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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.

Gold, Amber, Artwork and Military Paraphernalia: The Continuous Crusade for Lost Nazi Treasures
27 August, 2016 - 21:48 Natalia Klimczak

Gold, Amber, Artwork and Military Paraphernalia: The Continuous Crusade for Lost Nazi Treasures

During World War II Poland and other parts of Central Europe were damaged, and many museums and precious collections were destroyed. Now, explorers are trying to find the places where gold , pieces...
A painting depicting a scene from the Chinese classic, Journey to the West. The painting shows the four heros of the story, left to right: Sun Wukong, Xuanzang, Zhu Wuneng, and Sha Wujing.
27 August, 2016 - 02:17 MartiniF

The Monk and the Poet: Meet the Rebels behind the Legendary “Journey to the West”

Hsi-yu chi , or Journey to the West, is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century, during the Ming Dynasty. The novel adds elements from a bewildering array of Asian cultural lore, as well as...
Monks, Hermits and Ascetics: The Little-Known History of Women in Desert Asceticism
23 August, 2016 - 16:29 MartiniF

Monks, Hermits and Ascetics: The Little-Known History of Women in Desert Asceticism

Theodoret of Cyrrhus (423–457) tells us that when little girls played games in forth-century Syria, they played monks and demons. One of the girls, dressed in rags, would reduce her little friends...
Pointing to Witchcraft: The Possible Origin of the Conical Witch's Hat
22 August, 2016 - 00:51 Riley Winters

Pointing to Witchcraft: The Possible Origin of the Conical Witch's Hat

If one were to walk down a crowded street wearing a black conical hat, passersby would not question the wearer's intention. Obviously, the wearer would be playing the role of a witch. Yet as obvious...
Clockwise from top left - Koh Ker, Cambodia (thomaswanhoff/CC BY SA 2.0), Pyramid of Khafre, Egypt (MusikAnimal/CC BY SA 3.0), El Castillo, Chichén Itzá, Mexico (Grand Velas Riviera Maya/CC BY SA 2.0), Pyramid of Cestius, Italy (Nicholas Laughlin/CC BY NC SA 2.0) Center: Replica of a wind rose from the chart of Jorge de Aguiar, 1492. (Alvesgaspar/CC BY SA 3.0)
21 August, 2016 - 21:29 Kirk Kirchev

The Pyramids Route: Was Knowledge of the Pyramids Spread by Ancient Castaways?

Jose Salvador Alvarenga was fishing off the coast of Mexico in late 2012 when a powerful storm sent his boat adrift. Marshall Islanders found the battered vessel nearly 16 months later, stuck on a...
‘La femme Préhistorique’ (The prehistoric woman) (1895) by James Tissot Reproductions of some Lascaux artworks in Lascaux II.
21 August, 2016 - 03:50 Natalia Klimczak

Creating Prehistoric Culture: Were the First Artists Women?

The first researchers of Paleolithic caves and sites related to the earliest humans called the people who left paintings and other pieces of early art “men.” Due to this decision, people created an...
A stone statue of Hatshepsut and Egyptian soldiers from Hatshepsut's expedition to the Land of Punt as depicted from her temple at Deir el-Bahri.
18 August, 2016 - 21:42 Natalia Klimczak

Out for War or A Shopping Trip? Why Hatshepsut Traveled to the Kingdom of Punt

The walls of the great temple in Karnak depicted the story of an expedition of impressive ships to the mysterious land known as Punt. The fleet of Queen Hatshepsut traveled there for unknown reasons...
: Relief on the Apadana Staircase on the eastern wall [of the Apadana Palace] from the ruins at Persepolis, “the Persian City”, ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire. Deriv
16 August, 2016 - 15:30 Cam Rea

Did Darius Hijack the Persian Throne? Destroying Rebellion and Securing the Future – Part II

With the death of King Cambyses II, the Persian Empire was in a state of war and confusion over who was the rightful heir. Even though the populace agreed that Gaumata was the rightful heir to the...
Five things the ancient Greeks can teach us about medicine today
16 August, 2016 - 03:43 ancient-origins

Five things the ancient Greeks can teach us about medicine today

The ancient Greeks are widely seen as having been the founders of Western medicine more than 2,000 years ago. But since then our understanding of the human body and how to treat it has changed beyond...
Deriv; Inside Temple Edfu and stars
13 August, 2016 - 16:56 Chris Morgan

Sky Religion in Ancient Egypt: Temples and Magick - Part I

“In the beginning Egypt was not” The Sky Religion in Egypt: Its Antiquity and Effects by G A Wainwright; published in 1938, is one of the classic enabling texts of Egyptology, and I am going to use...
Deriv; Relief of Darius in Persepolis and roaring lion frieze found in the Apadana (Darius the Great's palace) in Susa.
13 August, 2016 - 02:09 Cam Rea

Did Darius Hijack the Persian Throne? Ancient Coup and the Rise of Darius the Great – Part I

Cambyses II began his rule around 530 BCE, maybe 529 BCE, and his reign ended in 522 BCE. Not much is known about Cambyses since he left no inscriptions of his own. Only Herodotus and the Egyptians...
A Quadriga, with woman riding in a triumphal chariot. France.
10 August, 2016 - 18:40 MartiniF

