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.

The House of Borgia is depicted here as “A glass of wine with Cesare Borgia,” a painting that clearly shows the wealth and power (church power) of this illustrious and infamous family. Photo source: John Collier / Public domain
27 November, 2021 - 18:18 Cam Rea

The Classical Influences Behind The Works Of Niccolo Machiavelli

Niccolo Machiavelli, a 16th-century man, is today still feared and yet revered. Machiavelli has come to represent the archetype of a scheming and conniving mastermind and even modern psychology...
Commodus the Roman Emperor
27 November, 2021 - 00:28 mrreese

Commodus: The Outrageous Emperor Who Fought as a Gladiator

Roman Emperor Lucius Aurelius Commodus was a corrupt ruler who was not well-received by the Roman people during his reign. He also believed himself to be a reincarnation of Hercules and enjoyed...
Fireworks at the Opet festival at Luxor’s Sphinx Avenue opening. Source: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities – Egypt
26 November, 2021 - 17:57 Sahir

Opet Festival Extravaganza Marks Reopening of Avenue of Sphinxes

Egypt hosted the re-enactment of the ancient Egyptian Opet festival last night. The grand ceremony was held to mark the reopening of the 1.7-mile-long (2.7 km) road which links the Temples of Karnak...
Deriv; Sculpture depicting the King Tutankhamun as a child, gold plate with Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun.
25 November, 2021 - 01:00 anand balaji

The Twin Tragedy of Tutankhamun: Death of a Dynasty

Tossed away callously in a dark corner of the lavish Treasury in the subterranean tomb of Tutankhamun was possibly the most poignant remnant of the boy king’s short life. Positioned next to the...
18th Century Post-Mortem Punishment: Gibbets ‘Hanging In Chains’ In England
24 November, 2021 - 20:41 Charles Christian

18th Century Post-Mortem Punishment: Gibbets ‘Hanging In Chains’ In England

The curious English have a predilection for heaping abuse upon the corpses of the unfortunate dead, including a cruel and unusual punishment the bodies of executed murderers were subject to in the...
St. Sebastian pleads for those afflicted with plague during the 7th century Plague of Justinian in a painting by South Netherlandish painter Josse Lieferinxe. Source: Josse Lieferinxe / Public domain
23 November, 2021 - 21:57 Nathan Falde

Study Demonstrates Terrible Toll of Sixth Century Plague of Justinian

In a new study appearing in the journal Past & Present , Cambridge University history professor Peter Sarris argues that recent scholarship has badly underestimated the true impact of the sixth-...
The Tower of London, where King Edward V, and the Duke of York were killed by Richard III or someone else. Source: rpbmedia / Adobe Stock
22 November, 2021 - 21:57 Alex White

Why Did Richard III Spare Edward, Earl of Warwick?

We’ve all heard the tale of the Princes in the Tower, the young sons of Edward IV who disappeared under mysterious circumstances in the Tower of London in 1483, presumed murdered, only to be...
Taş Tepeler: Anatolia’s Land Of Great Transformation
22 November, 2021 - 21:31 jim willis

Taş Tepeler: Anatolia’s Land Of Great Transformation

Taş Tepeler means “Stone Hills” and refers to an area covering some 200 kilometers (124 miles) in ancient Anatolia, now Turkey, in the vicinity of present day Şanlıurfa . The Turkish Tourist Board...
Nicole Wilson had Ötzi the Iceman’s tattoos replicated on her body. Source: TJ Proechel / Nicole Wilson. Inset: Two tattooed bands can be seen around Ötzi the Iceman’s wrist. (South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology)
21 November, 2021 - 21:57 Sahir

Artist Recreates Tattoos of Ötzi the Iceman in Her Own Blood

In an unusual performance, even by today’s standards of contemporary, process-driven art, artist Nicole Wilson has been replicating on her own body and in her own blood the tattoos discovered on the...
fosterage Source: trafa / Adobe Stock
21 November, 2021 - 17:57 Aleksa Vučković

Why Fostering Kids Was So Popular in Ancient Ireland

There were many complex laws and customs prevalent in the Celtic-speaking world of ancient times. In Ireland and the British Isles in general, these customs survived for many centuries, some as late...
Are the Yumbo lost forever? Source: Ammit / Adobe Stock.
21 November, 2021 - 13:57 Bipin Dimri

Pre-Inca Tulipe and the Yumbo: Traders Ahead of their Time?

