Don't Stop Believin' in Magic
A street urchin uses three wishes from a pop-culture-obsessed genie to pose as a prince and win over a princess in Agrabah.
What is Aladdin?
A tiger on the river, this Abbasid capital wasn't just a round city, but the absolute centerpiece of the Islamic Golden Age.
What is Baghdad?
Move over, Roman aqueducts—the Khmer Empire became a "Hydraulic City" by mastering the collection and control of this resource.
What is water?
Chichén Itzá might be famous today, but back in the day, its builders never formed a unified empire, preferring to split into fiercely competitive city-states across Central America.
Who are the Maya?
Environmentalists and nature lovers share a favorite color with Mr. Lucas, who favors this color of vegetation on physical maps above all others.
What is green?
A fast-talking sleaze rules the Underworld while a five-woman gospel chorus narrates the zero-to-hero journey of a Greek demigod in this 1997 comedy.
What is Hercules?
Non-Muslims could keep their faith in the caliphate, provided they paid this toll—proof that even in the 13th century, death and taxes were guaranteed.
What is the jizya?
Srivijaya struck maritime gold by setting up a tollbooth in this narrow, high-traffic waterway between Sumatra and Malaysia.
What is the Strait of Malacca?
No coin, no problem—citizens of the Inca Empire paid off their tax debt not with currency, but through this mandatory public labor system.
What is the mit'a system?
Before ascending the podium to teach world history, Mr. Lucas earned his academic credentials in Muncie, Indiana at this university famously named for a family of glass-manufacturing brothers.
What is Ball State University?
Turning into a llama is a rough wake-up call for an overly spoiled teenage monarch, who has to rely on a soft-hearted peasant to get his human body back in this 2000 cult favorite.
What is The Emperor's New Groove?
Talk about covering your spiritual bases: this Yunnan-born Muslim admiral commanded Ming treasure fleets while praying to a Taoist sea goddess for safe passage.
Who is Zheng He?
Talk about a plot twist: two brothers converted to Islam to work for Delhi, but flipped back to this faith to found the Vijayanagara Empire.
What is Hinduism?
The ultimate real estate sign came in 1325 when Aztec settlers built this capital on Lake Texcoco right where an eagle was spotted devouring a snake on a cactus.
What is Tenochtitlan?
Displaying the kind of resilience usually reserved for besieged ancient cities, Mr. Lucas devotes his NFL loyalties to this Lake Erie franchise whose stadium features the notorious "Dawg Pound."
Who are the Cleveland Browns?
Matchmakers didn't work out, so a brave young woman brings home the ultimate bride price by saving the Emperor of China from a Hun invasion in this 1998 hit.
What is Mulan?
Northern India's rulers from 1206 to 1556 had a lot on their plate, taking their imperial name from this modern-day capital city.
What is the Delhi Sultanate?
Monks on the island of Sri Lanka didn't just meditate—they turned their island into a massive launching pad to spread this enlightened faith across Southeast Asia.
What is Buddhism?
Long before the Aztecs hit the scene, this ancient "Mother Culture" left its mark on Mexico by carving volcanic boulders into colossal stone heads.
Who are the Olmecs?
Digital streaming may rule the 21st-century music industry, but Mr. Lucas maintains a decidedly analog empire by collecting albums pressed on this petroleum-based material.
What is vinyl?
William Shakespeare's Hamlet gets a savanna makeover in a 1994 classic where an exiled prince returns home after years on a bug-only diet.
What is The Lion King?
Head to medieval Spain for this 10-letter Moorish realm where Córdoba's libraries outshone the rest of Europe.
What is Al-Andalus?
Skip the priestly middlemen! This movement let everyday believers sing, dance, and chant their way directly to the Hindu gods.
What is the Bhakti Movement?
With no horses or wagons in sight, the Incas turned to this spitting, woolly creature to haul heavy cargo up steep Andean mountain roads.
What is the llama?
Slicing through the water completely inverted, Mr. Lucas cemented his athletic legacy at Tri-West HS by setting a record in the 100-yard distance of this specific aquatic stroke.
What is backstroke?