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Ivan the Terrible admiring his sixth wife, Vasilisa Melentyeva.  Source: Public Domain

The Eight Wives of Ivan the Terrible and Their Horrific Fate (Video)

Ivan the Terrible , infamous for his tyrannical rule over Russia , had a complex romantic history with eight wives, each facing distinct and often tragic fates. Anastasia Romanova, his first wife,...
Fragment from ancient gospel. Source: Stephen Butler / Adobe Stock.

Lost Gospels Revealed: The Startling Revelation of Jesus's Wife (Video)

In the depths of history, a remarkable discovery emerged, shedding new light on the enigmatic figure of Jesus . An ancient fragment of a book, the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife , composed in the mysterious...
Detail of Tapestry Depicting the Marriage of Contantine I and Fausta by Peter Paul Rubens 1623-1625. Source: Mary Harrsch /CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The Law that Led to Roman Honor Killings, and Other Extreme Roman Marriage Laws

A common theme in the news today is how it is becoming increasingly common for the younger generations to snub the tradition of getting married and having children. This has led to scare stories...
Divorce in medieval times. Source: tatyana/ Adobe Stock

7 of the Most Scandalous Divorces in Ancient History

The world has seen its fair share of scandalous divorces throughout history, from ancient Rome to modern times. Divorce, a legal mechanism that has been around for centuries, has often resulted in...
English Queen. Source: Kathy / Adobe Stock.

Was Anne of Cleves Too Ugly for King Henry VIII? (Video)

Anne of Cleves , the fourth wife of King Henry VIII , has been historically portrayed as the wife who was too ugly for the king. But was she really that unattractive, or is this just a case of...
Wife auctions were popular with the lower classes in England from about 1700 to 1850 because divorce was expensive and complicated. This work of art is by Thomas Rowlandson (1756–1827) and is called Selling a Wife.		Source: Thomas Rowlandson / Public domain

Why Did Victorian Women Willingly Sell Themselves at Wife Auctions?

The year was 1832 when Joseph Thompson, a local Cardiff man, led his wife by halter to the local marketplace hoping for a good price in what was, after all, just a wife auction. Before the bidding,...
Concubine

The Secret Life of an Ancient Concubine

In many ancient cultures and religious traditions, rulers and elite members of society not only had wives, they also had concubines. Concubines normally served a dual purpose – to increase a man’s...
The bodies of the embracing skeletons were discovered on the edge of the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil.

Experts Believe a Bronze Age Woman Willingly Joined Her Husband in the Afterlife

After 3000 years, their loving embrace is seen by the world. Archaeologists believe that a female who lived in the Bronze Age chose to join her male partner in the afterlife. According to them, the...
Zhuge Liang cartoon image.

The Legend of Zhuge Liang Seeking a Wife

By Epoch Times Zhuge Liang was a famous politician, military strategist, and inventor during China’s Three Kingdoms Period. There are several versions of how he met his wife, known as Lady Huang. The...
The letter (Image courtesy Andong National University)

Last Words of Love Were Sealed for 500 Years in a Korean Tomb

I just want to go to you. Please take me to where you are. My feelings towards you I cannot forget in this world and my sorrow knows no limit. Where would I put my heart now and how can I live with...
The rear wall of the coffin chamber in née Wu's tomb. Image: Chinese Cultural Relics

Inscriptions on Song Dynasty Tombs Narrate the Captivating Tale of an Ancient Chinese Couple

Archaeologists have announced the discovery of two 800-year-old tombs that narrate the story of an ancient Chinese couple. The tombs were found in a construction site in Qingyuan County, in China's...
Cuneiform tablet containing details about infertility. Credit: Istanbul Archaeology Museum

4,000-Year-Old Assyrian Tablet Makes First Known Infertility Diagnosis and Recommends Slave Surrogate

A 4,000-year-old Assyrian tablet discovered in central Kayseri province, Turkey, is an ancient marriage contract with the first known diagnosis of infertility. The clay record says that the wife...
Detail of a tomb painting depicting Meretites and Kahai – an ancient Egyptian couple who lived 4,400 years ago.

