For more than 150 years, medieval Christian knights sailed and marched to the Holy Land in hope of wresting control from Muslim rulers. Despite their undeniable zeal, the…
Explore the Vikings’ multifaceted contributions to history, ranging from their prowess as warriors and traders to the cultural influence of their mythology and exploration. These…
Over 2,000 years ago, Julius Caesar recognized the deficiencies of the Roman calendar. Hooking up with an Alexandrian astronomer, he created the solar-based Julian calendar, which…
Over the course of more than 500 years, fewer than 80 men gained absolute power as rulers of the Roman Empire. The reign of some lasted decades, while others held on to authority…
Humor has been around for as long as we humans have existed. Since ancient times, cultures have shared similar ideas about what’s funny, and styles of humor have been passed down…
Jesus of Nazareth is one of history’s most famous religious figures, and yet scholars and clergy alike are still undecided about the language(s) he spoke. Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek,…
The ancient Maya bloodletting rituals were gory, gruesome, and grotesque. They were also integral to Maya beliefs about life, knowledge, and the nature of reality, and were tied…
Rising from the bloody conflicts of imperial Rome, Septimius Severus became its first emperor of African origin. He bestowed many gifts on his North African homeland, and his…
The Roman emperor Caligula was a nasty piece of work. Depending on the day, “Little Boots” might smile at you – or murder you for sport. So, what the heck was wrong with him? How…
The ancient Greek city-state of Sparta was renowned for its military power, its disciplined and self-sacrificing soldiers, and its stable political system. Though millennia have…
History is filled with intriguing mixtures of fate and fortune. Meet Tiberius Julius Alexander, a Jewish soldier from Africa who rose to the rank of general in the Roman Army.
The Roman empire gave the world architectural and engineering feats like the Colosseum and aqueducts. Additionally, their intellectual contributions continue to shape how we think…
Who were the Knights Templar? Were they a secretive sect that amassed untold fortunes and harbored a desire to control the world? Or were they something else entirely? Take a dive…
Known as the longest building in the world, the Great Wall of China is an impressive architectural feat. Encased within its walls lies a history of forced laborers and of the…
Marco Polo introduced the Far East to Europe. His travels fostered innovation and exploration for centuries. Do the facts bear him out, or was he a fraud who stole work from…
Julius Caesar altered the course of the Roman republic, yet the greatest impact he had came about in the aftermath of his assassination in 44 BCE. His death would change the…
When cats died, they would be buried in gold as their families mourned. Even the goddess Bastet was depicted as one. With all the practical and symbolic value they held, it’s no…
Feared for over two centuries, the Vikings have been misunderstood ever since. But modern archeology has revealed the extent of their reach across medieval Europe. Their…
Was there a real Jesus of Nazareth, and was he the Son of God? Time-travel to the Holy Land in that era to explore the clues to the historical Jesus, physical objects called…
The myth of Santa Claus began with a real-life monk named St. Nicholas, and evolved through the poetry and lore of Dutch immigrants, political propaganda during the American Civil…
Though ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Epicurus are far removed from the present day, let’s not underestimate their thinking on the nature of the Universe – and…
Toumai, Ardi, and Lucy are ancient fossils that have changed our understanding of humanity’s origins, challenging early perspectives on how primates might have evolved into humans…
Over the ages, great discoveries and useful instruments have been lost and forgotten. There are persistent mysteries in the archeological record and medieval texts that…
Known for “fiddling” while Rome was in flames, Nero is the model for depraved autocrats. Sifting through the lurid details, historians now depict a more complex man. He was…
Born out of stonemasons’ leagues in the Middle Ages, Freemasons today are the subjects of Illuminati conspiracy theories and Hollywood films. But who are the secretive Masons,…
When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 49 BCE, the fate of the Roman Republic had already been sealed. Rome’s representative government had been crumbling for decades. And…
An almost forgotten medieval uprising of serfs has directly improved our lives today. In the late 14th century, Wat Tyler led the English peasantry in a revolt against the harsh…
Libraries have been around for more than 2000 years. And so has the problem of organizing and searching written knowledge. While Google’s search is impressive, it owes much to the…
Before William, Duke of Normandy conquered England and became its king, cadres of Norman mercenaries headed from their homeland in northern France to the very rich and ruthless…
The Cathars were anti-materialistic Christians in 12th-century southern France. In the eyes of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, they had to be eliminated by any means…
January 1 starts the new year in most parts of the world, but why is this so? How did the Western calendar develop, and what are the meanings of the months? We go back to the days…
The Shroud of Turin was thought to be Jesus’s burial cloth. Scientists called it a hoax – until their studies were critiqued. Now, the Shroud remains an enduring mystery that…
The Hellenistic period (323 to 30 BCE) following Alexander the Great saw the decline of Greece and the rise of Rome to imperial dominance. The “pyrrhic victories” of Pyrrhus of…
One minus one is zero. Simple, right? This wasn’t always the case, as with Roman numerals. Here is the story of the long slog of our hero – the zero – to acceptance and,…
Accounts of drunkenness abound in the Bible, which rewards moderate use of alcohol for social purposes but strongly condemns the overuse and misuse of alcohol. Lot and Noah both…
From Sumer to Egypt to India, the world’s most ancient civilizations often worshiped powerful female goddesses and religious leaders – but even they had to fight for equality.
Our great age of technology and scientific advancement is hardly the first. In ancient Alexandria, one great mind of that era, Hero, is responsible for several amazing mechanical…
The ancient Egyptian civilization created some of the most miraculous architectural and engineering miracles ever. From the Sphinx to the Pyramid of Giza, from ink to agricultural…
Caligula was Rome’s third emperor, and the first to be assassinated. While the start of his reign was full of promise, he soon lost support as he became increasingly erratic,…
Most of us associate the name Johannes Gutenberg with the invention of the printing press, but the first models appeared hundreds of years before, in China. Gutenberg improved…
Women in the Bible play many roles, and while few actually make it into the spotlight, the ones who do leave their mark. But who are some of the more famous - and infamous - ones?…
Alexander entered Egypt in 332 BCE, liberating it from the Persians and advancing his ultimate goal of conquering the entire Persian Empire. In the process, he transformed Egypt,…
Greece is one in a constellation of ancient cultures that formed the foundations of Western civilization. In this timeline, we’ll mark the rise of Greece from its preliterate…
The Neolithic Era was the final stage of technological development for prehistoric humans. Read more about Neolithic tools from this study of Neolithic history.
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