The well-known story of the Roman Emperor Hadrian’s rebuke at the hands of the petitioner whom he had rebuffed is significant. “ Then, don’t be king! ” was her taunt, illustrating the general...
In many respects the narrative of the Egyptian god, Osiris, seems to be all too human. Is it possible that his origin goes back to a real historical king? Could the historical Osiris have been none...
It is impossible to separate myth and fact, truth from fiction, but there are some things that can be said about Ireland’s Brigid with assurance—and one of these is that her importance has grown...
In the eighth century, as Charlemagne forged his European empire, and the Vikings emerged from the bowels of Scandinavia as the most fearsome raiders of their time, fierce battles raged...
The blessed Virgin Mary has a long and dignified reputation within the Catholic church ever since her first appearance in the Biblical narrative of the Annunciation (Luke 1:26), where she is...
Beginning with a proper state of mind, augmented by proper rites and ceremonies, is essential for any enterprise. The most developed ceremonies of beginning are in European building traditions. One...
Reading Abbey was once one of the largest monastic complexes in the British Isles. It was one of the pinnacles of religious life in England and the burial place of King Henry I . Located on a pilgrim...
To the Hebrew prophets Isaiah, Amos and Hosea, the Psalms and the Book of Kings , the Sabbath signified the Full Moon, whereas for Jews in the days of ancient Rome it came to mean one day out of a...
Trần Lệ Xuân, or Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu, the First Lady of the Republic of Vietnam from 1955 to 1963, once celebrated the holiday to commemorate the Trung sisters by riding an elephant in honour of...
There had never been such good blood between Spain and England as in the mid-16th century. However, in the last quarter of this century relations between Philip II of Spain (also known as 'Philip the...
Medieval European churches, constructed by men for the glory of the Creator, are adorned to varying degrees, with sacred and profane images. No figure nor detail in these stone encyclopedia is...
Over millennia humankind has been mesmerized by the moon, speculating as to what exactly the moon is and only in early-2022 a team of astronomers suggest the moon may have “formed immediately, in a...
16th-Century monks in Britain had a blast! They were the first to experiment with the recipe of saltpeter, Sulphur and charcoal to produce gunpowder in Britain. In the Battle of Crecy in 1346 the...
Behind every successful man stands an ambitious woman, the saying goes, more-so if she is a blood-relative of Alxander the Great, and a warrior. Claiming descent from Herakles, the son of Zeus,...
Throughout its millennia long existence, the illustrious city of Rome has been invaded many times, and changed hands just as frequently. The Gauls, Goths, Vandals, and Normans have all been...
A change in religion more often than not, leads to bloodshed and war as gods hold on to their powers, and their priests and kings and queens take up arms to defend them. The history of Sudan has seen...
After the decline of Egypt’s New Kingdom, the Kings of Kush established the 25th Dynasty by expanding their territory to include Egypt, and ruled as the Black Pharaohs for at least a hundred years...
On January 1, 1956, after centuries of foreign rule, Sudan finally gained its independence from Great Britain, three years after independence was granted to Egypt on June 18, 1953, and today the...
The sculpturing of the geography of Papua New Guinea did not end with the eruption of the volcanos. In their wake basins and valleys formed, where people settled, thousands of years ago. A large...
Winding its way like a serpentine from its origin source in the Victor Emanuel Mountain Range in the central highlands of Papua New Guinea, the Sepik River receives many tributaries along its way...
The Australasian realm in the Pacific Ocean includes Australia, New Zealand, eastern Indonesia, and several Pacific island groups - including Papua New Guinea – all scattered along the Ring of Fire,...
Between 550 and 520 BC Cyrus the Great had unified the Medes and the Persians and founded an empire that stretched from the Indus River to North Africa and from the Aral Sea to the Persian Gulf...
Archaeology in modern Iran tracks Alexander the Great’s footprint in ancient Persia as his army crossed the Euphrates, crisscrossed the plateaus, marched along the Royal Road, across the Zagros...
Ironically, Xenophon’s Cyropaedia, written around 370 BC, a narrative describing the education of the ideal ruler centred on Cyrus the Great founder of the Achaemenid Dynasty, was a great inspiration...
