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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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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.

Statue of Roman Soldier (Public Domain), and Roman Cavalry Reenactment (CodrinB/CC BY-SA 3.0); Deriv.
17 November, 2017 - 15:30 Cam Rea

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...
Taking of Jerusalem by the Crusaders, 15th July 1099, Emile Signol
17 November, 2017 - 01:58 ancient-origins

Why the Crusades Were Not a ‘Clash of Civilizations’

Ask pretty much anyone – whether terrorists, politicians (of all camps), dinner party guests, or religious leaders – and the one thing that they will say with confidence about the Crusades is that...
Statue of Roman Soldier (Public Domain), and recreators of Roman legionaries wearing the lorica segmentata, 1st-3rd century
15 November, 2017 - 15:31 Cam Rea

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),...
Depiction of the hanging of Elizabeth Wilson, with William Wilson coming with the pardon (from a later edition of The Pennsylvania Hermit).
13 November, 2017 - 22:50 dhwty

The Pennsylvania Hermit: The Woeful Tale of a Grieving Brother’s Broken-hearted Hermitage

William “Amos” Wilson, who is known also as the Pennsylvania Hermit, is a figure in the folklore of Pennsylvania, more specifically of its south-eastern and south-central regions. William lived...
13 November, 2017 - 18:53 Gary A. David

A Hopi Hero’s Journey: How the Snake Clan Came to Arizona

Joseph Campbell, in his classic book The Hero With A Thousand Faces explores in depth the universal mythic narrative of the culture-hero (traditionally male) who goes forth not to conquer but...
Manananggal, mythical creature of the Philippines
13 November, 2017 - 15:24 MartiniF

The Shocking Demon that Brings Plague and Devours Babies: Ancient Goddess & Evil Widow Rangda in Balinese Mythology

All eyes focused on the figure of Rangda as she emerged from the inner part of the temple, about a third of the way through the Barong dance (an ancient dance which predates even the Hindu influences...
Viking
13 November, 2017 - 01:50 ancient-origins

Wealthy Vikings Wore Blue Linen Underwear

By ThorNews It is hard to imagine Eric Bloodaxe and other feared Viking kings and chieftains wearing blue linen underwear. However, if the research carried out at the University of Bergen is correct...
Detail of General Zheng He statue in Sam Po Kong temple, Semarang, Indonesia.
11 November, 2017 - 18:56 aprilholloway

The Chinese May Have Beaten the Famous Voyage of Columbus by 70 Years

There are a few controversial claims floating around that the Americas were reached by oversea cultures before Columbus made his well-known visit to the “New World” in 1492. For example, Italian...
Six of the Roman Emperors:
10 November, 2017 - 22:58 Riley Winters

A Succinct Timeline of Roman Emperors—400 Years of Power Condensed

To say that the Roman Empire had its ups and downs would be the understatement of all understatements. No “nation” was more abruptly destabilized or even more abruptly stabilized than that of ancient...
The imposing mortuary temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu. Design by Anand Balaji.
10 November, 2017 - 15:30 anand balaji

Butehamun, Opener of the Gates to the Underworld: Dismantling Sacred Places of the Dead

At the very end of the Twentieth Dynasty and through to the beginning of the early Twenty-First Dynasty, one after another, the many royal dead in the Valley of the Kings were divested of their...
Some Saxon Queens had killer reputations. (Public Domain);Deriv.
8 November, 2017 - 14:57 Charles Christian

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...
A mandala.
7 November, 2017 - 14:01 Caleb Strom

The Mandala: Mapping the Cosmos and the Soul

Human cultures are replete with ways to depict or represent some aspect of the universe. Calendars, ordinary maps, star charts, and other diagrams are all examples of ways to make sense of or map...
Reconstitution of a prehistoric burial. Representative image.
6 November, 2017 - 15:29 Jason Jarrell

Bones of the Child, Tools of the Shaman: Ritual and Cosmology at the Hopewell Tunacunnhee Mounds

Near Trenton in Dade County, Georgia, is a place called Tunacunnhee , supposedly named after a Native American word meaning “Lookout Creek”. Located just a few hundred yards east of Lookout Creek is...
Detail of a relief of Herodotus by Jean-Guillaume Moitte, 1806. Cour Carrée in the Louvre Palace, Paris, France.
5 November, 2017 - 12:49 dhwty

Picking Apart the Words of Herodotus: Was He a Father of Histories or Lies?

