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Trade in the Phoenician World
The Phoenicians, based on a narrow coastal strip of the Levant, put their excellent seafaring skills to good use and created a network of colonies and trade centres across the ancient Mediterranean. Their major trade routes were by sea to...

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Cyrus the Great's Conquests
The estimated expanse of the Achaemenid Empire at its height c. 500 BCE was two million square miles. Most of this territory was conquered by Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Empire, who reigned from 559 to 530 BCE, the fourth king in...

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Thucydides on the Plague of Athens: Text & Commentary
The Plague of Athens (429-426 BCE) struck the city, most likely, in 430 BCE before it was recognized as an epidemic and, before it was done, had claimed between 75,000-100,000 lives. Modern-day scholars believe it was most likely an outbreak...

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Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Societies
Hunter-gatherer societies are – true to their astoundingly descriptive name – cultures in which human beings obtain their food by hunting, fishing, scavenging, and gathering wild plants and other edibles. Although there are still groups of...

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Elephants in Hellenistic History & Art
Elephants were thought of as fierce and frightful monsters in antiquity, very real though rarely seen until the Hellenistic period. They were deployed on the battlefield to strike terror into the enemy, however, since fear was considered...

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Parthia: Rome's Ablest Competitor
As a superpower in its own right and in competition with Rome, Parthia's empire - ruling from 247 BCE to 224 CE - stretched between the Mediterranean in the west to India in the east. Not only did the Parthians win battles against Rome they...

Interview
Information & Communication Technologies in Cultural Heritage & Tourism
Information and communication technologies (ICT) are revolutionizing the ways in which the public interacts, understands, and appreciates the importance of cultural heritage around the world. They are additionally enabling sustainable tourism...

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Discovering the Glories of Persia
Iran, or Persia as it was formerly known, is a country with a long and rich history stretching back thousands of years and where many civilisations thrived. With 24 historical sites registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List and each with...

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Mycenean Greece and the Orient about 1450 BC
Mycenean Greece and the Orient about 1450 BC. Inset: Reference Map of the Nile Delta.

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Negus Menelik II
A photograph of the Ethiopian emperor (Negus) Menelik II (r. 1889-1913) wearing his coronation robes and regalia.