Trade routes: Did you mean...?

Halicarnassus (modern Bodrum, Turkey) was an ancient Ionian Greek city in the region of Caria, located on the coast of Anatolia. It is best known as the birthplace of Herodotus (l. c. 484-425/413 BCE), the 'Father of History', and...

Ferdinand Magellan, or Fernão de Magalhães (c. 1480-1521), was a Portuguese mariner whose expedition was the first to circumnavigate the globe in 1519-22 in the service of Spain. Magellan was killed on the voyage in what is...

Chaco Canyon was the center of a pre-Columbian civilization flourishing in the San Juan Basin of the American Southwest from the 9th to the 12th century CE. Chacoan civilization represents a singular period in the history of an ancient...

The Kingdom of Abyssinia was founded in the 13th century CE and, transforming itself into the Ethiopian Empire via a series of military conquests, lasted until the 20th century CE. It was established by the kings of the Solomonid...

The city of Akkad was the seat of the Akkadian Empire (2350/2334-2154 BCE), the first multinational political entity in the world, founded by Sargon the Great, who unified Mesopotamia...

The Hyksos were a West Semitic-speaking people who gained a foothold in Egypt circa 1782 BCE at the city of Avaris in Lower Egypt, thus initiating the era known in Egyptian history as the Second...

The imperial Ming dynasty ruled China from 1368 to 1644. It replaced the Mongol Yuan dynasty which had been in power since the 13th century. Despite challenges from abroad and within, the Ming dynasty oversaw an unprecedented growth...

Guilds of merchants and craft workers were formed in medieval Europe so that their members could benefit from mutual aid. Guilds ensured production standards were maintained and that competition was reduced. In addition, by members...

Cochineal is a brilliant red dye extracted from the crushed bodies of parasitic insects which prey on cacti in the warmer parts of the Americas. The dye was an important part of trade in ancient Mesoamerica and South America and throughout...

Bangkok was once more commonly known as the Venice of the East due to the intricate network of waterways that crisscrossed the city in the 19th century CE. There were few roads in the 1800s...