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Definition
Social Contract
The social contract is an idea in philosophy that at some real or hypothetical point in the past, humans left the state of nature to join together and form societies by mutually agreeing which rights they would enjoy and how they would be...
Definition
Social War
The Social War (also called the Marsi War or the War of the Allies) of 91-87 BCE was the result of decades of contention between Rome and its Italian allies. Roman warfare relied heavily on the Italian allies (socii), but the Roman Republic...
Definition
Marquis de Condorcet
Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, Marquis de Condorcet (1743-1794), also known as Nicolas de Condorcet, was a French philosopher, political theorist, and mathematician. His ideas, encompassing a wide range of topics from education to...
Article
Sulla's March on Rome
In 88 BCE, Lucius Cornelius Sulla (138-78 BCE) marched on Rome and entered the city's sacred inner boundary, the pomerium, bearing arms. Breaking this taboo, he sought to gain political power and control of the army of the East that had been...
Article
Sulla's Reforms as Dictator
Lucius Cornelius Sulla (l. 138 - 78 BCE) enacted his constitutional reforms (81 BCE) as dictator to strengthen the Roman Senate's power. Sulla was born in a very turbulent era of Rome's history, which has often been described as the beginning...
Article
Lucius Cornelius Sulla: Guardian or Enemy of the Roman Republic?
For centuries, Lucius Cornelius Sulla has been reviled as a maniacal tyrant who defiled the Roman constitution and instituted bloody purges, but some modern historians assert that he has been judged too harshly. They present him as a republican...
Article
Hipponax & Misogyny in Ancient Greece
It has always been recognized that women in the ancient world were considered only a little higher in value than the man's cattle or plow and, sometimes, not even accorded that kind of respect. Examples of misogynistic attitudes toward women...
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Establishment of the French Academy and Paris Observatory
A 17th-century painting by Henri Testelin titled Establishment of the French Academy of Sciences and of Paris Observatory. Louis XIV of France (r. 1643-1715) is shown being presented the founding members of the Academy and Observatory (shown...
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Caravel of João Serrão
A detail of a caravel ship belonging to a fleet under the command of João Serrão. From the 1566 Livro das Armadas (Academy of Sciences, Lisbon)
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Glagolitic Script
A 12th century CE tablet known as the Baska Tablet from Croatia. The Glagolitic script on the tablet was created by Saint Cyril (d. 867 CE), the Byzantine missionary to the Balkans and central Europe. It was the forerunner to the Cyrillic...