Of ‘emperor’ and ‘kaiser’

The Roman empire had a strong influence on the western world. Even today its presence can be felt from the USA to Russia and from England to Tunisia. Yet, this is a story not about law, architecture, culture or some other typically Romanesque subject; it is about where the medieval world got its rulers’ titles. ### The Emperor The history of the title ‘emperor’ lies in the power of the Roman consul. What

Posted at 10pm on 05/12/06 | 3 comments | Filed Under: Antiquity read on

About Russian atrocities in WWII

Some time ago I discussed Soviet atrocities in WWII with somebody—who shall remain known as _Russian Historian_—after [he commented on one of my earlier posts][1]. It was nice to hear about history from a Russian point-of-view and luckily he shared some great photos with me, some of which I will share with you now. I publish these pictures here not because I believe ‘atrocities’ are comparable or can be so easily judged over,

Posted at 5pm on 19/11/06 | 39 comments | Filed Under: World War 2 read on

About

The Past Tense is a blog on history, trying to make you remember all the stuff you learned at school. History is more than dates, names and abstract movements; it is not as dull and dusty as most people remember it. The aim is not to develop new insights, but to tell stories that make ordinary people think “hey, I never knew that!”

Arjan van der Gaag is a web developer, student in Information Management and amateur historian living in Tilburg, the Netherlands. Find out more at his personal website.

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