to piracy. He was hanged in South Carolina in 1718...
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Bartholomew Roberts from Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
An artist's impression of how the Welsh pirate Bartholomew Roberts, aka 'Black Bart' Roberts (c. 1682-1722) may have looked. Roberts was one of the most successful pirates of the so-called Golden Age of Piracy. He was killed resisting arrest...
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Mary Read from Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
An artist's impression of how the pirate Mary Read (d. 1721) may have looked.
Image from the computer game Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag by Ubisoft.
© 2013 Ubisoft
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Pirate Flag
A pirate flag (often attributed to the pirate Christopher Moody) showing typical symbols of death. Various combinations of such symbols - weapons, a bleeding heart, hourglass, wings, skull and crossbones - were used by pirates on a black...
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Ottoman Zulfiqar Flag
Silk damask flag from Istanbul, dated 1810–1811 CE; it depicts the zulfiqar, Caliph Ali's (r. 656-661 CE) two-pronged sword.
Article
The Jolly Roger & Other Pirate Flags
The Jolly Roger with its white skull and crossbones set against a black background has become a rather jovial part of pirate folklore but, in its day, this flag and others with similar blood-curdling designs, had a single and terrifying purpose...