News Stories

Norway’s King Sigurd the Crusader, 1089-1130AD

There were numerous Christian crusades to the Holy Land but one of the more fabled was the Norwegian Crusade. Led by King Sigurd I Magnussen (Sigurd the Crusader) in 1107, the three-year crusade was the first led personally by a European king.

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Down the Avenue News

The Mind Creates the Beauty: The Editor’s Commentary on Neoclassicism

Rococo, or in French Rocaille, ended the period of baroque in grand style. Asymmetry, numerous decorations, diverse motifs – they were all parts of this style whose purpose was to impress and evoke fascination, awe and admiration. The generation that grew up in the mid- 18th century had different interests. These were the artists and students who went on a Grand Tour through Greece and especially Italy where they acquired experience and knowledge about the antiquities of Ancient Greece and Rome. The period of neoclassicism that commenced during the mid-century coincided with the scientific discoveries and the Age of Enlightenment that also marked this period.

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News Stories

Conquer and Divide: The Spanish Resistance that Broke Napoleon’s Second Strategy

Although he was a brilliant military tactician, one of the ways Napoleon managed to hold on to conquered regions was by employing a strategy of carving up states based on historical precedent. The Rhodanic Republic (1802-1810), the Kingdom of Italy (1805-1814), and the Republic of Danzig (1807-1814) were among a few “sister republics” created by Napoleon. These client states, formed under the guise of revanchist history, aided the control of occupied lands in the First French Empire. When Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808, he set about to redraw its map in a similar fashion.  

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News Stories

Cold War Propaganda: Three Ingredients For A Winning Strategy

During the Cold War years, the radio as a propaganda tool had a very important role. Popular in the bigger or smaller communities, it was an optimal medium for the Soviet government to send a political message. But, the political propaganda plan wasn’t only limited to the Soviet Union. It included the whole Iron Curtain.

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News Stories

Wheat Collectors Undercover: Lifestyle of Ancient Roman Spies

Frumentarii were a sort of commissariat of Ancient Rome, secret agents and detectives.

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