Ancient Seven Wonders of the World Fact One

The first of the Ancient Seven Wonders to be completely destroyed was the Colossus of Rhodes in 226 BC by earthquakes.


Ancient Seven Wonders page

Knights Templar Fact One

They originally went under the name Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ.


Knights Templar page

Viking Fact One

The initial shields used by the Vikings in the 790's were round with a button or spike in the center but they graduated to longer kite shaped shields around 1000 which offered more protection for their legs.

Viking page

American Civil War Fact One

The official span of the American Civil War was from April 12, 1861 with the attack on Fort Sumter to one of three accepted dates: April 9, 1865 when General Robert E Lee surrendered his army of Northern Virginia in the village of Appomattox Court House, Virginia, May 10, 1865 when Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured in Georgia and November 6, 1865 when Lieutenant James Waddell finally surrendered his ship the C.S.S. Shenandoah to British authorities in Liverpool, England months after he had fired the last shot of the Civil War on June 22, 1865.


American Civil War page

Ancient Egypt Fact One

The Pschent was the Double Crown worn by the pharoah's that combined the crowns of Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt to show the pharoah had power over the united Egypt.


Ancient Egypt page

Pirate Fact One

The earliest known mention of pirates was around 1350 BC in the documents of Pharoah Echnaton with mentions of attacks in the Mediterranean around North Africa.


pirate page

site note 112613

The blog will be taking a temporary change of direction the next several weeks in an attempt to maintain a daily schedule. During this time a single factoid will be presented on the theme of the day. In the future I will return to the more in depth entries I enjoy working on.

The daily themes are as follows:

Monday: Pirates
Tuesday: Ancient Egypt
Wednesday: American Civil War
Thursday: Vikings
Friday: Templar Knights
Saturday: Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Sunday: Natural Disasters

To get things back on track I will be making two entries today. One covering pirates for yesterday and one today on ancient Egypt.

1931 China Floods

The deadliest natural disaster in history occurred in the summer of 1931 when the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Huai River all flooded past their banks in central China resulting in the deaths of millions directly or indirectly. China had suffered through an extended drought 1928 to 1930 which was followed by an extreme winter of heavy snowstorms and blizzards starting in late 1930. Intense rains that were far above average started in the spring of 1931 and increased into the summer as the Yangtze River experienced 24 inches in July alone. Adding to the turmoil were nine cyclones hitting the region over those months when two was the average in a year. The combination of the snow thawing and the heavy rains contributed to the devastating flooding.

The Yangtze River officially peaked on August 18. The next day the city of Hankou recorded water levels passing 53 feet or 16 meters above normal. The Yellow and Huai were also breaking their banks at the same time. The Yangtze and Huai Rivers were connected by the Grand Canal and the flood waters rushed into the canal and on August 25 the dikes on Gaoyou Lake were washed away and over 200,000 people drowned in their sleep.

Once the Huai River broke its banks the flood waters raced toward Nanjing which was 230 miles or 370 km away. Nanjing was the capital of China at the time. The floods drowned between several hundred thousand to over one million. Millions more died in the aftermath due to famine and disease.

The flooding from the three rivers had destroyed the rice fields. That led to famine causing many people to starve to death. There were reports that some people had resorted to cannibalism. The polluted rivers also contributed to many others dying from cholera, dysentery and typhoid. The death toll from all factors was between 3.5 million to 4 million.

Temple of Artemis

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was constructed around 550 BC about 50 km or 31 miles south of the ancient city of Smyrna. In modern Turkey it would have been about 75 km or 47 miles south of Izmir. It was also known as the Artemesium, Temple of Artemision and the Temple of Diana. It was a place of worship devoted to the Greek goddess Artemis who was the daughter of Zeus and Leto and also the twin sister of Apollo. She was the goddess of hunting, night, the moon, fertility, childbirth, virginity and wild animals. Her counterpart in Roman mythology was Diana.

There had been a temple on the site that was destroyed by a flood. King Croesus of Lydia sponsored the new temple and brought in Cherisiphron, an architect from Crete, to design and build it along with his son Metagenes. They chose to build it on flat, marshy ground in hopes to protect it from earthquakes.

The foundation of the temple measured 115  by 46 meters or 377 by 151 feet. It had 121 columns 13 meters or 40 feet high than were spread across the platform. The majority of the structure was made of marble except for a wood roof covered with marble tiles. 

