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Elves and dwarves represent minor divine figures in Norse mythology. Elves (álfar) and dwarves (dvergar) have in common their talent for creating precious objects, skill, agility, and moral ambiguity. Dwarves appear...

The Battle of Civitate was fought in southeastern Italy on 18 June 1053 between a papal army of Pope Leo IX (r. 1049-1054) and an outnumbered force of Norman knights seeking recognition of their conquests and titles. The Normans...

The 390 BCE battle at the Allia River was fought between the city state of Rome and Gauls from northern Italy. When the Gauls laid siege to the Etruscan city of Clusium, the Romans intervened on behalf of the...

The bow was the most common weapon in ancient Chinese warfare and the skill of using it was the most esteemed martial art for millennia. Archers were used as infantry, chariot riders, and cavalry over the centuries...

The Crusades were a series of military campaigns organised by Christian powers in order to retake Jerusalem and the Holy Land back from Muslim control. There would be eight officially sanctioned crusades between 1095...

The Jolly Roger with its white skull and crossbones set against a black background has become a rather jovial part of pirate folklore but, in its day, this flag and others with similar blood-curdling designs, had...

The Marian Reforms were a set of the reforms introduced to the Roman army in the late 2nd century BCE by Roman general and politician Gaius Marius (157-86 BCE). Through these reforms, the Roman army was transformed from a semi-professional...

This image gallery showcases 28 styles of swords from around the world. This non-exhaustive list highlights different methods of swordmaking from throughout history.

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...

The government of ancient Persia was based on an efficient bureaucracy which combined the centralization of power with the decentralization of administration. The Achaemenid Empire (c. 550-330 BCE) founded by Cyrus the...