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Mark Miller

Mark Miller has a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and is a former newspaper and magazine writer and copy editor who's long been interested in anthropology, mythology and ancient history. His hobbies are writing and drawing.

 

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The Pantheon is an iconic example of beautiful Roman architecture
10 January, 2019 - 02:00 Mark Miller

Durability, Power, and Imposing Public Edifices of Roman Architecture

Ancient Rome borrowed from ancient Greece for architecture, among other things, but then innovated and invented its own architectural features and building types. Roman architecture made a statement...
On Left – Portrait of Edward III of England. On Right – Edward III of England proudly receives his son, Edward the Black Prince, for the successful conduct of the Battle of Crécy.
31 December, 2018 - 01:32 Mark Miller

King Edward III Had Eyes on the French Kingship and it Led to the Hundred Years War

King Edward III of England had his eyes set on the French throne in the 14 th century AD. He was a descendant of French kings on his mother’s side and apparently was not satisfied with just being the...
On Left - Isabella directing the Siege of Bristol. On Right - Isabella of France is welcomed to Paris when she returned from England to pay homage to her brother, King Charles IV of France.
30 December, 2018 - 01:45 Mark Miller

The Wild Life of English Queen Isabella, She-Wolf of France aka the Rebel Queen Who Killed the King of England

Fourteenth century English Queen Isabella, the She-Wolf of France aka the Rebel Queen, was a complex, violent person who drank heavily but who was charitable to the poor and well-liked by her people...
13th-century depiction of Henry II and his legitimate children: William, Henry, Richard, Matilda, Geoffrey, Eleanor, Joan and John.
28 December, 2018 - 01:48 Mark Miller

King Henry II Brought Law and Order to His Kingdom But His Rebellious Family Was A Different Matter

King Henry II of England ruled in the 12th century from Ireland to the Pyrenees, was warlike, given to anger, and was educated in law and languages. He was the first king of the Plantagenet dynasty...
Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, Temple of Heaven, Beijing
20 December, 2018 - 13:55 Mark Miller

Temple of Heaven and Its Sacrificial Altar Where Blood Was Spilt for Bountiful Harvests

The Temple of Heaven in Beijing dates back almost 600 years, to a time when Chinese emperors sacrificed animals to the gods on the temple’s altars to atone and beseech them to bestow bountiful...
Bayeux Tapestry - The death of King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings.
14 December, 2018 - 13:58 Mark Miller

Did Harold Godwinson Really Die on the Battlefield at Hastings as the Records Suggest?

The reign of Harold Godwinson, the last Saxon King of England, is mostly remembered for its ignoble end, a victim of war at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 when William of Normandy came to conquer...
Anglo Saxon Helmet, Sutton Hoo, Suffolk. A reproduction of the helmet rebuilt from the fragments found in mound 1 in 1949.
12 December, 2018 - 18:18 Mark Miller

The Anglo-Saxon Conquerors: Creators of Medieval England

The people of England got their name from the Angles, who, along with the Saxons, invaded in the early- to mid-5th century AD, after the Roman Empire began to groan under the weight of barbarian...
King Offa of Mercia in procession.
11 December, 2018 - 13:59 Mark Miller

King Offa of Mercia: A Ruthless Anglo-Saxon Hellbent on Power and Prestige

One of the most prominent Anglo-Saxon kings, Offa of Mercia in southern England, came to power upon the murder of his cousin, King Aethelbald. He went on to rule for 39 years and consolidated much of...
On Left - Miniature of Egbert, first king of England. On Right Top - Coin of King Egbert of Wessex. On Right Bottom - The entry for 827 in the C manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle listing the territories he brought together to unite England. Source: Left, Public Domain; Right Top, Public Domain; Right Bottom, Public Domain.
8 December, 2018 - 01:47 Mark Miller

King Egbert of Wessex Conquers all to Become Bretwalda, the First King of a United England

King Egbert, later designated the first king of England, began his reign in the 9 th century, when England was fragmented into multiple small kingdoms and under attack by Norsemen. He was one of the...
A miniature depicting the defeat of the Georgian king George I ("Georgios of Abasgia") by the Byzantine emperor Basil II. Skylitzes Matritensis, fol. 195v.
26 November, 2018 - 13:45 Mark Miller

Byzantine Basil II: He Took an Icon of the Virgin into Battle Then Gouged Out the Eyes of Foes

The horrors and mass slaughters that many monarchs around the world perpetrated in ancient and more modern times may be eclipsed by the Byzantines, including Byzantine Emperor Basil II, known as...
The Hagia Sophia, an iconic work of architecture that housed many iconic works of art.
23 November, 2018 - 13:56 Mark Miller

How Byzantine Art and Architecture Captivated the Known World

The rich, beautiful art and opulent architecture of the Byzantine Empire glorified Jesus, the saints, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the emperors. Byzantine art motifs, the mosaics, paintings, and...
A 1593 edition of the Corpus Juris Civilis.
22 November, 2018 - 22:41 Mark Miller

Corpus Juris Civilis Law: Created by a Byzantine Emperor and Still Relevant in Courts Over 1,500 Years Later

By the time of Byzantine Emperor Justinian’s reign in the 6th century AD, the Western Roman Empire was kaput, lost to waves of Germanic invaders from the North. Justinian was determined to recapture...
Heraclius is depicted beheading Choroses, the Persian king as Cherubim angels look on.
21 November, 2018 - 13:57 Mark Miller

Wild Success and Deplorable Failure: The Cursed Reign of Heraclius, Byzantine Emperor

The reign of Heraclius, the Byzantine emperor from 610 to 641, reads like a series of disasters that continued to be visited on his heirs. In between the disasters he had some successes, but he and...
Cupula of the basilica San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy.
15 November, 2018 - 02:02 Mark Miller

The Fantastic Basilica San Vitale is the Last Entirely Intact Byzantine Church

When Byzantine Emperor Justinian conquered Italy in the 6th century, he continued the building of a fantastic, octagonal church, the San Vitale Basilica in Ravenna. The church was a testament to the...
Timurid Emperor Ulugh Beg, an astronomer and khan, seen here with scholars in this statue.
27 October, 2018 - 15:34 Mark Miller

Timurid Empire’s Arts and Culture Influenced Much of the Known World

When people think of the Mongol warriors of the Middle Ages, they might imagine wild, bloodthirsty savages marauding across Eurasia dealing slaughter from horseback with arrows, spears, battle axes,...
Ancient Egyptian Texts contain Hangover Cure and Radical Eye Disease Treatments
20 October, 2018 - 02:16 Mark Miller

Ancient Egyptian Texts contain Hangover Cure and Radical Eye Disease Treatments

Radical surgery and medicaments with ingredients now known to be toxic are among eye disease treatments in 1,900-year-old medical papyri of ancient Egypt that have been under translation from Greek...

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