Dossier №247

1,979 AD

Iran’s monarchy collapses and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns from exile.

This question uses 1979 AD as its sourced chronological anchor.

The revolution replaced the shah with an Islamic republic and reshaped politics across the Middle East.

1,498 AD

Vasco da Gama reaches the Indian port of Calicut after sailing around Africa.

This question uses 1498 AD as its sourced chronological anchor.

The voyage established a direct maritime connection between western Europe and the Indian Ocean trading world.

1,914 AD

The Panama Canal officially opens to ocean traffic.

Locks and an artificial lake cut a new route between two oceans.

The United States completed the canal after an earlier French effort failed amid engineering problems and disease. The crossing transformed shipping while resting on a controversial territorial and political relationship with Panama.

431 BC

War begins between alliances led by Athens and Sparta.

This question uses 431 BC as its sourced chronological anchor.

The long conflict exhausted the Greek city-states, overturned Athenian power, and was chronicled with unusual analytical force by Thucydides.

628 AD

Brahmagupta writes a mathematical astronomy work containing explicit arithmetic rules for zero.

This question uses 628 AD as its sourced chronological anchor.

The Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta also describes negative numbers, quadratic equations, series, and influential astronomical methods.