Ancestors of Abkhazians have lived in the western Caucasus since time immemorial. Short periods of independence alternated with domination by the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Turks, Russians and Georgians. Nowadays Abkhazia is a partially recognized republic.
Australian Aborigines is a collective term for the original inhabitants of the Australian continent. Aborigines from different parts of Australia refer to themselves with different names, including Koori, Yamaji, Nunga, and Murri.
Abyssinians - also known as Habesha or Ethiopians - are a Semitic people who ruled historical states in the Horn of Africa, the most prominent being the Aksumite Kingdom and the Ethiopian Empire.
Acadia was first founded in 1604 as the first French colony in North America. It was soon caught in the crossfire of French-English wars, leading Acadia to change hands frequently. This led Acadians to develop a separate identity and a form of self-government. Their lack of support for any side in these wars earned them the title of French neutrals, but also the distrust of British colonial authorities who would forcefully deport them in 1755. Acadians have since returned to their land and rebuilt.
The Sultanate of Aceh located on the western tip of the island of Sumatra was a regional power in the 16th and 17th centuries, controlling much of the trade through the Strait of Malacca. Aceh was subjugated by the Dutch in the bloody Aceh War of 1873-1903.
Acre is the westernmost state of Brazil. The region was part of Bolivia until 1899, when Brazilian settlers revolted and declared an Independent State of Acre. Bolivia gave up its claims to the territory in the Treaty of Petropolis of 1903, after which Acre was annexed to Brazil. Acre is one of the world's most important rubber producing regions.
Afghanistan, often called the crossroads of Central Asia, has had a very turbulent history. Through the ages, the country has been occupied by many forces including the Persian Empire, Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great. The Afghanistan nation-state as it is known today came into existence in 1746 when Ahmad Shah founded the Durrani Empire.
Africa: the cradle of humanity. It is the world's second largest continent and also its second most populous.
The Ainu are the indigenous people of northern Japan, the Kuril islands, Sakhalin, and the southern part of the Kamchatka peninsula.
The Akwe are also known by three different tribal names in Portuguese, Xavante, Xakriaba and Xerente. They have a patrilineal clan system and live in Mato Grosso and Tocantins states of Brazil, though they have been forced to move by Brazilians several times through their history. Traditionally, they are ruled by councils of elders who elect a chief and have likely lived in large ring villages since about the 9th century CE. They are Ge speakers who farm maize, manioc, sweet potatoes and yams.
Al-Andalus was the parts of the Iberian peninsula that was under Muslim control during the Middle Ages. Muslim Andalusians are noted for their splendid architectural heritage. During the Reconquista the Christian kingdoms gradually pushed back the Islamic states of Al-Andalus. Their last city on the Iberian peninsula, Granada, fell in 1492.
Åland is an archipelago in the Baltic Sea, located between Sweden and Finland. The islands' inhabitants are Swedish speaking, but Åland is an autonomous province in Finland, a status that was reached in 1921 after a long period in which the islands were contested between Sweden and Finland. Åland's special and demilitarized status is protected by international law.
Inhabitants of the Balkan peninsula, the ethnic origins of the Albanians are uncertain, though it has been suggested they descend from the Illyrians of Classical Antiquity. Albania changed hands several times during its history. It has been an independent state again since 1912. For much of the 20th century Albania was ruled by communist dictator Envër Hoxha.
The Unangan, or Aleut, lived in permanent subterranean homes in their hunting and fishing villages. They lived in the Aleutian islands for thousands of years prior to European contact. Unangan people developed ties to Russian missionaries and traders many converting to Russian Orthodox Christianity and intermarrying with Russians, and some even accompanied Russians to their other colonial entrepots such as Ft. Ross in northern California and Ft. Elizabeth in Hawai'i.
Algeria is an Arabic nation in North Africa. It is historically inhabited by the Berber people.
Alsace is a region in Europe, on the border of France and Germany. During the Middle Ages Alsace was part of the Holy Roman Empire, and consisted of several quite wealthy city-states. In the 17th and 18th century the Alsatian cities were annexed by France one by one, but after that the region became one of the most contested parts of Europe, changing hands between Germany and France 4 times in less than a century. Since 1944 it has been in French hands.
The Amazigh civilization is one of the oldest in the Mediterranean Basin, co-existing with ancient Egypt. The Imazighen people, which means "free men", are sturdy and strong but cheerful and generous with a great consideration for family and tribe. Every tribe has its own traditions and culture, which is the reason for the countless diversity of traditions in modern Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The Imazighen speak old languages such as Tamazirt, Tachelhit or Tarifit, collectively known as Berber languages, using an age-old writing system called Tifinagh.
The Amazons are a fictional nation of women warriors which appear in Classical Greek writing and art. Authors have located them in the Ukraine, Asia Minor, or Libya. The Amazons were reported to remove their right breasts in order to better use the bow and other weapons.
The United States of America achieved its independence from Great Britain after a revolution in 1776-1783 CE. Its constitution was proclaimed in 1789, making the country one of the first modern representative republics. The United States then started to expand its territory, first on the North American mainland and later also overseas. By the 20th century the country had become a world superpower; its cultural, economic and political influence on the rest of the world is enormous.
Andorra is a small country in the eastern Pyrenees. In 1278, a dispute between the bishop of Urgell and the Count of Foix ended with an agreement to share the sovereignty of Andorra. This arrangement is still in effect and their successors - the current bishop of Urgell and the President of the French Republic - bear the (mostly honorific) title of co-prince of Andorra.
When the Portuguese arrived in Angola in the 15th century the region was controlled by several Bantu kingdoms. Angola became an important source of slave traders until well into the 19th century. After two decades of guerrilla war against the Portuguese colonial authorities Angola finally achieved independence in 1975. Soon the various guerilla groups started fighting each other. After half a century of war a peace agreement was finally reached in 2002.
Anhalt was a German state. Initially a county, it was split from Saxony in 1212. For most of its history, it was partitioned into several territories that were ruled by the same family. The counts of Anhalt were raised to dukes upon the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire by Napoleon in 1806. Anhalt was reunited into a single duchy in 1863. Upon the downfall of the German monarchies in 1918, it became a free state. After World War II, Anhalt finally ceased to exist when the allies decided to merge it with the former Prussian Province of Saxony to form the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
The Anishinaabeg are a group of closely related Native American tribes in the North American Great Lakes region, including the Ottawa, Ojibwe, Algonkin and Potawatomi. They speak Algonquian languages. Together they are one of the most numerous indigenous peoples of North America.
Independent South Pole, land of penguins.
Antigua and Barbuda is a country in the Eastern Caribbean consisting of the two eponymous islands as well as a number of smaller islets. The country has been independent from the United Kingdom since 1981.
The islands of Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Saint Martin and Saint Eustatius were colonized by the Dutch in the 17th century. Their population is of mixed European, African and Latin American heritage. The Netherlands Antilles gained internal self governance in 1954, and were subsequently dissolved in 2010. Aruba, Curacao and Saint Martin are countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands; the other three islands have been directly integrated into the Netherlands as special municipalities.
The Apaches are a group of Athabascan speaking Indian tribes living in Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Apache groups include the Western, Chiricahua, Mescalero, Jicarilla, Lipan and Plains Apache. They came from the Far North around 1000 CE. The Apache are known as fierce warriors. In the 19th century it took the United States half a century to subdue them.
The first mention of Arabs appeared in the mid-9th century BCE as a tribal people in eastern and southern Syria, and the north of the Arabian Peninsula.
Aragon was formed as a Frankish county and was elevated to a kingdom in the 11th century. It expanded its territory southwards during the reconquista and subsequently managed to control a large part of the Mediterranean. In 1469 king Fernando II married Isabella of Castile, a union that would form the base of the Spanish unification. The kingdom was legally dissolved in 1707 but today Aragon continues to exist as an autonomous community of Spain.
According to legend, the Aramean people are the descendants of Aram, the grandson of Noah.
Argentina is located on the south-eastern coast of South America. Since independence from Spain in 1816, it has been plagued by several internal and external conflicts. In the decades after World War II, the country's politics was dominated by Juan Perón and his charismatic wife Eva "Evita" Perón.
According to legend, the Armenian people are the descendants of Haik - the great-great-grandson of Noah. The modern Republic of Armenia gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
The Ashanti were an ancient kingdom in a region that is currently a part of Ghana. The first Ashanti kingdom was founded in the 11th century.
The Assam (Ahom) kingdom was founded in 1228 on the southeastern foothills of the Himalayas by a group of Shan people emigrating from what is today northeastern Burma. The Assamese kings famously defeated several expeditions by the mighty Mughal Empire, effectively halting the Mughals' eastward expansion.
Assyria was an empire in northern Mesopotamia, named after its capital Ashur.
The Astures were a Celtic people which occupied most of the northern coast of Spain. They battled against the Roman Empire until their defeat by Caesar Augustus' legions between 29 and 19 BCE. Under the Visigothic kingdom of Toledo, there were uneasy relations between Visigoths and Asturians. In 722 CE, king Pelayo defeated the Umayyad Muslim troops at Covadonga, establishing the Asturian Kingdom, which lasted until 910 CE, when the capital town was moved from Oviedo to Leon. Nowadays, Asturias is an autonomous community of Spain.
The mythical continent of Atlantis
Australia was founded as a British penal colony in 1788 CE. Originally comprising several colonies (New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania) it became a single country in 1902. It is the only country on Earth to occupy an entire continent.
The origins of Austria date back to the time of the Roman Empire when a Celtic kingdom was conquered by the Romans in approximately 15 BCE, and later became Noricum, a Roman province, in the mid 1st century CE - an area which mostly encloses today's Austria. In 788 CE, the Frankish king Charlemagne conquered the area, and introduced Christianity. Under the native Habsburg dynasty, Austria became one of the great powers of Europe. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary. The Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed in 1918 with the end of World War I. After establishing the First Austrian Republic in 1919, Austria joined Nazi Germany in the Anschluss in 1938. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Austria was occupied by the Allies.
The Avars or Eurasian Avars were an ancient nomadic confederation of mixed origin. The dominant language of this group was presumably Proto-Bulgarian within the Turkic Oghuz language subgroup, but the true origin of the Avars is unknown. It is possible they were originally a Rouran or Hephthalite group. After settling in Pannonia they subjugated the local Slavic tribes. Gradually they lost power and political importance and eventually the Avars blended with Slavic peoples.
After the collapse of the Tiwanaku civilization in the Andes, their heirs reorganized into a set of culturally close Aymara kingdoms that thrived around the Titicaca lake until they were conquered by the Incas.
The Azeris are the people of Azerbaijan. The territory of modern Azerbaijan was the scene of rises and falls of different ancient states of the Caucasus region. In 1813 Azerbaijan became part of the Russian Empire, which was followed by a short period of independence in 1918-1920 - as the first Islamic republic in history. Then Azerbaijan became part of the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991.
The Azteca, a Nahuatl speaking people from the Sonoran desert, seized control of the Toltec-derived civilizations of Central Mexico during the 15th century, reviving the practice of human sacrifice. They were conquered by the Spanish under Cortés in 1521.
Baden was a country in Swabia, in southwestern Germany. After World War II it was merged with Wuerttemberg and Hohenzollern to form the land of Baden-Wuerttemberg.
Babylon was the dominant city of Mesopotamia from the 18th to 7th centuries BCE under a succession of peoples including Amorites, Kassites, Assyrians, and Chaldeans.
The Bahamas are an island group in North America. It was somewhere in the Bahamas that Columbus first set foot on American soil. The Islands were subsequently depopulated and mostly ignored until they were settled by British colonists in the 17th century. The Bahamas have been an independent country within the Commonwealth since 1973. Nowadays the Bahamas are mostly famous for their beaches but it is also a major offshore financial center. The Bahamas are the most developed country of Latin America and the Caribbean as well as the world's wealthiest black-majority country.
Bahrain is an island country in the Persian Gulf and the smallest country of the Middle East. Bahrain has been independent from Persia since the 18th century, although it was a British protectorate until 1971. The country became a constitutional monarchy in 2001 but a pro-democracy uprising in 2011 was violently crushed.
The People's Republic of Bangladesh was formed from the former Pakistani territory of East Bengal following a war of independence.
Barbados is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean, about 100 km east of the Windward Islands in the Caribbean. Originally inhabited by Arawaks, the island was discovered by the Portuguese around 1500. When the English first settled Barbados in 1627 they found the island depopulated. The island has been independent since 1966. Barbados is a major international tourist destination and one of the most developed countries of the Caribbean.
The Bashkirs are a Turkic-speaking nation in the southern Urals. Since the end of the 16th century, the Bashkirs were vassals of the Russian tsar, but have since participated in several uprisings against the Russian government. Today most of the Bashkirs live in the Bashkortostan Republic which is part of the Russian Federation.
The Basques have lived since ancient times by the western foothills of the Pyrenees. The Kingdom of Navarre was the last independent Basque state, which fell to Aragon in the 16th century. Today, the Basque Country, or "Euskal Herria", lays right in the borderlands between Spain and France, divided into seven historical provinces. Their language, Euskara, has no known relatives and its origins are unknown.
Bavaria, before national unification in 1870 CE, was one of the largest of the German kingdoms.
Belarus was part of the ancient Slavic state of Kievan Rus', then subsequently Lithuania, Rzeczpospolita, the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. Belarus became independent in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Belgium gained independence from the Dutch Kingdom in 1830. Belgium is mainly characterized by its movement from a unified state to a federal one. This is the result of the Flemish and the Walloon's nationalist (almost) peaceful fights.
The Belgae were an Ancient Celtic tribe that inhabited the area that would later become the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. Their origin was perhaps mixed Celtic and Germanic, because they had come to Gaul from behind the Rhine and included some Germanic elements, but the names of their chiefs were Gallic. Julius Caesar famously called the Belgae the bravest amongst the inhabitants of Gaul. They put up stiff resistance against Caesar's legions but eventually succumbed to the Romans. The modern country of Belgium derives its name from the Belgae.
Belize is the smallest country of Central America. Once part of the Maya region, it was settled by British pirates and loggers in the 17th century. Belize, then known as British Honduras, became a crown colony in 1862. It has been an independent country since 1981. Belize is ethnically extremely diverse, its population consisting of Creoles, Mayans, Spanish-speaking mestizos, Garifunas, Chinese, Mennonites, and Indians.
Bengal is a region in the easternmost part of the Indian subcontinent. The first recorded independent king of the Bengali is Shashanka who reigned around 606 CE. Today the People's Republic of Bangladesh occupies the eastern part of the region, while the western part is the Indian state of West Bengal.
Not to be confused with the modern republic of Benin, the Kingdom of Benin was founded by Edo speakers sometime between the 12th and 14th centuries. Benin united a large area of land west of the Niger river delta, reaching its peak in the 16th century. Eweka I founded the Uzama, or Councilors of State, to aid in the accession of a new Oba, or king. Its fortunes waned as Europeans chose other kingdoms to trade with after Benin's main port silted up. The Kingdom finally ended in 1897 when the British assumed control.
Once the site of the Dahomey kingdom, the country was colonized by France in the 19th century. Dahomey became independent in 1960. Marxists seized power in 1972 and renamed the country Benin three years later. Multiparty rule returned in 1990.
Located in the Himalayas, Bhutan is one of the most isolated countries in the world. Bhutan has not been conquered or occupied by foreign invaders for a millennium if not more. In the 17th century Bhutan became a unified nation under Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, who repelled a Mongol invasion and united the rivaling Bhutanese tribes.
Biafra declared independence from Nigeria in 1967 after years of ethnic, religious and economic tensions in newly independent Nigeria. A war between Nigeria and Biafra followed, which claimed up to two million lives, mostly because of famine and disease caused by the blockade of Biafran ports. Biafra surrendered in 1970.
Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as Portuguese Guinea, it declared independence in 1973.
The Boers were descendants of Dutch colonists who settled in South Africa after 1650 CE. After migrating into the hinterland after the British takeover of South Africa, they briefly controlled a number of republics, including the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, before being defeated by the British in the war of 1899-1902.
The Boii were an ancient Celtic tribe or tribal confederation inhabiting Central Europe and Northern Italy. The names of both Bohemia and Bavaria probably derive from this people.
Bolivia is a landlocked country in South America with a large indigenous heritage. The country is named after Simón Bolivar. Independent since 1825, the country was wrecked by instability and lost its Pacific coast to Chile. The 1932-1936 Chaco war against Paraguay led to another humiliating defeat. Discontent with Bolivia's oligarchic regime led to a revolution in 1952. After a series of military coups in the 1970s the country returned to democratic rule in the 1980s. In 2006 Evo Morales became the country's first indigenous president.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country in south-east Europe, and the home of three constituent peoples: Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats.
The Bosporan Kingdom was an ancient state in eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus.
The Republic of Botswana is a country in Southern Africa. It gained independence from the UK in 1966. Botswana is considered the least corrupt country in Africa and it has a rapidly developing economy.
Formerly the Northern March of East Francia, Brandenburg became an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire in the 12th century. The rulers of Brandenburg acquired Prussia in 1618 and was absorbed by Prussia in 1701. Brandenburg kept its nominal independence until 1806, when it became a province of Prussia. Currently it is one of the states of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Brazil was founded as a colony of Portugal but became independent in 1822 as a result of Portugal's occupation by Napoleonic France. The country was first established as an empire under the exiled Portuguese royal family. The empire lasted until the establishment of a republican government in 1889.
Known to the Romans as Armorica, Brittany had been Celtic speaking for many centuries before Britons arrived in the peninsula as mercenaries, colonists and refugees in response to the chaos in Gaul and the invasion of Britain by Germanic tribes in the fifth century CE. Over the centuries, use of the Breton language has been pushed towards the west of the peninsula, with people speaking French instead. The Dukedom of Brittany itself was formally annexed to France in 1491.
The United Kingdom was created in 1707 as a negotiated agreement between the kingdom of England and the kingdom of Scotland. The country - also known as Great Britain - became the leading industrial and maritime power in the 19th century.
The Britons were the inhabitants of most of Great Britain during the Iron Age. They spoke Brythonic Celtic languages and are the ancestors of the modern Welsh, Cornish and Breton people.
Brunei Darussalam is a country on Borneo in the Malay achipelago. The sultanate dates from the 14th century and became a fairly powerful state a century later thanks to its control of the maritime trade in much of Southeast Asia. Brunei was a British protectorate from 1888 to 1984.
Bulgar leader Khan Asparukh led his people into the northern Balkans, and founded Bulgaria in 681. This was the first Slavic nation-state in history.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, a Germanic people known as the Burgundians settled in the river valleys of eastern Gaul, lending their name to the region. Centuries later, the Duchy of Burgundy was a prosperous country with the court in Dijon outshining that of Paris. Today, it is one of the regions of France.
The Burgundians were an ancient East Germanic people who probably originated on Bornholm island. After leaving Bornholm they lived between the Oder and Vistula rivers. During the Migration Period, along with other Germanic peoples they invaded the Roman Empire, and in 472 CE, some of them sacked Rome. Their first kingdom was founded in Worms, but after its destruction by the Huns they moved to what is today Savoy and Burgundy, where they founded their second kingdom. Eventually they were subordinated by the Frankish Kingdom. The Burgundians gave their name to the later Romance nation and region of Burgundy.
Formerly Upper Volta, Burkina Faso is a country in inland West Africa. It achieved its independence from France in 1960.
