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Important Events

Here we feature some of the most seminal, historical, and influential events throughout history – both celebrated and unheralded – from the emergence of powerful civilizations and empires, to famous battles, great achievements, and events that have helped shape the world we currently know.

Queen Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba
26 March, 2020 - 21:46 dhwty

Queen Nzinga: A Courageous Ruler who Set Her People Free

Queen Anna Nzinga, also known as Ana de Sousa Nzinga Mbande, was a queen of the Ndongo and Matamba Kingdoms (occupying what is today the country of Angola in the southern part of Africa) who lived...
What happened to the Maya? This mysterious civilization dominated parts of Central America for over a 1000 years, but then, seemingly fell quite dramatically. Source: PeekCC / Adobe stock
23 March, 2020 - 18:01 dhwty

What Happened to the Maya?

The Maya civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization that was located in Central America. The beginnings of the Maya civilization have been dated to the 2 nd millennium BC. Around the 9 th century...
The Spanish Empire and the New World. Source: CanBea87 / CC BY-SA 4.0.
23 March, 2020 - 12:53 dhwty

Did the Conquest of the New World Save the Spanish Empire?

The Spanish Empire was one of the earliest (and longest-lasting) European colonial empires. It was established towards the end of the 15th century, when the New World was discovered. The Spanish...
Representation of life in medieval Europe at a vineyard. Source: ruskpp /Adobe Stock
21 March, 2020 - 13:03 Aleksa Vučković

How Bad was Life in Medieval Europe Really?

When we think about the life in medieval Europe, we tend to conjure up grim and dismal images of war, poverty, sickness, and the Dark Ages . But was it truly so dark? Is there more to it, or are we...
Representation of genocides with photo of stacked human skulls. Source: papi8888 / Adobe stock.
14 March, 2020 - 18:04 Aleksa Vučković

Suffering the Conquerors: 5 Worst Genocides in Ancient History

The history of our world has always been a bloody and difficult affair, full of struggles, wars and conquests. And in the centuries before our own, tribes and chieftains, kingdoms and empires, all...
Ancient Mariners: Transoceanic Voyages Before the Europeans
8 March, 2020 - 19:02 Freddie Levy

Ancient Mariners: Transoceanic Voyages Before the Europeans

The idea that humans have been completing transoceanic voyages - traveling the earth via our oceans - before Europeans set sail is, in many people's eyes, an accepted conclusion. Yet it is still...
'Battle of Alexander versus Darius’ (1644-1650) by Pietro da Cortona. Darius III was Alexander the Great’s adversary at the Battle of Gaugamela. Source: Public Domain
2 March, 2020 - 14:01 Aleksa Vučković

Battle of Gaugamela: Alexander the Great Thrashes the Achaemenids

No name in world history rings more familiar than that of Alexander the Great. A man that managed extraordinary feats, conquering huge swaths of the world and placing his banner in many a kingdom and...
Big Bang and the hands of God representation. Source: rolffimages / Adobe Stock
28 February, 2020 - 19:00 Gary Driver

The Bible’s Big Bang, Creation of the Universe

The most profound mystery of mankind is the origin of the universe. In juxtaposition, its origin is also the most profound event known to man. Since about 1200 BC the Bible has declared in its first...
Man on fire showing representation of one of the victims at the Ball of the Burning Men (‘Bal des Ardents’) Source: Daniele Depascale / Adobe stock
20 February, 2020 - 22:06 Aleksa Vučković

Ball of the Burning Men: Temperatures Rose at Hot Royal Party

The world of medieval aristocracy was always plagued by extravagance, power, and eccentricity. Where there was an abundance of power and wealth, the great leaders and kings of the world descended...
Street art illustrating what the Spanish conquistadores did to the Inca during their conquest and the Battle of Cajamarca. Source: shantihesse / Adobe Stock.
15 February, 2020 - 14:07 dhwty

The Battle of Cajamarca – The Conquest of the Spanish and the End of the Inca Empire

The Battle of Cajamarca was a battle fought between the Spanish and Inca in 1532. The battle, which is sometimes considered to be an ambush or a skirmish, saw a small band of Spaniards led by the...
The Battle of Zama. Source: Art Institute of Chicago / Public domain
8 February, 2020 - 17:35 dhwty

When Hannibal Met His Nemesis: The Battle of Zama

The Battle of Zama was a decisive battle of the Second Punic War (also known as the Hannibalic War, or the War Against Hannibal), which was fought between Rome and Carthage. The battle was won by the...
The Age of Discovery was a time when European explorers journeyed across the world. Source: oleskalashnik/Adobe Stock
27 January, 2020 - 23:02 dhwty

