The arabian nights: Did you mean...?

In April 2019, The Museum of Cultural History in Oslo, Norway, opened its doors to the new exhibition VÍKINGR, containing rich treasures and unique archaeological finds from the Viking Age (c. 750-1050). The Viking Age is considered Norway's...

In June of 323 BCE, Alexander the Great (r. 336-323 BCE) died in Babylon. His sudden death before his 33rd birthday has long been a point of speculation: was it disease, old wounds, or murder? Regardless of the cause, history ranks him as...

The Prophecy of Bear Man is a war story from the Cheyenne nation relating their response to a Pawnee horse-raiding party and how they defeated their enemy, regaining most of the horses taken. The story exemplifies Native American warfare...

The Battle of Stalingrad (now Volgograd, July 1942 to February 1943) was an attempt by Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) to control the USSR's access to the Caucasus oil fields. Fierce street-fighting by the Soviet Red Army saw the city withstand...

The Song of Everlasting Sorrow is a narrative poem of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) inspired by the love affair between Xuanzong (r. 712-756 CE), the seventh emperor of the dynasty, and his consort Lady Yang. It was written by the Chinese...

Sometimes it is the smallest discoveries that have the largest impact. When Alexandra Kleinerman and Alhena Gadotti found a new fragment of the Epic of Gilgamesh in 2015 CE, it did not seem to be particularly impressive. The broken tablet...

The desert campaigns in North Africa during the Second World War (1939-45) provided soldiers on all sides with a set of particular challenges. Scorching day temperatures, freezing night temperatures, sand and flies getting everywhere, the...

The London Blitz (September 1940 to May 1941) was a sustained bombing campaign by the German Air Force during the Second World War (1939-45). Londoners were subjected to nightly bombings that killed thousands, destroyed homes, and necessitated...

Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld is a Sumerian poem pre-dating The Epic of Gilgamesh and featuring its central characters. It is sometimes included in modern-day translations as Book 12 but is usually omitted as it does not fit the...

The Instructions of Shuruppag (c. 2000 BCE) is the most famous work of the genre of Sumerian wisdom literature whose purpose was to encourage proper behavior in conformity with cultural values and standards. It is among the oldest works of...