Historical Figures
This Mongol leader founded an empire that became the largest contiguous land empire in history
Genghis Khan
This "river of sorrows" was the center of the earliest Chinese civilizations.
Yellow River (黄河)
This 20th-century global conflict (1914-1918) was once called "The Great War."
World War I
This dynasty of China was overthrown in the 1911 Xinhai Revolution and marked the last dynasty of the nation.
The Qing Dynasty
This Italian explorer's voyages to the "New World" in 1492 were funded by Spain
Christopher Columbus
This Venetian merchant's travels to China in the 13th century were recorded in "The Travels of _____ ____"
Marco Polo
The two main city-states of ancient Greece, often at war with each other
Athens and Sparta
The war fought between the northern and southern U.S. states from 1861 to 1865.
American Civil War
This 1917 revolution led by Lenin overthrew the Tsar and created the world's first communist state, the Soviet Union.
Russian Revolution (Bolshevik Revolution)
This deadly pandemic, also known as the Black Death, ravaged Europe in the 14th century
The Bubonic Plague
This Queen of England ruled for 63 years during the 19th century, an era named after her
Queen Victoria
He was the Macedonian king who conquered the Persian Empire and spread Greek culture across the known world.
Alexander the Great
This series of wars, fought between Christians and Muslims for control of the Holy Land, lasted from 1095 to 1291
The Crusades
This 1789 event is considered the start of the French Revolution, when a Parisian mob stormed a royal fortress for weapons.
Storming of the Bastille
This 1899-1901 Chinese uprising aimed to expel foreign influences and was secretly supported by the ruling Empress Dowager Cixi.
The Boxer Rebellion
This "Iron Chancellor" was the driving force behind the unification of Germany in 1871
The ancient Minoan civilization on Crete was renowned for its elaborate palace at Knossos, which was associated with the myth of this bull-headed creature.
Minotaur
Fought over control of Korea and Manchuria, this 1904-1905 war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth
Russo-Japanese War
He was the ideological leader of the Khmer Rouge and oversaw the genocidal "Killing Fields" revolution in Cambodia
Pol Pot
This term refers to the period of cultural and biological exchanges between the New and Old Worlds after 1492
The Columbian Exchange
He is the Portuguese explorer credited with leading the first voyage to circumnavigate the globe, though he died en route.
Ferdinand Magellan
This North African civilization was a rival to Rome, led by the famous general Hannibal
Carthage
This 1066 battle was a decisive victory for William the Conqueror over the Anglo-Saxon king, Harold Godwinson
Battle of Hastings
The slogan for the French Revolution of the 18th Century, which contained three words
Liberty, Equality (Egality), Fraternity
This leader, who ruled the Soviet Union for much of the Cold War, gave a "Secret Speech" in 1956 denouncing the crimes of his predecessor, Joseph Stalin
Nikita Khrushchev