Illustration showing Alaric in Athens, by Ludwig Thiersch / Wikimedia Commons If one wishes to consider German-Roman relations on a broad scale, there were actually four German “invasions” of the empire. By Dr. Lynn Harry Nelson Emeritus Professor of Medieval History The University of Kansas Trade Europe in 70 AD By about A.D. 70, the Romans had[…]
Looking at the consequences of President Nixon’s actions and how the public viewed our governmental policies afterwards. By K. Chouinard / 11.03.2017 In the early 1970’s, the Watergate scandal involving President Richard Nixon made headlines nationwide, but did he have anything to do with the break in at the Democratic National Committee? Even with the lack of[…]
Nixon had a strong “us v. them” mentality. Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 12.04.2018 Public Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief On June 17, 1972, five men were arrested after breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee located in the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. The burglars were not ordinary thieves. They carried wiretaps to install on telephones. They carried[…]
The St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev is a sign of the city’s former historical significance. matt shalvatis The Kiev of ancient Rus was one of a number of fortified cities dotting the great plains that were watered by rivers debauching into the Black Sea or the Mediterranean. By Dr. Judith Armstrong / 08.05.2014 Honorary Associate Professor[…]
Set of Post Stamps “Kyivan Princesses on European Thrones”, Ukraine’s Postal Service, 2016 She was an influential advisor to both her husband and her son, inscribing many royal documents with her own name, and introducing the name Philip into the royal line. By Dr. Christian Raffensperger / 06.2017 Associate Professor of Pre-Modern and Ancient World Studies[…]
Ruins in the Town of Ur, Southern Iraq / Photo by M.Lubinski, Wikimedia Commons Among its peaks of prosperity were the 26th century BC. By Dr. Marc Van De Mieroop Professor of History Columbia University Ur was indeed given kingship, but it was not given an eternal reign. From time immemorial since the land was founded,[…]
Passing lion, brick panel from the Procession Way which ran from the Marduk temple to the Ishtar Gate and the Akitu Temple / Photo by Jastrow, Louvre Museum, Wikimedia Commons Gilgamesh, legendary ruler of Uruk, famous drinker, womanizer and battler against monsters, was a King Arthur of Mesopotamian antiquity. By Dr. Paul Kriwaczek British Historian Uruk[…]
From the suffragette Sophia Duleep Singh to the Communist MP Shapurji Saklatvala: explore the lives of notable South Asians in 19th and 20th century British and Indian politics. By (left-to-right) Dr. Susheila Nasta, Dr. Florian Stadtler, and Dr. Rozina Visram Nasta: Chair in Modern Literature, The Open University Stadtler: Senior Lecturer in Postcolonial Literatures, University[…]
Posthumous papers bequeathed to the honorable the East India company, and printed by order of the government of Bengal / Wikimedia Commons The East India Company produced thousands of views that helped to consolidate its authority over much of south Asia in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Rosie Dias discovers some examples from the[…]
Night of August 4th, abolition of feudality and fiscal privileges, by Léopold Morice / Wikimedia Commons The term “feudal system” came into use to describe a hierarchy of relationships which were embraced in medieval Europe, involving fief-holders of different ranks. Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 12.03.2018 Public Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief Introduction Harold swearing oath on[…]
Costumes of slaves or serfs, from the sixth to the twelfth centuries, collected by H. de Vielcastel from original documents in European libraries. / Wikimedia Commons Although the end of serfdom meant freedom, in many cases the transition to a new social order was far from smooth. Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 12.03.2018 Public[…]
The mythical origins of coffee, are steeped in legend and topped with a creamy dollop of speculation. By Dr. Trish Nicholson Social Anthropologist and Historian Introduction What is certain is that the lush-leaved trees and their precious berries– bright red or green while fresh – originate in East Africa, most likely Ethiopia, where the Kaffa[…]
Caffinets as the one pictured by Thomas Allom and described by the Rev. Robert Walsh, (1772-1852) in Constantinople / Public Domain Coffeehouses have always served as centers of social interaction. Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 12.03.2018 Public Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief Introduction Café de Flore – Quartier Saint Germain, Paris / Photo by Armaud 25, Wikimedia[…]
An 18th-century trade card reveals a lot more than its owner might have intended. By Julia Nurse / 10.26.2017 Collections Researcher Wellcome Library Imagine entering the shop of chymist (the word ‘chemist’ was not used until 1790) Richard Siddall as it appears on his trade card from around 1750. If the representation is at all[…]
From hunting rare bugs to harvesting the world’s most expensive plant parts, conservator Cheryl Porter will try almost anything to learn more about pigments from the past. These colours weren’t only used to illuminate manuscripts and paintings – they were also important medicines, and artists would often source the raw materials for their work from[…]
