All  

Store Banner Mobile

Store Banner 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.

Mithridates expertly used symbology to appeal to the multiple factions of his coalition. Source: Fernando Cortés / Adobe Stock.
18 February, 2022 - 18:00 Thanos Matanis

A Master of Symbology: How Mithridates Eupator United the Foes of Rome

Pop culture usually depicts the relationship between Greeks and the East as tumultuous. This is due mainly to the three wars Greece fought against Persia, featured in films like 300 by Zack Snyder...
The famous mosaic of Marco Polo displayed in the Palazzo Doria-Tursi, Italy, a man we now know more about with the latest evidence of a likely-earlier daughter by him in Venice. Source: Salviati / Public domain
16 February, 2022 - 17:49 Sahir

Unknown Estranged Daughter of Marco Polo Revealed In Venetian Will

The Venetian merchant, explorer, and traveler, Marco Polo, is one of history’s most revered names, and his travels through Asia along the Silk Road at the end of the 13th century are documented in...
Fall of the Titans". Oil on canvas by Jacob Jordaens, (1638) (Public Domain)
16 February, 2022 - 16:00 Willem McLoud

Were All The Nephilim Giants Or Men Of Renown?

It is often assumed that the biblical ‘Nephilim’ were all Giants. The Nephilim, however, entail much more and can be traced back to a much richer tradition found in ancient Mesopotamia about the...
Book pages curled into a heart for Valentine’s Day. Source: pirotehnik / Adobe Stock
14 February, 2022 - 22:00 mrreese

Day of Love? The Complex Origins of Valentine’s Day

On February 14, couples from around the world recognize Valentine’s Day. For most, Valentine’s Day is a day of love, a day to shower your beloved with gifts and tokens of appreciation, to enjoy a...
The Romance of Hurrem, The Slave Empress And Suleiman The Magnificent
14 February, 2022 - 20:01 Dr Marion Dolan

The Romance of Hurrem, The Slave Empress And Suleiman The Magnificent

During the 16th century a Christian slave, captured when only 15-years-old, shattered the traditional rules of the Ottoman Empire and through her intelligence and charm became its first Empress,...
Samson and Delilah by Jose Etxenagusia, 1887.
14 February, 2022 - 00:06 Mark Oliver

Were Samson’s Superhuman Abilities Really That Far-fetched?

The story of Samson is one of the more far-fetched stories in the Bible. It’s like an ancient Superhero story; the story of a man whose magical hair gives such superhuman strength that he could kill...
Young happy woman standing by an American Civil War canon in Manassas National Battlefield Park, Virginia. Source: Andriy Blokhin / Adobe Stock
13 February, 2022 - 22:00 Anthony Ruggiero

Women’s Changing Roles Before and During the American Civil War

Overall, the nineteenth century saw women continue to fight to improve their own roles, as well as the rights of others, like slaves. Women participated in a series of conventions and protests to...
Viking style conquest had a profound impact on Russia's history. Source: Iobard / Adobe Stock
13 February, 2022 - 17:30 Nathan Falde

New Study Finds Roots of Modern Russia in its Viking Style Past

A new study published in the journal Russian History has revealed some surprising details about economic, political, and cultural developments in medieval and modern Russia. It seems that the Russian...
Demonic Evil Meets Human Evil: When Evil Was Released into the World “There is no good, and there is no evil. There is only the flesh and the patterns to which we submit it.” At least that was one of the things which the character Pinhead was supposed to say according to a proposed script for one of the Hellraiser movies based on the writings of Clive Barker. Even though the line was not used in the film, to a certain extent, there is some truth to that. The dual perspective based on the good-evil distinc
12 February, 2022 - 22:00 Phoenix Vald

Demonic Evil Meets Human Evil: When Evil Was Released into the World

“There is no good, and there is no evil. There is only the flesh and the patterns to which we submit it.” At least that was one of the things which the character Pinhead was supposed to say according...
Was Marco Polo just another fiction from Rustichiano? Source: Ulia Koltyrina / Adobe Stock.
11 February, 2022 - 14:59 Ken Jeremiah

The Ghost Of Marco Polo Haunting The Fictional Realm

In 2016, Ancient Origins published an article entitled Is Marco Polo a Fictional Characte r? and it led to hate-mail and overall outrage among some readers. It was blown so out-of-proportion that the...
The legendary Silver Shields of Alexander the Great went on to serve Eumenes as the house of Argead battled the Macedonian forces of Antigonus but in the end family trumped loyalty. Source: Honga
10 February, 2022 - 22:00 Thanos Matanis

Silver Shields: Alexander's Crack Troops Who Betrayed Their New Master

Could a ragtag team of elite troops in their later years, and a bureaucrat-turn-general take on the military powerhouse of the day? Eumenes, the Greek general, was tasked by Olympias (Alexander’s...
Crusaders thirsting under the walls of Jerusalem by Francesco Hayez (1836-50) Web Gallery of Art (Public Domain)
9 February, 2022 - 23:17 Dr Marion Dolan

