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'''Cryptography''' is the enciphering and deciphering of messages in secret code or cipher.<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cryptography cryptography from Merriam-Webster]</ref> {{etymology|From Greek "''kryptos''", meaning "hidden",<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cryptography "cryptography" from Online Entymology Dictionary]</ref> and "''graphein''", meaning "to draw" or "to write"<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=-graphy "graphy" from Online Entymology Dictionary]</ref>}}

'''Cryptography''' is the enciphering and deciphering of messages in secret code or cipher.<ref>[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cryptography cryptography from Merriam-Webster]</ref> {{etymology|From Greek "''kryptos''", meaning "hidden",<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cryptography "cryptography" from Online Entymology Dictionary]</ref> and "''graphein''", meaning "to draw" or "to write"<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=-graphy "graphy" from Online Entymology Dictionary]</ref>}}

==General Information==

==General Information==

As civilizations expanded, so did their respective methods and implementations of cryptography. Early in their history, the Spartan army developed the first known cryptographic device, albeit a simple one: a wooden rod of varying diameters known as a ''[[scytale]]''. To encrypt a message, a Spartan soldier would wrap a thin strip of parchment around the scytale and write the message across it. Once unwound, the coil of parchment would be easy to transport, but when read straight across, it would appear as nothing more than a meaningless jumble of letters. Decryption was as simple as wrapping the parchment around a scytale of identical diameter to the one used in the original encryption, thus allowing the message to be easily read out.<ref name="briefhistory">[http://www.cypher.com.au/crypto_history.htm A Brief History of Cryptography]</ref>

As civilizations expanded, so did their respective methods and implementations of cryptography. Early in their history, the Spartan army developed the first known cryptographic device, albeit a simple one: a wooden rod of varying diameters known as a ''[[scytale]]''. To encrypt a message, a Spartan soldier would wrap a thin strip of parchment around the scytale and write the message across it. Once unwound, the coil of parchment would be easy to transport, but when read straight across, it would appear as nothing more than a meaningless jumble of letters. Decryption was as simple as wrapping the parchment around a scytale of identical diameter to the one used in the original encryption, thus allowing the message to be easily read out.<ref name="briefhistory">[http://www.cypher.com.au/crypto_history.htm A Brief History of Cryptography]</ref>

In his writings, Herodotus reports the use of other forms of secret writing in the Grecian war to repel the Persian invasion. He writes of Greek soldiers cleanly shaving their heads, then writing messages on their bare skin before allowing their hair to grow back.<ref name="herodotus">[http://books.google.com/books?id=RrJeGHwgx7UC&lpg=PA381&ots=01Yz7TMRqj&dq=herodotus%20tattoo%20message%20shave&pg=PA381#v=onepage&q&f=false The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories, from Google Books]</ref> Although this more accurately describes [[stenography]], it was often used in conjunction with the simple substitution ciphers that were common at the time. Despite the fact that this method did now allow for the quick transmission of message, it was still widely used against the Persian empire to communicate information of relatively low classification or importance.

In his writings, Herodotus reports the use of other forms of secret writing in the Grecian war to repel the Persian invasion. He writes of Greek soldiers cleanly shaving their heads, then writing messages on their bare skin before allowing their hair to grow back.<ref name="herodotus">[https://books.google.com/books?id=RrJeGHwgx7UC&lpg=PA381&ots=01Yz7TMRqj&dq=herodotus%20tattoo%20message%20shave&pg=PA381#v=onepage&q&f=false The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories, from Google Books]</ref> Although this more accurately describes [[stenography]], it was often used in conjunction with the simple substitution ciphers that were common at the time. Despite the fact that this method did now allow for the quick transmission of message, it was still widely used against the Persian empire to communicate information of relatively low classification or importance.

====India====

====India====