Browsing: January 22

A Brief History On January 22, 2022, we take a look at an early influential European civilization headquartered on the Italian peninsula, the Etruscans.  Etruria, a region on the Central Western side of the Italian peninsula, that area covered by modern Tuscany, Lazio, and Umbria, was once home to a people and civilization called Etruscans.  The Etruscan culture, having arisen around the 9th Century BC, flourished to become the dominant culture in Italy by 650 BC.  How the origin of the Etruscans came about, and how their culture grew to out-compete other cultures on the Italian peninsula, including the Ligures…

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A Brief History On January 22, 613, in the capital city of Constantinople, Emperor Heraclius of the Byzantine Empire declared his 8 month old son, Constantine, Co-Emperor, or in the vernacular of the day, “Caesar.”  Perhaps you recall our related article, “The Beheading of a Byzantine Emperor by Another Byzantine Emperor!?” (October 4, 2013) that details how Heraclius seized power from the reigning Emperor, Phocas, by personally chopping off Phocas’ head!  Apparently, Heraclius was not quite done with doing outrageous things, such as making a baby Co-Emperor. Digging Deeper Heraclius had inherited a tough war by seizing power, a war…

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A Brief History On January 22, 1973, heavyweight boxing legend and purveyor of home grills, George Foreman, pummeled the reigning heavyweight boxing champion, Smokin’ Joe Frazier, into a quivering pile of jelly in their championship bout in Kingston, Jamaica.  The fight was mercifully stopped by the referee in the second round, making George Foreman Heavyweight Boxing Champion and de facto “King of the World.”  As stunning as Foreman’s victory was, as Frazier was the undefeated Champion at the time, this fight was only one of 3 truly momentous fights in Foreman’s boxing career.  Most boxers are lucky if they are…

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A Brief History On January 22, 1917, President of the United States Woodrow Wilson called upon the warring European nations to end the Great War (World War I) in a “peace without victory.”  At this stage of the war, the major combatant nations had invested so many lives and so much national treasure that to quit without victory was political suicide for the leaders.  Wilson, with the US still neutral at that point, was clearly wasting his breath.  Wilson’s plea is just one of many times someone made an effort at peace despite having virtually no chance at actually gaining…

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A Brief History On January 22, 1879, the British Army got a taste of colonial medicine when it suffered its worst defeat in its history against a native force armed mostly with archaic weapons.  The British numbered about 1800 soldiers counting colonial and native troops, and were accompanied by about 400 civilians.  A Zulu force of perhaps 20,000 warriors, armed mostly with indigenous weapons (spears, etc) and some obsolete firearms (muskets) attacked the British column that was invading Zululand, resulting in a resounding defeat of the British in the area of Isandlwana. (Note: There are various spellings of Isandlwana.) Digging…

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