pre-C16
While many people today claim descent from Genghis Khan, none of them can rightly boast that they founded the Yuan Dynasty, like this grandson of Genghis.
Who is Kublai Khan?
The epitome of the Humanist ethos, this Dutch-born writer quipped (in Latin), "When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes."
Who is (Desiderius) Erasmus of Rotterdam?
This Manchu dynasty ascended to power in 1644. They would ultimately be China's last dynasty.
What is the Qing Dynasty?
François-Marie Arouet – "Orient" enthusiast and prolific author of satire, poetry, plays, historical, and scientific works – is better known by this nom de plume.
Who is Voltaire?
His assassination – together with that of his wife, Sophie of Hohenberg – is the second 'A' in "MANIA."
Who is Archduke Franz Ferdinand?
This man, who established a shop in Mainz around 1450, greatly improved the technology of movable-type printing.
Who is Johannes Gutenberg?
These were the three major Islamic "gunpowder empires" that ruled over large swathes of Eurasia and north Africa.
What are the Ottoman, Mughal, and Safavid empires?
This Powhatan princess was born in a place that would become known as Virginia; she died in Gravesend, England in 1617.
Who is Pocahontas?
This polymathic American "Founding Father" was a prolific writer, printer, inventor, and statesman. Today, his portrait appears on a high-denomination US banknote.
Who is Benjamin Franklin?
These martial arts-practicing extremists sought to thoroughly rid China of foreigners and foreign influence. Their "Uprising" was put down in 1901.
Who are the Boxers?
This Latin term is often used by historians to describe the relative peace across much of Eurasia following the conquests of Genghis Khan.
What is Pax Mongolica?
This third Mughal emperor, known for his tolerance of religious and cultural diversity, is normally styled as 'the Great'.
Who is Akbar (the Great)?
This small Dutch city was home to Johannes Vermeer, whose paintings give us a vivid glimpse at everyday life in seventeenth-century Europe. It is also the namesake of European imitation Chinese porcelain.
What is Delft?
This mother of Frankenstein novelist Mary Shelley is widely credited with founding British feminism with her A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.
Who is Mary Wallstonecraft?
Hind Swaraj was an early expression of the distinctive political thought of this Indian nationalist (and UK-trained barrister).
Who is Gandhi?
Meaning "Holy Wisdom," this late antique cathedral was converted into a mosque in 1453.
What is Hagia Sophia?
This colonial system entailed Indigenous people being “adopted” by Spaniards and compelled to give their labour or monetary tribute in return for (in theory) a Christian education that would be of spiritual benefit to them.
What is the encomienda system?
In 1659, this French nun and missionary established the first school in what was then known as Ville-Marie, today Montréal.
Who is Marguerite Bourgeoys?
This sedimentary rock (and sign of Santa Claus' apparent disapproval) was crucial in powering the Industrial Revolution.
What is coal?
Alternately referred to, in different traditions, as Fatemeh Zarrin Taj Baraghani and Qurrat al-Ayn, she may be best known by this one-word Persian name meaning "The Pure One."
Who is Táhirih?
This Chinese naval fleet commander led seven “treasure voyages” between 1405 and 1433.
Who is Zheng He?
This theological principle, essential to the work of Martin Luther, means "only faith."
What is sola fide?
This Tokugawa Shogunate policy kept Japan a largely (though not entirely) "closed country" to Westerners until 1853.
What is sakoku?
Sometimes called the "Jewish Enlightenment," this cultural movement was significantly shaped by the writings and ideas of Moses Mendelssohn.
What is the Haskalah?
This WWI soldier-poet held up for closer scrutiny the ancient truism that "it is sweet and fitting to die for one's fatherland."
Who is Wilfred Owen?