Middle East: Did you mean...?

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...

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)

Explore the 6 most common misconceptions about the Middle Ages, and find out what living in medieval times was actually like. Medieval Europe. Where unbathed, sword-wielding knights ate rotten meat, thought the Earth was flat, defended...

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).

Courtly Love is a literary genre of poetry that began in the south of France in the 12th century during the period known as the High Middle Ages. In this new genre of poetry, motifs were established that are still commonly used today in the...

The Boston Tea Party was an act of political protest carried out by American colonists on 16 December 1773, in Boston, Massachusetts. Disguised as Mohawk Native Americans, the colonists dumped 342 crates of tea into Boston Harbor to protest...

In the 13th century, astonishing quantities of spices and silk passed from the Far East to Europe. Exact amounts are not known, but spice popularity in both cuisine and medicine reached its historical peak during the Middle Ages in Europe...

The front and reverse of a Dutch East India Company duit - an old Dutch copper coin.

A plate from the Edo period (1615-1868) in Arita, Saga Prefecture in Japan, 1670-1740. "VOC" is the monogram for the Dutch East India Company, whose name in Dutch is Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie. Inspired by contemporary and previous...

Reasons why such low estimates for life expectancy during the MIddle Ages are often tossed around. From infant mortality skewing the stats, to the risks of childbirth and disease.