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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.

The Obsequies of an Egyptian Cat
9 May, 2015 - 13:20 Riley Winters

The Veneration and Worship of Felines in Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptians revered and worshipped many animals, just as the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Norse did, but none were worshipped as reverently as the cat. It was not until the Pre-dynastic...
German Knight. Source: nullplus / Adobe
5 May, 2015 - 22:16 aprilholloway

The Mummy of Christian Friedrich von Kahlbutz, the Not So Chivalrous Knight

There are not many who would mourn the death of Christian Friedrich von Kahlbutz, a German knight who is known to have frequently exercised droit du seigneur , a legal right in late medieval Europe...
Caractacus: The Indomitable Celt
4 May, 2015 - 21:18 Bryan Hill

Caractacus: The Powerful Celtic King Who Defied Rome

Caractacus was a king and tribal leader of the ancient Britons during the Iron Age and ruler of the Catuvellaunui, a powerful British tribe. He was the son of a Celtic king named Cunobeline and ruled...
Tomoe Gozen - A fearsome Japanese Female Warrior of the 12th Century
29 April, 2015 - 15:05 dhwty

Tomoe Gozen - A fearsome Japanese Female Warrior of the 12th Century

In most societies of the past, it was the men who were usually engaged in the bloody business of war. Nevertheless, there are also historical records of women who managed to make a name for...
Knights Templars
29 April, 2015 - 04:23 Bryan Hill

Mystery of the Knights Templars: Protectors or Treasure Hunters on a Secret Mission?

The Knights Templars were a secret society whose true purpose remains a mystery or is at least vigorously debated among scholars and historians to this day. The Templars left behind many clues of...
Ferdinand Magellan
19 April, 2015 - 01:00 dhwty

Ferdinand Magellan: Defying all Odds in a Voyage around the World

The historical figure Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who remains famous for the first circumnavigation of the earth, proving that the earth is round. However, the voyage was dogged by...
The Oseberg Ship Burial
15 April, 2015 - 03:46 dhwty

The Oseberg Ship Burial Astounded Archaeologists with Excellent Preservation and Hoard of Artifacts

In AD 921, the Arab traveler and Islamic theologian Ahmad ibn Fadlan was sent by the Abbasid caliph, al-Muqtadir to the court of the king of the Volga Bulghars as part of a diplomatic party. During...
Srubna Culture and their Unique Timber Graves for the Dead
12 April, 2015 - 21:54 dhwty

The Bronze Age Srubna Culture and their Unique Timber Graves for the Dead

Not much is known about the ancient Srubna (or Srubnaya) peoples of Eastern Europe as writing and records were either not developed, or the materials they were written on have not survived. As a...
The Whistling Island of La Gomera
11 April, 2015 - 14:32 dhwty

A Unique Form of Ancient Communication: The Whistling Island of La Gomera

An old English proverb states that “necessity is the mother of invention”. On La Gomera in the Spanish Canary Islands, a need arose among its inhabitants to communicate with each other over the...
The Funeral of Atahualpa by Luis Montero
7 April, 2015 - 04:11 dhwty

The Dramatic Life and Death of Atahualpa, the Last Emperor of the Inca Empire

The Inca ruler, Atahualpa, is one of the key figures in the history of the European colonialization of South America. As the last emperor of the largest empire in pre-Columbian Empire, Atahualpa was...
The Funeral of a Viking
5 April, 2015 - 03:55 Mark Miller

The 10th century chronicle of the violent, orgiastic funeral of a Viking chieftain

For the 10 th century holy man and jurist Ahmad Ibn Fadlan, the violent, orgiastic, drunken spectacle put on by mourning Vikings in Bulgaria must have been shocking. In Ibn Fadlan’s Muslim tradition...
Duke Margiris defending Pilėnai against Teutonic Knights 1336.
3 April, 2015 - 01:28 dhwty

Mass suicide at Pilenai: Lithuanian Defenders Choose Death over Enslavement

The Crusades are best known as a series of military campaigns launched by Western European states, and sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church, aimed at reclaiming the Holy Land from the Muslims...
Tullia drives her chariot over the body of her father, Servius Tullius. Painting by Jean Bardin, 1765.
1 April, 2015 - 15:03 dhwty

