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Featured Article: Afghanistan

Map of Afghanistan

Afghānistān, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. When the Taliban took control of the country they renamed it the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a multi-ethnic state at a nexus where numerous Eurasian civilizations have interacted, traded, migrated through, and often fought. Invaders and conquerors include the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great, Muslim Arabs, Turkic peoples, the Mongols, the British Empire, and the Soviet Union. The Afghans historically have fiercely fought against outside forces that threatened their independence.

Popular Article: Roman school of music

The Sistine Chapel

In music history, the Roman School was a group of composers of predominantly church music, in Rome, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, therefore spanning the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. The term also refers to the music they produced. Many of the composers had a direct connection to the Vatican and the papal chapel, though they worked at several churches. Stylistically they are often contrasted with the Venetian School of composers, a concurrent movement which was much more progressive.

Did you know?

"America's Mermaid," Esther Williams, was famous for movies featuring "water ballet" now known as synchronized swimming (source: Esther Williams)

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