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Jackie Kennedy and Richard Goodwin Save Ancient Egyptian Monuments From Aswan Dam’s Rising Waters
Current Events and History

Saving Ancient Egyptian Monuments From Aswan Dam’s Rising Waters, from Unfinished Love Story, Doris Kearns Goodwin

07/11/2024 Bruce Strom 1

Goodwin remembers: “From the start, the entire project was entangled in Cold War politics. Angered at the Soviet Union’s participation in the Aswan Dam project, the Eisenhower administration had refused to join a UNESCO international campaign to preserve the colossal temple complex at Abu Simbel, along with dozens of smaller temples and statues. Without American leadership, combined with private philanthropy, it seemed likely that these monuments were to be forever lost beneath the lake” formed by the rising waters behind the dam.
“In 1962, Jackie Kennedy sent an urgent memo to the president laying out the case for saving Abu Simbel: “It is the major temple of the Nile: thirteenth century BC. It would be like letting the Parthenon to be flooded.” […]

Horses and Cavalry from Xenophon in Ancient Greece to the American Civil War, and in New York City
Greek and Roman History

Horses and Cavalry from Xenophon in Ancient Greece to the American Civil War, and in New York City

05/01/2024 Bruce Strom 0

From antiquity, in combat, horses had three roles: hauling supplies, fighting in highly mobile cavalry regiments, sometimes pulling chariots in ancient times, and enabling generals to quickly survey the battlefield. From ancient times, in both war and peace time, technological improvements meant horses could be used more effectively. Improved harnesses made chariot warfare common throughout the Ancient Near East, quite often several archers would ride in the chariot. In the Old Testament, we read that King Ahab died when an arrow struck him in his chariot, likely he was standing next to an archer. […]