By 1857, the people of India had had enough of rule by the British East India Company. Although the sepoys, or Indian army soldiers, were the first to start the Indian Revolt of 1857, it soon spread to Indians of all classes, castes and religions.

Unfortunately, the revolt did not free India from the British. Although it did bring down the British East India Company, it also resulted in the British government taking direct control of India. Queen Victoria became the "Empress of India."

However, the so-called "Sepoy Rebellion" did provide inspiration for later Indian nationalist movements. It only took another 90 years for the country to shake off British rule.

When Mustafa Kemal Ataturk established the modern Republic of Turkey after World War I, he took on several established powers. Ataturk took power from the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire, who had become a client of the victorious Great Powers after the war. In denying their plans to partition Turkey, the nationalist leader overcame the Great Powers, as well.

However, in addition to the British and French, and the last sultan, Ataturk took on an even older power base, too. Once his government was firmly established, in the early 1920s, the first president of Turkey abolished the office of the caliph, or leader of the world-wide Islamic community. The first caliph, Abu Bakr, ruled the faithful just after the Prophet Muhammad died in the seventh century. Thus, Ataturk's most venerable target was actually the 1200+ year-old caliphate.

The Freer Gallery in Washington DC has recently brought to light a series of portraits of the Empress Dowager Cixi, also known as the Dragon Lady of Qing China. In these amazing photos, Cixi drips with jeweled silks and gems. From her elaborate head-dress to her beautiful slippers, the Empress Dowager projects stern authority and incredible wealth.

The "Power | Play" Exhibition of photos of Cixi runs at the Freer Gallery until January 29, 2012. If you have a chance, go see these life-size portraits of China's last true imperial ruler.

It seems like such a fundamental part of our world - almost like water, grass, oxygen. Yet for millions of years, our ancestors lived without paper.

Can you imagine how life would be different, without the invention of paper? How heavy would your wallet be, if there was no paper currency. How many books, magazines, newspapers would you have missed out on. Perhaps most urgently, would every bathroom have a bidet?

I honestly believe that I would sooner give up electricity than paper. Thank goodness, then, for those brilliant inventors in Han China, who came up with the bright idea two thousand years ago of creating a thin mat of hemp fibers...

Photo by China Photos / Getty Images.