Middle East: Did you mean...?

This map illustrates the geopolitical landscape of the ancient Near East following the destructive campaigns of the Old Hittite Empire (circa 1650–1500 BCE), which triggered widespread upheaval and realigned regional power structures. In...

Did you know the English East India Company’s tea trade was fueled by the opium trade? The English East India Company (EIC) – also known as the British East India Company – was an immensely successful trading company founded in 1600...

This map illustrates the shifting political landscape of the Ancient Near East in the 13th century BCE, a period marked by the rise of imperial powers and the decline of older kingdoms. The expansion of the Hittite and Assyrian empires redrew...

Map of East India, taken from the Atlas van der Hagen, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague Part 4. This map of South East Asia was published by Nicolaas Visscher II (1649-1702). The map shows the entire trading region of the Dutch East India...

The English East India Company (EIC) was established by Royal Charter on 31 December 1600 under Queen Elizabeth I (reign 1558–1603), granting it a monopoly on English trade east of the Cape of Good Hope. Initially conceived as a commercial...

The original flag of the English East India Company (EIC), founded in 1600 by royal charter. The company later changed its name to the British East India Company and so the cross of St. George in the top right corner was replaced by a Union...

A 1778 allegorical painting commissioned by the East India Company showing the riches of the East being presented to Britannia. Painted by Spyridon Romas. The goods shown include tea, porcelain, and jewels. (British Library, London)

A map illustrating the rise and expansion of the Median Empire in the wake of the Bronze Age Collapse and the disintegration of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (c. 609 BCE). While the Neo-Babylonian Empire engulfed the Fertile Crescent from the Levantine...

Around c. 1700 BCE, the Ancient Near East was a politically fragmented but highly interconnected region, shaped by shifting alliances, commercial networks, and emerging territorial states. This period corresponds to the Old Assyrian era and...

An 1808 coloured print showing the docks of the East India Company, known as the East India Docks, at Blackwall in London. (British Museum, London).