“I owe it to tell what is being told, but I by no means owe it to believe it”. Herodotus, [Book 7.153-2] Herodotus was an ancient Greek writer who lived during the 5th century BC. He was born in what...
This bronze key from Heggum farm in Røyken in the Oslofjord is dated to the Viking Age.
4 November, 2017 - 00:49 ancient-origins

The Symbolic Key to a Viking Woman’s Independence

By ThorNews A large number of ornate keys from the Viking Age (c. 800-1066 AD) have been found in female graves and as individual findings. Bronze keys made with superb craftsmanship were used as a...
Charge of the 21th lancers at Ondurman. William Barnes Wollen (1857-1936)
3 November, 2017 - 14:29 Cam Rea

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...
Detail of a tomb painting depicting Meretites and Kahai – an ancient Egyptian couple who lived 4,400 years ago.
2 November, 2017 - 01:02 aprilholloway

The Priestess and the Singer: Locked in a Lasting Egyptian Love Story

A beautiful love story bloomed around a tomb painting found in Saqqara, Egypt. The image shows an ancient Egyptian couple in a tender scene. While sweet, this type of image isn’t a common one - so...
Left: Lilias reconstructed face as she may have looked when alive. (Dundee University) Right: 3D imagery created from the photo of Adie’s skull. (National Library of Scotland)
1 November, 2017 - 21:53 Theodoros Karasavvas

Face of Notorious “Witch” Digitally Reconstructed 300 Years after her Death

A group of elite forensic scientists from the University of Dundee, has reconstructed digitally the face of one of Scotland's most notorious “witches”, Lilias Adie. The only documents that helped...
"The Charge of the 21st Lancers at Omdurman", by Richard C. Woodville
1 November, 2017 - 19:28 Cam Rea

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...
Tutankhamum’s Golden Coffin
1 November, 2017 - 13:01 Kaya Johnson

5 Important Egyptian Archaeological Discoveries that Provided Leaps in Our Knowledge of the Past

When it comes to archaeological discoveries, very few countries can measure up to the wealth of Egypt. From the Rosetta Stone , to the Valley of the Kings, to the great ancient pyramids at Giza,...
16th or 17th century painting of the ‘Dance of Death.’ The living weren’t always scared of the dead.
1 November, 2017 - 01:01 ancient-origins

Dance Macabre: How the Dead Danced with the Living in Medieval Society

Ashby Kinch / The Conversation In the Halloween season , American culture briefly participates in an ancient tradition of making the world of the dead visible to the living: Children dress as...
An illustration of the ‘Black Dog’ series by Dusty Crosley, a twisted Halloween tale of horror written by Terry Lambert.
31 October, 2017 - 17:57 ancient-origins

Tricking and Treating Has a Long History

Over the past few decades, Halloween celebrations have gained in popularity , not only with children and families, but with all those fascinated with the spooky and scary. As a scholar of myth and...
Julius Caesar by Peter Paul Rubens.
31 October, 2017 - 12:57 Riley Winters

“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...
Ancient statue of Ramesses II.
30 October, 2017 - 18:01 ancient-origins

Oldest Recorded Solar Eclipse Helps Date the Egyptian Pharaohs

Researchers have pinpointed the date of what could be the oldest solar eclipse yet recorded. The event, which occurred on 30 October 1207 BC, is mentioned in the Bible, and could have consequences...

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