In 46 BC, an alliance between the Egyptian queen Cleopatra (originally from Greece, as her ancestor Ptolemy was the General of Alexander the Great) and Julias Caesar would spark an alliance between the Hellenistic Greek world and Rome.
This alliance enabled many trade relationships between Greece and Rome. As these relationships grew, the recipe of Filo Baklava invented in Greece reached Rome. In Rome, the crispy Baklava was made softer and gained a fluffy texture.
In Rome, the Baklava was soaked in lots of honey to give it a sponge-like texture and was served along with dry fruits. When Baklavas were traded back to Greece by the Romans, the Roman version gained the name of Placenta cake.
Placenta cake was one of the first cakes to be baked in history. It also became the first version of Baklava cakes, a sticky sweet pastry made with dozens of layers of buttery Filo dough, chopped nuts, and honey.
The recipe of Baklava cake would later gain popularity through Persia (modern Iran) in the 12th century AD and in the Ottoman empire in modern Turkey in the 14th century AD.
Women empowerment in Sparta:
Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia, a region located in Ancient Greece.
However, one of the most important aspects of its success is that during a time when the world began to curtail women, Sparta held women in high positions and made sure that they held property, and contributed to the Spartan economy.
Because Spartan men were often absent from the city-state during wars, including the city's two kings. Women were required to hold higher positions to help govern the city.
Alexander the Great is one of the greatest military commanders in world history. In 12 years, from a small kingdom in Macedonia, he built an empire extending from Greece to northwestern India.
But after achieving so much, his most excellent military strategy is something seen commonly and used by many empires throughout history.
Alexander's favourite military strategy was to have his troops maintain a tight rectangular formation. All his soldiers would wield a spear, sometimes as long as five metres made of shared metal-tipped wood.
How to make life from grass:
While Genghis Khan was on his conquest of the known world, he discovered that in many areas, the terrain made it very difficult to gather food and drink.
Initially, this was a minor issue as the army of Genghis had packed enough to last them. But over time resources started to deplete.
When another great conqueror, Alexander the Great faced a similar issue, he was forced to burn his treasury and order his officials to do the same to save space for resources.
Genghis Khan is believed by most to be the most brilliant leader in all of history. In the words of British historian John Man - Genghis needed magic social skills, persuasiveness, and a high yet flexible sense of morality to sculpt himself as history's most successful conqueror.
Using just this and his vision for a world unified under his name, Genghis was able to in just 40 years from an outcast build the largest land empire. Four times the size of that of Alexander the great's and twice as big as that of Rome.
Today, Genghis's brutal ways and his superior skills, make us wonder whether building modern corporate unicorns or persuading thousands and millions to go into war can both be called leadership?
At the age of 32, Alexander the Great had conquered the entire known world at the time amounting to 2 million square miles. However, before he could conquer more, after falling ill he mysteriously died. Till today this has been history's greatest mystery.
Since then, historians have debated the causes of his death. Rumours of causes of his death include malaria, typhus, alcohol poisoning, and murder. However, in a new theory, it is believed that Alexander died due to a neurological disorder known as Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS).
Guillain-Barre Syndrome occurs when the immune system attacks the nerves. This condition might be triggered by an acute viral infection. Many believe that because of this condition Alexander was paralysed and announced dead before he actually was.
How a mispronounced word re-named a country:
Marco Polo was an Italian explorer known for helping the Mongol emperor of China, Kublai Khan on expanding his realm.
He became the most important explorer in the court of Kublai Khan. Today, he is credited for being one of the most influential explorers of all time.
When Marco Polo visited the Island of Mogadishu, Somalia, he mispronounced Mogadishu as 'Madagascar'.