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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Important Events

Here we feature some of the most seminal, historical, and influential events throughout history – both celebrated and unheralded – from the emergence of powerful civilizations and empires, to famous battles, great achievements, and events that have helped shape the world we currently know.

Fireworks at the Opet festival at Luxor’s Sphinx Avenue opening. Source: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities – Egypt

Opet Festival Extravaganza Marks Reopening of Avenue of Sphinxes

Egypt hosted the re-enactment of the ancient Egyptian Opet festival last night. The grand ceremony was held to mark the reopening of the 1.7-mile-long (2.7 km) road which links the Temples of Karnak...
St. Sebastian pleads for those afflicted with plague during the 7th century Plague of Justinian in a painting by South Netherlandish painter Josse Lieferinxe. 		Source: Josse Lieferinxe / Public domain

Study Demonstrates Terrible Toll of Sixth Century Plague of Justinian

In a new study appearing in the journal Past & Present , Cambridge University history professor Peter Sarris argues that recent scholarship has badly underestimated the true impact of the sixth-...
The Tower of London, where King Edward V, and the Duke of York were killed by Richard III or someone else.		Source: rpbmedia / Adobe Stock

Why Did Richard III Spare Edward, Earl of Warwick?

We’ve all heard the tale of the Princes in the Tower, the young sons of Edward IV who disappeared under mysterious circumstances in the Tower of London in 1483, presumed murdered, only to be...
Hothouse Earth cycles, as proven by Harvard University's latest study, are extreme in heat and in rain with one following the other. Our near future will not be so extreme, but similarities are already apparent in droughts and deluges in many regions of planet Earth. 			Source: Günter Albers / Adobe Stock

Extreme Heat Followed by Downpours Once Characterized ‘Hothouse Earth’

New research has found that the so-called hothouse Earth periods in our planet’s remote past were actually periods of extreme hot dry temperatures, hotter than today by 20-30 degrees Fahrenheit (17...
Medieval steel armor and iron gloved hands were products of Iron Age Europe. 		Source: Atmosphere / Adobe Stock

Iron Age Europe: 2000 Years Of Change Rolls Across The Continent

The Iron Age is the name given to the third and last division of the Three Age System. The beginning and the end of the Iron Age varies according to region. Indeed, even in Europe, the Iron Age...
Detail of ‘The Battle of Pavia’ (1528-1531) by Bernard van Orley and William Dermoyen.

The Battle of Pavia: Paving the Political Roads of Rival Rulers with Blood

February 24, 1525. A day that is not marked in infamy but in the blood of France. On this date, the Battle of Pavia occurred – the decisive event in a longstanding war and rivalry, and the crushing...
Pazzi chapel, Santa Croce Florence, stills stands, but after the Pazzi Conspiracy against the Medici family, the Pazzis were banished and had to change their name. 		Source: adisa / Adobe Stock

The Pazzi Conspiracy: How A Florentine Family Failed And Was Banished

The Pazzi Conspiracy was a plot during the 15th century to overthrow the Medici family, who controlled Florence at the time. The conspirators, led by the Pazzi family, aimed to achieve their goal by...
Jaques Le Gris, played by Adam Driver on the left, and Jean de Carrouges, played by Matt Damon, in The Last Duel. 	Source: 20th Century Studios

The True History Behind “The Last Duel” - A Tale of Trial by Combat

Medieval chivalric duels were undoubtedly the most thrilling events of the time. The last vestige of the ancient gladiatorial fights, knightly duels were a true display of the skill with arms and...
Are our conceptions of war and peace more civilized in modern times? The Apotheosis of War, by Vasily Vereshchagin. Source: Public domain

War and Peace in Pre-Modern Europe: Have We Really Bypassed Brutality?

When pondering themes of war and peace, there is a general perception among modern people of the Western world that the time we live in is decidedly more civilized and peaceful than any other era of...
The Doge’s Palace in Saint Mark’s Square, Venice. Source: Mapics / Adobe Stock.

The Republic of Venice, The Greatest Jewel of the Mediterranean?

To visit Venice is a dream of every passionate traveler. The city, crisscrossed with channels and marvelous relics of art and culture, is one of Italy’s most sought-after tourist destinations. But...
The Graeco-Bactrian Kingdom forged its own Greek identity, far from Greece. Source: Ksenia Tassel / Adobe Stock.

The Graeco-Bactrian Kingdom: Alexander The Great’s Easternmost Legacy

Alexander the Great was one of the finest and most successful military leaders the world has ever seen. In the 4th century BC he carved out one of the largest empires in history, stretching from...
Anesthetics allowed for far more detailed, careful surgeries to succeed. Source: Marina / Adobe Stock.

