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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.

A royal child from the Middle Ages. Source: liyasov / Adobe Stock

7 Amazing Glimpses into the Ancient Lives of Children

Over the centuries, historians have told us in detail about the rise and fall of civilizations, the leaders and rulers of our world, dramatic battles and magnificent monuments, but the history of...
Fakes and Controversy on the River Clyde: The Case of Dumbuck Crannog

Fakes and Controversy on the River Clyde: The Case of Dumbuck Crannog

In 1898 the eccentric artist and archaeology enthusiast William Donnelly (1847 – 1905) discovered the Dumbuck Crannog site on the banks of the River Clyde in Scotland . Its excavation proved fruitful...
Sex and love were major themes in classic erotic art, as they remain today. (Public Domain/Deriv)

The Erotic Art of Ancient Greece and Rome

Craig Barker / The Conversation Rarely does L.P. Hartley’s dictum that “the past is a foreign country” hold more firmly than in the area of sexuality in classical art. Classic erotic art, erotic...
Pirate Ship. ( neillockhart / Adobe)

Hostis Humani Generis: Pirates Of Port Royal And Tortuga

The history of piracy has always held the imagination captive, both for what concerns the nautical and its techniques and for the geopolitical landscape it occupied. Its origins spring from the times...
Ancient Maya Shamanism And Ancestor Veneration

Ancient Maya Shamanism And Ancestor Veneration

The word shaman for most people, carries an aura of mystery and perplexity. Yet, it is a spiritual practice that began with early human societies. For people unfamiliar with at times perplexing...
The futhark on the Vadstena bracteate.

Unearthing Ancient Magic in The Runes –Messages with Hidden Symbols and Powerful Numbers

The etymology of the word “rune” means: “to carve, or to cut.” In Low German the word is “raunen.” As the runes were cut and carved into wood, metal or stone, the word “rune” was analogous to the...
Remembering Harsha: The Forgotten Vardhana Ruler of India

Remembering Harsha: The Forgotten Vardhana Ruler of India

Harsha was an Indian ruler who lived during the 7th century AD. He was a member of the Vardhana Dynasty, one of the regional powers that emerged in northern India following the collapse of the Gupta...
Medieval knight.

Sir Lancelot: Exploring the History Behind the Legend

There is no doubt that most of us, in our childhoods and later in life, heard all about the stories and legends of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. For many, the stories of Arthur and...
The Demonic Calendar Of Ancient Egypt

The Demonic Calendar Of Ancient Egypt

The Egyptians, like many cultures, had no generic word for ‘demon’. Although some words, such as Akhw, get very close. Etymologically, the Greek derived term ‘daemon’ or ‘demon’ means divider or...
Eyam’s Ultimate Sacrifice: Medieval Village Locked Down to Stop the Plague

Eyam’s Ultimate Sacrifice: Medieval Village Locked Down to Stop the Plague

‘Lockdown’ is a word we now see on a daily basis as the 2020 coronavirus pandemic requires limiting the movements and activities of communities during the mass quarantine of most of the world’s...
King of One Hundred Battles: The Story of Drust I, Ruler of the Picts

King of One Hundred Battles: The Story of Drust I, Ruler of the Picts

From all the ancient inhabitants of the British Isles, the Picts remain the most mysterious and continue to be a crucial focus for many researchers, archeologists, and historians. The history of...
The Levites and the Kohens: The Patriarchal High Priests of Judaism

The Levites and the Kohens: The Patriarchal High Priests of Judaism

The Levites are members of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. They, and their tribe, are named after Levi, the third son of Jacob, and Leah. In the past, the Levites were entrusted with religious...
Wonder Woman And The Myth Of The Mighty Amazons

Wonder Woman And The Myth Of The Mighty Amazons

The names Thessalia, Hippolyta, Antiope, and even Princess Diana of Themyscira, better known as Wonder Woman are not unknown, even though up until recently only the romantics believed in their...
The Bodleian Book Coffer: A Kindle Of The Middle Ages

The Bodleian Book Coffer: A Kindle Of The Middle Ages

The Bodleian Book Coffer is a rare artifact from the Middle Ages which is believed to have been used for the transport of important books. The Bodleian Book Coffer was purchased by the University of...
First Hand Reports Of Early Encounters With Ancient American Cultures

First Hand Reports Of Early Encounters With Ancient American Cultures

Over five-hundred years ago, European monarchs began dispatching their most masterful navigators to the far reaches of the planet, marking the beginning of the Age of Discovery. Epic voyages occurred...
Odysseus at the Court of Alcinous (1814-1816) by Francesco Hayez (Public Domain)

Clues To King Alcinous’ Scheria: The Lost Sickle In The Sea

The mythological Alcinous and the location of his kingdom of the Phaeacians have remained one of the most elusive topics of ancient Greek literature. Clues to the ruler and his kingdom survive only...
King Philip’s War: 17th-Century Hostility Between The Wampanoag and The Pilgrims

King Philip’s War: 17th-Century Hostility Between The Wampanoag and The Pilgrims

On June 20, 1675, the small border town of Swansea, Massachusetts, was attacked by a band of Pokanoket of the Wampanoag tribe . No casualties resulted from the Pokanoket raid that day, except for...
The Life of Khaemweset: Ancient Archaeologist And The First Egyptologist

The Life of Khaemweset: Ancient Archaeologist And The First Egyptologist

The golden eras of ancient Egyptian history are marked by powerful kings and pharaohs, whose rule continuously expanded Egyptian influence and propelled it to great heights. As history often teaches...
Ghosts of Presidents Past In The Oval Office

Ghosts of Presidents Past In The Oval Office

Ghost stories abound about American presidents haunting the Oval Office. Wandering spirits returning from the dead to haunt the places they lived and worked in have been central components in...
Golden sarcophagus from the ancient Egyptian Yuya and Tuya collection.

A Mysterious Mummy in Cairo: The Surprising True Identity of Joseph with the Coat of Many Colors

Who was the king who appointed Joseph, of the legendary coat of many colors, as his minister? And during which period of Egyptian history did he live? Since the start of archaeological digging in...
Etruscans Togas.

High Fashion of Ancient Rome: Togas and Stolas

The toga is arguably the best-known garment from ancient Rome. Initially, the toga was worn both by male and female Roman citizens. Later on, however, the toga was used exclusively by men (high class...
Pumas, Cougars And Jaguars: Feline Deities Of Prehistoric South America

Pumas, Cougars And Jaguars: Feline Deities Of Prehistoric South America

The Andean mountain lion, often called the South American cougar, ( Puma concolor ), is perhaps best known simply as the puma, and this manhunter ruled the forests and jungles of western South...
The Route to Secular Art through the Kwakiutl Hamatsa Dance

The Route to Secular Art through the Kwakiutl Hamatsa Dance

“Magic preceded art, art served magic, and art was then liberated from magic.” This was among a number of sometimes controversial assertions made by Scottish anthropologist James Frazer in his 19 th...
Crusaders marching to concord enemy

17th Century Manuscript Traces Templar Knights Treasure to Heretical Umbria

A link to the treasures of the Templar Knights have come to light by way of a 17th-century manuscript, discovered by a historian, Giovanni Tomassini, in the small village originally called Ferentum...

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