The temple was damaged in 356 BC when an arsonist named Herostratus set the roof on fire in an attempt to seek fame. By coincidence the burning of the temple was also the day Alexander the Great was born on July 20. Roman historian Plutarch concluded that the goddess was too busy over seeing Alexander's birth to be concerned with her temple. Alexander later offered to rebuild the temple but the Ephesians refused. 

After Alexander's death they rebuilt the temple and made it even grander. The bigger temple was 137 by 69 meters or 450 by 225 feet and had 127 columns that were 18 meters or 60 feet high. It was adorned with painting and sculptures while the columns were decorated with gold and silver. There were many images of Amazons which legend states were the founders of Ephesus. It was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and Greek poet Antipater of Sidon considered it the most impressive of all of them when he wrote in 140 BC.

The temple was destroyed by raiding Goths in 262 AD. The Ephesians vowed to rebuild but in the following years many converted to Christianity and the temple lost most of its appeal. The Archbishop of Constantinople had the remaining structure tore down in 401 AD. The Archbishop was Saint John Chrysostom. 


Ancient Seven Wonders page

Templar Cross

The red cross that became representative of the Templar Knights was given to them as a symbol for their order by Pope Eugenius III in 1147. The type was a cross pattée and was a variation on the "Mark of Cain" minus the circle. The red cross itself was a symbol of martyrdom. Yet it was an imposing visual first seen in battle in the second crusades and continued in the two that followed.

Years earlier Jesus first encountered the "Mark of Cain" in his extensive travels when the Celtic Druids of Glastonbury showed him their Celtic Cross. Later Jesus would introduce followers or early Christians to the Sign of the Cross. A person would simulate the cross by touching their forehead, chest and both shoulders. He taught about balancing the mental and emotional energies and touching the head activated the mental energy, touching the chest where your heart is activates the emotional energy and touching both shoulders signals the full activation of both energies. 

Templar Knights page

Viking Beginning

The first Vikings were Scandinavian fishermen and farmers who spent most of the year at home then ventured across the sea in the summer. A local leader would summon them each summer to go on raids starting around 700 AD. They would also seek out new people to trade with and be on the look out for new lands they could settle.

One explanation for the term viking is that it referred to "a seaman who came from the Vik district of Oslo fjord". The Old Norse had the term vikingr which could mean a freebooter, sea-rover, pirate or viking. That led the term to be synonymous with Scandinavian pirate. When they were going off on a pirate raid that meant they were "going viking".  That was in line with the Old English term wicing that meant "a Scandinavian sea raider". During their raids the Vikings set up temporary camps and wic was a term for village or camp. It was also related to the Latin vicus which meant village. 

Their foundation was also intertwined with their mythology and legends. First there was the Völsunga saga around 436 which had the hero Sigmund who was followed by his son Sigurd the dragon slayer. The epic poem about the Viking hero Beowulf was penned around 520. King Hadding and King Hrólfr Kraki were two legendary kings of Denmark whose stories both contain many supernatural references.

Viking page

Civil War Battles by State

The lists below show the number of Civil War battles in each state and the order the battles took place.

