Pharaoh Senusret III (1878–1839 BCE) was venerated as a god in the Semna region on the Nubian borders, out of awe for the scale of his building projects. He erected massive twin fortresses at Semna and Kumma on opposite banks of the Nile. To reinforce Egypt’s defences against Nubian or... More
Assassination was the favoured route to succession among the Delhi sultans, and perhaps the most original was perpetrated by Muhammad Tughluq (1325–51) who had his father crushed under a collapsing gazebo by stampeding elephants. His ways did not mend. Ibn Battuta, the Arab explorer, a (often terrified) visitor records ‘the... More
A heritage locomotive now plying the Denver and Rio Grande commemorates its builders ‘who went everywhere the hard way’. Its spectacular route attracts tourist wishing to view, Royal Gorge, the ‘Grand Canyon of the Arkansas River’, its dizzying grades in the Rockies and the 6.2-mile (9.9-km) Moffat Tunnel (1928). Founded... More
In 1778 William Butler, a Loyalist militia captain, and Joseph Brant, a mission-educated Mohawk chief, joined forces in raiding American settlements in upstate New York and Pennsylvania. Most of their forces were Indian, and enraged by previous destruction of their own villages by rebels. ‘Butler’s Rangers’ were notorious for their... More
Until 1973, the Aral Sea in southern Kazakhstan was the fourth largest saline lake in the world. By 2004, it had lost 80 per cent of its volume, with a steep rise in surface salinity. The shrinkage began with the diversion of its feeder rivers in the 1960s by Soviet... More
Following the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, Cold War tensions escalated as the US stepped up anti-Communist military strategies under President Ronald Reagan from 1981. This marked a stark reversal of the arms reductions during the period of détente in the 1970s. In 1979 the two global superpowers, the US and... More
Timur ‘the lame’, sought to emulate Genghis Khan, and resembled him in both the breadth of his conquests and appetite for destruction. Born in Transoxiana to minor nobility, he became first general to the proxy ruler of the western Chagatai Khanate. After conquering Persia in the 1380s, he turned on... More
In the mid-1990s the Colombian cartels controlled 75–80 per cent of the US cocaine market, reaping profits of $6-8 billion per year. The cartels trafficked through northern Mexico, where Mexican drug transporters facilitated movement of drugs across the Mexican/US border. The cartels began by smuggling marijuana but discovered in the... More
The Battle of the Dukla Pass saw heavy fighting as Soviet forces attempted to push into Czechoslovakia in order to provide assistance to the Slovak uprising, which began on 29 August 1944. The Germans had built heavy fortifications in the Carpathian Mountains along the border between Poland and Czechoslovakia, which... More
The Twelve Years’ Truce (1609), was a form of triumph for the seven United Provinces. Merely by signing it, their former overlords Spain tacitly acknowledged their independent existence after 40 years of rebellion. It began with the ‘Statue Storm’ (1566), the destruction of Catholic icons, and rapidly became military. Initial... More
The Easter Rising was probably doomed before it began. The nationalist Roger Casement had arranged for the Germans to ship arms to the rebels; when the shipment was intercepted, the leading Irish Volunteers commander, Eoin MacNeill, withdrew from the enterprise. However, the rebels forfeited their main opportunity to prolong resistance... More
In the immediate aftermath of the Easter uprising the British authorities, taken by surprise, responded cautiously, uncertain of the forces and armaments arrayed against them. Martial law was declared on 25 April, and Brigadier General William Lowe arrived from Curragh barracks to take command of British operations. The approaches to... More