The Union of Burma (officially "Myanmar") is the largest country in mainland Southeast Asia.
A monarchy emerged in the Great Lakes region of East Africa in the 1100s, ruled by a Mwami (king) and several Ganwa (princes). It went through a period of expansion until the 1600s when it encompassed approximately the area of modern-day Burundi. In the late 1700s and early 1800s a succession dispute weakened the monarchy, and by the end of the century it had become a German colony. In the aftermath of World War I the colony fell to Belgium. Following international pressure after World War II, Burundi became an independent nation in January 1962.
According to Mongolian historical annals, the Buryats were forest dwelling Mongolian tribes living around Lake Baikal. In 1207 they were subjugated by Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan. When the Buryat homeland was annexed to Russia through treaties in 1689 and 1728, they became politically separated from other Mongolians and started developing a distinct national identity. Today, the Buryat Republic is home to the majority of the roughly half-million Buryats in the world as well as the center of Buddhism in Russia.
At the time of the decline of the old Roman empire, the Emperor Constantine moved the empire's capital to Byzantium and formed a new empire mostly known as the Eastern Roman empire or the Byzantine empire. This empire lasted until 1453 when its capital fell to the Ottomans. At the time of Justinian I, the Byzantines controlled nearly all of the Middle East, northern Africa, Italy, and parts of Spain.
California is the largest US state by population and economy. First populated by Native Americans, it was colonized by Spanish missionaries in the 18th century. California became a territory of Mexico upon that country's independence. During the Mexican-American War local American settlers proclaimed the 'Bear Flag Republic', which was incorporated into the United States shortly thereafter. The 1848 Gold Rush brought massive numbers of immigrants to California. In the 20th century the state became a center of the world's entertainment and technology industries.
Kampuchea (known in English as Cambodia) is the modern successor state of the mighty Khmer Empire, which ruled most of the Indochinese Peninsula between the 11th and 14th centuries.
Cameroon is a country in West Central Africa. Colonized by the Germans, it was divided between Britain and France after World War I. It has been independent since 1960.
Geographically, Canada is the second largest country in world. The magnetic north pole currently lies on Canadian territory.
The Cañaris were a pre-Columbian civilization in what is now Ecuador, whose existence can be traced from the 6th century onwards. They were one of the few Andean cultures not to worship the sun. The Cañari language was probably related to the Mochica language of Peru, but by the time of the Spanish conquest the Cañaris had mostly switched to Quechua. The Cañaris formed a loose confederation with their main political center in Guapdondelig, currently the city of Cuenca, capital of the province of Azuay. They were subjugated by the Incas in the late 15th century, though they put up a fierce resistance. They rebelled during the Incan civil war and sided with the Spanish during their conquest of the Inca empire.
The Cantonese are a sub-group of the Chinese people originating from Guangdong Province in Southern China comprising about 70 million people. The Cantonese are renowned for their music and food and constitute an important element in Overseas Chinese communities worldwide. They also form a majority of the population in the Special Autonomous Regions of Hong Kong and Macao. In the second century BCE, the Cantonese-dominated kingdom of Nanyue ruled over much of Southern China and dominated Vietnam. In 111 BCE Nanyue was incorporated into Han Dynasty China. Cantonese is the second most spoken Chinese language after Mandarin.
Cape Verde is an archipelago off the coast of West Africa. Before the islands were settled by the Portuguese in the 15th century they were probably uninhabited. Cape Verde subsequently became a major center for the Atlantic slave trade. The islands declared independence from Portugal in 1975. The Cape Verdean population is of mixed European and African descent.
The Carantanians or Alpine Slavs were an Early Medieval confederation of South West Slavic tribes who settled in modern-day Austria. The Duchy of Carantania was one of the earliest Slav states, existing since the seventh century CE. In the eighth century, it fell into dependence on the Frankish kingdom, which led to the adoption of Christianity in the Latin rite by duke Gorazd. In 819 years Carantania joined the revolt of the Croatian duke Ljudevit Posavski. After its fall in 822 the state was abolished and incorporated directly into the realm of the Franks. Slovenians are the modern descendants of the Carantanians.
The Carthaginians, descendants of Phoenician traders, ran a naval empire in the Mediterranean from the 5th to 2nd centuries BCE. Carthage was destroyed by Rome in 146 BCE.
Castile emerged to become the most powerful of the medieval Spanish kingdoms. It absorbed Leon and later formed a personal union with Aragon. Its current territory is divided over several autonomous communities of Spain.
During the Middle Ages, Catalan kings conquered and presided over several kingdoms on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, from the Iberian peninsula to parts of Italy and Greece. This confederation/empire became a major naval and trading power in the Mediterranean area. Catalans kept their self-rule after a dynastic union with the neighboring kingdom of Castile, and sided with England and Austria against France and Castile in the Spanish Succession War. In 1713, England signed the Treaty of Utrecht and dropped out of the alliance, and the Catalans were finally defeated in 1714, losing their national rights as a result.
The Celtiberians were a people from East-Central Spain that lived during the last millennium BCE. They were of mixed Celtic and Iberian descent and were defeated by Rome in the Numantian War.
The Celts were an Indo-European ethno-linguistic complex in Western Europe, probably originating from the area between the upper Rhine and upper Danube, from the Urnfield culture and the western group of the Hallstatt culture. The Celts were known as cruel and savage warriors who terrorized the ancient civilized peoples of Europe and Asia Minor. The Celts colonized much of Europe and had a large influence on the development of European civilization.
The Central African Republic is a country in Central Africa, formerly known as the French African territory of Ubangi-Shari. It was ruled briefly as a dictatorship in the 70s under Emperor Bokassa I during which it was called the Central African Empire.
During the colonial era Central America formed the Captaincy General of Guatemala. Central America declared independence from Spain in 1821, shortly joined Mexico, and then formed a federal republic. Struggles between Guatemala and the other provinces and between liberals and conservatives led to the federation's demise. By 1840 the federation had ceased to exist. Later attempts of reunification all failed, though since 1993 the Central American republics cooperate in the Central American Integration System (SICA).
Lithuanian Poles are an ethnic minority in Lithuania, mainly in the Aukshtota region. They are a remnant of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - the Commonwealth of Two Nations, which was founded with the Union of Lublin in 1569. This state united the Kingdom of Poland with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and was founded by the Lithuanian grand duke Jogaila, who was baptized with the name Władysław. The presence of the first Polish community in Lithuania dates back to duke Mindaugas of Lithuania. The first Poles came to Lithuania as prisoners of war taken during raids on the frontier lands (mainly to Mazovia). After uniting the two countries there was a very strong Polonization of the Lithuanian nobility. The Polish-speaking community in Lithuania survived the collapse and partition of the Polish state, co-existing with Lithuanian-speaking people. In 1920, the rebellious general Żeligowski announced the creation of a Republic of Central Lithuania, which was then incorporated into Poland. After World War II most of the Lithuanian Poles were displaced to Poland's new western territories.
Chad is a landlocked country in Africa. Once the site of the Kanem-Bornu Empire, Chad was colonized by France in 1900. Independent since 1960, Chad remains one of the poorest countries of the world. From 1982 to 1990 Hissene Habré led a notoriously brutal dictatorship.
Champa was the name of a group of closely related polities in what is now the southern half of Vietnam. From the time of the earliest historical records, the Champa kings were Hindus who worshipped Shiva in particular. Involved with conflicts with the neighboring Khmer and Dai Viet states for centuries, Champa was essentially subdued by Dai Viet in the late 15th century. By this time, most of the Cham nobility had converted to Islam. The majority of Muslims in modern Vietnam are of Cham ethnicity.
Reports of chynocephaly (having the head of a dog or jackal) can be traced to Greek Antiquity. The physician Ctesias and the traveler Megasthenes placed them in India. In the middle ages, Giovanni da Pian and Marco Polo made reference to them, while the theologian Ratramnus debated whether they should be considered human or not. Various stories have placed them in Scotland, Canaan, Cyrenaica, and the Andaman Islands. The country 'Chananea' comes from the German poet Walter of Speyer. In the account by Sir John Mandeville, the people were known as the Nacumerians.
Chechnya is an ancient nation in the Caucasus, currently part of the Russian Federation. In 1588, the Chechens voluntarily subjected themselves as vassals to the Moscovite tsar. Nevertheless, they have repeatedly waged war against Russia. In the 1990s, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, a civil war erupted when Chechen separatists proclaimed an independent Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.
The Cherokee nation is the largest Native American nation in North America today.
Chiapas is a state in southern Mexico. It was governed from Guatemala during the colonial era, but in 1824, after a brief independence, it chose to join Mexico. Chiapas has a sizeable indigenous (predominantly Mayan) population. Much of Chiapas' history has been characterized by struggles between indigenous peasants and the mostly Ladino elite. The state's colonial cities, Mayan peoples and natural wealth have made it one of Mexico's major tourist destinations.
One of the so-called Five Civilized Tribes, the Chickasaw occupied primarily what is today the northern part of the U.S. state of Mississippi at the time of first contact with Europeans. The name "Mississippi" itself originates from a Chickasaw word meaning "Without Source."
Chile is located on the south-western coast of South America. Chile declared its independence from Spain in 1810. At the expense of Bolivia, Peru and the indigenous Mapuche people, Chile more than doubled its territory in the 19th century. Often having been more stable and prosperous than its neighbors, Chile currently is the most developed country of Latin America.
Inheritors of the Moche cultural tradition, Chimor began its expansion in the 12th century from the Moche river valley in what is now northern Peru. Their expansion continued until they were halted and conquered by the rising Inka Empire in 1470. Their last king, Minchancaman, was captured and led to the Inka capital Qosqo. Chimu artisans contributed greatly to the manufacture of Inka artistic wares. Until its fall, Chimor controlled perhaps 2/3 of the population of the northern Andes.
China is the oldest major civilization that is still in existence today, with written records dating back over 3,500 years. After first being unified by the Qin dynasty in 221 BCE, China alternated between periods of unity and disunity, and was occasionally conquered by external ethnicities. Today, the People's Republic of China, established by the Communists in 1949, rules the mainland, while the former government of the Republic of China governs the island of Taiwan.
The Chinook Confederacy was a group of communities with common customs and language. They were a sedentary people living along the Columbia river in present-day Oregon and Washington in the United States. Chinook regional influence can be seen in the fact that their tongue became the base of a pidgin language for trade and communication between Native Americans and Whites throughout Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and all the way to Alaska.
One of the so-called Five Civilized Tribes, the Choctaw traditionally occupied much of the middle and south of today's U.S. state of Mississippi. First encountered by Spanish explorers in the 16th century, they became long-time French allies before siding with the Confederate States during the American Civil War. The majority of Choctaw today live in Oklahoma following forced removal from their homeland under president Andrew Jackson in 1831, but there is also a vibrant band in Mississippi made up of Choctaw who managed to escape removal and stay behind. The word "Oklahoma" itself is derived from a Choctaw language term meaning "red people".
The Cholas were a Tamil dynasty centered in southern India that was unusually influential in northern India. They began as a tributary state to the Pallavas, but in the 9th century their power began to grow. During the 11th century, they led expeditions against other Indian states as far north as Bengal, as well as against the Maldives, Sri Lanka and even the Indonesian kingdom of Sri Vijaya. They collapsed, however, in the 1250s as other southern Indian states rose up.
Chrobatia was an Early Medieval, semi-legendary Slavic state organized by the White Croats in a part of Central Europe that can not be conclusively identified today. The main source of the existence of a White Croatian state is a mention by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos. White Croatia is sometimes associated with a prince Slavnik, lord of Libice, whose influence extended to the region of Silesia and the land of Krakow.
Inhabiting the Santa Barbara Channel Islands and the southern California coastline between Malibu and Paso Robles inland towards the San Joaquin valley, the Chumash lived in large permanent villages and maintained a semi-monetized economy. These villages came to be ruled by hereditary chiefs, who could be male or female. At time of contact, the population was likely 8-18,000 people, though perhaps as high as 22,000. The Spanish established five missions in Chumash land. As a result of disease and other byproducts of colonial rule, the population fell to less than 3,000 in 1831.
Chuvashes are a Turkic ethnic group in Eastern European Russia and Western Siberia. They may be descendants of Old Bulgarian Turkic tribes and possibly Huns. Today there are about 1.8 million Chuvashes, about half of them in the Republic of Chuvashia, which is part of the Russian Federation.
The Circassians are the indigenous peoples of the Northwest Caucasus. The Circassian or Adyghe language is part of the Northwest Caucasian language family, related to Kabardian, Abkhaz and Ubykh. The Circassians first emerged as a coherent entity some 6000 years ago. They were rarely politically united; nevertheless they successfully managed to resist countless invasions from great empires throughout their history. Circassians were never fully subjugated in their long history until the middle of the 19th century, when they were defeated and subjected to genocide at the hands of the Russian Empire. Today less than 10% of the Circassian population lives in their original homeland.
Colombia is a country in northern South America. The region was an Amerindian cultural center in pre-European time. The Spanish began settling Colombia's north coast around 1500. In 1819 the Republic of Colombia gained independence.
The Comanche or Numunu are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range (the Comancheria) consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas.
The Comoros is an island country in the Mozambique channel, consisting of Grande Comore, Moheli and Anjouan, although the Comoran government also claims Mayotte, which is currently a French overseas departement. Having been under Arab influence since the 8th century, the Comoros is the southernmost Muslim-majority country in the world.
The Confederate States of America was a splinter nation of the United States, formed by eleven Southern states, existing from 1861 to 1865. The states seceded from the United States because of political and cultural differences with the North, most prominently the issue of slavery, which they feared the government of the recently elected United States president Abraham Lincoln would abolish. The Confederate capital was Richmond, Virginia, and Jefferson Davis was the country's only president. The American Civil War pitted the Confederacy against the United States. After several military defeats by United States troops the southern states had to abandon their claims of independence; much of their territory laid in ruins. Furthermore, the Union victory in the Civil War opened the way for the abolition of slavery in the United States.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a big country in Central Africa. Despite (or because of) its wealth of natural resources it has been in ruins for most of its modern history. In 1885 Congo was awarded to Léopold II of Belgium as his personal possession, the Congo Free State, which turned the country into a slaughterhouse. At least twenty per cent of the population perished and after an international outcry it became a Belgian colony in 1906. It achieved independence in 1960. The Mobutu dictatorship started a new round of pillaging. When Mobutu was toppled the country sank into a civil war, causing five million deaths, the bloodiest event since World War II.
The Republic of the Congo is a country in Central Africa, not to be confused with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Congo has been independent from France since 1960. From 1970 to 1991 it was governed as a Marxist-Leninist one party state; in this period the country was known as the People's Republic of the Congo. The country's economy relies heavily on the export of petroleum.
Cornwall is a region in the extreme southwest of England, traditionally the home of the legendary King Arthur.
For most of its history, Corsica has been ruled by foreign powers. Greeks, Etruscans, Romans, Vandals, Visigoths, Byzantines, Saracens, Lombards, the Papal States and Genoese all held sway over Corsica at one time or another. The 18th century saw a war of independence inspired by Enlightenment values. Pasquale Paoli managed to kick out the Genoese and from 1755 to 1769 Corsica was an independent republic with the first modern constitution in the world. Genoa sold its claim to France, after which a French invasion force defeated the Corsicans and Corsica was incorporated into France.
The Zaporozhian Cossacks lived in Zaporozhia, in Central Ukraine. They were a multi-ethnic community with Ruthenians being the dominant element, organized in a military manner.
Costa Rica became an independent republic in 1840. It has been without an army since 1949 and is one of the most democratic and wealthy countries of Latin America.
The Cree are the largest native group in Canada with over 200,000 members who speak an Algonquian language and often call themselves "Iiyiyuu" or "Iinuu," meaning "people." They originally inhabited much of Quebec, Labrador, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Manitoba.
Crete is an island in the Mediterranean Sea, the largest of the Greek Archipelago. In the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE Crete was the site of Europe's first advanced civilization, the Minoan culture. An eruption of nearby Thera destroyed the Minoan civilization. Crete then became part of the Greek cultural realm, and was subsequently conquered by the Romans, Arabs, Byzantines, Venetians and Ottoman Turks. After having been a semi-independent state for 15 years, Crete finally became part of Greece in 1913.
Historical feudal state on the Crimean Peninsula, existing from the 15th to the 18th century. Crimean Tatars invaded Poland and Russia, which caused wars with Turkey.
Croatia is the region of the Southern Slavs that was held by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, rather than coming under Ottoman rule after the collapse of Byzantium. During most of the 20th century it was part of the Yugoslav Federation.
The Crusades were a series of wars in which European armies tried to re-establish Christian control over the Holy Land. The First Crusade was called by Pope Urban II in 1095. The crusaders managed to wrestle control of much of the Levant from Muslim hands and established a number of states led by noblemen from European Christian dynasties. The most powerful of crusader states was the Kingdom of Jerusalem; other states included the County of Tripoli, the Principality of Antioch and the Country of Edessa. Later crusades were less successful. Muslim (Arab and Turkic) armies managed to push back the Crusaders and the last Crusader controlled city, Acre, fell to the Mamluks in 1291.
Cuba came under Spanish control in the 16th century. In the following centuries, the island became one of the leading producers of tobacco, sugar and coffee in the world. Cuba was granted nominal independence in 1902.
The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia was created as the result of the secularization of the Teutonic Order State. The dukes of Courland were vassals of Poland until its collapse. Duke Jakob Kettler led the failed attempts of colonization in South America and Africa.
Cuyavia is a historical region in Northern-Central Poland, bordered to the East by Masovia, on the West by Greater Poland and on the North by Pomerania.
Cyprus became an independent republic on 16th August 1960. It is a Eurasian island country located in the eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon.
Cyrenaica is a historical region in Eastern Libya. In Classical Antiquity the region was part of the Greek cultural realm. From the 7th century onwards the region was controlled by various Arab dynasties. Cyrenaica was occupied by Italy in 1911. After World War II a short-lived Emirate of Cyrenaica existed, of which the ruling Senussi dynasty established a united Libyan Kingdom in 1951. Cyrenaica has been a hotbed of resistance against the Gaddafi regime. The site of much of Libya's oil reserves, Cyrenaica has seen renewed calls for autonomy following the overthrow of Gaddafi.
Today's Czech Republic was until 1993 part of Czechoslovakia, which had been until 1918 part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Czechoslovakia was founded in 1918. It was long the only democracy in Eastern Europe until it was overrun by the Nazis in 1939 and the Soviet Union in 1948. Four years after the fall of communism it was split into the Czech and Slovak republics.
The Dacians were ancient tribes who lived on the left bank of the Lower Danube in Dacia in what is now Romania. They were probably related to the Thracians and other Paleo-Balkanic tribes. The unification of Dacian tribes occurred during the reign of king Burebista. After the wars with Rome, they were defeated in 106 CE. Dacia became a Roman province and succumbed to Roman colonization. The remains of the Dacians mingled with East Germanic tribes and later with Slavs.
The southern third of modern Benin was once a historic kingdom known variously as Agbome (c. 1600 - c. 1700), Danhome (c. 1700 - 1730), and Dahomey (1730 - 1894). In 1730 the country became a tributary of the neighboring kingdom of Oyo. It was conquered by France in the second Franco-Dahomean war (1892 - 1894) and was split into Agbome and Alada. In the 18th and 19th centuries Dahomey was known for its fierce ahosi (gbeto) warriors: an army of women who were the king's official bodyguards and celibate wives.
