Top 10 ancient history facts

19. There was no year number zero. There were only 1999 years between 1000BC and 1000AD.

Alexander the Great. Aristotle was invited by Philip II of Macedon to become the tutor to his son Alexander in 343 BC. Aristotle was appointed as the head of the royal academy of Macedon and encouraged Alexander toward eastern conquest.

It is not known. The city is ancient - its largest pyramid, the Pyramid of the Sun, was completed by AD 100. It predates most known cultures of Mesoamerica. The origin of its founders is uncertain, and its original name is also unknown. It housed a population of about 150,000 people, making it one of the largest cities in the world at that time.

Sexagesimal. Remnants of the highly composite sexagesimal system are in use even today for time measurement and geometry. An hour of time is divided into 60 minutes, which in turn are divided into 60 seconds.

Founder of Egypt. Narmer was an ancient Egyptian king of the Early Dynastic Period. He probably was the successor to the Protodynastic king Ka, or possibly Scorpion. Some consider him the unifier of Egypt and founder of the First Dynasty, and in turn the first king of a unified Egypt.

None. Only the Great Pyramid of Giza still exists. The other Wonders of the Ancient World were destroyed: two by fire, three by earthquakes. Existence of one of them is still debated.

Carob seed. Carat, a unit of mass equal to 200 mg, is derived from a carob seed (Greek kerátion). People commonly believed that the seeds have unusually low variability in mass. Modern research denied this claim.

In Turkey. The river modern name is Karamenderes. It flows entirely within the Turkish province of Çanakkale, in the Marmara region.

Bronze. Though bronze is generally harder than wrought iron, the Bronze Age gave way to the Iron Age. This happened because iron was easier to find and easier to process.

Boarding. Since the Romans were primarily a land-based army, they lost several sea battles due to lack of naval skills. The corvus, a boarding ramp with two steel spikes, was the Roman answer to this problem. It secured Roman naval dominance in the Mediterranean Sea for several centuries.