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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.

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...
Medieval teaching scene.
17 March, 2018 - 21:56 ancient-origins

In Medieval Britain, If You Wanted to Get Ahead, You Had to Speak French

The study of modern languages in British secondary schools is in steep decline. The number of students taking French and German GCSE has more than halved in the last 16 years. But as the UK prepares...
'Meeting of Mary and Elisabeth’ by Marx Reichlich. (Deriv.)
17 March, 2018 - 17:53 dhwty

Bizarre Methods of Baby Detection: A Short History of the Pregnancy Test

From the dawn of time, people have been trying to figure out ways to detect early pregnancy before physical signs begin to show. Whilst you may be familiar with the hCG pregnancy strip test that is...
Buffalo Hunt: A Numerous Group by George Catlin 1844.
16 March, 2018 - 14:20 ancient-origins

The Social Impact of the Bow and Arrow on Prehistoric America

A new technology in weaponry, the introduction of the bow and arrow, might have led to the collapse of the prehistoric, American Hopewellian Culture somewhere between 450 to 500 AD. A socio-spiritual...
Foreigners accompany a triumphal procession of the King; design by Anand Balaji (Photo credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York); Deriv.
16 March, 2018 - 12:58 anand balaji

Echoes of Eternal Egyptian Art: Effulgence and Beyond at Amarna—Part II

Egypt witnessed religious and cultural upheaval on an unimaginable scale when Pharaoh Akhenaten assumed the reins of power and declared the Aten as the supreme god. One of the noteworthy...
Village Doctor Looking at a Urine Sample (1640s) by David Teniers the Younger.
14 March, 2018 - 18:00 dhwty

The Urine Wheel and Uroscopy: What Your Wee Could Tell a Medieval Doctor

In modern medicine, urine samples are routinely examined in laboratories to obtain clinical information about a patient. This procedure, known as urinalysis, developed from an older medical process...
The Callanish Stones on the isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides (Western Isles), Scotland
14 March, 2018 - 14:27 ashley cowie

The Mystery of the Stone Monuments in Northern Scotland: Domains of Ancient Lunar Astronomers?

Erected 7,000-years-ago, 20 unique standing stone monuments in the remote north of Scotland mystify archaeologists, because they are unparalleled anywhere else in the world. By conducting a research...
Ancient Greek warriors with armor and weapons.
12 March, 2018 - 18:00 Riley Winters

Weapons Control in Ancient Greece: When an Accident was Deadly

Weapons control is a hot topic in the United States. With the recent shooting in Florida in February 2018, discussions of gun control are at an all-time high. Yet this discussion is not limited to...
An overall view of the central Valley of the Kings.
12 March, 2018 - 14:06 anand balaji

Pharaohs and Flash Floods: Was Tutankhamun’s Tomb Saved by an Act of Nature?

The death of Pharaoh Akhenaten in Regnal Year 17 was a powerful body-blow to the promotion of his fledgling religion, Atenism. Evacuated from their original communal crypt at Amarna, the royal dead...
An illustration depicting the construction of the Egyptian pyramids
11 March, 2018 - 14:23 ashley cowie

Demystifying the Egyptian Pyramids with Hard Facts

It has always fascinated, and worried me at the same time, how many people I meet that are still mesmerized by aspects of the pyramids in Egypt that archeologists solved many years ago. The when, how...
Fantasy linen dress wanderer by ArmStreet
10 March, 2018 - 01:42 armstreet

Linen: The Ancient Cloth That Still Beats Modern Fabrics

There is a relic of early humanity in the windows of basically every modern fashion outlet every summer. After years of cotton being the ideal textile for breezy summer clothing, the world’s oldest...
Pederastic couples at a symposium, as depicted on a tomb fresco from the Greek colony of Paestum in Italy.
9 March, 2018 - 15:18 MartiniF