Servius Tullius – The last benevolent king of Rome

Just a stone’s throw away from the bustling Termini station in the heart of Rome stands a section of an ancient wall. This wall is known as the Servian Wall, as it is believed to have been built...
Metal detector survey of the shipwreck area, photo by Brett Seymour.
30 March, 2015 - 15:02 dhwty

The Antikythera Shipwreck – The Titanic of the Ancient World and its Sunken Historic Treasure

Some of the world’s greatest archaeological discoveries have been uncovered by chance. The terracotta warriors, for instance, were first discovered in 1974 by Chinese farmers who were digging for a...
The Colossal Head of Decebalus, King of the Dacians
30 March, 2015 - 03:26 dhwty

The Colossal Head of Decebalus, King of the Dacians

In the heart of Rome stands a 38m tall column built in the 2 nd century AD. Carved in low relief spiralling around the monument are over 2600 figures, representing the combatants of wars fought in a...
17th century illustration of a woman committing sati: self-immolation on her husband’s funeral pyre.
29 March, 2015 - 15:02 dhwty

Jauhar - The History of Collective Self Immolation during War in India

Sadly, the fate of civilians in war has often been harsh, perhaps even more so in the past. Men would invariably be killed, and children were often sold into slavery. As for the women, they might be...
An oil painting of Queen Tin Hinan.
28 March, 2015 - 13:55 dhwty

The Monumental Tomb of Queen Tin Hinan, Ancient Ancestress of the Tuaregs

Queen Tin Hinan is renowned in Tuareg history as a fourth century matriarch of great prestige – named “Mother of Us All”. Her monumental tomb was located in 1925 in the Sahara desert, but dramatic...
Geronimo
27 March, 2015 - 03:00 dhwty

Geronimo: The Apache Warrior that fought to Avenge the Slaughter of his Family

In the 1940s, the U.S. Army was experimenting with the possibility of infiltrating enemy territory by dropping soldiers with parachutes from aeroplanes. According to one account, on the night before...
The Gunpowder Plot: The conspirators’ last stand at Holbeach House
22 March, 2015 - 02:30 dhwty

Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot to Obliterate the British House of Lords

Every fifth of November, people across the United Kingdom celebrate Guy Fawkes Night (also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night, and Firework Night). Every November, cities and towns across the...
A print, entitled 'Caractacus, King of the Silures, delivered up to Ostorius, the Roman General, by Cartismandua, Queen of the Brigantes'
21 March, 2015 - 20:55 dhwty

Mighty Cartimandua, Queen of the Brigantes Tribe and Friend to Rome

Standing next to Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament in the heart of London is a giant bronze statue of a woman with her two daughters on a chariot. This was Boudicca, the queen of the...
A depiction of the Battle of Mactan
20 March, 2015 - 02:25 dhwty

Chief Lapu-Lapu - Warrior and Hero of the Philippines

In the early 16 th century, Spain was becoming a global superpower due to innovations in navigation and seafaring. At the end of the previous century, Christopher Columbus, whose voyage had been...
Model Kate Keown portraying Beatrice Cenci. 1968.
12 March, 2015 - 13:29 dhwty

The Spirit of Beatrice Cenci - A Tale of Terrible Injustice in Ancient Rome

Just a stone’s throw away from St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican City is the Ponte Sant’Angelo. Today, this bridge is one of the famous tourist attractions in the city of Rome. Yet, this bridge hides...
Sobeknefru, Powerful Pharaoh and Queen of the Dragon Court
9 March, 2015 - 12:58 Katrina Sisowath

Sobeknefru, Powerful Pharaoh and Queen of the Dragon Court

Named after the crocodile God Sobek, Sobeknefru, whose name means ‘she who shows the beauty of Sobek’, succeeded her brother to the throne of Egypt. At the time she came to power, the cult of Sobek...
Rostam the hero fighting the Dragon in the Seven Quests of Rostam. Iranian miniature illustration from Shahnameh
7 March, 2015 - 12:41 Mahbod Khanbolouki

The Longest Poem Ever Written: Shahnameh – The Epic Book of Kings

In 977 AD, a Persian poet named Ferdowsi began on a grandiose poetic journey that would take him 33 years to complete. He used ancient Persian tales which had been told from generation to generation...

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