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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Famous People

In this section, we shed light on some of the most famous and infamous people known throughout history, from powerful pharaohs, to emperors and empresses, acclaimed military leaders, or just regular civilians who’ve been thrown into the spotlight for great crimes or for heroic actions, leaving an indelible mark on the world.

While little is known about Flamma the gladiator, the details we have give rise to questions about his origins and the quality of life for a gladiator during his era. Source: zamuruev / Adobe Stock
30 August, 2020 - 18:38 B. B. Wagner

Flamma the Syrian: The Mysterious Gladiator Who Refused Freedom

"Flamma, secutor, lived thirty years. Fought thirty-four times, won twenty-one times, stood to draw nine times. Won a reprieve four times. Of Syrian extraction.” An eroded inscription on an ancient...
Sultan Razia never gave up her rightful place as heir. One Friday, dressed in red, the color of protest, she visited Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque to appeal to her people for justice. Source: kharchenkoirina / Adobe Stock
23 August, 2020 - 14:02 Khadija Tauseef

Sultan Razia: The First and Only Female Royal of Delhi

On the eve of October 1240, two armies faced one another ready for battle. This was a last-ditch effort by Sultan Razia to recapture her throne which had been usurped by her brother. Razia was the...
Dušan the Mighty, seen here in a detail of a 14th century fresco at Lesnovo Monastery in the Republic of Macedonia, ousted the Byzantine Empire from power in the region to create the great Serbian Empire which rose in the 1340s to become the leading political and economic power in the Balkans. Source: Public domain.
18 August, 2020 - 22:29 Aleksa Vučković

The Immortal Legacy: Dušan the Mighty and the Birth of the Serbian Empire

The medieval history of Serbia is an inspiring tale filled with great achievements, toil and struggle, and the strife of a small nation and its people as they attempt to rise to independence and...
Giulia Tofana was a 17th century leader of a poison cartel responsible for over 600 deaths thanks to her trademark poison Aqua Tofana. Source: Public domain
16 August, 2020 - 23:02 B. B. Wagner

Giulia Tofana: Queenpin of the Criminal Magical Underworld

Between the years of 1630 to 1655, Giulia Tofana and her poison cartel were the primary facilitators of well over 600 deaths, by way of disgruntled wife, through their trademark poison known as Aqua...
Statue of Raja Bhoja in Bhopal at the time of sunset. Source: yash / Adobe Stock
15 August, 2020 - 23:01 Saurav Ranjan Datta

The Curious Case of Multiple Raja Bhojas of India

Sometimes, a man acquires a legendary aura due to the benevolence of his heart or due to the greatness of his deeds. But often legends accumulate the collective qualities of various heroes and give...
Mimir, the bodiless god of wisdom, plays a fundamental role in the stories of Odin and the Norse gods.
11 August, 2020 - 12:49 Riley Winters

The Bodiless God of Wisdom: Mimir in Norse Mythology

The god who transcends even Odin’s power, Mimir (or sometimes called Mim) is remembered throughout Norse mythology as the oracular head from which the two races of gods, the Aesir and Vanir, seek...
Pope Alexander VI inspired the Showtime mini-series “The Borgias”,
10 August, 2020 - 22:55 dhwty

Pope Alexander VI: Unscrupulous Borgia Patriarch With a Lust for Power

Alexander VI was a pope who lived during the 15 th century, when Italy was experiencing the Renaissance . He is considered to be one of the most controversial popes in the history of the Roman...
Prester John was a legendary Medieval king. Source: diter / Adobe Stock
9 August, 2020 - 14:07 dhwty

The Legend of Prester John and His Lost Kingdom in the East

Prester John (known also as Presbyter John or John the Elder) was a legendary figure in Europe during the Medieval and Early Modern periods. Europeans living at that time believed that Prester John...
The Second Scorpion King of Ancient Egypt
6 August, 2020 - 18:59 Natalia Klimczak

Searching for the Lost Footsteps of the Scorpion Kings

There were two Scorpion Kings in the pre-dynastic period of ancient Egypt. They were forgotten by most of the world until Dwayne Johnson played one of the rulers in the famous movie ‘The Scorpion...
King Arthur. Detail. Charles Ernest Butler, 1903.
4 August, 2020 - 18:49 Graham Phillips

Archaeologists May Have Discovered the Birthplace of King Arthur: Legends Come to Life?

