All  

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

king

Detail of Stela 1, Fragment 1, front. La Corona, Guatemala.

Maya Snake King Dynasty Used Local Gods to Gain Authority in Rural Guatemala

Taking political control is often a violent affair, but tactics, knowledge of local customs and beliefs, and trickery can also be used to get an ambitious leader’s foot in the door. New research on...
Artist’s representation of Ragnar Lothbrok.

Ragnar Lothbrok: Legendary Hero or Historical Figure?

According to legend, Ragnar Lothbrok was a king of Denmark who succeeded Sigurd Hring in 804 AD. Some historians identify him with Reginherus, a Norse chieftain who was responsible for the siege of...
Drawing of the Medieval Birdman of Stirling Castle.

The Birdman of Stirling Castle: An Alchemical Pilot Searches for The Fifth Element

History books are peppered with stories of medieval European Alchemists attempting to turn base metals into gold and to produce elixirs of immortality. However, there was one disastrous alchemical...
Head of the statue discovered at the site of Dangeil in Sudan.

2,600-Year-Old Statue Identified as Vengeful Kush Ruler

Almost a decade ago archaeologists exploring a ruined temple dedicated to the Egyptian god Amun, near the Nile River in modern day Sudan, found a 2,600-year-old statue, but his identity remained...
This 2,700-year-old seal impression contains the Hebrew name for "Isaiah" and may refer to the biblical prophet who lived at the same time.

The Mark of a Prophet? This May Be the Signature of Isaiah

Back in 2009, archaeologists working near Temple Mount came across a collection of clay seals. One was identified in 2015 as belonging to King Hezekiah, an 8th century BC biblical king. Now, another...
King Leonidas by David Baldo

After 300: The Posthumous Vengeance of King Leonidas of Sparta

Mythologically descended from the hero Herakles, the Agiad dynasty of ancient Sparta reigned alongside the Eurypontids almost since the beginning of the city-state. When war was on the borders of...
François Clouet - Dame au bain (Portrait of Diane de Poitiers)

A Mistress with the Midas Touch: Her Hunger for Gold Would Be the Death of Her

Diane de Poitiers was a French noblewoman and courtier who lived during the 16 th century. She is best remembered for being the mistress of Henry II, the King of France. This allowed Diane to wield...
 The broken top and bottom sections of the Assyrian stele.

British Museum Decided Against Uniting a Cursed Assyrian Stele and Bad Luck Fell to the Police

“Whoever discards this image from the presence of Salmanu puts it into another place, whether he throws it into water or covers it with earth or brings and places it into a taboo house where it is...
 The clinker-built Gokstad ship dating back to the year 890 AD is currently on display at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Norway. (Image: Museum of Cultural History, Oslo, 1938)

Who Was the Exceptionally Powerfully Built Viking Buried in the Gokstad Ship?

By ThorNews Ever since the publication of a scientific article in 1883, “everyone” has known that the skeleton found in the magnificent Gokstad ship in Eastern Norway belonged to Olaf Geirstad-Alf,...
Face of the coffin in which the mummy of Ramesses II was found. (Credit: Petra Lether, designed by Anand Balaji)

Living God in a Wooden Box: In Whose Coffin was Ramesses II Buried?

Usermaatre Setepenre Ramesses II, the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty, was one of ancient Egypt’s longest-reigning monarchs. In an astonishing sixty-seven regnal years – the glory days of...
Joshua’s armies depart a burning and looted Ai.

Military Blunder and the Death of a King: Joshua’s Debacle at Ai – Part II

The battle of Ai is probably one of history’s most overlooked battles in which military trainees or cadets can learn valuable lessons. Joshua—new leader of the tribes of Israel, great military leader...
‘The Divorce of the Empress Josephine’ (1843) by Henri Frédéric Schopin

Breaking Up is Hard to Do: Divorce Laws Have Evolved, But One Country Is Holding Back

Divorce can be traced all the way back to ancient Greek and Roman societies. But the idea of marriage in these cultures was different from what is found in modern Western society, so it makes sense...
Ramesses III smites his enemies. Design by Anand Balaji.

