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Historical Narratives
Narnia and early Middle-earth were pancake-esque — but their creators took differing views on de-globalization.
From Æthelred the Unready to Halfdan the Bad Entertainer, these strange epithets colored the legacy of four rather unlucky historical figures.
We rightly celebrate Winston Churchill as one of the world's greatest leaders — but for all the wrong reasons.
A single knife is sometimes worth more than a thousand armies.
An influential series of books argues that the history of the world is the history of generations. Is it right?
By the end, even his mom wanted him gone.
Discover how the threads of myth, legend, and artistry have been woven together by storytellers to craft history.
Rejecting romanticism, these famous paintings depict war as it really is: sadistic and senseless.
The Pan-American Highway began a century ago with a vision of unfettered motor-vehicle access between Alaska and Tierra del Fuego. What happened to the dream?
Historians have been able to piece together a clear picture of how the average Roman citizen spent their waking hours.
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Throw away your history books — here’s what life in ancient Rome was really like, according to Cambridge scholar Mary Beard.
Nero’s reputation as one of the most malevolent emperors in Roman history might be partly slander.
The global extent of the Revolutionary War surprises many Americans today — but it was crucial to independence.
Only Caesar lived to tell the tale.
A classical equivalent to Chanel No. 5.
The idea that consciousness emerges naturally alongside intelligence could be an anthropocentric distortion.
The documents that convicted the infamous traitor were all kept in this unassuming leather pouch.
Before Rome was an empire, it was a republic. And before it was a republic, it was a kingdom ruled by seven mythical kings — some better than others.
Once a cosmopolitan faith, Islam valued intellectualism and modernity. It was derailed by various geopolitical and religious forces.
Before Constantine received his history-defining vision, a pagan Sun god paved the way for Jesus Christ’s triumphal entry into the Eternal City.
Mansa Musa, perhaps history's richest man, claims he ascended the throne of Mali after his predecessor sailed west and never came back. Could he have made it to the New World?
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Billy was a local celebrity in the early 1900s. And he might have been a murderer.
How does the mind interact with the body? Nobody really knows — but these philosophers ventured an answer.
Humiliating powerful people was not a key to success.
Skepticism is appropriate when gazing into the futurist's crystal ball.
X marks the spot. The Dutch town of Ommeren has been swamped by detectorists armed with shovels looking for $20-million treasure.
"The Da Vinci Code" popularized the idea that Christians stole much of their theology. It's wrong, especially regarding Christmas.