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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.

An agent of the Assassins (left, in white turban) fatally stabs Nizam al-Mulk, a Seljuk vizier, in 1092 AD. (14th-century AD manuscript) Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul (Public Domain)
20 April, 2022 - 13:56 ashley cowie

History Of Assassins: When Human Hunter-Killers Began Hunting Humans

For at least 200,000 years Homo sapiens were hunter-gatherer-fishers and at the end of the last Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago, they flipped from being the number one prey food on the planet to...
A statue of Eri, the mythical founding king of the Igbo people of northwestern Africa. Source: TheGuardian, Nigeria
19 April, 2022 - 18:58 Lex Leigh

Eri: Mythical King and Founder of the Igbo

The Igbo are a large ethnic group located around Nigeria with a fascinating origin story. Having lived throughout northwestern Africa for many years, the Igbo’s origins can be traced back nearly 6000...
Left: An unknown Egyptian mummy. Right: Modern equivalent of Mummy Brown pigment. Source: michal812 / Adobe Stock
19 April, 2022 - 01:55 dhwty

Mummy Brown – 16th Century Paint Made from Ground Up Mummies

Most people today would probably associate Egyptian mummies with museums. This is unsurprising, as this is probably where most of us have seen them, especially in Europe. Yet, if I were to say that...
The Thesmophoric procession by Francis Davis Millet (1894) Brigham Young University Museum of Art (Public Domain)
18 April, 2022 - 20:31 Stephen Martin

The Original Meaning Of The Mysteries Of The Ancient World

For probably over 2,000 years in antiquity, mystery rites were celebrated in many different cities stretching from parts of Europe and Africa all the way to India. There were many variations to the...
The bloodletting of a patient by a surgeon with three dismayed onlookers; represented by five faun-like demons. Source: Wellcome Images / CC BY 4.0
16 April, 2022 - 18:58 Jake Leigh-Howarth

Bleeding Your Way to Health: The Horrible History of Bloodletting

Bloodletting, or phlebotomy, is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “the surgical removal of some of a patient’s blood for therapeutic purposes.” Throughout the majority of history, this gruesome,...
Historical Chinese Gardens: Sanctuaries For The Mind And Body
15 April, 2022 - 17:22 MartiniF

Historical Chinese Gardens: Sanctuaries For The Mind And Body

In a garden, art, science, nature and the mind collide. It is no surprise then, that many stories in ancient religions and philosophies are set in gardens. Christians believe that the Garden of Eden...
Composite image of the Trung sisters. Source: warmtail / Adobe Stock
15 April, 2022 - 01:59 mrreese

Hell Hath No Fury Like the Freedom Fighting Trung Sisters

Throughout history, Vietnamese women have been instrumental in resisting foreign domination. The most well-known of these heroines are the Trung sisters, who led the first national uprising against...
Detail of illustration showing Roman soldiers killing the Anglesey Druids, as described by Tacitus. Source: Public domain
14 April, 2022 - 14:59 Jake Leigh-Howarth

The Conquest of Anglesey and the Destruction of Druidism’s Last Stronghold

With a reputation for their savagery, the destruction of the Anglesey Druids and conquest of the Welsh Isle of Anglesey by the Romans put an end to the last pagan corner of Wales in 77 AD. But was...
Composite image combining illustration of Acharya Kanad and an image of an atom. Source: astroved / CC BY-SA 4.0 & Siarhei / Adobe Stock
14 April, 2022 - 01:59 Joanna Gillan

Acharya Kanad: An Indian Sage Who Developed Atomic Theory 2,600 Years Ago

While John Dalton, an English chemist and physicist, is the man credited today with the development of atomic theory at the turn of the 19th century, a theory of atoms was actually formulated 2,500...
Diomedes Devoured by his Horses, by Gustave Moreau (1865), Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen (Public Domain)
13 April, 2022 - 19:42 Ken Jeremiah

Hotdogs, Hamburgers And Humans On The Menu For Carnivorous Horses

An article in the magazine The Horse entitled Carnivorous Horses by Dr Sue McDonnell in which she described horses killing and devouring other animals, spurred some letters to the editors from...
The Atacama Desert in Chile. Source: baisa / Adobe Stock
13 April, 2022 - 18:47 Nathan Falde

Chilean Mega-Earthquake Left Atacama Deserted for 1,000 Years

One of the most powerful earthquakes in recorded history occurred in the Pacific Ocean just off the coast of Chile approximately 3,800 years ago. This catastrophic seismic event created a massive...
The Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Material Medica) is a 16th-century collection of medical knowledge. Source: Public domain
13 April, 2022 - 01:59 dhwty

The Ben Cao Gang Mu – The Bible of Traditional Chinese Medicine

The Ben Cao Gang Mu , or Compendium Materia Medica , is an encyclopedic compendium written by the 16th-century Chinese doctor Li Shizhen. This compilation is said to be the most complete and...
Roman inflation from 90 BC onwards eventually brought the Roman Republic to its knees! The Roman Forum, the financial and political center of the city and the Republic would have been a busy place as Roman inflation began to destabilize the entire Roman world. Source: Jebulon / CC0
12 April, 2022 - 14:58 Nathan Falde

Roman Republic Experienced Deep Financial Crisis in 90 BC, Study Shows

In the early first century BC, the Roman Republic experienced a multiyear financial crisis, which we can call “Roman inflation.” But while scholars knew that some kind of breakdown in the Roman...
Reading religious book. Source: 4Max / Adobe Stock
12 April, 2022 - 01:59 Forest Bauer

Does The Iliad Deserve Reverence as Scripture Like The Bible?

