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.

Truck loaded with plague victims in Elliant drawn by a woman with tattered clothes. Moynet lithograph based on Duveau’s Collections.

13 September, 2015 - 00:55 ancient-origins

The Black Death: the Plague that Sowed Terror and Death in Medieval Europe - Part 1

In recent months, health authorities in California, USA, have been obliged to report two cases of the plague that appeared in West Coast state. In the state of Colorado two other people also...

The Dance of Zalongo, Theophilos Hatzimichail

18 August, 2015 - 15:05 Riley Winters

From Here to Eternity: the Tragic Tale of the Dance of Zalongo

Once known as the birthplace of Alexander the Great's mother Olympia, the former Ottoman Empire region of Epirus has a much more recent historical significance. Under the reign of Ali Pasha, a Muslim...

8 August, 2015 - 21:34 Bryan Hill

Teleportation Man: Transport in the Blink of an Eye of a Spanish Soldier

Teleportation is the transportation of a person or object from one place to another instantaneously. There are many accounts where people have supposedly disappeared suddenly and the phenomenon is...

A red lake. Representational image only.

13 July, 2015 - 21:22 Bryan Hill

Lake of Blood: The dark history of Laguna Yahuarcocha, Ecuador

Laguna Yahuarcocha, meaning blood lake in the Kichwa language, is a sacred lake of Ecuador. Looking across the still water in the picturesque region of Ibarra, it is hard to imagine that it was once...

Meeting Between Cambyses II and Psammetichus III, as imaginatively recreated by the French painter Adrien Guignet

6 July, 2015 - 03:37 dhwty

The Battle of Pelusium: Psychological warfare leads Persians to victory

The Battle of Pelusium is an historically important battle that took place in the 6th century BC, in which the Egyptians were decisively defeated by the Persians, and the Persians became the new...

The Byzantine emperor Basil I (left) with his son Leo VI. Uploaded by Ghirlandajo, 2005

12 June, 2015 - 15:30 Riley Winters

The Forgotten Renaissance: The Successes of the Macedonian Dynasty

The Macedonian Dynasty was relatively short lived in the grand scheme of dynasties, yet it sent waves throughout the Byzantine Empire . Under them, previously lost territories were regained, the...

Screenshot from the movie 300 on the Spartan War which used Helots in combat on many occasions.

5 June, 2015 - 21:31 dhwty

The Helots: Slave Warriors of Ancient Sparta

The ancient Greek city state of Sparta had a social hierarchy that was different from many of its neighbors. The top of the social pyramid was occupied by the two kings, whose powers were checked by...

The Invitation of the Varangians: Rurik and his brothers Sineus and Truvor arrive at the lands of the Ilmen Slavs at Staraya Ladoga.

27 May, 2015 - 22:07 Riley Winters

Vikings in Byzantium: The Varangians and their Fearless Conquests

It is relatively well known that the Vikings were some of history's greatest travelers, traders, and mercenaries. Their reach extended far, as they are credited with finding North America and...

Egyptian relief of the invading Sea Peoples

25 May, 2015 - 03:47 dhwty

The Battle of the Delta: Ramses III saves Egypt from the People of the Sea

The ancient Egyptian pharaohs often commemorated military victories over their enemies by having them depicted on the walls of great monuments. One of the most famous conflicts recorded on the walls...

1 January, 2015 - 22:18 dhwty

Zenobia, the Warrior Queen of Palmyra, Syria

In 30 BC, the last active Ptolemaic queen of Egypt, Cleopatra VII, was dead. According to the written sources, she committed suicide by holding a poisonous snake to her breast, so as to avoid being...