History – The Economics, Tech, Health and Culture Remix (beta)

The Roman ‘Brexit’: how life in Britain changed after 409AD

October 16, 2018 Bilal 0

The Roman ‘Brexit’: how life in Britain changed after 409AD https://ift.tt/2Ev1iki Leaving a major political body is nothing new for mainland Britain. In 409AD, more than 350 years after the Roman conquest of 43AD, the island slipped from the control of the Roman Empire. Much like the present Brexit, the process of this secession and its practical impacts on Britain’s population in the early years of the 5th century remain ill-defined. As with the UK and Brussels, Britain had always been a mixed blessing for Rome. In around 415AD, St Jerome called the island “fertile in tyrants” (meaning usurpers) and […]

My favorite beverage is a 2,000-year-old energy drink from ancient Rome

September 5, 2018 Bilal 0

My favorite beverage is a 2,000-year-old energy drink from ancient Rome https://ift.tt/2N7EYjM We all know it’s good to hydrate. Water can be so blah, though. So when I’m trying to rehydrate after a long run in the summer heat, I tend to reach for an old-timey solution: The energy drink of ancient Rome. The Romans were famed for their innovations in military logistics, which allowed them to extend their territory from Rome and its immediate surrounds to the whole Mediterranean and ultimately, with the establishment of the Roman Empire, virtually all of western Eurasia. But an army can’t win if […]

World politics explainer: The Great War (WWI)

September 3, 2018 Bilal 0

World politics explainer: The Great War (WWI) https://ift.tt/2N6IP0t Understanding the first world war is an exercise in comprehending the depth of human commitment to destruction, violence and resilience at a scale never experienced before 1914. BNF France This is the first in a series of explainers on key moments in the past 100 years of world political history. In it, our authors examine how and why an event unfolded, its impact at the time, and its relevance to politics today. In October 1918, a young man was temporarily blinded on the Western Front and evacuated to hospital. For four long […]

#Reviewing The Fate of Rome

September 3, 2018 Bilal 0

#Reviewing The Fate of Rome https://ift.tt/2NwmrKT The Eastern Roman Empire, however, held together, and by the early sixth century it seemed in a position to regain control of the whole Mediterranean basin. Under the Emperor Justinian and his brilliant general Belisarius, Constantinople, the new Rome, regained control of much of North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. Again, nature intervened. The unexpected appearance of tyche hit the Eastern Roman Empire with three terrible blows. The last blow was expected, given the historical record, but the extent of the damage done was unexpected: the war between the empire and Persia, which exhausted both […]

Edge of Memory: Distrusting oral tradition may make us more ignorant

September 2, 2018 Bilal 0

Edge of Memory: Distrusting oral tradition may make us more ignorant https://ift.tt/2NbfyBM Edge of Memory: Distrusting oral tradition may make us more ignorant Aboriginal stories about startlingly rapid rises in sea level describe real events at the end of the ice age, says a new book. Are we stupid to distrust oral traditions? Aboriginal oral traditions incorporate song and danceBettmann/Getty By Jonathon Keats ONCE upon a time, Spencer Gulf in southern Australia was a land of lagoons contested by rival animal clans. The birds kept the snakes and lizards from drinking. This upset the kangaroos, one of whom drew a […]