The founding of the Danish kingdom is generally assigned to the reign of Harald Blåtand, who unified what is now Denmark between 958 CE and 988 CE.
The Sultanate of Darfur was an eastern so-called Sahelian state that from its location in the region just south of the Sahara benefited and prospered from trans-Saharan trade. The region had previously been dominated by the Daju and Tunjur ethnic groups, the latter of which is traditionally thought to have introduced Islam to the region. By the 16th century CE an ethnic group known as the Fur had gained the upper hand and under Sultan Sulayman established a long-lasting sultanate. The word Darfur means the Land of the Fur.
Djibouti is one of the smallest countries of Africa, located on the Gulf of Aden. It has been independent from France since 1977. Djibouti's main ethnic groups are the Afar and the Somalis. The country has one of the hottest climates in the world.
The island of Dominica was first sighted by Europeans, including Christopher Columbus, in 1493. Legend has it that the island was named so since the day of its first sighting was a Sunday. Officially the "Commonwealth of Dominica", the country should not be confused with the Dominican Republic, another Caribbean nation.
The Dominican Republic is located on the eastern two thirds of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. Its capital - Santo Domingo - became the first permanent European settlement in the Americas when it was founded by Bartholomew Columbus in 1498.
Dryads are creatures of Greek myth; they are a type of nymph associated with trees. Dryads were generally considered to be shy and long-lived. They are usually female and are often depicted as beautiful young women.
When the Holy Roman Emperor sentenced the entire population to death, the people of the Netherlands revolted and declared themselves independent, forming the Union of Utrecht in 1579. The Netherlands grew to be a dominant maritime and economic power in the 17th century.
The German Democratic Republic was founded in the Soviet Occupation Zone of postwar Germany in 1949. It was part of the Soviet dominated eastern bloc during the Cold War. The GDR was known for the Berlin Wall and its vast internal security apparatus, the Stasi. In 1989 the communist regime collapsed and one year later it was annexed to the Federal Republic of Germany.
A former Portuguese colony, East Timor declared independence in 1975 but was overrun by Indonesian forces shortly thereafter. East Timor became the first newly sovereign state of the 21st century when Indonesia relinquished control on May 20, 2002.
Ecuador is a country in western South America. It is divided into three very distinct geographic regions: the coastal lowlands, the mountains of the Andes and the jungles of the Oriente. The Galápagos islands are also part of Ecuador. The country gained independence from Spain in 1821 and from Colombia in 1830. Ecuador's history has been marked by rivalry between the coast (Guayaquil) and the mountains (Quito). It also fought numerous border wars with both Colombia and Peru. Nowadays Ecuador is one of the main oil producing countries of South America.
Egypt was the second-oldest of the world's civilizations. Since ancient times it has been unusually urbanized, supporting a large population on silt deposited by the annual floodings of the Nile.
Modern Egypt is the most populous Middle Eastern country as well as one of the most populous in Africa. It is located on the site of one of the world's most ancient civilizations.
Elam was an ancient civilization located in the area of modern southwest Iran, which arose around 3100 BCE. The Elamite language, written in cuneiform, is of unknown origin. In 643 BCE the Elamite civilization was destroyed by the Assyrians under Assurbanipal.
The history of the United Arab Emirates goes back to the 7th century. In the 19th century the Emirates became a dependency of the United Kingdom. In 1971 six emirates joined in a federative state as the United Arab Emirates. The following year, the seventh member emirate joined them.
England was unified by Alfred the Great of Wessex in the late 9th century, only to be conquered by William of Normandy a century later, in the last successful invasion of the country.
The Epirotes were the ancient inhabitants of the Epirus region in northwestern Greece. Their most powerful ruler Pyrrhus launched a campaign against Rome in Italy, which ended in the famous "Pyrrhic Victory".
Equatorial Guinea is a country in Africa. It is divided into a mainland part (Rio Muni) and the islands of Bioko and Annobon. Formerly Spanish Guinea, the country achieved independence in 1968. Equatorial Guinea is one of the wealthier countries of Africa but also one of the most unequal.
The Esperants are a world community united by the Esperanto language.
Estonia is a small country on the south shore of the eastern Baltic Sea. Its people and language are closely related to those of Finland.
Eritrea is a country in eastern Africa which borders Sudan, Ethiopia, and Djibouti. It was once the Kingdom of D'mt and was later conquered by Italy. In 1951 it was federated with Ethiopia, which led to the development of an independence movement in the 1960s. In 1991 the 31-year war ended with Eritrea gaining independence.
Ethiopia is the oldest nation in Africa and the only one to remain independent during European colonialism.
The Etruscans were an ancient civilization in Etruria, Italy, known for their artistic achievements and building of necropolises. Their language is only partly deciphered and their origins are still debated. They called themselves Rasna and formed a confederation of twelve cities. In the 6th century the Etruscan civilization started to crumble after Roman and Gallic incursions. Rome itself probably originated as a city state that threw off Etruscan domination. As a result, Roman sources often put the Etruscans in a negative light, depicting them as a sexually licentious culture. However, Roman civilization owes a lot to their Etruscan predecessors.
The foundation for the European Union was laid in 1957 with the Treaty of Rome. The EU project has developed since then and is beginning to resemble a fledgeling super state. But the question remains: Does such a thing as a common European identity and nation actually exist?
The Evenks are a Tungusic ethnic group in Siberia, Mongolia, and northern China. Historical evidence suggests that they have lived in the Baikal area on today's Russian-Mongolian border since the Stone Age. When encountered by the Russians in the 17th century, the Evenks were tribal hunter-gatherers and reindeer herders.
The Faroe Islands are an archipelago in the Northern Atlantic ocean. According to the sagas, they were first settled by Norsemen who fled the tyranny of Norway's king Harald Fairhair. The islands became a Norwegian possession in 1035 and passed to Denmark in 1814. The Faroes have home rule since 1948.
Fiji is the most populous of the small Oceanian island states. It consists of Viti Levu, Vanua Levu and hundreds of smaller islands. Settled by Polynesians, it became a British colony in the 19th century. Fiji has been independent from Britain since 1970. Since then the country's politics have been characterized by ethnic tensions between Indo-Fijians and indigenous Fijians.
After centuries of Spanish rule, the Philippines were ceded to the Americans in 1898. They attained home rule in 1935 and independence in 1946.
Finland is a small, cold country on the northern fringe of Europe, noted for exporting timber, cellular phones, and world-class operating systems.
In the Middle Ages, Flanders was a county on the border of France and the Holy Roman Empire. In the 15th century, it came under Habsburg domination and subsequently it became one of the Seventeen Netherlands. Only after its conquest by Revolutionary France was the county legally dissolved. Nowadays the name is applied to the Dutch (or Flemish) speaking part of Belgium.
The Florentine Republic was founded upon the overthrow of the Margraviate of Tuscany in 1115. Despite its seemingly endemic political intrigues, it became the most magnificent city-state of its era. Florence was the cultural and philosophical leader of Italy and indeed Europe in Renaissance, bringing forth such luminaries as Dante, Savonarola, Michelangelo, Da Vinci and Machiavelli. The De' Medici family eventually managed to consolidate its hold on Florence, and in the 16th century the Republic was turned into the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. In 1859 it was annexed by Italy.
Taiwan is home to fourteen officially recognized and twelve unrecognized tribes, all of whom are traditionally speakers of a group of Austronesian languages known as Formosan. Historical linguists consider the island to be the home of the Austronesian family, as it is host to the most diverse set of Austronesian languages. Many of the tribes are traditionally matrilineal. Starting in the 17th century, European and East Asian colonists vied for control of the island, encroaching on aboriginal lands. Today, Formosans constitute around 2% of the population of Taiwan.
Franconia was one of the stem duchies of the Holy Roman Empire. Founded in the 9th century, unlike the other stem duchies it didn't manage to consolidate itself and by the 12th century it had completely disappeared. Franconia continues to exist as a cultural region in the modern states of Bavaria, Thuringia and Baden-Wuerttemberg.
The Franks were a Germanic confederation that formed in what is now Northwest Germany in the 3rd century CE. In the late 5th century their leader Clovis converted to Christianity, united the Frankish tribes and conquered much of Gaul. Clovis' successors expanded Frankish rule over much of Central Europe. The Frankish kingdom mixed Germanic and Roman elements and would lay the foundation for much of European Medieval culture, society and politics. After a period of stagnation the Frankish realm was reunited in the 8th century. In 800 the Frankish king Charlemagne was crowned emperor by the pope. Upon his death the Frankish Empire was divided once again. By the 10th century CE the Frankish empire had broken up for good into West Francia, which later became France, and East Francia, which later became the Holy Roman Empire or Germany.
France has long been a major power in Europe. French conquerors like Emperor Napoleon and King Charlemagne united large parts of Europe under the French flag. The country also built the world's second largest colonial empire. The French kingdom first came into existence when it grew out of the western part of the Frankish empire during the High Middle Ages. France - and indeed the world - was shaken on its foundations by the French Revolution of 1789.
Romans already mentioned the Frisii but historians are unsure whether they were the ancestors of today's Frisians or not. In the early Middle Ages the Frisians controlled a kingdom stretching from the Scheldt to Jutland. Although eventually defeated by the Franks, they kept enjoying the famous Frisian freedom, refusing to recognize the rule of any feudal lord. In the 15th and 16th centuries Frisian territory was eventually carved up, the core becoming a province of the United Netherlands. In 1782 the Estates of Friesland was the first foreign government to recognize the independence of the United States of America.
Friuli is a region in north-eastern Italy. A duchy of the Lombards and then a march of the Franks, it was ruled by the Patriarchs of Aquileia from the 11th century onward. In the 15th century Friuli was divided between Venice and Austria. The Friulian language is closely related to the Romansh language spoken in Switzerland.
The Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group in West Africa. Originally pastoralists, in the 18th and 19th centuries they led the Fulani Jihads, founding a number of states across the region. The biggest Fulani state was the Sokoto Caliphate, founded by Usuman dan Fodio during the Fulani Jihad of 1809. It was one of the most powerful empires in Sub-Saharan Africa prior to the European conquest and colonization. The caliphate remained extant through the colonial period and afterwards, though with reduced power.
Gabon is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa. Gabon, then inhabited by Bantu peoples, became a French protectorate in the 19th century. It has been an independent republic since 1960. It is considered one of the most developed countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, in part because of its position as a major oil exporter.
The Gaels were Celtic people, they may have originated in Spain but were first reported in Ireland. During the Migration Period the Gaels also moved to Scotland. They are the ancestors of the modern Irish, Scots and Manx. Today, Gaelic speaking areas remain in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man and the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
Galicia is a region in the northwest of Spain, just above Portugal.
The Gauls were a Celtic people occupying what is now France and Belgium. They lived in chiefdom-level societies that grew increasingly centralized and stratified under the influence of the Greek and Roman merchants and soldiers who came to Gaul. Julius Caesar launched his eight year invasion of Gaul in 59 BCE. He claimed to have killed one million people and enslaved another million out of an original population of three million. The Gauls united and rallied under Vercingetorix, who defeated Caesar at the battle of Gergovia, but was later crushed by him at the battle of Alesia.
The Gambia is a small country in West Africa, straddling both banks of the Gambia river. It achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1965.
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa (Italian: Repubblica di Genova) was an independent state in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast from the 11th century to 1797, when it was invaded by armies of Revolutionary France under Napoleon. It was then succeeded by the Ligurian Republic, which existed until 1805 before being annexed by the French Empire. Although its restoration was briefly proclaimed in 1814, following the defeat of Napoleon, this was short-lived, and the Republic was ultimately annexed by the Kingdom of Sardinia.
The Georgians were one of the first peoples in history to adopt Christianity, in the 300s CE.
The Gepids were a group of ancient East Germanic tribes, closely related to the Goths. Their original settlement was located on the Scandinavian Peninsula. By the time of the wake of the Goths from Scandinavia they had relocated to the southern coast of the Baltic. According to Jordanes, they inhabited a land called Specis, near the mouth of the Vistula, probably located on the Elblag Uplands. After the migration of the Goths on the Black Sea, the Gepids extended their possessions in Pomerania. In the 3rd century CE they moved to Dacia. From the 4th to the mid 5th century they were under the authority of the Huns. After the death of Attila the Gepids moved to Pannonia, where they defeated the Huns in the Battle of the River Nedao and won a place to live east of the River Tisza. In Pannonia they fought constantly against the Longobards west of the Danube. In 567 the Longobards allied themselves with the nomadic Avars against the Gepids and defeated them, breaking up their country. Gepids formed part of the Avar Khaganate, founded on former Gepid territory.
Germany was united in 1871 by the Prussian military force. After World War I it became a republic, but fell into Nazism in 1933 and started World War II. After the war it was split into two states, which reunited in 1990 at the end of the Cold War.
The German-speaking Community is one of the three federal communities of Belgium, part of the Walloon Region in the extreme east of the country. The area was annexed by Belgium after the First World War to compensate the country for the German occupation during that war. With about 75,000 inhabitants the German-speaking Community comprises less than one percent of Belgium's population. Long neglected, the German-speaking Belgians now enjoy the same rights as their Flemish and French-speaking compatriots. As a result, they are often dubbed 'the best protected minority of Europe' and 'the last true Belgians'.
The Germanic peoples are an ethno-linguistic complex in Northern and Northwestern Europe. The Germanic languages descended from a hypothetical Proto-Germanic language within the Indo-European language family. The first origins of the Ancient Germanic peoples are rather hypothetical; the Germanic languages contain numerous features that are nonexistent in other Indo-European languages. First attested on the North German Plain and in Southern Scandinavia, they clashed with the Romans from the second century BCE onward. Eventually, by the Early Middle Ages, Germanic kingdoms were established on what was once the Western Roman Empire. By this time most Germanic peoples had changed their ancestral polytheistic religion for Christianity.
The Ghana or Wagadou Empire existed in West Africa from the 9th to the 13th centuries CE. It takes its name from the king, whose title 'ghana' means 'great warrior'. The Ghana Empire grew rich thanks to the trans-Saharan trade and the goldmines in its territory. The modern Republic of Ghana takes its name from the Ghana Empire, even though the empire was located in what is now Mali and Mauretania.
Ghana takes its name from the old Ghana Empire. Known as the Gold Coast by the Europeans, the Portuguese, Dutch and Swedes founded outposts but in the 19th century Ghana became a British colony. In 1957 Kwame Nkrumah proclaimed Ghana's independence.
The Ghaznavids were a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkish origin, reigning from 977 to 1186 CE in Afghanistan and Northern India, and at the peak of their power also in eastern Iran and Central Asia.
The Göktürk or Old Turkic Khaganate was ruled by the Ashina dynasty which derived its legendary origins from the red she-wolf. The Göktürks were ancestors of the modern Turkic nations in Asia and Eastern Europe. They were the creators of a vast military empire, which covered the steppe areas from the Kuban river in the West to Korea in the East.
The Golden Horde was a historical Mongol and Tatar state, founded around 1240 in the western part of the empire of Genghis Khan by his grandson Batu Khan, with its capital at Sarai Batu. After the conquests its greatest extent covered the territories from the Irtysh to the mountains of the Caucasus, Black Sea and the Volga and Kama basins. In 1375 the whole country was conquered by Tamerlane and became vassalized. From the 14th century the country gradually descended into instability, which at the beginning of the 15th century led to the complete disintegration of the state.
The Goths were an East Germanic people who originated in what is now Poland or possibly in Scandinavia. They dominated Southeastern Europe in the fourth century CE. The Goths played a major role in the fall of the Roman Empire, sacking Rome itself in 410 CE. The Visigoths conquered Roman Iberia while the Ostrogoths founded a kingdom in Italy.
Greater Poland or Wielkopolska is a historic and geographic region of central-western Poland.
The ancient Greeks, between Mycenae and the Roman conquest.
Legend says that the Great Shaman Qitdlarssuaq led the Inuit people to Thule (Qaanaaq) on the west coast of Greenland in the 10th century. Around the same time, Scandinavian settlers arrived at the fjords on the southwestern tip of the island. Today, Greenland is a self-governing country within the Kingdom of Denmark with mixed Inuit and Scaninavian population.
Grenada is an island nation in the Caribbean. It gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1974. The main island was known as Camahogne by the indigenous Caribs.
The Guanches were the original inhabitants of the Canary Islands. Little is known of their origins, but it appears that they were related to the Berbers. In the 15th century they were subjugated by Castile.
Numbering perhaps as many as 400,000 people at the time of European contact, the Aba (more popularly known as Guarani) lived primarily in what is now Paraguay in agricultural villages. Today their Guarani language is spoken by over 4 million people and is an official language of the nation of Paraguay.
The ancient heartland of the Mayas, Guatemala was conquered by the Spanish in the 16th century. It became independent in 1821 but was part of the United States of Central America until 1840. It has endured political turmoil for much of its history. Guatemala lived through one of the most brutal civil wars of the 20th century until a peace agreement was signed in 1996.
Guinea declared independence from France in 1958. Its first president Ahmed Sékou Touré continued to rule the country until his death in 1984. Guinea is not to be confused with neighboring Guinea-Bissau.
The Gupta Empire was one of the great classical empires. It ruled northern India from around 240 to 550 CE.
Originally inhabited by the Arawk, Guyana was colonized by the Dutch but became a British colony after the Napoleonic Wars. It gained independence in 1966. Under Forbes Burnham Guyana became a Marxist oriented country, but in the 1980s it started its transition to a market democracy.
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A slave rebellion led Haiti to independence in 1804. It was the first independent black republic and the second independent country in the Americas.
The Han people are the majority ethnic group in China, tracing their lineage back to "Yandi" (the Yan Emperor) and "Huangdi" (the Yellow Emperor), legendary god-kings of prehistory.
Hanover was a state in Northern Germany, in current Lower Saxony. From 1714 to 1837 Hanover and the United Kingdom were united in a personal union. In 1866 it was gobbled up by Prussia.
The Hanseatic League was a powerful alliance of trading cities which existed from the 12th to the 19th century. Hanseatic cities were found in the North Sea and Baltic regions. Members of the league had their own law system and occasionally the Hansa went to war with rival powers.
A Caddoan political league from East Texas, the Hasinay Confederacy consisted of a group of agricultural villages. Though they were involved in trade networks connecting them with people as far west as the Puebloan polities of the American Southwest, their cultural ties were more strongly in line with the other mound-building cultures of the Southeast. The word Texas is derived from Caddoan word for "Friend."
The Kingdom of Hawaii was established in 1810 by King Kamehameha the Great. Abolished in 1893, and subsequently annexed to the United States, the former kingdom became the 50th state of the United States on August 21, 1959.
The Hellenic Republic - also known as Greece - was created when the Hellenic people gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832.
The Helvetians (Latin: Helvetii) were an Ancient Celtic people, inhabiting what is now Switzerland and adjacent parts of France and Germany. Helvetians sometimes helped in the internal conflicts of Rome, for example, on the side of Cicero. They were a big, expansive tribe, striving for domination over the tribes of Gaul. The campaigns of the Helvetian chieftain Orgetorix were used by Caesar as a pretext to conquer Helvetia and the rest of Gaul. The Helvetians succumbed to the Romans and became Romanized during the following centuries.
