Empress Irene: the Woman that Built the Holy Roman Empire

In 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Imperator Romanus – Emperor of Rome. Leo’s decision to crown a new Roman Emperor despite one already existing in Constantinople stemmed from the fact that the holder of this title in the east was a woman – Irene of Athens. But who was this female Emperor who ruled one of the most powerful and prestigious Empires in the Middle Ages?

Woodcut Illustration of Empress Irene (in the left) and Charlemagne (in the right), from Penn Provenance Project, CC by 2.0

Great Athenian Plague: The Plague that Killed Athens

Acropolis of Athens by Leo von Klenze

With war in its doorstep, Ancient Athenian fought another more internal and equally dangerous foe – disease. Disagreement between the two superpowers of the ancient Greek world collided during the Peloponnesian War starting 431 BCE. As the Athenian and Spartan forces fought each other, Athenians suffered a huge blow in form of a Great Plague. A plague that would end it supremacy in the ancient world.

Delian League: The Athenian Empire

Parthenon by Lusieri Giovannia Battista

In the era of globalization, regional and world organizations are trending. In Pacific, there exist the organizations of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation or APEC and Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN. In the west, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO and the European Union or EU dominated the groupings in the western hemisphere. During the ancient times, regional organization or groupings also existed. In Greece, such groupings includes the Athens led organization known as the Delian League.