Key Dates
Columbus sailed the ocean blue in this year.
What is 1492?
The Romans defeated these barbarian horse archers from Central Asia in 370 A.D.
Who were the Huns?
Conquered the known world by the time he was 30 years old.
Who is Alexander the Great?
What is a snake?
This Bronze Age civilization is best known for a powerful navy, trading purple dye from mashed snails, and inventing the alphabet.
Who are the Phoenicians?
Alexander the Great defeats the Persians at the battle of Issus in this year.
What is 333 B.C.?
300 brave Spartan warriors hold off a massive Persian army at this pass, allowing the Greeks to eventually win the war and preserve western culture.
What is Thermopylae?
Converted to Christianity after seeing the sign of the cross in the sky before the battle of the Milvian bridge.
Who is Constantine the Great?
The British executed Nathan Hale in this manner after he declared his only regret to be having only one life to give his country
What is hanging?
The earliest known writing has been found in ancient Mesopotamia, and is known by this name.
What is cuneiform?
Odoacer, a Gothic chieftain, conquers the city of Rome in this year.
What is 476 A.D.?
Charles "The Hammer" Martel defeated the early Muslim armies at this battle in 732 A.D.
What is the Battle of Tours?
This founder of the ancient Persian Empire let the Jews in Babylon return to Jerusalem.
Who is Cyrus the Great?
Killed by stabbing on the Ides of March, 44 B.C.
Who is Julius Caesar?
The ancient Egyptians learned a lot about anatomy from mummifying their dead, but they threw this "useless" organ away.
What is the brain?
William the Conqueror, a French noble, begins the conquest of England by winning the Battle of Hastings in this year.
What is 1066 A.D.?
These barbarian horse archer hordes from Central Asia conquered an enormous empire in the medieval ages, but failed to invade far into Europe.
Who were the Mongols?
Crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope on Christmas Day, 800 A.D.
Who is Charlemagne (Charles the Great)?
This member of the First Triumvirate was killed by the Parthians, who then poured molten gold over his head to mock him who was once the richest person in Rome.
Who is Crassus?
Harvard did not teach Calculus for several decades after its founding, because it had not yet been discovered by this famous scientist
Who is Isaac Newton?
The English, aided by a large storm, destroy the Spanish Armada.
What is 1588 A.D.?
The Eastern Roman Empire, which kept Muslim armies from invading Europe until Turkish cannons brought them down in 1453 A.D., is also known by this name.
What is the Byzantine Empire?
Member of the First Triumvirate who conquered Palestine and many other eastern territories for Rome.
Who is Pompey the Great?
According to Herodotus, Queen Tamaris of the Massagetae killed this Persian king in battle and then used his skull as a drinking cup.
Who is Cyrus the Great?
He thought of the idea of helicopters centuries before they were built, in addition to being an amazing Renaissance thinker and painter.
Who is Leonardo da Vinci?