The Hephthalites were a Central Asian nomadic confederation of the 5th and 6th centuries CE. Their precise origins and composition remain obscure. They may have been of mixed Iranic, Tocharian and Turkic origin, but their main language is unknown. Although they were also known as the White Huns, a connection with the Huns is considered unlikely. The Hephthalites were crushed by the Göktürks and Sassanids in the 6th century, but on the Indian subcontinent some Hephthalite successor kingdoms survived until the late 7th century.
Hesse became a landgraviate of the Holy Roman Empire in the 13th century. In the 16th century it splintered into a a number of smaller territories. Many Hessians fought in the American Revolution as mercenaries on both sides. Currently Hesse is one of the states of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The Himyar were originally a mountain tribe in what is now Yemen that conquered the other South Arabian kingdoms, including Sabaea in 115 BCE, which were rich from the incense trade. The Himyar were castle-builders, finding it necessary to erect citadels to protect against Bedouin raids. The Axumite kingdom from Ethiopia ruled Sabaea from 340 to 378 CE, but the area was reconquered by Himyar forces in 525. The fall of the nation was a slow process involving the Christian states of Axum and the Byzantine Empire on one side, the Mandean Sassanid Empire of Persia on the other, and various South Arabian factions split between. The country switched from Axumite rule to Sassanid in 575 and in 628, the fifth Sassanid satrap of "al-Yaman" converted to Islam and Southern Arabia was incorporated into the new, expanding Muslim empire.
The Hittite kingdom lasted from about 1680 BCE to about 1180 BCE. They were the first civilization to discover iron working. At its height, they controlled central Anatolia, north-western Syria and Mesopotamia down to Babylon.
The Holy Roman Empire was considered the successor to the Roman Empire, but as Voltaire once quipped it was neither Holy, nor Roman nor even less an Empire. Nonetheless it proved to be extremely durable, and lost territory only very slowly. For most of its existence it was a complex patchwork consisting of an uncountable number of counties, duchies, electorates, imperial free cities and other territories. In 1806 it was dissolved by Napoleon and replaced by the Confederation of the Rhine.
The Papal States were the territories on the Italian Peninsula and elsewhere under the direct sovereign rule by the Roman Catholic popes. Established in the 8th century CE from territory donated to the Church by the pious and the wealthy, the Papal States grew to become the dominant power in Italy for centuries.
Honduras has been an independent republic since the dissolution of the Central American Federation in 1840. The archetypical 'banana republic', periods of dictatorship and of more or less democratic rule have followed each other. Its current constitution was adopted in 1982.
A matrilineal culture in North America, who claim descent from the Hisatsinom. The Hopi live today on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona.
Legend says that Hungary was founded by Arpad in the 9th century.
The European Huns were an ancient tribal confederation who first appeared in the 4th century. The Huns inhabited the Eurasian steppes and were known as formidable horse archers. In the fifth century CE they created a powerful military empire under the leadership of Attila, famous for his campaigns against the Roman Empire. Attila died in 453, and the empire fell apart one year later. The origins of the Huns are still a matter of dispute; they have long been associated with the Xiongnu mentioned in Chinese sources, but that link has still not been unequivocally proven. Hunnic ethnic relations and language are likewise controversial.
The Iberians were non-Indo-European inhabitants of the ancient Iberian Peninsula. Very little is known about their history. They were subjugated by Rome in the last centuries BCE.
Iceland was long one of the largest uninhabited islands in the world, until it was settled by Norwegian Vikings in the late 9th century. The island was kept initially under the Norwegian and later the Danish crown until independence from Denmark in 1944.
Illyrians were Indo-European tribes who appeared in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula before 1000 BCE, including Corcyra island and Ambracia bay in prehistoric Epirus to the south. They mixed with Thracians in Dardania to the east, and settled Messapia across the Adriatic Sea. Illyrian kingdoms were independent for centuries, until conquered by the Roman Republic.
The Inca were an Amerind people of the Northern Andes who conquered an empire stretching along the west coast of South America from what is now southern Chile nearly to the Equator. They had the bad timing to do it just a few decades before the Spanish conquistadors arrived in their part of the world in the 1530s CE. In that short time frame, the Inca were able to build over 15,000 km of roads throughout their realm. Their state was the largest in the Americas prior to the Spanish conquest and was maintained through a complex, hierarchical and pragmatic administrative system. They were, however, wracked as many kingdoms have been by crises of succession. When the Spanish arrived, the Inca were in the middle of one such crisis - the war between Atawallpa and Waskhar. They were the sons of the late ruler Wayna Qhapaq, who had died from disease - likely smallpox - that was sweeping through the land.
The Republic of India was created in 1950 following a non-violent independence movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. With more than a billion inhabitants it is the world's second most populous country as well as the world's largest democracy.
The Indo-Europeans were a hypothetical ancient people who were linguistically ancestral to modern peoples in Europe and South and West Asia. They probably existed about 5000 years ago somewhere on the Eurasian steppes, but their true origins remain a mystery. The existence of this people has been inferred from the analysis of Indo-European languages, on the basis of which attempts to reconstruct the Proto-Indo-European language have been made. One of the first scientists who noted the similarities between these languages was Sir William Jones.
Indonesia is a large country on the Malay Archipelago with central government on the island of Java. The country has a Muslim majority and is one of the most populous in the world.
The Inuits are a group of peoples inhabiting the Arctic areas of North America and Siberia. The Canadian territory of Nunavut has a majority population of Inuits; the name of the territory means "our land" in Inuktitut.
Iran means "Land of the Aryans" - long known as Persia in the Western world. The country is today an Islamic Republic and a major power in the Middle East.
Iraq was founded after the fall of the Ottoman empire. It is encompassing the ancient region of Mesopotamia at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Ireland held out against the Romans and Vikings but was conquered by the Normans in 1171. It was ruled by the English until 1922 when most of the country was granted limited autonomy, becoming a republic in 1949. The North of Ireland was settled in the 17th century by Scottish and English planters and is now part of the United Kingdom.
The Iroquois Confederacy - known as Haudenosaunee in their own language - was a North American group of nations with common language and culture. They were based in what is now upstate New York and consisted originally of five nations: Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida and Mohawk. The confederacy had a written constitution and a currency system making them the most advanced state in North America upon the arrival of the Europeans.
The nation of Israel was founded in 1948 as a scattered collection of cantons in British Palestine, and has gradually expanded through winning wars in 1948, 1967 and 1973.
Israel was a Jewish kingdom on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean founded around 1000 BCE. Much of its history is told in the holy books of the Abrahamic religions. The last Jewish kingdom was destroyed by the Romans in the 1st century CE, leaving the Jews scattered around the world for nineteen centuries.
The Italian nation was unified in 1870 CE after decades of campaigning by indigenous nationalists. It was a monarchy under the House of Savoy until 1922, then a fascist state until 1945 after which democracy was restored by the World War II victors.
Ancient Magna Graecia was a complex of Greek cities-colonies on the coasts of Italy and Sicily, founded during the Greek Colonization. They played an important role in the development of Etruscan and Roman cultures. In the 5th century BCE Magna Graecia was dominated by the city-state of Syracuse, a great center of Greek culture. Other major urban centers included Taranto, Croton, Sybaris and Messana. Magna Graecia was gradually conquered by Rome, a conquest that was completed by 272 BC. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Southern Italy was temporarily part of the Byzantine Empire as the Catepanate of Italia. A Greek-speaking population has survived in these areas to modern times.
Ivory Coast or Côte d'Ivoire achieved independence in 1960. It has been relatively stable compared to other West African countries, but in the 2000s it lived through a civil war.
The Jaffna Kingdom was a medieval Tamil kingdom based in the north of Sri Lanka. It was a successful southern rival to the Chola Empire on the Indian mainland.
Columbus landed on Jamaica in 1494. The island was colonized by the Spanish but in 1655 it was conquered by the English, who turned the island into a slave-based plantation economy. Slavery was abolished in 1834. The country became an independent country within the Commonwealth in 1962. Jamaica is famous around the world for its music; genres such as reggae and ska originated on the island.
According to traditional Japanese mythology, Japan was founded in the 7th century BCE by the ancestral Emperor Jimmu.
Also called Wolof, the Kingdom was formed between the Senegal and Gambia rivers in the 14th century. The King, or Burba Jolof, was beholden to a handful of powerful regional noblemen who acknowledged kinship with the king but developed personal power bases as well. By the early 1500s, the Burba Jolof could field as many as 100,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry. Fulani and Berber incursions coupled with political weakness eroded away the power of the Burba Jolof. Various Wolof-speaking states established unions with one another, with their heads assuming the powers of Burba Jolof. The 19th century brought with it French colonization and a conversion to Islam fueled in large part by anti-European sentiment.
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a country in the Middle East. During Antiquity the country was the site of numerous ancient civilizations, including the Nabateans who built the city of Petra. The country has been Arab since the 7th century. Conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1519, it became a British League of Nations mandate after World War II. The Hashemite clan, which had led a revolt against the Turks during the war, was established as Jordan's ruling dynasty. The country finally became independent in 1946.
The Kalmyks are a Western Mongolian ethnic group living in Kalmykia in southern Russia. They migrated to the Caspian plains in the 17th century and formed a khanate that was allied with Russia. The Kalmyks are the only Buddhist nation of Europe.
This empire lasted in some form from the 9th-century until 1893 in modern Chad and Nigeria and controlled much of the trans-Saharan trade.
Although mainly inhabited by Armenians, Nagorno-Karabakh was awarded to the Azeri SSR after the Soviet Union overran the Caucasus in the 1920s. Shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the region declared its independence from Azerbaijan, leading to a war between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia on one side against Azerbaijan on the other side. A ceasefire was agreed on in 1994, but the conflict remains unsettled. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is de facto independent but not recognized by any UN member. In Armenian the region is also known as Artsakh, named after a province of the ancient Armenian kingdom.
The Karelians are a Finno-Ugric people inhabiting Karelia, a region currently divided between Finland and Russia. They are closely related to the Finns.
Karens are a hardy mountain people who have lived on the western fringes of Burmese kingdoms throughout recorded history. Their own oral history suggests that they at some point migrated southwards through the Gobi Desert to reach their current homeland. With the independence of Burma from the United Kingdom in 1948, a heterogenous Karen armed independence movement was initiated that continues to this day.
The Kashmir valley is situated by the western foothills of the Himalayas. Having been inhabited for millennia, it is a melting pot of Hindu, Tibetan, and Islamic culture.
Kashubia is a historical region of north-central Poland. The name of the land, whose etymology is still unknown, was first mentioned in the 13th century. Considered as an ethnic group of the Polish nation, Kashubians have language and culture that are quite different from the rest of Poland. Today, a lively Kashubian community cultivates their speech, literature and customs through, among others, local radio and television programmes, comic books, and even several fully Kashubianized distributions of Linux operating system.
Katanga, the southernmost part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, rich in minerals and once home to the Yeke Kingdom. The region seceded from Congo a few days after that country's independence from Belgium in 1960. The state, protected by Belgian mining industrialists and foreign mercenaries, was led by Moise Tshombe. Katanga was reincorporated into Congo after a Congolese and UN military campaign.
Kazakhs are descendants of Turkic and Mongolian nomadic tribes. Conquered by Russia in the 18th century, Kazakhstan became independent in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It is one of the ten largest states in the world by area.
Kenya gained independence from Britain in December 1963.
The Khazars founded a steppe empire on the plains of Southern Russia in the Early Middle Ages. Originally shamanists, they adopted Judaism as their state religion.
The Khmer Empire, established in 802 CE, dominated Southeast Asia for many centuries during the Middle Ages. Heavily influenced by Indian culture, the Khmers were great builders who erected innumerable stone temples to Hindu deities. The Khmers today are the majority ethnicity of Cambodia.
Khoisan speakers are typically divided between the Khoikhoi, traditionally herders, and the San, traditionally hunter gatherers. They are traditionally among the most egalitarian societies on the planet. San society in particular is organized around the institutions of family and band. Khoisan peoples carry some of the most ancient genetic lineages in the world. Today there are over 300,000 Khoisan people, forming significant minorities in and around the Kalahari desert in Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, and Angola.
Known by the Greeks as Chorasmia, Khwarezm was an urbanized, centralized, and militarized state south of the Aral sea in Central Asia, controlling portions of the Silk Road. It was loosely controlled as a satrapy under the Achaemenid and Sassanid Persian dynasties and was the mythic homeland of Zarathustra, the founder of Zoroastrianism. Following the introduction of Islam, Khwarezm tended to be divided into two separate kingdoms, but was united under the Turkic Anushtiginid dynasty, which lasted from 1097 until Chinggis Khan conquered it in 1231.
The Gilbert Islands, known in Gilbertese as Tungaru, are an island chain in the Pacific Ocean. Inhabited by Micronesians since prehistoric times, they were united under a common chiefdom in the late 19th century. Together with the Ellice Islands they were annexed by the British in 1892 who established the colony of Gilbert and Ellice Islands. Upon independence in 1976, the people of the Gilbert Islands adopted Kiribati (the Gilbertese rendering of "Gilberts") as the name of the newly established republic.
Saint Kitts and Nevis is a nation in the Caribbean located on the eponymous two islands. It is the smallest country in the Americas and the world's smallest federation. Saint Kitts was the site of some of the earliest French and English colonization attempts in the New World.
The Komi are a Finno-Ugric people living in the northern part of European Russia. In the Middle Ages, the area inhabited by people of Komi was dominated by the Republic of Novgorod. In the 15th century, the Komi were subordinated to Moscow, becoming part of Russia.
This Kingdom, lasting from roughly 1400 CE until the late 19th century, existed in the present-day countries of Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Soon after its formation, Portuguese explorers, missionaries and slavers began to arrive and exerted considerable influence in the Kingdom.
According to legend, the first Korean kingdom was founded in prehistory by the ancestral Tangun in southern Manchuria. The Korean kingdoms were united in 668 by king Munmu. Today the Korean peninsula is divided into two states, North and South Korea, as a result of the stalemate after the Korean war in 1953.
Kosovo is a country on the Balkans. It declared independence in 2008. Serbia claims Kosovo as a province and its independence is not universally recognized.
The Kunas are a Chibchan people living on the Isthmus of Darien, where North and South America meet. In 1925 Kuna chief Nele Kantule led a revolt against the Panamanian authorities. Since then Panama has granted significant autonomy to Kuna Yala, the Kuna homeland. Currently Kuna Yala (also known as San Blas) is known worldwide as a tourist center and the Kunas have established something of a reputation for managing to combine tradition and modernity.
The Kurds are a distinct ethno-linguistic group speaking an Indo-Aryan language. Their traditional homeland Kurdistan is situated in the northern Middle East and partitioned between Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Iran. The medieval era saw the rise of several principalities ruled by Kurdish dynasties, including Shaddadid, Rawadid, Hasanwayhid, Annazid, and Marwanid. Subsequently subdued by the Ottomans, the Kurds' struggle for self-rule and independence took off again after the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the end of the colonial era. Today, Iraq's Kurdistan Autonomous Region is the only Kurd-dominated political entity in the world.
The Kushans were an ancient Indo-European people, perhaps of Tocharian origin, originally leading a nomadic life in Central Asia. Under pressure from Turkic peoples they left their old lands and migrated to India. In India they founded a vast empire whose rulers converted to Buddhism. The Kushans used the Greek alphabet to write their language. The Kushan empire maintained trade relations with Rome and China. They were subordinated to the Persian Sassanids and replaced by a Persian vassal kingdom. The last remnants of the Kushans eventually succumbed to the Hephthalites.
Kuwait is an Arab country, bordered by Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf. It was founded in 1756 by the Sabah dynasty, who has ruled the country ever since. In 1990 the country was occupied by Iraqi forces, who were subsequently ejected after an international military intervention. Economically, Kuwait is one of the most developed countries in the Middle East. Despite its relatively small size, the country has about ten percent of the world's proven oil reserves.
Nation in Central Asia. Conquered by the Russian Empire in the 19th century, Kyrgyzstan got independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
The Langobards were an ancient Germanic people. They originated from Scandinavia but settled in the area on the lower Elbe. In 166 CE they participated in the attack on the Roman provinces of Pannonia and Noricum. Their first state was established on the Danube. Having defeated the Gepids in an alliance with the Avars, the Langobards under king Alboin invaded Italia in 568. They founded a new kingdom with its capital in Pavia. The modern region of Lombardy derives its name from the Lombards.
Prince Vijaya came to Sri Lanka from Orissa, in north-eastern India, during the 6th century BCE and founded the Sinhalese kingdom there. During British colonialism the country was known as Ceylon.
The history of Laos starts with the Lan Xang kingdom created in the 14th century and ended in late 18th century with invasion of Siam (Thailand). In the end of the 19th century, Laos became part of French Indochina. French rule ended with independence in 1946 followed by 30 years of civil war. In 1975 the communist Pathet Lao established a strict socialist regime. However, in 1986 the liberalization and a gradual return to private enterprise started.
The Latin Empire was a Medieval state created by Crusaders after their capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade in 1204, intended as a Roman Catholic-friendly replacement of the Byzantine Empire. In Greek history the period of rule by the Latin Empire and its successor splinter realms is known as the "Frankokratia", rule of the Franks. The Empire ceased to exist when Constantinople was recaptured by the Byzantines in 1261.
In the aftermath of World War I Latvia proclaimed its independence from Russia. In 1940, Latvia was forcibly occupied by the Soviet Union. After the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991 Latvia restored its independence.
Located in the Levant, the Eastern shore of the Mediterranean, Lebanon houses some of the oldest traces of human civilization. The old homeland of the Phoenicians, Lebanon has since been ruled by many empires. It was part of the Ottoman Empire for over four centuries and became a French mandate after World War I. Lebanon proclaimed its independence in 1943.
The Lendians were a confederation of West Slavic, Lechitic tribes inhabiting the borderland areas of today's Poland and Ukraine. Their land was the object of rivalry between Poland and the Kievan Rus' at the time of the early Piast dynasty. The Lendians succumbed to Ruthenization as a result of deportation actions organized by Kievan princes and the activities of the Orthodox Church.
Leon was a medieval kingdom in the northwestern part of the Iberian peninsula. Currently Leon is part of the Spanish autonomous community of Castile and Leon.
Lesotho first formed a unified polity in the early 19th century under king Moshoeshoe I, who united the Sotho clans. Moshoeshoe sought protection from the British against Boer incursions and in 1869 the country turned into the British protectorate of Basutoland. Although surrounded by South Africa on all sides, that country's apartheid policies prevented its integration into South Africa. In 1966 Basutoland became the independent Kingdom of Lesotho.
Liberia is a country in West Africa, founded in the first half of the 19th century as a country for liberated African-American slaves. Liberia's history has been characterized by tensions between the dominant Americo-Liberian minority and the indigenous majority. The Americo-Liberians organized themselves within the True Whig Party, which held power for no less than 102 years, longer than any other political party worldwide. The indigenous population was enfranchised in the 1960s and the True Whigs were overthrown in 1980, which led to a period of instability and civil wars. A fragile peace returned in 2003.
The Liburnians were an ancient Indo-European tribe living along the Northeastern Adriatic coast in modern Croatia. They were probably distinct from their neighbors, the Illyrians, and spoke an Italic language. They were Romanized after the annexation of their land by Rome.
The region that is now Libya was a Roman colony until it was conquered by the Arab civilization in the 7th century. In 1912 it came under the control of Italy and after the Second World War Libya was granted independence as a condition of the Allied peace treaty with Italy.
