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Detail from one of the three surviving planks of Queen Tiye's wooden shrine from KV55; made of wood, gesso and gold leaf. Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

The Golden Shrine of Queen Tiye: Reburial of a Rebel Ruler and His Mother - Part II

When he came to the throne, Pharaoh Tutankhamun set about transporting the royal remains of his immediate ancestors from Amarna to Thebes. The inhabitants of the Sun City had also begun to slowly...
A relief originally from the tomb of Userhat (TT47) at Thebes depicts Queen Tiye. Brussels Royal Museum.

The Golden Shrine of Queen Tiye: When and How Did It Reach the Theban Necropolis? -Part I

Among the hundreds of ancient rock-cut royal sepulchers that have been discovered in Egypt one in particular, KV55, stands out for its infinite intrigue. At some point in time, this Eighteenth...
Wasteland Viking Ship

Christian Round Churches Hide Astronomical Secrets of the Viking Seafarers

Orkney is an archipelago in the northern isles of Scotland, annexed by Norwegian explorers in 875 AD and Christianized by King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway, (960s – 1000). It was from Orkney where many...
A diorama at the Etowah Mounds showing two stone effigies being ritually buried, next to the actual statues, seen from the rear

Landscape of the Ancients: The Hopewellian Burial Mounds Lift the Veil on Prehistoric Native American Cultures

The Prehistoric Native Americans of the Hopewell culture (Middle Woodland Period) constructed burial mounds filled with precious artifacts such as shells, copper and silver items, obtained from...
 The Flying Carpet, a depiction of the hero of Russian folklore, Ivan Tsarevich 1880 by Viktor Vasnetsov

Ancient Levitation – Magicians Secret Crafts Revealed

Since the dawn of its existence, mankind has developed survival skills. One of the very basic survival skills modern man does not even pay much attention to, is the need to make sense of our...
Open Sky and a Yurt in the Orkhon Valley

The Tapestry of Early Turkic Myth is Woven with Tales of Wolves, Horses and a Great Tree of Life

Turkic peoples comprise a variety of ethnic groups living in northern, eastern, central and western Asia, northwestern China and some parts of eastern Europe. Historically they were established in...
The Invitation of the Varangians: Rurik and his brothers Sineus and Truvor arrive at the lands of the Ilmen Slavs at Staraya Ladoga. Painted prior to 1913 by Viktor.M.Vasnetsov.

Fierce in Battle, Fierce in Trading. Viking Sea States of Merchants – Part II

By the 9th century, the Scandinavian sea nomads that had tormented the British coastline, had conquered parts of the land and assimilated cultures. They established the Danelaw, territories where...
A Viking offers a slave girl to a Persian merchant.

Torment of the Sea Nomads. Viking Sea States of Merchants - Part I

In the late 8th century, a group of Scandinavian sea nomads took to the sea and tormented Europe and Asia through their terrible acts of piracy. Thankfully, by the early 9th century, their piracy...
Bust of Akhenaten

The Silence of Akhenaten: Was the Pharaoh Mute, Blind or Cultic?

The enigma of Pharaoh Akhenaten has captured the imagination of the world ever since Napoleon’s savants brought him to light. Today, every scholar holds steadfast to his or her theory about the...
Remains of an ancient Roman salt fish factory and garum factory in the archaeological underground ruins at Plaça del Rei.

Decoding Barcelona’s Enigma of an Ancient Musical Roman Temple

While the world’s recent attention has been focused on Barcelona, as some of its people rally for Catalonian independence from Spain, few people are aware that the city is home to one of European...
Frédégonde armant les meurtriers de Sigebert (Fredegund and the assassins of Sigebert) by Emmanuel Herman Joseph Wallet

The Violent Life of Fredegund: Was She a Queen, a Murderess or a Woman Intent on Survival?

Fredegund (545 - 597 CE), the queen consort of Chilperic I - the Merovingian Frankish king of Soissons, has a reputation of being one of the most bloodthirsty and sadistic women in history. Accounts...
The Fall of Man depicted in the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo

Sons of Cain, Builders of Empires. Paradise Lost Gives Rise to the Birth of City-States. – Part II

After brutally slaying his brother Abel, Cain had to flee Eden and settled in the land of Nod. He laid the foundations of the city Enoch, so named after his firstborn son, Enoch. Cain craved the...
Expulsion from Paradise, painting by James Jacques Joseph Tissot

Cursed Cain, the Master Architect. Paradise Lost Gives Rise to the Birth of City-States – Part I

Mankind has always endeavored to revive the paradise lost to Adam and Eve and in so doing managed to originate the concept of city-states. What is considered a State? According to the Concise Oxford...
Joshua’s armies depart a burning and looted Ai.

