Selim I: Did you mean...?

The Ottoman Sultanate (1299-1922 as an empire; 1922-1924 as caliphate only), also referred to as the Ottoman Empire, written in Turkish as Osmanlı Devleti, was a Turkic imperial state that was conceived by and named after Osman...

This medieval caravanserai located in present-day Armenia is located on the ancient Dvin Partav international trade route, which included the Selim Mountain Pass. (It was part of the ancient Silk Road.) Built from...

The Abbasids were an Arabic dynasty that initially ruled over most of the Islamic empire (save some western parts) after assuming the caliphate in 750 CE, later on, their empire fragmented, however, they retained spiritual supremacy...

Scythian warfare used state-of-the-art recurve bows and hit-and-run tactics against set infantry formations. Working from nimble horses, Scythian warriors could unleash a cloud of lethal arrows. Known, too, for their innovative...

In clinker Viking ships, branches and trunk junctions with natural curves were vital for making frames without cutting the fibres. This search for curved timber required extensive scanning within...

Before the overlap surfaces were closed on a Viking ship, a tarred three-ply wool cord was placed between them. Once compressed, this fibrous filler both closed the gap and made the entry of water more difficult...

At this stage, the saw had almost disappeared from the process of Viking shipbuilding, and production relied mainly on cleaving and axe hewing. Ship planks were made by opening the log along the grain...

The Viking shipbuilders did not enter the forest at random. They first searched for large, straight-grown, knot-free oaks capable of yielding broad planks, because a clinker hull would not forgive poor...

Ash was preferred by Viking shipbuilders for oars and for parts exposed to heavy impact. Thanks to its toughness and high shock resistance, ash offered the ideal engineering solution for ship components that...

In the clinker system of a Viking ship, each new plank overlapped the one below. This overlap acted like a structural spine that strengthened the hull along its length and kept the ship light yet remarkably...