Middle east: Did you mean...?

Did you know the English East India Company’s tea trade was fueled by the opium trade? The English East India Company (EIC) – also known as the British East India Company – was an immensely successful trading company founded in 1600...

Artist's impression of medieval seafaring. The left ship in the foreground depicts a cog, which is a medieval ship that was widely used by traders of the Hanseatic League. The ship in the background depicts a Scandinavian or Viking ship.

Byzantine medallion with the Virgin from an icon frame, gold, silver, and enamel worked in cloisonné, c. 1100. The medallion was originally one of twelve that once surrounded an icon of the archangel Gabriel. Metropolitan Museum of Art...

Early Northern Wei style grotto at Longmen Grottoes, Henan Province, China. c. 500 CE

This map illustrates the geopolitical landscape of the ancient Near East following the destructive campaigns of the Old Hittite Empire (circa 1650–1500 BCE), which triggered widespread upheaval and realigned regional power structures. In...

This map illustrates the shifting political landscape of the Ancient Near East in the 13th century BCE, a period marked by the rise of imperial powers and the decline of older kingdoms. The expansion of the Hittite and Assyrian empires redrew...

Map of East India, taken from the Atlas van der Hagen, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague Part 4. This map of South East Asia was published by Nicolaas Visscher II (1649-1702). The map shows the entire trading region of the Dutch East India...

The English East India Company (EIC) was established by Royal Charter on 31 December 1600 under Queen Elizabeth I (reign 1558–1603), granting it a monopoly on English trade east of the Cape of Good Hope. Initially conceived as a commercial...

The original flag of the English East India Company (EIC), founded in 1600 by royal charter. The company later changed its name to the British East India Company and so the cross of St. George in the top right corner was replaced by a Union...

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)