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a tiny, doubly landlocked alpine country in Western Europe, bordered by Switzerland to its west and by Austria to its east. The Principality was formed by the merger of Vaduz and Schellenberg in 1719.
The Ligures were a pre-Roman tribal complex in what is now Northwestern Italy and Southern France. Their language is of uncertain origin, perhaps Para-Celtic or Pre-Indo-European.
The Lipka Tatars are descendants of Tatars who migrated to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from the Crimean Khanate and the Golden Horde. Their name comes from the Turkish name of Lithuania. In addition to Lithuania, they also live in Poland and Belarus. Some Lipka Tatars have preserved their culture and traditional religion to the present day.
Lippe was a historical state in Germany. It was located between the Weser River and the southeast part of the Teutoburg forest.
Lithuania is a small country on the south coast of the Baltic Sea, northeast of Poland. Lithuanian is the most archaic and complex of the northern Indo-European languages.
Lojbanistan is a fictional place where people speak Lojban. Lojban is a constructed language meant for human communication. Lojban is syntactically unambiguous ("Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana."), culturally neutral and simple to learn.
Lorraine or Lotharingia was formed as the middle kingdom when the Frankish empire was split in three in 843. Initially stretching from the North Sea to the Mediterranean, its territory was mutilated during the struggles between the various Frankish dynasties. What was left of Lorraine became a duchy that both France and Germany were continuously eyeing for. Lorraine became a province of France in 1766.
The Luwians were an ancient Indo-European Anatolian people who lived in the late Bronze Age. For a time after the fall of the Hittite Empire they took a dominant role in the region. One of the most important Neo-Hittite states was Tabal (biblical Tubal), located in Syria and Southeastern Anatolia.
One of Europe's smaller countries, Luxembourg was founded as a county in 963. In 1815 it was elevated to a Grand Duchy in a personal union with the Netherlands, which was severed in 1890.
Lycia was an ancient Southwest Anatolian state which existed from the 15th to the 6th century BCE. Lycians were allies of Troy during the Trojan War, when they were led by the legendary heroes Sarpedon and Glaucus. Their state was subordinated to the Persian Empire in the 6th century BCE.
The Maasai are an indigenous African ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. Due to their distinctive customs and dress and residence near the many game parks of East Africa, they are among the most well known of African ethnic groups.
The Kingdom of Macedonia was located in the southern Balkans. Under Alexander the Great it became one of the most powerful states in the world but it splintered into several states after Alexander's death. Macedonia was eventually conquered by Rome in 146 BCE.
The Republic of Macedonia is located in the south-central part of the Balkan peninsula. It declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.
This empire began in 1293 CE when a local prince used invading Yuan dynasty troops to his own advantage by having them defeat his enemies and then expelling them. The Majapahit, centered in eastern Java, was heavily influenced by Buddhism and Hinduism and was a major regional power in the insular Southeast Asian world, a position which allowed them to control much of the trade between China, India and the Middle East. They lasted until 1500 when they were eclipsed by the Sultanate of Malacca and the rise of Islam in the Indonesian world.
The Malagasy are the people of Madagascar. For centuries, tribes from Indonesia, East Africa and the Arab world have gathered on the island.
Called Nyasaland by the British, Malawi adopted its current name, referring to the old Maravi Empire upon independence in 1964. The country's politics were dominated by Dr. Hastings Banda for three decades, until he was stripped of his titles in 1993.
Malaysia was started with the founding of Malacca (Melaka) by Parameswara in the early 14th century.
The Maldives are an archipelago in the Indian Ocean and the smallest country of Asia. According to tradition, the Maldives became a united sultanate when the Cholas were expelled in the 12th century. The islands were a British protectorate from 1887 to 1965. The monarchy was abolished three years after independence. Today, the Maldives are above all known as a tourist destination.
Sub-Saharan Africa has been a cultural and ethnical melting pot for millennia. In medieval times, the region was home to a succession of empires called the Sahelian kingdoms. Of these, the Islamic Mali Empire was the most influential. This empire reigned from the 14th to the 17th century and was famed for its wealth and benevolent kings. The modern Republic of Mali derives its name from this empire.
Mali is a large country in Western Africa. Once part of French Sudan, it gained independence together with Senegal in 1959.
Malta was first settled around 5200 BCE. Over the centuries, the islands have been ruled by the Phoenicians, Romans, Fatimids, Sicilians, Knights Hospitaller, French, and British. Malta became independent in 1964 and joined the EU in 2004.
The Mamluks were an Egyptian warrior caste who were recruited from slaves of Turkish or Caucasian origin. The Mamluks were known as elite military units. They held important roles in several Muslim countries. In 1250, they created their own state in Egypt. The Mamluk Sultanate was ruled by two dynasties Mamluks until it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1517.
The Manchus were a semi-nomadic people originating from the region called Manchuria in Northeast Asia. In the 17th century they conquered and ruled China as the Manchu Empire until 1911.
The Isle of Man is an island in the British Isles located between Britain and Ireland. Formally not a part of United Kingdom, it is a self-governing British Crown Dependency. In the Middle Ages it was the center of the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, and later of the Lordship of Man. Man is noted for having the oldest still functioning parliament in the world, the Tynwald, which has existed since 979 CE. Since 1765 the island depends on Great Britain.
The Maori are a Polynesian people that migrated to and settled the island group that is now New Zealand. According to archeological evidence, the migration commenced in the 900s and continued until the 1400s.
The Mapuche people successfully resisted the expansion of the Inka empire, halting them at the Maule river in what is now central Chile. They proved to be stubborn opponents of the Spanish, too, who, along with their Chilean successors, took 300 years to conquer them.
The Marathi are people who inhabit the state of Maharashtra in India. In the 17th century, the Marathi prince Shivaji established the Maratha confederacy, waging war on the Moghul empire and eventually replacing the Moghuls as the main power on the Indian subcomtinent.
The Marshall Islands is a country in the Western Pacific, just north of the Equator, consisting of a large number of islands and atolls. Populated primarily by Micronesians, the islands became an independent republic in free association with the United States in 1986. In the mid-20th the United States carried out numerous nuclear tests on the islands.
Marsmen landed on Earth in 4000 BCE!
Mauritius is an island in the Indian Ocean. It was first settled by the Dutch, who named it after Maurice of Nassau. The island is famous for being the habitat of the dodo, which was was brought to extinction within a century after its discovery. The Dutch abandoned the island in 1710 and Mauritius was subsequently settled by the French. During the Napoleonic Wars the island was captured by the British. The island became independent in 1968. Nowadays, Mauritius is one of the most developed countries of Africa. The population is mostly of Indian, African and European origin.
Mauritania is a country in North West Africa, where the Arab and Sub-Saharan African worlds meet. Mauritania became Islamized from the 11th century onwards. Colonized by France in the 19th century, the country became an independent republic in 1960.
The Mayans were a Mesoamerican civilization. They are famous for building great pyramids and palaces in the jungle.
Mazovia is a historic and geographic region of central-eastern Poland.
Mecklenburg was erected in the 12th century. Its ruling house, the Obrodites, were of Slavic origin - unique amongst the German states. The dynasty remained in power for eight centuries. The Duchy was divided into Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Mecklenburg-Schwerin. In the 19th century Mecklenburg got the reputation of being the most backward of the German states; its feudal institutions were abolished only at the downfall of the monarchy in 1918. Currently Mecklenburg forms the western two thirds of the German state of Mecklenburg-Cispomerania.
Media was an ancient Iranian state that was created by a Western Iranic people, the Medes, relatives of the European Scythians. Their state preceded the Persian Achaemenid Empire, which was formed as a result of a rebellion of the Persians against the Median ruler Astyages. It was the first multi-ethnic empire and controlled a vast area spanning from the Halys river to what is now Afghanistan.
The Messapii were an Indo-European tribe that inhabited, in ancient times, Apulia, the south-eastern peninsula of Italy, before being absorbed by the Romans.
The Métis are a people of mixed First Nations (Native American) and European (mostly French) descent living mainly in the Canadian prairie provinces. Together with the First Nations and the Inuit they form one of the three indigenous groups of Canada. In the 19th century the Métis repeatedly rebelled against the British and Canadian authorities.
Mexico borrows its name from the Mexica people, another name for the Aztecs. It achieved independence from Spain in 1821. For most of the 19th century the country was wrecked by rebellions and foreign invasions losing more than half of its territory to the United States. A liberal constitution was proclaimed in 1857, leading to ten years of civil war between liberals and conservatives, in which the latter crowned Maximilian of Austria as emperor under French occupation. The French and conservatives were ultimately defeated by the liberals of Benito Juárez in 1867. Mexico entered the modern era under Porfirio Díaz (1876-1911) but social inequality and political repression led to the Mexican Revolution of 1910 which left more than a million dead. The Revolution led to the establishment of a corporatist one party state in 1929. Only in 2000 did Mexico see its first democratic transfer of power.
According to Chinese legend, the Yellow Emperor of Huaxia battled and defeated Chi You, leader of the Nine Li tribe, at the Battle of Zhuolu in the 26th century BCE. For the Miao people of modern-day China, Chi You - whom they refer to as "Txiv Yawg" - is a mythical king and founding father of their nation. Most Miao live in southern China, but there is a significant diaspora in southeast Asian countries as well as Europe and North America, of which many belong to the "Hmong" sub-group.
Micronesia is located in the Central Western Pacific. The site of several ancient seafaring cultures, nowadays most of the region is governed by the Federated States of Micronesia.
Today numbering roughly 25,000, the Mi'kmaq inhabited (and largely continue to) Nova Scotia. The first Mi'kmaq to convert to Christianity did so in 1610 under French suzerainty. French rule gave way to English and English to Canadian.
Milan is the capital of Lombardy, a region in Northern Italy. From 1395 to 1797 it was the seat of the Duchy of Milan. Lombardy came under Austrian domination after the Napoleonic War. In 1859 it was annexed by Italy.
Living along the eponymous Miskito Coast of Nicaragua and Honduras, the Miskito now number around 200,000 people. In 1625, the Miskito came into a long-lasting political relationship with the British Empire, whose interests in the Caribbean were contrary to those of the Spanish Empire. A loosely constructed Miskito 'kingdom' was formed in that year and a dynasty established by kings who went by English names and came under formal British protectorate status in 1740. Official protectorate status ended a century later and in 1894 the Nicaraguan government incorporated the territory.
Mitanni was an ancient Hurrian kingdom in what is now Northern Syria and Iraq. Mitanni was at the height of its power during the 14th century BCE, during which it rivalled Egypt.
The Mixtecs or Ñuu Savi were one of the major Mesoamerican civilizations. The Mixtec territory was formed by a large number of city states. The Mixtec ruler Eight Deer 'Jaguar Claw', who ruled Tilantongo around 1100 CE, was famous in all of ancient Mexico. In the late 15th century most of the Mixtec territory was occupied by the Aztecs, though parts remained independent until the arrival of the Spanish. Nowadays there are about 700,000 Mixtecs living in the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Guerrero and Puebla, as well as in emigrant communities in Northern Mexico and the US.
Moldova was conquered by the Ottomans in the 16th century. Then in 1812 Moldova became part of the Russian Empire. From 1918 Moldova was part of Romania until inclusion in the Soviet Union in 1940. The modern Republic of Moldova gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
The Moluccas, known as the Spice Islands during the era of colonizations, are an island group in the Indonesian archipelago. Inhabited by Malay peoples, the islands were contested by the Spanish, Portuguese and English but ended up under firm Dutch control by the 16th century. During the decolonization process many Moluccans sided with the Dutch East Indies Army. This, and the centralism exerted by Java after Indonesia's independence in 1949, led to the proclamation of the Republic of the South Moluccas in 1950. The rebellion was crushed, but a government in exile continues to operate, not recognized by any country.
The Mon people were among the earliest inhabitants of Southeast Asia and instrumental in the spread of Buddhism in the region.
With only two square kilometers, Monaco is the second smallest country in the world. It has been ruled by the Grimaldi dynasty ever since the country was founded in 1297. In 1861 Monaco lost more than 95 percent of its territory to France. The principality is noted for its absence of income taxes, its casino and its Formula 1 track. Foreigners make up more than 80 percent of the population. In terms of GDP per capita Monaco is the wealthiest country in the world by a large margin.
In the centuries after their unification by Chinggis Khan, the Mongols conquered the largest empire in human history, encompassing most of the continent of Asia.
Montenegro is a small country on the Balkans, the last to be conquered by the Ottomans and the first to become independent again. Part of Yugoslavia in the 20th century, it dissolved its union with Serbia in 2006.
Great Moravia was a Slavic medieval monarchy whose center was located in the areas of modern Moravia region in Czech Republic. Moravia conquered areas of Bohemia, Slovakia, Pannonia and large parts of southern Poland and Lusatia. The first ruler and founder of this state was duke Mojmir I. The Great Moravian state was destroyed as a result of the Hungarian invasion from the eastern steppes. After the defeat of the Hungarians by the Holy Roman Empire, Moravia was turned into a principality, which was in a personal union with Bohemia for most of its history.
The Mordvins are a Finnic people consisting of two subgroups: the Erzya and the Moksha. Mordvins live mainly in the Republic of Mordovia, a subdivision of the Russian Federation.
Modern Morocco gained independence in 1956. However, the area has been inhabited since at least 8000 BCE. In classical times the region was known as Mauretania.
Mozambique is a country in Southeast Africa. It gained independence from Portugal in 1975.
The Mughal Empire ruled most of the Indian subcontinent throughout the early modern era.
Moscow emerged as a regional power and successor to the Kievan Rus' in the 12th century CE. Under the Rurikid dynasty, the Muscovites consolidated power through alliances with the Golden Horde and the Orthodox Church, eventually subduing surrounding cities and principalities including the Novgorod Republic.
The Muskogee was a confederacy of North American tribes, including the Creek, Seminole, Choctaw, and Chickasaw. They were based in the area now encompassed by the U.S. states of Georgia and Alabama. Creek and Seminole tribes briefly formed a sovereign state known as the "State of Muskogee" during the early 1800s.
Comprising five states, variously described as chiefdoms and kingdoms, the Mwiska (a.k.a. Muisca) likely numbered between half a million to one million people at the time of Spanish conquest. The two largest of the Mwiska states, Zipa and Zaque, were at conflict with one another when the Spanish came on the scene, with the former being more successful than the latter. Spanish conquest was fairly quick, however, and no rebellion took place after 1541 and the language went extinct in the 18th century.
Although European Powers long neglected the desertic African Southwest, the German Empire established a colony there in the late nineteenth century. After losing World War I, the territory became a mandate under the responsibility of the Union of South Africa. It finally became independent in 1990, under the name of Namibia.
Called Pleasant Island by the European colonizers, Nauru is an island in the South Pacific. The island was first settled by Austronesian peoples around 1000 BCE. European contacts led to internecine tribal warfare which decimated the population. Nauru was annexed by the German Empire in 1888 but was occupied by Australia during World War I. In 1968, the Republic of Nauru became independent. Thanks to its enormous phosphate resources, Nauru was for some time the most developed third world country and one of the world's richest countries per capita. With the exhaustion of the phosphate reserves the country has fallen on economic hard times. Offshore banking, immigrant detention centers and musicals have proven unsuccessful to replace phosphate as source of income. Nauru is the world's third smallest country by size, second smallest by population. It is the smallest country in the Southern Hemisphere and the world's smallest republic.
The Navajo or Diné are the most populous Native American nation of the United States. They are closely related to the Apache. Their language is famous for being one of the world's most complex.
For centuries the Kingdom of Naples was the largest country on the Italian Peninsula. Many European powers showed interest in the kingdom and its throne changed hands many times. After the Napoleonic Era it was merged with the Kingdom of Sicily.
The Nenets are a people living in north-western Russia and the most populous among the Samoyed peoples.
Nepal is a landlocked country located in the Himalayas. Long a multi-cultural and multi-lingual nation, its history is characterized by its location between India and China. The Nepalese principalities were united into one kingdom in the 18th century. Nepal became a republic in 2008.
Legends of Prester John circulated in Europe from the 12th through 17th centuries. The stories told of a Nestorian Christian nation beyond the boundaries of the European world; over time the location of the kingdom moved from India to Central Asia to Ethiopia. The land contained unbelievable riches and creatures, and bordered Earthly Paradise. Because the country was believed to be on the other side of the Muslim world, many Europeans hoped Prester John would be a valuable ally in their quest to end Muslim rule of the Holy Land.
In precolumbian times Newfoundland and Labrador were settled by the Beothuk, though around 1000 CE for a short time Vikings also settled there. From the late 15th century onward Newfoundland was visited by the Portuguese and English. England and France contested the island until 1713, when France relinquished its claims. Newfoundland became a dominion in 1907. Badly hit by the Great Depression, in 1934 it voluntarily surrendered its sovereignty to the UK. Newfoundland passed to Canada in 1949; currently it is known as the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The island group of New Zealand was annexed by Britain in 1840. Following a royal proclamation in 1907, the country became an independent dominion within the Commonwealth of Nations.
The largest of the Central American republics, Nicaragua is known for its turbulent history. The country lived through numerous civil wars and foreign interventions until Anastasio Somoza established a notoriously corrupt dictatorship in the 1930s. His family continued to rule until 1979, when the last Somoza was overthrown by sandinista revolutionaries, starting 11 years of civil war between the sandinista government and the contras.
Nigeria won full independence from British rule in 1960. It is the most populous country of Africa.
Niger is a country in the Sahel region of West Africa, named after the Niger river. It achieved independence from France in 1960. Since then it has been ruled intermittently by civil and military governments. One of the poorest countries in the world, Niger ranks rock bottom in international rankings such as the Human Development Index. Niger has both the highest fertility rate and infant mortality rate in the world. Niger should not be confused with Nigeria.
The Nimíipuu, or the 'Real People', in their own language, are better known as the 'Nez Percé'. This Native American nation covered parts of Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho and consisted of more than 70 permanent villages in 1800. At this time the population numbered about 6,000. After a defeat by the American cavalry on October 5, 1877, the Nimíipuu were moved to reservations. The elected Nez Percé Tribal Executive Committee now governs tribal affairs.
After several devastating Viking raids on what is today northern France and a siege of Paris, the Frankish king Charles the Simple granted the Viking leader Rollo a fiefdom in the area. This fief evolved into the Duchy of Normandy, of which the most famous duke is William II "the Conqueror" who invaded England in 1066.
In 1945 Korea was split by the Soviet Union and the United States into two states along the 38th parallel, forming North Korea and South Korea. 60 years on, North Korea remains a communist state of the Stalinist type.
The Northumbria was a Medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now northern England and southern Scotland. It was created after the unification of Bernicia and Deira by king Aethelfrith. One of the main states of the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy, in the 10th century it was incorporated into England.
After centuries of Danish rule, the Norwegians made their own constitution in Eidsvoll, 1814 CE. Finally, in 1905 CE the Norwegians got their independence after a union with Sweden.
The Novgorod Republic was was a large Medieval Russian state that stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains. It existed between the 12th and 15th centuries and was centered on the city of Novgorod.
