Matt Whittaker

Greek is considered one of the oldest languages. And is a living language, unlike the later Latin. Its earliest dialect, Mycenaean Greek, originated from the Indo-European language family around 1600 BCE. Six dialects emerged from Greece’s Ancient and Cla... See more

At the height of the Roman Empire, Roman roads, measuring a boggling 250,000 miles, crisscrossed the entire empire, moving goods, armies, or transmitting culture. Of this sum, paved roads accounted for 50,000 miles. While famous routes like the Via Appia ... See more

Latin’s first official use in law started in 529 CE. Byzantine Emperor Justinian commissioned the codification of the Empire’s laws. Called the Corpus Juris Civilis, this work combined centuries of Roman law, jurisprudence, and imperial declarations. This... See more

The Moors invaded Spain starting in 711 CE. In less than a decade, they had defeated all their opponents, gaining control of the Iberian Peninsula. By 715 CE, the region became known as al-Andalus. This would remain under Moorish control until Granada’s f... See more

Calls for a Christian retaking of the Holy Land began in the 1090s with Pope Urban II. Jerusalem had fallen to the Muslims in 638. The Byzantine Empire proved unable to retake the Holy City. In 1095, the Byzantines asked for Western help against the Turks... See more