Explosive bombs were used in China in 1221, by a Jin Dynasty army against a Song Dynasty city. Bombs built using bamboo tubes appear in the 11th century. Bombs made of cast iron shells packed with exp ...
The structure of the Yuan government took shape during the reign of Kublai Khan (1260–1294). While some changes took place such as the functions of certain institutions, the essential components of t ...
Main article: Toluid Civil WarGenghis Khan united the Mongol and Turkic tribes of the steppes and became Great Khan in 1206. He and his successors expanded the Mongol empire across Asia. Under the rei ...
Chinese dominoes are used in several tile-based games, namely, Tien Gow, Pai Gow, Tiu U and Kap Tai Shap. In Cantonese they are called "Gwat Pai" (骨牌), which literally means "bone tiles"; it is also ...
European-style dominoes are traditionally made of ivory/bone, or a dark hardwood such as ebony, with contrasting black or white pips (inlaid or painted). Alternatively, domino sets have been made from ...
Corrective lenses can be produced in many different shapes from a circular lens called a lens blank. Lens blanks are cut to fit the shape of the frame that will hold them. Frame styles vary and fashio ...
The earliest written record of magnification dates back to the 1st century AD, when Seneca the Younger, a tutor of Emperor Nero of Rome, wrote: "Letters, however small and indistinct, are seen enlarge ...
Originally inhabited by a mixture of tribal groups known to the Chinese as the Hundred Yue (Baiyue), the region first became part of China during the Qin Dynasty. In 214 BC, the Han general Zhao Tuo ( ...
Land mines were designed for two main uses: to create defensive tactical barriers, channeling attacking forces into predetermined fire zones or slowing an invasion force's progress to allow reinforcem ...
The Later Middle Ages saw a reaction against scholasticism led by John Duns Scotus (d. 1308) and William of Ockham (d. c. 1348), both of whom objected to the application of reason to faith. Their effo ...
In the 11th century, the Seljuk Turks took over much of the Middle East, occupying Persia during the 1040s, Armenia in the 1060s, and Jerusalem in 1070. In 1071, the Turkish army defeated the Byzantin ...
Charlemagne planned to continue the Frankish tradition of dividing his kingdom between all his heirs, but was unable to do so as only one son, Louis the Pious (r. 814–840), was still alive by 813. Ju ...
The Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history: classical civilisation, or Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period.Medieval writ ...
In terms of global significance, Zhu Yu's book was the first book in history to mention the use of the mariner's magnetic-needle compass for navigation at sea. Although the compass needle was first de ...