Exploring the role of Magna Carta in the politics and popular culture of modern America. From The Simpsons and Jay-Z to the American law courts and the ‘War on Terror’, discover the significance of Magna Carta in the USA today. By Dr. Matthew Shaw / 03.12.2015 Librarian Institute of Historical Research School of Advanced Study University of London[…]
The Magna Carta (originally known as the Charter of Liberties) of 1215, written in iron gall ink on parchment in medieval Latin, using standard abbreviations of the period, authenticated with the Great Seal of King John. / British Library, Wikimedia Commons From the early colony of Pennsylvania, to the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill[…]
An almost life-size terracotta Aztec Eagle Warrior, one of the elite warrior groups in the Aztec military. 13-15th century CE, from Tenochtitlan. (National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City) / Photo by Dennis Jarvis, Flickr, Creative Commons The military commander-in-chief was the king himself, the tlatoani. By Mark Cartwright / 03.18.2015 Historian Introduction The Aztecs engaged in warfare (yaoyotl) to acquire territory, resources,[…]
/ An Aztec ceremonial knife with a cedarwood handle and flint blade. The figure of the handle is covered in turquoise and shell mosiac and represents an Aztec Eagle knight. 1400-1521 CE. (British Museum, London) / British Museum, Creative Commons This was a strictly ritualized process which gave the highest possible honor to the gods and was regarded[…]
Books, music, artworks and memorials help ensure that victims of pandemics are remembered. But while the Black Death, AIDS and Ebola outbreaks are firmly part of our collective cultural memory, the Spanish flu outbreak has not been. Medical historian and author Mark Honigsbaum explains why. By Dr. Mark Honigsbaum / 10.25.2018 Lecturer in Medical History[…]
As Indians began to rebel against colonial rule, the British accused them of spreading cholera, little imagining who was really to blame. The terrors that confronted one colonist show how alarming the outbreak had become. By Anna Faherty / 06.06.2017 Associate Lecturer University of the Arts London India, 1857. In a British enclave, Katherine Bartrum watches her[…]
A 19th century CE oil painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme depicting Moses receiving the Ten Commandments from God on Mt. Sinai / Wikimedia Commons Whether there was a religious leader in history named Moses who led his people and initiated a monotheistic understanding of the divine is unknown. By Dr. Joshua J. Mark / 09.28.2016 Professor of Philosophy[…]
Why, in many representations, do we see Moses with horns? Lecture by Dr. Thomas Römer / 02.05.2009 Professor of Biblical Studies Collège de France Introduction Any self-respecting scholar of the Bible has to examine the question of literary genres, which is one of the methodological tools of biblical research. Therefore, to prepare this lecture that I am giving[…]
Hand axes from the site of Saffaqah, Saudi Arabia. (Palaeodeserts/Ian R. Cartwright) Hominins made stone tools in central Arabia 190,000 years ago, and the hand axe technology raises questions about just who they were. By Brian Handwerk / 11.29.2018 early 200,000 years ago, at the confluence of two long-vanished river systems in the heart of Arabia,[…]
Archaeological excavation at Ain Boucherit, Algeria. Mathieu Duval, Author provided Ancient stone tools found in what is now Algeria show early humans likely spread across Africa more rapidly than first thought. By Dr. Mathieu Duval (left) and Dr. Mohamed Sahnouni (right) / 11.29.2018 Duval: ARC Future Fellow, Griffith University Sahnouni: Archéologue et professeur, National Center for Research on Human Evolution (CENIEH) When did early humans first arrive in[…]
A healthy-seeming cook gained unwelcome notoriety as Typhoid Mary, unwittingly spreading disease to co-workers and employers. Ultimately, the New York authorities took extreme measures to protect the public. By Anna Faherty / 06.29.2017 Associate Lecturer University of the Arts London New York, 1907. Mary Mallon spreads infection, unaware that her name will one day become synonymous with[…]
A huge expansion of the population of New Orleans created the perfect environment for the spread of yellow fever, and recent immigrants were those that suffered most. Doctors put this down to their “loathsome” lifestyles, but science was eventually to find another culprit. By Anna Faherty / 06.15.2017 Associate Lecturer University of the Arts London[…]
Creative Commons Welcoming tribes to conquering settlers. By Josh Stewart / 04.17.2017 Genocide is the systematic destruction of peoples based on ethnicity, religion, nationality, or race. It is the culmination of human rights violations. There are numerous examples of genocide throughout history, some being more infamous than others. For example, Hitler and the Jewish Holocaust is probably[…]
The last emperor, Sapa Inka Atahualpa / Wikimedia Commons The Sapa Inka (emperor) governed Tahuantinsuyu both efficiently and profitably. What’s more, he did so without alphabetic writing, for the Inkas never invented this. By Dr. Christopher J. Given-Wilson / 11.20.2018 Professor of History University of St. Andrews Between the 1430s and the arrival of the Spanish in 1532,[…]
Charlemagne, portrait by Albrecht Dürer / Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Wikimedia Commons His was the first truly imperial power in the West since the fall of Rome. Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 11.30.2018 Public Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief Introduction Charlemagne (742 or 747 – January 28, 814) (also Charles the Great [1]; from Latin, Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus), son of King Pippin the[…]