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The Colosseum in Rome, once home to the most brutal games in history.

The Colosseum – From Gladiator Fights to Gory Executions and Sea Battles

Gladiatorial fights, sea battles, criminal (and Christian?) executions. These are only a few of the events, if they can even be called such, that happened in the walls of the Colosseum. Known during...
Recreated Viking helmet and weapon

Burning, Pillaging, and Carving up the Lands: Viking Raids into England - Part II

Vikings in history and popular culture are known as strong and dangerous, bloodthirsty killers, raiders, pillagers – pirates of land and sea. But who were the Vikings, and what were the causes of...
Battle of Grand Port by Pierre-Julien Gilbert

Mauritius: From Conquests to Naval Battles, Piracy and a Long-Awaited Independence

Volcanic activity in the Indian Ocean gave rise to the island we know today as Mauritius. Undetected for millennia, like a tiny green emerald dropped in the azure blue Indian Ocean, it lay virginally...
The Burning Galley

“Never Before Has Such a Terror Appeared”: Viking Raids into Ireland – Part I

Vikings struck terror into the hearts of many in Europeans—and their reputation still lingers today when you ask a person to describe them. The answers given are that they were violent, hairy brutes...
Statue of Roman Soldier (Public Domain), and Roman Cavalry Reenactment  (CodrinB/CC BY-SA 3.0); Deriv.

Rome’s Forgotten General: Ventidius Takes Enemy Heads and Enemy Gold – Part II

With the Amanus Pass secured, Roman general Publius Ventidius Bassus, on the mission given by Antony to retake Asia-Minor, pushed south into Syria. Prince Pacorus of Parthia of was done fighting, at...
Statue of Roman Soldier (Public Domain), and recreators of Roman legionaries wearing the lorica segmentata, 1st-3rd century

Rome’s Forgotten General: Upstart Poor Boy Becomes Military Conqueror – Part I

In the spring of 40 BCE, the Parthians, led by Quintus Labienus, a Roman general who was supported the Liberators (consisting of Brutus and Cassius, who participated in the assassination of Caesar),...
Charge of the 21th lancers at Ondurman. William Barnes Wollen (1857-1936)

Might Makes Right on the Field of Death: The Bloodsoaked Battle of Omdurman — Part II

The British forces watched for the enemy to get within yards before opening up their artillery. They waited, breath held, for the Dervishes to cross into the killing zone. As the Dervish warriors...
"The Charge of the 21st Lancers at Omdurman", by Richard C. Woodville

Swords Versus Machine Guns: The Lopsided Battle of Omdurman — Part I

Victorian imperialism reached its apex on 2 September 1898, when the modern British army faced off against an army of poorly equipped Islamic fundamentalists known as Mahdists, and the battle would...
Julius Caesar by Peter Paul Rubens.

“Veni, Vidi, Scripsi”: The Literary Conquests of Gaius Julius Caesar

A man who needs no introduction, Gaius Julius Caesar is more than well known for the stories he spearheads—namely, his numerous military victories. (Although, even his defeats somehow sound rather...
The remains of warriors lie scattered on the battlefield of Tollense.

Scientists Discover Clues to Identities of Mystery Warriors Lying on an Ancient Battlefield

Archaeologists have begun piecing together evidence that may finally reveal the identities of the mystery warriors whose remains lie scattered across a 3,300-year-old battlefield at the Tollense...
Cao Cao cites a poem before the Battle of Red Cliffs, portrait at the Long Corridor of the Summer Palace, Beijing

Devastating Defeat for Chinese Warlord in Largest Naval Battle in History

The largest naval battle in history occurred in the winter of 208/9 AD as part of the war for control of China. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers fought - some estimates suggest that the exact number...
Sack of Rome’ by Karl Briullov. (1833-1836) in the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. This painting is showing the Vandal king Gaiseric sacking Rome

Va-Va-Vandal: The Life and Times of Gaiseric, the Vandal King of North Africa

Meet one of the most important late antiquity kings you’ve never heard of: Gaiseric (a.k.a. Genseric), a Germanic kinglet who transformed his tribal affiliations into a massive realm in the 5th...
Assyrian attack on a town with archers and a wheeled battering ram, 865–860 BC.

