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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.

Left: Hopi snake dancer ( adobegallery) Right: A Hopi male during the annual snake dance and ritual prayers for rain, 1946 (public domain)
10 April, 2018 - 01:49 Gary A. David

Dances with Snakes: The Real Reason for the Hopi Snake Dance – Part II

The day prior to the final Snake Dance performance in the plaza, before sunrise with Orion and Sirius rising, two warriors of the Snake society make several circuits around the Snake and Antelope...
Detail of ‘Hopi Snake Dance’ by Cornelia Cassady-Davis.
9 April, 2018 - 18:49 Gary A. David

Dances with Snakes: The Real Reason for the Hopi Snake Dance

For thousands of years the Hopi tribe of northern Arizona has performed a secretive, sacred ceremony that embodies the manifold and richly evocative archetypal nature of the serpent. In modern times...
A painting by Charles Le Brun (1673) depicting Alexander and Porus (Puru) during the Battle of the Hydaspes
9 April, 2018 - 15:23 David Grant

Alexander the Great: The Economics of Upheaval – Part I

Alexander the Great has been termed a maverick whose 13-year meteoric reign was an aberration in the history of the age. He was a mythopoeic conqueror who simultaneously lived by the tenets of the...
Palmyrean triad: Baalshamin, master of the skies, the Moon-god Aglibol and the Sun-god Malakbel (Yarhibol). Cultual relief, limestone, first half of the 1st century AD, found in one of the routes to Palmyra. The stele bears religious inscriptions carved by passers-by.
8 April, 2018 - 22:58 Dr. Steven L. D...

Scholar Made the Ultimate Sacrifice to Save Ancient Palmyra Treasures from the Hands of ISIS

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, whose real name was Ibrahim al-Badri, was once a lecturer of Islamic studies and an Imam at mosques in Baghdad and Falluja. He also served as an officer in the army of Saddam...
Artist’s representation of Ragnar Lothbrok.
8 April, 2018 - 18:55 Caleb Strom

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...
Varangian Guard .Chronicle of John Skylitzes 13th Century
6 April, 2018 - 15:37 Cam Rea

The Varangian Guard: Elite Byzantine Warrior Merchants

The Varangians were an elite guard that once served as the personal bodyguards of Byzantine emperors. When not protecting the emperor, they served at the frontlines in times of war to protect and...
Wewelsburg Caste
4 April, 2018 - 15:35 ashley cowie

Teutonic Knights’ Castle Turned into Nazi Cult Site?

The word ‘crusader’ conjures up images of scarlet-cross Knights Templar. Although these heroes of the 12th century may dominate popular culture, their Order was rivalled by the black-cross Order of...
Alchemical illustration of a Homunculus in a vial
2 April, 2018 - 18:58 Caleb Strom

Alchemical Recipe for a Homunculus: Sperm + Rotting Meat = Mini Artificial Human

The question of how to create life does not just go back to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, when the eponymous character used forbidden science to create life. Humans have been interested in creating...
Witches' Sabbath, 1819-1823 by Francisco Goya
2 April, 2018 - 15:37 Charles Christian

Killing with Curses: Obscure 17th Century Muggletonian Sect

Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. One of the debates among fans of the ‘Potterverse’ – the fictional universe that is the setting for the Harry Potter-related novels and movies – is where did...
The laughing jester // Art museum of Stockholm, Sweden.
1 April, 2018 - 14:00 aprilholloway

Jokes and Pranks: Here is the April Fools’ Day Origin Story

Every year, people celebrate April Fools’ Day with pranks, practical jokes, and hoaxes. Merriment, cheer, and joviality reign as people poke socially sanctioned fun at one another. This day has been...
Easter procession in Bilbao, Spain
31 March, 2018 - 22:57 ancient-origins

Under the Hoods: The Brotherhoods (and Sisterhoods) of Spain’s Holy Week

“Spain is different!”. Napoleon took this view after his defeat by Spanish guerrilla warfare tactics. Generalissimo Franco’s government later made use of this slogan to promote Spain’s unique appeal...
This painted limestone relief originally depicted Kiya, but was later recarved to portray Meritaten; design by Anand Balaji (Photo credit: Merja Attia, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen); Deriv.
30 March, 2018 - 15:17 anand balaji

Quest for the Greatly Beloved Kiya: Eternal ‘Goodly Child of the Living Aten’—Part II

Not only does Akhenaten, the man and ruler, pose a conundrum to Egyptologists; but his entire family is shrouded in mystery too. Prime among them is Kiya, his obscure wife, who seems to have...
Forty days in the wilderness: Temptations of Christ, St Mark’s Basilica.
29 March, 2018 - 13:57 ancient-origins

