History Facts

Cleopatra VII Philopator was a Hellenistic ruler of Egypt. She was born in Alexandria in 69 BC and eventually poisoned herself in 30 BC via an asp bite. As Pharaoh, she was historically linked to Gaius Julius Caesar. Her relationship with him helped solidify her grip on the Egyptian throne. After Caesar’s assassination, she married Mark Antony, with whom she produced twins. Her reign marks the end of the Hellenistic Era and the beginning of the Roman Era in the eastern Mediterranean. She was the last Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.

Fact #1 - Cleopatra was not an Egyptian.

Because she ruled Egypt, many people think she was Egyptian. She was in fact a Macedonian Greek who descended from Ptolemy I, a Greek general of Alexander the Great. Ptolemy was given the gift of Egypt after Alexander’s death.

Fact #2 - Before her unions with Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony, Cleopatra had marriages with two of her brothers, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV.

In ancient times it was common for royal women to marry their brothers. Today, we would never think of such a thing. But it’s quite possible that their relationships were before paper/power only. Because Cleopatra never had children with either of her brothers, some people believe their relationships were never sexual. During her marriages to her brothers, she always remained a lover to Caesar.

Fact #3 - Cleopatra could speak 9 languages.

That’s very impressive. I’m embarrassed to say I can only speak one! She was in fact the only member of the entire Ptolemaic dynasty that could speak Egyptian.

Fact #4 - Cleopatra may not have been that beautiful.

Hollywood and stories often depict Cleopatra as a beautiful woman. Although we can’t be 100% certain, most historians believe she was actually rather unattractive. Images of Cleopatra on coins suggest she had a large nose and manly features.

Fact #5 - Cleopatra died in 30 BC, when she was only 39 years old. She committed suicide and used an asp for the purpose.

An asp is an Egyptian Cobra snake. Death by snake does not seem like a good way to go. She must have been severely love sick or depressed to commit suicide in such an awful fashion.

The Great Wall of China is commonly listed as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. It is a massive structure that spans thousands of miles along the north side of China. It served as protection against the invading Mongolian armies. The largely brick construction was an ongoing project involving several Chinese Dynasties. Please continue to read some interesting facts about the Great Wall of China.

Fact #1 - The Great Wall of China stretches over 4,160 miles, more than the entire width of the Continental United States.

The Great Wall of China is actually several several walls built by many different Chinese dynasties. Construction started sometime around the 5th Century BC.

Fact #2 - At its peak, the Ming Wall was guarded by more than one million men.

Can you imagine facing something of this magnitude if you’re an enemy soldier? It’s sheer intimidation. Not only would the opposing forces have to climb a 30ft wall to get into China, but they would have to face 1 million guards too!

Fact #3 - It has been estimated that somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 million Chinese died as part of the centuries-long project of building the wall.

Most of the workers on the Great Wall were peasants, slaves and prisoners of war.

In today’s time, it will hit the news if 1 person dies during a construction project. If they had media during the time of the Great Wall construction it would have been a PR nightmare!

Fact #4 - The Great Wall is not just a wall.

There are many forts, barracks and storage locations along the wall. And it was not only used as protection from invasion… traders and farmers used the wall to protect their trade routes and crops. A great way to spin a military project as something economical is to give it multiple uses

Fact #5 - The Great Wall of China is visible from space.

If you’re in a low orbit around the Earth, you would be able to see the Great Wall of China. But if standing on the moon or beyond, you would not be able to see it. Seeing a wall, that is nearly the same color as the soil beneath it, from space would be far too difficult.

There is much left to be learned about the ancient Mayan culture from thousands of years ago in what is now Central America. Anthropologists have studied Mayan history for centuries. While they have discovered many startling wonders and facts about these amazing people, some aspects of their lives remain a mystery. Most noted is how the Mayan empire collapsed.

Fact #1 - The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, which was used by the Mayans, has an end date of December 21, 2012.

What will happen on this day? No one knows for sure. If the Mayan beliefs are true, then the world will end. We will see an apocalypose like you could never imagine. Complete destruction.

Fact #2 - The Mayans were the only Pre-Columbian civilization to have a fully developed written language.

The Mayans used a system of over 500 hieroglyphs, much like the Ancient Egyptians. They would transcribe their hieroglyphs on temple walls and pottery to tell the story of their people. Can you imagine having to learn a written language with over 500 characters? Kids today can’t even learn 26 letters in the alphabet!

Fact #3 - The Mayan practiced human sacrifice to appease their gods.

