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The Ionian Revolt

About 2500 years ago, the Persian Empire was expanding through Asia and into Asia Minor (the area between the Black and Mediterranean Seas) and taking control of the eastern world. It was this action that eventually provoked the Ionian revolt which marked the beginning of the long confrontation between the Greek and Persian empires.

The Letters of Private Melvin W. Johnson

Elaine Kathryn (Johnson) Ketchum never knew her father. Just recently, she came into possession of her father's letters to her mother from before and during the war. Private Melvin W. Johnson, an infantryman with the 314th Infantry Regiment, 79th Infantry Division, was killed in action, fighting in France on November 18, 1944.

The Medieval Village

For most peasants in the Middle Ages, life centered around the village. The village was usually part of a manor run by a lord or someone of noble birth or a church or an abbey. Most peasants never ventured out of the village during their lifetime.

The Notorious Nero

Nearly everyone has heard of Nero "fiddling while Rome burned". The true story of The Great Fire of 64 is debated but many believe Nero had the fire started to build his monumental "Golden House". There were reports that Nero climbed a tower in a stage costume and played the lyre while exulting in "the beauty of the flames". Afterwards, to assuage the throngs of homeless Romans, Nero tried to use the Christian population as scapegoats and blame the fire on them.

The Ottoman Empire

Only 80 years separate the modern Middle East from the forgotten and long-lived Ottoman Empire. Over a time span of six hundred years, from about 1300 to 1923, the Ottoman Empire expanded into the largest political entity in Europe and western Asia and then imploded and disappeared into the back pages of history.

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