Unexpectedly perhaps, North Africa has a great many historic sites and Tunisia, with its long and illustrious history, is a country with particularly notable archaeological wonders. The...
Several infamous empires of the early modern period and current modern periods bore curious insignia. The Byzantine, Austrian, and Russian Empires all adopted the symbol of a mythical creature, a...
"The Khazar people were an unusual phenomenon for Medieval times. Surrounded by savage and nomadic tribes, they had all the advantages of the developed countries: structured government, vast and...
Kolossi Castle is a medieval castle located on the island of Cyprus. The original castle was built during the 13 th century, not long after the island was conquered by the Crusaders. Although Kolossi...
The Tsar of Russia was the title used by the ruler of the Tsardom of Russia, a state that existed from 1547 to 1721. The Tsardom of Russia was preceded by the Grand Principality of Moscow, and was...
Many archaeological finds cannot be linked to one particular dramatic event. However, the recent discovery of a hoard of coins can be linked to one very significant event in the era of the Crusades...
The horrors and mass slaughters that many monarchs around the world perpetrated in ancient and more modern times may be eclipsed by the Byzantines, including Byzantine Emperor Basil II, known as...
The rich, beautiful art and opulent architecture of the Byzantine Empire glorified Jesus, the saints, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the emperors. Byzantine art motifs, the mosaics, paintings, and...
The reign of Heraclius, the Byzantine emperor from 610 to 641, reads like a series of disasters that continued to be visited on his heirs. In between the disasters he had some successes, but he and...
A ‘stolen art’ investigator, known in his field as “the Indiana Jones of the art world,” has successfully tracked down a precious sixth century mosaic that was stolen from Cyprus almost 50 years ago...
The history of Theodora is a classic rags to riches tale, as she is thought to have started life in the lowest class of Byzantine society but became one of the most powerful women in civilization’s...
Archaeologists in Israel have discovered a painting of the face of Jesus Christ from the Byzantine period. The find is exciting experts, who believe that the discovery can help us to understand Early...
The Council of Nicaea (also known as the First Council of Nicaea) was the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church. This council, which was convened in 325 AD, was assembled by the Roman...
The First Crusade (1095-1099 AD) was a military campaign launched by Christendom in an attempt to retake Jerusalem from the Muslims to make the holy site safe once more for Christian pilgrims. The...
In many ways, Eastern Europe owes its cultural and religious shape to the two missionary brothers, Saint Cyril (827-869 AD) and Saint Methodius (826-884 AD). These two brothers were sent as...
In Greece, marine archaeologists have made an unprecedented discovery of shipwrecks in one area of seabed - now numbering 58. It is the largest such find in the history of the Mediterranean. The...
Archaeologists in Bulgaria have discovered a Late Middle Ages Byzantine settlement, in the form of a sunken fortress, and a small monastery on Bulgaria’s tiny St. Thomas Island in the Black Sea. In...
A stunning assemblage of Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Viking, and medieval rings is going up for auction next week. They come from a remarkable ancient rings collection which was once owned by a...
The Italian word graffiti dates only to 1851, online sources say, but the practice of drawing and scribbling on walls and surfaces in public places dates back millennia. In fact, a Professor from...
Archaeologists from Turkey have announced the discovery of an underground city dating back 4,000 years and ostensibly belonging to a Byzantine dynasty. The lost city was unearthed during urban...
Harald Hardrada of Norway used cunning and surprising tactics to bring down foes. Although he was wounded in the face during one of his campaigns, he continued to see victory after victory. [Read...
In 1015, Harald Sigurdsson was born. He was the youngest of three sons born to Sigurd Syr, who ruled over a petty kingdom in Ringerike, located in the region of Buskerud. Harald’s upbringing is not...
Archaeologists and world media are getting excited. A 1,500-year-old mosaic found in Ashdod, Israel may be the first element exposed of an ancient Roman-Byzantine city mentioned several times in the...
The word “hermit” often elicits thoughts of men with long, scraggly hair and beards, eyes lined with wrinkles and filled with wisdom, and clothes a bit torn and dirty but otherwise, no worse for wear...