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ANCIENT HISTORY
View All PostsThe Tribune of the Plebs was the elected representative of the Plebeians. With the power to veto all other magistrates, he could freeze Rome’s government.
In 193 AD, there was a power vacuum in Rome. Clodius Albinus, a native North African and governor of Britain, decided to throw his hat in the ring.
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HISTORY
View All PostsSmallpox was the most devastating disease humanity ever faced. Vaccination and a united global movement led to the eradication of the monstrous virus.
In the 13th century, groups of German traders and towns formed a trading confederation known as the Hanse (Hanseatic League). It would rule European trade for the next 300 years.
PHILOSOPHY
View All PostsNietzsche despised Christianity for, in his view, naysaying life. Yet he took great inspiration from a devotional painting of Christ.
Altona is a play about bad faith. Ostensibly written about German guilt over World War II, the ideas are also applicable to French actions in Algeria.
ART & ARTISTS
View All PostsVincent van Gogh lived a fascinating yet difficult life that led him to produce more than 2,000 artworks with a unique character and style.
In 1606, Caravaggio killed a man in a street fight and spent the rest of his life on the run.
TRAVEL & CULTURE
View All PostsDiscover eight underground museums that prove the most extraordinary cultural experiences are sometimes found by digging a little deeper. Pun totally intended.
Journey through Mali and Niger to uncover the river cities that once powered West Africa’s greatest empire: the Songhai.

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View MapsReligion
View All PostsChristians assert that Jesus rose from the dead. Others question the reality of the Resurrection and offer non-miraculous explanations for the sightings of Jesus.
Despite the patriarchal slant of scripture, several influential women in the Bible stand out among the many because of their courage, steadfast faith, endurance, or impiety.
Stories
View All PostsHere are ten famous cocktails, listed alongside their origins and ingredients. But which historic figures were they named after, and why?
Jane Austen drew on her family life, social circle, and extensive education to write her beloved novels that reinvented the narrative of morality.




























