Search
Search Results
Video
Total War History: Battle of Cannae (Part 3/5)
The sun rises, shining on the red flag of battle flying over the Roman camp... Tens of thousands of hooves and boots pound the war drums! Soldiers, now is your hour of valor! Documentary Sources: "The Ghosts of Cannae" by Robert L. O'Connell...
Image
SS Great Britain Run Aground
A painting showing the steamship SS Great Britain designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859) after it ran aground in Dundrum Bay in Ireland in 1846. (Science and Society Picture Library)
Definition
Shulgi of Ur
Shulgi of Ur (r. 2029-1982 BCE) is considered the greatest king of the Ur III Period in Mesopotamia (2047-1750 BCE). His father was Ur-Nammu (r.2047-2030 BCE), who founded the Third Dynasty of Ur, and his mother was a daughter of King Utu-Hegal...
Article
A Praise Poem of Shulgi
A Praise Poem of Shulgi (c. 2020-2000 BCE) is an ancient Sumerian document celebrating the famous run of 200 miles (321.8 km) in one day made by the king Shulgi of Ur (r. 2029-1982 BCE) to distinguish his reign by officiating at the religious...
Article
The Girl Who Was the Ring
The Girl Who Was the Ring is a Pawnee legend committed to writing by the anthropologist George Bird Grinnell (l. 1849-1938) in his work The Punishment of the Stingy and Other Indian Stories (1901). The story highlights the Native American...
Definition
Operation Chastise
Operation Chastise, the 'Dambusters' raid, was an attack by a squadron of RAF Lancaster bombers on the dams of the Ruhr basin in Germany in May 1943. Led by Squadron Leader Guy Gibson, the bombers breached two dams causing enormous flooding...
Article
Buffalo and Eagle Wing & The American Indian Boarding School
Buffalo and Eagle Wing is a legend of the Plains Indians culture of North America, which is part origin myth and part cautionary tale on the importance of keeping one's promises. Although scholars agree on the general provenance of the tale...
Article
The Railways in the British Industrial Revolution
The railways were perhaps the most visible element of the Industrial Revolution for many. Trains powered by steam engines carried goods and people faster than ever before and reached new destinations, connecting businesses to new markets...
Article
The Life of Diogenes of Sinope in Diogenes Laertius
Diogenes of Sinope (c. 404-323 BCE) was a Greek Cynic philosopher best known for holding a lantern to the faces of the citizens of Athens claiming he was searching for an honest man. He was most likely a student of the philosopher Antisthenes...
Definition
Ancient Olympic Games
The ancient Olympic Games were a sporting event held every four years at the sacred site of Olympia, in the western Peloponnese, in honour of Zeus, the supreme god of the Greek religion. The games, held from 776 BCE to 393 CE, involved participants...