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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.

Ancient tsunamis destroyed and killed. Source: Kevin Carden / Adobe Stock.
8 October, 2019 - 14:05 Karen Mutton

Creating Waves, Destroying Lives: Ancient Tsunamis That Left Their Mark

The catastrophic Indian Ocean tsunami of late 2004 claimed up to 300,000 lives in the space of 24 hours. In 2011, the Japanese tsunami claimed another 20,000 lives. Prior to these events, few...
The Ionians were Greeks who revolted against the Achaemenid Empire in Asia Minor. Source: Fernando Cortés / Adobe Stock.
7 October, 2019 - 19:00 dhwty

The Ionian Revolt - Prelude to the Graeco-Persian Wars

The Ionian Revolt was a series of revolts that broke out in Asia Minor at the beginning of the 5th century BC. At that time, the whole of Asia Minor was under the rule of the Achaemenid Empire. The...
The Seleucid Empire was a Hellenistic state that fought in the Syrian Wars to retain their empire. Source: Kings and Generals / YouTube.
19 September, 2019 - 02:01 dhwty

The Rise and Demise of the Seleucid Empire

The Seleucid Empire was a Hellenistic state that existed between the 4th and 1st centuries BC. It was established by Seleucus I Nicator (meaning ‘victor’ or ‘conqueror’), one of the diadochi, or...
The residents of San Miguel De Gualdape were overcome with sickness in the swampy environment. (NPS / Public Domain)
15 September, 2019 - 14:02 Aleksa Vučković

To the Shores of Distant Death: The Failed Colony of San Miguel De Gualdape

The year is 1526. Onto the wild and wooded lands of what is today Georgia in the United States, European feet had never permanently walked. These forests and river valleys, the wild rolling hills of...
Stone Age early human child. Source: pxhere / Public Domain.
9 September, 2019 - 14:06 Caleb Strom

The Stone Age: The First 99 Percent of Human History

The Stone Age is the longest period of human history, lasting from 2.6 million years ago to about 5,000 years ago. It is also the period of human history that is the least well known relative to...
Medieval knights battle. Credit: Nejron Photo / Adobe Stock
8 September, 2019 - 14:05 Aleksa Vučković

A Red Dawn Rises - The Battle of Hastings, 1066

As the early morning sun dawned on October 14th, 1066 AD, casting its light on the clustered, eager soldiers, it would herald a new bloody, revolutionary epoch in the history of England. For on this...
Battle between Mongols clans and tribes during the time of Genghis Khan. Source: insima / Adobe Stock.
5 September, 2019 - 01:56 Dr. Timothy C. ...

Mosquito Hordes: How a Pesky Insect Destroyed the ‘Almost’ Invincible Mongol Empire

The inhospitable, remote high steppes and grassland of the austere and windswept northern Asian plateau were occupied by warring tribal clans and duplicitous factions. Alliances were capricious,...
The discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun is one of the greatest archaeology achievements in history. Source: merydolla / Adobe Stock.
19 August, 2019 - 18:50 Aleksa Vučković

Unearthing the Ancients: Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun

The ancient age of Egypt, the enigmatic pharaohs and the rich history of the Nile valley , are without a doubt one of the most exciting and wondrous aspects of modern archaeology. Filled with several...
Viking explorers Source: Vlastimil Šesták / Adobe Stock
18 August, 2019 - 18:39 Dr Pat Hanratty

Pre-Columbian Explorers in the Americas: The Hard Evidence

These days, few people still believe Christopher Columbus was the first explorer to travel to the “New World.” But there is still a debate over whether adventurers and explorers from Europe, Asia,...
The White Lotus Society was a political, religious, and revolutionary movement that that rebelled against the government in imperial China.
15 August, 2019 - 01:49 dhwty

The White Lotus Secret Society and the Demise of Mongol Rule in China

The White Lotus Society / Sect (written in Chinese as 白莲教, and Romanized as ‘Bai Lian Jiao’) was a millenarian movement that existed in imperial China. As a religious movement, the teachings of the...
The Great Fire of London on the evening of Tuesday, 4 September 1666. To the left is London Bridge; to the right, the Tower of London. St. Paul's Cathedral is in the distance, surrounded by the tallest flames. Source: BevinKacon / Public Domain.
14 August, 2019 - 18:54 Aleksa Vučković

Fighting the Flaming Wrath - The Great Fire of London, 1666

1666. “London was, but is no more.” It was a year with a special number. A year that carried a lot of ominous superstitions. And for thousands of Londoners who lived in that very year, it would prove...
Ancient Greek warrior fighting in the combat. Credit: Fotokvadrat / Adobe Stock
4 August, 2019 - 14:01 Aleksa Vučković