Worshipers, Rule-Breakers and Champions: Women and the Ancient Greek Olympics

One of the aspects of culture regarded as distinctive to the ancient Greeks was their pursuit of sport. Apart from its function as the act of worship to Zeus, athletic competition, particularly at...
Ten Unsolved Ancient Archaeological Mysteries
9 August, 2016 - 21:51 aprilholloway

Ten Unsolved Ancient Archaeological Mysteries

Over the years, Ancient Origins has reported on thousands of archaeological mysteries that have not yet been solved. Here we have chosen to highlight just ten of these ancient enigmas, from lost...
Main: Battle of a French ship of the line and two galleys of the Barbary/Ottoman corsairs. Inset: An Ottoman pirate.
9 August, 2016 - 14:49 dhwty

Aruj Barbarossa: Most Notorious Pirate of the Barbary Corsairs

Aruj Barbarossa, known also in Turkish as Oruc Reis, is one of the most notorious pirates in history. He lived between the 15th and 16th centuries, and was one of the most well-known Barbary corsairs...
Guido of Arezzo.
9 August, 2016 - 03:40 dhwty

Musical Monk: Guido of Arezzo and His Impact on the History of Music

Guido of Arezzo was a monk who lived during the Middle Ages, and may be considered as one of the most influential figures in the history of modern music. During the Middle Ages, the monastery was one...
Sarcophagus of Ancient Egyptian Chief Priest Harkhebit IV. The text on the lid comes from the Book of the Dead.
9 August, 2016 - 01:41 Armando Mei

Zep Tepi and the Djed Mystery: The Book of the Dead and Fallen Civilizations—Part II

Chapter XVII of the Egyptian Book of the Dead highlights an indisputable detail: ritual formulas hid proofs of prehistoric events. They were handed down orally, and after millennia they inspired the...
Mummy of the Ukok Princess/Siberian Ice Maiden. Tattoos line her arms.
8 August, 2016 - 14:48 ancient-origins

Ancient Ink: Mummies and Their Amazing Tattoos

Tattoos have played a role in the lives of prehistoric and modern man alike. Societal status, art, religion, and medicine all create a tradition in tattoo design that spans across centuries and...
Detail of a mural depicting a Moche priestess. Reconstruction of a Moche priestess.
7 August, 2016 - 00:46 Riley Winters

Performance and Power: Moche Priestesses Uncovered

Despite being an agricultural society of ceremonial performance, bold works of art, and innovative irrigation processes, the Moche (100-800AD) are best remembered as one of many Pre-Columbian...
The Boy's King Arthur: Sir Thomas Malory's History of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, Edited for Boys by Sidney Lanier (New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1922).
6 August, 2016 - 14:34 Carly Silver

Meet Magnus Maximus, the Roman Usurper-Turned-Welsh Hero Who Inspired King Arthur

Fourteen hundred years before Britain voted to leave the European Union, it tried (and failed) to Brexit the Roman Empire. Under the leadership of Spanish-born soldier Magnus Maximus, a chunk of the...
On the Origins of the Runes - Symbols, Mysteries and Magico-religious Concepts
6 August, 2016 - 03:30 Vincent Ongkowidjojo

On the Origins of the Runes - Symbols, Mysteries and Magico-religious Concepts

One of the most shrouded mysteries of the rune alphabet is its early history. As a matter of fact, no-one really knows how the Elder Futhark came to be. We know that the runes exist and were used by...
'Leif Eriksson Discovers America’ by Christian Krohg (1893).
5 August, 2016 - 03:49 Kerry Sullivan

A Lucky Viking Who Found Vinland then Fought Over the Canadian Coastline

Contrary to popular belief, Christopher Columbus was not the first European to establish an outpost in the Americas – some 500 years earlier, a Viking named Leif (“the lucky”) Erikson established a...
Neurologists speculate that Joan of Arc heard voices because she suffered from epilepsy
3 August, 2016 - 21:50 Mark Miller

Neurologists speculate that Joan of Arc heard voices because she suffered from epilepsy

All through the years people have cast doubt on Joan of Arc’s morals, sanity or neurological health because she said she saw visions and heard voices of angels and saints. In the 15 th century, the...
The tomb of Cyrus the Great
3 August, 2016 - 16:58 Cam Rea

The Possible Origins of the Early Persian Kings: Inscriptions Reveal a Pattern - Part II

Cyrus I of Anshan Cyrus I was the second king of Anshan and son of Teispes. The name Cyrus in Old Persian is Kurush; in Elamite, Kurash; in Akkadian, Kuraha (u); and in Hebrew, Koresh. Cyrus I is...
Jeweled Skeleton.
3 August, 2016 - 00:58 Kristen C

The Macabre, Bejeweled Skeletons of the Catacomb Saints

In 1578, the Roman catacombs near Via Salaria were discovered by curious vineyard workers and later fully uncovered by archeologists, revealing a vast unearthly spectacle. Between 500,000 and 750,000...

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