Group items tagged

The kite was invented roughly 2,500 to 3,000 years ago. It originated in China, Malaysia or Indonesia (there are many claims to having invented the kite). Some people say that the earliest kites consisted of a huge leaf attached to a long string (there is a type of Indonesian leaf that is wonderful as a kite).

An acropolis (Greek: ἀκρόπολις; from akros or akron, "highest", "topmost", "outermost" and polis, "city"; plural in English: acropoles, acropoleis or acropolises)

built upon an area of elevated ground—frequently a hill with precipitous sides, chosen for purposes of defense.

The word acropolis literally means in Greek "upper city," and though associated primarily with the Greek cities Athens

innovations of the Roman Republic was the notion of equality under the law. In 449 B.C.E., government leaders carved some of Rome's most important laws into 12 great tablets. The Twelve Tables, as they came to be known, were the first Roman laws put in writing. Although the laws were rather harsh by today's standards, they did guarantee every citizen equal treatment under the law.

Quickly kill ... a dreadfully deformed child.

"the latin word porticus, or the greek word portico, both of which signify the columned entry to a Classical temple"

Yet, the first time that the front porch overtly appeared in the modern world was in Ancient Greece and Rome, whose dwellings often "placed columned verandas as shaded walkways around an interior garden"

w, analysis of skeletal remains found by construction workers digging railway tunnels in central London has led scientists to a stunning new conclusion: The Black Death was not transmitted through flea bites at all, but was an airborne plague spread through the coughs, sneezes and breath of infected human victims.

stumbled on a plague cemetery

cientists extracted DNA from one of the largest teeth in each of 12 skeletons

Between 1347 and 1350, the Black Death raged through Medieval Europe. Historians and biologists have traced the origins of this deadly pandemic to the remote steppes of Central Asia. Plague had certainly erupted there by 1331 but how exactly did it spread from East to West? After ravaging Central Asia, the plague descended on China, India and Persia. In China alone, the plague killed around half of the human population. Despite such destruction, commercial activities continued unabated. This meant that the traders, their vessels and the rats aboard became the agents of infection. As they travelled along the established trade routes of the medieval world, they unwittingly carried the plague with them.

For several years, the Mongols had allowed a group of merchants from Genoa to control Kaffa, a bustling seaport on the Crimean Peninsula. This was highly advantageous for the Mongols as it provided a direct link to Italy’s largest commercial centre and encouraged trade across all corners of their vast empire. Tensions and disagreements, however, were a common feature of this commercial relationship, arising primarily from their religious differences; the Italians were devoutly Christian and the Mongols had been practising Muslims since the 1200s.

‘This Pestilential Disease’

Red was the color of a warrior and nobility. Other colors included blue for truth and sincerity, black for piety and knowledge, and green for hope and joy. The colors in heraldry are called tinctures.

the lion stood for majesty and strength, the elephant for wit and ambition, the boar for courage and ferocity, and the sun for power and glory.

"heraldry"

World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France.

armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities,

eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

Their findings reveal that while most of the population would be classified as European, close to thirty percent were found to have some heritage outside of Europe – sometimes cases of dual heritage.

Many of the African peoples in Europe during this period would have been slaves or at least the descendants of slaves.The authors note that previous research suggests that between they years 1100 and 1400 an average of 5500 people per year were being transported from Africa to Europe through the trans-Saharan slave trade network. Others would have arrived in Europe in various capacities – ambassadors, pilgrims, musicians, soldiers and craftsmen.

Other research has found that medieval London was very diverse.

If we're right, we'll have to rewrite that part of history."

The Black Death, which originated in Asia, arrived in Europe in 1347 and caused one of the deadliest outbreaks in human history.

It had been thought that black rats were responsible for allowing the plague to establish in Europe, with new outbreaks occurring when fleas jumped from infected rodents to humans.