Mansa Musa, the richest man in the world, was a mighty emperor of the Malian Empire who reigned during the 14th century. During his rule, he made many contributions to Mali and its people. How Mansa Musa became the emperor of Mali After hearing about Mansa Musa, one may assume that the man was simply […]
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Most people are familiar with the events of the Black Death, as it killed upwards of half of the continent’s population in the space of half a decade between its first arrival in Italy in 1347 and the end of the first wave in the early 1350s. But what was just as significant was what
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Egyptians were the first to recognize gout as a disease in 2640 BC. Hippocrates recognized its debilitating nature by the fifth century BC, calling it the “unwalkable disease.” He often used aphorisms, which still ring true to this day, to describe it. He referred to gout as the “arthritis of the rich” or the king’s
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Perhaps one of the strangest aspects of the Viking Age of European history, which lasted from the late eighth century through to the eleventh century, was its allegedly homogenous nature. To hear the word Viking today conjures up images of naval warriors descending into Britain, France, and Ireland from any part of Denmark, Norway, or
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The Codex Gigas, also known as the Devil’s Bible, is a medieval manuscript infamous for its large size and inclusion of a full-page illustration of the devil. But what is this document, and what is its history? And why has it been called the Devil’s Bible? Keep reading as we unravel the mystery of this
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Pear of Anguish was a torture device commonly believed to extract confessions from criminals during the medieval era. It was inserted into the victim’s mouth and then expanded, causing immense pain. Many believe the brutal torture device was used for centuries and caused immense suffering to its victims. Historians, on the other hand, don’t share
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Tarring and feathering is a brutal form of punishment used in the past to discipline people who had done something wrong. This practice has a strange and dark history, and it’s still unclear where it originated. Let’s explore the origins of tarring and feathering and why this punishment was doled out. What Was Tarring And
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We define different societies by the diverse ways they structure economic life and arrange daily life around those same economic activities. For example, in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, life depended on agriculture along the River Nile in Egypt and the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers in Mesopotamia. Accordingly, they established their villages, farms, and cities throughout
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Every schoolchild is familiar with tales of the ferocious Vikings who terrorized Europe for over two centuries from their first raids on Britain in the final years of the eighth century. Striking against coastal targets in their longships and making off with riches and slaves, they were soon pillaging much of Western Europe and voyaging
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The Middle Ages must be the most misunderstood period of human history. Often, people view it as a period during which people lived in poverty and society largely stood still, waiting for the Renaissance to come and pull them out of squalor. This wasn’t the case. There were distinct periods in medieval Europe. First came
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