The Yumbo of Ecuador first came to their Sacred Valley of Tulipe in around 800 BC. They were at that time peace-loving farmers. But what they left behind showed that, with their skills as merchants...
Mayan sculpture. Deciphering the story of Maya warrior Siyah K’ak’ at Tikal. Source: Marco Govel / Adobe Stock
20 November, 2021 - 13:57 Aleksa Vučković

Siyah Kʼakʼ, Warlord of Teotihuacan and his Conquest of Tikal

The pre-Colombian cities, monuments, and pyramids, found deep within the jungles and valleys of Mesoamerica are still shrouded in mystery. While academics are still trying to piece together the...
Yacouba Sawadogo planting.
20 November, 2021 - 00:17 dhwty

The Man Who Stopped a Desert Using Ancient Farming

Desertification is a serious problem facing numerous countries in the world today. Various measures have been taken to counter the negative effects, with some providing better results than others. A...
Jonah and the Whale by Pieter Lastman, (1621) (Public Domain)
19 November, 2021 - 22:25 John McHugh

How Jonah Was Swallowed By The Celestial Sea Serpent Cetus

The Old Testament saga of Jonah and his dreadful, three day and night confinement within the “belly of a whale” and disgorgement onto the shore remains one of the Bible’s most enthralling mysteries...
Woman practicing molybdomancy for New Year’s Eve. (Source: Gina Sanders / Adobe Stock
19 November, 2021 - 13:57 Aleksa Vučković

Molybdomancy: Divination and the Search for Omens in Molten Lead

Throughout history people have been looking for answers and salvation, seeking the assistance of the gods, the spirits of nature, and looking to them for help. When looking for answers about what lay...
Could the Mercury poisoning spike discovered in Iberian Copper Age bones be evidence that cinnabar powder was ingested during rituals? The healing art in pre-historic times, by Ernest Board. Source: Wellcome Trust / CC BY 4.0
18 November, 2021 - 17:57 ashley cowie

Did Ritual Use of Cinnabar Cause Mercury Poisoning in Ancient Iberia?

A team of 14 biologists, chemists, physical anthropologists and archaeologists from the University of Seville have published a new study in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology . The...
The Last Will and Testament of Alexander the Great: Its Appearance, Disappearance And Legacy
17 November, 2021 - 21:25 David Grant

The Last Will and Testament of Alexander the Great: Its Appearance, Disappearance And Legacy

“…the uncomfortable fact remains that the Alexander Romance provides us, on occasion, with apparently genuine materials found nowhere else, while our better-authenticated sources, per contra, are all...
Amy Bailey as Queen Cynethryth in the TV series Vikings. Source: The HISTORY Channel
17 November, 2021 - 13:57 Meagan Dickerson

Queen Cynethryth of Mercia: Victim of a Medieval Smear Campaign?

The Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia was unique because the queens of Mercia left enough of an impact on their world as to be worthy of remembrance. History has not been so kind, however, to some of...
Garden of the Hesperides
16 November, 2021 - 19:01 Robert Bowie Johnson

Garden of Eden Depicted in Ancient Greek Religious Art

If the early chapters of the Book of Genesis present a true account of human origins, then ancient secular human history must connect in significant ways to that account. In fact, ancient Greek...
Caricatures by Katsushika Hokusai (Wellcome Images/Public Domain)
15 November, 2021 - 19:37 MartiniF

From Frescos to Manga: The Ancient History of Comic Books

Debuted in 1825, The Glasgow Looking Glass - later renamed The Northern Looking Glass - was a satirical publication which lampooned the fashions and politics of the time. The Glasgow Looking Glass...
Statue of Tycho Brahe, characteristically looking up. Source: Sven Rosborn / CC BY-SA 3.0.
14 November, 2021 - 17:57 Bipin Dimri

Who was Tycho Brahe? Astronomy with a Naked Eye (and a Missing Nose)

The name Tycho Brahe is not a familiar one to most people. And those who have heard the name, perhaps in the same sentence as Copernicus, or Galileo, may struggle to remember what the man himself was...
Pharaoh Akhenaten in the center and his family worshiping Aten personified as the rays of a solar disk; later such imagery was prohibited. Source: Egyptian Museum / Public domain
13 November, 2021 - 17:57 Aleksa Vučković

Explaining the Weirdly Alien Looking Statues of Pharaoh Akhenaten

In the history of Ancient Egypt, Akhenaten occupies a very special place. Of all the pharaohs over the many centuries, he was by far the most controversial one. His radical policies, major religious...
Ring of Silvianus ( CC BY 2.0 ) and artist's impression of Gollum ( CC BY-SA 4.0 )
12 November, 2021 - 20:15 ashley cowie

My Precious - Magic Power Rings Recurring In Legends

“ The future of civilization rests in the fate of the One Ring , which has been lost for centuries. Powerful forces are unrelenting in their search for it ,” is the opening line of the blurb for J.R...
Mummy portrait, an ancient Egyptian style of post mortem portrait, of a woman from Egypt now housed in the Landesmuseum Württemberg Stuttgard. Source: CC BY-SA 4.0
12 November, 2021 - 00:57 Aleksa Vučković

Preserving Memories Through Time: The History of Post Mortem Portraits

People and cultures around the world have always understood death - the unavoidable part of everyone’s existence – in a multitude of ways. Some saw it as a gateway to a new life, while others viewed...

Pages