By Tim Lambert Roman Society At its height, the population of the city of Rome was probably over one million. However, the Roman Empire was an agricultural society where most people made their living from farming (although there were many craftsmen). Only a small minority of the population lived in towns. In the Roman Empire… Continue reading Life in Rome
Category: Articles
The Phoenicians
By Tim Lambert The Phoenicians were people who lived in what is now Lebanon. They were a great trading people and they were at their peak between about 1200 BC and 800 BC. The Phoenicians lived on a strip of fertile land between the sea and the Lebanon mountains. With the mountains as a natural… Continue reading The Phoenicians
A Short History of Cyprus
By Tim Lambert ANCIENT CYPRUS The first people in Cyprus were stone age farmers about 8,000 BC. By 4,000 BC they were making pottery and copper tools. By about 2,500 BC the people of Cyprus had learned to make bronze. The society of Cyprus gradually grew more sophisticated after 1,600 BC a form of writing… Continue reading A Short History of Cyprus
The Aztecs
By Tim Lambert The ancestors of the Aztecs settled on a marshy island in Lake Texcoco in either 1325 or 1345. According to legend, the Aztecs settled at a place where they saw an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its mouth. They took this as a sign from their god that… Continue reading The Aztecs
A Short History of Mexico
By Tim Lambert The story of modern Mexico began with the conquistadores. In 1492 the Spaniards discovered the new world. The end of the Aztec Empire came when the governor of Cuba sent an army under Hernan Cortes (1485-1547) to conquer Mexico. Cortes only had about 600 men yet he managed to conquer the Aztecs.… Continue reading A Short History of Mexico
A Brief History of Serbia
By Tim Lambert Early Serbia In the 7th century Slavs, ancestors of modern Serbs arrived in Serbia. At first, they were divided into clans but in the 8th century, a man named Vlastimir founded the first Serbian state called Rasica. Then in the 9th century, the Serbs were converted to Christianity. However, until the 13th… Continue reading A Brief History of Serbia
A Short History of Slovakia
By Tim Lambert Early Slovakia Slavs settled in what is now Slovakia in the 6th century AD. They were soon conquered by a people called the Avars. However, at the end of the 8th century, the Slavs drove the Avars out. In the 9th century, Slovakia became part of the state of Great Moravia, which… Continue reading A Short History of Slovakia
The Byzantine Empire
By Tim Lambert In the 4th century, the Roman Empire split into two halves, east, and west. The western part collapsed but the Eastern Roman Empire survived until the 15th century. It wasn’t called the Byzantine Empire while it existed. The name Byzantine Empire was invented in the 16th century, after its demise. Byzantium (today… Continue reading The Byzantine Empire
A Brief History of Crimea
By Tim Lambert Early Crimea The ancient Greeks founded colonies in Crimea after 600 BC. They built cities and ports but they did not conquer the whole peninsula. In the 1st century BC, the Romans conquered parts of Crimea. However, people from central Asia called the Goths conquered eastern Crimea in the 3rd century. Later,… Continue reading A Brief History of Crimea
A Short History of Myanmar
By Tim Lambert Early Myanmar By 300 BC a rich civilization existed in southern Myanmar. A people called the Mon lived in the estuaries of the rivers Sittang and Saliveen. The Indians called it the Land of Gold. This civilization in Myanmar was also known to the Chinese. Then after 100 BC, a people called… Continue reading A Short History of Myanmar