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Flour War
The Flour War refers to the series of approximately 300 riots that swept through France from April to May 1775, because of rising bread prices. The revolts only subsided after soldiers had been deployed, resulting in hundreds of arrests...
Definition
Assignat
The assignat was a paper bill issued by France between 1789 and 1796, during the French Revolution (1789-1799). First issued in the form of bonds, the assignat was meant to stimulate France's economy as a quick means to pay off national debt...
Video
A Day in the Life of an Ancient Babylonian Business Mogul
Follow Beltani, a Babylonian priestess and businesswoman, as she investigates who is undermining her barley fields and tavern. — It's 1762 BCE. As dawn breaks in the Babylonian city of Sippar, Beltani— a priestess and businesswoman&mdash...
Video
Smuggling in Ancient Assyria
Curator Mathilde Touillon-Ricci shares her research into the letters of Old Assyrian traders and the sometimes surprising ways in which they get around paying taxes.
#CuratorsCorner #taxevasion
Article
Jobs in Ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt, the people sustained the government and the government reciprocated. Egypt had no cash economy until the coming of the Persians in 525 BCE. The people worked the land, the government collected the bounty and then distributed...
Article
Ancient Egyptian Agriculture
Agriculture was the foundation of the ancient Egyptian economy and vital to the lives of the people of the land. Agricultural practices began in the Delta Region of northern Egypt and the fertile basin known as the Faiyum in the Predynastic...
Definition
Ancient Egyptian Government
The government of ancient Egypt was a theocratic monarchy as the king ruled by a mandate from the gods, initially was seen as an intermediary between human beings and the divine, and was supposed to represent the gods' will through the laws...
Definition
Song Dynasty
The Song (aka Sung) dynasty ruled China from 960 to 1279 CE with the reign split into two periods: the Northern Song (960-1125 CE) and Southern Song (1125-1279 CE). The Northern Song ruled a largely united China from their capital at Kaifeng...
Definition
Shang Dynasty
The Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BCE) was the second dynasty of China, which succeeded the Xia Dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BCE) after the overthrow of the Xia tyrant Jie by the Shang leader, Tang. Since many historians question whether the Xia Dynasty...
Definition
Ancient Persian Culture
Ancient Persian culture flourished between the reign of Cyrus II (The Great, r. c. 550-530 BCE), founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, and the fall of the Sassanian Empire in 651 CE. Even so, the foundations of Persian culture were already...