Alabama (7)		Minnesota (2)		South Carolina (11)		Virginia (122)
Day's Gap		Fort Ridgely		Fort Sumter I		Sewell's Point
Athens		Wood Lake		Secessionville		Aquia Creek
Mobile Bay				Simmon's Bluff		Big Bethel
Decatur		Mississippi (16)		Charleston Harbor I		Blackburn's Ford
Spanish Fort		Iuka		Fort Wagner		Manassas I
Fort Blakely		Corinth I		Grimball's Landing		Ball's Bluff
Selma		Chickasaw Bayou		Fort Wagner, Morris Is		Dranesville
		Grand Gulf		Fort Sumter II		Hampton Roads
Arkansas (17)		Snyder's Bluff		Charleston Harbor II		Yorktown
Pea Ridge		Port Gibson		Honey Hill		Williamsburg
Saint Charles		Raymond		Rivers' Bridge		Eltham's Landing
Hill's Plantation		Jackson				Drewry's Bluff
Cane Hill		Champion Hill		Tennessee (38)		Hanover Courthouse
Prairie Grove		Big Black River Bridge		Fort Henry		Seven Pines
Arkansas Post		Vicksburg		Fort Donelson		Oak Grove
Chalk Bluff		Meridian		Shiloh		Beaver Dam Creek
Helena		Okolona		Memphis I		Gaines' Mill
Devil's Backbone		Brice's Cross Roads		Chattanooga I		Garnett's & Golding's Farm
Bayou Fourche		Tupelo		Murfreesborough I		Savage's Station
Pine Bluff		Corinth II		Hatchie's Bridge		Glendale/White Oak Swamp
Elkin's Ferry				Hartsville		Malvern Hill
Prairie D'Ane		Missouri (29)		Jackson		Cedar Mountain
Poison Spring		Booneville		Stones River		Rappahannock Station I
Marks' Mills		Carthage		Parker's Cross Roads		Manassas Station
Jenkins' Ferry		Liberty		Dover		Thoroughfare Gap
Old River Lake		Wilson's Creek		Thompson's Station		Manassas II
		Dry Wood Creek		Vaught's Hill		Chantilly
Colorado (1)		Lexington I		Brentwood		Fredericksburg
Sand Creek		Fredericktown		Franklin I		Kelly's Ford
		Springfield I		Hoover's Gap		Suffolk /Norfleet House
District of Columbia (1)		Belmont		Chattanooga II		Suffolk / Hill's Point
Fort Stevens		Mt. Zion Church		Blountsville		Chancellorsville
		Roan's Tan Yard		Blue Springs		Salem Church
Florida (6)		New Madrid/Island 10		Wauhatchie		Fredericksburg II
Santa Rosa Island		Kirksville		Collierville		Brandy Station
Tampa		Independence I		Campbell's Station		Aldie
Saint John's Bluff		Lone Jack		Chattanooga III		Middleburg
Fort Brooke		Newtonia I		Fort Sanders		Upperville
Olustee		Clark's Mill		Bean's Station		Auburn I
Natural Bridge		Springfield II		Mossy Creek		Bristoe Station
		Hartville		Dandridge		Auburn II
Georgia (27)		Cape Girardeau		Fair Garden		Buckland Mills
Fort Pulaski		Fort Davidson		Fort Pillow		Rappahannock Station II
Fort McAllister I		Glasgow		Memphis II		Mine Run
Davis' Cross-Roads		Lexington II		Johnsonville		Morton's Ford
Chickamauga		Little Blue River		Bull's Gap		Wilderness
Ringgold Gap		Independence II		Columbia		Port Walthall Junction
Dalton I		Byram's Ford		Spring Hill		Spotsylvania Court House
Rocky Face Ridge		Westport		Franklin II		Cloyd's Mountain
Resaca		Marmiton River		Murfreesborough II		Swift Creek
Adairsville		Newtonia II		Nashville		Chester Station
New Hope Church						Yellow Tavern
Dallas		New Mexico (2)		Texas (5)		Proctor's Creek
Pickett's Mill		Valverde		Sabine Pass I		Ware Bottom Church
Marietta		Glorieta Pass		Galveston I		North Anna
Kolb's Farm				Galveston II		Wilson's Wharf
Kennesaw Mountain		North Carolina (20)		Palmeto Ranch		Totopotomy Ck/Bethesda
Peachtree Creek		Hatteras Inlet Batteries		Sabine Pass II		Haw's Shop
Atlanta		Roanoke Island				Old Church
Ezra Church		New Berne				Cold Harbor
Utoy Creek		Fort Macon				Petersburg I
Dalton II		South Mills				Lynchburg
Lovejoy's Station		Tranter's Creek				Jerusalem Plank Road
Jonesborough		Kinston				Saint Mary's Church
Allatoona		White Hall				Sappony Church
Griswoldville		Goldsborough Bridge				Ream's Station I
Buck Head Creek		Fort Anderson				Deep Bottom I
Waynesborough		Washington				Crater
Fort McAllister II		Plymouth				Deep Bottom II
		Albemarle Sound				Globe Tavern
Idaho (1)		Fort Fisher I				Ream's Station II
Bear River		Fort Fisher II				Peebles' Farm
		Wilmington				Chaffin's Farm/New Market Heights
Indiana (1)		Wyse Fork				Saltville I
Corydon		Monroe's Cross Roads				Darbytown and New Market
		Averasborough				Darbytown Road
Kansas (4)		Bentonville				Boydton Plank Road
Lawrence						Fair Oaks & Darbytown Road
Baxter Springs		Lexington II				Marion
Mine Creek		Little Blue River				Saltville II
Marais des Cygnes		Independence II				Hatcher's Run
		Byram's Ford				Fort Stedman
Kentucky (11)		Westport				Lewis's Farm
Barbourville		Marmiton River				Dinwiddie Court House
Camp Wild Cat		Newtonia II				White Oak Road
Ivy Mountain						Five Forks
Rowlett's Station		New Mexico (2)				Petersburg III
Middle Creek		Valverde				Sutherland's Station
Mill Springs		Glorieta Pass				Amelia Springs
Richmond						Rice's Station
Munfordville		North Carolina (20)				Sailor's Creek
Perryville		Hatteras Inlet Batteries				Cumberland Church
Paducah		Roanoke Island				High Bridge
Cynthiana		New Berne				Appomattox Station
		Fort Macon				Appomattox Courthouse
Louisiana (23)		South Mills				Petersburg III
Forts Jackson & St. Phillip		Tranter's Creek				Trevilian Station
New Orleans		Kinston				Cockpit Point
Baton Rouge		White Hall				Kernstown I
Donaldsonville I		Goldsborough Bridge				McDowell
Georgia Landing		Fort Anderson				Front Royal
Fort Bisland		Washington				Winchester I
Irish Bend		Plymouth				Cross Keys
Vermillion Bayou		Albemarle Sound				Port Republic
Plains Store		Fort Fisher I				Winchester II
Port Hudson		Fort Fisher II				Manassas Gap
Milliken's Bend		Wilmington				Cove Mountain
LaFourche Crossing		Wyse Fork				New Market
Donaldsonville II		Monroe's Cross Roads				Piedmont
Goodrich's Landing		Averasborough				Staunton River Bridge
Kock's Plantation		Bentonville				Cool Spring
Stirling's Plantation						Rutherford's Farm
Fort De Russy		North Dakota (5)				Kernstown II
Mansfield		Big Mound				Guard Hill
Pleasant Hill		Dead Buffalo Lake				Berryville
Blair's Landing		Stony Lake				Opequon
Monett's Ferry		Whitestone Hill				Fisher's Hill
Mansura		Killdeer Mountain				Tom's Brook
Yellow Bayou						Cedar Creek
		Ohio (2)				Waynesboro
Maryland (7)		Buffington Island				Namozine Church
Hancock		Salineville				Walkerton
South Mountain
Antietam		Oklahoma (7)				West Virginia (15)
Williamsport		Round Mountain				Philippi
Boonsboro		Chusto-Talasah				Hoke's Run
Monocacy		Chustenahlah				Rich Mountain
Folck's Mill		Old Fort Wayne				Kessler's Cross Lanes
		Middle Boggy Depot				Cheat Mountain
		Cabin Creek				Carnifex Ferry
		Honey Springs				Greenbrier River
						Camp Alleghany
		Pennsylvania (2)				Princeton Courthouse
		Hanover				Harpers Ferry
		Gettysburg				Droop Mountain
						Moorefield
						Summit Point
						Smithfield Crossing
		American Civil War page				Shepherdstown

