"Pax Romana" means "Roman Peace" and refers to a long period of peace and stability in Roman history. Historians generally agree that it began when Augustus defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra and became emperor; to curb civil war, Augustus established a panel of leaders to help make decisions. This eliminated much of the usual infighting usually found in large societies. This peaceful era ended with the death of emperor Marcus Aurelius; his son and heir, Commodus, was not as dedicated to the administration of the empire and left it in the hands of his personal favorites.
Pax Romana is an important era of history because it represents a political ideal: bloodless transfers of power, peace, and stability.
2. Battle of Hastings
Answer: 1066
English King Edward the Confessor died without leaving a child to inherit the throne, which created a power vacuum and left England vulnerable to invaders. Powerful Anglo-Saxon nobleman Harold Godwinson stood up and fought bravely at the Battle of Hastings against the Norman invaders, but William the Conqueror's army had more archers, which, among other factors, turned the tide toward the Normans. Harald was dead by nightfall and the Normans prevailed, forever changing the pattern of life on the isle of England.
3. Magna Carta
Answer: 1215
King John was facing a lot of problems. He lost battles and land to France, he was on the outs with the Pope, and his country was broke. The nobility was about to revolt against King John, refusing to pay the heavy taxes he wanted to levy on them, and to avoid catastrophe, King John created a document that would serve as a peace treaty of sorts between the throne and the nobility. Four copies are still in existence today.
4. Gutenberg Press
Answer: 1439
Around 1439, a German goldsmith of many talents named Johannes Gutenberg created the first mechanic way of moving type -- the first printing press. Within decades, cities all over Europe had printing presses, and this forever changed how information could move around the world.
In the 1450s, Gutenberg used his press to print copies of the Bible, 49 of which still survive today, mostly in libraries and universities.
5. U.S. Declaration of Independence
Answer: 1776
On July 4th, 1776 a group of men in the 13 colonies in North America declared independence from Britain, a shocking turn of events that ultimately resulted in the creation of the United States of America. The Declaration of Independence was a highly influential document, serving as an internal moral compass for the fledgling country as well as an example for other revolutions across the world.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
6. Telephone invented
Answer: 1876
There is some dispute over who exactly invented the telephone. But ultimately the patent went to Alexander Graham Bell. Bell was a multi-talented man from Scotland who came from a family full of engineers, teachers, and speech specialists. His work with deaf students inspired him to invent gadgets to help them hear.
He had only limited success until he met and began working with an experienced electrical engineer named Thomas Watson.
7. Russian October revolution
Answer: 1917
The Russian Tsar had already been forced to abdicate by a revolution earlier in February 1917 (March in the Gregorian calender). A provisional government was formed alongside Bolshevik councils (Soviets). The two co-existed but uneasily, and in October 1917 (November in the Gregorian calender) the Bolsheviks stormed the Winter Palace, ousted the Provisional Government and seized power.
8. Treaty of Versailles
Answer: 1919
The War to End All Wars by all measures was hell. Over nine million soldiers and seven million civilians died as a result, treaty alliances brought 32 distinct countries all over the globe into the quagmire, and trench warfare was grueling and deadly. So it is no wonder that the world rejoiced when Armistice was declared in 1918. The war officially ended a year later with the Treaty of Versailles.
9. ARPANET
Answer: 1969
The internet was built over several steps and decades, but a major building block was the creation of ARPANET, or Advanced Research Projects Agency Network, which was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1969. ARPANET involved packet-switching technology, and it grew out of research institutions sharing data.
10. Berlin Wall falls
Answer: 1989
At the end of World War II, Germany was divided into two countries, and the city of Berlin was divided as well. By 1961, East German officials had put up an impenetrable concrete and barbed-wire wall to separate the socialist state in the East from the parliamentary constitutional republic in the West.
It stood as an unyielding symbol of the Cold War until 1989, when, after relations had warmed, an East Berlin official indicated citizens would be able to pass freely. He may not have meant to instigate immediate political change, but that's what happened.
At midnight on November 9th, 1989, people came from all over to take down the wall with whatever implements they had. Soon cranes and bulldozers arrived and the city was reunited. Within a year, so was the country.
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