The Love Affair of the Roman Emperor Hadrian and the Handsome Antinous

Not much was known of the young Antinous before he attracted the attention of the ruler of the Roman world at its zenith. He was born in 111 AD in the Roman province of Bithynia, which would include...
Skeleton with a hole in the skull. Source: wellphoto/Shutterstock.com via The Conversation
8 March, 2018 - 01:44 ancient-origins

Drilling Holes in the Skull was Never a Migraine Cure

Trepanation – the technique of removing bone from the skull by scraping, sawing, drilling or chiselling – has long fascinated those interested in the darker side of medical history. One stock tale is...
Map of Caithness detailing Iron Age brochs. (Courtesy of the Caithness Broch Project.)
7 March, 2018 - 15:37 ashley cowie

Botanical Mystery of the Ancient Ulbster Stone

A 1,500-year-old carved marvel, the Ulbster Stone, was unearthed from the grounds of an ancient Celtic chapel in the remote Highlands of Scotland and is renown to have more symbols than any other...
Detail of the Berlin bust of Nefertiti; and the latest 3D sculpture of the queen based on the mummy of the Younger Lady; design by Anand Balaji
5 March, 2018 - 22:52 anand balaji

Religion and Magic in Amarna: A World of Confusion in Akhetaten—Part II

The population that inhabited Akhenaten’s brand new city, Akhetaten, in Middle Egypt was ill at ease with the massive religious uncertainty their monarch had unleashed. A question mark hung over not...
Hegassen scroll detail. Fart Battle, 1864
5 March, 2018 - 18:57 ashley cowie

From Fart Gods to Farting Out One’s Soul: The Historic Ritualization of Farts

They command attention, bring silence into noisy environments and have been associated with the utterances of gods for thousands of years. In fact, entire rituals have been designed around them...
The Siege of Constantinople. Emperor Heraclius attacks a Persian fortress, while the Persians attack Constantinople from the Constantine Manasses Chronicle, 14th century.
5 March, 2018 - 15:38 Cam Rea

Was the First Islamic Siege of Constantinople (674 – 678 AD) a Historical Misnomer?

By Cam Rea / Classical Wisdom In 636 AD, the armies of Islam under the Rashidun Caliphat, defeated the forces of the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of Yarmouk (near the Yarmouk River, along what...
As an amulet, the popular Wedjat eye symbolized health and protection; design by Anand Balaji
5 March, 2018 - 13:59 anand balaji

Religion and Magic in Amarna: Battling Forces from Different Realms—Part I

The ancient Egyptians held magical practices in high esteem and used it for a variety of purposes in almost every sphere of life. Their worldview was not restricted to that which occurred on earth,...
‘The Elesusinian Mysteries’. It is argued that kykeon was a psychedelic substance used in these ancient Greek mysteries.
4 March, 2018 - 14:03 Julian Vayne an...

The Eleusinian Psychedelic Rebirth Rites of Ancient Greece are Making a Comeback

The Eleusinian Mysteries were transformative rituals that took place in ancient Greece, extending out of Mycenaean traditions (approximately 1500 BC) and the Greek Dark Ages. For over two millennia...
Kings' Fairy Tale, 1909, by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis
3 March, 2018 - 22:57 ashley cowie

The Lost Charms and Incantations That Molded Celtic Reality

Since men and woman have been capable of making vocal sounds, incantations have been floated on airwaves by enchanters, who whispering charms, spells in rituals, hymns and prayers, invoked curses,...
The character Hvitserk, probably a nickname for Halfdan Ragnarsson, in the series Vikings.
2 March, 2018 - 18:57 dhwty

Halfdan Ragnarsson: Viking Commander and King of Dublin

Halfdan Ragnarsson was a Viking who lived during the 9th century. He is best remembered for being one of the commanders of the Great Heathen Army which invaded the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England...
Lancelot and Guinevere by Herbert James Draper (c.1890) (Public Domain)
2 March, 2018 - 15:27 nrushton

Faeries in the Realm of King Arthur

Faeries may be just figments of our imagination, but they may have deeper roots of Celtic origin embedded in oral narratives and serve to remind us of a long-forgotten belief system that embraced a...

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