All  

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

History

From the powerful civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley, to the fearsome yet sophisticated society of the Vikings, the ancient world was a surprising and challenging place. Here we feature some of the most seminal and influential events and people throughout history, that have helped shape the world we know today.

Monk chronicler writes an ancient manuscript. Source: Nejron Photo / Adobe Stock

How Did it All Begin? The Rich Origins of the English Language

Language is a universal tool for every person in this world. It is the connecting link between nations, ethnicities, and people sharing a common background. The world of language is colorful and...
Balaam and the Angel, who is said to be the evil angel or Jewish Satan Mastema, by the painter Gustav Jaeger. 		Source: Gustav Jäger/ Public domain

The Jewish Satan Mastema and the Cosmic War Against God

The earliest Jewish accounts did not have a clear Satan figure, but one of the earliest to be named was Mastema. Mastema is portrayed as the adversary of God. Mastema has his origin in the Jewish...
Do you have royal genes? Source: master1305 / Adobe Stock

Do You Have Royal Genes? Almost Certainly, Statisticians Say

For the past 18 seasons, viewers of the BBC television show “Who Do You Think You Are?” have been watching with interest as guests from all walks of life discover surprising facts about their genetic...
Tracing The Footprints Of The Philistines To Minoan Knossos On Crete

Tracing The Footprints Of The Philistines To Minoan Knossos On Crete

The year 1185 BC heralded a diaspora of the so-called Sea Peoples to the south-western coast of the Levantine. From the west they came in ships via the Mediterranean Sea and from the north they...
Detail of ‘The Battle of Pavia’ (1528-1531) by Bernard van Orley and William Dermoyen.

The Battle of Pavia: Paving the Political Roads of Rival Rulers with Blood

February 24, 1525. A day that is not marked in infamy but in the blood of France. On this date, the Battle of Pavia occurred – the decisive event in a longstanding war and rivalry, and the crushing...

The Evil Eye in the Mediterranean: How to Avert Accidental Envy

The ancient Mediterranean belief of the evil eye still has its adherents today. Those who have the “eye” are thought to give bad luck unintentionally to anything or anyone that they are envious of...
Pazzi chapel, Santa Croce Florence, stills stands, but after the Pazzi Conspiracy against the Medici family, the Pazzis were banished and had to change their name. 		Source: adisa / Adobe Stock

The Pazzi Conspiracy: How A Florentine Family Failed And Was Banished

The Pazzi Conspiracy was a plot during the 15th century to overthrow the Medici family, who controlled Florence at the time. The conspirators, led by the Pazzi family, aimed to achieve their goal by...
Ezekiel’s vision The Valley of Dry Bones: loswl / CC BY-SA 2.0 .

Seeking The Ten Lost Tribes Of Israel, Finding DNA

The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel have been considered lost for over 3,000 years, but recent evidence demonstrates that they were not lost, they had merely been scattered around the world and had...
A 16th century German man named Peter Stumpp was allegedly a werewolf!

Germany’s Brutal Werewolf Belt and The Gut-Wrenching Execution of Peter Stumpp

Fans of the supernatural may have noticed a curious line in William Peter Blatty’s book The Exorcist. While talking about Satanism: "Well, there's William Stumpf, for example…a German in the...
Compilation of the overall appearance of the statue based on Greek and Roman statuettes of the Sun-God and corresponding reconstruction of the 120m (393 ft) tall tower, designed by ©Andrew Michael Chugg

The Pharos Lighthouse Of Alexandria – Second Sun And Seventh Wonder Of The Ancient World

The Pharos lighthouse in Alexandria was constructed in the first two decades of the third century BC and it may have been nominated as one of the world’s Seven Wonders as early as the middle of the...
Mysterious man on a creepy night. Who really killed the King?