A succession of kingdoms stretching roughly from the 1st to the 6th cataracts of the Nile river in modern Sudan and Egypt, Nubia was ancient Egypt's perennial neighbor, competitor, trading partner, enemy, and source of gold, slaves and soldiers to the south. The border between the two nations fluctuated time and time again. Lower Nubia was at times ruled by Egypt. The 25th Dynasty of Egypt, however, was a Nubian dynasty, and one that saw conflict with Assyria, which eventually wrested Egypt from Nubia. Brief conflict occurred with Rome in 24 BCE when Nubian armies routed the Roman garrison with its famed archers. Nubia was a nation shaped by its position between the Mediterranean world and the African interior. Large Nubian states centered on Napata and later Meroe broke into smaller Christian kingdoms which persisted into medieval times before being conquered by Muslim Arabs.
The Numidians were an ancient Berber people renowned for their horsemanship who were composed of two main tribes in modern Algeria and Tunisia: the Massyli in the east and the Massaesyli in the west. They were united under King Massinissa, whose position was guaranteed by his Roman allies after the 2nd Punic War in which he aided the Romans in their defeat of the Carthaginians. His unified kingdom was short-lived, however, as the west was given to the Mauretanian king by the Romans following the death of King Jugurtha. Eventually all of Numidia and Mauretania were added to the Roman realm.
The Nuu-chah-nulth are a Pacific Northwest people, one of the few Native American peoples to travel in the open ocean and hunt whales. They inhabited most of what is now western Vancouver Island and now number over 8,000 individuals. Like other people of the Pacific Northwest, they built large wooden canoes and houses and lived in clan systems.
Although Occitania never had a real political unity (it consisted of several counties and duchies in today's southern France), its culture enjoyed great prestige all over Europe during the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, Occitan being the language of troubadours. Its religious freedom allowed the flourishing of Catharism, which was declared heretic by the Pope, and the French kings took advantage of the subsequent crusade to annex its territory.
Gatherers, hunters and fishermen, the Ohlone lived in over 40 bands stretching from the San Francisco Bay south to the Salinas Valley. They spoke eight distinct yet related languages and though they shared many cultural traits common to other Native Californian peoples, the Ohlone were also diverse in some finer aspects of culture. Their way of life changed dramatically when the Spanish arrived in 1769 and disease and the injustices of Mission life came to replace their earlier lives. Though the last fluent speaker of an Ohlone language died in 1939, the Ohlone are today federally recognized as 7 tribes.
Initially a vassal of the dukes of Saxony, Oldenburg became a county directly suzerain to the Holy Roman Emperor in the 12th century. In 1450, when count Christian VI became king Christian I of Denmark, the country entered into a personal union with Denmark. A second union with Denmark existed from 1667 to 1773. Oldenburg's dynasty also ruled Schleswig-Holstein, Russia and Sweden at some point in time. Oldenburg became a grand duchy in 1815 and a republic in 1918. In 1931 it was the first German state to vote the Nazi Party into power. After World War II, Oldenburg was merged with Hanover to form the state of Lower Saxony.
The Prussians were Baltic peoples inhabiting the area between the Pomerania, Mazovia, Lithuania and the Baltic Sea (Baltic coast between the lower Vistula and lower Nemen). They were conquered and germanized by the Teutonic Order.
Oman is an Arab country in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Before the arrival of Islam Oman was controlled by Achaemenids, Parthians and Sassanids.
Modern Ossetians are the successors of the Alans of Ancient history, who fled into the mountains during the Hunnic invasions. Around 800 CE an Alanic kingdom emerged in the Northern Caucasus, which continued to exist until the Mongol invasions. Nowadays Ossetians live in the Republic of North Ossetia (part of the Russian Federation) and in the partially recognized Republic of South Ossetia.
The Ostrogoths or Greuthungi (meaning people of the steppe, in contrast to the Visigoths-Tervingi, living in the more wooded areas) were an East Germanic people, one of the two tribes of Goths. They conquered Italy from Odoacer and founded their kingdom there. In the 5th century the Ostrogothic kingdom was crushed by the Byzantines in a war that depopulated much of Italy.
The Otomí are one of the most ancient peoples of Mexico. They have lived in Central Mexico ever since the development of agriculture or even longer. A warlike people, they served as mercenaries in the armies of many Mesoamerican civilizations and got their name from the otmitl, the crack military order of the Aztecs, in which many of them served. In their own language they are called Hñähñu. With more than half a million people the Otomí are still one of the biggest indigenous groups of Mexico.
In the beginning of the 14th century Osman, a leader of a minor Turkish tribe in western Anatolia, conquered all his neighboring tribes. A century later the Byzantine capital fell to Turkish rule which gave the Ottoman empire access to Europe. The Ottomans subsequently conquered large parts of south-eastern Europe, the Islamic Arab world as well as Egypt and much of North Africa, making it a regional superpower until its dissolution in the aftermath of World War I.
The land of Oz was created by L. Frank Baum in 1900 in 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' and was subsequently embellished in a number of other books. The country consists of four main territories: Winkie Country, Quadling Country, Munchkin Country, and Gillikin Country. Oz is surrounded by an impassable desert.
The Paeonians were an ancient people that inhabited the areas north of Macedon, between the Thracian and Illyrian tribes. Their language probably had a mixed Thraco-Illyrian origin. The seat of the Paeonian kings was Bylazora. In 360-359 BCE, southern Paeonian tribes launched raids into Macedon, but the Macedons defeated and conquered them. A Paeonian military contingent participated in the expedition of Alexander the Great to Persia.
The Federation of Pakistan was formed from the predominantly Muslim regions of British India in 1947.
The Electoral Palatinate was one of the electorates of the Holy Roman Empire, located on the banks of the Rhine. It had a volatile political history, continuously splitting and reuniting. Elector Frederick V's capture of the Bohemian throne sparked the Thirty Years War in 1618, in which much of the area was devastated. The Palatinate was united in a personal union with Bavaria in 1777. Currently it is part of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, with smaller areas in Baden-Wuerttemberg and Bavaria.
Palestinians are the Arab inhabitants of the former British mandate of Palestine.
Palmyra was a breakaway Roman state in Asia governed by queen Zenobia. In 273 CE Aurelian brought it back under Roman control.
Located on a narrow isthmus connecting North and South America, Panama is world famous for the Panama canal. Panama declared independence from Colombia in 1903 under US protection. Panamanian politics remained dominated by the United States for most of the 20th century, most notably in 1989 when the United States launched a military invasion to unseat and arrest General Noriega. Sovereignty over the Canal Zone was transferred to Panama in 1999. Panama is one of the few countries in the world without a standing army.
The Papuans are the indigenous inhabitants of the island of New Guinea. They are the descendants of the people who first settled the island 40,000 years ago. Agriculture was developed in the New Guinean Highlands about 6,000 years ago, though many Papuan tribes, especially those on the coast, continue to live as hunter-gatherers. Some Papuan tribes are still uncontacted. The various Papua groups are highly diverse culturally, ethnically and linguistically; New Guinea harbors no less than a quarter of the world's languages. The western part of the island was colonized by the Dutch, the eastern part by the Germans, the British, the Japanese and finally the Australians. The eastern part has been independent as Papua New Guinea since 1975. West Papua was occupied by Indonesia upon the withdrawal of the Dutch in 1963, though indigenous activists have been struggling for independence ever since.
Papua New Guinea is a country occupying the eastern part of the island of New Guinea. Inhabited since time immemorial by Papuan peoples, it was colonized by the British and Germans in the late 19th century. During World War I Papua New Guinea was transferred to Australia. It became an independent country in 1975.
Paraguay is located in the heartland of South America. It was conquered by the Spanish in the late 16th century. The colony was mostly controlled by the Jesuits until their expulsion in 1767. In 1811, Paraguay was the first South American country to achieve independence from Spain. A number of highly authoritarian rulers governed the country as a tyranny but also turned it into a military and economic powerhouse. The War of the Triple Alliance of 1864-1870 led to the near annihilation of Paraguay, which lost half of its territory and eighty per cent of its male population. Paraguay's history remains marked by instability and authoritarianism, alhough it managed to defeat Bolivia in the Chaco War of 1932-1936. For much of the 20th century the country was ruled by General Stroessner, who provided a safe haven for Nazi war criminals. Around the turn of the millennium however Paraguay started to see a democratic system of government and an impressive economic growth.
The Parthians were originally a nomadic people from Central Asia who inhabited the Parthia region of the Seleucid Empire. Under the leadership of the satrap Arsakes they drove the Seleucids from Iran, where they created their own strong empire. Their culture was Hellenistic.
Pelasgians or Pelasgoi were an ancient pre-Greek people of Greece. Much is still unknown about them, but it is probable they were of pre-Indo-European origin.
The first Persian (Achaemenid) Empire lasted from 550 BCE to 330 BCE; the second (Sassanid) from 226 CE to 642 CE.
Peru was the cradle of the Inca Empire and civilization. It is still today a major center of indigenous South American culture.
The Pashtuns are an ethnic group that lives mainly in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They speak Pashto, a language closely related to Persian, and live by an age-old code of honor known as Pashtunwali.
Phoenicia was an ancient civilization, based in what is now the coastal regions of Lebanon and Syria. They spoke a Canaanite language related to Hebrew and were famed mariners. Their alphabet served as the source of the Greek alphabet, and from there evolved into the Etruscan and Latin alphabets as well. The Greeks and Romans knew them for their manufacture of purple dye from the murex shell, which gave them their Greek and Latin names. They referred to themselves as Kan'ani and their Punic (Carthaginian) descendants in St. Augustine's day called themselves Chanani.
The Phrygians were an ancient Indo-European people, probably related to the Greeks or Thracians. They arrived in Anatolia around the twelfth century BCE, at the time of the invasion of the Sea Peoples in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The arrival of the Phrygians has been associated by some historians with the fall of the Hittite State. After the Macedonian conquest of the Achaemenid Empire and after the arrival of the Galatians to Anatolia, the Phrygians succumbed to Hellenization.
The Picts were the indigenous inhabitants of Caledonia, Ancient Scotland. They were probably Celtic or maybe Celticized pre-Indo-Europeans. They were given the name Picts, 'painted people', by the Romans because of their custom of tattooing their bodies. The Picts survived until well into the Middle Ages but by the 11th century they had been assimilated by the Gaelic Scots.
Piedmont was formed when the Duchy of Savoy elevated itself to the status of a kingdom in 1720. Officially it was a constituent part of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont. The area was occupied by Napoleon in 1796 but reasserted its independence in 1814. Sardinia-Piedmont was one of the leading states of the Risorgimiento, Italy's national rebirth. In 1861 it was merged into the newly formed kingdom of Italy, the last Piedmontese king becoming the first king of Italy. Currently it is one of the regions of Italy.
The Polish state was formed about a millennium ago, and reached its Golden Age near the end of the 16th century.
Polynesian culture stretches from Hawaii to New Zealand to Easter Island and covers all the islands in between.
Pontus is a region on the Black Sea coast of Asia Minor, currently part of Turkey but historically part of the Greek cultural realm. A Hellenistic Kingdom of Pontus was founded in the 3rd century BCE, which reached its greatest splendor under Mithridates the Great before succumbing to Rome. After centuries of Roman and Byzantine rule, Pontus became an independent state again when in 1204 the Empire of Trebizond was founded as one of the successors of the crumbling Byzantine Empire. Under the Komnenos dynasty, Trebizond held out as the very last remnant of the Roman Empire until it finally fell to the Ottomans in 1461. During the Turkish-Greek population transfers after World War I, most Pontic Greeks were deported, and today the population of Pontus is almost exclusively Turkish.
Portugal founded the first of the great mercantile empires in the 1400s on the shipbuilding advances funded by Prince Henry the Navigator.
Prussia was originally the name of a pagan Baltic people, who in the 13th century were conquered by the German Teutonic Knight order. The knights established an independent state in this land, and in 1561 Grand Master Albrecht I proclaimed himself hereditary Duke of Prussia. Evolving into a regional military powerhouse, Prussia played an important role in uniting the German nation in 1871 and solidified its power during the Franco-Prussian war of the same year.
The smallest of the Greater Antilles, Puerto Rico was inhabited by the indigenous Taino people when it was conquered by the Spanish. It was conquered by the United States in 1898, just one year after Spain had granted autonomy to the island. Currently it is a US commonwealth, but its definitive status is still being discussed.
The P'urhepecha or Tarascans are a people native to the modern Mexican state of Michoacán, the heart of a former empire known to them as Irechikua Ts'intsuntsani, meaning the "lands of Tzintzuntzan," their capital city. Their kings were the perennial enemy of the Aztec empire, who attempted an unsuccessful invasion of the P'urhepecha lands. When the Spanish arrived and began their conquest of Mexico in 1519, the Aztecs sent an embassy seeking the support of the P'urhepecha, but were rebuffed. The conquistadores' reputation preceded them and the P'urhepecha offered to become a subject state of the King of Spain rather than meet the same fate as their former enemies, the Aztecs. Nevertheless, the transition to Spanish rule was not smooth and devolved into violence. The empire, founded around 1450 CE, collapsed in 1530.
Qatar is an emirate located on a peninsula on the Persian Gulf. It is one of the wealthiest countries of the world in terms of GDP per capita. Qatar is one of the world's few absolute monarchies.
Quebec is the largest province of Canada, housing the majority of the Francophone population of America.
The Rapa Nui are the native Polynesian inhabitants of Easter Island. They have inhabited the island since the end of the first millennium CE. They are famous for having built large statues called moai. This civilization was destroyed due to internal conflicts; in 1888 the island was annexed by Chile. Their script Rongorongo has never been deciphered.
The Rarámuri or Tarahumara live in the canyons of the Sierra Madre Occidental in the north of Mexico. They are well known for their endurance; their traditions include running long distances while kicking wooden balls in races that last up to several days. In 1891 a Rarámuri uprising in Tomochi was brutally repressed by the Mexican authorities.
The Rhineland was the site of three electorates of the Holy Roman Empire, Cologne, Trier and Mainz, as well as numerous smaller territories. The Rhenish statelets were gradually absorbed by Prussia from the 17th century onwards. The Prussian Rhine Province was erected in 1822. During the Industrial Revolution the region became the economical and industrial heartland of Germany. Since the end of World War II the Rhineland is divided between the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland.
The Confederal Republic of the Tribes of the Rif was a short-lived nation founded in September 1921 when Riffians revolted against the Spanish and Moroccans. The country was conquered by the Spanish and French in 1926. The area is now part of Morocco.
The Rio-Grandense Republic or Piratini Republic existed in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul from 1836 to 1845. It fought the War of Tatters against the Brazilian Imperial Army and was supported by Giuseppe Garibaldi amongst others.
Romania as a nation was formed at the beginning of the 20th century, when the states of Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldavia merged. It is a country inhabited by people speaking a language reminiscent from the time of ancient Rome. Its history is convoluted as it was always at the borders of great empires: Roman, Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, and Russian.
Rome was, in legend, founded by Romulus in 753 BCE. At its height, Rome controlled much of Europe, northern Africa and the Near East. Roman culture adopted much of the civilizations it conquered, such as the Greeks and Etruscans, and forms one of the bases of the Western culture. Even today, Roman influence in fields such as law, philosophy and language remains enormous. The Roman civilization spanned more than a millennium; first as a kingdom, later as a republic and then from 27 BCE onward as an empire. The empire was split in the 4th century CE. The Western Roman Empire fell in 476 CE, the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire survived almost a thousand years more; its capital Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453.
The Rumantsch or Romansh people are inhabitants of the Swiss canton of Grisons who speak Romansh, a Romance language that retains some unique characteristics and with a rich oral tradition. Although Romansh is one of the four national languages of Switzerland and projects are being undertaken to save the language, it is losing terrain as many of its speakers switch to German. Before the Napoleonic Era, the Three Leagues of Grisons were the only territory of Europe where decision making was organized by taking votes.
Russia is the largest country in the world, occupying a huge part of both Europe and Asia. According to legend, Slavic tribes of Novgorod invited the Varangian (Viking) king Oleg to bring order to their land. Oleg established the Kievan Rus' in this realm, the first Russian state. By the 11th century, the Kievan Rus' had disintegrated into lesser princedoms, which were once again united into one state by Ivan III in the 15th century. After a decisive victory over Sweden and large territorial gains, Peter I pronounced the Russian Empire in 1721. The Russian Empire lasted until 1917 when a socialist revolution dethroned the last Russian emperor. After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 Russia appeared on the world map again, now as a federal republic.
The Rusyns are an ethnic group on the western periphery of the East Slavic nations. They live mainly in the Polish-Ukrainian-Slovak borderland and in the Vojvodina. In medieval times the Rusyn homeland was the site of the Duchy of Galicia-Volhynia and the Kingdom of Rus. In later times the lands were under Polish and later Austrian rule. Rusyns formed two ephemeral states after World War I: the Lemko-Rusyn Republic and the Komancza Republic.
The Kievan Rus' were a Medieval Slavic monarchy. It was centered in Kiev after that city was conquered by Oleg of Novgorod. In the 13th century the Rus' succumbed to a Mongol invasion. The Rus' were the precursors of the modern East Slavic nations.
Rwanda is a hilly and very fertile country in the Great Lakes region of eastern Africa. It supports the densest population of the continent.
The Ryukyu Kingdom (1372-1879) was the Land of Propriety, a peaceful maritime trading nation eventually invaded, occupied, and annexed by Japan.
The Sabines were an Italic tribe whose language was closest to Umbrian. They had an impact on the history of Rome. The Sabines and the early Roman Republic regularly warred against each other, but eventually the Sabines were assimilated into the Roman culture. Several Roman families prided themselves on their Sabine origins.
The Sahrawi are the inhabitants of the Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony. Morocco currently controls most of the area, which is considered an illegal occupation by most of the international community. The Moroccan Army and Sahrawi Polisario rebels have been fighting each other since 1975.
Saint Lucia is an island nation in the Eastern Caribbean. During the colonial era, Saint Lucia changed hands between France and Britain no less than fourteen times until the British finally secured it in 1814. The island became independent in 1979. It a member both of the Commonwealth and La Francophonie. The economy is based on tourism, bananas and sugar.
The Saka were an ancient Iranian tribe from the Central Asian steppes. They were very closely related to the European Scythians, and were probably descendants of the Andronovo culture.
The Salishans are a cultural-linguistic group of peoples in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and Canada. Among the most famous Salishans is Chief Seattle, leader of the Duwamish tribe, after whom the city of Seattle is named. Other well known Salishan tribes include the Bella Coola (Nuxalk), Spokane and Coeur d'Alene. The Salishan languages are famous for their unusual characteristics. They have a large inventory of consonants and some even feature words without any vowels.
Originally inhabited by Pipil Indians, in the 16th century El Salvador was conquered by the Spanish. It joined the Central American federation upon independence and became a fully independent republic in 1840. Although formally El Salvador has been a democracy for most of its independence, in reality the country's government is highly oligarchic, the 'fourteen families' having dominated the country's political and economic life since independence. In the 1930s general Hernández Martínez established a dictatorship. A nonviolent revolution overthrew Hernández in 1944 but the country remained unstable and from 1979-1992 the country lived through another bloody civil war.
The Sami are a people of northern Scandinavia. Their nation spans over the northernmost regions of the Scandinavian countries and northwestern Russia.
San Marino is a tiny landlocked country on the Italian Peninsula. It is the oldest independent republic in the world. According to legend, it was founded by Saint Marinus in 301 CE.
The Samnites were an ancient confederation of Italic tribes who spoke the Oscan language and inhabited Central Italy, South of the Sabines. After losing the wars with Rome the Samnites were subjected to Rome and became Romanized. They were good soldiers and famed as Roman gladiators.
