World History Encyclopedia

29 facts cite this source

Religion & Beliefs Ancient Beliefs

Ancient Egyptians weighed the heart against a feather to judge the dead

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Language & Communication Writing Systems

Boustrophedon: ancient Greeks wrote alternating lines in opposite directions

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Food & Drink Food History

Chocolate began as a bitter drink - and the beans were money

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Food & Drink Food History

The potato, tomato and maize all crossed the Atlantic after 1492

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Religion & Beliefs Ancient Beliefs

Egyptian mummification preserved the body as a home for the soul

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Culture & Arts Literature

The first author in history signed her own name

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History Modern

Marie Antoinette was guillotined during the French Revolution

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Religion & Beliefs Ancient Beliefs

Mithraism was a secret Roman cult that worshipped in cave-like temples

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History Ancient

Octavian won the Battle of Actium and ended the Roman Republic

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Religion & Beliefs Ancient Beliefs

China's oldest writing was carved to ask the dead and the gods questions

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Sports Combat Sports

Pankration was the ancient Olympics' near no-holds-barred sport

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History Empires & Civilizations

Pizarro ambushed the Inca emperor Atahualpa at Cajamarca

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History Archaeology

The Rosetta Stone unlocked Egyptian hieroglyphs by repeating one decree in three scripts

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Society & Economy Politics & Law

Rome's Twelve Tables were the first written Roman law

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History Medieval

The Knights Templar gain papal recognition

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History Ancient

The Temple of Artemis, an ancient wonder, was destroyed by arson

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Society & Economy Business & Markets

The Dutch East India Company may be the most valuable company in history

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Religion & Beliefs Ancient Beliefs

Zoroastrianism is among the world's oldest enduring monotheistic faiths

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Society & Economy Business & Markets

The first modern stock exchange opened in Amsterdam in 1602

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Society & Economy Trade

The first coins were minted in Lydia around 600 BCE

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History Archaeology

Gobekli Tepe's stone temples predate Stonehenge, farming and pottery

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Geography Landmarks & Wonders

The Great Pyramid stood as the tallest structure on Earth for nearly 4,000 years

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Society & Economy Trade

The Hanseatic League was a medieval trade network of nearly 200 towns

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History Empires & Civilizations

The Inca ran a 24,000-mile road empire without writing or the wheel

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History Empires & Civilizations

Persia's Royal Road carried a message 1,500 miles in nine days

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Language & Communication Writing Systems

Most Western alphabets descend from 22 Phoenician letters

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Society & Economy Trade

Spices were once so precious they launched the Age of Exploration

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Culture & Arts Literature

The world's first novel was written by a woman around 1010

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Religion & Beliefs Mythology

Yggdrasil is the great ash tree at the centre of the Norse cosmos

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