Queen Sobekneferu of Egypt

Queen Sobekneferu was the last ruler of the 12th dynasty of Egypt from about 1785 to 1781 BC. Alternate spellings of her name have appeared as Neferusobek, Nefrusobek, Nefrusobk, Sobeknofru and Sobekkara. The name means "The beauties of Sobek". Sobek was the crocodile god and the rulers of the 12th dynasty had established a religious center in the Fayoum Oasis where crocodiles were nurtured and worshiped. 

There is limited physical evidence of her short reign. Her name does appear in the Kamak, the Turin Canon, the Turin kings list, the Sakkara kings list and the writings of Egyptian historian Manetho. Three headless statues of her were found in the Fayoum and five more statues were found at the temple of Amenemhat III at Hawara. While her tomb has not been officially located, the ruins of a pyramid near Dahshur are believed to have been hers.

Her father Amenemhat III ruled for about 47 years and appointed his son Amenemhat IV co-ruler before his death. It is thought Amenemhat III originally planned on his daughter Nefruptah to be his heir but she died at an early age. Amenemhat IV may have been an infant when he took power so his sister Sobekneferu served as regent during his reign of about 12 years before his death. She then became the last Egyptian king of the Middle Kingdom. Both male and female titles were used in reference to her reign. She was also the third female pharaoh. When she died she did not have any heirs.

Ancient Egypt page

Jolly Roger

Jolly Roger became the generic term when referring to a pirate flag. The term likely came out of twisting the French joli rouge which meant pretty red. The early buccaneers flew red banners and flags to strike fear in the others they encountered. 

English pirate Henry Every also known as John Avery may have been one of the first to transition to the iconic pirate flag with the skull and cross bones. His years of piracy spanned 1694 to 1696 and he is reported to have flown two different flags. He originally flew a traditional red flag with chevrons but later switched to a black flag with a skull in profile above cross bones. Whether he actually switched to the second flag is still up for debate.

