A Brief History On October 1, 331 B.C., one of history’s most significant battles occurred: The Battle of Gaugamela in which Alexander the Great dealt a decisive defeat to the then largest empire the world had ever seen (at 3.08 million square miles the Persian Empire even surpassed the Roman Empire’s 2.51 million square miles!). Yet, modern representations of this key battle that ended the Persian Empire are not entirely accurate… Digging Deeper Also known as the Battle of Arbella, the Battle of Gaugamela was Alexander the Great’s biggest victory. It is ranked among The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the…
A Brief History On October 1, 1993, twelve-year old Polly Hannah Klaas (January 3, 1981 – October 1, 1993) was murdered under horrifying circumstances erroneously starting the rumor that Nirvana’s “Polly” was inspired by the event. Digging Deeper Californian Richard Allen Davis ranks among the legion of disgusting individuals who walk among us. In his youth, he reportedly tortured cats and dogs with gasoline and knives. From the 1970s through 1990s, his arrest record included everything from burglary to murder. The most infamous of his crimes occurred on the fateful October in 1993. Davis invaded Klaas’s slumber party where a…
A Brief History On September 30, 1888, unidentified serial killer Jack the Ripper killed his third and fourth victims, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes. The incident known as the “double event” is the only such instance of the Ripper committing two murders on the same night. Digging Deeper Without any doubt, Jack the Ripper has been for over a hundred years now the world’s most well-known unknown serial killer. The amount of books, graphic novels, and films on the murderer far surpass any other, although his real identify remains a mystery. The number of suspects offered are legion and tickle…
A Brief History On September 29, 522 B.C., following two years of bizarre and bloody political intrigue, King Darius I the Great of Persia killed a Magian (think of the magi or wise men of the Bible) usurper, thereby securing Darius’s hold as great king of the Persian Empire. Digging Deeper Most westerners know of Darius as one of the two Persian monarchs who attempted and failed to conquer Greece. Darius’s forces were those who suffered the iconic defeat at the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. Yet, this invasion happened over thirty years into Darius’s reign and just four…
A Brief History On September 28, 235 A.D., Pope Pontian became the first pope to resign his office, only to live out his days exiled to the mines of Sardinia! Digging Deeper When Pope Benedict XVI resigned his papacy in 2013, he was the first pope to do so since 1415. In fact, he was one of only a handful of popes to ever resign. Out of the 266 popes who have led Roman Catholicism, only six have ever abdicated. Pope Emeritus Benedict actually retains various aspects of his former office and probably lives under better conditions than many people…