Military Blunder and the Death of a King: Joshua’s Debacle at Ai – Part II

The battle of Ai is probably one of history’s most overlooked battles in which military trainees or cadets can learn valuable lessons. Joshua—new leader of the tribes of Israel, great military leader...
Joshua’s armies use horns of war in siege against Jericho.

Sounding the Horns of Doom at the Battle of Jericho – Part I

Joshua was a great military leader and a controversial figure in the Bible. With Moses’ death at Mount Nebo, Joshua was elected the new leader of the tribes of Israel. Under Joshua’s leadership, the...
Illustration of Mahabharata (Public domain)

The Legend of Shikhandi, the Transgendered Warrior Who Paid the Price of Opposing Powerful Men

Chauvinism existed even in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. The ancient text depicts the legendary eighteen-day bloodbath, dubbed the Kurukshetra War, where the hero/heroine’s greatest feat was not...
Ancient Egyptian relief. Design by Anand Balaji. (Image credit: Julian Tuffs);Deriv.

Amarna Era Chronological Conundrum: Accession of Neferneferuaten and Tutankhamun’s Death–Part II

With only an Amarna wine jar label from Regnal Year 17 – purported to be the last dated inscription from his reign – that makes no mention of Akhenaten by name, and the generous 59 years’ rule...
Ancient Egyptian relief. Design by Anand Balaji.

Amarna Era Chronological Conundrum: Dating Akhenaten’s Death and the Length of Horemheb’s Reign–Part I

When the Nineteenth Dynasty Pharaoh Menmaatre Seti I drew up the famed King List at his mortuary temple in the holy city of Abydos, he was confident that he had struck the final nail in the coffin of...
The Pleiades

From the Ancient Greek Pleiades to the Hindu Matrikas: Mother Goddesses, Music and the Sacred Number 7

In Brihat-Samhita , Indian astronomer Varahamihira (505–587 CE) says that "Mothers are to be made with cognizance of gods corresponding to their names” leading to the birth of Matrikas (“Divine...
Stained Glass of King Harald (Colin Smith/CC BY-SA 2.0) and Battle of Stamford Bridge by Peter Nicolai Arbo

Clever King Harald: Swift Doom Targets the Viking Who Wants the English Throne – Part II

Harald Hardrada of Norway used cunning and surprising tactics to bring down foes. Although he was wounded in the face during one of his campaigns, he continued to see victory after victory. [Read...
Window with a portrait of Harald in Lerwick Town Hall, Shetland

A Military Life for Clever King Harald: Serving the Empire and Stopping the Pirates – Part I

In 1015, Harald Sigurdsson was born. He was the youngest of three sons born to Sigurd Syr, who ruled over a petty kingdom in Ringerike, located in the region of Buskerud. Harald’s upbringing is not...
Rice goddesses are found across cultures

Rice Goddesses - Earth Mothers who Influenced Heaven, Earth, and the Underworld

For centuries, rice has been a staple diet and plays an important role in Asian culture. Although rice farmers have found their lives becoming more difficult due to climate change, Bloomberg states...
Ramesses III smites his enemies. Design by Anand Balaji.

Ramesses III, The Final Warrior Pharaoh: Devastating Sea Peoples and Egypt’s Finest Hour—Part II

The vile and vicious juggernaut of the Sea Peoples had laid waste to several cultures and had dispersed vast populations in their wake. When they were done pillaging and ravaging Levantine empires,...
A painted relief shows Ramesses III making offerings to the gods in the sanctuary of the temple of Khonsu at Karnak. Design by Anand Balaji.

Ramesses III, The Final Warrior Pharaoh: Savior of Egypt in Her Darkest Hour—Part I

The reign of Ramesses III proved to be unprecedented in more ways than one. While most of his predecessors often had to thwart the designs of Egypt’s enemies one at a time, he had to quell invasion...

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