The Age of Discovery: A New World Dawns

The Age of Discovery (also known as the Age of Exploration) refers to an exciting era in European history when a number of extensive overseas voyages took place. This period lasted roughly from the...
Representation of the Albigensian Crusades against the Cathars. Source: Yelkrokoyade / Public Domain.
17 January, 2020 - 19:09 Aleksa Vučković

The Fall of Spirituality: The Blood-Soaked History of the Cathars

The history of Christianity has always been filled with struggle. When the Middle Ages brought a rise in devoted, unique Christian teachings, the Church responded by declaring them heretics. And the...
Medieval crusader
12 January, 2020 - 13:48 dhwty

The Crusades Beyond the Battlefield

The Crusades were a series of holy wars between the Christians of Western Europe and the Muslims of the Middle East. Traditionally, there were nine major Crusades, which took place between the 11th...
Depiction of the Captivity of Judah. Source: The Providence Lithograph Company / Public domain
2 January, 2020 - 23:03 John W Dickerson

The End of Ancient Judaism: The Captivity

The twelve tribes of ancient Judaism were united into a single kingdom under the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon. The destruction of this kingdom and the forced exile of its population is known as...
The Roman Empire’s Crisis of the Third Century. Source: Luis Louro / Adobe Stock.
2 January, 2020 - 19:01 Aleksa Vučković

The Roman Empire’s Crisis of the Third Century

The history of the Roman Republic , and subsequently, the Roman Empire, is vast and rich, full of intrigues, conflicts, and incredible conquests. But no empire is without weaknesses, and history is...
The Black Death was spread across Europe by rats. Source: rawinfoto / Adobe Stock.
2 January, 2020 - 14:00 Aleksa Vučković

Culling the World: The Catastrophic Conquests of the Black Death

Medieval history is seldom kind. The decades and centuries slumbered onwards, each one bringing its own share of wars, crime , poverty...and disease. Happiness and prosperity were rare and almost...
A woman in a forest holding holly. Credit: LoloStock / Adobe Stock
25 December, 2019 - 13:52 ancient-origins

Decking the Halls of History: The Pagan Origins of Christmas Decorations

The idea of hanging up decorations in the middle of winter is older than Christmas itself. Decorations are mentioned in ancient descriptions of the Roman feast of Saturnalia , which is thought to...
The Renaissance: The ‘Rebirth’ That Changed the World
23 December, 2019 - 23:05 dhwty

The Renaissance: The ‘Rebirth’ That Changed the World

The Renaissance refers to the period in European history between the 14 th and 17 th centuries. As a historical era, the Renaissance was preceded by the Middle Ages, and succeeded by the early modern...
A depiction of Ahmose fighting back the Hyksos from Egypt. Source: Public domain
19 December, 2019 - 13:45 dhwty

Did the Hyksos Pull Off a Peaceful Invasion of Egypt?

The Hyksos were a dynasty of kings who ruled over the northern part of Egypt during the 2 nd millennium BC. They were not native Egyptians, but came from the East, most likely Western Asia...
The spread of the Ostrogothic Kindom, The Goths at the Battle of Mons Lactarius.
16 December, 2019 - 13:57 Aleksa Vučković

Ostrogothic Kingdom – The Rise and Fall of the Eastern Goths

The early medieval and early AD history of Europe saw many emerging nations, and plenty of migrations as well. Tribes were restless, axes sharpened, and old kingdoms were growing weak. And in such...
St Augustine of Canterbury preaches to Aethelberht of Kent during Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England Photo source: James William Edmund Doyle / Public domain
14 December, 2019 - 13:45 dhwty

How Anglo-Saxon England Made the Radical Change to Christianity

The Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England began towards the end of the 6 th century AD, and by the end of the succeeding century, all the kings of Anglo-Saxon England were Christian, at least...
The Battle of the Boyne (Ireland) between James II and William III, July 12, 1690. Source: Scolaire / Public Domain.
7 December, 2019 - 13:48 Aleksa Vučković

The Battle of the Boyne – A Jacobite Flame Turned to Embers

In the near modern history of Ireland and Scotland , the Jacobite risings played a very important role. In a never-ending struggle for wealth and power, noble monarchs pitted the poor folk of these...
he Earth endured a cataclysm that caused a mass extinction of many large mammals. Source: James Thew / Adobe Stock.
4 December, 2019 - 23:04 Dr Pat Hanratty

Cataclysm, Mass Extinctions, and the Consequent Myths

According to geologists, in the interval from 10,000 to 8,000 BC, some 35 to 45 species of large mammals became extinct. This is called a mass extinction . Mass extinctions can be defined as species...

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