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Page from al-Biruni's writing. Description in annotation.
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Travel writing of al-Biruni, 11th century Persian scholar

This image is taken from a page of al-Biruni work called Chronology of an Ancient Nations. al-Biruni was a native of Iran. He was a prolific Persian scholar. While he published works in a wide variety of subjects, the majority of those works were on the subject of astronomy.

Image of the Mahabodhi Temple: a stepped pyramid with round dome-shaped structure (stupa) on top
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Mahabodhi Temple

This photograph shows the Mahabodhi Temple complex. The temple is a part of Bodh Gaya a religious place in the Gaya District in Bihar that is one of the four and most important pilgrimages associated with the life of Gautama Buddha.

Ship Plan of a Late-19th Century Steamship
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Ship Plan of a Late-19th Century Steamship

This ship plan from the late-19th century offers a partial view of spatial arrangements within a Messageries steamship.

Shipping Company Route Map from 1889
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Shipping Company Route Map from 1889

This route-map of the Messageries Maritimes shipping company displays the main routes connecting metropolitan France to its empire in the Indo-Pacific. While the map dates to 1889, these routes retained their basic structure through the 1950s.

A woodblock print from a scene in the Tale of Genji depicting a women looking down at a man from a balcony. Black ink on cream background.
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Yamamoto Shunshō’s The Tale of Genji

Largely considered the first novel, The Tale of Genji was written by Murasaki Shikibu, a noblewoman and lady-in-waiting du

The cover of a Hindi copy of the Laws of Manu
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Laws of Manu

The Manu-smriti, or Laws of Manu, are of the most authoritative codes of Hinduism in India, dating back to approximately 1

A woodblock print of Tomoe Gozen dressed in samurai armor, seated on a horse
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Tomoe Gozen

Tomoe Gozen was a Japanese female samurai that lived during the late twelfth century, or late Heian period, in Japan.

Thumbnail of a propaganda poster that features two Black men, one with his arm raised and the other resisting a baton wielded by a white gloved hand
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"Resolutely support the just struggle of the American Blacks!" Propaganda Poster, 1963

The title of this Chinese propaganda poster is “Resolutely support the just struggle of the American Blacks!” (Jianjue zhichi Meiguo heirende zhengyi douzheng!).

Thumbnail of a propaganda poster that features a black man dressed in robes holding up a gun against a backdrop of flames
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“Drive the old and new colonialists out of Africa!” Propaganda Poster, 1964

This Chinese propaganda poster, dated August 1964, was designed by Chinese painters Wang Datong and Du Yongqiao and published by the People’s Fine Arts Publishing House in Beijing.

Thumbnail of a document icon with text reading "View Document"
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Speech by U.S. Civil Rights Leader Robert Williams, 1966

American civil rights leader Robert Williams delivered this speech on August 8th,1966 at a demonstration in Beijing commemorating the third anniversary of Mao Tse-tung’s “Statement