The discovery of 1500-year-old ruins at Tintagel in south-west England made headlines around the world. What appear to the be the walls of a Dark Age palace have been found in the exact place, and...
African slave turned king. Credit: Max / Adobe Stock
1 August, 2020 - 19:05 B. B. Wagner

Slave Turned King: The Rule of Miguel De Buria of Venezuela

In Venezuela’s early history, between 1552 to 1555, lies the first and most famous historical account of a slave revolt in the new world. This rebellion was led by Miguel de Buria, who not only won...
Mother Shipton's Cave
31 July, 2020 - 23:11 Natalia Klimczak

Mother Shipton’s Cave of Magic, Mystery, and Prophecy

According to legend, one of the most famous mystical women of England was born in a cave in Knaresborough, Yorkshire. The place of her birth, now known as Mother Shipton’s Cave, continues to be a...
Barbara Erni was a famous con artist in the 1700s whose treacherous trunk trick earned her a reputation, and ultimately an untimely end. Source: Thicha & Andrey Kiselev / Adobe Stock
30 July, 2020 - 22:51 Aleksa Vučković

The Brazen Cons of Barbara Erni and Gregor MacGregor

Throughout our relatively modern history, con artists, thieves, and scammers have been a dime a dozen. In dire times of poverty and lawlessness, shrewd and mischievous people resorted to the world of...
Darya Saltykova, aka Saltychikha, was an abusive and unchecked aristocrat, known for murdering 139 serfs on Yroitskoe estate near Moscow in Russia. Adapted from Portrait of Countess Darya Petrovna Saltykova by François-Hubert Drouais. Source: Public domain
25 July, 2020 - 18:58 B. B. Wagner

Darya Saltykova: Cruel Russian Aristocrat with a Taste for Murder

In 1768, Darya Nokolayevna Ivanova Saltykova, better known as Saltychikha , was found guilty for the murder of 139 serfs under her care. Of that number, only 38 were confirmed due to the immense fear...
Ancient Bengali Buddhists helped spread the religion to Tibet.
20 July, 2020 - 18:51 Saurav Ranjan Datta

How Ancient Bengalis Established Buddhism in Tibet

The history of the Indian sub-continent’s Bengal region dates back to ancient times. This long history includes India’s most famous epic stories including the Ramayana and the Mahabharata . Ancient...
Sophocles
18 July, 2020 - 15:51 dhwty

Sophocles: Archetypal Master of Greek Tragedy

Sophocles was a playwright who lived in Greece during the 5 th century BC. He is one of the three Greek writers of tragedy (the other two being Aeschylus and Euripides) whose works have survived till...
The harsh conditions did not deter Viking Hrafna-Flóki from settling Iceland Source: Sergio / Adobe Stock
17 July, 2020 - 23:00 Aleksa Vučković

Settlement of Iceland: Viking Hrafna-Flóki’s Real Journey

Iceland is a large Nordic island country, and one of the most sparsely populated nations in Europe. This remote island is known for its iconic North Atlantic climate and somewhat inhospitable nature...
Was the Queen Anne’s Revenge deliberately beached by Blackbeard
17 July, 2020 - 18:51 ashley cowie

Did Blackbeard’s Pirate Legacy End With ‘Leaks' Rather Than Mistakes?

Sitting on a throne during the Golden Age of Pirates , Blackbeard , or Edward Teach (1680-1718), was an English pirate who famously terrorized the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North...
Sacred geometry deduces that certain geometrical shapes and proportions contain sacred meaning. The application of sacred geometry can be found in many civilizations around the world. Source: ekaart / Adobe Stock / Sacred Geometry Spiral (lightaspect / Adobe Stock)
11 July, 2020 - 13:57 dhwty

Sacred Geometry: Unlocking the Secret Structures of the Universe

The Cambridge English Dictionary defines geometry as “the area of mathematics relating to the study of space and the relationships between points, lines, curves, and surfaces”. This definition fits...
Detail of ‘The Maid of Orléans’ (1886) by Jan Matejko - Joan of Arc
10 July, 2020 - 19:14 dhwty

Speaking of Angels and Saints: The Story of Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc was a young peasant woman who lived during the last phase of the Hundred Years’ War . This war was a series of military conflicts between France and England which began in 1337 due to an...
Pythagoras advocating vegetarianism.
9 July, 2020 - 22:08 dhwty

Pythagoras: A Life Beyond Math and Science

Pythagoras is perhaps the most famous figure in the group of ancient Greek philosophers known as the Pre-Socratics. This is largely due to the Pythagorean Theorem, a mathematical theorem that is...
Catherine of Valois being presented to King Henry V of England at the Treaty of Troyes in 1420. Original print at the Rijksmuseum. Source: Rijksmuseum / CC0
9 July, 2020 - 13:56 dhwty

Catherine of Valois: Political Pawn, Dowager Queen and Life in the Shadows

Catherine of Valois was a French princess who lived during the 15 th century. Catherine is an important female figure in medieval English history, being the wife of one English king, and the mother...
The Rufus Stone in the New Forest, England, from sometime between 1890 and 1900. (Public Domain)
6 July, 2020 - 14:00 dhwty

The Rufus Stone: Memorial to William Rufus, Unpopular Norman King of England

The Rufus Stone is a memorial in the New Forest, England . The stone is alleged to mark the location where William II, the second Norman king of England, met his death. In reality, however, the exact...
Queen Elizabeth I: The Controversies and the Accomplishments
1 July, 2020 - 19:06 dhwty

Queen Elizabeth I: The Controversies and the Accomplishments

Elizabeth I was one of England’s most famous and powerful queens and an iconic figure in world history. Known also as ‘The Virgin Queen’ and ‘Good Queen Bess’, she belonged to the House of Tudor – a...

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