Despite the desperate attempts that were made by a queen of Egypt, with the best intentions at heart; the audacious move to invite a foreigner to marry her and take the throne spelled her doom. It...
Using the largest set of radiocarbon dates ever obtained from a single Maya site, archaeologists have developed a precise timeline that clarifies patterns leading up to two major collapses of the...
Eve MacDonald / The Conversation The papers and social media are today full of claims of fake news; back and forth the accusations fly that one side of the political divide in the US has been filling...
Military adventurer and mercenary for hire, Roger de Flor was as shrewd a businessman as he was a skillful sailor and fighter. Through his rich services to kings and the elite, he established a...
Roger de Flor was a swashbuckling military adventurer and condottiere (mercenary) leader of the Catalan Company. He was born in the city of Brindisi, Italy, which at the time of his birth was a part...
Some babies shake rattles and others shake up kingdoms. We hear many stories of the unhappy lives and ends of child rulers. Most recently, in 1908, Puyi became the last emperor of China at only two...
The fall of Assyria was with a whimper and in no way ended with a bang. Instead, it ended in a slow, agonizing death. Ashurbanipal, Assyria's last great king, ascended the throne only to inherit a...
Pythagoras was one of the greatest minds and philosophers of his time and his unquestionable influence can be felt even today in mathematics. It is believed that he was the first man who referred to...
Virgil, in his Aeneid , describes Deiphobe, better known as the Sibyl of Cumae, as coming from “a hundred perforations in the rock, a hundred mouths from which the many utterances rush” (43-5, 163)...
In 1904, a copy of an ancient book which had been lost for more than 1400 years was discovered in India. A modest book written on palm leaves, its outward appearance was proven to be deceiving as the...
Sardinian banditry is a phenomenon associated with the island of Sardinia located in the Mediterranean. Part of Italy today, this island is generally believed to have taken its name from the Latin...
The remains of a Moche priestess have been unearthed at the famous tomb site of San Jose de Moro in Northwestern Peru. She is the fifth Moche priestess to be found at the site (an additional three...
After his young wife, Borte, and family members were kidnapped by a rival clan, Temujin quickly used his new ally, Ong Khan. After entering Ong’s yurt, Temujin said, “We have come to ask you, Qan my...
It is obvious that Genghis Khan needs no introduction. Most know who he was. However, it would be unfitting not to provide some details concerning his early life and rise to power. According to the...
Although they could not officially hold public offices, there were many women who were able to influence the course of Roman history from a position behind the scenes. Julia, the only daughter of...
The ancient Roman decree of damnatio memoriae (“damnation of one’s memory”) was a mark of great disgrace and a punishment, deemed worse than execution, for an ancient Roman. The object of the...
Roman Emperor Caligula fell severely ill six months into his rule. When he recovered, he abandoned the toga for silk gowns and often dressed as a woman. He also declared himself as a living god...
The Four Great Beauties are four ancient Chinese women renowned for their beauty which they skillfully exercised to influence Chinese history. Although each of the Four Great Beauties frequently...
Thucydides was an Athenian general and historian, most notable for his work known as the History of the Peloponnesian War . Whilst Herodotus, a near-contemporary of his, is often hailed as the Father...
Ask someone of the most notable figures in the 15 th century and they may respond with: Jeanne d’Arc, Cosimo de Medici, Leonardo da Vinci, Christopher Columbus, or those involved in the War of the...
Short and succinct, the tale of Thorstein Shiver is one of the more comedic sagas and can be interpreted in at least two different ways: as religious or cultural propaganda. The saga tells the brief...
