When the Chinese Emperor ordered the destruction of a whole people — Considering there is only one state called “Mongolia,” it’s difficult to see how diverse the Mongols really were as an ethnic group. …

Eastern Turkey is a land of ghosts — This 24th of April marks 106 years since the day that is traditionally accepted as the start of the Armenian Genocide: one of the worst crimes perpetrated in modern history. On that day in 1915, the Ottoman Minister of the Interior, Mehmed Talaat Pasha, ordered the arrest and deportation of…

Civilizations never collapse on a single date — There are generally two dates used to demarcate the fall of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires: 476 and 1453, respectively. The Western Empire is believed to have fallen due to the deposition of its last emperor, Romulus Augustus by the Germanic foederatus chieftain, Odoacer. The Eastern Empire nominally lasted…

How a toxic metal was so widely used — Lead has long held a role as one of the most frequently used metals throughout human history. Along with copper, tin, mercury, gold, silver, and iron, it was one of the seven elements known to the ancients. And like mercury, it is also among the most dangerous naturally occurring elements…

The French Revolution would have died without it — Few events in the modern age have had such a crucial impact on our politics, society, and culture as the French Revolution. …

One of the First World War’s forgotten tragedies — Thinking about the Great War, very little is talked about the region where it actually started: the Balkan Peninsula. After Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914, the government of Austria-Hungary presented Serbia with an ultimatum that consisted of 10 humiliating terms. The Austro-Hungarians suspected Serbian…

An unexpected by-product of French policy — Living in this modern world, a unified Germany seems a given. It’s something as normal as the blue sky, the green grass, and the yellow sun. But if you went to France in 1800 and told someone that a unified German state would exist in just 70 years, they’d laugh…

An upheaval of the traditional order or political ploy? — Napoleon Bonaparte was a person of incredible contradiction in stature, personality, and ideology. Bonaparte’s powerful ego contrasted with his small, 5’7" frame: his imperial guard towered over him. A man prone to fits of anger and rage, other accounts portrayed him as a grave and somber individual. Napoleon is depicted…