Who Killed the King? An Ancient Irish Murder Mystery

It might almost be a shocking moment from a Shakespeare play or even a plot-line from Game of Thrones, but the murder of an ancient Irish king, Crimthann mac Énnai, is an event which actually took...
Gods Throwing Dice: Cleromancy In The Trojan War

Gods Throwing Dice: Cleromancy In The Trojan War

Rage—Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses, hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls, great fighters' souls, but...
Theodelinda, queen of the Lombards, marries Agilulf, duke of Turin, in a painting by Fratelli Zavattari. Source: Fratelli Zavattari / Public domain

The Lombards: The “Barbaric” Germanic Warriors Who Changed Italy

As the Roman Empire crumbled, the history of the ancient world was undoubtedly marked and shaped by more than one powerful Germanic tribe. From their oldest roots, they developed into iconic ethnic...
Stephen Childs theorizes that Gobekli Tepe was once a site for dramatic funerals and corpse exposure, where vultures and carnivores circled awaiting to play their part. Source: Ezume Images / Adobe Stock

Corpse Recycling at Gobekli Tepe: The True Purpose of its Ancient Stone Circles?

The following essay is an extract from Stone Circles Explained by Stephen Childs, in which the author offers some original theories regarding the purpose of stone circles. Covering sites from around...
Michelle Freson Ancient Origins Compilation

The Golden Age Of Heroes: The Glory Of The Mycenaean Civilization

The myths and legends of classical Greece told of a Golden Age of Heroes, of mighty kings, glorious palaces and warriors who fought courageously in fierce battles. This age that inspired the...
The Maltese architect believed that Malta was the location of legendary Atlantis. Source: fergregory / Adobe Stock

Maltese Architect’s Obsessive Lifelong Quest to Find Atlantis

The Maltese architect Giorgio Grognet de Vassé was born in Malta in 1774, before enjoying a varied career which culminated in his architectural design of the Rotunda of Mosta. Inspired by the...
1494 The Battle Of Acentejo:  A Gaunches Victory At Tenerife Over The Castilians

1494 The Battle Of Acentejo: A Gaunches Victory At Tenerife Over The Castilians

A battle at the end of May 1494, on the north slope of the island of Tenerife, between the Castilian troops of the belligerent Catholic Monarchs of Fernando II of Aragon and Isabel I of Castile and a...
Jaques Le Gris, played by Adam Driver on the left, and Jean de Carrouges, played by Matt Damon, in The Last Duel. 	Source: 20th Century Studios

The True History Behind “The Last Duel” - A Tale of Trial by Combat

Medieval chivalric duels were undoubtedly the most thrilling events of the time. The last vestige of the ancient gladiatorial fights, knightly duels were a true display of the skill with arms and...
The Turin Papyrus composite and colored from plates 2-5 o the 1904 book "Aegyptische Chronologie" by Eduard Meyer (PLstrom / CC BY-SA 3.0)

New Ancient Middle Eastern Chronology Unlocks Hidden History Of Egypt and Mesopotamia

In the academic study of the ancient world, chronology or timeline is of the utmost importance. This is especially true for the ancient Middle East. When events in Egypt are to be correlated with...
Queen Mary applies the Royal Touch to cure scrofula. Source: M S Lapthorn / Public Domain.

The Royal Touch: Could Medieval Monarchs Heal You With Their Hands?

For centuries, a commonality across the various monarchies of the world was a direct association between the ruler and a higher power. Kings and queens were seen either as God’s Chosen One or, in...
A medieval couple embrace. Source: diter / Adobe Stock

The Aphrodisiacs that Spiced Up Sex Lives in the Ancient World

Sex is a primal urge humans share with animals. In the ancient world, human fertility had implications for safety and prosperity. However, as the search for birth control methods went hand in hand...
Order of the Dragon Source: Taily / Adobe Stock

The Chivalric Order of the Dragon, the Medieval Shield of Christendom

Medieval chivalric orders are the fabled and idealized stuff of legend. Upstanding knights , standing in defense of their faith and of the innocents, with their sophisticated manners and shining...
Panspermia theory argues that life came to Earth from elsewhere in our galaxy or even further away.(Dmitry / Adobe Stock)

Gods Galactica, The Kardashev Scale: Mankind’s Future Destiny Prophesized

“ But where is Everybody ?” asks the Fermi Paradox in the 1950’s regarding intelligent civilizations in the universe. In 1964, a 32-year-old Soviet/Russian astrophysicist named Nikolai Semyonovich...
Are our conceptions of war and peace more civilized in modern times? The Apotheosis of War, by Vasily Vereshchagin. Source: Public domain

War and Peace in Pre-Modern Europe: Have We Really Bypassed Brutality?

When pondering themes of war and peace, there is a general perception among modern people of the Western world that the time we live in is decidedly more civilized and peaceful than any other era of...

Pages