Ramesses III, The Final Warrior Pharaoh: Devastating Sea Peoples and Egypt’s Finest Hour—Part II

The vile and vicious juggernaut of the Sea Peoples had laid waste to several cultures and had dispersed vast populations in their wake. When they were done pillaging and ravaging Levantine empires,...
A painted relief shows Ramesses III making offerings to the gods in the sanctuary of the temple of Khonsu at Karnak. Design by Anand Balaji.

Ramesses III, The Final Warrior Pharaoh: Savior of Egypt in Her Darkest Hour—Part I

The reign of Ramesses III proved to be unprecedented in more ways than one. While most of his predecessors often had to thwart the designs of Egypt’s enemies one at a time, he had to quell invasion...
Some Saxon Queens had killer reputations. (Public Domain);Deriv.

Killer Queen: Meet Queen Elfrida – The Original Wicked Stepmother

History has seen some incredible, cut-throat politics and lurid scandals, including the reign of Queen Elgiva: a teenage Saxon princess who was caught enjoying a threesome (along with her mother!),...
Fragments from a tomb: 100 entire embossed gold applications were ultimately assembled.

Treasures from Tutankhamun's Tomb Reveal Surprising Cross-Cultural Links

As part of a German-Egyptian project, archaeologists from Tübingen for the first time examine embossed gold applications from the sensational find of 1922. The motifs indicate surprising links...
Some Saxon Queens had killer reputations. (Public Domain);Deriv.

The Wicked Queen and Her Scandalous Daughter: How Murder & Mayhem Took a Saxon Princess from Palace to Poverty

While we might be gripped by the intrigues, the machinations, and the violence of the Lannisters and the Starks in the Game of Thrones television series and the Song of Ice and Fire series of novels...
Naughty ghost statue, in the ghost city Fengdu

Fengdu Ghost City: Testing Your Soul in the Domain of the Chinese King of Hell

Numerous shrines, temples and monasteries pepper Fengdu Ghost City. But all of them are dedicated to the afterlife. Legends link the site to the King of the Underworld. Would you dare to enter his...
Image during part of the funeral ceremony for Thailand’s deceased King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

The Grand Funeral of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Intricate Buddhist Funerary Rites

For Thai Buddhists, funerals are extremely important moments, as they represent rebirth and the passage from one existence to another. The elaborate funeral rites recently held in honor of Thailand’s...
A modern interpretation of King Solomon’s Temple.

The First Temple: Crowning Achievement of King Solomon and Home of the Legendary Ark of the Covenant

The Biblical figure King Solomon was the son of King David, was reputedly both wealthy and wise. He is recorded as a prophet in both Judaism’s Talmud and Islam’s Quran and one of his major legacies...
Colossal Statue of Ramses II in Memphis. Ramses II and his prisoners, Memphis relief

Ruins of Ramses II Temple Unearthed in Giza's Abusir

An Egyptian-Czech archaeological mission has unearthed the ruins of a King Ramses II temple during excavation works taking place in the Abusir necropolis in the governorate of Giza. Ramses II was one...
The newly-discovered pyramidion.

4,000-Year-Old Pyramid Peak Discovered at Long-Lost Burial Site of 6th Dynasty Egyptian Queen

The peak of a pyramid, dating back to around 2,000 BC, has been unearthed at the long-lost burial site of Ankhnespepy II, an important Egyptian queen of the 6 th dynasty. The rest of the pyramid is...
Collage of Egyptian art, design by Anand Balaji.

Amarna in 3 Acts: Defining Vignettes from an Incomparable Era

Three important aspects, in many ways, defined and shaped the Akhetaten years and the post-Amarna period. His detractors in the new disposition erased Pharaoh Akhenaten’s memory in great haste—an...
King Arthur. Detail. Charles Ernest Butler, 1903.

Archaeologist Claims that King Arthur Was Not a Real Person But a Fictional “Celtic Superhero”

A British archaeologist has controversially claimed that King Arthur was not a real historical figure. Rather, the legendary warrior king was created as a “Celtic superhero” and in reality, was...

Pages