Among all of the great cities of the ancient world, Babylon has one of the longest and most storied histories. Slowing rising from an insignificant settlement in Bronze Age Mesopotamia, it grew until it became the home of conquerors, scholars,… Read More ›
Few scholars would argue that it would be hyperbole to say that the Visigoth sack of Rome in AD 410 was one of the true turning points in world history. For Rome, it was the first time that the city… Read More ›
The Roman general and politician Marius was one of the most important figures in the Roman Republic. He was a controversial figure during his lifetime, and his contributions have been fiercely debated since then. Many historians have argued that he… Read More ›
The ancient Near East was the location of several impressive empires. From about 1500 until 1075 BC, Egypt’s New Kingdom spanned from the Levant (modern-day Israel and Lebanon) down through Egypt into most of Nubia (modern-day Sudan). The Assyrians then… Read More ›
Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) was one of the greatest generals of all time, and his conquests and brief reign changed the history of the world. Once the great Macedonian had dreamt of a universal Empire that encompassed the known… Read More ›
In the ancient world, three dynasties of Persian speaking peoples created vast empires across central Asia and the Near East: the Achaemenid (559-330 BC), the Parthian (ca. 247 BC-AD 224), and the Sasanian (AD 224-651). Although each of the Persian… Read More ›
Few rulers in ancient Mesopotamia influenced the course of history more than Sargon I, also known as Sargon of Akkad (ruled ca. 2334-2279 BC). Rising to power from obscurity, from a city that has still not been located by archaeologists,… Read More ›
The Old Testament Book of Exodus has played an essential role in world history. It represents one of the most fundamental aspects of Jewish religion and early history and is also recognized as an important event by Christians and Muslims…. Read More ›
Plant domestication, which led to agriculture, arguably has had among the deepest or most profound impacts on modern societies relative to all other human innovations. Not only did it lead to greater availability of food, allowing societies to grow in… Read More ›
The pyramids of Egypt are among the most recognizable and enduring monuments of the ancient world. Long after they were built, other ancient peoples, such as the Greeks and Romans, wrote about them with as much awe as people do… Read More ›
Warfare has been a constant throughout human history and conflict can certainly be traced back to our hominid ancestors in our evolutionary past. While technology today is often used as the distinguishing characteristic of warfare, the development of the professional… Read More ›
The marathon is seen today as grueling long-distance, usually over 26 mile race. The battle of Marathon, fought between the Greek and Persian armies, and the resulting run by a Greek warrior to tell the victory is usually cited as… Read More ›
The rise of Athens in the late 6th century and early 5th century BCE not only ushered in the Classical Age, but it went on to influence European and Western culture for for thousands of years. This rise occurred in… Read More ›
From Aeon by Josephine Quinn author of In Search of the Phoenicians: Modern nationalism created history as we know it today: what we learn in school, what we study at university, what we read at home is all shaped… Read More ›
Of all the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt still remain. War, neglect, and natural disasters have wiped them from the face of the earth with only descriptions left by ancient historians… Read More ›
Today, Egyptology – the study of ancient Egyptian history, culture, and language – is a worldwide discipline studied and taught at major universities on nearly every continent. It has evolved from a more esoteric study known only to elites in… Read More ›
The epic series of battles between the Greeks and the Persians in the fifth century BC known as the Persian Wars, or Greco-Persian Wars (499-479 BC), in many ways solidified the Greeks’ place in world history and established many attributes… Read More ›
While monotheism is seen as something that has derived from Judaism, the history of how monotheism became pervasive is complex. Integrating both historical and archaeological data, we find that the rise of monotheism has been influenced by key political events…. Read More ›
Cleopatra is perhaps one of the most recognized names of all ancient personalities. She is known as a clever temptress who helped reignite the Roman Civil Wars and oversaw the collapse of the Ptolemaic-Egyptian kingdom. Her life and death has… Read More ›
The people of ancient Mesopotamia practiced a religion that modern scholars are only just now beginning to understand and the physical focal point of their religion were the monumental, triangular structures known as ziggurats. Today, many people like to compare… Read More ›
