The Forbidden City's architecture is a masterpiece, with its historical and cultural significance deeply rooted in its design. The number 9 holds great importance in Chinese culture , and this is...
While performing excavations at the site of an ancient imperial palace in the village of Eisleben in Germany, archaeologists unearthed the ruins of castle fortifications, as well as the 1,000-year-...
In the heart of the Forbidden City , China's political and ritual center for over 500 years, the lives of imperial concubines were far from the fairy tales one might imagine. These women were not...
The Sodales Augustales were a religious organization in ancient Rome dedicated to the worship of the emperor. Composed of prominent citizens, they served as ambassadors and reinforced the emperor's...
The Forbidden City of China, a sprawling imperial palace that once housed the China’s powerful emperors, is a marvel of ancient architecture and Chinese history. Spanning an impressive 720,000 square...
The Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom are symbols of the British monarchy’s regalia and vestments, accumulated over 800 years of English and British history. Part of this collection is the Imperial...
Representing a national first, an ancient sarcophagus bearing the title “Emperor’s Protector” has been unearthed in western Turkey (ancient Anatolia). Furthermore, it's also the first time the...
The Japanese monarchy is the oldest continuous monarchy in the world, but it faces a clear succession crisis in the 21st century. Imperial descendance and inheritance is only passed through male...
Amaterasu is a major goddess in the Shinto religion. Although she is considered primarily a sun goddess, she is also believed to be the ruler of the Takama no Hara (the High Celestial Plain), which...
At one time a cathedral, later a mosque, and now the chief museum of the Turkish Republic, Hagia Sophia, in the ancient Byzantine imperial capital of Constantinople (now Istanbul), was a world-famous...
Kosem Sultan was a woman who refused to be just another widow on the Ottoman court - instead she became a real ruler of the empire. Her decisions made such an impact, that after her death noblemen in...
Another Rome sinkhole has appeared, this time, in front of the Pantheon in Piazza della Rotonda and in it, archaeologists have made the unexpected ‘rediscovery’ of an ancient imperial floor...
Chinese archaeologists have made a historic discovery. Along with thousands of other artifacts, they have unearthed a very rare gold imperial seal that was possibly used by the heir apparent of an...
A small Chinese teapot that was found by chance has made some lucky person a millionaire. The 18 th century teapot crafted in China has sold for a staggering and totally unpredicted £1 million, or...
The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty in the history of China. It was also the shortest-lived dynasty, lasting only 15 years between 221 BC and 206 BC. Nonetheless, it was hugely important,...
A team of archaeologists has dated the remains in the northeast of the Taosi relic site in Xiangfen County to around 4000 years ago. Experts were not shocked by the announcement, as China has been on...
The ancient city of Pingyao is a county-level city located in the center of China’s Shanxi Province. This ancient city has been described as an exceptionally well-preserved example of a traditional...
A monument created for one man stands in the heart of Rome, but it became an eternal house for his entire family. The remarkable construction conceals the secrets of generations of people whose fame...
In Imperial China, one of the important tasks that the emperor needed to do was to ensure the continuation of the dynasty, which was achieved by the production of a male heir. For this purpose, the...
The people of ancient Rome knew of a tragic hero Drusus (Drusus the Elder), the younger brother of Tiberius who died in a campaign. But there was another, younger and lesser known, Drusus in Tiberius...
Chinese archaeologists have restored the crown of a 6 th century Chinese empress of the short-lived Sui Dynasty that shared the land with peasants, instituted the Buddhist religion, and united north...
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was one of the most powerful and influential men who lived during the early days of the Roman Empire. Agrippa was a statesman, general, and most important of all, a close...
The expansive ruins of an ancient Buddhist garden from the Tang Dynasty have been uncovered by archaeologists working in Sichuan province, China. The tiered garden, undoubtedly glorious in its time,...
Excavations at the ruins of Daming, the “Palace of Great Brilliance”, have unearthed ancient offices which are thought to have been responsible for issuing imperial edicts, official communications of...