The Peloponnesian War: Intrigues and Conquests in Ancient Greece

When speaking of ancient Greece, most of us tend to think of their sprawling city states, iconic classical culture, philosophers, and myths – and rightly so. Classical Greece was certainly a...
“The Victory of Joshua over the Amorites”
26 July, 2019 - 22:01 Bryan Hill

The Fierce Amorites and the First King of the Babylonian Empire

The Amorites, also called Amurru or Martu, were an ancient Semitic-speaking people who dominated the history of Mesopotamia, Syria, and Palestine from about 2000 to 1600 BC. Tribal nomads who forced...
The famous Lions Gate into the hill fortress where Mycenaean armies originated.
18 July, 2019 - 19:26 Riley Winters

The Fall of a Civilization: The Mysterious Collapse of the Mycenaean Bronze Age

"In most cases, collapse results from multiple, 'cascading' stress factors—politico-economic, demographic, and sociocultural as well as environmental…relational aspects, arguing that factors such as...
Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii. Source: dbvirago / Adobe Stock.
7 July, 2019 - 01:40 Sarah P Young

Pompeii: The Ancient Roman City Frozen in Time

In the Campania region of Italy near the modern day city of Naples , there was once a prosperous Roman city - Pompeii. As a thriving center for trade, the inhabitants of the city were a mixture of...
What Went Wrong? The Real Story of the Battle of Thermopylae
4 July, 2019 - 18:04 nickospoulianos

What Went Wrong? The Real Story of the Battle of Thermopylae

In 480 BC, an enormous Persian army under the chief command of Emperor Xerxes (son of Darius the Great) campaigned against Thessaly in central Greece. Mainly they fought against the southern mostly...
Modern Representation of a Varangian Guard.
20 June, 2019 - 22:33 Riley Winters

Varangian Guard: Bodyguards and Berserkers of the Byzantine Empire

Read Part 1 The tale of the Varangians continues in its prime in the form of the Varangian Guard, a prominent and selective Byzantine army arising in the 10th century. Composed of the Scandinavian...
The Yamnaya came to Europe from modern-day western Russia or the Ukraine. Source: katiekk2 / Adobe Stock.
6 June, 2019 - 19:00 Caleb Strom

How A Handful of Yamnaya Culture Nomads Became the Fathers of Europe

The origins of modern Europeans are shrouded in mystery and wracked by controversy. Archaeologists and linguists have long debated the origins of the Indo-European language family as well as the...
Burning scroll
2 June, 2019 - 01:31 dhwty

Who Destroyed the Great Library of Alexandria?

The destruction of the great library of Alexandria has been lamented as one of the biggest losses of the ancient world. Nearly one million documents from across Assyria, Greece, Persia, Egypt, India...
Large asteroid hitting Earth
16 May, 2019 - 18:45 ancient-origins

Ancient Cataclysms: 9 Catastrophes That Rocked the World

Ancient cultures around the world have passed down their tales of devastating natural disasters in oral traditions, folklore, historical accounts, pictorial representations, and through myths...
Askia the Great, ruler of the Songhai Empire 1493 to 1528, in the Game Civilization V.
28 April, 2019 - 02:03 dhwty

Askia the Great: Revolt Leader to Powerful Songhai Emperor

Muhammad I Askia (also known as Askia the Great) was one of the most important emperors of the Songhai Empire. Askia came to power in 1493, when he overthrew the last ruler of the Sunni Dynasty,...
Assyrian Cuneiform
25 April, 2019 - 23:54 dhwty

Deciphering Cuneiform to Get a Handle on Life in Ancient Mesopotamia

Cuneiform is a system of writing that was invented by the Sumerians of ancient Mesopotamia. Believed to have been created sometime during the 4th millennium BC (between 3500 and 3000 BC), this script...
The Seljuks invaded Central Asia and Southeast Russia in the 11th century.
22 April, 2019 - 01:37 dhwty

The Seljuks: Nomads Who Built an Empire and Took On Byzantine Power

The Seljuk Empire was a medieval empire that existed between the 11th and 12th centuries. They are most famous for their invasions and battles against the Byzantine Empire and later their role in the...
Notre Dame de Paris, a taller reconstruction of the original spire was made in the 1800s.
20 April, 2019 - 01:55 dhwty

Notre Dame de Paris: Survivor of 850 Years of Upheaval, Revolution, World Wars and Fire

Notre Dame de Paris (which translates as ‘Our Lady of Paris’) is one of the best-known Gothic cathedrals in the world and among the most famous landmarks in France . The monument caught the attention...

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