Selim I: Did you mean...?

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 basalt in 1332 CE, it is...

In this gallery of 30 illustrations, we present the stages and techniques required to build the type of Viking ship Harald Hardrada, the future Norwegian king (reign 1046-1066), would likely have used to enter Constantinople in 1034. No physical...

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 as caliphs...

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 use of scale...

The oak trunk about to be cut down was read by the Viking shipbuilder not only for its straightness but also for the degree of twist in its fibres. By looking at the bark, the builder could understand whether the wood had grown in a twisted...

The split pieces were roughly shaped in the Viking timber yard, and the sapwood and pith were removed. The remaining core became stronger and more reliable timber for the clinker overlap. Charcoal illustration by Selim Rumi Civralı.

The Viking ship builders did not wait for the wood to dry, as other timber for other purposes was left. Rather, shipbuilders worked most pieces while still fresh and moist. This made the boards softer, easier to bend, and more adaptable to...

Viking shipbuilders strengthened knot-related weak points in the oak planks with patches fastened from the outside. This management of defects was aimed at minimising the structural risks created by knots that remained within the plank plane...

The broad-bladed axe was the Viking shipbuilder’s most important tool, and had been designed to turn oak logs into thin boards. Using these axes instead of a saw preserved the grain structure of the wood and allowed clinker hulls to remain...

In the end, the Viking ship was born through the successive joining of wood, iron, wool, tar, oil, and human labour. The trunk in the forest had become timber in the timber yard, a shell in the shipyard, and finally, an elegant vessel was...