The Priestess and the Singer: Locked in a Lasting Egyptian Love Story

A beautiful love story bloomed around a tomb painting found in Saqqara, Egypt. The image shows an ancient Egyptian couple in a tender scene. While sweet, this type of image isn’t a common one - so...
 A painted relief of Ankhesenamun; design by Anand Balaji

The Hunt for Ankhesenamun: How Did a Young Woman Stop an Ancient Dynasty from Imploding? Part I

The names of Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and Tutankhamun —prominent players from the Eighteenth Dynasty of the New Kingdom period in ancient Egypt—have been in the spotlight for well over a century...
A Roman Ring with Linked Hands – this was a popular design for Roman wedding rings.

Roman Engagement and Wedding Rings: Joining Hands and Hearts

The use of engagement rings and wedding rings are common in Western culture to indicate a person’s relationship status. This tradition may be traced back to ancient times, in particular, to the Roman...
Grisly Tales Marriage and Murder – Who were the Ancient Danites & Danaan? Part II

Grisly Tales Marriage and Murder – Who were the Ancient Danites & Danaan? Part II

The Danaan and Danites are a mystery people for many historians. Speculated to have been Greek seafarers in the late Bronze Age, they are also closely associated with the Sea Peoples who ravaged the...
Impossible Quest to Have the Perfect Man? The 5 Imperfect Brothers of the Mahabharata

Impossible Quest to Have the Perfect Man? The 5 Imperfect Brothers of the Mahabharata

The two major Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, still appear widely in popular folk drama, tales and art all over Southeast Asia with slight adaptations in all the myriad cultures of the...
Dazzling Nebmaatre: Queen Tiye, the Matchless Matriarch—Part II

Dazzling Nebmaatre: Queen Tiye, the Matchless Matriarch—Part II

In March, 1898 within a dark side chamber of Amenhotep II's tomb (KV35) the famed French Egyptologist, Victor Loret gazed upon the face of a severely damaged mummy of an ancient woman, which to him...
Dazzling Nebmaatre: Amenhotep III and the Age of Opulence—Part I

Dazzling Nebmaatre: Amenhotep III and the Age of Opulence—Part I

The long and glorious history of ancient Egypt gave the world an array of pharaohs whose qualities spanned the entire spectrum of human emotions and achievements: the builders, the warriors, the...
Lucretia And Tarquin, 17th century painting

The Rape of Lucretia: A History of the Ancient Wife Who Changed the Destiny of Rome

Sextus Tarquinius was the son of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last king of Rome who was engaged in the siege of Ardea at the time. One day, Sextus invited his friends for supper and drinks at his...
The Dangerous Danaids: Meet 49 of the Most Murderous Royals in Greek Myth

The Dangerous Danaids: Meet 49 of the Most Murderous Royals in Greek Myth

The ancient Greeks had no problem painting their mythological women as murderesses. Among the most lethal ladies were the Danaids, the fifty daughters of a king whose crimes condemned them to...
: Relief on the Apadana Staircase on the eastern wall [of the Apadana Palace] from the ruins at Persepolis, “the Persian City”, ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire. Deriv

Did Darius Hijack the Persian Throne? Destroying Rebellion and Securing the Future – Part II

With the death of King Cambyses II, the Persian Empire was in a state of war and confusion over who was the rightful heir. Even though the populace agreed that Gaumata was the rightful heir to the...
How the Light of the Wives of Julius Caesar Was Dimmed by an Egyptian Lover

How the Light of the Wives of Julius Caesar Was Dimmed by an Egyptian Lover

Julius Caesar was married three times. He also had plenty of romances, including a famous one with the last queen of Egypt, Cleopatra VII. Caesar was born on July 13, 100 or 102 BC. During his...
Hans Makart's painting of Charlotte Wolter in Adolf Wilbrandt's tragedy, Arria und Messalina.

Questioning the Dramatic Story of the Empress Messalina, Was She a Cruel Doxy or the Victim of a Smear Campaign?

In Ancient Rome, Valeria Messalina was a symbol of vanity and immorality. For centuries, people identified her as one of the most demoralized women in history, but how much of what we know about...

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