-
Egypt and Syria were original Members of the United Nations from 24 October 1945. Following a plebiscite on 21 February 1958, the United Arab Republic was established by a union of Egypt and Syria and continued as a single Member. -
Made of granite, a high density material in the area. Some were chiseled from the granite bedrock of the mountain ridge. Built without the use of wheels, hundreds of men pushed the heavy rocks up the steep mountain side. -
After toppling the last rulers of the Tenth Dynasty, Mentuhotep began consolidating his power over all of Egypt, a process which he finished by his 39th regnal year. For this reason, Mentuhotep II is regarded as the founder of the Middle Kingdom. -
The ancient Greeks colonized various parts of the Mediterranean: the coast of North Africa, southern Italy, Sicily, and eastern Turkey. They also colonized the shores of the Black Sea. -
She was the second historically confirmed female pharaoh, after Sobekneferu. (Various other women may have also ruled as pharaohs or at least regents before Hatshepsut, as early as Neithhotep around 1,600 years prior.) Hatshepsut came to the throne of Egypt in 1478 BC. -
One of the most mysterious and powerful women in ancient Egypt, Nefertiti was queen alongside Pharaoh Akhenaten from 1353 to 1336 B.C. and may have ruled the New Kingdom outright after her husband's death. -
The Song dynasty ([sʊ̂ŋ]; Chinese: 宋朝; pinyin: Sòng cháo; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou -
The ancient Greeks colonized various parts of the Mediterranean: the coast of North Africa, southern Italy, Sicily, and eastern Turkey. They also colonized the shores of the Black Sea. -
Siddhartha Gautama, the Lord Buddha, was born in 623 B.C. in the famous gardens of Lumbini, which soon became a place of pilgrimage. Among the pilgrims was the Indian emperor Ashoka, who erected one of his commemorative inscribed Ashoka pillars there. -
Confucius was born probably in 551 B.C. (lunar calendar) in present-day Qufu, Shandong Province, China. -
The Roman Republic was founded in 509 B.C.E. after the last Etruscan king that ruled Rome was overthrown. Rome's next government served as a representative democracy in the form of a republic. Initially, Rome's wealthiest families, the patricians, held power and only they could hold political or religious offices. -
The Adena Mound, the type site for the culture, is a registered historic structure near Chillicothe, Ohio. The site, located in Greenup County, Kentucky, is a conical abide surrounded by a series of circular ditches and embankments. -
China's First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, was born on 18 February in 259 BC – that's over 2,200 years ago! Famed for his army of terracotta warriors built to protect him for eternity, the Emperor is also one of the most controversial figures in history. -
8 - 22 AD: The Xin Dynasty overthrows the Han Dynasty for a short period of time. 2 AD: A government census is taken. The size of the Chinese Empire is estimated at 60 million people. 105 AD: Paper is invented by Imperial court official Cai Lun. -
After his father died suddenly in 85 B.C., Caesar became head of his family at age 16 — right in the middle of a civil war between his uncle Marius and the Roman ruler Lucius Cornelius Sulla. -
The invention of paper is a symbol of advanced science and technology in ancient China. Improved paper-making traditionally dates back to 105 AD, when Cai Lun, an official at the court of the Han Dynasty, made a sheet of paper from mulberry and other coarse fibers as well as fishing nets, old rags, and hemp waste. -
The most straightforward theory for Western Rome's collapse pins the fall on a string of military losses sustained against outside forces. Rome had tangled with Germanic tribes for centuries, but by the 300s “barbarian” groups like the Goths had encroached beyond the Empire's borders -
Most famously, the Maya of the southern lowland region reached their peak during the Classic Period of Maya civilization (A.D. 250 to 900), and built the great stone cities and monuments that have fascinated explorers and scholars of the region to this day. -
He was born on 12 Rabiulawal (29 August 570 CE), the third month of the Muslim calendar. The prophet died on his 63rd birthday. The prophet's birthday celebrations were first observed in the 12th century, often followed by a month of festivities. -
According to Arab oral tradition, Islam first came to Africa with Muslim refugees fleeing persecution in the Arab peninsula. This was followed by a military invasion, some seven years after the death of the prophet Mohammed in 639, under the command of the Muslim Arab General, Amr ibn al-Asi. -
They traded goods such as silk, spices, tea, ivory, cotton, wool, precious metals, and ideas. Use these resources to explore this ancient trade route with your students. -
Magna Carta was issued in June 1215 and was the first document to put into writing the principle that the king and his government was not above the law. It sought to prevent the king from exploiting his power, and placed limits of royal authority by establishing law as a power in itself. -
The Inca Empire was a vast empire that flourished in the Andean region of South America from the early 15th century A.D. up until its conquest by the Spanish in the 1530s. Even after the conquest, Inca leaders continued to resist the Spaniards up until 1572, when its last city, Vilcabamba, was captured. -
On October 12, 1492, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus made landfall in what is now the Bahamas. Columbus and his ships landed on an island that the native Lucayan people called Guanahani. -
Richard Henry Lee, George Wythe, Elbridge Gerry, Oliver Wolcott, Lewis Morris, Thomas McKean, and Matthew Thornton signed the document after August 2, 1776, as well as seven new members of Congress added after July 4. Seven other members of the July 4 meeting never signed the document, Friedenwald said. -
A supporter of slavery, Booth believed that Lincoln was determined to overthrow the Constitution and to destroy his beloved South. -
Hitler's invasion of Poland in September 1939 drove Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany, marking the beginning of World War II. Over the next six years, the conflict would take more lives and destroy more land and property around the globe than any previous war. -
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was a pivotal moment, not just in the Cold War but in the history of modern Europe. It was brought about by political reforms inside the Soviet bloc, escalating pressure from the people of eastern Europe and ultimately, confusion over an East German directive to open the border -
Gorbachev's decision to allow elections with a multi-party system and create a presidency for the Soviet Union began a slow process of democratization that eventually destabilized Communist control and contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union. -
Mr Mandela had a big family. He had two daughters and two sons with his first wife, Evelyn Mase, and two daughters with his second wife, Nomzamo Winnie Madikizela. He had four stepchildren from his marriage to Graca Machel. Only three of his children are still alive – his daughters Makaziwe, Zenani and Zindzi.