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Ptolemaic police, or phylakitai, were responsible for law enforcement throughout Ptolemaic Egypt. The existence of a professional police force made Egypt different from ancient societies like the Roman Empire, which had no police...

Saichō, also known as Dengyo Daishi (767-822 CE), was a monk and scholar who founded the Buddhist Tendai Sect in Japan. Based on the teachings of the Chinese Tiantai Sect, Saichō's simplified and inclusive version of Buddhism grew in...

Religious practices in ancient China go back over 7,000 years. Long before the philosophical and spiritual teachings of Confucius and Lao-Tzu developed or before the teachings of the Buddha came to China, the people worshipped...

The Mongol invasions of Japan took place in 1274 and 1281 CE when Kublai Khan (r. 1260-1294 CE) sent two huge fleets from Korea and China. In both cases, the Japanese, and especially the samurai warriors...

Tea, still probably the world's most popular prepared beverage, was first drunk by Chinese monks to aid meditation and those who valued its medicinal qualities, but it quickly grew in popularity, spreading to other East...

Buddhism, in Korean Bulgyo, was introduced by monks who visited and studied in China and then brought back various Buddhist sects during the Three Kingdoms period. It became the official state religion in all Three Kingdoms...

The Pallavas ruled south-eastern India from the 3rd through the 9th centuries CE. Their empire covered what is today the Tamil Nadu state. Their origin is shrouded in mystery though historians believe their roots...

Throughout ancient Korea's history Buddhist monks were a particularly important element of state and religious affairs. From the 4th century CE onwards, in the Three Kingdoms period, they were members of a select...

The concept of Oneness is expressed repeatedly in philosophical works both in the east and west. Whether one is reading the Paradoxes of Zeno of Elea (l. c. 465 BCE) or the treatises of Wonyho (l...

The history of medieval Japan (1185-1603 CE) involved the rise of the military and such figures as the shoguns and samurai but there were many other cultural developments in between and during the many wars that troubled...