Samoa is a country occupying the Western part of the Samoan islands of the Central Pacific; the Eastern part is governed by the United States as American Samoa. Samoa was settled by Austronesian peoples around 1500 BCE. It was probably from Samoa that the Polynesians started the expansion throughout the Pacific. Colonized by Germany and New Zealand, Samoa became independent in 1962.
Samogitia - historical country near the Baltic Sea - home to the last pagans in Europe (official until 1413). Today, Samogitia is a region of Lithuania.
São Tomé and Príncipe are two islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. The main island was named after Saint Thomas by the Portuguese sailors who first discovered the island on the saint's feast day around 1470. The islands turned into the first major European plantation colony. Slavery was abolished in the 19th century and the country became independent in 1975. The islands' economy remains dependent on the export of cocoa.
Sardinia is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and an autonomous region of Italy. The site of the Nuraghic civilization in prehistory, the island passed to Phoenician and then Roman rule. Upon the collapse of the Roman Empire Sardinia was occupied by the Vandals and later by the Byzantines, but foreign rule quickly eroded and by the 9th century the Byzantine representatives had formed their own autonomous states. By the end of the Middle Ages however, the Aragonese had established dominance over the island. In 1718 Sardinia was handed to the house of Savoy, and it became a constituent part of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, which eventually led Italy to its national unification in 1861.
The Sarmatians were Iranian pastoral tribes from Central Asia and Southwest Siberia. They were closely related to the Saka and the Scythians. The myth of the origin from the Sarmatians formed the basis of the Polish culture from the 15th to the 18th century.
Saudi Arabia is located on the Arabian Peninsula and includes Mecca and Medina, the holiest sites of Islam. The First Saudi state was established in 1744. Current Saudi Arabia dates from the union of Hejaz and Nejd in 1925. Named after its ruling dynasty, the house of Saud, Saudi Arabia is one of the last countries retaining an absolute monarchy. It has the largest proven oil reserves of the world.
Savoy emerged in the Western Alps after the disintegration of the Burgundian Kingdom. Its dynasty established control over Sardinia and Piedmont and later all of Italy. Savoy's growth and survival over the centuries were not based on spectacular conquests, but on gradual territorial expansion through marriage and methodical and highly manipulative political acquisitions. Savoy itself was annexed by France in 1860.
The Electorate of Saxony was an independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356-1806.
Scania is the southernmost region of Sweden. Historically one of many petty kingdoms in Viking age Scandinavia, it became in medieval times part of Denmark but was ceded to Sweden through the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. Scania saw something of a national revival in the late 20th century with calls for greater autonomy within the Kingdom of Sweden.
For much of its history, the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein have been contested by Germany and Denmark. The territories were united in a personal union in 1375. In the 19th century, Schleswig-Holstein's confused status led to two wars between Denmark and Prussia, and in 1866 Schleswig-Holstein became a Prussian province. After World War I, Northern Schleswig was annexed by Denmark. Currently Schleswig-Holstein is a state of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Scotland, originally settled in late Roman times by Irish raiders who displaced the native Picts, was an independent kingdom from around 1034 CE to the Union of Crowns with England in 1701.
Both Gaels and the Gaelic language were brought to Scotland by the Dalriada dynasty from Ireland. They first settled in Argyll (Earra Ghaidheal or the Coastland of the Gael) and soon expanded further into territory held by the indigenous Picts and culminating in Kenneth MacAlpin uniting the kingdoms of the Picts and Gaels around 843 CE. By the time of Malcolm III, Gaelic was the majority language of Scotland, as far south as Strathclyde, Galloway and parts of Lothian and the Borders. Today some 60,000 speakers of Gaelic remain, about half of which live in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, the other half living all over Scotland, in particular the Central Belt.
The Scythians or Scyths were an Ancient Iranian people of horse-riding nomadic pastoralists who throughout Classical Antiquity dominated the Pontic-Caspian steppe, known at the time as Scythia. By Late Antiquity the closely-related Sarmatians came to dominate the Scythians in this area. Much of the surviving information about the Scythians comes from the Greek historian Herodotus (c. 440 BCE) in his Histories and Ovid in his poem of exile Epistulae ex Ponto, and archaeologically from the exquisite goldwork found in Scythian burial mounds in Ukraine and Southern Russia.
The Seleucid Empire was one of the diadochi states founded when Alexander the Great's generals carved up his empire after his death. It was named after its founder Seleucus I Nicator. Centered in Syria, the Seleucids were the most powerful of the diadochi states but eventually succumbed to Rome in the last century BCE.
The Seljuks were a Turkic horde whose name comes from their founder Seljuk. After the victory over the Ghaznavids in 1040 CE they created their own state. In 1055 CE the Seljuks took Baghdad, and their leader Tughril Beg took the title sultan. The Seljuks are famous for the defeat they inflicted upon the Byzantines at the battle of Manzikert in 1071. After the collapse of the Great Seljuk Empire in the 12th century the Seljuks continued to rule in the Sultanate of Rum, which would later form the basis of the Ottoman Turks.
The Seminole people emerged in the 18th century through a process of ethnogenesis, out of groups of lower Creek emigrants who fled the encroachment of White settlers in the U.S. state of Georgia and elsewhere, south to the Florida peninsula which at that time was under Spanish control. They intermingled with remnants of other tribes plus a significant number of Black African freedmen. Seminole leaders sided with the United States during the so-called Seminole wars against Spain, the outcome of which was the ceding of Florida to the U.S., and the removal of a majority of Seminoles to Indian Territory in what is now Oklahoma. Together with the Cherokee, Choctaw, Muskogee, and Chickasaw, the Seminole are known as one of the "Five Civilized Tribes" for their relatively amiable relationships with White European settlers during the early era of U.S. expansion.
Senegal is the westernmost country of mainland Africa. It has been independent from France since 1960. Senegal is relatively stable and democratic compared to its neighbors.
Serbia is part of the region of the Southern Slavs that was conquered by the Ottomans after the collapse of the Byzantine Empire. During most of the 20th century it was part of the Yugoslav Federation.
The Seychelles is an archipelagic country off the coast of Eastern Africa in the Indian Ocean. The Islands have been visited by Austronesian, Maldivian and Arab merchants in antiquity but by the time of the European discoveries the Seychelles had no indigenous population. The Seychelles were intermittently under French and British possession until becoming independent in 1976. Its population consists of people of African, Chinese, European, Indian and Malagasy descent. The Seychelles are the least populated country of Africa and have the highest human development of the continent.
The Shans are an ethnic group related to the Thais and the Laotians. After the fall of the Burmese dominated Bagan Kingdom to the Mongols in 1287, a succession of Shan kingdoms known by historians as the Shan States controlled much of today's Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, as well as China's Yunnan Province.
An Algonquian people, the Shawnee were led by Tikamthi (better known as Tecumseh) and his brother Tenskwatawa in trying to create a pan-native alliance against American expansionism but were ultimately unsuccessful and made to resettle in the Indian Territory (modern Oklahoma).
Sherpas are an ethnic group who settled in the Himalaya region of modern-day Nepal in the 15th century. They are of Tibetan stock and speak a language related to modern Tibetan though they are not mutually intelligible. After a few centuries of autonomy, Sherpa communities came by the 18th century under military pressure from encroaching Hindu polities, such as the Bengal based Sen Empire. By the 18th century the Sherpa homeland had been annexed into the Kingdom of Nepal. Following the democratization of Nepal in the beginning of the 21st century, there have been calls for greater autonomy for the Sherpas within the federal republic.
Siberia is a historical and geographical region of Russia and the USSR. During the reign of the czars separatist sentiments prevailed amongst some Slavic colonists. In 1918 a Siberian Republic was proclaimed but it was annexed by the USSR after only a few months.
Sicily is the largest island of Italy. It has been ruled by Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Ostrogoths, Byzantines and Arabs. In the 11th century the Normans founded the Kingdom of Sicily which gradually became one of Italy's more powerful states. In 1816 it was merged with Naples into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies which was united with Italy in 1861.
Sierra Leone is a country in West Africa. It was founded in 1792 as a home for liberated slaves and quickly passed to become a British dependency. Sierra Leone has been an independent republic since 1961. In the 1990s the country passed through a civil war. Today, Sierra Leone remains one of the poorest countries in the world.
Sikhs are the followers of a monotheistic religion originating from the Indian Subcontinent in the 15th century. The Punjab, on the border of Pakistan and India, is the heartland of Sikhism. In the 19th century a Sikh Empire existed in the region.
Wedged between Nepal and Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom of Sikkim was ruled by a lineage of monarchs known as chogyals for centuries, until becoming the 22nd state of India in 1975.
Silesia is a region of southern Poland that was at one time an independent kingdom.
Singapore is a mercantile city-state located at the southernmost tip of the Malaysian Peninsula.
The Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka trace their ancestry to the semi-legendary Prince Vijaya who settled the island of Sri Lanka together with 700 followers in 543 BCE.
The Sioux was a North American nation that fought several decisive battles against the United States. It consisted of three distinct groups of tribes: the Lakota, the Dakota and the Nakota.
The Slavs are a modern linguistic group of several nations in Eastern Europe with common historical roots. The origin of the Slavs is not known precisely, therefore there are many hypotheses trying to explain them. Their sudden appearance in the history of civilized Europe may be related to the arrival of Iranian peoples and the expansion of the Huns.
Slovakia is a country in the heart of Europe. Formerly part of Czechoslovakia, until 1918 it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Slovenia was the most western and northern republic of the old Yugoslav Federation.
Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, located between Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. Inhabited by Austronesian peoples since 4000 BCE, the islands became a British protectorate in the 19th century. The islands were the site of some fierce fighting during World War II, including the famous battle of Guadalcanal. Solomon Islands has been independent since 1978.
Somalia is a country in the Horn of Africa. In ancient times Somalia was a trading hub. At the end of the 19th century it was colonized by Britain and Italy. Somalia regained its independence in 1960. The military under general Siad Barre seized power in 1969. Siad Barre unsuccessfully tried to root out the country's clan system. In 1991 he was overthrown. The country has been without a functioning government ever since.
The Republic of Somaliland is an unrecognized state in Northern Somalia, roughly concurrent with former British Somaliland. It declared independence upon the collapse of Somalia in 1991. Although it enjoys more stability and a somewhat higher standard of living than the rest of Somalia it remains internationally unrecognized.
The Songhai people established a state in the 11th century CE centered on the city of Gao. Following the decline of the Mali empire a few hundred years later, the Songhai established an empire of their own which eventually grew to become one of the largest in the history of Africa. The rulers of Songhai became known for their wealth as well as their devotion to the Muslim faith.
The Sorbs are West Slavic people living in the East of Germany in Eastern Saxony and Southern Brandenburg (Lusatia). The region has historically been associated with Poland and Bohemia.
A Bantu people in Southern Africa, the ancestors of the Basotho first arrived in the region by the end of the first millennium CE. The Basotho first formed a unified polity in the early 19th century under king Moshoeshoe I. Today, there are about 2 million Sotho in the Kingdom of Lesotho and almost twice that number in South Africa.
Dutch settlers began colonizing southern Africa in the 17th century. After many wars between primarily Boers (descendants of Dutch settlers), British forces and Zulus, the Union of South Africa was created in 1910. The South African government became notorious for its "apartheid" policy of legal inequality based on the color of a citizen's skin. Following the adoption of the country's first non-racist constitution in 1994, long-time political prisoner Nelson Mandela became the first truly democratically elected president of South Africa.
The Union of South American Nations was formed in 2008, modeled after the European Union, but panamericanism has already existed since the 19th century.
Formerly the site of a unified Korean state, the Korean peninsula is today divided into two states - North and South Korea - as a result of the stalemate after the Korean War in 1953. The South Korean government was formed from the nationalist and anti-communist "Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea" in 1948.
A long civil war pitted Southern Sudan, inhabited mostly by black Africans and predominantly Animist and Christian, against the Muslim and Arab North. The war left two million dead and many more displaced until a ceasefire was signed in 2005. Southern Sudan achieved full independence in 2011.
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam, was the American-backed state during the Vietnam War. The country was reunited with North Vietnam after it was conquered by communist forces in 1975.
The area around Aden was colonized by the British in 1839. South Yemen declared independence in 1967 and joined the communist bloc. It was united with North Yemen in 1990.
The history of the Soviet Union starts in November 1917, when under Lenin's leadership a Bolshevik revolution occurred. On December 31 1922, four Soviet republics integrated into one country. The Soviet Union became one of the most powerful states in the 20th century, but by the end of 1991 it had disintegrated into fifteen independent countries due to social and economic problems.
The modern Spanish nation was formed when the rulers of the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon led the recapture of the Iberian peninsula from the Moslems. The Reconquista was completed in 1492, the same year Columbus sailed. Spain then went on to create an empire on which the sun never set.
Sri Vijaya was an empire centered on Palembang in eastern Sumatra and extended its control through much of the coastal regions of Sumatra, Java, Borneo and the Malay peninsula. It was founded sometime in the 3rd century CE and lasted until roughly 1400, falling first to Jambi, then to Singhasari and other regional powers, including the South Indian Chola dynasty.
In 1820 Sudan came under Egyptian rule and later British rule. Sudan became independent in 1956.
The Suebians were an ancient West Germanic tribal confederation, which may have been formed by Ariovistus for his expedition to Gaul. The Suebians included the Germanic tribes from the Elbe river basin belonging to the Herminonic language group, such as the Marcomanni and Quadi. Between the first and fourth centuries CE they were a threat to Rome, often encroaching on the Danube provinces of the empire. In 405-406 CE the Suebians were forced to leave their lands by the Huns and during New Year's night in 405 CE they crossed the frozen Rhine together with the Vandals and the Alans. They settled in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, where they established their own kingdom, which was conquered by the Visigoths in 585 CE.
Sumer controlled southern Mesopotamia until the rise of Babylonia. Tablets of Sumerian writing some 5500 years old have been found, pre-dating every other writing in history.
Suriname is the smallest independent country of South America. Originally it was inhabited by Arawak Indians. It was first colonized by the English who traded it with the Dutch for New Amsterdam, modern New York, in 1667. Suriname was granted self government in 1954 and became fully independent in 1975.
The Swahili are a Bantu ethnic group living along the Eastern Coast of Africa. From about the 9th century onwards the region, at the crossroads of Islamic and African cultural influences, saw the rise of Swahili city states, including Zanzibar, Kilwa Kisiwani, Mozambique and Sofala. The cities grew to prominence thanks to their ivory, gold, slave and spice trade. The arrival of the Portuguese around 1500 coincided with the decline of the Swahili polities, but the Swahili remained a dominant cultural element in Eastern Africa. Today, the Swahili language (Kiswahili) is used as lingua franca by more than 50 million people in Eastern Africa and is an official language of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, the Comoros and the African Union.
The Swazi are a Bantu people of southern Africa. Under the leadership of Mswati II (1820 - 1868), the Swazis expanded their territory and stabilized the southern frontier with the Zulus.
The Kingdom of Sweden was christianized and consolidated as a political entity by the 12th century CE. The country rose to prominence as one of the great powers of Europe in the 17th century, following substantial military conquests by the so called Warrior Kings. However, due to a worsening economy and several disastrous defeats to Russia, Sweden soon lost most of its gained territory. The country has not been involved in an armed conflict since 1814.
Switzerland has existed as a state in its present form since the adoption of the Swiss Federal Constitution in 1848. The precursors of modern Switzerland established a protective alliance at the end of the 13th century, forming a loose confederation of states which persisted for centuries.
The modern Syrian Arab Republic was formed from a French mandate and gradually gained independence during the 1940s.
The islands of what is now French Polynesia were first settled by Polynesian peoples in the 3rd century CE. France established a protectorate over Tahiti, the main island of the archipelago, in 1842. In 1889 the entire area was declared a French colony. The islands remain an overseas collectivity of France today but they enjoy a large internal autonomy. Because of its lush vegetation and Polynesian culture, Tahiti has become the archetypical exotic island.
Native inhabitants of the Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and other Caribbean islands who gave us the root words for hurricane, tobacco, potato, canoe, barbeque, hammock, and yucca. They were a matrilineal people, and the first that Columbus came into contact with in 1492. Though numbering the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, throughout the Caribbean, the Taino fell victim to slavery and disease, and their population declined rapidly as a result. Spanish accounts paint them as a peaceful people compared to their Carib neighbors to the south. Their dugout canoes, which were often nearly as long as Columbus' ships, ferried traders between islands. Recent genetic studies show that roughly half of Puerto Ricans have Taino maternal descent.
A Chibchan-speaking people related to the Kuna of Panama and the Muisca of central Colombia, the Tairona inhabit the modern Magdalena and La Guajira Departments of northern Colombia. Their city of Teyuna was founded sometime around 500 BCE. The Tairona, living in a mountainous area, built stone steps and terraces on steep hillsides in order to farm the region. Though they fought against the Spanish for 75 years, eventually they succumbed to the various pressures that all Native American peoples were subject to during this period.
The Republic of China was established in 1912 as the successor state of the Qing Empire, ending over two millennia of imperial rule in China. When the Chinese Nationalists who ruled the Republic lost a civil war against the Chinese Communists in 1949, the Nationalist government evacuated to the island of Taiwan, establishing Taipei as the provisional capital of the Republic of China.
Tajikistan is a nation in Central Asia. The Tajiks trace the foundation of their nation back to the Samanid Empire, one of the first Persian states to appear after the Arab conquest.
Inhabited by Bantu tribes since the beginning of the Common Era, Tanganyika became a German colony in the late 19th century. It was conquered by the British during World War I and declared independence in 1961. Three years later it merged with Zanzibar to form the Union of Tanzania.
Tanzania was formed as a merger of the former British colonies of Tanganyika and Zanzibar in 1964. For two decades the country was ruled by Julius Nyerere, who followed the tenets of African socialism. In 1985 Nyerere was the first African head of state to voluntarily step down.
The Tatars are a Turkic-speaking nation. Various Tatar states existed in the Middle Ages: Kazan, Crimea, Astrakhan, Sibir and other khanates. Nowadays Tatars live in many places in the former USSR. They have their own republic called Tatarstan in the Russian Federation and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in Ukraine.
The Knights Templar were formed after the first Crusade in order to protect Pilgrims on their journeys in the Holy Land. The organization grew to immense power and wealth in the next 200 years, and were the innovators of many modern concepts such as Banking.
The Teutonic Order led a series of crusades against pagan Balts during the High Middle Ages. In 1224 it founded the 'Ordenstaat' or State of the Order, which remained a powerful country for three centuries. The State was secularized and replaced by the Duchy of Prussia in the 16th century.
Texas, "the Lone Star State" is the second largest and second most populous state of the USA, famous for its "larger than life" cowboy mentality. During its history, Texas has been ruled in full or in part by six countries: France, Spain, Mexico, the Texas Republic, the Confederacy and the USA - as expressed in the slogan "six flags over Texas".
The Thai kingdom was the only country in Southeast Asia to preserve its independence through the colonial era of the 18th and 19th centuries CE.
The second most numerous people in the ancient western world.