Were the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel Ever Lost?

When examining the mysteries of the 8th century BC, all one has to do is look in the Bible or an ancient history book to realize that Assyria had no outside threats. The Hittites and Egyptians were a...
A Japanese samurai sword with Chinese script that reads "killed 107 people during the war in Nanjing, (China)" was used on Aug 18 by an attacker that slashed a military police guard at the Taiwan Presidential Palace.

Man Steals Samurai Sword From History Museum and Launches Attack Outside Taiwan Presidential Office

A Taiwanese man stole an antique samurai sword inscribed with the words “Nanjing battle, (this sword) killed 107 people” and used it to try to break into the Presidential Office, injuring a military...
David chops off the head of the giant, Goliath. Stained glass window.

Was David Just an Opportunist in a Rise to Power? Challenging the Story of the Valley of Elah — Part II

The story of David rise to power is very political. The well-known tale of the famous giant-slayer and second king of the Israelites, according to the Hebrew Bible, goes that after an exchange of...
David and Goliath, by Antonio Zanchi (1631—1722)

Did David Really Kill Goliath? Challenging the Story of the Valley of Elah — Part I

The story of David rise to power is very political. The tale of the famous giant-slayer and second king of the Israelites, according to the Hebrew Bible, starts with the slaughter of a tribe – women...
Bellona with Romulus and Remus

Who is Bellona and Was She More Powerful than Mars? Piecing Together the Identity of the Mysterious Ancient Roman Goddess of War

In his History , Livy reported that during a critical part of the battle against the Samnites in 296 BCE, the general Appius Claudius was seen in the front lines raising his hands as he uttered a...
Sultan Mahmud II (Public Domain), and ornament from a Janissary's Cap, 17th century Turkey

Ultimatum from the Sultan to the Powerful Janissary Military - Change… Or Die! Guess what they Chose? The Auspicious Event—Part II

A force of disciplined, elite royal guards of the 15th and 16th century Ottoman Empire grew in size by seizing Christian children and raising them as civil servants and dangerous soldiers. The...
The base of the statue, which allowed to identify the remains the building discovered by Dr. Abu el-Ayun Barakat.

Archaeologist Accidentally Discovers Lost Temple of Thutmose I, Hidden in Plain Sight for 50 Years

Thousands of stone blocks that were “hiding” for ages in storage near Luxor proved to be the remains of the temple of Thutmose I, which has been searched for by archaeologists for some time. A Polish...
Yamamoto Kansuke, named as author in the Sword Scroll text

Samurai Secrets Revealed: English Translation of the 500-year-old ‘Sword Scroll’ Provides Fighting Tactics Including ‘Egg Them’

A medieval samurai text recently translated into English gives many practical tips on fighting an enemy and advises all warriors to be ‘pure of heart and in balance in their spirit’. Although...
Subutai: The Forgotten Force Behind the Fearsome Mongol Military

Subutai: The Forgotten Force Behind the Fearsome Mongol Military

"They are the Four Dogs of Temujin. They have foreheads of brass, their jaws are like scissors, their tongues like piercing awls, their heads are iron, their whipping tails swords . . . In the day of...
From Slave to Sultan: Baibars I - The Slave Warrior Who Fought His Way to the Top

From Slave to Sultan: Baibars I - The Slave Warrior Who Fought His Way to the Top

Baibars I was a powerful Sultan who is remembered most for his military leadership, especially against Crusaders and Mongols, but also for his diplomatic skills. He is often regarded as the most...
Sultan Bayezid is defeated by Timur at Ankara

Empires Clash with Fire and War Elephants! Changing the World, and the Battle of Ankara – Part II

The bloody Battle of Ankara was fought on 20 July 1402. The Ottomans were led by Bayezid I, who brought his troops against the Turkic Mongols (Timurids), led by Timur, also known as Tamerlane. Two...
Total eclipse of the sun, Chita, Russia, 1997.

A War Ending Phenomenon: Total Solar Eclipse Occurring on August 21 in the US

When a total solar eclipse occurred just over 2,600 years ago, on May 28, 585 BC, the sight of it is believed to have been the main reason for the end of the battle between the Medes and the Lydians...

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