The Surprising Truth About Fasting for Lent

M J C Warren / The Conversation The excesses of the carnival are over, the clean-up completed. And so begins the year’s traditional period of abstinence. Leading up to Christianity’s most holy day,...
Magic gate (Porta magica) in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, in Rome, Italy.
28 March, 2018 - 15:32 ashley cowie

Entering the 17th Century Argonautic Alchemical Portal

Every proper myth and legend features a door, gateway or mirror acting as portals to other dimensions of reality. In modern mythology this component features as children venturing to ‘Narnia’ through...
One of the four elegant canopic jar stoppers made of Egyptian alabaster that was discovered in a niche in Tomb 55; design by Anand Balaji
26 March, 2018 - 15:35 anand balaji

Quest for the Greatly Beloved Kiya: Her Mysterious Origins and Role in Court—Part I

Kiya, a secondary wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten is one of the most shadowy royals of the Amarna Period. Virtually nothing is known about her origin or the reasons for her disappearance. All that is...
Pavel Sapozhnikov as a 10th century Russian hermit.
25 March, 2018 - 23:09 aprilholloway

Pavel Sapozhnikov: Experiencing Life as a 10th Century Russian Hermit

2014 was certainly a year to remember for a then-24-year-old Russian man. He spent eight months of that year in a social experiment. The purpose? To experience what life was like for a 10th century...
Momia Juanita
25 March, 2018 - 18:47 dhwty

Mummy Juanita: The Sacrifice of the Inca Ice Maiden

Momia Juanita (‘Mummy Juanita’) is the name given to the mummy of a 15th century Incan girl who was discovered in Peru in 1995. She is known also as the ‘Lady of Ampato’, and the ‘Inca Ice Maiden’,...
Indus Valley Diorama by Biswarup Ganguly
23 March, 2018 - 14:11 micki pistorius

Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilization: The Spirit of Saraswathi

In the Rigveda, the ancient Indian Vedic Sanskrit canonical sacred texts, a hymn is dedicated to each deity and the goddess Saraswathi is revered as a female deity with healing and the purifying...
In the estuary of Achelous Rive Treasure chest
21 March, 2018 - 14:08 ashley cowie

Captivating Great Treasure of Lima

Isla del Coco , or Cocos Island, has been visited for over 300 years by infamous pirates like ‘Benito of the Bloody Sword’ and explorers such as Sir Francis Drake. In more modern times famous...
Representative image. The Eruption of Vesuvius in December 1820 by Johann Christian Dahl
20 March, 2018 - 17:54 ancient-origins

Did a Brutal Volcanic Eruption Lead People to Abandon Their Pagan Gods and Embrace Christianity?

Memories of the largest lava flood in the history of Iceland, recorded in an apocalyptic medieval poem, were used to drive the island's conversion to Christianity, new research suggests. A team of...
The Combat of the Thirty (26-27 March 1351) (French: Combat des Trente) by Octave Penguilly L'Haridon - Musée des Beaux-Arts de Quimper.
20 March, 2018 - 12:55 dhwty

The Combat of the Thirty: A Contest of the Finest

The Combat of the Thirty is an episode in the War of the Breton Succession, which in turn was part of the Hundred Years’ War. This combat, which took place on March 26/27, 1351, was fought between 30...
Sarah Bernhardt in Theodora (1902) by Georges Jules Victor Clairin (1843-1919)
19 March, 2018 - 14:15 MartiniF

Sex and the Roman Empire: Scandalous Literature about Empresses Euphemia and Theodora

Both Empress Euphemia and the succeeding empress Theodora transformed from sinners to Saints and although 5th to 6th century Roman society may have been more lenient, due to the empresses’ charity...
‘God Speed’ (1900) by Edmund Leighton. (Deriv.)
18 March, 2018 - 17:45 dhwty

How to Be A Chivalrous Knight in Shining Armor: Follow the Code!

The chivalry of a Medieval knight is indisputable, right? I mean, they had a Code of Chivalry and everything. But wait, not all knights were chivalrous, nor did they have a universally agreed upon...
Tauriel daughter of Mirkwood from Lord of the Rings
18 March, 2018 - 12:55 ancient-origins

How to Invent a Tolkien-Style Language: Ancient Languages Inspire Modern Movies

The success of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies brought the languages that JRR Tolkien invented for the Elves to the attention of a much wider public. There are now numerous...

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