3,400 Muslim drummers dressed in Ottoman period costumes will march through 1000 Istanbul neighborhoods, reciting ancient poems before dawn, preserving “a beauty” from the month of Ramadan. Selami...
The Moors left a significant mark on medieval Europe, especially with their conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in 711 AD. They ruled over Spain for several centuries, transforming it culturally,...
The death of British Queen Elizabeth II earlier this year provoked retrospectives on her reign, as well as reflection on the rule of other female monarchs. Many powerful women leaders of the West are...
Stashed in a wall in Israel around the time of the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem 1,400 years ago, this gold coin hoard was minted during one of the bloodiest and paradigm changing periods of history...
When Tashmuhammed Kari-Niyazov and Mikhail Gerasimov were tasked by Stalin to lead an expedition to Samarkand in Uzbekistan to open the tomb of Tamerlane, they didn’t know just how significant their...
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...
Horseback archery was commonly used in hunting and warfare in Malaysia for thousands of years. While the ancient discipline declined with the introduction of firearms, it is now seeing something of a...
Nestled between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains, the Russian city of Derbent and its famed citadel tells the story of ancient power struggles to control the Silk Road trade route which...
Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Zakariya Al Razi is not a familiar name to most in the English-speaking world. But he was one of the most notable persons in the history of medicine. He was a renowned Persian...
The island of Sicily is not somewhere most of us would immediately associate with having been a powerful Islamic kingdom. However, between 841 and 1091 AD, the Emirate of Sicily was a key political...
The Afaq Khoja Mausoleum is a tomb complex located in Xinjiang, an autonomous region in northwestern China. For the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs (or Uighurs ) who inhabit the region, this mausoleum...
Since medieval times, many Muslim communities have regarded the hymen, the tiny piece of skin known as the vaginal membrane, as proof of virginity and a woman’s moral virtue. Even today in the United...
The medieval period saw the rise of many new inventions all around the world. Emerging out of the so-called Dark Ages, many prominent scholars and learned minds came up with new inventions to make...
Roadworkers in northeastern Spain unexpectedly came across an Islamic burial ground in use from the 8th-11th century. Archaeologists have unearthed more than 400 ancient Muslim graves at the site...
Archaeologists in Almazán Spain are boxed into a corner with a double-edged mystery in which a missing carved stone holds the answer to why eleven bodies were buried beneath a massive medieval...
Islamic culture has left an indelible mark on India’s celebrated architectural heritage. One of the most remarkable examples is the Qutb Minar , also known as the Victory Tower and the tallest...