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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.

Parallels between The House of the Dragon and The Anarchy are obvious after just one season. Source: Warner Media

How House of the Dragon Mirrors The Anarchy in England

Now that the hugely successful first season of HBO’s House of the Dragon has aired, it is safe for us to do an analysis of how much and how closely the events and characters mirrored those of actual...
‘Destruction’ from Thomas Cole’s ‘The Course of Empire.’ Representation of a city destroyed in the Late Bronze Age Collapse. Source: Public domain

Civilization's Midnight: The Late Bronze Age Collapse

To the layman who is educated in the Euro-Centric tradition, history stops at the Greeks. We are all familiar with the militaristic ferocity of the Spartans and the open atmosphere of discourse in...
The impact of the Battle of Brunanburh is still debated today; however, the English win by Athelstan prevented additional Viking gains for a time. Source: Public Domain

Was Athelstan England's First and Greatest King?

Britain has had more than sixty monarchs over the centuries. Some have been good; some have been bad, but few are held in as high regard as King Athelstan. King Athelstan, often described as the...
Syphilis infections surging through the military had an enormous impact in numerous wars. Source: 4k_Heaven / Adobe Stock

Syphilis: The STD that Won and Lost Wars

In 1494, King Charles VIII of France launched an all-out war against the republics of the Italian peninsula, a watershed moment in history. Within months, 50,000 soldiers from his army had fled, not...
King Henry VI of England genetically engineered Henry Tudor for the English throne. Source: KIFOR PRODUCTION / Adobe Stock

How Henry VI Genetically Engineered Henry Tudor for the Throne

The year was 1453 and Henry VI, King of England, was having what could be reasonably called an annus horribilis . His sanity was unsteady and his leadership and decision-making capabilities were even...
Archaeologists prepare burial excavation unit for removal of remains at the Camden Battleground site. Source: Sarah Nell Blackwell / South Carolina Battleground Trust

Excavations at the Battle of Camden Site Unearth 14 Revolutionary War Victims

On November 11 the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust issued a press release announcing an important discovery related to the American Revolutionary War. While excavating at the site of...
Left: The corridor leading to the Antechamber of Tutankhamun’s tomb. Right: The moment Tutankhamun’s shrine was opened revealing his sarcophagus. (Public Domain).

28 ORIGINAL Photos from the Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb

November 4, 2022, marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Egyptian Valley of the Kings, a watershed moment for the world of archaeology. The spectacular nature of...
Archaeologists peeled back layers of destruction to uncover recordings of Earth's magnetic field in burnt mud brick wall. Photo is from Tel Batash (Biblical Timnah) and shows markings of the magnetic field orientation. Source: Yoav Vaknin/ Tel Aviv University

Magnetic Fields Reveal the Truth Behind Biblical Battle Narratives

Biblical accounts of ancient military campaigns against the kingdoms of Judah and Israel have been confirmed by archaeologists in a very interesting new study. By recording geomagnetic fields in 21...
Why would monarchs abdicate their thrones? These ten stories will give some ideas. Source: Elles Rijsdijk / Adobe Stock

Momentary Monarchs: 10 Rulers Who Turned Their Back On The Throne

Throughout history, there have been numerous monarchs - some good, some bad, and many largely forgotten. Some monarchs, like Queen Elizabeth II, ruled for decades, but the reign of many others was...
King Charles I was beheaded with one blow of the axe blade. The identity of the executioner is unknown, as the official executioner credibly denied responsibility. Source: Nomad_Soul / Adobe Stock

King Charles I: The Only English Monarch Executed for Treason

Quite a few European monarchs met their fates at the end of an executioner's axe. One of the most famous examples is King Charles I of England, sentenced to death for treason. Unlike many executions...
Hands sprinkling salt. Humans have cultivated salt for centuries, but in some places, salt has covered the earth. Source: Left zlikovec / Adobe Stock

Salt Sowing: An Ancient Method to Settle Scores

Many people use salt to bring out the flavor in their food. Others spread it on icy roads and sidewalks to give vehicles or pedestrians some grip as they go about their day. It is, by most accounts,...
Queen Elizabeth II, The Second Longest-Reigning Monarch in History Dies

Queen Elizabeth II, the Second Longest-Reigning Monarch in History, Dies

Today, Thursday 8th of September, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Commonwealth has passed away peacefully at her country home, Balmoral. The news comes just...
Les Cathares, painting by Bernard Romain. Source: Public Domain