In some Maya rituals people were killed by having their arms and legs held while a priest cut the person’s chest open and tore out his heart as an offering. That’s not a fun way to go. Graphic depictions of this can be seen on the temple walls and in the recent Mel Gibson movie Apocalypto.

Fact #4 - No one knows how the Mayan civilization collapsed.

Non-ecological theories of Maya decline are divided into several subcategories, such as overpopulation, foreign invasion, peasant revolt, and the collapse of key trade routes. If i were a betting man, I would say that foreign invasion played a big role in their collapse. Natives were not immune to European disease. They had no way to combat it. Ecological hypotheses include environmental disaster, epidemic disease, and climate change.

Fact #5 - 90% of the Mayan civilization still remains unexcavated today.

So much Mayan history remains undiscovered in the dense rain forests. In addition to this, the Mayans build enormous temples and passages ways beneath the surface. We will never find it all.

Alexander the Great was one of the most successful military commanders in history, and was undefeated in battle. By the time of his death, he had conquered most of the world known to the ancient Greeks. There are a lot of surprising facts about Alexander, such as who he studied under.

Fact #1 - Tutored by Leonidas (possibly his uncle) and the great Greek philosopher Aristotle.

Leonidas was made famous in today’s pop culture by the film 300. Surely having mentors with the military skills of Leonidas and the mind of Aristotle helped contribute to Alexander’s success on the battlefield.

Fact #2 - During his youth, Alexander tamed the wild horse Bucephalus. Later, when his beloved horse died, Alexander renamed a city in India for Bucephalus.

Bucephalus was arguably the most famous horse of antiquity. Ancient accounts state Bucephalus died after the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC in what is now modern Pakistan and is buried in Jalalpur Sharif outside of Jhelum, Pakistan.

Fact #3 - In 336 B.C. his father Philip was assassinated, and Alexander the Great became ruler of Macedonia.

Philip was assassinated in a crowded courtyard where he was celebrating the marriage of his daughter. His killer was actually one of his seven bodyguards. The reason behind the murder is still unclear to this day.

Fact #4 - Alexander Always carried the book the Iliad with him.

The Iliad was given to Alexander by his mentor Aristotle. Alexander kept it under his pillow every night.

Julius Caesar was a Roman military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. Unfortunately for him, the Senate wasn’t too happy about that and they ultimately assassinated Caesar.

Fact #1 - Caesar went to Rhodes to study oratory, but on his way he was captured by pirates whom he charmed and seemingly befriended. After he was freed, he had the pirates executed.

If anyone would know something about double-crossing it would be pirates. I can’t believe they would befriend someone they captured. Morons! Imagine how history would have turned out if Caesar was murdered by the pirates and never became a Roman emperor?

Fact #2 - In 44 B.C. conspirators claiming they feared Caesar was aiming to become king assassinated Caesar on the Ides of March.

Julius Caesar was assassinated because Senators wanted to restore a normal running of the Republic. They feared Caesar was too power hungry and centralized the government… The results of his assassination were another Roman Civil War

Fact #3 - Caesar’s living son, Caesarion, was an Egyptian, the son of Queen Cleopatra, so Caesar adopted a great nephew, Octavian, in his will. Octavian was to become the first Roman emperor, Augustus.

How often in history has a blood-son of an emperor been passed over for a great nephew? That has to be rare. And talk about having issues growing up. Caesarion, who had his father’s name, couldn’t follow in his legacy. Poor Caesarion was probably picked on a lot growing up.

Ancient Egyptians are some of the most mysterious people in all of history. Ancient Egypt was the most advanced civilization of its time. Find out several interesting facts about this group of people.

Fact #1 - Ancient Egyptians used slabs of stones as pillows.

Because there were very few trees in the region, Egyptians could not use grass, hay, or bark to make pillows. Stone was in abundance, so that is what they used. Although, I’m not quite sure why they didn’t create a bag of sand and use that as a pillow.

Fact #2 - 3000 years ago, most Egyptians were considered old and died by the age of 30.

This fact refers to the working poor man. The stresses put on his life were great and took a hard toll on the body. Some of the wealthier people would live a little longer. In fact, making it past the age of 40 was seen as a special blessing and those who did so were rewarded with a stipend from the government.

Fact #3 - In ancient Egypt, people shaved eyebrows as a mourning symbol when their cats died.

In Ancient Egypt, the cat was a scared animal. Actually, all animals were respected and revered, but cats were more special. Not only did Egyptians mourn the death of their cats, but they also mummified them and put bowls of milk in their tombs.

For visitor information about the pyramids please visit Pyramids of Giza.