The Thuringians were an ancient Germanic confederation in what is now Central Germany, established after the defeat of the Huns. Defeated by the Franks in the 8th century, Thuringia later became a landgraviate of the Holy Roman Empire. After the extinction of the ruling family in the 13th century, the War of the Thuringian Succession left the region badly splintered even for Holy Roman Empire standards, which was exacerbated by the Thuringian (or rather Saxon) tradition of dividing territory amongst all male heirs. Thuringia was a hotbed of the Protestant Reformation and the Wars of Religion, and saw a cultural apogee during the Enlightenment when the duke of Saxe-Weimar invited luminaries such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller to his court. Thuringian political fragmentation survived Napoleon and the German unification; only after the fall of the German monarchies in 1918 was a united Free State of Thuringia established, which currently exists as one of the states of Germany.
The Tibetan homeland is sometimes called the "Roof of the World", the highest elevated region in the world. In the 7th century, Tibet emerged as a formidable empire under the leadership of king Songtsen Gampo, being recognized by both China and India. This dynasty lasted until the 11th century, when Tibet was overrun by the Mongols. Centuries later when Mongol rule had weakened, Lozang Gyatso - born 1617 and the 5th Dalai Lama - established a buddhist religious state under the control of the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Timur was a military genius who claimed lineage from Chinggis Khan and from his capital in Samarkand conquered all of Central Asia as well as parts of the Middle East and India. The court culture of Timurid Empire was heavily Persianized, while the imperial administration and military organization displayed influences from the Timurid ruling elite's Mongolian and Turkic origins.
The Tocharians were an Indo-European people living in what is now Xinjiang in western China. Because of their unique geopolitical position, their kingdoms of Shanshan, Kucha, and Khotan (as well as other, smaller ones) were influenced by Chinese, Persian, Indian, Sogdian, Scythian, and Tibetan cultures. Their religion, dress, writing, and art all reflect these varied influences. They lived in oasis towns and cities along the Silk Road, along which Buddhism was carried into China. The area was at various times a military protectorate of China, such as during the Han and Tang dynasties. During the decline of the latter dynasty, the Turkic Uyghur tribe moved into the Tarim basin, settling in and expanding their khanate through the Tocharian lands. The Uyghur intermarried with the Tocharians and supplanted their language for all but liturgical purposes. Even this use fell when Islam spread and took the place of Buddhism as the predominant religion in the region.
Togo became a German protectorate in 1885 and was conquered by the French and British in World War II. Togo became independent in 1960. Since the late 1960s the country's politics have been dominated by general Gnassingbe Eyadema, who was succeeded by his son Faure upon his death in 2005.
The Toltecs were a Meso-American civilization that existed from the 10th to the 12th century. The Toltec Empire was founded by Ce Tecpatl Mixcoatl, who led his nomadic people from the north to settle on the Mexican High Plain. Mixcoatl was murdered by his enemies but was later avenged by his son Ce Acatl Topilitzin Quetzalcoatl, who would lead the Toltec civilization to untold heights. Toltec culture continued to thrive until the 12th century. Their capital Tollan was violently destroyed in 1168 and the Toltec area fragmented into rivaling city-states. Toltec cultural influences have been identified from New Mexico to Nicaragua, though historians do not agree on the political history of the Toltecs. Since most of the history of the Toltecs is based on Aztec mythology, some claim there was never a Toltec Empire, but that Aztec references to the Toltecs were an allegory for civilization.
An island group in the Southern Pacific, Tonga was settled by Polynesians around 1000 BCE. Although the islands became a British protectorate in the 19th century, they are the only country in Oceania to have escaped actual colonization.
Transnistria was added to the Moldavian SSR by Stalin, although it was mostly inhabited by Russians and Ukrainians. After the collapse of the Soviet Union Transnistria declared its independence from Moldova. Although the country is de facto independent, it is not recognized by any UN member. Power is still in the hands of the old communist elite.
Transylvania is a historical territory in what is now Romania, inhabited by Romanians, Hungarians and Saxon Germans. Transylvania became a principality under nominal Hungarian suzereignty when that country started to crumble under the Ottoman incursions. During the Reformation, Transylvania was the first country in Europe to proclaim religious freedom. The principality lost its independence to Habsburg Austria in 1711.
Trinidad and Tobago is a country in the Caribbean, consisting of the two eponymous islands. It is the most populous country of the Lesser Antilles. Trinidad was sighted by Columbus in 1498, and remained a Spanish colony until it was conquered by the British during the Napoleonic wars; Tobago was colonized by Curonians, Spanish, Dutch, French and Swedes but eventually also ended up in British hands. The islands have been independent since 1962. The islands' economy is based on oil and is relatively developed when compared to its Caribbean neighbors. Trinidad and Tobago is famous for its music and its Carnival.
The Batswana are a Bantu people in Southern Africa. With about 20% of the population they are the dominant ethnicity of Botswana, which is named after them. In South Africa they count about four million Batswana and in the Apartheid era they had the Bantustan of Bophuthatswana.
The Tuareg or Imuhagh are a pastoralist nomadic Berber people inhabiting the interior of the Sahara Desert, mostly in Algeria, Niger and Mali. Despite their matrilineal organization they are followers of Islam. For many centuries they engaged in slave hunting, even influencing the slave trade to the Americas.
The Phoenicians founded Carthage in the area where Tunisia is today. Carthage later became a major power in the Mediterranean region until it was defeated by the Romans in 146 BCE. Later the Arab Muslim conquest in the 7th century led to migration from the Arab and Ottoman countries. But there were also a lot of Jews and Spanish Moors who moved there at the end of the 16th century. Tunisia became mostly autonomous from the Ottoman empire in 1861. But in 1881 Tunisia was invaded by the French and was made a French protectorate. The country became independent in 1956.
The Tupi are a native Brazilian people related to the Guarani who inhabited the modern Brazilian states of Paraiba, Pernambuco, Ceara, Rio Grande do Norte, Alagoas, Sergipe and others as well. Their chiefdoms were destroyed through Portuguese slave-raids, the creation of mission-villages, and disease. The Tupi intermarried with African slaves and Europeans alike and a great many Brazilian place names are derived from Tupi words.
Turkmen tribes were first united in the 11th century CE under Togrul Beg, second ruler of the Seljuk Empire. As the Seljuk state broke down under the pressure from encroaching Mongols, the Turkmens started a westward migration. They eventually settled in the lands between the Amu Darya river and the Caspian Sea, approximately the location of today's Turkmenistan.
Modern Turkey is the successor state of the Ottoman Empire, which collapsed and was dismembered by the victors in World War I after backing the Central Powers. The country was subsequently reformed and secularized by Kemal Mustapha, the hero of the defense of Gallipoli.
Turks first settled in Cyprus after the Ottomans conquered the island in 1571. Political unrest and ethnic tensions between Turkish and Greek Cypriots led to an invasion by the Turkish military in 1974, followed by the declaration of independence of the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus in 1983. Currently, the only country that recognizes the independence of the TRNC is Turkey.
Tuvans are a Turkic people living in the Autonomous Republic of Tuva in the south of Siberia. Tuva split off from China in 1921 and then formed the independent republic of Tannu Tuva allied with the Soviet Union. In 1940 Tannu Tuva had the distinction of seeing the first non-monarchic female head of state of Modern History when Khertek Anchimaa-Toka became chairperson of the republic. In 1944 it was incorporated in the Soviet Union as a part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
Tyrol was a county in the Alps. In the 16th century its own dynasty died out and the region passed to Habsburg Austria. The southern part was annexed by Italy after World War I.
The Republic of Uganda is located in eastern Africa. The country contains part of Lake Victoria, which is also in Kenya and Tanzania. In the past, the southern part of the country was part of the Buganda kingdom. Modern Uganda gained independence in 1962.
Ukraine is a vast region on the westernmost marches of the former Soviet Union. It includes some of the most fertile black-soil cropland on Earth.
The United Nations believe in human rights and the protection of the weak.
Urartu was an ancient Hurrian state located around Lake Van in the eastern part of Anatolia. The earliest historical mention of Urartu comes from texts of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser I dating from the 13th century BCE. It is thought that Urartu was a multiethnic state in which Hurrian tribes likely formed the dominant element. Urartu played an important role in shaping the modern Armenian people.
Uruguay, a small South American country sometimes referred to as "Switzerland of the Americas" due to its once highly developed social welfare system.
Uyghur was an east Turk empire and civilization. At its height in 820 CE it controlled most of Central and North Asia. After clashing with the Chinese for several centuries, they were finally subdued by the Qing dynasty in the 1700s. Today, descendants of the Uyghur form the populations of the Central Asian states of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. They are also the main minority of the Xinjiang province of China.
The Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan has been the site of many ancient states such as Khwarezm, the Khanate of Bukhara, and the Khanate of Kokand. The Uzbeks regard themselves as descendants of Timur, founder of the Timurid dynasty, who ruled from his capital at Samarkand.
Bloodsucking creatures of legend.
The Vandals were an East Germanic people originating from what is now Southern Poland and Slovakia. They entered the Roman Empire in the early 5th century CE. Led by Geiseric, they eventually founded a kingdom in Carthage. The Vandals are perhaps best known for their sack of Rome in 455 CE. In 534 CE Belisarius conquered the Vandalic kingdom for the Byzantine Empire.
Vanuatu, formerly known as the New Hebrides, is a country in Melanesia, consisting of about 80 islands. First inhabited by Melanesians, the islands were contested by the British and French in the late 19th century. In 1906 both colonial powers agreed to rule the New Hebrides together as a condominium. The Republic of Vanuatu declared its independence in 1980.
The cradle of Ancient Indian civilization lay in the Indus river valley in modern-day Pakistan.
The Veletians or Lutici were a medieval West Lechitic tribal confederation in what is nowadays the northeastern part of Germany (Brandenburg and Mecklenburg). Their tribes were of mixed Slavic and Germanic origin, which was visible in their language. The basis for the existence of the Veletian confederation was to preserve the Slavic pagan religion and to resist the expansion of Germany and the Polanian state. The Veletians eventually succumbed to Germanization or were murdered following the Crusades and the German settlement on their lands.
The Vhavenda are a Bantu people in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Once the rulers of the Mapungubwe Kingdom, they now count about one million members, mostly in the province of Limpopo. During the Apartheid Era there existed a Bantustan of Venda.
The Republic of Venice emerged from the shadows of history when refugees from barbarian marauders gathered on the safety of the islands of a lagoon in northeast Italy. Originally a loyal subject of the Eastern Roman empire, it gradually acquired its independence and ranked among the superpowers of the Middle Ages. Its merchants grew rich on trade, and its navy was respected throughout the Mediterranean sea. After a long decline, it eventually fell to the armies of Bonaparte in 1796.
The Veneti were an ancient Indo-European people who inhabited an area roughly coinciding with the modern Italian region of Veneto. Their language is of unknown origin, but probably from Central Europe, because it shares some features with Celtic and Germanic languages. The Veneti allied with the Romans during the Punic Wars. By the 1st century BCE they had been absorbed into the Roman Republic and the region gradually Romanized.
Venezuela is the northernmost country in South America. Having been a Spanish colony since the 16th century, the country gained independence on July 5th 1811 under the leadership of El Libertador Simón Bolivar - The Liberator. Venezuela has one of the largest proven oil and gas reserves of the world; during the oil boom of the 1970s it was the wealthiest country of Latin America. The country is known for its varied landscapes and high biodiversity.
Vermont was an independent state for 14 years before it joined the United States in 1791. Currently it is one of the smallest states of the United States, both in population and area. Vermont is famous for its dairy products and maple syrup.
The Vietnamese nation was founded in the first century CE by twin sisters who became the war leaders of a revolt against a Chinese military governor.
The Vikings raided and traded along the coasts of Europe between 800 CE and 1100 CE. Viking raiders eventually became the rulers of Normandy, Russia, and a short-lived kingdom in Sicily.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines were amongst the last Caribbean islands to be colonized, as local Carib Indians intermarried with runaway slaves and fought off European colonizers. In the 18th century the islands were contested by the French and British. In 1783 the French relinquished their claims. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines became independent from Britain in 1979 and are currently a Commonwealth realm.
The Thervingi or Visigoths were an East Germanic people, one of the two tribes of the Goths. They probably originated from Scandinavia. In the 3rd century they migrated south, to modern Ukraine. They then crossed the Danube and sacked Rome in 410 CE. Recognized by the Romans as foederati, they eventually settled around Toulouse where they formed a kingdom. The Visigoths managed to conquer all of the Iberian Peninsula and moved their capital to Toledo. They lost all their territories north of the Pyrenees to the Franks but Visigothic rulers continued to rule the Romanized Iberians until the peninsula was eventually overrun by Muslim invaders in 711.
Vistulans were a West Slavic tribe inhabiting what is today the area of Lesser Poland. Little is known about their history. Many historians agree that throughout the early Middle Ages Vistulans were one of the strongest Slavic tribes of today's Poland, but conflicts with Great Moravia and Magyars prevented them from forming a stable and lasting state. Eventually, the lands of Vistulans and several other Slavic tribes were unified by Polonians, who formed the first Polish state in the 10th century.
Volapük is an international auxiliary language constructed by the German priest Johann Martin Schleyer in 1879. It enjoyed a brief popularity in the late 19th century. The language is often considered unnecessarily complex when compared with alternatives like Esperanto, which had almost completely displaced Volapük by the turn of the century. Today only a few dozen Volapük speakers remain.
The Volga Bulgars were Medieval Turkic people inhabiting the middle Volga region. They may have been descendants of European Huns who migrated from the Ukrainian Steppe to the North. Their descendants are the modern Chuvashes and Volga Tatars.
The Volga Germans were ethnic Germans who lived along the River Volga in Southern Russia, around the city of Saratov and to the South. They were recruited as immigrants in the 18th century. The Russian authorities allowed them to cultivate their German language and traditions. From 1918 to 1941 there was a Volga German ASSR within the Soviet Union. After the attack of the Third Reich in the USSR, the autonomous republic was abolished by a decree of Stalin. Volga Germans were sent to other parts of the Soviet Union, mainly to Kazakhstan and Siberia.
The Walloons are the French speaking inhabitants of Belgium. In the 19th century, Wallonia was first region on the European continent to industrialize and the second in the world after England. It subsequently became a hotbed of socialist and labor union activity.
The Welsh at one time controlled all of what is now England until being driven into the mountainous western reaches by invading Saxons.
A werewolf is a human who under certain circumstances is transformed into a wolf-like beast. During the Middle Ages in Europe, werewolves were believed to terrorize villages in search of human flesh and were often blamed for unexplained or particularly brutal killings.
Western Pomerania is a geographical and historical region in North West Poland and the extreme North East of Germany. Initially an independent Slavic state, Western Pomerania was twice conquered by the Polish. Later, Western Pomerania succumbed to Germanization and was divided into smaller feudal principalities which were gradually conquered by Brandenburg. For many years this land was part of Germany but in 1945 it was attached to Poland.
The Roman Empire was first divided by Diocletian in 286 and split for good upon Theodosius' death in 395. Unlike its Eastern counterpart, the Byzantine empire, the Western Roman Empire was not capable of resisting barbarian invasions and economic disintegration. The last Western Roman emperor was deposed in 476 CE.
The West Indies, known for pirates, rum, cricket and beaches. The British West Indies formed the short-lived West Indies Federation in 1958. The federation failed to consolidate because of tensions between Trinidad, Jamaica and the smaller members. The federation fell apart in 1962. Some islands became independent countries, others returned to the status of a British dependency.
Westphalia, before becoming a Prussian province, was the western region of the Duchy of Saxony. Today it makes up the northern part of the largest German federal state, North Rhine-Westphalia.
Wuerttemberg was a country in Swabia, in southwestern Germany. After World War II it was merged with Baden and Hohenzollern to form the land of Baden-Wuerttemberg.
The Xhosa are Bantu people in South Africa, having arrived there from the Great Lakes region by the 17th century. During the apartheid era there were two Xhosa Bantustans, Transkei and Ciskei. Many of the leading anti-apartheid activists, including Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, were Xhosa.
The Xiongnu, also known as Asiatic Huns, were an ancient tribal confederation of mixed origin. Their language is unknown; it may have belonged to the Altaic or Yeniseian language family. The Xiongnu created a strong state in the plains of the eastern part of Central Asia, which was an important threat to China. From the second century onwards the northern wing of the Xiongnu was known as Xianbei, while another group of the Xiongnu emigrated to the west.
Oral tradition indicates that the Yakuts - or Sakha as they call themselves - migrated north from the Central Asian steppes to the shores of Lake Baikal in the 10th century CE. They intermarried with the native population and established a nation along the Lena river, having diplomatic relations with at least the Chinese, the Mongols, and the various Turkic peoples of the region. By the 1620s, Cossacks had arrived in Yakut territory as agents of an expansionist Russia, eventually subduing the Yakut kings and securing Russian hegemony over Yakutia. Numbering about a million today, the Yakuts make up roughly half of the population of the vast Sakha Republic of Russia's Far Eastern district.
Yemen is the only republic on the Arabian Peninsula. Although it was the site of several ancient civilizations, Yemen only exists in its current form since North Yemen annexed South Yemen in 1990.
Yucatán is a peninsula of Mexico, famous for its Maya heritage and its white beaches. Its name is often claimed to mean "we don't understand you" in Yucatec Maya. On two occasions in the 19th century Yucatán declared independence from Mexico. Currently it is divided into three states: Yucatán, Campeche and Quintana Roo.
Yugoslavia was a state consisting of the Slavic nations of the western Balkans. It was a kingdom until 1941, when it was occupied by the Axis powers. After a national liberation war the communists threw out the occupants and continued to rule until the 1980s. The 1990s saw the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia into independent republics.
Zambia was inhabited by Bantu peoples when it was colonized by the British in the 19th century. Governed as Northern Rhodesia by the British, Zambia gained its independence in 1964.
An archipelago off the coast of Eastern Africa, Zanzibar has been an international trading center since time immemorial. Zanzibari traders controlled much of the spice and slave trade in the western part of the Indian Ocean. Periods of relative independence and foreign control by Persians, Portuguese, Omanis and British followed each other. Occupied by the British in 1893, Zanzibar achieved independence in 1963. Shortly thereafter, the last sultan was overthrown and Zanzibar joined with Tanganyika to form the United Republic of Tanzania.
The Zapotecs or Binnizá live in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. They formed one of the oldest and most resilient Mesoamerican civilizations. The most notable Zapotec center, Monte Albán, was built on a razed mountain top. Benito Juárez, Mexico's first indigenous president, was a Zapotec.
The Zhuang people live in far southwestern China, an ancient border region that has long separated Sinitic civilization from the aboriginal peoples of Southeast Asia. Known for their unique irrigation and scenic terraced rice paddies, they were under pressure from various Chinese dynasties for most of the Ancient era. By the 10th century CE the Zhuang were under harsh rule by the Chinese Song dynasty. After a rebellion in 1052 led by folk-hero Nong Zhigao was crushed, many Zhuang migrated southward forming the basis of the Lao, Thai, and Shan nations. After the Han, the Zhuang are the most populous ethnic group of the People's Republic of China.
Zimbabwe is a country in Southern Africa, named after the old Zimbabwe kingdom. It became a British colony called South Rhodesia in 1898. The white minority in South Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence in 1965. Prime Minister Ian Smith installed a racist regime which excluded blacks from power. A civil war forced Smith to end white minority rule in 1979. Since 1980 the country has been governed by Robert Mugabe, who has received an equally poor reputation internationally as the previous regime.
The Zulus are a warlike Bantu people who migrated from west-central Africa into southern Africa beginning in the early 1700s, conquering the native Khoisan peoples and clashing with European settlers.