fall of rome
EUROPE

The city which had taken the whole world was itself taken

In 410 ce, Rome fell to an army of nomadic Germanic peoples 'Visigoths' who pillaged the city over the course of three days.

Declaration of Independence
AMERICA

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal

There has been no more daring assertion of statehood than that proclaimed by the Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776 and signed by all 56 delegates present.

The Long March
ASIA

The Long March is a manifesto, a propaganda force, a seeding-machine

In the autumn of 1933, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was on the brink of annihilation. Nationalists had taken control of the country and launched a major attack against their base in Jiangxi, a southeastern province.

Conquest of Alexander
EUROPE

There is nothing impossible to he who will try

In one of the fastest and most daring military expansions in history, Alexander the Great, the young king of Macedon in the Balkans, blazed a trail of conquest across most of the known world of his day.

911 attack
AMERICA

Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack

On September 11, 2001, a group of Islamic extremists launched a devastating attack against the US.

Abu Simbel
AFRICA

All the lands have fallen prostrate beneath his sandals for eternity

Around 1264 bce, the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II (c.1278–1237 bce) had two mighty temples hewn out of the cliffs on the west bank of the Nile in southern Egypt.

Marco Polo journey
ASIA

I did not tell half of what I saw, for I knew I would not be believed

Venetian merchant Marco Polo’s arrival at Chengdu, the capital of the Great Khan Kublai, in 1275 marked the end of a four-year journey.

Gempei War
ASIA

A man destined to become master of the state

When in 1192 the Japanese clan leader Minamoto Yoritomo became the military commander-in-chief, or shogun, it marked the ascent to power of a Japanese military class, the samurai.

Mansa Musa
AFRICA

He left no court emir nor royal office holder without the gift of a load of gold

The Muslim West African kingdom of Mali burst onto the world stage with a flourish in the early 14th century, when its fabulously wealthy ruler, Mansa Musa, made an unusually extravagant hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca.

founding of St. Petersburg
EUROPE

I built St. Petersburg as a window to let in the light of Europe

Russian ruler Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg, on the estuary of the River Neva, on May 27, 1703. This new city, fortress, and port by the Baltic gave Russia direct sea access to Europe, opening new opportunities for both trade and military conquest.

Nazi Party Rally
EUROPE

This is not peace. This is an armistice for 20 years

After four years of global conflict, 16 million people had died and centuries-old empires and dynasties had collapsed. In January 1919, the victors of World War I met to discuss the terms of peace.

battle of ayacucho
AMERICA

Let us lay the cornerstone of American freedom without fear. To hesitate is to perish

The establishment in 1819 of the Republic of Colombia, or Gran Colombia as it came to be known, by Simón Bolívar, the self-styled Libertador, marked a pivotal moment in the emergence of an independent Latin America.