The Bloodless Sixth Crusade Led By The Excommunicated ‘Son Of Satan’ Frederick II

The conquest to free the Holy Land was a vital component of the late Middle Ages. Sacred to all three major religions, Christians, Jews and Muslims, control of Jerusalem was significant to each. The...
Ancient Trashy Erotic Historical Romance Novels Survived The Passage Of Time
8 February, 2022 - 23:43 MartiniF

Ancient Trashy Erotic Historical Romance Novels Survived The Passage Of Time

The popularity of trashy romance fiction with pirates abducting beautiful virgins and selling heroes as slaves, mistaken identities, shipwrecks, lust, lost lovers reunited and happy-ever-after-...
A stunningly made and preserved silk textile, one of many, found at the Astana Cemetery in far northwestern China. Source: Public domain
8 February, 2022 - 01:00 dhwty

The Astana Cemetery and Perfectly Preserved Textiles of Gaochang

The Astana Cemetery is an ancient cemetery located near Turpan, in the autonomous region of Xinjiang, northwestern China. The cemetery was used during the 1st millennium AD by the inhabitants of...
Uncovered bulls head from the northeast platform in building 77 at Çatalhöyük. Source: Çatalhöyük Research Project / CC BY-NC 4.0
6 February, 2022 - 22:00 ancient-origins

How Domesticated Cattle Changed Life in Çatalhöyük

Those who have studied Çatalhöyük are aware that cattle appear to have been a hugely important animal in the Neolithic Central Anatolian town of Çatalhöyük East on the Konya Plain in modern-day...
The Australian National Maritime Museum say the Endeavour shipwreck discovery, pictured here underwater in Newport Harbor, USA, is the real thing but Rhode Island maritime authorities say it’s too early to be sure. Source: Australian National Maritime Museum
6 February, 2022 - 18:00 Sahir

Has Captain Cook’s Endeavour Shipwreck Finally Been Confirmed off Rhode Island?

The HMS Endeavour is the famous ship that Captain James Cook used on the first expedition to Australia in 1768 AD. The wreck of the ship that enabled this voyage is now believed to have been found...
The persecution of witches is a common theme within the history of witchcraft. Source: Matrioshka / Adobe Stock
5 February, 2022 - 22:00 Phoenix Vald

The Long History of Witchcraft Persecution

Since the beginnings of history, humans believed in religions of a polytheist type, worshipping a plurality of gods and spirits. By proposing a monotheist religious system, Christianity intended to...
Baal And Moloch, Did The Ancient Gods Of The Levant Demand Child Sacrifices?
5 February, 2022 - 15:25 Ken Jeremiah

Baal And Moloch, Did The Ancient Gods Of The Levant Demand Child Sacrifices?

In the Valley of Hinnom near Jerusalem stood a giant statue of the god Moloch. The valley and the deity are infamous for their historical association with child sacrifice. According to some...
An aerial view of the newly discovered BC Buddhist temple found in the Barikok ruins of Pakistan. Source: Ca' Foscari University
2 February, 2022 - 22:00 Sahir

One of the Oldest Known Buddhist Temples Found in Barikot, Pakistan

Archaeologists from an Italian archaeological mission, working in collaboration with the International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies (ISMEO), have found the remains of a Buddhist...
Hindu Gods And Their Counterparts: Ubiquitous In A Global Sphere
2 February, 2022 - 19:26 Stephen Martin

Hindu Gods And Their Counterparts: Ubiquitous In A Global Sphere

Modern Hinduism is likely the most difficult modern religious schemata in the world to define, due to its countless number of sects and influences, and its philosophical additions and interpretations...
Taking The Fall For Humankind: Psycho-Secrets Of The Celtic Pookas
31 January, 2022 - 23:26 ashley cowie

Taking The Fall For Humankind: Psycho-Secrets Of The Celtic Pookas

It is generally accepted that Fairies were mythological creatures from old European folklore, and that according to fairy folklorists the so-called wee-folk prefer natural sweetened foods like honey...
Covesea Caves with screenshot of one of the bones discovered inside. Source: Society for Antiquaries of Scotland
31 January, 2022 - 14:00 Sahir

Mystical Mummification: Latest Secret of Scotland’s Covesea Caves

The Covesea Caves range just short of Inverness on Scotland’s northeastern coast have been known to archaeologists since 1929, but each round of exploration and analysis throws up fresh surprises...
Illustration of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castille, who feature in one of the card games. Source: Ciudades en Juego
30 January, 2022 - 14:00 Cecilia Bogaard

Spanish Card Games Bring the Kings and Queens of Spain to Life

History is naturally captivating, filled with mind-boggling plot twists and all the elements that make for fantastic fiction. Or at least, history can be captivating when, and only when, it is taught...
Roman London’s Port Became Redundant In The Third Century AD
28 January, 2022 - 19:21 Dr Dominic Perring

Roman London’s Port Became Redundant In The Third Century AD

A series of changes that contributed to the redundancy of London’s port took place during the period of wider disruptions known as the ‘Third-Century Crisis’ - a time of political instability, plague...

Pages