The Medieval Crushing of the Cathars and Sexualizing of Witches

Many Christian writers identified the gods and lesser spirits of the Greek and Roman world with demons. This ushered in the Christian practice of demonizing those they perceived as their opponents...
Typhoid fever salmonella bacteria like this, according to the latest study, were a primary killer along with the plague that could well be the missing reason for the sudden Bronze Age collapse of Near East and Mediterranean societies. Source: sveta / Adobe Stock

Mediterranean Bronze Age Collapse Linked to Deadly Typhoid and Plague

A new genetic research project has revealed evidence of the profound impact highly infectious and dangerous diseases may have had on the Bronze Age collapse in the Mediterranean and Near East region...
Stylized depiction of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.	Source: Towseef / Adobe Stock

Controversial Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb & Mughal Wars of Succession

An old man sits hunched over his prayer mat as dawn breaks over the horizon, his white beard soaked from tears shed through the night. No one would believe that this troubled figure is the sixth...
Examination of a Witch (1853) by T. H. Matteson, inspired by the Salem trials, which have been finally “closed” by the exoneration of the last Salem witch, Elizabeth Johnson. Source: Peabody Essex Museum / Public domain

Last Salem Witch Has Been Exonerated Posthumously By Boston Court

It’s not just something one can bury in the recesses of history because even today many cultures across the world accuse women of practicing black magic and witchcraft. And women accused of this...
The Hashshashins were a military group of trained fedayeen fighters, also known as the Order of Assassins. Source: warmtail / Adobe Stock

The Notorious Hashshashins, the Original Assassins of Persia

When it comes to legends, none is quite as moviesque as that of the Hashshashins, who in the Middle Ages inspired fear in the hearts of leaders in the Middle East. Hassan-i Sabbah, dubbed the Old Man...
Segment of 18th-century illustration of Brian Boru. Source: Public domain

The Legendary Brian Boru: Ireland’s Greatest King

Brian Boru was Ireland’s greatest conqueror and the first man to unite the Emerald Isle into one realm, rising above the divisions of the squabbling Irish elite and their 150 kings. As well as...
The 1274 and 1281 AD Mongol invasions of Japan were well equipped and favored overall but both times the samurai and their “magical” storms won the day! Two Samurai with a dead Mongol at their feet from a votive image (ema) at the Komodahama Shrine on Tsushima, approximately halfway between Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula. Source: Public domain

When Mongols Met Samurai: The Two Failed Mongol Invasions of Japan

Throughout time, there are a few instances where the weather became a determining factor in the outcome of a battle. The Mongol invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281 AD have often been cited as salient...
Fresco from the Vatican depicting the Battle of the Milvian Bridge that took place on October 28, 312 between the Roman emperors Constantine I and Maxentius. Source: CC BY-SA 2.0

The Battle of Milvian Bridge: The Battle That Brought Christianity to Rome

In October of 312, a battle would take place that would not only make Constantine I the ruler of the entire Roman Empire but would change its course in history forever. The Battle of the Milvian...
The Corpses of the De Witt Brothers by Jan de Baen. (Public domain)

Johan de Witt: The Failed Politician who was Cannibalized by his Opponents

Even after a successful political career, Johan de Witt has gone down in history for having suffered one of the most bizarre assassinations in history and one of the few recorded cases of cannibalism...
A new study reveals the role droughts played in the development and spread of Islam. Source:  Leo Lintang / Adobe Stock

Power Vacuum Caused by Extreme Drought Led to the Spread of Islam

A power vacuum caused by an extreme drought 1,500 years ago in the Arabian Peninsula led to political unrest, war, and societal change. These were the preconditions that led to the development and...
The 17th-century tulipmania madness was not unlike the history of Bitcoin so far because in both cases a speculative bubble was created. Without spilling the beans, tulipmania ended suddenly and badly and put a tarnish on the Dutch Golden Age! Source: momosama / Adobe Stock

Tulipmania: When Tulips Cost More than a House!

Used frequently as a warning, almost, to deter people from shifting towards cryptocurrencies, particularly the Bitcoin boom, “tulipmania” is often recognized as the first recorded speculative bubble...
Studying ancient plague genomes, a multidisciplinary team of researchers have finally traced the Black Death origin location to this part of the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan. Source: © Lyazzat Musralina / MPG

Medieval Black Death Origin Traced to Central Asia

The Black Death or Black Plague killed somewhere between 75 and 200 million people in just seven years, from 1346 to 1353. About 50 million died in Europe alone, which made it the epicenter of the...

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