World: Expert Guides and Resources

“Palestine” was a common name used until 1948 to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. In its history, the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians, among others, have controlled Palestine at one time or another. The Ottoman Empire ruled the region from the 1500s through 1917.

One effective way to approach the tremendous breadth and depth of world history is to break it into digestible bits of information. Here are four approaches to putting the many millennia and decades in perspective by looking at civilizations and societies as they changed, at ruling dynasties, at advances in science and technology, and at the deadliest wars.

Napoleon Bonaparte's rise to power at the end of the eighteenth century led to two decades of change not only in France, but in all of Europe. From the Napoleonic Wars to progressive reforms in law, education, and human rights, Napoleon left a legacy that forever changed the politics and culture of Europe.The seven coalitions of the Napoleonic warsThe often-used term Napoleonic Wars implies that Napoleon was the instigator in every military campaign of the period.

Muammar Gaddafi (1942–2011) had been ruling Libya since the 1969 overthrow of the Libyan monarchy. Gaddafi made it his mission to bring socialism to Libya by dismantling the wealthy, educated, conservative class that had ruled Libya during the monarchy. He increased Libyan oil production and introduced sharia (the religious law of Islam) into the legal system.

The Libyan civil war took place in 2011 as forces loyal to longstanding Libyan ruler Colonel Muammar Gaddafi battled rebels seeking to remove his regime from power. The war started in the coastal city of Benghazi with a series of protests, but when security forces fired into the crowd, Libyans across the nation were enraged and the Benghazi protests escalated into a full-blown civil war that spread across all of Libya.

After military successes in Egypt, Napoleon was treated as a returning hero of mythic proportions in 1799. To the French people, he was Caesar and Alexander rolled into one. The streets were full of his admirers. The Council of Ancients (one of France's legislative bodies) gave him a standing ovation when he appeared before them.

Waterloo is a small town a few miles south of Brussels, Belgium. It's an unassuming place, with a church, a few inns, and some homes surrounded by old stone farmhouses and lots of open fields. Those farms and fields are its claim to fame, because one of the most famous battles in history was fought on them. The Battle of Waterloo, as it has come to be known, is always included on lists of battles that changed the course of history.

When the 28-year-old General Napoleon Bonaparte returned to Paris in early December 1797, it must have seemed like he had the entire world at his feet. In a very short period of time, he had saved his government from overthrow at home and defended her against attack from abroad. The Italian campaign had been an overwhelming success, and everyone knew it.