Populate README.md with knowledge base overview, scope, conventions, and folder structure

README.md

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+# Ancient History Knowledge Base
+
+## Overview
+
+A structured knowledge base covering ancient history from the earliest civilizations through the fall of the Western Roman Empire @t[..=0476]. The knowledge base spans roughly 3,000 years of human history across Eurasia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean world.
+
+## Scope
+
+This knowledge base documents:
+
+- **Civilizations** — empires, kingdoms, and city-states (Sumer, Akkad, Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Greece, Rome, Carthage, Maurya, Han China, and more)
+- **Rulers** — kings, pharaohs, emperors, and generals (Alexander the Great, Hammurabi, Ramesses II, Augustus, Cyrus the Great, and others)
+- **Battles** — major military engagements and their strategic significance (Marathon, Thermopylae, Gaugamela, Cannae, Actium, Adrianople)
+- **Cities** — major urban centers and archaeological sites (Rome, Athens, Babylon, Alexandria, Ur, Pompeii, Troy)
+- **Treaties** — diplomatic agreements and peace settlements (Treaty of Kadesh, Peace of Nicias, Treaty of Apamea)
+- **Religions** — belief systems and their development (Greek religion, Egyptian religion, Zoroastrianism, Mesopotamian religion, early Christianity, Roman religion)
+- **Technologies** — engineering and material innovations (bronze-working, iron smelting, Roman concrete, aqueducts, roads)
+- **Trade routes** — commercial networks and their cultural impact (Silk Road, Incense Route, Amber Road)
+- **Legal codes** — foundational law texts (Code of Hammurabi, Code of Ur-Nammu, Twelve Tables)
+- **Writing systems** — scripts and literacy (cuneiform, Phoenician alphabet, Egyptian hieroglyphics)
+- **Cultural movements** — intellectual and artistic traditions (Greek philosophy, Hellenism)
+- **Definitions** — glossary of terms, acronyms, and conventions used throughout
+
+## Conventions
+
+- Dates use BCE/CE notation throughout (not BC/AD)
+- Temporal tags use factbase syntax: `@t[=331 BCE]` for exact events, `@t[~2560 BCE]` for approximate dates, `@t[305 BCE..30 BCE]` for ranges
+- Approximate dates (common in ancient history) are marked with `~`
+- Contested chronologies are noted inline with scholarly variants cited
+- Every factual claim cites a source — primary ancient texts or modern archaeological scholarship
+- Cross-references link rulers ↔ civilizations ↔ battles ↔ cities where relevant
+
+## Folder Structure
+
+| Folder | Document Type | Contents |
+|---|---|---|
+| `battles/` | battle | Military engagements |
+| `cities/` | city | Urban centers and archaeological sites |
+| `civilizations/` | civilization | Empires, kingdoms, and cultures |
+| `cultural-movements/` | cultural-movement | Intellectual and artistic traditions |
+| `definitions/` | definition | Glossary and term definitions |
+| `legal-codes/` | legal-code | Law texts and governance documents |
+| `religions/` | religion | Belief systems and religious history |
+| `rulers/` | person | Individual rulers and leaders |
+| `technologies/` | technology | Engineering and material innovations |
+| `trade-routes/` | trade-route | Commercial and cultural exchange networks |
+| `treaties/` | treaty | Diplomatic agreements |
+| `writing-systems/` | writing-system | Scripts and literacy systems |
+
+## Sources
+
+Primary sources include Herodotus, Thucydides, Livy, Polybius, Plutarch, Strabo, and cuneiform tablets. Secondary sources draw on peer-reviewed archaeology, university publications, and established encyclopedias such as the Oxford Classical Dictionary and the Cambridge Ancient History series.