Ten thousand years from now, when humanity has moved out among the stars, and an alien race discovers the Earth and explores it, can you imagine one of them coming across the Bible and reading it?...
Christopher Columbus statue in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Source: Nikolay N. Antonov / Adobe Stock
11 April, 2022 - 22:58 Sahir

First Tomb of Christopher Columbus Finally Found

He can be hailed as the heroic explorer who “discovered” the “New World” or reviled as the man who set off the process of genocide of indigenous Americans, but he can’t be denied a momentous place in...
Christine de Pisan presenting her book to queen Isabeau of Bavaria. Illuminated miniature from The Book of the Queen (various works by Christine de Pizan) (Public Domain)
11 April, 2022 - 16:45 Dr Marion Dolan

Christine de Pizan, 15th-Century Feminist And Social Commentator

“The female sex has been left defenseless for a long time now, like an orchard without a wall and bereft of a champion to take up arms in order to protect it…” The Book of the City of Ladies by...
Socrates drinking poison
11 April, 2022 - 14:58 dhwty

Brutal Draconian Laws of Ancient Greece Were Etched in Blood

Athens is perhaps most famous for being the birthplace of democracy. One of the cornerstones for the establishment of Athenian democracy was the introduction of a written law code that could only be...
Selection of Greek Magical Papyri which are kept at the British Library. Source: British Library
8 April, 2022 - 18:54 Jessica Nadeau

Curious and Unusual Spells from the Greek Magical Papyri

The Greek magical papyri, as it is commonly known, is an extensive collection of ancient Greco-Roman Egypt magical spells, rituals, remedies, hymns, and myth. Scholars have placed its origin between...
Abraham leaves Haran for Egypt by Francesco Bassano the Younger (1560 – 1592) Rijksmuseum (Public Domain)
8 April, 2022 - 11:33 Willem McLoud

The Sumerian Hypothesis: The Influence Of Sumer On The Primeval History

The use of Mesopotamian material in the motifs and stories found in Genesis 1–11 (also called the Primeval History) has been of great interest to biblical scholars for many years. Although the...
Sacrifice and care on Chinese Tomb Sweeping Day. Source: tuayai / Adobe Stock
8 April, 2022 - 01:58 aprilholloway

The Myths, Legends and Traditions of Chinese Tomb Sweeping Day

Every year, the Chinese celebrate the historic Qingming Festival. Fondly known as Ancestors Day or Tomb Sweeping Day, it is a day that commemorates the onset spring and the occasion when families...
The screen poster for the 1982 film The Return of Martin Guerre. Source: Erogers148 / CC BY-SA 4.0
7 April, 2022 - 15:08 Meagan Dickerson

Martin Guerre: A Much Celebrated Historic Tale of Stolen Identity

On the 16th of September 1560, in the small rural French town of Artigat, a man named Arnaud du Tilh was put to death by hanging for a most unusual crime: for over three years, he had assumed an...
The ideas behind the Mormon creation theory are captured in the Replica of Christus (1838) by Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844), located in the Temple Square North Visitors Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. Source: Public domain
7 April, 2022 - 01:58 Forest Bauer

The Mormon Creation Theory and What it is Built Upon

From the time of early humankind, staring up at the night sky or watching the sunrise, we have wondered at the vastness and beauty of the world around us. Christians have a creation story, American...
Mosaic of Theodora - Basilica of San Vitale, RAVENNA (built A.D. 547), Italy. UNESCO World heritage site. (Petar Milošević/ CC BY-SA 4.0)
6 April, 2022 - 23:26 Mary Naples

Formidable Byzantine Roman Empress Theodora - Saint Or Sinner?

The hooded gaze of an inscrutable Theodora (c.497- 548 AD) greets hundreds of thousands of visitors each year as they pay their respects to her mosaic at the Basilica of Saint Vitale in Ravenna ,...
Nuclear war concept. Explosion of nuclear bomb. Creative artwork decoration in dark.
4 April, 2022 - 16:42 Ken Jeremiah

Cakra, Destroyer Of Planets: Did Ancient Nuclear Technology Exist?

Nuclear power has caused some serious disasters throughout the world. Is it a modern phenomenon, or is there evidence of its existence in the ancient world? The worst nuclear disaster in the United...

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