French pirate Emanuel Wynne is given confirmed credit as the first to use the skull and cross bones. Captain John Cranby of the British naval ship HMS Poole entered into official record in 1700 an encounter with Wynne and his ship which flew a black flag with a skull that appeared to rest on cross bones as an hourglass was below it. The hourglass was a common pirate symbol which told they opposition they should surrender in a timely manner. 

English pirate Richard Worley simplified his flag to just the skull resting on the crossbones on a black flag. His piracy career only lasted September 1718 to February 1719. His short career ended after his capture and execution.

Irish pirate Edward England who was born as Edward Seeger created what is considered the classic pirate flag with the skull above the cross bones on a black flag. His piracy career spanned from 1717 to 1720. The character Long John Silver was patterned after England by Robert Louis Stevenson.

pirate page

Shaanxi Earthquake in 1556

The earthquake near Shaanxi, China on the morning of January 23, 1556 was the deadliest earthquake on record and the third deadliest natural disaster ever. An estimated 830,000 people were killed as the earthquake destroyed an 840 km or 520 mile wide area. More than 97 counties in the provinces of Shaanxi, Anhui, Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Hunan, Jiangsu and Shanxi with some counties losing up to sixty percent of their population. 

The epicenter was in the Wei River Valley in the Shaanxi province near the cities of Huaxian, Huayan and Weinan. Huaxian was hit hardest with every single building and home destroyed killing more than half its residents which lead to some references of the disaster as the Great Huaxian Earthquake. It is also referred to as the Jiajing Great Earthquake because it occurred during the reign Jiajing Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

The Wei River Valley Basin is a major fault line where four tectonic systems intersect. The Cathaysian, Latitudinal direction, Longxi and Qilu-Qin-ling systems all meet making the area vulnerable for a major earhtquake. The magnitude of the 1556 earthquake is estimated between 7.9 and 8.6 on the Richter scale. Areas as far away as 500 km or 310 miles from the epicenter were affected. Crevices as deep as 20 meters or 66 feet were opened in ground by the quake.

One contributing factor to the high death tolls was millions of people living in man-made Loess caves. Much of the population in the Gansu, Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces lived in earth shelters called yaodongs in artificial caves made in the high cliffs of the Loess Plateau. The earthquake caused many of the caves to collapse and landslides destroyed many more.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were listed by Greek historian Herodotus as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. At the time he reported two different creation stories that existed at the time. The first is the more popular story that King Nebachadezzar II of Babylonia built it around 600 BC to comfort his homesick wife Amyitis. Others believe that it was created during the reign of Queen Shammuramat of Assyria around 810 BC.

While the creator is up for debate the actual location has also been questioned. Most early references put the garden in Babylon but some speculate that the actual location may have been 350 miles to the north in the city of Ninevah. King Sennacherib of Assyria had gardens built in Ninevah around 700 BC and there may have been some confusion between the two. 

Following the most accepted Nebachadezzar version the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built on along the east bank of the Euphrates River. Babylon was about 80 km or 50 miles southwest of modern Baghdad in Iraq. The gardens grew on many levels of terraces made mostly of mud bricks on an area 122 meters by 122 meters or 400 feet by 400 feet and were 22 to 24 meters or 72 to 80 feet high. The vaulted terraces were one above another as they rested on cube shaped pillars. An irrigation system which utilized the Euphrates watered the extensive garden continuously. The Gardens were believed to have been destroyed by an earthquake in the second century BC and the mud bricks disappeared by erosion.

Ancient Seven Wonders page

Bornholm and the Knights Templar

Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea that is 135 km or 83 miles east of Denmark, 37 km or 22 miles south of Sweden, 90 km or 55 miles north of Poland and about 90 km or 55 miles northeast of Germany. That advantageous location has made it appealing to many over the years including the Templars. The Templars built four churches on the island at Nyker, Nylars, Olsker and Østerlars. 

The Danish Archbishop Eskil had stayed at the monastary Clairvaux from 1161 to 1167. The monastary was founded by Bernard of Clairvaux who was the nephew of one of the founding Knights Templar Andre de Montbard. Eskil and Templar Grand Master Bertrand de Blanchfort made a plan about 1164 to build storage stores on Bornholm to house supplies for the fleets carrying out the Crusades in the Baltics. The church at Østerlars was the first constructed and all four had the distinctive Templar architecture design and are referred to as round churches. The distance between the Østerlars and Nylars churches was the exact same distance as that between Østerlars and another church in Rutsker, That distance is 14,336 meters or 47,034 feet. There is some speculation that the Templars had hidden treasure from the Crusades at the churches. 

Knights Templar page