Ancient Civilizations
This ancient Mesopotamian empire is famous for its king Hammurabi and his code.
What is Babylon?
He completed the first circumnavigation of the globe (though he died before finishing the voyage).
Who is Ferdinand Magellan?
This 1789 event marked the start of a major European revolution that overthrew a monarchy.
What is the French Revolution?
This Cold War conflict from 1955–1975 saw major U.S. involvement to stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia.
What is the Vietnam War?
This South African leader spent 27 years in prison before becoming president and ending apartheid.
Who is Nelson Mandela?
This ancient city-state is credited with the earliest known democracy and the Parthenon.
What is Athens?
This Norse explorer reached parts of North America around 1000 CE centuries before Columbus.
Who is Leif Erikson?
This 1861–1865 conflict reshaped the United States and led to the abolition of slavery in U.S. territories.
What is the American Civil War?
This 1979–1989 war involved a superpower-backed invasion of a Central Asian republic, triggering prolonged insurgency.
What is the Soviet–Afghan War?
This Soviet leader initiated policies of glasnost and perestroika in the 1980s
Who is Mikhail Gorbachev?
This West African empire, centered at Gao and Timbuktu, flourished as a trading hub in the 13th–16th centuries
What is the Kingdom of Mali?
This Portuguese prince, a patron of navigation in the 15th century, supported voyages down the African coast.
Who is Prince Henry the Navigator?
This English 17th-century conflict ended with the execution of Charles I and temporary establishment of the Commonwealth.
What is the English Civil War?
This 1994 genocide resulted from long-standing ethnic tensions in this African country between Hutu and Tutsi groups.
What is the Rwandan Genocide (in Rwanda)?
This Ottoman sultan conquered Constantinople in 1453, ending the Byzantine Empire.
Who is Mehmed II (Mehmed the Conqueror)?
This North African civilization fought Rome in the Punic Wars.
What is Carthage?
This 19th-century German naturalist's voyage on the HMS Beagle profoundly influenced his later theory of evolution by natural selection.
Who is Charles Darwin?
This series of reforms and revolutionary changes in the late 18th century in Saint‑Domingue led to the first successful slave revolt and independent Black republic.
What is the Haitian Revolution?
This 1961 failed attempt by U.S.-backed Cuban exiles to overthrow Fidel Castro ended in defeat.
What is the Bay of Pigs invasion?
He was the first President of independent Ghana and a leading Pan‑Africanist.
Who is Kwame Nkrumah?
This Chinese dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE) is the earliest one supported by archaeological evidence like oracle bones.
What is the Shang dynasty?
This English navigator's voyages in the late 16th century helped open the Pacific and led to English claims in North America; he was killed during a later circumnavigation attempt.
Who is Sir Francis Drake?
This U.S. constitutional amendment, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery.
What is the Thirteenth Amendment?
This is the line that separated Korea into north and south.
What is the 38th parallel?
This Persian ruler of the Achaemenid dynasty is known from Greek sources for his invasion of Greece and battles like Marathon (r. 522–486 BCE).
Who is Darius I?