The Numbing Truth: A History Of Anesthesia

Throughout history, needing the help of a surgeon was almost a death sentence because if one did not die on the operating table, one would feel the excruciating agony brought from the heavy crude...
German soldiers shooting Herero people in 1904

Herero and Namaqua Genocide: The Little-Known First Genocide of the Second Reich

When you hear the word genocide, your mind may immediately go to the Holocaust by the Nazis during the Second World War. Very few know that the first genocide of the 20th century that almost led to...
Great Wall of China, China.

8 Ancient Chinese Inventions the West Had Not Imagined

According to the statistics provided by the World Economic Forum, nowadays China can boast its position as the world’s second largest spender on scientific research and development, yielding only to...
The Jutes were part of the major colonization of the British Isles in the 5th century. Source: Nejron Photo / Adobe Stock.

Who Were the Jutes? The Mysterious Tribe Who Settled In Britain

The history of the British Isles is a colorful patchwork, made up of the diverse tribes and nations that sought to make the island their home. Peoples migrated to the island through the Bronze Age,...
The Battle of Nicopolis, took place during the earliest stages of the Ottoman-Venetian Wars, a miniature by Jean Colombe painted in circa 1475.

The Ottoman-Venetian Wars: 322 Years Of Battles Between East and West

While it started out full of ambition, the highly influential maritime power, the Republic of Venice, soon found itself surrounded by competitors and foes. One of their major enemies was the lofty...
A monk inquisitor. Source: Shaman-foto /Adobe Stock

Magic, Scandal and Promiscuity, All in a Day’s Work for a Maltese Inquisitor

The Inquisition is normally associated with the ardent renegades of the Renaissance who preferred to die defending science and humanism than go along with the religious dogma that persecuted free-...
Jacques de Molay cursed everyone who supported his death

The Powerful Curse of Jacques de Molay, the Last Grand Master of Templars

On March 18, 1314, Jacques de Molay and a few other Templars, after enduring torture and many other humiliations, were sent to death. De Molay was an old man, tired with life and proud of his...
The Maccabean Revolt: The Jewish Rebellion Against the Seleucid Empire

The Maccabean Revolt: The Jewish Rebellion Against the Seleucid Empire

The Maccabean Revolt was a Jewish rebellion against the Seleucid Empire that took place during the 2nd century BC. Not long before the revolt, Jerusalem had been captured by the Seleucids. According...
Eilmer of Malmesbury: Did This Flying Monk Beat Da Vinci by 500 Years?

Eilmer of Malmesbury: Did This Flying Monk Beat Da Vinci by 500 Years?

Eilmer of Malmesbury was a Benedictine monk who lived in the 10th and 11th centuries AD. Eilmer is remembered today for his flight from the top of a tower. Due to this feat, the monk is considered as...
A baroque carved relief (at the Church of Saint Benedict in Venice, Italy) from the life of St. Benedict showing Totila, the king of Ostrogoths, on his knees. During the invasion of Italy, Totila ordered a general to wear his kingly robes to see whether St. Benedict would discover the truth. Immediately Benedict detected the impersonation. Impressed, Totila came to pay his respects to the man of the cloth. Totila was the leader of the Ostrogoths in the Third Siege of Rome. Source: Renáta Sedmáková / Adobe S

The Third Ostrogothic Siege of Rome: Byzantine Armies Battle the Ostrogoths

The Third Ostrogothic Siege of Rome occurred in 549-550 AD and was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Ostrogoths. The former was in control of the city, whilst the latter tried to seize the...
This stone cairn and flag marker sits on the very location of the Dyatlov Pass incident tent spot where in 1959 nine experienced hikers died under mysterious circumstances.         Source: irinabal18 / Adobe Stock

The Dyatlov Pass Incident: A Tragic Mystery With Lots of Loose Ends

The Dyatlov Pass incident is one of the most enduring mysteries of the twentieth century. In 1959, nine young explorers perished in Siberia’ s northern Ural Mountains. Ink has been spilt, books...
Holy Sovereignty:  How the English Church Resisted a Norman Takeover

Holy Sovereignty: How the English Church Resisted a Norman Takeover

The Norman Conquest of England in 1066 brought enormous social and political upheaval to English society. Structures and institutions that had been in place for centuries were replaced by Norman ones...
A ghastly death ossuary in Milan that likely also contains many dead from the Massacre of Milan in 1539 AD during the battles to retake Italy by the Byzantine Empire, which was headquartered in Constantinople.         Source: Francis Malapris / Adobe Stock

Byzantium Suffers Barbarian Wrath in the Massacre of Milan of 539 AD

“Woe to the vanquished!” the old saying goes, and it was often showcased in history. During the devastating Gothic War that raged between 535 and 554 AD on the Italian Peninsula, the venerable city...

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